As excavations in the first two areas come to an end, one of the major features that our team at Hinxton have been focussed on finding answers to is a large trackway that runs north - south through area 1 and through on to another area of excavation, area 3. The trackway is a prominent feature both on the ground and from the air.

Slots were dug by the team along the length of the trackway with finds suggesting that the feature dates from the early Roman period with the possibility of it having been in use at an earlier period in time.

One of the most exciting aspects from the trackway has been the preservation (in very soft ground) of the wheel ruts made by the passing of many heavily loaded carts and wagons carrying goods along the trackway for years, possibly centuries.

An archaeological trench showing parallel darker lines about 2m apart against the lighter chalk.

In the photo above you can clearly see the wheel ruts that have been created by the cart wheels clattering their way to their destination, as darker lines through the lighter chalk.  These ruts were measured on site by our team and found to be the same width as a standard Roman cart. This then further supports the working hypothesis (along with the other finds recovered) that the trackway was in fact in use in early Roman Britain.