Untitled - Council for British Archaeology

CBA South MidlandsCHAIRMAN'S LETTERTurning back through past issues of our journal I find arecurrent editorial theme is the parlous financial state ofCBA IX and the likelihood that SMA would have to ceasepublication. Previous corrunittees battled on and continuedto produce this valuable series. It is therefore gratifying tonote that SMA has been singled out as a model example inCBA's Report of the Structure and Policy Review WorldngParty.It is also most pleasing to be able to report that SMA is atlast on an even financial keel. A position largely due to ourTreasurer, Barry Home, whose hard work and expertise haskept printing costs to a minimum.Ibis happy position means that the improvements whichyour editor and committee have been endeavouring tointroduce are at last beginning to see the light of day. This21st edition is marked by an improved cover and the firstindividual volume index. The cumulative index to the firsttwenty volumes will be on sale very shortly. It is hoped thatthese improved standards can be maintained and even raisedover the next few years.SMA can only continue in its present format if it has a soundcirculation, and this can best be ensured by CBA SouthMidlands having a large membership. You can help byjoining yourself (SMA is free to members of CBA SouthMidlands) and by contributing articles or reports on anyarchaeological activity in your area.A large membership also strengthens the position of yourcornmittee when approaching statutory authorities overplanning and other matters of archaeological concern.The two major events of CBA IX's year were the AGM andSpring Conference, both of which were very successful.Last year's A.G.M. hosted the Beatrice de Cardi lecture andthe speaker, Derek Riley, gave a lucid account of hispioneering work in the field of aerial archaeology. CBA'sPresident, Professor Rosemary Cramp, and Director, HenryCleere also attended. As many of you will know HenryCleere retires this year so I would like to take thisopportunity of wishing him well for the future and to thankhim for his many years of service. Prof. Cramp alsoaddressed the meeting on the proposals for the newintegrated structure for CBA. A revised and very detailedreport on these proposals has now been published as TheReport of the Structure and Policy Review Working Party,and your committee will welcome any comments. TheSpring Conference took waterlogged remains as its themeand I am sure many were surprised at the amount and qualityof the information that can be obtained even in this ratherdry area of the country.On a rather sadder note this volume contains the lastfieldwork report from the Milton Keynes Unit. Over the pasttwenty-one years this Unit has contributed to every issue ofour journal. At a tune when the protection and recording ofMilton Keynes archaeology must inevitably fall back on theamateur it is with great concem that we note the closure ofthe Milton Keynes Archaeology Society. Make no mistakethere is still a great deal of unrecorded archaeology in MiltonKeynes and development will continue despite the currentrecession.Finally I would like to thank my predecessor, Tim Allen, forhis past efforts, continued work as a representative forOxfordshire, and in particular for ensuring the completionof the index.RIT-r

HarroldChellingtonBiddenhamBEDFORDThurleighSt. Mary's ChurchWillingtonÎ Bedford BypassNewnhamSandyWarren VillasStrattonSalfordWrest ParkLeighton LinsladeFig. 1. Site locations in Bedfordshire.2

BEDFORDSHIREThe Work of Bedfordshire County CouncilPlanning Department's Conservation andArchaeology Section in 1990GENERAL INTRODUCTION David BakerThe new decade began well for the Bedfordshire service,with consolidation and expansion in most aspects of itswork. The reduction of 1980 in staffing provision for workon the historic built environment was at last recouped withthe appointment of Ruth Gibson to the new post of AssistantConservation Officer: this will allow us to move back intoseveral areas of work neglected during the later 80s due tothe steady rise in casework demands. The archaeologicalstaffing provision now includes a core of 10, and during1990 up to 35 short-term temporary project staff. SueHedley has joined us in the new post of ArchaeologyAssistant, dividing herself between archaeologicaladministrative support and assistance with post-excavationwork. Several elements have helped to consolidate theArchaeology Service, not least the overdue and welcomemove to new premises, which is described below. TheExcavation and Post-Excavation staff are truly grateful tothe County Council for its imaginative provision of StMary 's. Another factor has been the influence of the DOEPlanning Policy Guidance Note 16 on Archaeology andPlanning, which, though not formally issued until the end ofthe year, cast a helpful shadow before it. Negotiations withdevelopers have been eased by this valuable support, whichhas stimulated a much greater appreciation ofarchaeological objectives and its potential communityvalue.Curating contractorsThe wisdom of dividing the Archaeology Service into twoparallel arms back in 1986, dealing with planning/preservation /SMBR and excavation /post-excavationrespectively, was highlighted by nationwide anxieties aboutso-called 'curator - contractor' relationships, probably attheir height during 1990. That functional division continues,aassociated with a conscious effort to ensure that all theavailable period and site-type expertise is brought to bear onthe tasks of the Service. In seeking to undertakedeveloper-fimded rescue fieldwork required by the planningprocess, we have found little difficulty in explaining todevelopers that we handle our dual role within a strongpresumption in favour of preservation in situ, and that ouraccumulating local expertise places us in a favourableposition to achieve cost-effective results.Research continuityThe suite of major projects reported below are not justisolated rescue threats; they are aLso part of long-termarea-based research projects which have been developingsince the 1970s, especially in the area around Bedford andin the Ivel valley near Biggleswade and Sandy. The valueof these projects is enhanced by continuity of staff withperiod specialisms. Furthermore, the greatly improvedaccommodation in St Mary's will accelerate the process,already begun, of developing county-wide data systems forartefacts and structures, in conjunction with active localsocieties and the two Museums. The potential of suchsystems for streamlining and increasing the potential ofpost-excavation analysis and reporting cannot beover-emphasised.ST MARY'S CHURCH ARCHAEOLOGY CENTRE,BEDFORD David BakerOn 12 February 1991, Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, Chairmanof Eng,lish Heritage, formally opened new headquarters forthe Excavation Division of the Bedfordshire CountyPlanning Department's Archaeology Service. Those whogathered for the occasion in St Mary 's Church included localarchaeologists from the county and the wider CBA 9Region. The formal ceremony was the culmination of a longprocess that had gone down many byways of historicalconservation during the previous three years.The old base - growing problemsSince its creation in 1972, the Bedfordshire 'Unit' hadgratefully occupied premises at 2a Castle Lane Bedford,originally an outstation and store for the then BedfordBorough Council's Museum, itself based in a convertedgarage on the Embankment. This accommodation wasprovided in a fine example of cooperation acrossdepartments and tiers of local govemment from the Curatorsof Bedford Museum, initially the late F W Kuhlicke, andfrom the mid 1970s, John Turner, who had recognised thevalue of close links between field and museum curatorialaspects of the archaeological process. The facilities wereprovided on what amounted to a grace-and-favour basis,which was invaluable during the difficult unit-buildingdecades of the 1970s and 1980s.During the 1980s Bedford Museum moved from theEmbankment to new premises in the Castle Hill Brewery,which was adapted in phases. It became dear that sooner orlater the accommodation at the rear of the Brewery wouldbe needed for the Museum 's own storage and educationalneeds. In 1986, the Archaeology Service was formallydivided into two arms, (the Planning and PreservationDivision with the SMBR continued as before to be locatedin County Hall); this coincided with the beginning of aperiod of significant expansion in the work of theExcavation Division, despite the abandonment of MSCschemes in 1985. A core staff with the basic set of skillsrequired by a county field Unit was consolidated, and thatin turn placed increasing pressure upon the existingaccommodation. By 1988 the cramped working conditionswere seriously affecting output and efficiency.In November 1988, Michael Gwilliam, the newly appointedCounty Planning Officer, combined an inspection tour of hisdepartmental outpost on the other side of the Ouse fromCounty Hall with a look at some of Bedford's major3

Fig. 2. St. Mary's Church Archaeology Centre.4

conservation problems. From this came the proposal to usethe redundant church of St Mary as the new base for theexcavation part of the Archaeology Service.The story of St Mary'sSt Mary's was the primary church site in south Bedford, thefirst building presumably dating from Edward the Elder'sdefensive construction of the King's Ditch around thesouthern burh when he retook the town from the Danes inAD 915-916. It stands on the north-east corner of thecross-roads formed in the middle of the D-shaped enclosedarea by the diversion of routes that had formerly run directlyto the ford.The oldest parts of the present building, dating from the mid1 lth century, are the middle part of the tower and the southtransept. There is little evidence for the rest of thecontemporary building, but any nave west of the tower mayhave been narrower and on a slightly different axis from itssuccessors. Substantial 12th century rebuilding altered thesouth transept, and may have provided the existing nave inits aisleless fonn, together with a chancel whose exactdimensions were obscured by extension in the 14th centuryeastwards and on the north side. The top of the tower is alate medieval remodelling. In the mid 16th century a northaisle was added to the nave, about the time that the churchof St Peter de Dunstable on the opposite side of St Mary'sStreet, was demolished.Major alterations occurred in the 19th century. In the 1840sthe nave north aisle was rebuilt, with a low squat piersreplaced by a slender neo-Gothic arcade. In the 1850s, asouth aisle was added in the same style. Other major workincluded the addition of a western gallery, substantialrebuilding of the chancel, the addition of a sacristy and organchamber, and the rebuilding of the vestry in the first decadeof this century. With the completion of thiS work, thedominant interior impression was of a well-proportioned19th century town church.The last service was held at St Mary's in 1975. Following acomprehensive study of the provision for worship inBedford in the light of changing patterns of population, anumber of churches had been identified for redundancyunder the Pastoral Measure.As a consequence, redundancy procedures for St Mary 'swere carried through. Demolition was out of the question,and the Grade I listing of the church ensured that it went tothe care of the Church Commissioners' RedundantChurches Fund, even though that had not been the originalintention. During the 1980s that body carried out substantialrepairs, including major re-roofing, full timber treatmentand parapet rebuilding.NegotiationsTwo years separated the decision to seek use of St Mary 'sChurch as an Archaeology Centre from the day theexcavation and post-excavation staff took up occupation.Three-quarters of that time was spent in discussions andnegotiations about what proved to be a complicated andoften contentious issue: the actual adaptations wererelatively straightforward.For the proposal to proceed, the Church Commissioners,having taken the advice of their Advisory Board, had toagree to the divesting of St Mary's from the RedundantChurches Fund through an Order in Privy Council, and itsappropriation to the new use. The Department of theEnvironment, having taken the advice of English Heritage,had to concur on account of the public funds spent on repairs.Fortunately, after detailed discussions and negotiations, ascheme was agreed which English Heritage felt able tocommend for listed building consent; the ChurchConunissioners, having carefully weighed all the factors,decided to agree to the proposal.FundingFinal approval could only be given when it wasdemonstrated that the real cost of the scheme could be metby available finance. The County Council's contributionwas fixed, and insufficient by itself for the scheme asoriginally devised, so there were only two ways of makingends meet. Items had to be deleted or deferred: theseincluded the substitution of fixed wooden storage racks forroller racking, deferring operational car-parking,simplifying the heating system, deferring medium pnorityrepairs to the tower, and the choice of the cheaper and lesssatisfactory of two redecoration schemes acceptable inconservation terms. Grants and sponsorship also had to beobtained. This was a frustrating process. Specialised fundswere most helpful, with the Pilgrim Trust grant-aiding fabricrepairs, and the local Harpur Trust funding the provision ofeducational facilities and equipment. English Heritage,however, was caught at the wrong moment: when thescheme was first mooted, grant-aid for repairs seemed likelyas with other churches; however, its (wholly corrunendable)policy of targeting grants towards buildings in need and atrisk was introduced during the protracted discussions aboutthe principle of the scheme, and St Mary's was felt to besafe. Local businesses and local branches of nationalbusinesses either declined or gave nominal donations. Thesituation was only saved at the I lth hour by a generous offerfrom Ian Skipper ofJorvik Centre fame, who happens to livein Bedfordshire.The Adaptation SchemeThe primary function of the building was to provideaccommodation for the ten core staff of the ArchaeologyService 's Excavation Division, together with varyingnumbers of temporary staff. This meant office work stations,simple conservation facilities, and storage for materialundergoing post-excavation analysis. In addition, it wasintended to consolidate the successful work of the Divisionin educational matters by making provision for somefacilities for school groups, though not on the scale of theYork ARC. Finally, it was important to give the church backto the people of Bedford by reinstituting some degree of5

public access to see the building and its new use, but not sothat the work itself was disrupted.The church was divided into two main parts on the line ofthe western tower arch, with the central inserted glazeddoors and screen maintaining the long views up and downthe length of the church between east and west ends. Workstations are arranged more or less symmetrically around theedges of the chancel, running round into the north transeptwhich houses the Finds and Ceramics Offic.ers. The Libraryis in the south transept and a spiral stair gives access into anossuary formed as a long-term store in the first stage of thetower. The former sacristy and organ chamber on the northside of the chancel had a floor inserted in order to providetoilet and tea/coffee brewing facilities, with master officeaccommodation over, accessed by a spiral staircase. Thevesny, east of the sacristy, was adapted as a first aidconservation laboratory and finds processing area.West of the main division, the north nave aisle is devoted tostorage. The south aisle, with the best light in the building,provides space for laying out finds. The nave itself normallyhas two functions: the eastern two thirds provides overflowworking space on large tables, and the western bay isscreened off as a screen-based display area. The western twobays can be used for educational purposes, or on occasionthe whole nave could be cleared for a large meeting, thoughthe acoustics are poor due to the high ceiling.The staff entrance is on the north side, adjacent to the vestry.The public entrance is at the west end, which gives accessto the screen based displays at the west end of the nave, andto the west gallery which provides a view across thebuilding. The lighting scheme is designed to be simple andarchitectural. Up-lighters show the form and quality of theinterior, gaining extra reflective power from the whitepainted walls, and providing adequate general backgroundillumination. Task lights on each desk provide the neededlocalised boost without overbalancing the general effect.Heating is by gas-fired water radiator system, withconvector fans to boost the system in the nave. There areproblems to be overcome about insulation of windows andheat loss into high ceilings. Flooring material is quarry tilesin the pew positions on the nave, and hard-wearing coirmatting in the chancel and transepts.Doing the workThe adaptation of the building took only six months, andgave rise to several unforeseeable problems. When the pewswere removed from the nave it became clear that the groundunderneath was extremely soft and would have to beremoved before the under-slab for the new tiles was laid.This led to a greater degree of archaeological excavationthan had been anticipated. No clear evidence forpre-Norman structures was found, but the footings for thelater Norman nave were seen with the later arcade piers lyingon them, and the site of the former south door clearly visible.Another unwelcome discovery was that the storm waterdrainage system was not just in need of repair, but had to becompletely replaced: the insertion of the new system, andfoul drainage, together with the difficulties of connecting upto existing ancient town sewers, added to the bill andincreased the amount of archaeological recording required.Perhaps the best discovery was the fragment of wall paintingon the east wall of the south transept. Some indications hadalready been visible, but when specialist conservators PerryLithgow were called in, they revealed an unusual 14th or15th century urban townscape, with part of an apparentlyupside-down figure in one corner. The painting and itsbacking was in such poor condition that it had to be removedand then replaced on the wall. Another discovery was aunique 14th century floor tile with line-impresseddecoration and hand-incised lines. The church must havebeen elaborately and expensively furnished.After the adaptations were completed, the Unit move tookplace. Nearly 18 years of cramped compression had to beunpicked from the old Castle Lane base and transferred intoabout double the amount of space. Fortunately, the FindsOfficer had already suffered the traumas of moving anotherUnit headquarters, and was able to bring her experience tobear, also temporary staff employment was at a reasonablelevel so many hands were available. Transfer wasaccomplished in two days, hardly disrupting Bedford'snotorious one-way traffic system.To complete the project, a formal opening was arranged forFebruary 1991. In his speech. Lord Montagu praised theCounty Council for this latest example of forward thinldngon matters to do with historical conservation. The Chainnanof the County Council presented him with a maiolica-typecommemorative plate, commissioned from AndrewMacDonald of Lincoln, with St Mary's Church on the front,and the motifs of English Heritage and the ArchaeologyCentre on the underside.PRESERVATION, FIELD SURVEY AND PLANNINGADVICEAngela Simco and Stephen ColemanThe summer of 1990 proved to be an excellent year for aerialphotography. Two flights in an airship, developed locally byAirship Industries, were undertaken from RAF' Cardington.The stationary platform which this provided, combined withits tight manoeuvrability, were a very suitable medium. TheOuse and Ivel valleys produced a number of new cropm arksites, and additional information on others previouslyrecorded (see article below by Bob Bewley).Work bas begun on updating the planning constraints maps.These register the existence of scheduled ancientmonuments and other areas of archaeological sensitivity.They are used primarily by the planning staff of the Countyand District Councils when making a preliminaryassessment of the implications of development proposals,and are the means of initiating consultations of the specialistarcha.eological staff. Those for North Bedfordshire BoroughCouncil have been completed.6

During the year, the Nature Conservancy Council issued acounty list of Prime Sites of Nature ConservationImportance. This is a category of sites which do not qualifyfor designation as Sites of Special Scientific Importance, butwhich are worthy of consideration in planning decisions.Comparison of these Prime Sites with areas ofarchaeological or historical interest has indicated a highdegree of correlation, particularly as regards areas of pastureor historic woodland.Further input has been made to English Heritage'sMonuments Protection Programme. Desk evaluations haveincluded some prehistoric cropm ark categories, andmedieval religious houses.The provision of information within the County Council hascontinued, to information leaflets produced by the LeisureServices Department, and to farm and woodlandmanagement plans designed by the Environment and Trees& Woodland sections.Airship ArchaeologyBob BewleyIn the first week of July 1990, the County Archaeologist forBedfordshire, David Baker, rang me to see if I was interestedin a trip in an airship to evaluate its potential for aerialphotography for archaeology. Potential or not, I wasinterested, but at £650 per hour I know that the(archaeological) potential might be limited. The real reasonfor asking me was for sprat to catch mackerel; if RCHMEcould offer to assist in funding a flight then other potentialsponsors might pay for the rest of the flight. Given that itwas a good crop-mark season and a rare opportunity to flyin an airship, RCHME agreed to help towards the cost andthe other sponsors duly signed up.The airship can take eleven passengers, with two crew. Wewere scheduled for an evening flight of one-and-a-half hoursaround Bedford and the Ouse gravels. The whole experiencewas memorable, especially the take-off which was moreakin to a rocket launch than the usual nimble along a nmwayand gentle lift. The two Porsche Turbo engines, whichproduce 230 bhp each, were wound up to full speed and thebevy of hangers-on (literally) let go of the ropes and we shotup at an almost vertical angle. Having reached 1,000 ft in notime the ship levelled off and floated cahnly, and quietly, ata leisurely 30-40 knots. The maximum speed is 50 knots,and as we were in a 25 knot headwind, the crew wereconcerned about keeping both engines going, as one enginewould only just have held us against the wind.This cruising speed is ideal for archaeological andarchitectural aerial photography. The airship provides asteady platform on which to walk about; the gondolahanging beneath the ship has a corridor between the seatsand opening windows on both sides. The airship can stayairborne for 8-10 hours, which at 50 knots means a large areacan be surveyed. No refreshments were available but therewas a toilet. One particular advantage for reconnaissancewas the time available for really looking at what was beingphotographed; at 40 knots it was possible to obtain a clearappreciation of the subject. Turning and orbiting the airshipwas no problem, even if the turns were slightly wider thanthe more usual Cessna 150/172 turns.The disadvantages stem from the cost of the craft itself, forthe Airship 600 about 5.5 million dollars. The companywhich operated it, Airship Industries, has now ceased flying,and may even have ceased trading. The operating costs arevery low once airborne as the engines use very little fuel,but the launching and landing are expensive as there haveto be about 10 people on hand to grab the ropes and steadythe ship.In terrns of any future potential for archaeology, there arethree areas which I can suggest: (i) as a training vehicle forall those involved in orinterested in aerial photography. Theadvantage of having ten students at a time being taught whatthe landscape, urban and rural, looks like from 1,500 ft,taking photographs and map reading, would be a boost forarchaeological education. (ii) as a means of recordingbuildings and urban landscapes for projects like that on millswhich RCHME has recently completed. It could even beused to show interested parties the devastated urban andrural industrial landscapes of Britain. (iii) archaeologicaltourism is known to be a threat to sites, so why not puttourists in an airship to view the prehistonc areas ofStonehenge and Avebury, or to travel along Hadrian's Wall,to name but a few possibilities out of hundreds of areas ?Any potential has yet to be realised and until these wonderfulflying machines are airborne again it is all fairly academic.However, if you do stumble across a chance to have a go,have a go ! We went from Cardington near Bedford, wherethe hangars alone are worth visiting as monuments from theFirst World War and the beginning of airship development.I am eternally grateful to David Baker for his phone call andfor arranging the flight, and to RCHME for providing acontribution towards getting this small project off theground.Bridge RecordingMartin CookOver the past eight years, the County Surveyor forBedfordshire has been carrying out a programme of repairand restoration to the county's historic bridges. During 1990two of these bridges, Harrold and Great Barford, underwenttheir final phases of repair. Staff from the Conservation andArchaeology Section were present during all periods ofrepair and excavation to record any features of histoneinterest.At Great Barford the final repair phase comprised relayingof the modern deck material and repair of the late 19thcentury brick parapets; no new information on thedevelopment of the bridge came to light. More significantinformation was recorded at Harrold.Harrold Bridge has two main components: the river archesand a foot causeway. The latter is the only example in7

amp ontobridgeFig. 3. Harrold Bridge.Bedfordshire that survives complete from the medievalperiod. At this time vehicles crossed the flood plain at.ground level, not climbing on to the river bridge untilimmediately before the bank, probably where there is now apassing bay. Pedestrians would have used the footcauseway. Subsequently the nine causeway arches nearestthe river were widened to accommodate vehicular traffic.In 1857 a further widening took place on the upstream .sideof the bridge, and the a wooden railing was replaced by astone parapet.The aligiunent of the foot causeway had been difficult tounderstand, particularly at the junction of the old causewayand the vvidened flood arches. The cutting of a narrow trenchfor the repositioning of the traffic lights and the subsequentremoval of the modem road surface provided an opportunityto examine this and other problems.Under the modem surface adjacent to the layby wasdiscovered a cobbled surface sloping down to meet thepresumed former access ramp. In addition, in front of theparapet were found two large upstanding cobbles, probably'spur stones', protecting the parapet against waggonsturning sharply as they climbed up on to the bridge.The remains of a low stone arch, and what appeared to bethe lower courses of a former retaining wall, demonstratedthat the eastern elevation of the causeway was originallycontinuous with the eastern edge of the present flood arches.EXCAVATION AND POST-EXCAVATIONEvelyn BakerGeneralDuring 1990 the increased pace of work noted in 1989continued, with a temporary workforce of over 30 in placethroughout the year and sometimes three major sites inprogress at one time. The catastrophic situation in Londonwas not repeated in Bedfordshire, and there appears to be asteady flow of substantial projects for the future.The highlight of the year was undoubtedly the move ofpremises from 2a Castle Lane to the St Mary's ChurchArchaeology Centre. Any feelings of sentimentality atabandoning the home of over 15 years had been suppressedby the acute overcrowding resulting from the generalincrease in the level of work, though we were sad to have toplace the river between us and our long-standing patienthosts in the Museum, John Turner and Carolyn Wingfield.Short reports on the various excavation projects appearbelow. Post-excavation work has continued to be mostlydominated by the Grove Priory projeci A two-volumeformat has been provisionally agreed with English Heritageas the best way of presenting 13 years' fieldwork, the firstdescribing the various classes of evidence recovered, andthe second a chronological synthesis of the story of the site 'suse.Bedford Southern BypassRoyston Clark(TL 0949, SMBR 1480 etc)The proposed route of the Bedford Southern Bypassthreatens to destroy or bury key areas of archaeologicalimportance in the flood plain to the east of Bedford. Thesearchaeological sites include a complex of neolithic and earlyBronze Age ring ditches and large enclosures, thought torepresent funerary or ceremonial activity. This group ofmonuments is known in the archaeological literature as theCardington complex, and shares many affinities with similarsites such as West Cotton (Northants) andDorchester-on-Thames (Oxon), e.g. Loveday 1989). Anarchaeological evaluation was commissioned by EnglishHeritage in order to assess the nature and condition ofsurviving deposits, and provide evidence for the PublicInquiry into the route in April 1990.The programme of evaluation work consisted offieldwalking the whole route and the excavation of transects8

