Treasures unearthed by hundreds of archaeologists so far during work on the controversial planned HS2 train line have been shown exclusively to the BBC. The 450,000 objects, which are being held in a secret warehouse, include a possible Roman gladiator's tag, a hand axe that may be more than 40,000 years old and 19th Century gold dentures. It is an unprecedented amount and array of items, which will yield new insights into Britain's past, says the Centre for British Archaeology. Major building developments in the UK need land to be assessed by archaeologists as part of the planning process, to protect heritage sites. Since 2018 around 1,000 archaeologists have been involved in 60 digs along the route HS2 is set to take between London to Birmingham.

HS2 Ltd has launched the fifth round of its successful Innovation Accelerator initiative programme. In a new development for the Innovation Accelerator initiative, the latest cohort of SMEs will be based onsite at the operation hubs of HS2's main civil works contractors. This will acquaint them with construction and help focus development of their technology for the industry. Focused on harnessing technologies new to the construction sector, the Innovation Accelerator initiative will utilise artificial intelligence and advanced sensing technology to drive cost and carbon efficiencies across the HS2 programme. Each start-up brings a potential technological solution to mitigating the effects of a diverse array of challenges faced during HS2's construction, ranging from traffic management to weather forecasting, as well as using A.I. to understand and reduce carbon impact of activities and materials.