Clipstone Before 1086

The Bedfordshire Historic Environment Record [HER] contains information on the county’s historic buildings and landscapes and summaries of each entry can now be found online as part of the Heritage Gateway website. Two sites are recorded in Clipstone which pre-date recorded history. The first of these [HER 16491] is a group of irregular cropmarks north of Clipstone. They cannot be dated without field walking or excavation but look as if they are prehistoric.

A more certain series of prehistoric cropmarks lie north-east of Clipstone [HER 11123]. There are two adjacent circular marks and were evaluated archaeologically in 2006. Although the marks themselves were determined to be natural and to have no structural significance there was evidently early human activity in the area as shown by some of the finds, specifically: two pottery sherds of late Bronze Age or early Iron Age date; a large quantity of animal remains which dated from the late Iron Age or early Romano-British period; a large quantity of pot sherds from the late Iron Age; a piece of a Roman mixing vessel called a mortarium; some Romano-British nails; a large quantity of Romano-British pot sherds; a 4th century Roman bronze coin and two tegulae (interlocking Roman roof tiles).