Fig. 4. Bedford Southern Bypass.9

through sites located on aerial photographs. A few transectswere also dug through apparently blank areas to act ascontrols and to determine whether there were furtherdeposits not visible from aerial photographs. GeophysicalSurveys of Bradford were consulted on appropriate remotesensing over the proposed route, with special reference tothe field with the rectangular enclosures. Due to thepreparation of the ground for potato cropping in 1990, thegeophysical survey had to be postponed until Spring 1991.It produced evidence for further ring ditches, and for internalfeatures such as elaborate entrance-ways and pits inside thelarge enclosures. The possibility of an internal bank withinone large ring ditch suggests a 'henge' type monumentwithin this ceremonial complex.The main concentration of flint collected from thefieldwalking occurred south of the cropmarks and close tothe Elstow brook. This evidence could be used to argue fordomestic activity having being concentrated close to thefresh water. In addition the farmer has found at least threepolished stone axes that are contemporary with thecropmark evidence.Most of the deposits interpreted as prehistoric produced noartefacts and flint material was notably absent. This may besignificant for the interpretation of the sites as ceremonialsince domestic material like flint waste would have beenincorporated into the archaeological deposits of habitationsites. In the search for dating evidence, fills from ditches andother contexts were both bulk sampled for wet sievingoff-site and dry sieved on-site. The latter produced someceramic material of early to middle neolithic date (Tomalin,pers comm).Alluvial deposits covered large areas that were investigated.The limited width of the excavated transects preventedunderstanding these deposits. Periglacial features such asfrost wedges and involution holes often hamperedarchaeological investigation: their regular patterns andcolour of fills were sometimes easy to confuse witharchaeological deposits and made testing of such anomaliesimperative.The results of fieldwork are summarised for the variouslandscape elements, using the reference numbers on fig. 1.(1480.02,03): a ring ditch overlapping a rectangularenclosure. Although a greater density of flint materialoccurred in this, the south part of the field, very little couldbe directly related to the cropmarks. A transect was cutacross both features, and the position of overlap examined.Two sections were dug through the ring ditch whose easternditch contained four separate fills, the upper includingminute fragments of pottery, medium brown and black incolour, possibly a funerary vessel of some kind. Above thismaterial a tip line of material seen in section may haverepresented mound material. No associated features wererecorded within the ring ditch. The earlier rectangularenclosure produced no finds. It is possible the barrow wasplaced over an entrance into the rectangular enclosure.Another possible entrance way was also recorded at theother end of the enclosure: to the west, a series of irregularshaped shallow pits or hollows contained grey brown siltfills.(1480.04): a straight-sided enclosure with rounded ends.The entrance on the south side is much wider than on any ofthe other enclosures. Its alignment is similar to that of thecursus monument some 500m away to the east. Its overalldimensions are 75m. by 50m. Several linear ditches ranacross it. Very little flint was found directly over theenclosure. A single transect was cut across the curved endof the enclosure, as well as across its N side where itsrelationship with the linear ditches could be established. Thefill of the west ditch produced a rim sherd of probable earlierneolithic pottery, with fabric similar to Mildenhall ware, butwithout the normal decoration. Tiny fragments of similarfabric were aLso found in the dry sieving. The correspondingditch excavated on the curved end of the enclosure mighthave been recut, although evidence is far from clear, andthere might have been an external bank. The upper fill wascut by a later ditch, to the west, but approximately on thesame orientation, probably relating to the field systemrecorded on the aerial photographs.(1480.08): a large rectangular enclosure measuring 175m by60m, orientated approximately NW-SE, with entrances inthe middle of the longer sides. The northern tip of theenclosure has been clip!). ed by the former Bedford -Cambridge railway line. Very little lithic material wasrecovered within the enclosure from a 10 x 10m griddedcollection over the entire area. Distribution plots indicate ahigher density of material outside the enclosure than inside,perhaps related to the restricted nature of activities within it.Two transects excavated across the enclosure located theditches. The whole area had been badly scoured byperiglacial activities such as frost wedges. The west ditchappeared to have been recut on two occasions, the earliercuts on the same alignment, but larger. The east ditchappeared to have been recut only once. None of the sectionsexcavated produced evidence for either outer or inner bankmaterial. No finds at all were recorded from the fills.(1480.13): a single ring ditch with a possible central pit. Thefield was unavailable for fieldwalking. The ring ditch waslocated, but no signs of bank or mound material was evidentfrom the sections. No features were recorded either withinor external to the ring ditch. One possible pit feature waspartially exposed in the transect approximately 50m east ofthe ring ditch.(1480.14): a triple ring ditch partially masked by the oldBedford to Cambridge railway line, which may havedamaged it. One flint flake was found in the vicinity. Surfacemeasurements indicate that earthworks still survive, eithermound material or an old land surface that had beenprotected by it. The transect confirmed the presence of thethree rings and that material still survived within the innerarea of the mound. The inner ditch had at least two cuts. Bothsections in the transect showed different fills in the innerditch and there is a distinct possibility that a revetment ofposts supported an almost vertically sided recut. No10

evidence for burials was located.(1480.15): a single ring, with no other features recorded inthe vicinity. No flint material was found. The ditch measuredapproximately 1.70m in width and the depth was impossibleto deterrnine because of the high water table (0.20m belowthe top of the gravel subsoil). About 7m east of the ring ditchtwo shallow and inegular pits were excavated; it is unclearwhether these features are archaeological or periglacial. Tothe east was clear evidence of plough marks made by ridgeand furrow ploughing. These crossed the transect in thedirection of a nearby headland.(1480.16): a square enclosure with an apparent entrance onthe east ditch, and no internal features evident from the aerialphotographs; scarcely any lithic material was collected inthe adjacent area. The excavated transects confirmed thatthe north and south ditches were approximately 27m longand the east and west ones were 25m long. The ditchesvaried in width and depth and it was unclear whether thiswas the result of plough damage or the way they had beenoriginally dug. The single fill was consistent throughout theditch and there was no evidence in any of the sections foreither an external or internal bank or a mound. More detailedexamination of the east ditch suggested the enclosureconsisted of a series of interrupted ditch segments. One ofat least two gaps was possibly the entrance way visible onthe aerial photographs. Only one definite post hole wasfound on the interior, although a series of possible exampleswere also recorded.(1480.17): an apparently sub-rectangular enclosure with novisible internal features. The north, east and south ditcheswere a double system orientated on parallel alignments. Thewest side of the enclosure consisted of a single ditch thatconnected with both internal and external south ditches, butappeared to connect only with the internal north ditch. It ispossible that upcast from the adjacent modern drainagechannel obscured the continuation of the west ditch throughto the outer ditch. A break in both the inner and outereast-facing ditches indicates an entrance way of some kind.A transect was cut through the north-east part of the eastfacing ditch. The ditches were located below 0.75m ofsealing material. The larger outer ditch contained three fills,but there was no evidence to suggest any major bankmaterial on the inner or outer sides of the ditch. The internalditch was significantly smaller and contained one fill. Theabsence of finds, together with the similarity of the fills tothose of other definitely prehistoric sites in the area, suggeststhat this enclosure predated the Iron Age.(1480.18): a series of circular ditches, a penannularenclosure with at least two compounds, and large pits werevisible as cropmarks. Preliminary interpretations suggestthe presence of one single and one double ring ditch,presumably of late neolithic or Bronze Age date. Theseappear to be sealed by a later Iron Age enclosure. The ringditch was located 9m south of the penannular enclosure andhad a single cut with two ditch fills, the upper containingIron Age domestic pottery, probably derived from thenearby Iron Age occupation. Three clitches located on thesame alignment represent a series of recuis of the penannularenclosure, the original one largely destroyed by the twolater. Within the area of both the ring ditch and the enclosuretwo circular pits approximately 1.20m in diameter wereexcavated, the lower fill of one containing fragments of lateIron Age pottery. The second transect was excavated tolocate the double ring ditch and to provide furtherinformation regarding the enclosure. A series of threeditches together with post holes and pits were excavated,corresponding to the inner and outer ditch of a ring and partof the enclosure ditch to its west. East of the enclosure thetransect exposed the double ring ditch. This consisted of anouter ditch and a smaller internal ditch divided by a 3m wideberm. 29 postholes were also located. Their evendistribution across the site, except in a 5m band outside theouter ring ditch, could suggest an external bank to the doublering ditch which had survived into the Iron Age. In the areabetween the inner and outer ditch, a pit was just visible, withtwo very sandy fills, the lower and blacker producingresidues of charred wheat.(1480.20): a series of cropmarks identified as an Iron Ageor Roman enclosure or settlement that could be related tothe nearby cropmark complex 1480.18. The two transectsrevealed a complex series of archaeological deposits thatconsisted of numerous ditches recut on many occasions.Some features might have been pits, or alternatively, buttends to ditches. The interpretation of the deposits washampered by the narrow transects and the high water table.The cropm ark would suggest a series of enclosures, possiblyfor livestock, and the ditches would have helped keep theland drained. Pottery consisted of domestic material datingto either the very late Iron Age or early Roman period(C Goeing pers comm.): it included one sherd of SamianWare imported from Gaul. Animal bone consisted mainlyof cattle bones and was in good general condition. There islittle doubt that a well preserved late Iron Age/early RomanoBritish rural site survives.The fieldwork reported above has helped to add to ourknowledge of the Cardington ceremonial complex and todate much of the complicated activity to the period pnor tothe late neolithic/early Bronze Age burials known alonglarge stretches of the river Ouse in Bedfordshire.References:Loveday, R 1989. The Barford ritual complex: furtherexcavations (1972) and a regional perspective. ln Gibson A(ed) Midlands Prehistory BAR British Series '204.Woodward, P 1978. Flint distribution, ring ditches andBronze Age settlement patterns in the Great Ouse: theproblem of field survey techniques and some preliminaryresults. Archaeological Journal, 1978Willington QuarryRoyston Clark(TL 0950, SMBR 1478)Recent excavations at Willington Quarry, close to SMBR1480.20 described above, have produced additional11

evidence for the extensive nature of prehistoric burial andritual activity along the southern bank of the river Ouse justeast of Bedford. Evidence relating to Iron Age enclosureswas also investigated.Two ring ditches believed to date to the late neolithic or earlyBronze Age were excavated. The first produced no clearevidence for activity within the central area. Some evidencefor internal post holes was investigated, but the results wereinconclusive. The ring ditch measured c.27m in diameterand the ditch varied in depth between 40 and 60cm. Thesecondary fill produced clear evidence for a humancremation unaccompanied by a funerary um or grave goods.The second ring ditch measured approximately 25m indiameter and varied in depth between 80cm and lm. Acentral pit (2.5m in diameter and lm in depth) was the onlyfeature that appeared to be associated with the ring ditch.The pit produced no human remains; fragments of pig skulland teeth were recorded, together with sherds of a lateneolithic/early Bronze Age pot. Flint flakes were alsorecovered from the fill. There was no direct evidence toindicate that the second ring ditch enclosed a mound.However, the proximity of a later enclosure just overlappinginto the interior of the ring might be more than coincidental.The physical presence of a mound would have limited theeastern extent of the enclosure.At some stage after the abandonment of Ring ditch 2, therectangular enclosure dating to the later Iron Age wasformed, partially overlapped the earlier ring ditch. Theenclosure measured approximately 35m in length and 24min width. The depth of the ditch varied between 40cm and90cm. The enclosure ditch had three breaks which could beinterpreted as entrance ways. All were approximately 10mwide and occurred on three sides of the enclosure. Post holesin two of the entrances might indicate evidence of doorways.Two internal slots suggest that the interior was in some waydivided and that the two main entrances allowed for accessinto both sides of the partition. The width of the entrancesand size of the large enclosure suggests that it might havefunctioned as a domestic animal stall rather than a domesticdwelling.A third area approximately 50m north-west of the largeenclosure produced two horse-shoe shaped enclosures withopenings facing south. These enclosures measured 12m and20m in diameter and contained no internal features. Potteryfrom all three enclosures was datable to the later Iron Ageand it can be considered that they were more or lesscontemporary in date.The larger of the latter two enclosures was adjacent to 22post holes running in a north south line. The averagediameter of the post holes was lm and their depth wasapproximately 70cm. None produced datable artefacts andno stratigraphical relationship could be established with theenclosure running across the alignment. There wereinsufficient resources for further mechanical excavation todetermine how far the posts ran towards the first ring ditch,where they were not seen. The next phase of excavation tothe west of the post line may produce further information onthe line of posts.Gold Lane BiddenhamMichael Dawson(TL 020 503, SMBR 8677)The middle Iron Age site at Gold Lane was first recognisedfrom aerial photographs. Cropmarks showed one part of arectangular enclosure and two further ditches whichappeared to cut its north west corner. The site occupied anarea of about three acres. Topographically the site occupiesslightly rising ground formed of predominantly glacialgravel above the river Ouse.An assessment of the archaeology was funded by TwigdenHomes. Excavation began with seven trenches, each 20m x2m, designed to intersect the cropmarks and test the qualityof survival of the deposits. Excavation began in extremelydry weather conditions and although major features werevisible a much larger area was stripped of topsoil to aidinterpretation.The excavation revealed the remains of an Iron Agesettlement It comprised a rectangular enclosure with asurrounding ditch and possibly an internal bank. The ditch,although over a metre deep was probably only effectiveagainst wild animals. Within its perimeter settlementevidence had been badly truncated by modern ploughing:postholes survived, but the old ground surface had beenentirely eroded. Burnt stones in the fill of the ditches werefound as packing in some postholes. The stones were fromshallow scooped hearths, of which only one possibleexample had survived. In one part of the site a deep pit hadbeen filled, probably with domestic refuse: some brokenpottery survived, but no bones due to the acidity of the soil.The site was probably a rural farming settlement. In thesurrounding area, some evidence of tree clearance wasevident from crescentic shaped pits containing loam andsmall amounts of charcoal.Pottery was found in small quantities, some quartz temperedwith coarse fabric. All the pot was hand made. Even thoughonly a small proportion of the site was excavated, the resultswere able to contribute significantly to understanding of theevolution of the later prehistoric landscape. nie type ofsurrounding enclosure is not characteristic of middle IronAge sites dating to the general period of 400-550 BC: theaerial photographs had initially suggested field boundariesforming part of a Roman farm. Yet occupation wassufficiently early for flint implements to be commonbecause many waste flakes were found in the silted upditches and in the postholes. Evidence for tree removal andthe lack of evidence for earlier, Bronze age, activity suggestsIron age land clearance, part of the increasingly intense useof the landscape in the first millennium BC. After probableabandonment of the site for two centuries, occupationcontinued in the Roman period, with the site in agriculturaluse, probably related to a Roman villa built 300 yards to thenordi. Later settlement was to concentrate in the area of the12

Late Bronze Ageand Early Iron Age ,\%Settlement.Gold Law Biddenham\r-0ooo1Hg. 5. Gold Lane, Biddenham.present Biddenham village and across the river at Bromham.Safford Quarry ExcavationsRoyston Clark(TL 020 503, SMBR 8677) (SP 927 403, SMBR 15146)In SMA20 the results of the first phase of excavation atSalford Quarry were presented, in the form of late neolithicand Bronze Age material. This report described the resultsof work on an adjacent area containing a well preserved IronAge settlement. During a 12 month excavation campaign atotal of about 21 hut circles were found. A series ofcremations were excavated in the northern end of the siteclose to a double ditch system that represented the northernlimit of the settlement. Waterlogged deposits in the southpart of the site produced timbers and a good range ofenvironmental indicators, such as seeds, pollen and insectremains. The possibility of tanning activity adds aninteresting dimension to the limited industrial activityknown to have taken place at Salford and fits in well withthe current interpretation of large scale cattle fanningthought to have taken place on the site.The use of the site began with two large ditched enclosurespre-dating the main construction phase of the Iron Agesettlement. These were probably used for stalling animalssuch as cattle. At this stage we have no clear evidence forassociated houses. These might, however, relate to smallerhut circles excavated in an adjacent area of the quarry in1988.The Iron Age settlement comprised a large area ofoccupational material associated with the 21 hut circles, andwas so well preserved below the plough soil that it meriteddetailed examination. In normal circumstances modemploughing tends to destroy such sub-soil archaeologicaldeposits, but a medieval headland formed across the mainsettlement area had protected the site from excessive ploughdamage. The occupational soil was very black in colour andreminiscent of urban dark earths. It contained abundant13

THE IRON AGE SETTLEMENTAT SALFORD QUARRY: 1990Key1 Cremations/ Palisade3 Waterloggedpits4 Bronze Agering ditches.111h. ;I.1I. .Site officesbi_r - --4411.L 1Om50mFig. 6. Iron Age settlement Salford Quarry.14

organic remains as well as fragments of pottery and flint.The excavation sampled a large area of this occupationalmaterial by taking out metre-square units and processing thesoil for finds in cement mixers, using large quantities ofwater from the quarry and heavy duty sieves. This timeconsuming process will facilitate spatial analysis ofarchaeological finds. Material extracted included pottery,bone, daub, flint, iron slag, seeds and charcoal. Initialobservations indicate concentrations of slag material,possibly the result of iron smelting activities.Concentrations of flint material might represent furtherindustrial activity. This information from the occupationallayer is important because no analogous archaeologicalfeatures associated with such industrial activity wererecorded.The main settlement phase consisted of about 21 roundhouses. In many instances they were sealed by theoccupational material which allowed for a good level ofstructural preservation. Drip gullies, posts holes relating toporchways and doorways have provided architecturaldetails concerning the construction of the buildings. Someevidence for floor surfaces within the huts was also found.In one hut evidence for doorway sills was clearly visible.Soil micromorphological samples were taken from keyareas in the drip gullies with the hope that they might providedetail concerning building materials. At this stage it isunclear whether turf material or wattle and daub was usedfor the walls of the houses.It is likely that there were at least two main building phasesassociated with the round houses. Further analysis willundoubtedly confirm a more detailed occupational history.The eastern part of the settlement appears to have been"defended" by a palisade made of large posts. The perimeterof the site were poorly preserved compared to the hut circlearea as it was not protected by the headland. At this stage itis impossible to suggest whether there is a correspondingseries of constructional phases that relate to the round housephases. Pottery analysis should help resolve this question.Rye cremations in a satellite cemetery were located betweentwo ditches apparently defining the northern limit of thesettlement. The ditches might also have marked a drove wayto nearby fields. The pots dated to the late first century BC/ early first century AD, so the cremations were later thanthe main settlement. The accompanying brooches of late LaTene type were similar to those from Aylesford in Kent.Minute fragments of copper alloy chain and possible foodresidues were also found accompanying the cremations.The southern area of the site, which gradually fallsdownslope, produced a concentration of pits and workhollows containing waterlogged wood. One feature hastentatively been interpreted as a well, with preserved timbersfunctioning as a lining. Other features might have acted ascattle water holes. Some form of animal processing such asslaughtering might aLso have taken place here. Cattle skullsand feet bones, usually regarded as butchery waste orevidence for tanning, were found in significant quantities.PH testing of the soil produced an interesting pattern thatshowed high alkaline readings, sometimes indicative oftanning activity when chalk was used as a material in theprocessing of animal hides. Environmental sampling wasalso conducted for both seed and insect remains and forpollen analysis.Prior to more detailed post-excavation analysis, it isuncertain how closely the waterlogged area relates in dateto the main settlement. A small amount of pottery from theupper layers of one feature is early Saxon and it is thereforelikely that some of these features are much later in date.Plum stones, normally associated with post-Iron Agedeposits were also recorded. Iron Age pottery, however, wasfound in all of the contexts.The majority of the finds consisted of pottery and bone. Thedate range of the pottery appears to extend throughout thelion Age and will help provide a phasing framework for thesettlement as a whole. There is also Saxon pottery in the laterdeposits of the site. The faunal remains suggest that cattlewere the most important animal kept. Sheep, horse and pigwere aLso evident in the assemblage. The faunal remainsshould help make significant interpretations regarding theeconomy at Salford. Animal bone was found in featuresacross the whole of the site. It should therefore be possibleto study the distribution of different bone types to the extentthat areas producing certain types of bone can be regardedas butchery areas and others as consumption areas. Theprocessing of the soil from the occupational layer coveringthe site should also provide finds indicative of the variousactivity areas across the site.LeightonLinslade Bypass(SP 92 [centre])Construction of this 14 km southern bypass started in April1990. Mike Luke was seconded to the project untilSeptember in the dual capacity of archaeologist and assistantengineer: these notes are taken from bis report. Thearrangement proved an effective way of maintaining anarchaeological presence on a road line where preliminaryreconnaissance through the SMBR and fieldwalking hadproduced few indications. It was also useful experience indeveloping the role of the 'resident archaeologist' whichought to be incoiporated into projects of this nature inaddition to any site-specific fieldwork planned into theconstruction programme.The archaeological results were not much greater thanexpected, but it was useful to have confirmation of theapparent relative barrenness of this part of the county.Ploughed-out ridge and furrow was seen at several locationsalong the route after top-soil had been stripped. Thepostulated ford of the river Ouzel by the Theodweg(Theedway) did not show despite many good sections beingcut during the road construction. Ditches and pits werefoundat various points along the route, some sealed by alluvium,and some, notably between the Ouzel brook and the A.5, withIron Age pottery, probably cremation vessels.15

As part of the project, Mike Luke has prepared a report onthe insights provided by his dual role. This covers the actualprocesses of road construction, the relationships between thecontractor and the resident engineer's staff, and theimplications of sudden major discoveries - which did notoccur on this particular bypass. The report can be consultedat the St Mary's Church Archaeology Centre in Bedford.The Hemel-Humber Petrofma PipelineRoyston ClarkDuring the summer of 1990 watching brief and small scaleexcavations were carried out along the route of the Petrofinapipeline. The route of the line crossed Bedfordshire roughlyfrom north to south, entering the county near Shelton andleaving close to Shillington. As a result the pipeline cut atransect through the varied geology of Bedfordshire,crossing the heavy clays in the north, through the extensivegravel deposits and onto the chalks of the north Chilterns. Ittherefore offered an opportunity to study human settlementin relation to these different deposits.A total of 21 areas containing archaeological deposits wereinvestigated. In most cases recording of the pipe trenchsection was all that was necessary. In other instances, wherewider areas of archaeology were in danger, morecomprehensive excavation was conducted.The highest proportion of sites consisted of small-scale lateIron Age deposits such as isolated fannsteads. One areaproduced the possibility of more extensive Iron Agesettlement close to the village of Thurleigh.The most important and hitherto unknown site was a Romanvilla near the village of Meppershall, in the south of thecounty. The pipeline trench clipped the edge of a wingedbuilding and showed indications that terracing of thelandscape was included in the construction of the building.Perhaps the most significant general result to come out ofthis transect across Bedfordshire was further confirmationthat by the Iron Age practically the whole of the county areawas populated by relatively small scale settlement. Noevidence for earlier occupation was found. Intensiveagricultural use of the landscape continued throughout theRoman occupation, and yet evidence for the later periodswas elusive. No structures relating to the medieval periodwere recorded and finds were limited to post-medieval rooftile.Sandy Municipal Cemetery: 1990Michael Dawson(TL 179 487, SMBR 11313)The 1990 season of excavations immediately west of thearea exarnined in 1989 again showed how the site of RomanSandy had been protected by a deep horizon of colluviumaccumulated from ploughing over some 1500 years. Thegravel road found in 1989 continued east-west across thearea: later drainage and boundary ditches had been cut intoits surface as it became derelict, probably during the 5thcentury.A different architectural tradition was found in the buildingremains of the late Roman settlement, comprising timberframed houses on stone footings. They were spaced farapart, separated by garden areas characterised by a black soilhorizon. These buildings had stood adjacent to the craftquarter with its hearths and ash tip, discovered in the 1989season.Under these later structures was the earliest phase ofbuildings at Sandy, domestic dwellings with abundantrefuse pits. Their wooden frames, supported on posts ratherthan on stone foundations, were similar to the structuresranged along the early trackway discovered in 1989, andconfirmed the prevalence of that technique in the earlyperiod.Almost immediately adjacent to the gravel road wasevidence of probably 4th century burial in the latest periodof occupation. Several child burials were distributed acrossthe entire excavation area. A further eight adult burials werelocated.The cemetery at Sandy can be related to a wider pattern ofburial practice known from the Roman province.Traditionally it occurred alongside the roads outside smalltowns, generally in individual graves, and, amongst a varietyof 4th century traditions, coffins or stone lining Yet SandyaLso has burials which do not readily conform to this pattern;two instances of crouched inhumations seemingly refer backto an earlier, possibly indigenous, tradition. The multipleburial found in 1989 was one such occurrence. The secondwas the distorted burial found at the roadside in 1990; whilstthis skeleton was still articulated the body was awkwardlycompressed into the grave which also contained a single pot.Structural and environmental evidence are complementary.That for early use of the site includes indications of groundclearance, the burning of turf grasses rather than theoccupation of ploughed or temporarily fallow land.Evidence relating to the later occupation helped clarify thedistinctions between the 'craft' area excavated during 1989and 'gardens' of 1990. In the latter, a greater variety ofmineralised cess, seeds and vegetative plant matter wererecovered, emphasising its domestic character.Material evidence, ceramics, worked stone objects such asquerns, copper alloy, iron, and worked bone, are all helpingto characterise the site and its occupants.After two main seasons, the site is conforming to the patternof Roman small town development with the processes ofstructural and economic growth clearly visible. As analysisprogresses, more detail about those processes will berecovered. It is however a town whose development wasdependent upon a variety of attributes. Its roadside site, andany related geopolitical situation are particularly significant;the probability of a nearby mansio as well as its fertile rivervalley site with a river-crossing are further confirmation ofthe complex factors that must have influenced the growth ofsettlement.16

1 Chi Rho inscribed cosmeticWISIVAIPAGNIMIENimplement, possibly a nailcleaner. It probably datesto the 4th c.2 Large sandstone relief dating to the 3rd c.The figures probably represent local deities.Fig. 7. Roman finds from Sandy Cemetery excavations 1989-90.17

