Archaeologists on the
HS2 rail link between London and Birmingham have begun work on the UK’s biggest ever excavation, cutting an “unprecedented” slice through 10,000 years of British history.
The mammoth archaeological project, taking in more than 60 separate digs along the 150-mile route, is the first stage in construction of the controversial rail line ahead of main building works starting next year.
The developers have now revealed some of their early finds including a prehistoric hunter-gatherer site on the outskirts of London, a Wars of the Roses battlefield in Northamptonshire, a Romano-British town near Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire and an Iron Age settlement in Staffordshire.
Their discoveries include prehistoric flint tools, a Romano-British cremation urn and two late Victorian time capsules dug up close to Euston station in London, containing rolled-up newspaper tied with twine, calling cards and leaflets promoting temperance.