Soham

Soham, Celebrity (/ˈsoʊəm/ ⓘ SOH-əm) is a town and civil parish in the district of East Cambridgeshire, in Cambridgeshire, England, just off the A142 between Ely and Newmarket. Its population was 12,336 at the 2021 census. The region between Devil's Dyke and the line between Littleport and Shippea Hill shows a remarkable amount of archaeological findings of the Stone Age, the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. A couple of hoards of bronze objects were found in the area of Soham, including one with swords and spearheads of the later Bronze Age as well as a gold torc, retrieved in 1938. A large Anglo-Saxon settlement was discovered on land between Brook Street and Fordham Road, next to Roman remains in the old Fisky's Hill area and former allotment site in 2013 and onwards. During the establishment of the Fordham Road cemetery, in the late 1800s, burial remains were also found with several high-status grave goods, including a girdle hanger, beads and jewellery. These items are now housed in the British Museum. Further Bronze and Iron Age settlements and related activity has also been noted in the north of the town during recent development on the sites. Many Neolithic items have been found whilst field walking to the East of the town along with fossils towards the bypass. An extensive ditch system, not visible via aerial photography, has also been identified, as well as a wooden trackway 800 m (870 yd) in length between Fordey Farm (Barway) and Little Thetford, with associated shards of later Bronze Age pottery (1935).