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To the immediate south of the runway at Cambridge airport, there are a large number of possibly-concrete things embedded in the grass.

I'm not sure whether they are have any aviation-related function, but they are mostly either parallel or perpendicular to the runway.

The question is - what are they?

Aerial view here.

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Mike Sowsun
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Party Ark
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1 Answers1

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In 2017 there was a major archeological dig in the area of Hatherdene Close and Coldhams Lane at the south end of the Cambridge airport. The "criss-cross patterns" are additional exploratory trenches as part of a "Preliminary Archaeological Investigation".

Welcome to the public consultation on the emerging development proposals for the creation of a new neighbourhood at Land North of Cherry Hinton

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Anglo-Saxon artefacts unearthed on Cambridge building site

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The area is also the subject of a Planning Document. I had a quick read through the document and I found a reference to "Preliminary Archaeological Investigations", which are the trenches seen in the aerial photo.

LAND NORTH OF CHERRY HINTON Planning Document

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Mike Sowsun
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  • Huh. Seems awfully close to an airport for a residential zone. Not sure how active that runway is, but I don't think I'd want to live there... – Darrel Hoffman Nov 08 '19 at 16:27
  • @DarrelHoffman Pretty common over here! We don't have much space. That airport isn't going to be servicing any large passenger jets though. – Lightness Races in Orbit Nov 08 '19 at 16:35
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    @DarrelHoffman What do you consider "awfully close"? There are airports that look just as close and apparently far busier (according to a quick look at FlightRadar24) in the northeastern US. I've got a friend that lives right under the final approach area, and he doesn't notice a thing. – T.J.L. Nov 08 '19 at 16:59
  • @LightnessRaceswithMonica Cambridge does actually see a number of large aircraft. It's the base for Marshall Aerospace who do a lot of work on the RAF's tanker and transport fleets, so A330MRTTs and C130s are routine, plus occasional jobs for airlines. Until the TriStars were retired there always used to be one or two of those lined up on the apron. – FLHerne Nov 08 '19 at 17:01
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    On the other hand, the airport is expected to close altogether and be redeveloped for housing in the next decade, with Marshalls moving away; https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-48269651 – FLHerne Nov 08 '19 at 17:03
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    Not my video, but showing a good selection of the odd things I see coming in: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBWkNE6QbCY – FLHerne Nov 08 '19 at 17:06