,./' t`oe050mFig. 8. Warren Villas Quarry 1990-91.18

Warren Villas QuarryMichael Dawson(TL 180 473, SMBR 3527)Excavations at Warren Villas quarry near Sandy whichbegan in 1989 were concluded in January 1991 under thesupervision of Anthony Maull. The project in the Ivel valleyencompassed an area of landscape which containedevidence of occupation from prehistory to the postmediaeval period. This report is based on the preliminaryresults obtained in the course of preparing thepost-excavation assessment.Attention was originally directed to waterlogged woodremains discovered during a routine watching brief. Thewood was identified as the lining of flax retting pits whichhad silted up or been filled with refuse. This refuse includedthe remains of shoes, fish traps and other artefacts as well asextensive waterlogged faunal remains.The prehistoric environment of Warren Villas is beingexamined through several discrete assemblages. In theearliest period periglacial features were seen in the gravels,the leached remains of early soil formation constituting adistinct area in one portion of the site. Elsewhere, a smallglacial hollow, originally water filled, was graduallyreplaced by peat This process of peat formation seems tohave continued into the Roman period.Prehistoric occupation of the Ivel valley site was evidentfrom a pit of uncertain use which yielded cord-impressedNeolithic pottery; a nearby small annular ditch may havedated to the same period. Possibly associated with this useof the landscape was a scatter of flints found beneath andmixed with a plough soil horizon of the Iron Age.A series of ditches cut during the middle Iron age indicate apossibly more intense exploitation of the landscape althoughtheir precise use will remain uncertain until fullenvironmental analysis has taken place.Later Iron age exploitation of the landscape was representedby a series of plough marks cutting an horizon of silty loamwhich had formed above the middle Iron age ditches. Theploughmarks were associated with several deep clitches usedfor drainage. Preliminary pottery spot-dating of this phaseindicates that this process took place in the early Romanperiod. The importance of precise dating for this activity liesin the form of the plough marks, which had an uneven Vshaped profile, with one side ragged the other smooth. Thisshape may be characteristic of the mould board plough andits discovery at Warren at an early date is significant. Theuse of such a plough indicates the level of agriculturalequipment available to the late Iron age population.In the Roman period the area was subject to furtherhydrological changes. Possibly as early as the beginning ofthe fourth century the water table in this part of the Ivelvalley began to rise and peat formed in the upper fills of theditches.The high water table remained, possibly until the 19thcentury. Its duration was sufficient to form a peat horizonacross much of the area east of the gravel terrace. A soilhorizon then formed above it, to become the modernploughsoil.At the southern end of the excavation the area ofwaterlogged wood occurred within the horizon of peatformation. The wood itself survived as several panels ofhurdling supported on uprights. These panels reinforced thesides of hollows dug into the gravels. The assemblage of pitsand channels was constructed on the bank of a now dry rivercourse. From the silts of this river artefacts as early as theRoman period had been recovered, indicating that thewatercourse had a considerable antiquity.The date of the lined pits was confirmed as 1 lth to 13thcentury by dendrochronological analysis of the supportinguprights. Their use for flax retting was derived from thediscovery of flax seeds in their silts. Their design, allowingthe control of water flow into them, lent weight to thishypothesis as did circumstantial evidence from place namestudy which showed a proliferation of the use of the name'blue field' in the area.Fish traps from the silt of the tanks and fishnet weights fromthe river course show the multiplicity of uses to which afavourable area of river bank rnight be put at all periods.Stratton Deserted Medieval VillageMichael Dawson and Evelyn Baker(TL 205 440, SM33R 518)The general layout and possible extent of the desertedmedieval village of Stratton have been known for some timefrom aerial photographs, map evidence and observationsfrom field walking. The Domesday Survey entry points to amanor of Stratton, presumably with some form of settlementor occupation functioning in the late 1 1 th century. In1987-88 land including the site was earmarked for housingdevelopment; the ploughed state of the site and the lack ofextant earthworks led to a planning decision that it was notreasonable to refuse development on archaeologicalgrounds if appropriate arrangements were made forrecording.Evidence for the boundaries of individual closes was fairlyclear for the north part of the village. Most of the buildingdebris,stone and tile was also seen in the north, on the eastside of an extant track. This track runs through the wholelength of the site, and may echo the long vanished centralroad of the linear medieval village with its house plotsrunning off from either side. In the south part of the site theroad continues as a farm track going south to Dunton Lane.A scatter of pottery was found on the surface on the east side,but the west side was almost devoid of finds. Two moatedsites are associated with the deserted medieval village. Tothe south, and outside the development area, is a wellpreserved earthwork site which is a scheduled ancientmonument. To the north-east is a second, ploughed out, siteknown principally from map evidence.19

) /I P' -: y -ç--Fig. 9. Newnham Priory (Reconstruction).20

An evaluation was conducted in summer 1990, designedwith 1,500 metres of 2 metre wide transects: these weremechanically excavated down on to the top ofarchaeological deposits. It began on the southern part of thesite where least was known: it was halted in order toconserve resources once it had been demonstrated thatsettlement evidence also existed there. Archaeologicaldeposits were found to have been truncated by ploughingbut sufficient survives to provide good evidence of featuretype, and to supply reliable dating evidence. A substantialportion of the moated site survives, and containswaterlogged deposits. A complex of features of more thanone period was seen to cut the interior platform, and aroadway or track was detected on the outside of the moat.The archaeological features seen in the transects appear todemonstrate a pattern of timber buildings and associatedditches which represent peasant homes and their landboundaries. Slots, postholes and posts in slots were seen, butno stonework, together with laid gravel spreads and somehearths which had survived the ploughing There is someevidence that individual structures were rebuilt on adifferent axis, or even that the settlement layout wasreplanned. The remains of the village roadway were seen asa cobbled track. Enough survives to enable the identificationof separate households and the way they were organizedwithin the settlement. In the south-west corner of the sitelate medieval housing appears to overlie further 10th andllth century occupation.Spot dating of the pottery indicates a 10th to 1 lth centurydate with a probable I lth century centre-point for themajority of dated features within the settlement. This wouldfit well with a timber village of Saxo-Norman date.Waterlogged material in some of the ditches on the east sidemay allow comparisons with the deposits in the moated siteto examine complementary cultural aspects of a peasantcommunity.A working hypothesis sees 10th and 1 lth century Strattonas a village of timber houses set either side of a windingcobbled track. Some of the houses were repaired or rebuilt,and there seems to have been a major rebuilding, possiblyto a new and different plan: the village focus may haveshifted north, perhaps in the 13th century. The early houseswere abandoned and fell into decay, eventually reverting tofarmland used by their successois.It is likely that most villages known today originated in thelater part of the Saxon period (800 - 1000 AD), for whichthe detailed documentary record is extremely sparse, andsilent on the issue of the complex changes of village creationand early development. Excavations of deserted medievalvillage sites to date have tended to be either on too small ortoo wide a scale for any overall pattern to be elucidated;attention has been distracted from questions of settlementform in order to follow wider issues such as social structure,marketing function, and agricultural background. It must beremembered that for most villages the exploration ofsettlement form has been vitiated by constant rebuffingwhich has systematically destroyed most of the evidencewhich here seems to lack such encumbrances.Stratton thus provides a rare and important opportunity toaddress basic unanswered questions of settlement history bymeans of excavation on an appropriate scale. Extensiveinvestigation ought to focus upon the location of the earliestpart of the village and the date at which it was established,its expansion and contraction, and the date and reason for itsabandonmentRelatively little is known about the north part of the sitewhich will be developed later. The south-west cornerappears to be agricultural rather than habitational infunction. Black soils to the north may however indicateoccupation evidence through the constant application oforganic material in the area. On the east side of the road hasbeen found rather more positive evidence of buildings in theform of later medieval building detritus. One basic questionas yet unanssvered is whether any later village was on theeast side of the street only, or whether it was aLso on the Wside, but punctuated by possible agriculniral 'blank' zones.Further evaluation could go some way to answering thesequestions. If the full picture is to be obtained, a sample ofthe agricultural system is an integral part of the whole.Newnham Priory BedfordMichael Dawson(TL 065 494, SMBR 297)This note describes work from November 1989 toSeptember 1990, during the development of the site ofNewnham Priory as a leisure centre. Of particularimportance is the group of relatively well-preserved servicestructures in the monastic outer court, which will allowcomparisons with arrangements at other major Bedfordshiresites such as Grove Priory and Elstow Abbey.In about 1166 Simon de Beauchamp founded NewnhamPriory for Augustinian canons who had been at St Paul'sChurch Bedford since before the Norman conquest The firstPriory church received a grant of stone from the destructionof Bedford castle in 1224-25. At the dissolution in 1540, thepriory's income was put at 284; the number of canons was13 in 1442, 18 in 1534 and 15 at the Dissolution.Sir John Gostwick, one of Henry VDT 's comtnissioners, mayhave acquired stone from Newnham for use in his newbuildings at Willington. The monastic buildings andconventual church were stripped of their furnishings andfittings, whilst the bells and lead from the roof were takendown and sold. Dressed stone too was robbed from thebuildings.A house was built on the site, a mansion owned in the mid16th century by Sir Robert Catlin, Chief Justice of theQueen's Bench, who died in 1574. The house may not havesurvived long after 1700, as 19th century antiquarians suchas Thomas Fisher and Samuel Lysons noted only a few brickwalls. However those surviving today are ample testimonyto the existence of a large and probably mid 16th centurywalled garden in the area of what had once been the main21

priory buildings.In 1970 most of the precinct of Newnham Priory wasscheduled as an ancient monument. The site was then in useas the Works Depot for (now) North Bedfordshire BoroughCouncil, with allotment gardens on the eastern part. In1987/8 an archaeological evaluation was commissioned byNorth Bedfordshire Borough Council to locate the mainmonastic buildings and assess the implications of their stateof preservation for any development proposals. Ranges ofbuildings were tentatively identified as the priory church,the south cloister, a dormitory east range and possibly thecellarer's (west) range. Other less easily definablestructures, a house and accompanying walled garden,probably related to the post-monastic use of the site.The distribution of development on the site had largely beendetermined by the results of the archaeological assessmentcarried out in 1987, which also provided the basis fordesigning the archaeological recording work in advance ofconstruction. Ground disturbance within the scheduled areawas to be kept to a minimum, with the main developmentoccurring west of it. As this would still be within themonastic precinct, it was agreed that a similar requirementfor archaeological recording ought to be applied to both thescheduled and non-scheduled areas. The land occupied bythe buildings of the Council Depot, where the bar,restaurant, cinema and bowl of the new development wereto be located, demanded the most extensive investigation;this was the likely position for the outer western courtyardwith its ranges of buildings such as barns, animal sheds, andperhaps the prior's residence and monastic hospital.Extensive areas of excavation west of the priory churchrevealed the remains of at least two outer courtyardssurrounded by buildings in timber or half-timber and stone.23 buildings were identified, and one had probably stoodtwo storeys high. The quality of survival was exceptionallygood with intact floor levels and more than one period ofconstruction visible. West of the priory church, the first(east) cotutyard was flanked on two sides by stone buildings;on the north side, possibly close to a trackway leading to thewest end of the church, was a wooden barn with a tile roof.The courtyard was occupied from the 12th century: itsbuildings were probably built at first of wood; later, perhapsas the priory became increasingly wealthy, they werereplaced in stone. The period and nature of the courtyards'occupation was derived from finds, especially pottery, coinsand copper alloy objects; industrial waste such as charcoal,slag and bumt, clay, indicates some of the craft processesundertaken.South of the first courtyard was a range of buildings facingsouth to the river with possibly another range running awaynorth-south away from it Their remains were damaged andonly fragmentary. To the south a dovecote and kitchenoverlooked the river, forming a range running north-south.They were built in the 13th century and probably notdemolished until sometime after the Dissolution. Theseremains had been badly damaged by the later constructionof the municipal swinuning pool, but sufficient survived tocharacterise their latest phase.The west courtyard, was enclosed by a more diverse rangeof buildings. Investigation in detail was confined to those onthe west side whose position coincided with the layout ofthe modern cinema. The first of perhaps three structuralphases began in the early years of the priory and wascompleted in the 14th century by a building with stonefootings and a timber superstructure: the elaboratepitched-tile hearth inside suggests it has a domestic function.The south walls of possibly four buildings which appearedto form the south side of the courtyard were partiallyexamined in the foundation trenches for the modern bowlingalley. Betvveen this building and one to the south lay a ditchwhich probably drained the courtyards and the rainwaterfrom the roofs of the buildings on the north and south sides.On the north side of this courtyard, between the east andwest courtyards was a long, probably rectangular, building.The south range of the west courtyard comprised a range ofbuildings only partially seen in the archaeological trenches.These appeared to face a large drainage ditch whichprobably drained the two major courtyards and then flowedwest into the river. The meagre remains of these structuresmay represent the southern facades of a range of timberbuildings. On the south side of the large drainage ditch wasthe remains of a single building which probably faced southtowards the river.The cemetery was found in the usual monastic location atthe east end of the Priory church. The graves were orientatedeast-west with earlier burials often cut by later ones, thoughthere was clear evidence that they had been laid out neatlyin rows. So far, 31 individuals have been identified from 34graves and a charnel pit.St Peter's Church, HarroldDavid Baker(SP 954 567, SMBR 862)A French drain was dug around most of this complicatedchurch, providing significant new evidence for variousstages of its evolution. Suggestions that the present east endhad been truncated in the 16th century could not beconfirmed from below-ground evidence in the areadisturbed by the drain. It was however clear that a largechapel between chancel and south aisle had been removed.St Nicholas' Church, ChellingtonDavid Baker(SP 961 563, SMBR 1036)A French drain dug around the entire church gave anopportunity to record footings in relation to superstructUralevidence. Nothing was seen wbich added significantly to theknown phasing of the building.Blackburn Hall, ThurleighEvelyn Baker(TL 041 586, SMBR 309)This moated site platform supports a timber-framed house22

with elements that have been dated to the 13th century.Excavation of a small swinuning pool to one side of themoated area of the site prompted a short watching brief. Fourphases of late medieval and post medieval activity wererecognised. Clay from the moat forrned a floor level withareas of burning and a hearth; cut into it were two robbertrenches, sealed by further clay in which was a line of womcobbling. Over this was a post pit and tiledrain immediatelyunder topsoil.Wrest ParkMichael Dawson(TL 095 365, SMBR 8755)The restoration by English Heritage of the 17th and 18thcentury gardens at Wrest Park aims to recreate a garden ofthe 1730's. This process began with the publication of aconsultation document produced on behalf of EnglishHeritage by Land Use Consultants in 1983.Archaeological involvement began in 1988 and hascontinued atunially. The earlier seasons work has beenreported upon in documents produced by BedfordshireCounty Council's Archaeology Service as part of the overallproject. A detailed report of the results of the work in1990-91 is available from the Archaeological Service of theCounty Council.Archaeological work at Wrest Park in 1988 and 1989 waslargely reactive, dealing with problems generated by therestoration process. More recently, in the seasons1989-1990 and 1991, specific research objectives wereidentified and fieldwork devised which influenced as wellas flowed from the programme.The principal aim of archaeological activity has been therediscovery of early garden features relating to the intendedperiod of restoration c 1735-7, although earlier features havealso been recorded. These have included paths, plantingholes, hedge lines and drains.An addition to the archaeological process in 1990-91 wasthe involvement of geophysical survey. This was seen as acost-effective way of identifying elements of the oldergarden's structure under about 45 acres of modem lawn. Inthe 1990-91 season, the character of the paths bas beenfurther clarified through excavation. Many of the major oneson the west side of the garden were of sand whilst grasssurfaces had predominated in the east. There may beomamental reasons for this; a map by the Earl de Gray fromthe early 19th century is partially coloured, but the coloursconflict with the ground evidence. An alternative hypothesisis that the path surfaces reflect the drainage of the garden.The water level falls from north-west to east and terracottaland drains found in the edge of the Long Canal seem toreflect this fall. The generally damp conditions in the westmay have prompted the use of local sand as surfacing; in theeast there were more mixed sand and loam paths, with sandoccasionally used to fill damp hollows. The use of sand inthis way is not incompatible with use of coloured paths ingardens of this date. Hoggin, discovered in 1990, used in thearea of the bridge at the east end of the Ladies Lakecontinues this theme. Hoggin was aLso used in the laterroundel of the altars.Further work was done on the West Exhedra and the LadyDuchess's square; the configuration of paths was clarified,as were those in the Dukes' Square. In both cases theconfiguration of squares was rediscovered by geophysicalsurvey.Geophysical survey was used to re-examine the site of theprevious house. This confirmed the picture revealed by theparchmarks in 1990 and indicated that the house was a farmore complex structure than it had been possible to derivepreviously from pictorial and map evidence alone.HISTORIC BUILDINGS AND CONSERVATIONAREASDavid BakerFrom the creation of the service in 1974, one of its centralduties has been the provision of advice, mainly to DistrictPlanning Officers, on planning applications affectinghistoric buildings and Conservation Areas. This largelyreactive work has had to take priority over potentially morepositive and rewarding work on threatened buildings,enhancement schemes, Conservation Area review, publicityand education. However it has always been recognized asthe main opportunity to prevent damage being done tohistoric buildings and areas, at the point where control bythe planning system is possible.During 1989 and 1990 a wide range of cases were coveredby the Conservation Officers (currently David Bevan,Jonathan Edis and Ruth Gibson). The following notes giveexamples of some of the main types and problems.Barn conversions have been some of the most controversial.Historic barns were generally under-listed during the earlierstages of the main resurvey which was completed in the mid1980s. During the 1970s and earlier 1980s the ideadeveloped that a good way to 'save' a redundanttimber-framed or stone barn, or a range of brick 19th centurymodel farm buildings, was to convert them into houses. Thiscertainly gave them a new use which would ensurecontinuing maintenance and repair, but also had the effectof destroying much of their distinctive extemal characterand intemal spaces. Less demanding uses, moreover, wereless profitable.In the later 1980s, conservation opinion swung away fromresidential conversion as a preferable option, with the slogan'houses into barns won't go'; a clear advisory note on thesubject was produced by English Heritage, and the DistrictCouncils adopted policies ensuring that redundancy andconvertibility were clearly demonstrated, and that farmbuildings of special character would be protected. Anexample of a case which spanned this transitional period isthe group of timber-framed and weather-boarded fannbuildings at Duck End Farm, Wilstead (SMBR 3631). Oneof these (and the farmhouse) are listed. After considerable23

. .V. oft.-01.11tt.J. Kip Wrest House c.1705,

negotiation, the listed barn is likely to be used virtuallyunaltered as a communal garage, and relatively light-handedconversions will be carried out on the other barns whichform a group with it; plans will have to be prepared by theapplicant providing a record of the timber-frame structureand the repairs and alterations to be made to it. The idealsolution was obtained in the case of a fine listed aisled barnat Streatleybury Farm (SMBR 14352), which is to becomestorage for crop-spraying machinery, a use that will requirerepair, but little alteration.The gales experienced during 1989 and 1990 took their tollof Bedfordshire 's historic timber-framed barns, especiallythose which had not been maintained due to disuse, andwhose joints had failed. Major losses included two of thethree at Grange Farm, Barton, (SMBR 10244) with the thirdseriously damaged, at Astwick (SMBR 2072), and atShilling-ton, (SMBR 15143) all listed or of listable quality.Problems have been encountered with the usual list ofbuildings whose owners are unwilling or unable to repairthem. Though the planning authorities have powers toenforce urgent repair of unoccupied listed buildings, orindeed more thorough repair perhaps ending in compuLsorypurchase, their exercise is a highly time-consuming processwhich can only be followed in a few cases at a time.Examples of problems that ran through 1989 and 1990 are:the Round House, Brogborough, (SMBR 5340) adramatically sited 17th century house with Civil Warassociations near the MI junction 13; 16-20 West Street,Dunstable (SMBR 6315), one of the relatively few survivingtimber-framed buildings in the centre of the historic town;the 19th century Maulden Mausoleum, (SMBR 13778) inprivate ownership and prominently sited next to the parishchurch on the bill, continues to decay; Great BraminghamFarmhouse, (SMBR 6954) an empty large 16th or 17thcentury framed building with 18th and 19th centuryadditions, suffered from its location on the northern fringesof Luton to the extent that the combined efforts of gypsiesand local children managed to loot its interior and bum halfof it down, despite genuine efforts on the part of the ownerto secure a new use. Arson also damaged the redundant StAndrews School Biggleswade (SMBR 7171) whilediscussions on a new use was proceeding.Several cases illustrated the problems of securing theappropriate level of repair. 2-4 Lake Street, LeightonBuzzard, (SMBR 4608) a large timber-framed house with18th century refronting, required careful structural dialoguewith its owners to ensure the maximum retention of timberframe in a scheme which has turned out successfully. Twomajor cases of excessive stripping out during renovationwere at Spring Lane Yielden, (SMBR 4396) and ElmFarmhouse Beeston (SMBR 7565); in both cases the timberframes were reduced a skeleton, with all wattle-and-daub'mocked out.Watennills remain a problem. Stotfold Mill (SMBR 2612)has continued to deteriorate following the refusal of consentfor residential conversion after a Public Inquiry in the mid1980s; the machinery is in place but the roof andweatherboarding are in poor condition, and one set of urgentcompulsory repairs have already had to be carried out. Thevulnerability of Barton Mill (SMBR 1015) to vandalism hasbeen decreased with the construction of the Barton bypasswhich provides a fine view from it while obtruding ratherdrastically into its setting.There is pressure to build in walled gardens attached to listedhouses. This was resisted after a Public Inquiry at WOOtt0I1House (SMBR 9441), and a hotel extension at FlitwickManor (SMBR 229) was scaled down to an acceptable levelafter negotiation. A single unit permitted at Pavenham, inthe Wailed Garden (SMBR 8120) that belonged to the nowdemolished Pavenham Bury, will hopefully provide anincentive for its future maintenance.Non-confonnist chapels have also been facing problems ofredundancy and finding appropriate new uses. A frequentproblem is the effect of residential conversion which ofteninvolves the insertion of a floor that cuts across full-lengthwindows and completely alters the intemal appearance.Galleries are also extremely vulnerable. The situation isexacerbated by the wish (and often duty) of the ecclesiasticalowners to dispose of them at the best price, which promptsa dispiriting sequence of proposals for over-intensiveresidential conversion until the light isseen and the askingprice drops to one which can embrace less destructive uses.The Methodist Chapels at Hockliffe (SMBR 6415) andTebworth (SMBR 6774) have been going through thisprocess with no solution yet in sight. A much better result isenvisaged for Shambrook's fine Baptist Chapel (SMBR1113) by John Usher, which seem set to become a bookdepository and distribution centre, a use that will requirevery few alterations.Bedfordshire 's major country houses have had their fairshare of problems. Some years ago a scheme for officeconversion and extension was successfully negotiated forSir John Soane's Park House Moggerhangar (SMBR 1094),recently made redundant in its rather unsatisfactory use as ahospital. A proposal for an over-intensive flat conversionscheme that would have severely disrupted the Soaneanintemal spaces had previously been rejected. However, therecession had left the permitted scheme unimplemented bythe end of 1990. At Houghton Regis Hall (SIABR 5687), afine Queen Anne house with a mid 19th century extensionby Clutton, an extension of indifferent design was pennittedas part of a scheme for conversion to a high-grade hotel, butthe building is back on the market, and has been empty forfar too long. The problem of Fairfield Hospital, Stotfold(SMBR 659), about half-a-mile of Grade II listedpurpose-built mental hospital, remains unsolved. 'Care inthe Community' policies are emptying the building whichthe Health Authority is obliged to sell. A mix of residentialand office-type uses seems practicable, but the extent ofenabling development in the grounds needed to finance aconversion is causing difficulties in terms of planning policyover what might amount to virtually a new mini-village onsome calculations that have been made.The difficulty of securing a good standard of new-build25

design in historic areas, mentioned in earlier reports,continues. Post-modemism is invading the larger towns,and, as with any 'style', some examples are better thanothers. New Bedford riverside buildings, extending andadjacent to the Town Hall, placed next to Waterhouse 'sShire Hall have been variously described as imaginativelyrespectful of the classic riverside scene or as a failure ofarchitectural nerve and a lost opportunity. To the dismay ofSouth Bedfordshire District Council, and despite the famous'Steinberg' precedent, an appeal was allowed on a site inEggington for the erection of several over-scaled pastichehouses; the designs had little intrinsic merit and failed torespect either adjacent listed buildings or the character ofthe Conservation Area. On a happier note, the InternationalEco-Technology Building at Cranfield Institute ofTechnology won a prestigious Civic Trust Award in the1990 competition.This account concludes with one of Bedfordshire's primeheritage assets and attractions, Woburn Abbey (SMBR4949). The major programme of repairs to the main GradeI listed house continues, aided by a supply of Tottemhoeclunch for refacing, from reopened quarries. Controversy,as yet not fully resolved, has raged about the fate ofCanova's Statue of the Three Graces (SMBR 4951), carvedabout 1817 for a specially converted Temple of the Gracesin the Sculpture Gallery. The owners' wish to sell it raisedthe issue of whether listed building consent was required forits removal from the building. The Secretary of State's latestpronouncement on the matter, amending his originalopinion, is thought by some to be challengable, but the costsof High Court action are a major deterrent. Anothercontroversial issue was the proposal for the development ofa major Theme Park: this would have had the advantage ofreplacing the existing rather run-down Safari Park and beenlinked to a major long-term renovation of the historicparkland, but would aLso have greatly increased visitorpressure on Woburn Park, Woburn and the surroundingvillages with their Conservation Areas.LUTON MUSEUM SERVICERobin HolgateTwo small fieldwork projects were undertaken in Lutonduring 1990.Gooseberry HillGooseberry Hill was part of an extensive Romano-Britishsettlement situated on the Icknield Way in north Luton.Human buriaLs and other material were excavated here in1956-7 by the Manshead Archaeological Society ofDunstable (The Manshead Magazine 30 (1990) 20-8). Awatching brief at the rear of 34 Gooseberry Hill (TL077249)was undertaken in February 1990, when the foundationtrenches were being dug for two houses. No intactarchaeological deposits were observed and only sixRomano-British sherds and six neolithic-Bronze Age flintflakes were recovered. It is thus likely that twentieth centurYhousing development and horticultural activities havedestroyed most traces of Romano-British occupation thatonce existed in and around Gooseberry Hill.Whitehill Farm, StopsleyA watching brief was carried out in April-May 1990 duringand after topsoil stripping along the route of a water pipelinebeing laid by Lee Valley Water Company from WhitehillFarm, Stopsley to*Lilley. Two flint scatters were discovered,both to the north of Whitehill Farm. The first, whichproduced 22 flakes, two blades, a flake core, three scrapers,a notched flake, a cutting flake and a miScellaneousretouched flake of neolithic-Bronze Age date, was centredon TL104254. The second, centred on TL105255, producedtwo bladelets, a bladelet core, a truncated blade and a burindating to the mesolithic period; 18 flakes, a scraper and acutting flake of neolithic-Bronze Age date; and twomedieval 'sherds. Further fieldwalking of the cultivatedfields at Whitehill Farm would be useful to define the extentof these two scatters.MANSHEAD ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETYExcavations at Pond Cottage, Bull Pond Lane,DunstableRenwick HudspithWith the permission of the owner Mr Smart a rescueexcavation was undertaken in the garden (TL 018215) priorto the construction of a swimming pool. The full excavationof the site was not completed due to time constraints (aridthe impossibility of removing a large tree on site) but awatching brief was carried out during trenching work by thecontractors; with the various features they uncovered addedto the overall excavation plan (fig.1)Finds of residual Iron Age pottery during the course of theexcavation suggests there may have been an Iron Ageoccupation site in this area of Dunstable. (Some potteryfinds are illustrated in fig. 2). This occupation seems to havecontinued into the early Roman period as indicated by fmdsof Belgic pottery. The possible Romano-Britsh features, pits(42), (34) and (16) contained a variety of Romano-Britishcoarseware sherds; ox and sheep bones and evidence ofironworidng on, or near, the site.The buttress trench (40), the continuance of a featureidentified during the Friary field excavations (along with itsattendant ditches) was probably medieval in date. (SeeManshead magazine No. 24). If this was the Friaryboundary, then the triple ditc.hes may be seen as successiveproperty boundaries; with each new ditch representingencroaclunent and enclosure of neighbouring land. Thissequence of boundaries can be seen to continue with ditch(21) and its proximity to the modern boundary. Behind ditch(21), a different system of land division can be discerned; asrepresented by the north-south ditch (13). This may be latemedieval or post medieval in date.26

I-L41 .0L....::_7,442,L____v. Ili ,_____-_,21- a a_ a- a....a.. - a-. ......-a. a. -----:-.-- ...-- ..A--A . .\ 1 i 1' - -1 :1 1 I r -.1".,, k,i,,i,-. 1 16'(/TFITITFFr-- ru ]43 ..):-, --4L/,-,-14i I 011. . .11\1\,L>.- 1y170 IIIIT/A Y/ 117,/IffeiflYNE'Vl-:::...1r Tillif 1 1111 fjr Til ii-i II.LI 1 1 i 1 1 1 i Fr 1j iii-.------------io11111111111111/9SELimit ofarchaeological/ationLimit ofexcavationduringconstructionI1 II I /II0 2 3 4 5 metresi 1-1 H 1.7,711

111 I -----)Late Neolithic and Bronze Age PeriodsThe densest scatters of flintwork were found on the higherground along the ridgeway (Edeway) near Chalton (Wherea flake from a neolithic ground flint axe was found): in onearea (Fig. 3,2), accompanied by finds of flint gritted potteryand burnt ffints (perhaps late Bronze Age in date). Theselater flintworkets reused the waste flint (ciebatage) left fromthe mesolithic industries. Other scatters of worked flintsoccurred near the Ouzel brook (Grove Farm) and a barbedand tanged arrowhead was found near the Toddington road(TL010258).Generally the quantity of flints found was quite low, incomparison to the Caddington area. This probably reflectsa different, or lack of, land use. The lower lying areas mayhave remained forested and poorly drained: or perhaps werewater meadows, with settlements further up the valleyslopes.Fig. 2. Pottery from Pond Cottage.The ditches appear to have been used as convenient rubbishdumps; with ditch (11) containing the greatest quantity ofpeg tile and animal bone.Fieldwalking at Houghton RegisRenwick HudspithDuring 1989-90 members of the Society fieldwalked an areaof about 5km 2 on the chalkland around Houghton Regis. Themain features of the area are the Ouzel brook valley andassociated ridge at Chalton. The Ouzel drains westward,other streams drain to the North from (laiton and south-eastfrom Houghton Regis (Fig. 3). Many of the hedgerows havebeen removed from fields in this area, leaving very largetracts of arable land.The method of survey was much the same as that employedat Caddington (see Manshead Journal 30), fieldwalking atset distances apart, then identifying, recording and mappingfinds on site.Notes, and a discussion of fuads, by period aregiven below.Mesolithic and early neolithicA large scatter of worked flints, identified as mesolithic indate, (R Holgate, pers comm.) was discovered on theridgetop near Chalton (TL020260) (Fig. 3,1). The finds weremainly of broken blades, waste flakes and a few cores. Thissite probably represents a seasonal hunting encampment.Other smaller scatters and isolated finds, with featurescharacteristic of mesolithic or perhaps early neolithicflintworicing, occurred elsewhere along the ridge and alongthe valley floor.Iron Age Period Scatters of late Iron Age pottery have beenfound along the course of the Ouzel brook (Fig. 3,3 etc.) andprobably indicate an area of settlement. Scatters of Belgicpotsherds around Grove Farrn/Calcutt and near Wingfield(found with early Romano-British pottery) suggests IronAge occupation sites may underlie the later Romano-Britishsettlements. Other finds of Iron Age pottery came fromalongside the Edeway. The evidence of valley floor andridge top settlement sites (as indicated by sherd scatters)suggests the landscape may have been fully exploited by thelate Iron Age period.Romano-British periodThe survey identified three previously unrecorded Romansites; at Chalton Cross (Fig. 3,4 TL036252) (found by thewriter), Houghton Park (Fig. 3,5 TL037245) and Wingfield(Fig. 3,6 TL004259). A re-assessment was made of theknown sites at Bidwell (a) (Grove Fann/Calcutt) (Fig. 3,7and 8 TL015255) and Chalton (Manor Farm, Fig. 3,9 (b)TL025264). These seem to have covered a wider area thanpreviously realised.Each site was marked by scatters of tile, building stone andpottery sherds. Three of the sites were situated next tostreams and at two of the sites iron slag was foundsuggesting industrial activity. The amount of pottery and tilefragments around each site suggests intensive infieldcultivation, with each of these farmsteads perhaps within aland unit of approximately 11cm 2 (in a pattern not dissimilarto the 19th Century farming landscape). These may havebeen independent landholdings or part of a large estate.Their regular distribution certainly suggests well organisedand fully exploited rural landscape by the end of theRomano-British period.Medieval PeriodSo far, no Saxon pottery has been identified in the surveyarea. The excavated evidence from Puckilebill (d) indicatespagan Saxon settlement along the chalk ridge, but noevidence has been found for valley floor settlement until themedieval period.28

ManorFarm1.1)KEYoMesolithic Flint FindsI_NBA Flint ScattersIron Age Pottery FindsRB Pottery ScattersMedieval Pottery Scatters&TESMesolithicNeolithic / Bronze AgeIron AgeRomano-BritishFigure 1.SaxonIndex of sitesTL020260. Large mesolithic flintworking scatter,Neolithic/Bronze Age flints.TL027261. Neolithic/Bronze Age flint scatters,burnt flints, flint gritted pot sherds.TL026257. Belgic pot sherd scatters,Romano-British pot sherds.TL036252. Romonao-British occupation, potsherds, tile, stone, iron slag scatters.Medieval11037245. Romano-British pot sherds and tilescatters.TL004259. Romano-British occupation. potsherds, tile and stone scatters. Belgic and medievalpottery.TL015255. Romano-British occupation. potsherds, tile and iron slag. Belgic and Medieval pottery.TL016255. Romano-British occupation. potsherds, tile and stone scatters.TL025264. Romano-British occupation, pot sherds,tile and stone scatters.CropmarksFig. 3. Houghton Regis - fieldwalking29

There was little surface evidence to indicate extensive arablecultivation during the medieval period; small scatters ofpotsherds were found near Grove Farrn (TL0125), ChaltonManor Farm (TL0226), Thorn (TL0024) and Wingfield(TL0026). Ridge and furrow can still be seen in fields atBidwell, and lynchets were indicated by snow (1991) on theslopes above Grove Fann. Late medieval horseshoes havebeen found in fields near Calcutt, Thomgreen and along th&Edeway.Post Medieval PeriodA general scatter of material, including potsherds, tile, brickand field drains indicates extensive arable cultivation overthe past four hundred years. Dense scatters of pottery, glassand tile alongside tracicways and field boundaries suggestsa long history of fly tipping in the area. At least two 19thcentury rubbish tips were identified.ConclusionThe survey has identified previously unrecorded mesolithic,Iron Age and Romano-British sites and perhaps indicatedareas of cultivation during the Roman period. It has alsoindicated the antiquity of the ridgeway (Edeway) nearChalton.Further fieldwork in the area is continuing in advance ofroad construction and other building work.AcknowledgementsPermission to fieldwalk was kindly granted by: LadyBowman Shaw, Mr R Aldridge, Mr P Brandham, Mr DBuckingham, Mr R Dryden. Many thanks to thefieldwalkers and to Dr Holgate for reviewing the finds.NotesBidwell: SMA 16, 1986 and Ancient Dunstable (p.88)(Matthews & Schneider)Chalton: Mans head Magazines 9 & 10.Puddlehill: Saxon settlement Ancient Dunstable (p 100)(Matthews & Schneider) 2nd edition 1989Leighton Buzzard Southern BypassBernard JonesOver the past year members of the Society, together with theLeighton Buzzard and District Archaeological Society havekept a watching brief on the costruction of the LeightonBuzzard Southern Bypass. This short report and theaccompanying map indicate the finds to date.Finds (reference to the map):surface scatter of worked flint flakes.fire cracked flints - 1m. below surfacebone fragments, including ox, pig, dog and possiblehumanarea of prehistoric ditches. Pottery sherds - possible IronAge A through to medieval; include rims.Iron objects including a barbed arrowhead, Guildhallhorseshoe and medieval patten.Fig. 4. Line of Leighton Buzzard Bypass.30

ELEPHANT AND WALRUS: IVORY ANDCULTURAL RELATIONSHIPS IN THE FIFTHAND SIXTH CENTURIES. A SUMMARY OF THEEVIDENCE FROM THE SOUTH MIDLANDSDavid H. KennettIt is well-known that few of the 484 objects extant from theAnglo-Saxon cemetery found at Kempston, Bedfordshire,between 1863 and 1865 can be ascribed with any greatcertainty to a grave specifically recorded by the Rev. S.E.Fitch (1). However, one grave, one of three recorded on 19March 1864, had the finds kept together and these can nowbe identified (2). In this grave, number 107 in the catalogueprepared in 1968, the finds were: two belt fittings, originallydescribed as tweezers and appearing very muchlike thelatter, which were found behind the left pelvis, a bronze ring,anivory ring in fragments, a bronze bracelet, more than 200beads of which a few were of amber, and others of glass, orpottery, found as a necklace and as ornament on the upperann, a bronze pick, a pair of elaborately decorated discbrooches, two belt plates, one triangular and the othersquare, a damaged bronze buckle with a fragmentary ironloop, a finger ring and three Roman coins. Excepting thebeads, the bronze pick and the finger ring all these itemshave been identified.In the same cemetery, one of the graves recorded on 20October 1863, numbered as grave 31 in the catalogue, wasnoted as containing 12 beads, fragments of an ivory ringfound at the waist, a ring of silver-plated copper on theshinbone, and bronze rings found near the arm. None ofthese has been identified with certainty (3). Of doubtfulassociation is the third record of an ivory ring fromBedfordshire. Two certain and several moreloosely-recorded burials were found at Waulud's Bank,Limbury, in 1905. Among the unassociated materials werea bronze pin and a fragment from an ivory ring (4). Thefourth known ivory ring from Bedfordshire was among theunassociated finds found at Argyll Avenue, Luton, in 1925(5).Two ivory rings are known from the older excavations andfinds made from Anglo-Saxon cemeteries inNorthamptonshire. One was found at the Holdenbycemetery, possibly associated with a small-long brooch withlozenge foot (6). The other Northamptonshire find of anivory ring is a complete example recorded as coming fromgrave 31 at Nassington, but its position in the grave was notgiven in the published report. Associated with this femaleburial wasa bronze annular brooch found on the left collarbone, a bead at the neck, and exceptionally fine example ofa cruciform brooch of Aberg's group IV recorded as beingfound at the right hip under the right hand, two portions ofsleeveclasp not marching and not given a specific position,together with two buckle pendants, a bead, a finger ring, aniron knife, an iron ring, and a bronze buckle plate with aniron hoop. None of the last six items is given a place ofdiscovery in relation to the body (7).From the cemeteries of the Thames Valley now in themodern county of Oxfordshire, five ivory rings have beenfound with inhumation burials, and two cremations fromAbingdon contained fragments of these objects (8). Alsofrom Abingdon is that found in grave B29, an adult female,buned in a coffin beneath a heap of large stones. The ivoryring had two ancient repairs withbronze plates and wasfound between the right arm and the ribs. Associated withthe burial were two disc brooches, not a pair, found eitherside of the lower jaw, and beside the lower ribs were anassortment of iron objects considered as part of a chatelaine(9).Two graves from Brighthampton are recorded with ivoryrings. In grave 22 a female had a wooden vessel at her feet,four silver rings on her right breast, a number beads and tenRoman silver coins in her lap; the right hand had aplain ringof white metal on the third finger, and a pair of appliedsaucerbrooches were found on the breast. By the left hipwere a knife in a metal mounted sheath, a purse mount, afaceted crystal bead, a large ivory ring and a bronze ringwithin it (10). Grave 49 at Brighthampton contained awomen of advanced age, with an ivory ring between herright arm and the body. Within the ring were two bronzerings, a perforated stone and two iron objects. Associatedwith the burial were two small saucer brooches on theshoulders, a knife, and a large crystal bead (11). At LongWittenham, grave 150 was of an old woman who had onlya single molar remaining in the lower jaw. On her left sidewas an ivory ring together withthree large beads of ivory,multi-coloured glass, and terracotta, an ironknife and an ironpurse-mount. There was an amber bead by the right handand amber beads at the neck (12). The fifth such object isamongst the finds from Cassington cemetery (13).One now lost was also recorded at Fairford, just over theGloucestershire boundary (14). A number of points may bemade about these objects. They are found outside the bodyand not as arrn rings. Where associations are well-recordedthere appear to be a number of items found in closeassociation with the ivory ring. All of these are fromwomen's graves, but there is no obvious evidence of theaccoutrement being restricted to specific age groups. Thewomen in Long Wittenham 150 and Brighthampton 49 aredescribed as old, but no age is suggested for those inNassington 31, Kempston 107, the tall woman inBrighthampton 22, and the adult female in Abingdon B29is specifically described as "young". The woman inNassington 31 had a child's skull by one of her hands.All the women were buried in their clothes: fastenings in theform of shoulder brooches are recorded at Abingdon B29,Brighthampton 22, Kempston 107, and Nassington 31. Theelderly women in Brighthampton 49 and Long Wittenham150 may, of course, have passed on their jewellery prior todeath.The two known from cremations in the south midlands,Abingdon C55 and C73 (8), can be paralleled in at leasteighty urns from Norfolk (15). The ivory ring is usuallyfound of a fairly constant diameter. Those recorded as31

complete, Brighthampton 49 at 5m (125trun), AbingdonB29 4 114in (108mm), Nassington 31 at (120mm) aretypical. The ivory ring was used to close a purse in which awoman kept a number of her possessions: They worked asa means of keeping a linen or canvas bag open when heldhorizontally and closed when the ring and the bag waspermitted tolay against the body. The bag was affixed insidethe ring and from the ring to the belt was a separate thongThe origin of these rings is usually considered to beelephant ivory, either Indian elephant or the smaller andsmaller-tusked African elephant.Ivory is found on two other marrunals: the Arctic walrus andthe Eskimo narwhal. However, the latter is unlikely as thetusk is ridged not smooth and all the ivory rings known tome are smooth on the outer surface. The narwhal is amember of the whale family with a single tusk with ananti-clockwise spiral. The beast is found in Arctic andadjacent waters and is not an endangered species. Exampleshave been noted as visiting England and the NetherlandsThese notes seek to examine the possibility that thewalrus rather than the elephant might be the source of theivory rings found in Anglo-Saxon graves in the southmidlands and elsewhere.The traditional case for the elephant rests on the expectedassumption that south-east England, and specifically thecounty of Kent, is the conduit through which imports arebrought into Anglo-Saxon England. The source of ivoryrings as elephant is not identified (18). It could be either theAfrican elephant orthe Indian elephant. The present daydistribution is a contraction from that known in prehistory.By the fifth century A.D. neither North Africa nor theNearEast had any native elephants Hannibal's crossing of theAlps in 218B.C. brought the animal to Europe for the firsttime, but shortly afterwards elephants ceased to beindigenous to the coastal lands of Africa north of the SaharaDesert. It is thought that they died out in the Fertile Crescentperhaps as early as c.1200 (19). In the light of this view ivoryrings fit with the importation of Arabian Cypraea shells andCoptic bronze vessels, both of which do have a markedlyKentish bias to their distribution in Anglo-Saxon England.There are some examples of the ivory ring in Germany andother parts of Europe but there are many fewer ivory ringsin continental Europe than there are coptic vessels, an objectwhich has Spain and the Crimea as the limits of itsdistributive range (20). The English distribution of ivoryrings is predominantly from the eastern and midlandcounties. There are over one hundred from the largecremation cemeteries of Norfolk and Suffolk; there areexamples from Lincolnshire and East Yorkshire, also fromcremation urns (21). The source of these as walrus ivory isan idea which relies partly on the later uses of walrus ivory.The Vikings carved chessmen from ivory (22) in the earlymiddle ages the great cross of the high altar of the abbey ofBury St. Edmunds was carved from more than one walrustusk (23). Clearly if in the later first millennium A.D. andthe two succeeding centuries the tusk of the walrus could beexploited it may have been in the central centuries of the firstmillennium.It is as yet unclear as to whether the walrus was traded overlong distances or exploited as chance beasts were washedashore in Norfolk or Lincolnshire or altematively on thewest coast of Norway (24). In the twentieth century, thewabrus has a restricted distribution and is anendangeredspecies. Fifteen hundred years ago, it had a much widerrange. First reported in the ninth century, the walrus wascircumpolar in its range when Ohthere, a Norwegianmerchant, visited King Alfred. On an expedition tothe WhiteSea, Ohthere had slain sixty walruses in two days and ivorytusks were among his presents to the king of Wessex. Thenas today with the Eskimo walrus hide made good ropes forship's rigging and the carcass utilised for fats and meat.By the sixteenth century the White Sea appears to have beenabandoned by the walrus as a breeding ground. In 1520Archbishop Erik Walkendorf wrote to Pope Leo X recordingtheir presence in Finnmark, the northern part of Norway, butsuggesting that they were a most fearful animal on accountof their tusks. There are late seventeenth century referenceto Finnmark as a breeding ground but by 1753 onlyoccasional visitors are known here. Twentieth centuryoccurrences in north Norway have been as intermittent asthey have been further south on the Norwegian coast.Another sixteenth-century breeding ground for the walruswas the sea round the Orkney Islands. Hector Boece, acontemporary historian, recorded a great fish larger than ahorse which used tusks to fasten itself to a rock whenwishing to sleep. Local mariners killed the walrus bystrangulation with ropes: again the hide was used for ropesand the fur for oil. But by the beginning of the ,nineteenthcentury the sightings of walruses in both the Orkneys andthe Shetlands were of stray visitors only. These wereanimals which had drifted from Greenland in the generalwest to east flow of the current in the north Atlantic.These strays have included ten individuals in Shetlandbetween 1815 and 1926, another ten in the Orkneys berween1825 and 1902, three sightings in the Hebrides in thenineteenth century, one at the mouth of the River Clyde on8 August 1884, and single individuals in the River Severnand the River Shannon in 1839 and 1897 respectively.In the southern North Sea, the first record is of a beast in theRiver Thames, recorded in Caxton's Chronicle in 1456. TheGennan artist Albrecht Durer sketched on from the Dutchcoast in 1521. More recently one swam into the Fenlandwashes at Welney in September 1981 and out again to themouth of the River Witham. On the Scandinavian andGerman coasts there have been wandering beasts recordedin 1926, 1939, 1953 and 1960. The walrus has thus becomereduced in its range and also less frequent as astray in thetwentieth century. It is not certain how wide was itsEuropean distribution in the first millennium A.D. butclearly it was wider than the present day one.The ivory ring is part of a moderately well-furnished grave:the associations from the cemeteries of the south midlandsare typical of the context. It also is part of a wider tradepattern.32

Individual forrns of bronze vessel suggest contacts with bothNorway and Scotland. An early type of cauldron has acarinated body with a concave wall above the carination.One such is the vessel found in grave 93 at Long Wittenham(25). Of a different type, with a globular profile and a convexwallis an unassociated cauldron from Long Wittenham.Examples from just beyond the CBA 9 area are those fromgraves 100 and 182 at Bidford-on-Avon, Warks., and ahybrid type with a globular profile but faintly concave wallsinclude two from Fairford and two, both used as cremationcontainers, from among the material found at Baginton, nearCoventry. Fragments of cauldrons include two furtherexamples from Long Wittenham, and one from Duston,Northants (26).Bone gaming pieces are also lcnown in Scandinavia andeastern England (27). However, there is a paucity of recordamong the cremation cemeteries of Bedfordshire andNorthamptonshire such as to not permit definitiveknowledge of the contents of the pots found at Kempstonand Kettering in these two counties respectively.It is possible that greater research, and more knowledge ofthe contents of Norwegian museums than is possessed bythis writer, will bring to light further possible contactsbetween the south midlands and areas to the northand easton the one hand and Norway on the other. These limitedconnections are, however, no more tenuous than thosepostulated for contact between England and theMediterranean at the same time. Anglo-Norwegian contactinthe fifth and sixth centuries has usually been regarded asminimal chiefly because brooch types diverge in rather morethan just their details. But brooches may be the least suitableartifact on which to base a series of cultural contacts.A woman's jewellery was acquired at various times in herlife: marriage was a principal occasion for gift-giving butthis is going to reflect the more immediate circumstancesthan long-distance cultural contacts. The closeness of thedistribution of individual late sixth century brooch forms isproof of how limited an area marnage parmers were drawnfrom if jewellery reflects marnage patterns.For cultural contact between distant regions to be seen in thearchaeological record, it would seem preferable to examinethe comparative distributions of items like bronze vessels,bone gaming pieces and ivory rings. By not assuming thativory rings are necessarily of elephant ivory this note hassought to suggest a cultural setting within which theattribution of ivory rings found in the Anglo-Saxon gravesof the south midlands and elsewhere might be made to thewalrus. That the traditional ascription to the elephant iscorrect has not been ruled out; it is merely that the culturalsetting makes the walrus a plausible provider (28).NOTES(1) S.E. Fitch, 'Discovery of Saxon Remains at Kempston',Assoc. Architect. Soc. Reports 7 (1863-4), 269299, partlyreprinted S.E. Fitch, 'Anglo-Saxon Remains discovered atKempston', in C. Roach Smith (ed.), Collectanea AntiguaVI (1868) 201-221. For a modem account of the Kempstoncemetery see D.H. Kennett, The Anglo-Saxon Cemeteryfound at Kempston, Bedfordshire: a reconsideration,(typescript 1968, available Bedford Museum. BedfordshireCounty record office, British Museum Department ofMedieval and Later Antiquities).Fitch, 1864,295-7; Fitch, 1868,214-215; Kennett, 1968.The actual objects are British Museum acc. no. 1891, 6-24,10-21 and 332. The fragments from the ivory ring are BritishMuseum acc. no. 1891, 6-24, 332.Fitch, 1864, 286; Fitch, 1868, 203.(4)Proc. Soc. Ant. 21 (1906), 59-63.Luton Museum, in 1966 without specific accessionnumber.Northampton Museum; these two objects are kepttogether, but the association may be doubtful.E.T. Leeds and R.J.C. Atkinson, 'An Anglo-Saxoncemetery at Nassington, Northants'. AntJ. 24 (1944), 110,with pl. 30 for the ivory ring.E.T. Leeds and D.B. Harden, The Anglo-SaxonCemeteryat Abingdon, Berkshire, (Oxford, Ashmolean Museum,1936), 20 and 22 for fragments in C55 and C73. (9) Leedsand Harden, 1936, 36 with pl. 8.29.J.Y. Akerman, 'Report of researches of a Cemetery ofthe Anglo-Saxon Period at Brighthampton, Co. Oxford',Archaeologia 37 (1856-7), 86.Akerman, 1856, 89, with fig. of ivory ring.J.Y. Akennan, Report on an anglo-Saxon BurialGround at Long Wittenham, Berkshire', Archaeologia 39(1861), 140, and 142 with p1.11, fig. 6 where the ring isdescribed as "the burr of a very large antler of a red deer"and other examples of red deer antler rings are given. Noteson coll. British Museum list the ring as "ivory".Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. E.T. Leeds and M. Riley'Two early Saxon cemeteries at Vassington , Oxon'.Oxoniensia 7 (1942) 61-70 is not to hand.W.M. Wylie, Fanford Graves (1852), 12.These are listed in D.H. Kennett, 'Ivory in Anglo-SaxonNorfolk:Context, Animals and Origins', forthcomingE. Vogt, 'Interpretation und museale AudwertungalamannischerGrabfunde', Zeitschrifte ScheizerischeArchaeologie undKunstegshichte, 20 (1960), 70-90 with tsf.27-34. The conclusions are summarised by B. Green inJ.N.L. Mures and B. Green, The Anglo-Saxon Cemeteries ofCaisterny Norwich and Marshall, Norfolk, (Res.Rep Soc.Ant London, 30, 1973), 100-103 with text fig. 3.Examples of stuffed and skeletal narwhal are in theNatural History Museum at Tring, Hertfordshire. ?For anobject of narwhal see the episcopal staff in the Treasury ofCoventry Cathedral.Green, 1973, 100, states emphatically "fragments ofburnt elephantivory ..."H.H. Scullard, The Elephant in Greek and RomanTimes.N. Aberg, The Anglo-Saxons in England from the33

