Excavations at the Lea Quarry- Page 1 of 3

DENHAM, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE

Denham is a small village in south Buckinghamshire, close to the junction of the M40 and M25 motorways. Cotswold Archaeology was commissioned by Harleyford Aggregates Ltd to carry out a series of archaeological excavations at the Lea Quarry so that any archaeological remains were recorded before their removal by gravel quarrying. Excavations began in the summer of 2001, and have continued each summer since then. More than 10 hectares have so far been excavated, revealing the story of the site from the time of early humans to the end of the Roman period.

The site lies on a gravel terrace deposited by ancient rivers up to 35,000 years ago. This terrace was covered by a layer of clay deposited by the flooding of the River Colne, which lies immediately to the east of the site; this process occurred over the last 10,000 years, apparently stopping around 3,000 years ago. The archaeological remains uncovered by the excavation were cut into this clay layer.

Plan of excavated features. Click on the map for points of interest.

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