• Willen
• Wakerley
• Nash Mills
• Soham
• King's Sutton
• Stowmarket

Willen, Milton Keynes

Following an initial evaluation, excavations covering nearly five hectares were undertaken at a prehistoric and Roman site at Willen, on the west side of Milton Keynes, in advance of gravel quarrying.

The south part of the site contained a Bronze Age ‘ring ditch’ (ploughed out burial mound), 20m in diameter. To the north, part of an extensive Iron Age and Roman settlement was excavated.  This appears to have been occupied until the late 4th century AD, and comprised a number of ditched enclosures, a pond and seven large pits, probably the result of clay or mineral extraction.  An associated cremation cemetery was also identified.  The post-Roman landscape was represented by traces of medieval ridge and furrow cultivation strips, and a number of post-medieval field boundary ditches.  In 1957 the M1 motorway was constructed on the west side of the site.

Initial examination of the evidence from Willen suggests the existence of settlement and farming activity of relatively low status in the late Iron Age and Roman periods.  Along with evidence from recently excavated sites in the vicinity, the information from Willen has made a significant contribution to our understanding of past settlement and activity in this part of the Ouzel valley.