-Invasions to the end of the Seventh Century, (Cambridge andUppsala, 1926), 102-106 with list 207-8; more recentliterature can be approached accessibly via J.Werner,`Fernhandel und Naturalwirtschaft in ostlichenMerowingerreichnach archaeologische numismatischenzeugnissen', Bericht des Romisch GermanischenKommission 42 (1961), 307-346 esp. 310-315 withtypeseries and distribution map.Kennett, 1968, map 3 maps sites known in 1968 withouta quantitive analysis.P. Lasko, 'Ivory Carvings' in G. Zarnecki et al., EnglishRomanesqueArt 1066-1200, (catalogue of exhibitionHayward Gallery, 1984), 227,with illust. 212; also ibid., 72for colour photographs. See also M.Taylor, The LewisChessman, (1978)Lasko, 1984, 224-226, with Musts. 206-208, and col.photo on 70. See also N. Scarfe, 'The Walrus-ivory Cross inthe Metropolitan Museum ofArt: the Masterpiece of MasterHugo at Bury?' in N. Scarfe, Suffolk inthe Middle Ages,(Woodbridge, 1986), 81-98 with pl. 14-22. Scarfe doesnotdiscuss the figure of Christ, Lasko 1984, no 207, now in theMuseum of Applied Art, Oslo, which was exhibited with thecross in London in1984.R.J. Perry, The World of the Walrus (1968), passim,with J. Ritchie, 'The Walrus in British Waters', ScottishNaturalist (1962), 5-9 and 77-86. Other examples are notedD.H. Kennett, 'The Walrus in the Northsea since the MiddleAges', forthcoming.J.Y. Akerman, 'Report on ... an Anglo- ?SaxonCemetery at Long Wittenham, Berkshire ',Archaeologia, 38(1858-61), 345, with pl. 17.2.These objects are listed in D.H. Kennett, 'Graves withswords at Little Wilbraham and Linton Heath;, Proc.Camb.Ant. Soc., 63 (1971), 25-26; subsequently H. Vierck,'Redwalds Asche Offa (1972), 20-49, esp.32-34 and list47 of English cauldrons, map. 6.D. H. Kennett, 'The Anglo-Saxon cemetery atTuddenham, Suffolk', Proc.Camb.Ant. Soc., 67 (1977), andfig. 5, with brief discussion 57. See also Green, 1973,98-100.Paper completed 4 January 1991. Much of the initialwork for this paper was done prior to my move to Norfolkin September 1980. I thank Luton Central Library for helpwith items from natural history periodicals for backgroundto the walrus in the North Sea.COUNTRY HOUSES AND MARKET TOWNS:SPHERES OF INTERACTION INPOST-MEDIEVAL BEDFORDSHIREDavid H KennettThe country house is rarely considered as important to urbandevelopment or as significant as a consumer of industrialinnovations. Yet the wider world was never absent from thecountry house. The research has yet to be done to sum upthe use of horse mills, the adoption of gas lighting, theprovision of mechanical devices in the great estates ofBedfordshire and the other counties of the CBA9 area.However, much thought has been given to consideration ofthe spheres of interaction between the major country housesof Bedfordshire and the local market towns. The web ofinteraction is provided by building activities; the weft is seenin the topographic developments (1). Perhaps the mostfamous country house in Bedfordshire is Woburn Abbey. Inthe present context it is noteworthy for the way in which thepark impinges on the back fences of the east side of the mainstreet of the small town of Woburn. The great house hasimposed constraints on the built up area. Facing the westfacade of Woburn Abbey is a fine avenue of oaks and horsechestnuts which crosses the Hockcliffe to Newport Pagnellturnpike road of 1727 (now the A50). The avenue of treesreaches as far north as Leighton road, the road from thesouth-west into Woburn. Very limited buildingdevelopment has been possible in the south-west part of theparish, precisely because of the presence of the avenue ofoaks and horse chestnuts. Only to the north-west of the towncrossroads has any modem development been possible.Six miles to the north-east Ampthill is a typical crossroadstown. Roads go north to Bedford, east to Clophill, Sheffordand Baldock, south to Dunstable, and west to Woburn. Westof the town and north of Woburn Street is Ampthill GreatPark. This originally contained Ampthill Castle, not afortified motte-and-bailey but a great quadrangular housebuilt by Sir John Cornwall, Baron Fanhope, the secondhusband of Henry IV's sister. The house became royalproperty as a result of the gambling debts of a subsequentowner the third Earl of Kent in 1507. Henry VIII liked thehouse, had it repaired extensively, and used it both as ahunting lodge for himself and Anne Boleyn and to houseKatherine of Aragon during her trial for divorce atDunstable Priory, not far to the south. The buildings ofAmpthill Castle fell into disrepair during the late sixteenthcentury and were demolished in the reign of James I,although a projected refurbishment led to plans being drawnby John Thorpe in 1608. South of Wobum Street and stillsurviving is the much wooded Littlepark. Littlepark Farm isan early double pile house; this brickhouse is dated 1695.Disparked is Houghton Park, partly in Ampthill and partlyin Houghton Conquest; it served the now ruinated HoughtonHouse. From Houghton Park, King's Wood remains todelimit its east side and the gate piers of the great avenuewhich lead from Ampthill remain on Church Street in thetown of Ampthill. With parks to the north and north-east(Houghton Park), the north-west (Ampthill Great Park), andthe south-west (Littlepark) the modern town of Ampthill hasdeveloped south-east to the central crossroads and nowstretches southwards to join the large commuter village ofFlitwick.In both Wobum and Ampthill, the modern topography isdelineated by post-medieval parks. This is even more trueof the third Bedfordshire town whose development has beenconstrained by its country houses.Luton would not immediately strike the outsider as a town34

whose topography and indeed eighteenth-century prosperitywas dependent on the local country house. But both LutonHoo and Stockwood Park has exercised considerabletopographical influence in their architectural features muchin the take up of detail. Luton Hoo takes its naine from thetown to the north; the Hoo family were owners in thefourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Then, and in thepost-medieval centuries, the house was within the greatmedieval parish of Luton. Luton Hoo Park occupies nearlyall the land in West Hyde, one of the seven taxationtownships into which the parish was divided. On the westernboundary of the park is the turnpike road south from Lutonto London; in part this is also the parish boundary. Theeastern wall forms an enclosure for a long narrow beh oftrees shielding the great lalce dug out in the 1760s from theRiver Lea. The northern boundary of the park is the southernedge of the modem borough of Luton and was the divisionbetween the fields of West Hyde and those of the townshipof Luton.When Luton became a municipal borough in 1876, only thetownship area was included in the new entity. Althoughhome to 10,000 people the area included at least sevenfarms. Subsequently the land of the township becamecovered with houses, factories, shops and schools; much ofit by 1939 had become urban including lands in thetownships to the north and east: Leagrave, Limbury andStopsley. The municipal borough was enlarged as the towntook in more of the farmlands of the old medieval parish.Development eastwards was rapid. By the end of the 1950s,the southern two-thirds of Stopsley had been builtover,including the fields of the early seventeenth centuryFalconner's Hall which had become the site of LutonInternational Airport. However, even in 1963, the mainshopping street of Luton, known variously as Park Square,George Street, and Manchester Street, together with theadjacent central business district including the Town Hall,was still equidistant from the west, north and east boundariesof the continuously built up area. A walk of three miles fromthe extreme north-east corner of the suburban area to theancient parish church dedicated to St. Mary the Virginrepresented the greatest distance anyone would need totravel to reach the town centre in 1963 (2). In the past quarterof a century, the growth of Luton has been over the formerfarmlands of Leagrave and Limbury, both well to the northof Luton itself andthe building process has now reached thenorthern limit of the medieval parish. As recently as 1976,much of this land was still farmland. The old parish churchhad been built on a gravel knoll in the centre of the oldmedieval parish of 15,435 acres; it is now on the southernedge of the built up area of the modern town because thesouthern third of the medieval parishis occupied by LutonHoo Park in its western half.To the west also is Stockwood Park, a creation in 1740 forJohn Crawley, of a new house in a new park on what tmtilthen had been fields. This has delineated the moderndevelopment of Luton in the sector between London Roadand the road to Caddington.Both houses have had considerable effect on the buildingsof Luton between1740 and 1860. As elsewhere, the greathouse, in its building, rebuilding and refurbishment, was amajor source of employment to a local town. Localcraftsmen were much utilised in the jobbing building workin many great houses. From the country bouse these menwould accumulate ideas derived from the morecosmopolitan architects whom the rich owners of countryhouses could afford to employ. Work at the local great housewas copied, not always accurately, and imitated. Ideaspercolated down into the facades of market towns asprosperous brewers and maltsters and later other merchantscould afford to put new fronts on this houses, even onoccasion rebuild these.Depending on local circumstances, this refurbishment isconfined to the period slightly over a century between theaccession of George H in 1727 and the death of hisgreat-grandson, William IV, in 1837. Luton is unusual inthat it continued into the first half of Queen Victoria's reign.More typical is Dunstable where the finance for rebuildingcame from the prosperity brought by the coaching trade.In Luton, the eighteenth century was marked by poverty notprosperity. The town lost its porter trade to London: Baldockand Ware, both Hertfordshire, were more advantageouslyplaced. The straw hat trade did not become an economicforce in the town until after 1825.In the single street, there was only limited refacing befoiethe flash floodof 1828. When Thomas Fisher drew the townin 1820 the buildings were almost all timber-framed in theirconstruction and many appear to have been ill-kept and onlyminimal state of good repair. Even the principal inns, 'TheBell' and 'The George', were without brick fronts until1830. The entries of presentments for obstruction of thehighway in the court books of the manor of Luton in the early1830s are replete with summonses of owners forencroaching on the street with piles of building materials,leaving holes in front of their premises, and indeed forunderbuilt bric.kwork. There are very few brick facades inLuton earlier than this, whether as new houses or as fronts(3). Facades in Luton reflect the fashions of the two localgreat houses. In 1740, Stoc.kwood House was built of greybricks and contrasting red bricks for the lintels and revealsof the fenestration. One of the earliest brick-fronted housesin the town was built in 1748 for Daniel Brown HI at no. 16Park Square. The maltster's house had a five-bay front ofthe local brick, purplish-grey in colour and known in thenineteenth century as 'Luton Greys', with the lintels of theupper floor windows picked out in pale red bricks. His housewas timber-framed behind the originally elegant facade:construction reflected what he could afford (4). A nearneighbour at no. 12A Park Squarerefaced his sixteenthcentury timber-framed house with Luton Greys but omittedthe red brick lintels.In 1762, the third Earl of Bute bought Luton Hoo and fromthen until his death employed Robert Adam to build a newhouse on the site of the large seventeenth century house, partof which remained in 1774. Because of the complexlaterhistory of rebuilding and refurbishment at Luton Hoo,exact detaiLs of construction for the mid eighteenth century35

early nineteenth centuries.(6) Note completed 29 December 1990; it is based on workdone at various dates since 1974. The part book chapter fromwhich the paper is derived was written in 1988.MATHEMATICAL TILES AT ALTHORP,NORTHAMPTONSHIREDavid H. KermettMathematical tiles are flot a common forrn of wall coveringin the south Midlands. They are most numerous in Kent andSussex, with smaller concentrations in Surrey, Wiltshire,and Hampshire. Seven buildings in Berkshire (a countyformerly in CBA9 area) are known to have the covering:twoin Windsor, and one each in Bracknell, HampsteadNoms, Hungerford, Speen, and West Bsley. To these can beadded one observed in Abingdon, formerly Berkshire, butnow Oxon (1). North of the River 'Thames, mathematicaltiles have been noted on four buildings in Luton: survivingon the stable block of Stockwood House, and amongdemolished buildings, Stoc.kwood House itself, ThomasMarsom 's house on Market Hill, and the former publichouse, 'The Two Brewers' later called 'The Clarence Inn'on Upper George Street (2). Of the buildings mentioned,Stockwood House is a major country house built in 1740 forJohn Crawley, refaced in stucco in 1831, and refaced againwith mathematical tiles sometime between 1855 and 1876,probably before 1862. The Berkshire examples include asmall patch of tiling on Binfield Lodge, another largecountry house of various building dates, and three manorhouses: at Hampstead Norris, Speen M.anor, and West EsleyHouse. However, of these only the Victorian refacing ofStockwood House is comparable in the extensivenessof itsuse of mathematical tiles to that at Althorp.Mathematical tiles are thin tiles designed to be hung on anexisting frame orbuilding and intended to look like bricks toan unpractised eye. They have the alternative name of "bricktiles". Their use is intended to deceive, and at Althorp thishas been achieved.A modem commentator, LawrenceStone, has written (3): The exterior walls of Althorp todayconsist of late sixteenth century stone walls, the red brickfacing added in the 1660s, and the present stone facingadded in the 1790s. The present stone facing is Roche stonein the centre of the entrance front but white mathematicaltiles elsewhere.The tiling hides a building of exceptionally complexbuilding history. Althorp began as the second house of theSpencer family, wealthy graziers and sheep fanners ofWormleighton, in nearby Warwickshire. When purchasedin 1508 there was a small manor house on a moated site atAlthorp. Constructed partly of timber-framing withwattle-and daub infill and partly of the local limestone, itwas refenestrated by Sir John Spencer (died 1522). Thiswoik and the original stone walls remain but both are buriedwithin the later house (4).Althorp remained a small house until 1573 when another SirJohn Spencer (died1586) incorporated the existing houseinto the south range of his newcourtyard house. The latesixteenth century house, of red brick with freestonedressing, faced south and had long wings to the south of thepreexisting range. The courtyard was to the north, withranges round all four sides. This house was approached by agatehouse on the southern edge of the moated. platform.This gatehouse was reputed to be standing until about 1730.However, engravings of 1677 and by Knyff, done in theearly eighteenth century, show gate piers at the northern endof the bridge over the moat. By the last quarter of theseventeenth century the moat was dry, but remained.It was this house which was rated at 64 hearths in the hearthtax assessment of 1664. This makes Althorp one of thelargest houses in Northamptonshire. Of comparable size areBurghley House at 70 hearths, Castle Ashby at 64 hearths,and Drayton House at 60 hearths. Kirby Hall, although ratedat only 30 hearths, may have been almost as large but by thereign of Charles II was already partly uninhabitable (5). Inother counties of CBA9 area, the houses of comparable sizeare Luton Hoo, at 60 hearths, Houghton House at 55 hearths,and Wrest Park at 52 hearths. The largest house inOxfordshire is Cornbury, near Charlbury, a house assessedat 43 hearths; returns for Buckinghamshire are not in print.Outside of the south Midlands, houses comparable inassessment to Althorp are Bratby Hall, Derbyshire, rated at68 hearths, Shireburn Castle, Dorset assessed at 60 hearths,and Blickling, Norfolk whose assessment of 58 hearths canbe checkedby counting the chimneys on the main house.Houses which are larger are Hardwick Hall and Chatsworth,Derbyshire, respectively 114 and 79 hearths, WoburnAbbey, Bedfordshire assessed at 82 hearths, Hatfield House,Hertfordshire of unknown assessment but with 80 chimneysvisible, and Audley End, Essex which had 86 chimneys inthe original house.Althorp is thus one of the largest houses in England. Whenassessed for hearth tax, it was the principal house of theSpencer family. On the night before the battle of Edgehill(23 October 1642) Prince Rupert, the commander of theking's troops, blew up three-quarters of Wornileighton toprevent the house being utilised by the parliamentary forces.Even so, the single range remaining of the WarwickshireHouse was rated at 15 hearths three decades later. It wasoriginally of comparable size to Althorp.As the family's principal house in the 1660s, Althorp wasrefaced by the second Earl of Sunderland using an unknownItalian architect. The engravingof 1677 shows therefurbishment with giant pilasters on the walls and arcadingover the windows. At the roof level a balustrade was added,thus hiding the donners of the attic. At the same tune theinner courtyard of the Elizabethan house was roofed overand the space used for a grand staircase, work which beganin 1666.Both in the courtyard and from the south front the greatheight of Althorp is apparent. In the courtyard the ground37

floor bas a single row of paintings, mostly showing peoplefrom the mid chest upwards. On the first floor there is adouble row of hangings, including on the lower tier severalwhich are both full size and full length portraits. In 1669,the grand staircase led to a grand saloon on the garden sideof the house (the original north range of the courtyard). Thegrand saloon, like many rooms on the north and west sidesof the house is appreciably taller than the ground floorrooms. Rooms such as this caused John Evelyn to describedthe house as such as "may become a great prince".Some fifty years later, the fifth Earl of Sunderland (later thethird Duke of Marlborough) employed Roger Morris toredesign part of the interior. The entrance hall, occupyingthe full height of the two storeyed south range of the originalcourtyard house was designed by him with a very deepcoffered coving and has great paintings of horses, hounds,and grooms by John Woottonon the walls. Morris also didthe stables at Althorp, a building so impressive that it hasbeen mistaken by visitors for the great house itself. Thefacade of the stables, dating toc. 1730, being a giant Tuscanportico, lends weight to the misatnibution.The house was next repaired in 1772 when part of the roofof the north front collapsed and the first Earl Spencer calledin Sir Robert Taylor to affect repairs.This then was the house which Henry Holland refaced in1787 and subsequent years: essentially a large Elizabethanhouse which had been updated about every fifty years.Holland had a number of problems to overcome. First thebalustrade had fallen; it was taken down completely.Second the rooms on the first floor needed better access. Inthe former courtyard the staircase was made to lead to abalcony on three sides, which was done to match thecentury-old stair. This gave independent access from theground floor to bedrooms in the westwing. In.side the opencourt at the front of the house Holland added corridors andabove them placed an extra set of bedrooms to acconunodatethe great number of servants who visited the house with theiremployers. This balf-floor emphasised the great height ofAlthorp.The greatest problem Holland perceived was the lack ofunity to Althorp. Thehouse had facings of ironstone, whitelimestone, red brick, and since his workwhite brick also. Togive it unity Holland clad the external walls in mathematicaltiles. These tiles made to look like bricks. At Althorp theywere laid in English Bond, that is with altemate rows ofheaders and stretchers. At the corners and the windowreveals, the architect used brick, although the fenestration iscovered with decorative plasterwork.By using mathematical tiles, Holland avoided two problems.The house was on a moated platform which extended as farsouth as the limits of the frontwings. These rose sheer fromthe moat as had the north and west sides of the house.Although dry for over a hundred years the moat was capableof being filled and to have used brick would have meant thepossibility of introducing the prospect of rising damp. Tohave used brick would have entailed a doubleslcin of brickbecause Althorp is such a tall house. The use ofmathematicaltiles avoided the problem of weight andpotential collapse on a house as high as this. Only in thecentre, well away from the edges of the moat, did Hollanduse stone, from Roche Abbey, to create a focus, but this wasone of understatement, a prelude to the interior.Mathematical tiles at Althorp thus solved engineeringproblems of a tallhouse, the need for unity in a house ofvarious building materials, and the avoidance of potentialfuture damage (6).NOTESM. Exwood (ed). Mathematical Tiles: notes of the EwellSymposium 14 November 1981, Ewell 1982, passim; M.Exwood, 'More on Mathematical Tiles', British BrickSociety Information 37, Nov 1985; M. Exwood,'Mathematical Tiles the latest count', BBS Information 41,Feb 987,11-13 with distribution maps.See D.H. Kennett, 'Country Houses and Market Towns:Spheres of Interaction in Post-Medieval Bedfordshire',SMA this issue, above.L. Stone and J.C.F. Stone, An Open Elite? England1540-1880, Oxford1984. 382.Accounts of Althorp appear N. Pevsner, The Buildingsof England: Northamptonshire, 2nd edition revised by B.Cherry, Harmondsworth 1973, with pis 85 (grand staircasein former courtyard) and 96 (entrance hall); G.E.K. Spencer,A Short History of Althorp and the Spencer Family, n.d. butabout 1949, G. Battiscombe, The Spencers of Althorp,London 1984; articles in Country Life by H. Avery Tipping17 and 24 April 1920, by A. Oswald 11 June 1959, by C.Hussey 18 January1968. Both Spencer n.d. and Battiscombe1984 reproduce engravings and photographs of the house.See additionally R.L. Greenall, Old Northamptonshire inphotographs, Northampton 1976, pl. 3, an exceptionallyclose up view of part of the house.Hearth Tax assessments for Northamptonshire areagiven Stone and Stone,1984, table 2.7 on unnumbered page465.Note completed 19 December 1990. It derives from ChIV 'Replacement rates: the country house in the eighteenthcentury ' of a projected book, The Country House in theLandscape for which the author has yet to make a contractwith a suitable publisher. For other material partly utilisedtherein see D.H. Kennett 'The destruction of countryhouses:Eighteenth-century Bedfordshire reconsidered', SMA 20,1990,1'3-16.38

