Excavation of a mid-Saxon settlement at Water Eaton, Bletchley, Milton Keynes (original) (raw)
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Excavation of a multi-period site at Foster Road, Ashford, Kent
2010
Excavation at Foster Road, Ashford, revealed features of late prehistoric to medieval date, many comprising field, droveway or drainage ditches running downslope to the south-west towards the East Stour River. Following the silting up of a Middle Bronze Age pond used by livestock grazing on the edge of the floodplain, a Middle-Late Bronze Age settlement, including at least one roundhouse and with evidence of possible metalworking, was established within an arrangement of field or enclosure ditches. This pattern of ditch construction and nearby settlement continued through the Late Bronze Age and, following a possible break in the Early and Middle Iron Age, into the Late Iron Age and Romano-British period, perhaps reflecting the largely unchanging landscape of open damp grassland, woodland edge and scrub, which supported mixed agriculture regimes during these periods. In the Early Saxon period, two waterholes with timber structures at their bases, radiocarbon dated to cal AD 570-660,...
2007
An excavation and archaeological watching brief were carried out by Wessex Archaeology, in 1998, at the site of a former animal feed mill on the south side of Church Road, Bishop's Cleeve, Gloucestershire (OS Nat. Grid 395855 227560) in advance of the construction of a retail outlet for Tesco (Wessex Archaeology 1999). Additional archaeological excavations and a watching brief were undertaken in 2004, in advance of extensions to the Tesco store and car park (Wessex Archaeology 2005). The results of both these periods of work are presented here. Previous work at Bishop's Cleeve indicates a long history of settlement in the area, from at least the Middle Iron Age, though the information to date is rather piecemeal. Middle to Late Iron-Age enclosure ditches and pits were revealed in an earlier evaluation of the site (Parry 1993). These probably form part of the settlement, also represented by enclosure ditches and pits, excavated on the north side of Church Road at Gilder's Paddock (Parry 1999) as well as 21, Church Road (Cullen and Hancocks forthcoming) (Fig. 1). Romano-British pottery of 1st-2nd-century AD date was found to the northwest of the site prior to and during construction of the Bishop's Cleeve bypass road; first in a number of pits at Gilder's Brook (Wills and Parry 1990) and secondly, associated with a surface of paving slabs, during fieldwalking at Dean Farm (Rawes and Rawes 1990) (Fig. 1). At Gilder's Paddock, Romano-British activity of 2nd-4th-century AD date is represented by a ditch, which follows the line of one of the Iron-Age enclosure ditches, and seven inhumation burials. These features probably relate to the late 2nd-4th-century AD occupation at Home Farm, immediately to the west (Hart 1993; King 1994; Barber and Walker 1995; 1998) (Fig. 1). This consisted of a series of small ditched enclosures, possibly garden plots, the remains of a masonry building, and traces of small-scale industrial activity, including smithing, brass casting and flax retting or leather tanning. Ditches and pits spanning the 2nd-4th-centuries were also revealed during an evaluation at Cleeve Hall (Fig. 1) (Ings and Enright 1996; CAT 1997; Enright and Watts 2002). Evidence for Anglo-Saxon settlement at Bishop's Cleeve has so far proved elusive though it probably lies beneath the modern village (Aldred 1976). A late 6th-century cemetery at Lower Farm (Wilson and Hurst 1970; Holbrook 2000) was seen by Heighway (1984) as an indication of the colonisation of the upper Thames valley by pre-Christian Saxons. The site of a possible
The excavation of a Saxon grubenhaus at Itford Farm, Beddingham, East Sussex
2004
Visual inspection of the pipeline easement during construction of a wastewater pipeline north of Itford Farm revealed a number of cut features in the chalk bedrock. Excavation revealed one of the features to be an Early Saxon sunken-floored building (grubenhaus) of fifth- to sixth-century date, from which a small but interesting assemblage of pottery was recovered. A boundary ditch of probable Saxo-Norman date was also investigated. Further features proved to be natural solution hollows in the chalk. No other structures were observed within the easement, but the discovery indicates the longevity of settlement at Itford Farm, and provides an interesting, albeit small-scale, example of shifting settlement patterns within the Ouse Valley. Includes:
Excavation of an Iron Age Settlement and a Middle Saxon Cemetery at Great Houghton, Northampton
