This report presents the results of archaeological investigations
undertaken in 20035 along the 6km route of the A505 Baldock bypass,
Hertfordshire. The evidence spans the late Neolithic to the medieval
period, although no evidence for activity from the later 5th century to
the beginning of the 11th century was found. The late Neolithic evidence
was dispersed across the route corridor and comprised bowl-shaped pits,
shaft-like pits and a small funerary enclosure. Early Bronze Age
activity was restricted to the northern portion of the route and
included a small roundhouse and a cluster of seven barrows. These
barrows subsequently became the focus of burial activity in the late
Iron Age and earlier Roman period. Evidence for early to middle Iron Age
activity was concentrated on the Clay-with-flints soils of the Weston
Hills. It comprised clusters of pits and occasional post-holes which
were grouped into a series of activity areas. The pottery recovered
hints at a chronological shift from north to south. These activity areas
are thought to represent evidence for more permanent settlement,
although the actual dwellings are assumed to lie outside the route
corridor. Roman boundary ditches and enclosures were found across most
of the route corridor. Although evidence is somewhat piecemeal, there
does appear to have been a reorganisation of the land boundaries,
evidenced by infilling of later Iron Age boundaries and the excavation
of new boundaries along a different alignment. Dominating the evidence
for the Roman period were two roadways, each displaying a sequence of
maintenance and repair. Both roadways lead into the Roman town of
Baldock and both were on a similar alignment. A study of the repair
sequences and associated finds suggests that a continuing problem of
drainage and silting on one road led to the construction of a slightly
realigned replacement. Evidence for medieval settlement was confined to
the northern portion of the route corridor, and included a rectangular
enclosure containing a cemetery, pits and post-holes, with evidence of a
hollow way running along the western side of the enclosure. Analysis of
documentary evidence strongly suggests that this enclosure can be
identified as the 13th-century Hospital of St Mary Magdalene in the
parish of Clothall. Woodland clearance along the route appears to have
been complete by the early Bronze Age, with the earlier landscape
probably a patchwork of woodland, pasture and cultivated fields. This
clearance appears to be associated with a reduction in the numbers of
pigs kept by the Bronze Age farmers, and the development of a pastoral
economy based upon cattle and sheep. Much of the route from later
prehistory onwards has been open calcareous grasslands, probably well
grazed by sheep, which became increasingly important in the local
economy; much of the wealth of medieval Baldock derived from wool.