BUCKINGHAIvISHIRECOUNTY MUSEUM REPORT FOR 1990Michael FarleyThe report on work in Milton Keynes appears separately.This will be the last full year in which the Milton KeynesUnit undertakes fieldwork and, as indicated in that report,there appears little prospect at present that any satisfactoryarrangement will be made to provide future effective coverfor the area. On the positive side however, the splendidresults which have been achieved over the last twenty yearswill shortly start appearing in print and will be of greatsignificance for the region. No other such large tract oflandscape in the South Midlands, with the exception ofRaunds area, will have been studied in such detail. Themuseum carried out four pieces of fieldwork; at Brill, atAylesbury, on the proposed Thames Flood Relief Schemewhich straddles both Buckinghamshire and Berkshire, andon the Little Brickbat by-pass.BrillTrial trenching by Andrew Hunn adjacent to the formerMagistrates Court at Brill in advance of development byAylesbury Vale District Council, brought to light part of amedieval tile kiln and an opposed flue pottery kiln, both offourteenth century date. A sand pit of similar date was alsosampled. No funding was available for a full investigation.The work showed once again the density of the ceramicindustry within the village. In this case the only aboveground trace had been a handful of medieval sherdscollected from an allotment. An unexpected discovery wasof an eighteenth century 'ha-ha' ditch and brick revetmentwall of which some 35m. was recorded. The wall belongedto Brill House built in 1770 by Thomas Saunders. A 'riotousassembly' broke down the gates and destroyed theshrubberies of the house in the late eighteenth centuryfollowing the alteration of a road into the village. As theha-ha lies on the opposite side of the main village street toSaunders' house it may be that construction of this was acause of the diversion referred to.Coldharbour Farm, AylesburyAn evaluation was carried out by Ian Stewart in advance ofhousing development at Coldharbour Fann to the west ofAylesbury. The work was funded by the Ernest Cook Trust.The land is lowlying and adjacent to the Bearbrook. In 1987fieldwalking by the Aylesbury Past Project revealed ascatter of Saxon grass- tempered sherds. Although somefurther sherds were recovered from topsoil, trial trenchingfailed to reveal any Saxon features in the area. Anunexpected discovery however, was of a previouslyunsuspected mid-Iron Age site. A mixed fluvio-glacialgeology made interpretation of the features encountereddifficult within the confines of trial trenches. Neverthelessa 75m. length of Iron Age ditch was uncovered, with a richfill of ceramic and animal bone. Other features presentincluded pits and post-holes. The report on the work hasbeen completed and will be published in Records of Bucks32. It is intended that the site will be preserved within openspace on the new estate.Maidenhead, Windsor and Eton Flood Relief SchemeThe museum was commissioned by the NRA to undertakethe Stage 1 and 2 study of the archaeological implicationsof the proposed new flood relief channel, some 91un. long.The work was directed by Andrew Hum. Stages 1 and 2consisted of a desk-top study, Stage 2 of an extensivefieldwalking and electronic survey programme. Stage 3, thefield evaluation by a 2% trench sample, was carried out byThames Valley Archaeological Services. The results werestriking. Prior to the study, despite good cropmark air photocover, only two or three sites were known to be affected bythe route. The combination of the various methods usedbrought to light some 24 unrecorded sites, many being smallscale prehistoric sites. Burnt flint was a conunon feature ofthese sites which appear to be middens rather than theremains of 'burnt mounds'. Particularly significant groupsof features were encountered near Lots Hole, a sitepreviously recorded on air photos, and now seen to belargely medieval; near Lake End, an Iron Age settlement andan MBA cremation: and at Agars Plough, Eton College,where many early-mid Iron Age features were present. Onepit contained a decorated bone comb, triangularloomweight, and cut red deer antler. Earlier prehistoric andRoman features were also present here. Steve Ford of TVAScomments on the marked lack of Roman material from theevaluation as a whole and points out that a 2% sample willundoubtedly still have left a number of smaller sitesundiscovered.Little Brickhill by-passA brief surVey of the route of the Little Brickhill by-passwas undertaken by Andrew Hunn for the DoT. Much of theland was under crop when the survey was requested, butwith the aid of electronic survey by A. Bartlett the eastemlimits of the town of Magiovinium appear to have beendetermined. A survey of earthworks at the eastern end of thevillage, accompanied by an auger survey, suggests that theearthworks were largely the result of quarrying anddumping, not medieval occupation as once suspected.Other fieldworkAmongst other fieldwork undertaken was the second phaseof a watching brief at Galley Lane crossroads, adjacent toMagiovinium (for the first phase see MKAU report), asurvey of the old churchyard site at Stoke Mandeville withproposals for future management, and the recording of anewly discovered Belgic site at Aston Clinton. Amongst thefinds from the latter site was a pottery base with incisedhexagon design. This site, which was discovered duringexcavation of a pond, was of particular interest in that it wasnot far from a find in the last century of an amphora burial,and raises the possibility of an extensive 'Belgic' settlementin the area. In the grounds of Castle Hill House at High39

Wycombe, a substantial cavity broken into by constructionwork was briefly investigated, but the results wereinconclusive. The Oxford Archaeological Unit carried outwork prior to development inside the hillfort of Danesfieldat Medmenham. Finally, the County MuseumArchaeological Group arranged fieldwalks at threelocations, each of which provided useful new data for theSMR.Other mattersA slightly unusual commissioned piece of work wasundertaken by Andrew Pike for the Corporation of the Cityof London, who required historical background on EastBurnham pound prior to its restoration. Don and DorothyMiller also kindly contributed background data. TheRecords of Buckinghamshire 31 (1989), was publishedcontaining several articles by the section's staff includingpieces on excavations at: Bedgrove, Aylesbury; Brill;Hitcham; Great Brickhill; and Walton, Aylesbury. Thepublication of the latter was paid for by R.Raphael and Sonspic. The Buckinghamshire section of The Ice-Houses ofBritain by S.Beamon and S.Roaf incorporates muchmaterial contributed by Andrew Pike.The publication of PPG 16 'Archaeology and Planning' isbeginning to have a substantial effect on the section's work,and in particular, District Councils are becoming moreresponsive to suggestions. Regrettably however, lack ofstaff means that the service which is offered is still far fromsatisfactory. Considerable progress has been made withcomputerisation of the SMR through the thorough work ofJoe Peachey, under the overall supervision of Andrew Pike.The BBMC funded programme will end in March. Thecompletion of this programme after four years' work will bea significant milestone in the SMR 's development.Buckinghamshire is unusual in the region in having an SMRwhich had its roots in the pre-war Ordnance SurveyCorrespondent system, and the amount of data which hashad to be transferred has been substantial, forming now thelargest database on the County's mainframe. We now lookforward to a more active role for the record and to furtherenhancement. One public face of the SMR has been thepublication of a series of County Council circular walkleaflets including much archaeological informationsupplied from the SMR by Andrew Pike Finally thanks aredue to the County Museum Archaeological Group whosemembers continue to give regular support to all theMuseum's archaeological activities, despite there no longerbeing regular Tuesday gatherings.MILTON KEYNES ARCHAEOLOGY UNIT1990-91By the time these notes are printed Milton KeynesArchaeological Unit will have been transformed from aactive archaeological field unit to a purely post-excavationorganisation. This is as a result of the 'winding-up' of MiltonKeynes Development Corporation, the Unit's founder andsole funding body. Although the Development Corporationwill cease to exist at the end of March 1992 this does notmean that there will be no more development in the city. Infact the greater part of the eastern and western flanks stillremain to be developed. After twenty years of continuousarchaeological study there will no longer be a single bodyresponsible only for the archaeology of the remainingdevelopment areas. Buckinghamshire 's over-extendedMuseum Service will become the sole monitoring body. Itis not only excavation and fieldwork that will cease: manyof the other services which the Unit has offered over recentyears will be severely reduced if not curtailed completely.In particular the educational and metal detectoristprogrammes will be largely terminated. The one area wherewe may be certain of increased activity is the publication ofthe excavation programme. By the time the Unit is finallyclosed in March 1994 it is expected that all of the plannedmonographs will be completed and in press, if not actuallyon sale. Once again many significant finds have beenreported by detectorists worldng under MKAU's metaldetector policy (SMA 20, 1990, 20). Certainly the mostunexpected and perhaps the most important of these was aLate Bronze Age coil-ended gold bracelet of a type onlypreviously reported from five hoards in S. Britain. Thisbracelet has been acquired by Buckinghamshire CountyMuseum with the aid of a grant from the Victoria and AlbertMuseum. Summaries of the Unit's main activities over thepast year are presented below.FIELD PROJECTS(See Fig. 1 for location plan.)Fenny Stratford BypassBob Zeepvat SP 893333Construction of this road to the south of Fenny Stratford,linking the M to the 8488 Bletchley to Leighton Buzzardroad, began in July 1990. At its north end, the by-passfollowed the line of Galley Lane, passing close to thescheduled area of the Roman town of Magiovinium, thoughoutside the known boundary of the town. Shortly after workbegan on the by-pass, the discovery of a number of Romanburials was reported to the Archaeology Unit by detectoristGordon Heritage. Although outside the designated area ofMilton Keynes, and therefore beyond MKAU's normal areaof operations, the Unit was requested to cover this and anyother discoveries because of staff shortages at the CountyMuseum. Accordingly, Peter Busby (Buzz) from the Unit'sWestbury excavation was despatched to deal with theburials. One week later, detectorists Andy Smith, GeorgeFoster, Dick Colliass and Tony Smith reported to the writerthe discovery of a Roman coin forger's hoard, consisting ofbronze coin blanks and bronze pellets contained in threecoarse-ware pots, and a pair of iron coin dies. These hadbeen deeply buried in a pit or ditch, about 25m. N of theburials. Both burials and hoard lay beneath the line of GalleyLane. In addition to the major discoveries listed above, manyother metal detector finds from the site were reported to theUnit during the course of the month, by which time amember of staff from the County Museum, Andrew Hunn,took over the watching brief on the by-pass. Among these40

Fig 1. Milton Keynes Location Plan.finds, of particular note was a small bronze ram (Fig. 2),evidently part of a larger statuette of Mercury, found bydetectorist Alan Stewart.The burialsA total of nine extended inhumation burials were recorded,along a 20m. length of the road formation from about 100m.S of the A5/Galley Lane roundabout Most had been badlydamaged during site stripping, and were in a fragmentarycondition, so efforts were concentrated on lecording theburials and recovering dating evidence, rather than the moretime-consuming process of lifting the burials. In addition, anumber of adjacent pits and ditches were recorded andsampled. Four of the burials were of adults, three of children(one an infant), and the remainder too fragmentary toidentify. Five were aligned north-south, and one east-west.Only one grave contained any finds: a few sherds of lateRoman pottery in its fill. None was associated in any waywith the other features noted in the area. Examination of thelatter produced only two small Roman sherds from one ofthe two ditches noted.The Forger's HoardLike the inhumations described above, this was alsodiscovered beneath the former line of Galley Lane, butfurther north, about 75m. S of the roundabout. It was notpossible to ascertain the circumstances of the hoard's burial,as enthusiastic excavation by the finders, coupled with thechumed-up state of the site, had obliterated any trace of aditch or pit by the time a site visit could be arranged. Aftercleaning of the material had been completed, the threepottery vessels were reported on by Pauline Mamey (Fig.3), whiLst the writer undertook statistical analysis of the coinblanks Metallurgical analysis of the blanks and dies, as well41

0 cm.Fig. 3. Bronze Ram.as conservation of the latter, is being carried out by theBritish Museum. Further studies of the coin blanks are underway at the Institute of Archaeology and KingstonPolytechnic. The vessels containing the copper alloyelements of the hoard were all of local sand-temperedgrey-ware fabrics, ranging in height from 116-120mm., andimitating the BB1 miniature cooking pot. Dating is difficultwith such forms and fabrics, and these examples are thoughtto date perhaps to the late third to early fourth century AD.Each of these three vessels contained the products of whatare believed to be different stages in the striking of Romancoins. The fust held 0.6kg. of bronze pellets, cut from a rodabout 5mm. in diameter. These are thought to have been theraw material, ready for melting down to cast the rough coinblanks. The second contained 246 blanks, all of which hadundergone some hammering out, but were not ready forstriking. The third held 352 finished blanks, ready forstriking. The average weight of the blanks in both of theselast two stages was 2.47gm., Which suggests, along with thedate of the pottery, that the intended end-product was latethird century counterfeit antoniniani, better known as'barbarous radiates'. The two iron dies, found immediatelybeneath the pots, evidently forrned a set. Both were about25mm. in diameter, the larger, upper die measuring 144nun.in length, and the lower 55mm. As both were heavilycorroded, no detaiLs were visible. It is hoped that carefulcleaning by the British Museum's conservators may revealtraces of the die faces. Whilst a number of Roman forger'shoards have been recovered from sites in this country, theFenny Stratford find is of particular significance for tworeasons. Firstly, it is the first instance of a hoard containingboth material and equipment for striking coins, althoughstruck forgeries are themselves common. While bronze coinblanks have been found elsewhere, sometimes with struckimitation coins, much of the evidence for forging so farfound has been for moulding coins, which does not requirethe technological skill necessary for engraving suitable diefaces. Secondly, the dies themselves are believed to be thefirst pair made of iron, official or counterfeit, found in thiscountry.Other findsAs might be expected, a number of Roman coins and metalobjects, as well as quantities of pottery, were brought in byvarious detectorists. Of particular interest among the objectswas a small copper alloy figurine of a ram, 32nun. high,found by detectorist Alan Stewart (Fig. 2). The ram stoodon a rectangular base, on the underside of which were tracesof solder. Over the back of the ram hung two panniers orFig. 3. Forger's Hoard pots.0 5 10cm.- - - I42

ags. This piece was possibly part of a larger statue ofMercury; the bags represent the god's purses. This object isof particular importance because, whiLst bronzes of ramssometimes associated with Mercury have been found inBritain, this is the only 'mown example where the ramcarries the purses.Walton HallBob Zeepvat SP 888367In November 1990 the Unit was requested by theDevelopment Corporation to conduct an evaluation of threefields at Wahon Hall, close to the Open University, prior tothe sale of the site for a private development The primaryobjective was to determine the extent, nature and state ofpreservation of a Roman site first noted during excavationsin 1972 on the line of city grid road H9 Groveway,immediately to the S of the area in question. The three fieldsconcerned amounted to an area of some 6.25 hectares, andwere mostly covered by ridge and furrow, though theeasternmost contained some medieval earthworks related toWalton village. Evaluation was carried out bymachine-trenching, with 1.5m. wide trenches at 15m.centres. Some sampling of features thus exposed was carriedout, aided by detectorist Gordon Heritage. The main area ofRoman occupation was found to cover about half a hectareimmediately to the N of the 1972 discoveries, with outlyingfield boundary ditches and other features extending oversome three hectares. From the type of features and the rangeof finds recovered, the Walton Hall settlement was native incharacter, similar to the adjacent Wavendon Gate site,excavated in 1989. Analysis of the ceramic finds gave a daterange from the mid third to fourth century, with only a fewearlier sherds present. A similar date range was noted fromthe coins recovered. Apart from the ridge and furrow,evidence of medieval or later activity was confined to twoareas; on the south side of the lane leading to WaltonChurch, adjacent to Walton Rectory, and on the east side ofWalton Road. In the former, expanses of cobbling werenoted, probably an extension of the stable yard on that sideof the Rectory, which dates from the sixteenth century. Inthe second area patches of cobbling were noted on one of arow of house plots alongside Walton Road, the plot beingbounded at its rear by a stone wall and ditch.Fig. 4. Caldecotte.43

CaldecotteBob Zeepvat SP 894354IntroductionThe final project in the Archaeology Unit's twenty yearprogramme of major excavations in the city was begun inSéptember 1990 on the earthworks of the deserted village ofCaldecotte. The site, which is a scheduled ancientmonument, was originally earmarked by the DevelopmentCorporation for housing development, but afterrepresentations from English Heritage, part of the earthworkcontaining the best preserved house platforms has beenretained as open space. Despite this reduction, the arearequiring archaeological examination totalled some 36000square metres, and contained a mixture of ridge and furrow,small enclosures or crofts in varying states of preservation,and a hollow way cutting diagonally across many earlierearthwork features (Fig. 4). As the excavation, supervisedby John Roberts, will continue until the end of March 1991,what follows is of necessity a general statement of what hasbeen achieved so far, and a more detailed report will appearin the next issue of SMA.MethodPrior to excavation, a detailed contour survey of that part ofthe area not containing ridge and furrow was carried out.This was used in conjunction with a 'desk-top' survey of theavailable documentary, field survey and aerial photographevidence for the site, to attempt an interpretation of the siteso as to target particular areas for excavation. Also takeninto account in this study were the results of the Unit'searlier excavations to the west of the present site in 1978-80,directed by Martin Petchey, which revealed extensive earlyRoman occupation and industrial activity, as well as amedieval moat and a post-medieval water mill (CBA 9Newsletters 9-11). This contour survey is now beingextended to the remainder of the site, including the retainedpart, to build up a fuller picture of the original scheduledmonument. The evidence from the survey was reinforced byselective trial trenching of 'problem' areas. As a result ofthis preliminary work, four areas were targeted for topsoilstripping. Area 1, covering approximately 14000sqm. in theSE corner of the scheduled area, encompassed much of thehollow way, as well as several possible enclosures or crofts.To the north of this Area 2, covering 1200sqm., was openedto examine a part of the site devoid of any visibleearthworks. Area 3, measuring 3600m., was opened to testan area of ridge and furrow to the west of Area 1 for tracesof earlier occupation, while Area 4, covering 2700sqm. inthe SW corner of the field, was opened up to ascertain theeastward extent of the Roman features noted in earlierexcavations, and to examine the hollow way forming thewest boundary of the scheduled site.ResultsAs Areas 2 and 4 proved barren of features predating anyvisible earthworks, and excavations in Area 3 demonstratedthat evidence of Roman occupation in the fields to the westdid not extend into the scheduled area, much attention hasbeen given to excavating Area 1. The hollow way nowappears not to have crossed the site, as was first thought, butto have led to a coinplex of post-medieval stone-footedbuildings situated east of the centre of Area 1, while on thewestern side of the area excavations have identified two,possibly three, medieval crofts, a circular stone-footeddovecote, a pond, and numerous features of thirteenth andfourteenth century date. Excavation of these earlier featuresis still underway.An Interim Report on the Excavations at Westbury.ByShenley, BuckinghamshireBuzzThe excavations at Westbury were centred on SP 829356immediately N of Shenley Brook End (the southemsettlement of Shenley Parish, Milton Keynes). The site issituated midway down a gentle south facing slopeoverlooking a tributary of the Loughton brook. The soilshere are all gleys derived from an alkaline boulder day, andare under permanent grazing, except north of theexcavations, where recent arable cultivation has taken over.This post-war land use change will culminate within the nextfew years with the total absorbtion of Shenley parish by theexpanding New Town. It is this urban expansion which hasdirectly led to a large scale landscape excavation on whathas been called Westbury 'deserted village': a collection ofsubstantial earthworks strung along a number ofhollow-ways, flanked to the W by the thirteenth centurymoated manor at Westbury Farm and to the E by anotherpossible moated manor, (Fig. 5). Previous archaeologd.calwork has involved the scheduling of the eastern moatedmanor (AM no.90), the listing of Westbury Fann, theexcavation of two small areas during 1984-1986 and fieldwalking of the ploughed fields to the N of the site (SMA 15,1985, 45 and SMA 16, 1986, 54). The current phase ofinvestigation consisted of a full scale earthwork survey andinterpretation by RCHME in addition to an extensiveevaluation of the below ground archaeology by a networkof trial trenches (SMA 20, 1990, 20), followed by eighteenmonths of large scale excavation. On the basis of previouswork, the thick worm-sorted top soil was mechanicallyremoved over an area of approximately 44,000sqm.. Thisallowed the selection of some 39,000sqm. for fullexcavation. In all over 75% of the surviving earthworks havebeen excavated since 1984.Pre Late Iron AgeActivity prior to the Late Iron Age is represented only byresidual finds ie, flint artefacts.Late Iron Age/Early Romano-BritishThis period sees the creation and development of, what maybe best described as a 'Celtic' field system across most ofcentral and western areas of excavation. Interspersed withinthe fields were discrete areas of domestic habitation seen asconcentrations of finds and pits rather than structures.44

Fig. 5. Westbury by Shenley.RomanInitially the only detectable activity was the interment of anumber of cremations in the SW corner of the excavations.However, by the third century the archaeological record inthe NW corner of the excavation shows that the earlier fieldsystems were undergoing a substantial reorganisationinvolving the creation of an E-W droveway and smallrectangular fields, set out roughly parallel to the line of whatwas to become the medieval E-W hollow-way. The onlyknown structure of this date lies outside the area ofexcavation, behind the council houses in Shenley BrookEnd. It may be associated with the nineteenth centuryreference to mosaics under Dovecote Fann (Haverfield1901, 342). Sometime during or shortly after this phase ofactivity a group of water collection sumps were dug into theremains of a major N-S 'Celtic' field boundary in thewestern area of excavation in the general area of thecremations. One of these was subsequently converted into aflax retting pit, producing an interesting plant macrofossilassemblage.Middle SaxonThis phase of activity consists mainly of a late paganinhumation cemetery, located in the same general area asthe Roman cremations.Saxo-NormanThere were two foci of activity at this period, one along theN-S hollow-way to the south of Westbury Farm, the otherat the crossroads in the centre of the excavated area. Bothare represented by concentrations of postholes and pits,surrounded by what appear to be small fields.MedievalThis phase of activity is characterised by a lack of structuralevidence although there are hints of domestic occupation,je. hearths and the first archaeological evidence of arablecultivation. The more westerly area of Saxo-Normanoccupation was ploughed over, and in the central andwestern areas of excavation quarrying for clay took place.Late MedievalThe Late Medieval activity appears to mark an expansion inthe settlement and is marked by the creation of the survivingearthworks. These can best be described as a collection offarmstead complexes strung along a number ofhollow-ways, surrounded by ploughlands. These were inactive use but were also being eaten into by the expansionand creation of individual fannsteads. All these farmsteadscontain similar components, though somewhat differentlyarranged. Each has a cobbled surface, usually fonning a pathwhich in some cases expands into yard surfaces. Thecobbled areas link the ploughlands to hollow-ways viabuilding and activity areas. The building sites themselvesare very different from previous structures (which werelargely post-built) being characterised, archaeologically, byvacant rectangles, surrounded on one or more sides bycobbled surfaces and probably represent the sites oftimber-framed structures. The only activity areas identifiedso far are the 'open areas' associated with each platform.These were invariably devoid of archaeologically detectablefeatures and were bounded by ditches and buildings. They45

were presumably used for hay ricks, temporary animal pens,iniddens etc. In addition to these discrete areas of burningactivity (although no slag was found in association) andsurface water collection sumps were identified.Post MedievalA 1698 estate map shows the area of excavations as enclosedfields with no building and with the settlement of ShenleyBrook End to the S existing much as it does now. In additionthe site of the scheduled earthworks to the E of the site isshown as a relatively large house, adding credence to themore recent interpretation that it is a sixteenth century houseand garden earthwork complex rather than a medievalmoated manor. So in conclusion the excavation hasuncovered a complex sequence of land use covering the last2000 years, allowing us the unique opportunity to look at indepth, the development and subsequent decline of an EastMidlands, claylands deserted medieval settlement.BibliographyHaverfield F. 1901 Quarterly notes on Roman Bntain, TheAntiquary 37, 1901.Excavations at Tattenhoe Deserted Medieval SettlementN.ShepherdThe deserted settlement at Tattenhoe (centred SP 829340)sits on a S facing slope overlooking the Loughton Brook, atributary of the Ouse. The land is currently under cultivationto provide grazing and other fodder crops. As recently as1963 Tattenhoe was described as one of the best examplesof a deserted medieval village in Buckinghamshire. Farmingactivities over the past quarter of a century have seriouslydenuded, levelled and obscured many of the earthworks.However, several major feattues are still well preserved,Fig. 6: 1) The church, which is still regularly used, isessentially the structure that was rebuilt in 1540 probably onthe site of the thirteenth century chapel. 2) The moated site.3)A series of fish ponds. To the SE of this complex a markedhollow-way runs down the slope towards the LoughtonBrook and another pond. On either side of the hollow-waya series of rather vague earthworks, describing smallenclosures, may still be seen. The site is a scheduled ancientmonument: the area of best preserved earthworlcs around thechurch and moat will retain this protection. Excavation wasundertaken to sample that part of the site to the south of thechurch that has been earmarked for development. On thebasis of trial work completed in 1988 (SMA 19 (1989),16-18), three separate areas were mechanically stripped oftopsoil (A, B and C), amounting to approximately9400sqm., just under 10% of the known extent of thesettlement, Fig. 6.Area AThis was located to the NE of two linear ponds running SEfrom the moated enclosure. Almost all the earthworksvisible on aerial photographs had been levelled byploughing, apart from a prominent bank running along theNW. edge of the adjacent ponds. Scattered remains ofeleventh/twelfth century activity were recorded in the formof pits, post-holes, short lengths of ditch and at least onesimple post-built building. These were overlain, probably inthe thirteenth century, by ridge and furrow delimited to theNE and SW by field ditches. Some time after this theadjacent ponds were constructed, the upcast from theirexcavation forming a bank that partly sealed the fieldditches.Area BThis was located some 150m. down-slope to the SE of areaA at a point straddling the hollow-way and approximatingto the centre of the settlement. As in area A, most of theearthworks visible on aerial photographs had been levelledalthough the hollow-way was still a substantial feature. Onexcavation this was found to be surfaced with cobbles formost of its length, with drainage ditches on either side. Threecrofts, two to the north of the hollow-way and one to thesouth were identified. All three consisted of a complex ofbuildings (probably a mixture of timber framed and cobconstruction), grouped around cobbled yards andsurrounded by small closes defined by drainage ditches.This overall arrangement appears to have undergone littlechange over time and provisional dating suggestsoccupation spanning the twelfth to the fifteenth centuries.Quarrying for clay within the abandoned crofts seem to havetaken place during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.Area CThis was located 60m. down-slope to the SE of area B, itseastern edge being located over the hollow-way. Scattered(and as yet undated) pits, post-boles, ditches and at least onesimple post-built building were sealed by ridge and furrowrespecting a major E/W field boundary. To the S of this wasa small group of closes adjacent to an open yard area. Withinthis was located a possible bread oven of limestoneconstruction and a simple agricultural kiln (perhaps a dryingkiln or malting oven). Provisional dating places theseactivities between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries.Quarrying for clay and gravel seems to have taken placewithin the closes during the fifteenth and possibly sixteenthcenturies but there was evidence for more extensivequarrying beyond the hollow-way to the E. Here longnarrow strips or plots of gravel had been excavatedsuggesting a more controlled and organised approach.Dating this late phase of activity is difficult but certainly bythis time the hollow-way had gone out of use for access andbad become filled up with quarrying waste.ConclusionA simple linear arrangement of crofts arranged along awinding hollow-way (set within a classic open-fieldlandscape), existed between the eleventh and fifteenthcenturies. Some early changes in layout seem to haveoccurred but the pattern then established appears to haveremained broadly unchanged until abandonment. Thechurch and manor apparently remained in use and thecurrent foim of the major earthworks suggests that they mayhave been modified by post-medieval garden landscaping.Post-excavation analysis is now underway and significantemphasis will be placed on setting the excavated areas into46

