Before Cambourne was built it was one of the largest archaeological sites ever excavated in BritainLittle was known about the earlier use of Bourn Valley before Cambourne was built. It had been assumed that farmers did not live on the heavy clay soil west of Cambridge until medieval times.
Archaeological excavations at Cambourne unexpectedly found much earlier evidence for people living here. Archaeologists have discovered that people lived here continuously for nearly 1,000 years from the Iron Age (800 BC) through to Anglo-Saxon times (AD 800).
Although the building of Cambourne has been a big transformation of the landscape, it is the latest development in a long history of change and continuity for the Bourn Valley. Explore the map to unearth Cambourne’s past and discover what archaeology lay beneath your street.
National Lottery Heritage Fund Project
Cambourne Village College students worked alongside staff from Oxford Archaeology East on a National Lottery Heritage Funded project in 2017-18 in order to learn more about these archaeological discoveries. The students took part in an excavation at West Cambourne and created a ‘pop up’ museum at the school showcasing the artefacts featured on this website.
Thanks to the support of National Lottery players, this website was developed to share the archaeological discoveries from Lower, Greater and Upper Cambourne.
Cambourne West
In 2020, new excavations have taken place ahead of the first phase of construction at Cambourne West. With support from Taylor Wimpey and Bovis Homes, working together as the Cambourne West Consortium, we’re able to share the latest archaeological discoveries with residents past, present and future