Since the 1950s, overspill housing for several London boroughs had been constructed in Bletchley. Further studies in the 1960s identified north Buckinghamshire as a possible site for a large new town, a new city, encompassing the existing towns of Bletchley, Stony Stratford, and Wolverton. The New Town (informally and in planning documents referred to as 'New City') was to be the biggest yet, with a target population of 250,000, in a 'designated area' of . The name 'Milton Keynes' was taken from that of an existing village on the site. The area to be developed was largely farmland and undeveloped villages. Before construction began, every area was subject to detailed archaeological investigation: doing so has exposed a rich history of human settlement since Neolithic times and has provided a unique insight into the history and archaeology of a large sample of the landscape of north Buckinghamshire.