TATTENHOE DMV : 1990Excavated areas plotted against ploughed-out earthworksArea AClaud%Holloat-wrf...........Area C0 50 100 200 MetresyliallowAnyFig. 6. Tattenhoe Medieval Settlement.the context of the wider landscape. Joint publication withthe nearby site of Westbury (scheduled for 1994 as part ofthe Records of Bucks monograph series) will give us theopportunity for comparative analysis between the two sitesand significantly widen the scope of our studies. Taken as awhole the Westbury/Tattenhoe project should provide amodel for the study of lowland medieval settlement inBritain.Public Relations, Education and LoterpretationMarion BlockleyPublicity and Media CoverageOver the past year the Unit's work has received considerableattention in the national and local press. Press launches werestaged at the Borough of Milton Keynes civic offices for theBradwell Abbey seal and the Fenny Stratford coin forger'shoard. During 1990 the work of the Unit has figured in newsbulletins on all three local TV stations. Live interviews andother reports were also given on the local, national andinternational radio stations.Public Relations and InterpretationA large number of temporary exhibitions and other eventswere staged during the last year. Topics covered includeWestbury medieval village, Wavendon Gate excavations,The Bradwell Abbey seal, the work of the ArchaeologyUnit, Symbols of Authority, Excavations at Walton Church,the Bradwell Abbey window and Bancroft Villa and theBancroft Villa Thriller.EventsDuring the summer of 1990 the Unit took part in 'Kids Dayat The Bowl' in support of the Milton Keynes Year of theEnvirorunent, the Buckinghamshire County Show and theOpen University Open Day. The Unit also organisedchildren's activities at Central Milton Keynes and WoburnSands Libraries, staged the 'Bancroft Villa Thriller' andstaged one of the six venues for the National YoungArchaeologists Day.47

PresentaticinClick Systems Ltd, have generously supplied three fineshowcases which are installed in Central Milton KeynesLibrary and the foyer of the Civic Offices in Milton Keynes.Regularly changing displays of the Unit's furl& aie now onpublic view. Six more full colour interpretation panels havebeen produced for sites within the city's parks, inconjunction with the Recreation Unit of Milton KeynesDevelopment Corporation.EducationRos Tyrrell and Marion Blockley have shown over 30school groups around the Bradwell Abbey exhibition andBancroft Villa, and provided talks and handling sessions inschools.'The Bancroft Villa Thriller'Two hundred children from five local sehools spent sixweeks working on, in and around the site of Bancroft RomanVilla. They worked with artists from Interaction (our localcommunity theatre company) their teachers, and theArchaeology Unit. The children became archaeologicaldetectives, searched for clues on site and used theirimagination to create their own version of the story of thesite. They made costumes, mosaics, furniture, statues andeven built a reconstruction of the mausoleum to bring thesite to life. The story was performed using music and dramain front of an audience of over 2000 and ended in aspectacular fire show. Much of the funding for this projectwas raised through sponsorship. A resource pack onBancroft Villa is in preparation with the Advisory Serviceof Buckinghamshire County Education Department. Anarticle on the Bancroft project will appear in the next issueof the CBA Education bulletin.Popular Book1991 will be occupied with the production of a glossyfull-colour book to celebrate the achievements of 21 yearsof Field Archaeology in Milton Keynes. A full colour leafleton the wort of the Unit may be obtained from MKAU, 16Erica Road, Stacey Bushes, MILTON ICEYNES, MK126PA.ST LAWRENCE'S CHLTRCHYARD, BRADWELL,MILTON ICEYNESPatricia Reynolds M.A.IntroductionPosition of The SiteSt Lawrence's churchyard is situated within the village ofBradwell, an estate of the New Town of Milton Keynes inthe county of Buckinghamshire (SP832395). Until therecent development of the New. Town estate of Bradwell, StLawrence was at the extreme south of the village; it is nowin the middle of the estate.The ThreatMany of the churches of Milton Keynes, despite the hugelyincreased population, are now redundant. New functions arefound for the buildings; these often mean that the traditionalcare of the churchyard is not maintained. St Lawrence's,Bradwell, is continuing, for the foreseeable future, to beused as a parish church. A small amount of oral history workamongst the older residents of the village has establishedthat, up to twenty years ago, there were many more stonesin the church yard. The present incumbent has indicated thatno more will be removed or moved: but with a change ofincumbency, there is no guarantee that this will remain so.The major, imminent threat to the churchyard is from theweathering of the stones. Amongst the materials used,especially in the 19th century, is a very crumbly sandstone.74% of these stones have lost all or part of their inscriptions.A recent innovation is the use of metal lettering, which,when it falls off, leaves only affixing holes to suggest wherethe text was, its length, and so on. At present, only a fewletters have fallen, and no text has been rendered illegible.Nevertheless, this presents a real threat to the futurelegibility of graveyard monuments.MethodologyThe record of the churchyard was made by members of theMilton Keynes Archaeological Society. The principles andmethodology outlined by Jeremy Jones (1984) have beenstrictly adhered to. The cards show how the examplesuggested by the CBA has been modified. A larger sheet hasbeen used so that there is no need for the recorder to turn thepage over (a boon in a windy churchyard).Two copies of the cards are kept: one in the County archivesat Aylesbury, and one by the Milton Keynes ArchaeologicalSociety; the church holds a copy of the plan and indexes tothe memorials. In addition, the written, but not thephotographic, record, is held on a database (dBase2, on anAmstrad PCW8512), which can be copied to anyoneinterested in the data. The Attwell-Fletcher SignificanceTest was used to test the significance of some of the findings.Originally this test was designed to investigate spatialrelationships; the relationship between "points" and"environment" (Attwell and Fletcher 1987). It has a majoradvantage in that it can be used with small data sets. One48

ebuilt stone wallCushes(7-1old stone wall\castiron_OM MIElfe/r,j91Acast iron gateposts by gut \v\-0....; -ii-rA s/E&H.Roberts, ,FDeanshanger01)JeP2- \ 40.C.--A ft IP" .4 Iso*..1111411 \.--ira.-", -oor/fr.....4 1"--- `, At' 0`"-E larnposir \ 4,, orf .old boundarY \ csipir,1 004"" M \*G-vo 1,0 45)..4:r \ \1?, or - I\ op'. Ivor ,,wtooe,e.far".5.4 r. .s. 'itr:\ 0 sArcast iron post.and rail fence.i ts.6 'isf;cast iron post and..Ç3 \:$T Issiti,"Aw .\ IS k."...-.ff .or-A.--v \-ir...,..tv% ..11..4.4.ir -virN .7-......0 .- .., Aroer-A- ilae ipor or 00-or .4rercrfir oordear ..-16 14rtA.-0 vot,-se&rail fence.'ume±:1'Iampost.CEDARSbushescast iron postand rail fence.om.11:E1otti210214 . SOS al.2142:11343a=)86Akerif:113331'" 1E14bcla'se E:::3oo 0.-signdwire4ence sbushe\P;32rtscast iron postand rail fenceditChIYEWSal tiE=1Plan of St Lawrence Church,Bradwell, Milton Keynes.GRAVESTONE RECORD! NO

has to know both the actual distribution and the expecteddistribution (based on the size of the various areas) of"points". The computer then simulates distributions (inmultiples of 100), and relates these to the actual "points",producing a test of the significance of association. Theprogram also produces a rough guide to the significance ofdistribution as a percentage of times it occurred duringsimulation.I first used the test to examine the position of memorials inthe churchyard The program was then used to examineother, non-spatial, relationships. To do this, a "point" (suchas a person) can be placed in an "environment" (such as ageat death) which is not necessarily composed of equal sizedsections (eg under twelve months, 1-5, 5-20, and so on). Thesections are weighted within the programme as if they wereparcels of land of various sizes.History of the siteBradwell is a Domesday village lying on and westwards ofa minor road between the Stony Stratford to NewportPagnell turnpike (opened 1814) and the Roman WatlingStreet (opened as a turnpike in 1700). The London andBirmingham Railway, opened in 1838, passes the church afew hundred yards to the west, beyond the allotments.As Rahtz points out (1976), "The churchyard is normally asold as the church it serves, and sometimes older". If tbis isthe case with St Lawrence, there is no known indication ofit St Lawrence 's church appears to date from the earlythirteenth century. Mynard (1981) has a full history of thechurch buildings.There has been one recorded expansion of the church yard;when the area between the "old boundary" and the thecast-iron fence (points A - C) was added in the mid-twentiethcentury. Despite extensive modern building around thechurch, except to the west, which is under allotments, thereis record of human remains being found. This would suggestthat the modem churchyard represents its greatest extent.Talking with local people before and during the survey drewtwo graves -- the memorials of Kitelee Chandos Bailey(number 233) and Harry James Stammers (number 40) --and a myth to our attention. Bailey was the vicar of Bradwellfrom 1869 to his death in 1921. He is remembered as a "greatman". He "ruled the village and small boys went in terror ofhim". We were told that all his family were buried in thechurchyard "even though they didn't live in the parish".Stammers was a master glass painter, and some of his workis in the church. We were told by the Rev. Byrne that theprevious incumbent had told him that the only interestingmemorials were some "small stones" marking the graves ofnavvies who died during the construction of the railway.We asked him to point these out to us, but they proved to befootstones of monuments numbered 97, 99, 101, 103, 105and 106.AnalysesThe Distribution of Monuments by DateResultsAs we surveyed the churchyard, it was noticed that "early"monuments tended to be around the church, and later onesfurther away. It is known that a portion of the churchyardwas purchased, and the earliest memorial in this area is 1947.The hedge-line of the earlier area can be seen on the groundas a low bank.We recorded the distance of each monument from thenearest point on the church. For statistical analysis thechurchyard was divided into five 10 metre bands, sector 1being nearest the church, and sector 5 the furthest away.Table (1) showing the position of monumentsSector 1 2 3 4 5 Total1800 10 1 0 0 0 11- 18241825- 6 1 2 0 0 9- 18491850 4 9 6 0 0 19- 18741875 6 7 4 6 3 26- 18991900 0 1 11 11 3 26- 19241925 0 0 11 15 7 33- 19491950 0 0 9 36 0 45- 19741975 0 2 0 16 14 32- 1986Total 26 21 43 84 27 201It will be noticed that the three monuments dated before1800 have been excluded from this table. This was donebecause the numbers involved were too small to analyse.The Attwell-Fletcher test was used to calculate thelikelihood of the distribution of monuments being random.Firstly, the rows were analysed. The null hypothesis was thatthere was no association between the date of burial anddistance from the church.1800-1824: the observed numbers of monuments in the0-10m band was above the 5% significance level.1825-1849: the observed number of monuments in the0-10m band was above the 5% significance level.1850-1874: the observed number of monuments in the10-20m band was above the 5% significance level.1900-1924: the observed number of monuments in the20-30m and 30-40m bands were above the 5% significancelevel and the number of monuments in the 0-10m band wasbelow the 5% significance level.1925-1949: the observed number of monuments in the30-40m band was above the 5% significance level and thenumber of monuments in the 0-10m and 10-20m bands werebelow the 5% significance level.49

1950-1974: the observed number of monuments in the30-40m band was above the 5% significance level and thenumber of monuments in the 0-10m and 10-20m bands werebelow the 5% significance level.1975-1986: the observed number of monuments in the30-40m and 40m+ bands were above the 5% significancelevel and the number of monuments in the 0-10m and20-30m bands were below the 5% significance level.Overall, the observed number of monuments in the 30-40mband was above the 5% significance level, and the numberin the 10-20m band was below the 5% significance level.Then the columns were analysed. The null hypothesis wasthat there was no association between the position and dateof burials. In the band 0-10m from the church the observednumber of monuments dating from 1800 to 1824 was abovethe 5% significance level. In the band 10-20m from thechurch the observed number of monuments dating from1850 to 1874 was above the 5% significance level. This doesnot contradict the findings of the first analysis.DiscussionThus our first idea that early monuments were likely to benear the church was confinned for those monuments dating1800 - 1849. In the following years, sites further from thechurch have been selected, and those nearer to the churchhave been avoided. Only one finding is outside this pattern:that in the period 1950-74, the observed number ofmonuments over 40m from the church was below the 5%significance level. This was probably due to the provision,shortly before, of the new section of the churchyard, whichgave more -space nearer to the church.The pattern reflects a crowded churchyard - support for theoral history data collected earlier (see p. 5).Orientation of GravesIn almost all cases it was possible to determine the axis ofthe burial, and in many the orientation of the grave could bedetermined.The precise orientation of the grave tends to be influencedby the local environment. The church is not alignedeast-west, but ESE-WNW, and this orientation is followedby graves 158 to 203 and the cremation plaques.Numbers 1 to 121, 124 to 131, 133 and 136 are all alignedalong the "old boundary", and later along the "newboundary", which is parallel to it.Numbers 122, 123, 132, 134, 137, 139, 141, 143, 144 to 157,206, 209 to 211, 214 and 224 are all aligned on the path.Number 227 is placed against the N - J boundary.Numbers 135, 138, 140 and 142 are possibly aligned on thepath, or possibly aligned on the church. They are a long wayfrom either.Numbers 212, 215 to 223, 225, 226 and 228 to 241 are notinfluenced by their environment, but aligned 6n a trueeast-west axis.Types of Monument (Table 2)There are seven basic types of monument: headstone,footstone, flatstone, tomb, edgings, flowerpots andcremation plaques. They occur in various combinations.Flat stones were particularly popular before 1850 and in thefirst quarter of the twentieth century. In the twentiethcentury, they have been particularly used in combinationswith other types of monument. At present, they are not used.Headstones have always been used. In the period 1850-1950they were more often used in combinations than on theirown, but since 1950 they are found on their own again.Tombs are particular to the eighteenth and nineteenthcenturies.Footstones are rarely found except with other types ofmonument. They are particularly found in the latter half ofthe nineteenth century'.Edgings have only been used frequently on their own duringthe period 1925-1949, but have been used in combinationsfrom 1900-1974. They are not currently used.Flowerpots have been used since 1925, on their own and incombinations in about equal proportions. Since 1975 theyhave only been used in combination with cremation plaques.Cremation plaques have been used since 1950. FIoweipotsare an increasingly conunon addition.The greatest proportion of complex monuments, using morethan one type, are found in the period 1900- 1924.DiscussionIt appears that at a given time certain types of monument aiemore popular than others. The popularity of edgings,headstones and footstones appears to be linked: footstoneswere used with headstones from 1850 to 1900, and edgingswere used after that.The popularity of cremation plaques obviously reflects thepopularity of this method of burial. The popularity of tombsmay be a similar indicator of belief.Size of MonumentsFlat stones range in length from 240 mm to 2440 mm. Largeflat stones (over 2000 mm) are not found before 1876, shortones (under 1250 mm) are found at all times, but morefrequently after 1950. Width too is variable: from 300 mmto 1230 mm, generally in proportion to length. It was notalways possible to measure the thickness of the stone: wherepossible it varied between 50 mm and 850 mm. Thiclaiessdoes not relate to other dimensions or to date.50

Table (2) The types of monuments compared over timeaTOTAL -1800 1800- 1825- 1850- 1875- 1900- 1925- 1950- 1975+(inc. undated) 1824 1849 1874 1899 1924 1949 1974Flat stone (40) 3 3 3 8 12 2 1+ head & foot (1) 1+ foot (1) 1+ " & edgings (1) 1+ edgings (11) 3 3 5+ flower pot (1) 1TOTAL USES (55) 3 3 3 10 15 4 9 1Headstone (88) I 2 2 8 4 4 21 25+ foot (17) 1 6 1 1+ cross (2)+ edgings (26) 1 1 6 7 8+ " & pot (4) 2 2+ flower pot (1)TOTAL USES (139)1 2 5 14 16 13 13 32 27Tomb(8) 2 4 2Footstone (12) 1 1 2 1+ edgings (3) 1 2TOTAL USES (35) 1 2 7 10 2 5Edgings (10 ) 1 9+ cross (1) 1+ flower pot (5) 2TOTAL USES (43) 3 10 22 20 2Flower pot (18) 2 3+ base (1)TOTAL USES (38) 4 7 11Cremation (36) 17 19Plaque+ flower pot (13) 11TOTAL USES (49) 19 30Table (3) Percentage of monuments with 1, 2 or 3 components comparedover time-1800 1800- 1825- 1850- 1875- 1900- 1925- 1950- 1975+No Components 1824 1849 1874 1899 1924 1949 19741 100 100 63 70 69 57 55 65 772 37 30 28 43 39 30 333 3 6 5The eight tombs range from 0.23m to 2.79m. They increase in size over time, withone exception: number 182, which isabout half the size that would be expectedif it fitted into the sc.heme of increases.Footstones are always smaller than theaccompanying headstone. They also tendto be thinner and narrower than theaverage for headstones.Cremation plaques are all the same size:196mm high, 221mm wide, and 25mmthick.Flowerpots range in height from 100mmto 620nun (including base), or 295 if thatis excluded. 1:1:1 is the commonestproportion, but 1:1.3:1.3, 1:L4:1.4,1:1.4375:1.4375, 1:1.5:1.5, 1:1.56:1.56,and 1:0.88:0.88 are also found.Two of the wooden crosses are 368mmhigh and 25mm thick and one is 564mmhigh and 49mm thick. They are between318mm and 588mm wide.DiscussionTwo general trends can be observed in thesize of monument: firstly, there is anincrease in size in many monuments,leading to a maximum in the latenineteenth century, Secondly, smallermonuments tend to occur after 1925 formany types of monument.It is interesting to note that the "small"tomb, number 182, is that of a daughterwho married out of the family.Table (4) showing sizes of headstonesHeight before1800- 150 rnm150 - 500 mm500 - 700 mm700 - 900 mm 1900- 1100mrn1100. 1300 mm1300 mm +1800 1825 1850 1875 1900 1925 1950 19751824 1849 1874 1899 1924 1949 1974 present1 11 2 2 8 51 7 5 83 1 5 13 171 3 3 2 2 11 I 6 7 1 11 4 2Head stones range in height from 150 mm to 1470 mm. Theoccurrence of various sizes are shown in table 4:Thickness ranges from 12mm to 370mm. Thick stones aredefined as those over 100mm, thin stones those under65mm. Short stones are often thick, but tall stones do nottend to any particular thickness. Width ranges from 230mmto 915mm. Wide stones are defined as those over 700nun,narrow stones those under 500min. Tall stones are nevernarrow, and only occasionally wide. Short stones are oftenwide. Width and thickness are not otherwise associated.Direction of InscriptionsThe faces of monuments bearinginscriptions was recorded as being north,south, east, west or top, with thesouthwestern edge of southwest/northeastaligned monuments being recorded assouth and so on.The various types of monuments fall intofive groups with regard to inscriptions:1/ headstones and footstones, which are only inscribed ontheir west or east faces (except where displaced). The eastis twice as likely to be inscribed as the west for headstones,but there is no difference for footstones. There are only twopie-twentieth century headstones where the western sidewas not used for inscription: these are numbers 227(southern and nortem) which are positioned with theirwestern sides against a hedge. For twentieth centuryheadstones the western side is only inscribed for numbers51

89, 131, 136, 145, and 147, which date from 1907 to 1923.2/ flat stones and tombs, which may be inscribed on any oftheir five faces (this applies even to flatstones, which mayhave "house-ridges"). For flat stones, the top is most oftenutilised, followed by E,W,S,N. For tombs, there is littledifference in the number of times each side is selected, theorder of use being T,N/S,E,W.3/ edgings, which may be inscribed on any of their faces.Over half were inscribed on their east face, about 10% ateach of the other cardinal points, and only 2% on top.4/ flowerpots, which may be inscribed on any of the cardinalpoints. Over two- thirds are inscribed on the east face or side,about 10% at each of the other cardinal points.5/ cremation plaques, which may be inscribed on any of thecardinal points. 75% are inscribed on the east, 15% on thenorth and 10% on the south.DiscussionIt is evident from the plan of the churchyard that the choiceof side to be inscribed is sometimes conditioned by itsvisibility. This is clearest in the crémation garden, where notone plaque faces west, to the church wall. Some of theearliest graves, in the Battams enclosure (numbers 164-173inclusive), are positioned so that people outside theenclosure can read who is buried there. This is not, however,a universal factor, for one tomb (number 179) is inscribedonly a few inches from the church wall.While stones in the area between lampposts P and E and thesignposts could have been inscribed on the west to makethem visible from the paths, it is more likely that this wasthe traditional side to inscribe. Sometime during the earlytwentieth century, this pattern reversed and the eastern sidebecame commoner.Monument Materials:A wide variety of materials were used (occurrencesfollowing in brackets, total occurrences are to be found insquare brackets at the end):Ceramic [2]Concrete [3]Grey stone { unidentified further [1]Granite (13) [Black (3), Dark (2), Dark Grey (1), Grey (13),Light (3), Pink (2), Red-Brown (10), Red (7), White(3) ) [58]Limestone [21]Marble (10) Black (9), Dark Grey (1), Grey (3), White(94), White/Grey (3) ) [120]Sandstone (103) ( Grey (1), Red (2) ) [106]Wood [3]Neither of the two ceramic monuments is dated. They werepainted to look like granite and marble.The single dated concrete monument is dated 1921.The single unidentified grey stone monument is dated 1940.The earliest dated granite stone of any colour is dated formthe 1850s (the last digit is not readable). Granite continuesto be used until the present day. Light, Pink, Red-brown andWhite granite all have limited periods of occurrence.The dates of first and last occurrence are as follows:Black 1923-1971Dark 1947-1951Dark Grey 1979Grey 185?-1985no colour specified 1890-1985Light 1933-1969Pink 1904-1918Red-Brown 1902-1955Red 1936-1980White 1936-1955The first dated example made of limestone is dated 1839,then there are no dated examples in the period 1867-1973.Since 1973 runestone has been a popular material, with 14memorials made from it.The first dated example of marble (any colour) is 1860. Thematerial continues to be used to the present. All the coloursrecorded have a similar longevity, except black marble anda white/grey marble, which are newcomers. The dates offirst and last occurrence are as follows:Black 1961-1980Dark 1948Grey 1876-1981no colour specified 1860-1977White 1878-1986White/Grey 1953-1978The first dated example of sandstone (any colour) is 1738,and it is almost the only material which survives from theperiod 1738-1860. There are only four examples after 1910,and none after 1969. The dates of first and last occurrenceare as follows:Red 1863-1942Grey 1969no colour specified 1738-1964Wood is used for three markers, only one is dated (1984).DiscussionThe ceramic vases were painted to look like stone, probablythey were cheaper than granite or marble vases.It is apparent from the condition of the graves which thewooden memorials mark that they are used to identify recentburiaLs for that interval of time until the ground settlessufficiently for a stone monument to be raised.There are several patterns in the occurrence of materialswhich could be interpreted as the result of fashion. Darkcoloured marbles and granites are, with the exception of twoblack granite monuments from the 1920s and 1930s, recent.52