Northamptonshire Archaeology, 2001
A corridor 400m long by 15m wide along the course of a proposed Anglian Water pipeline was stripped under archaeological supervision to determine the presence and character of any archaeological remains. The dense palimpsest of features located was sampled in an archaeological recording action. The majority of the features related to an extensive area of Iron Age settlement. The earliest activity probably comprised unenclosed post hole and pit groups. A sub-rectangular ditched enclosure contained numerous pits, and in one an adult inhumation burial with a lead alloy neck .ring or torc around its neck has been radiocarbon dated to the early 4th century BC. To the east, a roundhouse ring ditch lay outside a small oval enclosure. Settlement began at the end of the early Iron Age, at around 400BC, and continued through the middle Iron Age. It was abandoned in the early 1st century AD. A group of23 inhu,nation burials, all aligned westto- east, and without grave goods, formed the southern part of a cemetery of unknown extent. A single radiocarbon date indicates that it was a Christian cemetery dating to the second half of the 7th century. The burials produced much evidence for healed traumatic injuries, and a high incidence of anatomical variants may indicate that they were from a small, inbred community. One individual shared an uncommon genetic trait with the Iron Age pit burial. At the western end of the area a group of rectangular clay pits of medieval date were aligned on the ridge and furrow of the medieval field system.
THE Excavation of Late Anglo-Saxon Settlement at Market Field, Steyning, 1988-89
Excavations in advance of a housing development revealed a 10th-century enclosure, two buildings and associated pits. A sequence of ditches marked the boundary of the enclosure and an entrance way was indicated by two post-settings and a central stake-hole. The entrance is similar to those from other Late Anglo-Saxon sites. One of the buildings was constructed with planks set on end, the other with squared timbers and a central line of round posts. Three types of pits were identified and these seem to have sewed as wells, and for the disposal of rubbish and cess. Sealed groups of pottery were recovered from the pits suggesting that some activity on the site may date from the 9th century, though the main period of activity was in the following century. A notable find was an inscribed gold ring bearing the name of the owner discovered in a rubbish pit.
Castle Hill and its Landscape; Archaeological Investigations at the Wittenhams, Oxfordshire
2010
This volume describes the results of archaeological investigations carried out between 2003 and 2006 on behalf of the Northmoor Trust in the parishes of Little Wittenham and Long Wittenham, Oxfordshire. The work included examination of cropmarks, large-scale geophysical surveys, fieldwalking and excavations. Geophysical survey was concentrated in and around the scheduled hillfort at Castle Hill, Little Wittenham (Oxfordshire SAM No. 208), and revealed a smaller enclosure within the hillfort dated by excavation to the late Bronze Age.The survey also suggested that otherwise archaeological features within the hillfort were relatively sparse. A section across the hillfort ditch and rampart did not produce a clear construction date, though in the interior both early and middle Iron Age pits were found, some containing human burials or bones. The hillfort ditch appears to have been cleaned out throughout the Iron Age, the spoil probably used to enhance the outer bank. The hillfort was also used in the late Roman period (4th century AD), when very large rectangular pits were dug, and midden material was piled up behind and over the Iron Age rampart. People were also buried in the interior at this time. Saxon finds were very few, but a medieval pit and a quarry indicate occupation in the 12th/13th centuries AD. Coring of peat deposits beside the Thames north of Castle Hill provided evidence of the environmental succession from the early Iron Age onwards. On the plateau below the hillfort cropmarks and geophysical survey revealed a dense settlement stretching west, to Hill Farm and beyond. This included a late Bronze Age and early Iron Age midden some 50 m across, a middle Iron Age curving boundary ditch down the middle with smaller sub-rectangular enclosures either side, and early and middle Iron Age penannular enclosures, four-post structures and pits. Settlement seems to have shifted southwards and westwards in the middle Iron Age, and late Iron Age or early Roman ditches were also found near to Hill Farm. The Roman settlement was mainly 2nd–3rd century AD, and probably consisted of four enclosures, one of which contained a masonry building (now largely destroyed) with a tiled roof, decorated with mosaic tesserae and painted wall plaster. This enclosure was approached by a ditched trackway, with a second larger enclosure alongside. A third enclosure was partly revealed north of Hill Farm, and a fourth enclosure (not investigated) lay alongside Roman field boundaries west of Hill Farm. Despite earlier finds at Hill Farm, no Saxon evidence was found in these excavations. The project has revealed a unique combination of late Bronze Age hilltop enclosure, external settlement and an adjacent midden. In the early Iron Age the hilltop enclosure was replaced by the hillfort, where feasting occurred, while the adjacent settlement around the midden grew to be one of the largest in the region.The midden was abandoned in the middle Iron Age, and a long boundary ditch may have divided this ancestral area off from settlement to the south and west. There was also more middle Iron Age activity within the hillfort, including a number of human burials. In the Roman period the settlement probably included a small villa, while the hillfort itself was probably reoccupied in the later 4th century AD. Intriguingly both Roman cremations and inhumations were buried around and within the hillfort, suggesting a continuity of burial location spanning 1000 years. Geophysical survey and evaluation trenches were also dug across a cropmark complex at Neptune Wood east of Long Wittenham, revealing an early Iron Age enclosure ditch, a Roman trackway and associated fields, and a pair of large middle Saxon pits or waterholes.
Archaeological Evaluation Report, 2019
John Moore Heritage Services carried out an archaeological evaluation to establish the quality of any archaeological preservation in advance of proposed developments to the land surrounding the main house located on the Bletchingdon Park estate in Bletchingdon, Oxfordshire (NGR SP 50533 18026). A total of 42 trenches ranging from 3m to 30m in length and 1.9m in width were strategically placed in five areas across the estate. Areas 1 &2 were in the northern field systems which were thought to be of low archaeological potential based on historic maps and records. However, due to the long-standing nature of the use of the land for agriculture associated with the estate, and the limited amount of archaeological testing in the immediate area, it was determined to be prudent to produce a sample of the area. Of the 42 total trenches, 24 were placed between these two areas, but only three of these contained evidence of activity earlier than that associated with modern agricultural use. The archaeological evidence showed a series of three separate ditches, two running on a N-S alignment and one on a E-W alignment, were present prior to the modern layout of the fields and tracks. Area 3 was located to the northwest of the main house directly south of the fish ponds which were being heavily renovated. The topsoil had been previously removed prior to monitoring of the excavation of the seven trenches, but the natural clay was immediately present below the removed topsoil. No archaeological preservation was observed in this area. Areas 4 & 5 were to the south of the main house and were determined to be of greater archaeological potential. Of the 11 remaining trenches in these two areas, all but two contained archaeological preservation. Evidence of the earlier medieval road leading from the village to Saint Giles Church was seen in TR2 and TR36. There was evidence of previous garden landscaping including level formation deposits and spatial division methods (i.e. walls and ditches), a garden boundary wall running parallel to the road, multiple ditches and pits which were likely to predate the current main house, and a substantial foundation wall which could have associated with a fairly substantial structure. Material recovered dates predominantly to the medieval period. Should it be deemed necessary a strip, map and sample exercise could be carried out in Areas 1 and 2 to record the agricultural features. The archaeology encountered in Area 4 could be preserved by record during excavation of the proposed area of underground car parking, access road and tunnel. This would give an understanding of the type of activity and its duration occurring in this location during the medieval period. The diffuse archaeological remains in Area 5 could be recorded and further investigated by a watching brief conducted during the groundworks in this area. All of the recording work over Areas 1-5 can be addressed by appropriate planning condition and the recording work carried through implementation.