THE most extensive archaeological dig in Europe is under way in the UK, thanks to the high-speed train line being built between Birmingham and London (see 鈥�Map鈥�). Major construction projects like the new line, known as HS2, are an ideal opportunity to investigate the buried past. Before building work begins this year, archaeologists will investigate 60 different sites along the 240-kilometre route.
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The digs will uncover 10,000 years of history, from the time of hunter-gatherers through to the Roman, Saxon, medieval and modern eras. 鈥淲e expect to find archaeology from every period in our history,鈥� says Mike Court, the lead archaeologist on the project. Here are some of the highlights.
1 18th-Century burial ground Birmingham
This Industrial Revolution-era graveyard is thought to hold more than 10,000 bodies, and 1500 have been recovered so far. The skeletal remains will tell us about the effects of 18th and 19th-century life on those living in Birmingham.
One intriguing finding is that some of the skeletons show evidence of dissection 鈥� probably by students at a nearby medical school in operation at the same time as the burial ground.
鈥淢ajor construction projects like the UK鈥檚 HS2 train line are an ideal opportunity to study the buried past鈥�
2 Iron age to saxon era site Boddington
Before any digs began, the route of HS2 was surveyed using laser scanners and magnetic detectors. 鈥淭hese techniques give a map of what鈥檚 going on underground,鈥� says Court. They have thrown up surprises, including in what looked like an uninteresting field near the village of Boddington in Warwickshire.
The field wasn鈥檛 thought to have been occupied in the past, but the surveys revealed a large Bronze Age or Iron Age structure, and others that appear to be Roman and Saxon, suggesting it may have been used for over 1000 years.
鈥淚f we find towns and settlements where we thought there weren鈥檛 any, that鈥檚 what this project is about,鈥� says Court.
3 War of the roses battlefield Edgecote
The HS2 route runs close to the site of a key battle in the English civil war known as the War of the Roses. The battle took place on 26 July 1469.
Aside from accounts by Welsh poets, not much is known about this battle, so archaeologists are hoping to uncover arrowheads, weapons and possibly mass burial pits to figure out how it unfolded.
4 Medieval burial ground St Mary鈥檚 Church, Stoke Mandeville
Possibly the most interesting medieval site along the HS2 route is the graveyard of the demolished church of St Mary鈥檚 in the village of Stoke Mandeville. Between 3000 and 5000 bodies were interred here, starting around the 12th century.
It is an unprecedented opportunity to investigate the population of a village over a long time period, says Court. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a good chance that we鈥檒l find burials due to the Black Death and subsequent bouts of plague.鈥�
5 Bronze age dyke, Grim鈥檚 Ditch
This long, deep ditch on the outskirts of London is thought to have been constructed in the Bronze Age or Iron Age, but we don鈥檛 know why it was built. 鈥淲e鈥檙e hoping to solve the mystery of Grim鈥檚 Ditch,鈥� says Court. It could mark the boundary of an ancient territory, or perhaps the route of migratory animals.
6 Stone age hunter-gatherer site colne valley
The Colne Valley on the outskirts of London may have been an important place for the nomadic hunter-gatherer people living in Britain 10,000 years ago. At that time, low sea levels meant Britain was connected to mainland Europe, and archaeologists think that the Colne Valley may have been a migration route from Europe via river systems.
They will be looking for raised gravel areas in the river which might have been used by these ancient people as they followed animal herds.
鈥淚f we鈥檙e really lucky we might find a butchery site, where they took down an animal like a mammoth,鈥� says Court, though that is probably unlikely. 鈥淚鈥檇 be happy if we find any evidence of human activity.鈥�
This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淓urope鈥檚 biggest archaeological dig鈥�
