A remarkable piece of Cambridgeshire’s ancient history has been officially protected, offering a rare glimpse into the lives and rituals of prehistoric communities.
Thanks to collaborative efforts between East West Railway Company (EWR Co) and Historic England, a 4,000-year-old Bronze Age cemetery at Money Hill has now been designated a scheduled monument. This decision follows extensive archaeological investigations that revealed 11 ancient burial barrows, more than double the number previously known.
Located on a chalk ridge between Haslingfield and Barrington, the cemetery features burial mounds ranging from 20 to 55 metres in diameter. These barrows—earthen mounds built over prehistoric graves—offer extraordinary insight into Bronze Age funerary practices. The varied sizes of the barrows suggest evolving burial rites over centuries, painting a vivid picture of how ancient communities lived, died, and commemorated their dead.
Chapel Hill Magnetometry results – Interpretative results of terrestrial geophysical survey of Money Hill using a fluxgate gradiometer, showing the outline of five barrows in red (Survey commissioned by EWR and carried out by Wessex Archaeology).
EWR Co’s original plans for the railway in this area included placing the line in a cutting, but a mined tunnel is now proposed which is designed to preserve the integrity of the cemetery.
Tristan Lincoln-Gordon, Head of Environment at EWR Co, said: “Our proposals have evolved through collaboration to ensure this nationally significant site is protected, demonstrating how development and heritage can successfully coexist.”
Tony Calladine, Regional Director at Historic England, added: “The archaeological surveys carried out for East West Rail have given an amazing insight into Bronze Age life and led to the protection of this important site, connecting us with communities from the past as the infrastructure project connects people today.”
While the cemetery itself is not open to the public, its protection marks a milestone in how infrastructure projects can work hand-in-hand with heritage conservation.