Case Study: HS2
Great Missenden to Aylesbury Section
Rubicon Archaeology, as part of the INFRA JV
Client
Fusion JV
Sector
Rail Infrastructure
Location
Buckinghamshire, England
The Challenge
HS2 is the UK’s largest infrastructure project, delivering a 345-mile high-speed railway linking London, Birmingham, Manchester and beyond. Before construction could proceed, the programme required archaeology on an unprecedented scale, forming part of the largest archaeological programme ever undertaken in the UK.
Rubicon Archaeology, working as part of the INFRA JV within the Fusion joint venture, was responsible for leading archaeological investigations across the Great Missenden to Aylesbury section. Delivery required large-scale mobilisation, careful coordination with the wider construction programme, and disciplined management of significant heritage assets across a complex live infrastructure environment.
Our Approach
Rubicon Archaeology deployed multidisciplinary teams of more than 80 archaeologists, surveyors and specialists to deliver evaluation and excavation across the route. Our methodology followed a structured progression from early assessment through to full mitigation:
- Desk-based assessment to map known heritage assets and refine archaeological risk.
- Geophysical survey across extensive farmland and greenfield areas to identify potential features.
- Targeted trial trenching to verify anomalies and define archaeological significance.
- Open-area excavation at key locations, supported by drone survey, environmental sampling, and advanced digital recording.
Close collaboration with Fusion JV, local planning authorities, Historic England, and other stakeholders ensured that works were delivered to the required standards of technical quality, compliance, care and dignity. Archaeology was integrated into the broader project programme so that heritage obligations could be met without undermining construction certainty.
Some Statistics
Key Discoveries
The programme revealed nationally significant archaeology spanning 10,000 years of human activity, from the Neolithic through to the early medieval period. Key discoveries included:
Wellwick Farm (Wendover)
- A rare prehistoric timber circle dating to approximately 2500-2000 BC.
- A Bronze Age barrow with a central cremation burial.
- A Roman square mausoleum containing a lead coffin burial.
- Finds including a Neolithic macehead, Iron Age gold coin, Roman coins, and Anglo-Saxon beads.
Great Missenden
- An Anglo-Saxon farmstead with multiple timber-framed buildings.
- Important evidence for rural settlement and everyday life in the 7th to 10th centuries AD.
Ellesborough Road, Wendover
- A significant multi-period landscape including Late Neolithic and Bronze Age activity, Iron Age structural and routeway evidence, Roman field systems, and medieval remains.
- The most important discovery was a 5th- to 6th-century cemetery comprising 138 graves containing 141 individuals, many accompanied by grave goods.
- Finds included jewellery, brooches, knives, shields, spears, glass beads, glass drinking vessels, and artefacts in ivory and bone, demonstrating the presence of exceptionally well-preserved high-status burials.
The Results
- Delivered archaeology at scale on one of the UK’s most demanding infrastructure programmes, combining productivity with careful heritage stewardship.
- Helped ensure that HS2 construction progressed on programme while meeting all relevant archaeological and heritage obligations.
- Recorded and safeguarded a major body of archaeological evidence for future analysis, publication and public benefit.
- Supported wider recognition of HS2’s cultural value through nationally significant discoveries and public-facing media coverage.
Why Rubicon?
Rubicon Archaeology’s role on HS2, as part of the INFRA JV, demonstrates our ability to deliver complex, high-volume archaeological programmes in parallel with major infrastructure construction. Clients choose Rubicon for:
Scale
Proven ability to mobilise large specialist teams across extensive, programme-critical work fronts.
Expertise
Strong technical capability in evaluation, excavation, recording, and management of nationally significant discoveries.
Innovation
Use of drone survey, digital recording, and integrated scientific analysis to improve quality and efficiency.
Partnership
Collaborative delivery with contractors, regulators, and stakeholders to protect both heritage outcomes and programme certainty.
Outcome
By combining large-scale mobilisation, rigorous archaeological methodology, and disciplined integration with live infrastructure delivery, Rubicon Archaeology - as part of the INFRA JV - helped HS2 safeguard nationally important heritage assets while maintaining progress on one of the UK’s most significant transport programmes.