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.
