Highways to the Past

May 03 2023 3

Highways to the Past Podcast artwork

Join us as we take a trip into the past and explore intriguing ancient sites in Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire. 2,000 years ago, this area was full of small settlements, intensely farming the landscape. What can we learn about the people who lived here? How did these farms change and develop as the Romans arrive in Britain? In this podcast, you’ll meet some of the people working to answer these questions and join the journey as we gradually reveal the story of this complex region.Excavations are currently being carried out by MOLA, as part of the proposed National Highways A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet improvements. Cover artwork: Tracy Wellman.

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Bringing archaeology to life

May 03 2023 34 mins

Its already the end of our second series! In this episode, we’re exploring how archaeologists share their discoveries with the public. From Virtual Reality to posting directly from the trench, how can archaeology use new technologies? And what’s been learnt so far on National Highways A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet improvements?

Bones, bones, bones

Mar 09 2023 31 mins

In this episode, we sit down with two of our resident bone specialists – an osteologist and an archaeozoologist! Maybe not one to listen to over dinner, we chat all about what clues we can learn from human and animal remains. We also hear about unusual discoveries on the proposed National Highways A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet improvements, asking why a piece of human skull was

Roundhouses: Reconstructing the past

Jan 19 2023 31 mins

Once again we've hit the road, this time travelling all the way to Butser Ancient Farm. We've talked about the huge roundhouses discovered on our National Highways A428 Black Cat digs before, but in this episode we wanted to talk to the people who try to reconstruct them - Experimental Archaeologists. How were roundhouses built? What were they like to live in? And most my

Seeing the big picture

Oct 26 2022 28 mins

Welcome back to another series following the archaeology on the National Highways A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet improvements!In this episode, we're introduced to the next phase of excavation which includes a mysterious isolated settlement. As always, we're joined by archaeologists on the ground as they take us through what we've found so far and what we hope to dis

Final piece of the puzzle

Apr 08 2022 25 mins

In our final episode on Field 44, part of the proposed A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet improvements, we look in detail at some of the key finds discovered during the dig. What do they tell us about how people lived here 2,000 years ago? What happens next? And what have we learnt across this series about Field 44?

Going under the microscope

Mar 18 2022 27 mins

In our third episode, we venture into the lab and hear from the scientists and archaeologists looking at the tiniest pieces of evidence. From grains of wheat to identifying snail species, we learn how those working on Field 44 use miniscule clues to build a picture of the past.

From the field to the archive

Mar 02 2022 27 mins

In this second episode, we meet the archaeologists involved who have been digging at Field 44 and dealing with the objects found there as part of the National Highways A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet improvements. What does their day look like? How do they know what they’re looking at? How do archaeologists do archaeology?

Introducing Field 44

Feb 02 2022 27 mins

In this first episode, we introduce the intriguing site known as Field 44 and discuss what we know so far. Why is this site being excavated? What have they discovered? And what surprises have they found?