HS2 may have been controversial, but it has also given rise to the biggest archaeological excavation in British history. With more than 100 digs, entire lost towns have been unearthed along the route – radically changing our understanding of the ancient past
The green fields and woods of rural Northamptonshire look as apparently immutable as much of the British countryside. Next to the remote farm of Blackgrounds, however, a thin layer of innocuous green pasture has been peeled back. Below the surface is revealed a cobbled Roman road, walls, wells, pathways and shops: a bustling, prosperous international settlement long lost to memory.
The town, its people and stories are emerging because it is part of the biggest-ever archaeological excavation in British history. It is one of more than 100 digs and investigations along the 134 miles of the HS2 high-speed rail route being built between London and Birmingham. Part of £900m of “enabling works” for the much-criticised project.
