An archaeological investigation undertaken by Salford Archaeology in 2016-18 ahead of a large development at Cuerden in Central Lancashire yielded significant evidence for land use in the area from the prehistoric period through to the present day. In particular, the excavation uncovered a probable roundhouse and a well-preserved section of the Roman road between Wigan and Walton-le-Dale, together with rare physical evidence for medieval agriculture and settlement dating from the twelfth to the sixteenth centuries that appears to have developed along the alignment of the Roman road. The remains of a cottage dating to the seventeenth century were also excavated, together with a regionally important assemblage of medieval and post-medieval pottery
