More items uncovered at Sherford to 'help our understanding of this part of Devon'
The archaeological team have been sharing their latest findings
Evidence of Bronze Age, Iron Age and Roman settlements have all been unearthed at Devon's newest town Sherford - near to Plymouth.
Rob Bourn led the archaeological team, which is today revealing its latest findings before moving into the final phase of work this Summer, saying: "Beforehand you may have known that we found some Ice Age remains of wolly mammoth and so forth - so we're quite close to those findings geographically but now it's people that we're dealing with, rather than Ice Age animals.
"It's going to really help the understanding of this part of the Devon landscape's development. It's basically the largest archaeological investigation that's been able to happen in Devon in a very long time.
"We've been able to look in detail on a much bigger area than is normally possible, over about the ten to fifteen years we've been doing it."
The findings are eventually expected to be displayed at somewhere like Plymouth's The Box museum and might also be reflected in future road names on site - with some form of historic aspect, or display, incorporated into Sherford in future.
What has been found?
Excavations across five areas within Phase 3 of Sherford have revealed a series of settlements spanning multiple historical periods. The findings underline that Sherford is not just a new town in development, but a landscape that has attracted communities for millennia.
A valley running through the site has revealed Bronze Age roundhouses on both sides, likely forming small settlements made up of individual family homes. Dating from around 2000 BC to 900 BC, the Bronze Age landscape was characterised by monuments, enclosures and field systems. At Sherford, the pattern of roundhouses suggests extended family groups living and working the land.
Just south of Sherford’s Main Street, archaeologists uncovered a late Iron Age settlement, dating from 900 BC to AD 43. The settlement appears to have formed around a natural spring, with water beginning to trickle up as archaeologists excavated the area.
Further investigations towards the upper areas of Sherford revealed a substantial Roman enclosure, dating from AD 43 to AD 410. Located close to the Roman road uncovered at Sherford in 2023, the enclosure suggests the presence of a small hamlet, forming part of an emerging Roman landscape connected to wider trade and travel networks. Within the enclosure, a raised and drier area of ground was found, that may have been an oven or corn drier.
Rare insight into Neolithic rituals
Elsewhere at Sherford, archaeological work carried out throughout 2025 focused on investigations within Sherford Quarry, where a geological survey identified an unusually shaped underground space. Excavation revealed human bones, charcoal and pottery, believed to form part of a Neolithic burial site dating from around 4000 BC to 2000 BC. This site was found just metres from Sherford’s previous Ice Age megafauna discoveries.
Neolithic burial practices often involved burying just the bones of people in communal tombs or mounds. In this case, archaeologists believe the partial remains of two or three individuals were placed within a shallow depression in the ground. The underground structure had an hourglass-like shape, with remains initially placed in the upper chamber before gradually falling through a narrow gap into a wider cavity below, where they remained undisturbed for thousands of years. Charcoal and pottery fragments found alongside the bones are thought to have formed part of burial rituals.
The excavation proved technically challenging due to the confined shape of the space, and a Neolithic specialist from Lancaster University has been closely involved in the investigation. Post-excavation analysis will now take place to learn more before the remains are transferred to a local museum or repository. Once all archaeological work is complete, the area will be secured and turned into public open space for Sherford residents to enjoy.
Who is doing the work?
The Archaeological investigations have been undertaken by Orion Heritage for the Sherford Consortium – a partnership between award-winning national housebuilders Taylor Wimpey and Vistry Group, which includes Countryside Homes, Linden Homes, and Bovis Homes
Sherford’s Ice Age discoveries made international headlines in 2022, drawing attention for the well-preserved remains of several rare species, all found in the same location. Four years on, this nationally significant collection continues to provide an extraordinary window into the animals that roamed the South West during the last Ice Age.
The remains include woolly mammoth, woolly rhinoceros, and a virtually complete wolf skeleton, alongside hyena, reindeer, horse, mountain hare, and red fox. Dating from 30,000 to 60,000 years ago, the finds reveal the diversity of South West wildlife and the environment they inhabited at the time.
Carefully recorded and removed from the ground, the remains have been undergoing detailed academic analysis and conservation. The next stage is radiocarbon dating, expected to conclude later this year, after which the full archive will be transferred to The Box museum in Plymouth, just a few miles from where the discoveries were made.