Archaeology

Archaeological highlights in Little Shelford

Bronze Age axe

A Bronze Age palstave, or early bronze axe, was found at Rectory Farm, Little Shelford. The axe dates from 2500 BC to 701 BC. It was presented to a museum.

Iron Age settlement

Settlement north west of Little Shelford Early Iron Age to 5th century Roman - 800 BC to 409 AD.

A series of settlement sites of Iron age and Roman British. By railway line on Hauxton road. (use map pic) This extensive enclosure complex lies on level arable fields that show no surface evidence of its existence.

Scheduled ancient monument north west of Little Shelford (off Hauxton Road) “the aeriel photpgraph shows an iron age and roman british settlement site with square and circular enclosures.”

There is still evidence of Iron Age and Roman occupation close to both sides of the River Cam and which is visible from aerial photographs.

The most significant Iron Age and Roman archaeological remains are the settlements situated to the north-east and south west of the present-day rail line. The sites now remain as a crop mark and a palimpsest of Iron Age round huts and rectangular enclosures, with evidence of continuing settlement into the Roman period.

Environmental evidence shows an agriculture based on wheat, barley and peas, and cattle grazed on water meadows; Crop marks and palimpsests are something of a rarity due to coprolite mining around Cambridgeshire, and the preservation of the Little Shelford sites is nationally important.

D-shaped enclosure, 6 circular enclosures (? possibly barrow circles), linear ditch and pits. b) Complex of enclosures, ditches and pits. The site lies north of the railway

Roman coin hoard

A hoard of 44 coins "from Shelford" contains 4 of Claudius II, 1 of Gallienus, 18 of Victorinus, 6 of Tetricus I, and 1 of Tetricus II, along with others not identified. The latest coins belong to the y ears 270 - 273 AD. Now in the CAAM.

Roman kiln

1990 M11 survey. “south of the Shelford Road lies an area of Roman kilns discovered during construction of the M11.”

Saxon cemetery 410 to 700 AD

Burials of the pagan Anglo Saxon period were discovered in a sand-pit close to the River Cam and opposite the mill at Little Shelford. An associated find of saucer-brooches, a 'Kentish' shape buckle, and beads are in CAAM. There are drawings of the Artefacts found in Little Shelford

Vikings in Shelford

The transition of Anglo-Saxon rule to the Viking Danelaw had a big effect on the village. As an outpost at the edge of the Danelaw, lying within a region of great conflict, Little Shelford became an important strategic location. The Vikings who sacked Cambridge are known to have wintered at Shelford. At the time, only a single village (Shelford) existed, and debate remains as to whether the ‘wintering’ site refers to the present-day Little Shelford or Great Shelford.

However there is a strong argument for Little Shelford as the site, as a settlement here would control the river ford, the topmost navigation point, and the Minster. The half-mile island in the river near present-day Little Shelford, now referred as the Hermitage, would have also provided a good site for keeping boats and securing an army. We know that Vikings used a similar location for this purpose on the River Trent.

Shelford mint

There are also indications of a working coinage mint at Shelford. Coinage from this mint is extremely rare, but coins have been found in the Cuerdale horde excavated in 1905 next to the River Ribble at Cuerdale in Lancashire, issued in the name of Earl Sihtric by somebody called Gundibert working at a mint in ‘Sceldfor’ (in modern English, ‘Shelford’).

This horde is thought to have been deposited between 903 and 910AD. The addition of a Danish mint and encampment to our picture of Little Shelford, along with the Anglo-Saxon Minster, demonstrates the village’s centrality to Viking trade and economy.