Sentence:  The highway to the East Coast which ran through the borough of Ebbfield had always been a main road and even now, despite the vast garages, the pylons and the gaily painted factory glasshouses which had sprung up beside it, there still remained an occasional trace of <WSD>past</WSD> cultures. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Having already happened; in the past; finished. (from 14th c.)