Table (5) Showing condition of inscriptionsMint WomMainlyDecipherable Trace IIleg.Ceramic 1 0 o o oConcrete o o 1 o 1Wood 3 0 o 0 oGrey stone o o 1 o oGranite 18 42 0 0 oLimestone 16 3 ' 1 0 0Marble 49 53 18 1 0Sandstone 4 26 41 1 11The use of white/grey marble appears to supersede the useof white granite in the mid 1950s.Sandstone has not been frequently used as a material since1910, perhaps because other, harder-wearing, stone hasTable (6) Methods used for InscriptionsMethod No Conins DatesApplied Bronze letter 1 1 1969Applied Lead letter 1 2 1922Applied Metal letter 3 1 1971-1980Applied Yellow Metal letter 1 1 1975Applied Plastic Metal letter 3 1.6 1971-1982CoatedMetal plate (incised) 1 1 1984Brass plate (incised) 1 3 1921Incised 169 2.3 1738-1986Incised, metal filled 1 1980Incised, metal filled,Incised, metal filled,painted Black1111.318171816-1985Incised, metal filled,painted Gold10 1.4 1960-1978Incised, metal filled,1 2 1949painted SilverIncised, metal filled,1 1 1973painted WhiteIncised, yellow 1 1 1839Incised, lead filled 66 2.1 1839-1969Incised, lead filled, 2 2 1950-1955Incised, lead filled, 1 2 1942Incised, lead filled, 1 2 1947Pattern of nails 1 1 undatedMaterialBlack MarbleWhite MarbleGranite (Red/Dark Grey(irey)Black MarbleGrey Granite,Black MarbleWoodConcreteLimestone,Sandstone(Grey/Red-Brown/Red/unspecified )WoodGranite (Light/Red-Brown/White/unspecified )Marble (Dark/White/White-Grey!unspecified) Grey stoneLimestoneSandstone paintedGranite (Grey/Blacic/unspecified )SandstoneMarble (White/Black/Grey)LimestoneGranite (Black/Grey/Dark/Red)Marble (Dark Grey/Black)LimestoneGrey GraniteBlack Marblebecome comparatively cheaper to import into the districtand/or engrave or more affordable.Condition of InscriptionsThe condition of monuments is naturally affected by theirposition, the best-preserved being found in positionssheltered by the church, a hedge, or another monument.The material also had a great affect upon the condition ofthe monument: the following table shows the number ofinscriptions in each category, followed by the average dateof dated inscriptions in each category.DiscussionThe large number of marble monuments with "mainlydecipherable" descriptions is due to this being the favouredstone for csemation plaques, which are smaller and moreshallowly carved than other forms of monument.Limestone metal filledGranite (Grey/Red-Brown/Pink/Red/Dark/unspecified )Marble (White/Grey/unspecified )CeramicSandstoneGranite (Red/White) paintedWhite Marble painted BlackDark Granite painted GoldWoodWith this taken into account, marbleappears to be the hardiest stone,followed by limestone, granite andsandstone. It is perhaps because of thisthat sandstone fell out of favour in thiscentury.Methods of Inscriptions:The table below summarizes themethods of inscription, the number ofeach method recorded, the averagecondition of inscription (columnheaded "conins" where 1 = mint, 2 =wom, 3= mainly legible, 4 = trace and5 = illegible), the earliest and latestdates when the method has been usedand the materials it has been used on.DiscussionThe traces of paint on early graveswere found only on very shelteredsites: one side of one tomb, forexample, which is up against thechurch wall, had near-mint conditionpaint. It is likely that some examplesrecorded as "Incised", or "Incised, leadfilled" were originally paintecL Blackwas probably the only colour used, asthere is no example of early use ofgold, silver or white paint. The darkstones which these paints occur are notdated before 1950.The Number of People commemoratedThe majority of monumentscommemorate one or two people (167and 94 monuments, respectively).These are found in all periods andrepresent 41% and 47% of people.Three people are commemorated on 8monuments, dating from 1801 to 1969,representing 6% of people. Four53

people are buried on five monuments, dating from 1816 to1923 representing 5% of people. Five people arecommemorated on one monument dated 1812, representing1% of people.DiscussionThe number of people commemorated on a singlemonument appears to be normally one or two, largernumbers have been known in the past, but are infrequent inthis century.BirthsResultsTable (7) Births re-corded on gravestones1685-1689 M1690-16941695-16991700-17041705-17091710-17141715- 17 191720-17241725-17291730-1734 FM1735-17391740-17441745-17491750-1754 FM1755-17591760-1764 FFMMM1765-1769 FF1770-1774 FMN11775-1779 FFMM1780-1784 FM1785-1789 FFMMM1790-17941795-1799 FFFMMMM1800-1804 FM1805-1809 FMMMMMM1810-1814 FFFMMM1815-1819 FFMM1820-1824 FFFMMMMM1825-1829 FFFFFFMMM1830-1834 FFFFMMMMM1835-1839 FFFMMM1840-1844 FRAm1845-1849 FFFFMMM1850-1854 M1855-1859 FFFFFFMMMMMMMMM?1860-1864 }..krti-i-M-1-1-1v1MMMMMM1865-1869 FFF'MMMMMMM?1870-1874 FFFFMMMMMMM1875-1879 W»11-1-1-MM M MMMM?1880-1884111-1-t-kel-MMMMMMMMM1885-1889 FITFFFMMMMMMMM1890-18941895-189911-H1-1-1-1-MMMMMMMMMM1900-19041-tH-11-1-H-H-FMMMMMM1MMMMMMMMMM11905-19091-H-1-1-1-1-1-MMMMMMM:MMMMMI1910-1914 FFEFFMMMMMMMMMM1915-1919 FMMMMMMM1920-1924 FMMMMM1925-1929 FFFMMMMMM1930-1934 FM?1935-1939 FMMM1940-19441945-1949 FF1950-1954 MMMM1955-19591960-1964 M1965-1969M1970-1974F F = Female1975-1979M M = Male1980-1984 FM ? = Sex not clearIt is important to note that this information merely representsthe information on surviving stones, and not the number ofpeople born in the parish or who died in it.One would however, expect the same number of stones tosurvive for both sexes, providing they were erected to bothsexes without prejudice. However, this is dearly not thecase. The Attwell-Fletcher test was run, assuming a nullhypothesis that the same number of stones areerected/survive for both sexes. The following occurrenceswere beyond the 5% significance level:1805-1809: the births of 1 girl and 6 boys are recorded,1890-1894: the births of 18 girls and 2 boys are recorded,1915-1919: the births of 1 girl and 7 boys are recorded.DiscussionThe unusual proportion of births in the period 1805-1809must be due to the vagaries of preservation. Overall in theperiod pre-1850 51 men were born compared with 45women.The "missing" boys from 1890-94 are almost certainly theeleven men who are recorded on a plaque on the memorialhall as having died during the Great War 1914-18. Duringthe war their ages would have ranged from 20 to 28.The hall also records the names of the two village men wholost their lives during the Second World War (1939-45).They would probably have been born in the period908-1928. There are, in fact, "missing" women rather thanmen during this period and, indeed, during most of thetwentieth century.The additional longevity of women may account for this inpart, but as the trend is seen as far back as 1900, this isunlikely to totally account for them all. It is possible thatBradwell has seen an effective female de-population, withmore women moving/marrying out of the parish thanmoved/married in. Or perhaps more men have moved intothe parish than have moved out.Age at DeathDiscussionThe general trend observed in the churchyard data echos thatfor Britain as a whole: people are living longer, and womenare living longer than men.Most other observations probably reflect the nature of thedata rather than demographic considerations: for examplethe peak in infant's deaths in the period 1875-1899 may bedue to more notice being taken of children's deaths in thisperiod.54

Table (8) Comparison of child deaths expressed aspercentage of deathsTable (11) showing the month of death compared to age atdeath for deaths in the period 1875-1899Deaths 0 - 41800- 18241825 - 18491850- 18741875- 18991900- 19241925- 19491950- 19741975+1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8--1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 29 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 %10-1920-2930-3940-4950-5960-6970-79J F MA MJ Ao 0 3 1 0 0 0 O 10000 001 0 o ONDo 00010 011 0 o 0100 00 000 0 o o 00001 000 0 o o 10010 010 0 o o 1001 01 111 0 o o 0001 31 401 0 O 120pattern of deaths for children under 10 and peopleover 60. The above table was thereforesummarised:Month of DeathTable (9) showing the month of death compared to age at deathAge: 0-4 5-14 15-29 30-49 50-59 60-69 70-79 80+ TOTALJanuary 0 0 0 3 1 5 10 10 29February 0 0 / 3 2 2 11 3 23March 2 1 1 4 -5 4 6 4 27April 2 1 2 0 3 5 10 5 28May 2 0 2 4 2 2 3 7 21June 2 1 1 0 0 9 7 7 28July 0 1 1 0 4 4 3 3 16August 1 0 0 2 0 5 4 9 21September 1 0 3 1 I 1 10 4 21October 1 0 0 0 3 3 10 4 21November 3 1 1 5 2 3 4 2 21December 3 1 1 3 3 7 8 5 32TOTAL 17 6 15 25 26 50 86 57 282None of these distributions was statistically significant.Table (10) showing the month of death compared to the yearof deathMONTH: J F MA MJ J AS OND TOTALYEARS:1800-1824 1 I 2 0 21 1 0 0 2 0 2 121825-1849 1 3 2 3 1 1 I 1 1 0 0 0 141850-1874 2. 1 1 2 1 3 I 0 2 I 4 1 191875-1989 2 3 6 6 2 4 0 0 3 4 3 0 331900-1924 3 4 4 5 4 3 2 4 I 1 3 4 381925-1949 6 3 5 3 7 2 3 4 3 7 2 6 511950-1974 8 6 3 4 3 9 8 9 7 104 13 841975+ 5 5 5 5 4 7 2 4 5 1 7 9 59Again, none of these distributions proved to be statisticallysignificant. However, the distribution of deaths in the lastquarter of the 19th century looked irregular, and the roughguide of probability provided in the Attwell-Fletcher testgave the following likelihood:JFh4AMJJASONDh4ondrDeaths: 2 3 6 6 2 4 0 0 3 4 3 0likelihood 21 52 5 7 30 26 4 6 51 29 50 6%This, although not a rigorous test, seemed to warrant furtherinvestigation.The sample was obviously too small to test statistically,when broken down into this form. However, the increase indeaths in February, March and April, and the decrease in thelatter part of the year seemed to be particularly echoed in theJanuary/April May/August September/December60 15 3 6,10-59 3 4During the last quarter of the 19th century, thenumber of deaths in January/April of people 60 was above the 95% significance level, andthe number of deaths in May/August was below the5% significance level.,The old and young tend to die in winter, tend notto die in summer, and die as a random distributionwould expect in autumn. The "untimely" dierandomly through the year.DiscussionThese results provoke two questions: firstly, why should theyoung and old have a different pattern of death to the rest ofthe population? Secondly, why should this only occur duringthe last quarter of the nineteenth century, and not at any otherperiod?It seems likely that the cold and reduced food of winterwould further weaken the susceptibility of the old and youngto potentially fatal diseases. But one would expect winterwould have this affect in all periods, or at least untilheath-care techniques and availability improved. Thepattern probably does not show in other periods because ofthe small samples involved.Family GroupingsUsing the data on the stones it has been possible to draw up24 family trees. There is no instance where lineage can bepositively linked between more than two generations. Mostlinks between two generations come from the 15 graves ofinfants and children where the names of parents are given.Parents' names are given for married women in 2 cases.There are five groups of graves which are within their ownpalings. These are: (number refers to monument number)Group 1/ north-west of the church164 William Battams d. 1883165 Undecipherable166 William Battams d.185555

167 Undecipherable168 George Battams d. 1902169 John Battams170 Elizabeth Battams d. 1826171 Mary Battams d. 18??172 Robert Battams d. 1850173 Robert Battams d.1828Group 2/ north-east of the church178 Isaac d.1804179 William James Baily d. 1862Elizabeth Baily d. 1869Ruth Baily d. 1834John Bally d. 1816180 Anne Bally d. 1801William Baily d. 1802Charlotte Baily d. 1801181 Joseph Key Baily d. 1817Celia Baily d. 1859Elizabeth Baily d. 1823182 Ann Tillcock (nee Baily) cL 1823The remaining groups lie on a line north of the church. 241,a single memorial, also within its own palings, also lies onthis line. It commemorates Ashfield Harries d.1925 andRose Ashfield Harnes, d.1910.Group 3218 Mary Adnitt d. 1918221 Robert Wylie cl 1919Sarah Emily Wylie d. 1906225 Robert Murray Wylie d. 1939226 Elizabeth Wylie d. 1955John Alexander Wylie d. 1950228 Charles Ernest Wylie d. 1956Maud Gertrude Wylie d. 1955Group 4230 Charles Chetwode Baily d. 1914231 Arthur James Baily d. 1933232 Joseph Baily d. 1909233 Kitelee Chandos Baily d. 1921234 William Oakley Baily d. 1902235 Emma Sarah Baily d. 1919Group 5236 Jane Martha Duncan d. 1880238 William George Duncan cl. 1876These represent the only occurrences of these names.It is evident that the new section of the churchyard(monuments 1 - 86) and the cremations (monuments 243upwards) have been filled in sequence as time went on, andno family groupings can have appeared. A family group issaid to exist when more than two monuments to people withthe same surname are found adjacent, and none are foundwhich are not adjacent (excluding, of course monuments inthe new or cremations sections). Two groups do not fit inwith this definition (James and Millward), but have beenincluded in the following list for reasons explained below.List of Family Groups, with monument numbersBird 205, 205Cooper 194, 195, 196Delafield 198, 200Ebbs 96, 97French 138,140Higgins 103, 105, 106, 111James 102, 104, 108, 108, 118, 119. The one James notburied in this group(145) was an infant.Linnell 286, 287Millward 89, 90, 91, 92, 93.Three Millwards (mother, father and daughter) are buried at150, the earliest death being of the daughter who died age4.Surridge 114, 115Timms 210,211Tite 189, 193Townsend 99, 101, 112These groupings represent 68% of all possible groups.Where a gsoup is take to mean 3 or more memorials, theyrepresent 100% of all possible groups.DiscussionThe groupings within palings tend to be of people with thesame names, and in one of the occurrences where the persondoes not (Tillcock), the memorial makes it clear that hermaiden name was the same as the rest of the group. It miehtbe suggested therefore that Adnitt is the married name of aWylie.As the palings and separate portion of the churchyard costmoney, the groups are probably those of the "best" familiesof Bradwell. A number the men in these groups are recordedas J.P.'s and M.P.'s which tends to confirm this.Documentary confirmation is provided by various sources,The Posse Cometatus lists John Baily as a gentleman. Theonly other man of that station is Isaac King. and it istempting, though not proveable, to link this name with theIsaac who is buried in the Baily's area. Kelly's directory of1903 lists Kitelee Chandos Baily as vicar and Robert Wylieas a farmer (not, however, gentry).It appears that less important families were also buried ingroups. The separate burial of the young James andMillward in the same area focuses attention upon that area.Burial of the YoungThe age and date of the first burial noted for a row ofmemorials leading back from the path in the south of thechurchyard:Memorial No. Age Date145 12 1908146 5 days 1984148 6 weeks 1911149 3 month 1926150 4 1898Other children are buried at other places:56

In the new section; 11, 21, 76, 81Buried within a family group identified above; 91, 138Buried in grave previously used by member of family; 113,163Cremated; 248, 276Isolated, but becoming focus of a family group; 97, 127,It If Ita family grave 158, 205Isolated burials; 121, 124, 161, 204, 225DiscussionTliere appears to be an area set aside for the burial of theyoung. It is still in use. Perhaps because an "adult" plot waspurchased, adults may subsequently be buried there.The apparently isolated graves of children may, in the casesof 121, 161, relate to earlier family groups with nomemorials extant.It appears that sometimes children are treated as "different",meriting burial in a special part of the churchyard, otherstreat children as full members of the community, buryingthem with the family group, or in the chronologicalplacement of the new section. The age of child at death anddate of death do not appear to have any affect on thisdivision.The subsequent burial of adults in infant's graves, and theburial of infants in adult's graves may reflect economies ora belief that it is "proper" for children to be buried near theirparents.BibliographyAttwell, M. and Fletcher, M. An Analytical Technique forInvestigation Spatial Relationships in Journal ofArchaeological Science Volume 14 Number 1 January 1987Jones, Jeremy How to record graveyards edited by PhillipRahtz Third edition Council For British Archaeology andRESCUE 1984Mynard, D C St. Lawrence's Church, Bradwell 1981Rahtz, Phillip The archaeology of the Churchyard in Thearchaeological study of churches (eds. P V Addymara and RK Morris) CBA Research Report 13 pp 41-557

NORTHAMPTONSHIREARCHAEOLOGY UNIT - REPORT FOR 1990Compiled and edited by Brian DixINTRODUCTIONThe year 1990 saw an increase in public awareness of thework of the Unit, chiefly through the Education andInterpretation projects but also by the broadcast of atelevision documentary on the pioneer work ingarden-archaeology at Kirby Hall and from widespreadinterest in excavations at the site of the Guildhall extensionin central Northampton. At the same time appreciationincreased of the extent to which archaeology has become animportant dimension of planning and future development.While the year was one of achievement, it was alsocharacterised by challenge and change. The transfer of theArchaeology Unit to the county Planning andTransportation Department has required adaptation toworking within a major technical department, but manyaspects of work now benefit from the close relationship withothers similarly involved in the resolution of conflict overland-use change. The increased opportunities forco-operation and for sharing ideas provide a stimulatingframework for carrying out the advices contained in PPG 16and thereby promote an effective management of thecounty's archaeological resource. In the next year detailedattention must be given to the definition of an historicenvironment strategy and the formulation of a business planWith medium and long term objectives.NORTHAMPTONSHIRE SITES AND MONUMENTSRECORD IN 1990Christine AddisonWork recommenced in earnest on the Sites and MonumentsRecord following the appointaient of a full-time SMRworker in January 1990. The backlog of work which hadaccumulated during the previous eighteen months stillremains to be cleared however, and is one of the major racksto be tuidertaken during 1991.The Monument Protection Programme comprised the mainbulk of the SMR work during 1990. Thirty-seven monumentclasses have now been assessed, including the majorreligious houses, round and long barrows, deserted andshrunken medieval villages, and castles. None of the sitesidentified for protection has yet been formally scheduled aspart of the Programme. The amount of feedback generatedfor updating of the SMR by MPP has still to be properlyassessed, but is likely to be considerable.The remainder of the woric on the database has concentratedon the completion of the Aerial Photography Index,excluding those photos from the summer 1990 flyingprogramme, which are still to be printed. (Storageconditions in the Unit, or lack of them, have necessitatedthat from 1991 the National Monuments Record Air PhotoUnit in Swindon will hold all the Unit's photographicnegatives.)The cropmark plotting programme was suspended in all buturgent cases during 1990, largely because ofhardware/softvvare incompatibility. The SMR has recentlyacquired a new plotter, however, and it is hoped that a moresystematic approach to cropmark plotting will beundertaken in 1991.Following the publication of most of the District/BoroughCouncils' Local Plans, initial meetings have taken place toset into production a series of "Constraints Maps" whicheventually will cover the whole of the county. In addition toindicating all Scheduled Ancient Monuments these willhighlight all other sites of major importance in the county.They will also show sites of lesser importance and in thelong term should be an invaluable tool for effective forwardplanning by local authorities. Kettering District is to betaken as the initial pilot study area.The identification of several "weak areas" within the SMR,most notably perhaps including Industrial Archaeology andgardens/landscape parks, has necessitated an evaluation ofpriorities for future research. In the pursuit of broadeningthe scope of the SMR, the Unit hopes to play an active rolein establishing a Northamptonshire Gardens Trust; one ofthe main aims will be to undertake systematic and detailedsurvey of gardens and parks within the county. The potentialfor the enhancement of the SMR by such initiatives willcontinue to be explored in the future, including forging linkswith local Industrial Archaeology groups, etc.A review of the limitations of the current SMR database hashighlighted the need for considerable upgrading of thepresent system, and this aspect will be pursued during 1991.LJpgrading should permit a more efficient input/outputexchange with effective cross-referencing which will easeusage of the Record.A considerable number of enquiries of the SMR were madeby the general public in early 1990, following extensivepublicity of the services offered by the Unit. About half ofthe parishes in the county were targetted and while demandfor information has now fallen off, a steady trickle of visitorsto the Unit is maintained. SMR services to the general publicand research students continue to be free of charge.The growth of developer-funding and the concomitantemployment of archaeological contract services has resultedin a large number of SMR enquiries of a commercial nature;it seems unlikely that there will be any fall off in this line ofenquiry. While such consultants have hitherto been chargeda basic rate for SMR services, an adequate scale of chargesfor work of this nature has yet to be established.The SMR expanded its office space considerably towardsthe end of the year, not only easing the steady progress ofcurrent work through the system, but by its open-plan layout58

,also rendering the SMR more accessible for enquirers. Tothe same end a leaflet, "A Users Guide to the SMR", wasproduced early in 1990.FIELDWORK AND RELATED OBSERVATIONSAldwinde, St Peter's Church(TL 0061 8185) - G CadmanThree test pits adjacent to the north and south aisles and thesouthern side of the chancel were investigated prior to theconstruction of a new external drainage system. Thepresence of a previous stone drain was noted. A watchingbrief is to be maintained during construction of the newdrain.Barnwell, Barnwell Castle(TL 9486 8519 - TL 0499 8520) - G Cadman and B GigginsThe excavation during November 1990 of a pipe-trenchacross the lawn to the east and south of the castle reportedlyorposed a brick and stone yard surface, a cobbled path anda concentration of large coursed limestone - possibly part ofa demolished wall.I3enefield, Biggin Hall(TL 011891) - G Cadman, G Johnston and S UpexTwo possibly three stone-lined drains or culverts weretemporarily breached by a pipe-trench opened immediatelyto the east of the Hall. The one accessible drain had abarrel-vaulted roof and measured internally 0.65m high by0.76m wide. It was explored by potholers for some distancein either direction along its north-west to south-eastalignment. Though undated, the individual drains aresuspected to be contemporary with use of the adjacent hall.At the northern end of the pipe-trench and overlying thenatural clay at a depth of 0.55m was a layer of silt clay fromwhich a small quantity of late twelfth- andthirteenth-cenniry pottery was recovered. This may relate tothe site of the documented medieval Biggin Grange.Benefield, Lyveden Old Bield(SP 9816 8584) - G CadmanOngoing watching brief during constructional andlandscaping worlcs has led to several post-medieval and laterelements being recorded, including, during 1990,. a stonedrain and a small pit. A quantity of medieval crested roof-tilewhich was recovered is retained by the owner.Brackley, BP Filling Station(SP 5939 3855) - G Cadmanfilling station under construction adjacent to the junction ofNorthampton Road and the A43 bypass to the north ofBrackley. No previous archaeological discoveries arerecorded in this field though Mr Possinger had previouslyfound and reported a sixteenth-century ring and a smallhoard of twelfth-century silver pennies a short distance tothe north (cf Northamptonshire Archaeol, 21(1986-7), p157).Subsequent archaeological salvage works, assisted by MrPossinger, identified vestigial features around the peripheryof the construction site. They included pits from some ofwhich Iron Age pottery was recovered. With the support ofthe contractors, D J Duncan of Leicester, an area ofsurviving subsoil close to the site's eastern margin wasmachine-stripped and the remains of six shallow graves,together with several other features, were hurriedly recordedand excavated. Although the human skeletal remains weregenerally poorly preserved, having suffered moderncompaction and disturbance, they were sufficiently intact todetermine a variety of burial postures. In one instance theburial lay face downwards with the legs slightly flexed andthe arms crossed at the wrists behind the back. Thisindividual partly overlay a second skeleton with a reversedorientation. Apart from some small, probably residual,sherds of Iron Age pottery there was no material to assistwith dating the graves. Together with unstratified bone atotal of a least nine or ten individuals appears to have beeninterred. The limits of this small cemetery are uncertain andawait future clarification.Brackley(c SP 579 384) - G CadmanFieldwalking in January 1990 on potential developmentland to the west of Brackley identified medieval andpost-medieval manuring scatters together with a smallquantity of Saxon pottery.Brackley, 53A Goose Green(SP 5838 3659) - G CadmanImported levelling deposits up to 1.50m deep were observedon a hillside location during redevelopment and suggest theabsence or total destruction of medieval activity within thisproperty situated at the southern fringe of the town.Brixworth, County Park(SP 7537 6948) - G CadmanA small quantity of unstratified Roman and later pottery wasrecovered during construction of the new Country Park.Metal detecting search by D Derby and S Pulley retrieved20 miscellaneous metal objects and 6 third- andfourth-century Roman coins.Early in December 1990 a local metal detector user, Mr JPossinger, discovered human bones on the site of a new BP59

Daventry, Borough Hill(SP 5875 6220) - G CadmanA watching brief conducted in November and December1990 during the excavation of cable and drainage trenchesimmediately north of the BBC Transmitting Stationconfinned that. despite the high level of modem disturbanceclose to the station, recent levelling dumps have served tobury some areas of former plough- /subsoil. From one sucharea around 100 sherds of Iron Age pottery, probably allfrom a single vessel, were retrieved from the fill of a cutfeature at least 6m wide. All of the observed trenches laywell within the hillfon's defences.Daventry, Holy Cross churchyard(SP 576 626) - B DixA complete record of the memorials in Daventry parishchurchyard was conunissioned by the district council. Themajority of the 1260 or so individual memorials dated fromthe period c 1830-1960, although 32 survived from theeighteenth century. Of the total number of stones 295 wereWegible, but the remainder commemorated some 2144persons. Biographical details of the deceased were shown tohave been recorded in numerous instances.Several types of stone had been used for the memorials.Ironstone and sandstone were common at the earliest datesin addition to limestone which was augmented by slate inthe early nineteenth century before being largely supersededby artificial stones. Granite and imported marbles had beenfrequently chosen in the present century.Fawsley Dower House(SP 570 578) - M AudouyArchaeological recording was carried out on behalf of theHon Nicholas Gage during the course of repairs to thestair-turret at the sixteenth-century brick lodge in FawsleyPark. The work revealed details of the original constructiontogether with evidence of flooring and subsequentrestoration.Geddington, St Mary Magdalene's Church(SP 8952 8302) - C AddisonLimited excavation wasundertaken in thethirteenth-century aisle of the church of St Mary Magdalene,Geddington during June 1990. This followed thedisturbance of layers containing large quantities of humanbone during the removal of rotting floor timbers. The floorof the church was last replaced in the 1900s.The highly disturbed layer beneath the floor possibly datesfrom those repairs or, more likely, from the major renovationof the church in 1857. The matrix of sandy clay, mortar andburnt clay with charcoal patches, contained fragments ofclay tobacco-pipes, glass bottles and some eighteenth- tonineteenth-century pottery as well as large quantities ofbone. At a depth of approximately 0.30m disturbance wasless evident, giving way to a well consolidatedyellow-brown sandy clay layer with inclusions of the samelate date range. Removal of this layer in some areas of thefloor had revealed three brick-built vaults up to 0.70m deep,covered by large, flat, rough-hewn fragments of limestone.Collapse durine the repair work had largely infilled both ofthe westernmost vaults, but the easternmost was cleaned forrecording purposes. The vault was 2.1m long x 0.58m widex 0.64m deep and contained two wooden coffins. Theuppermost, a child's coffin, was the better preserved,although there were no visible remains of a body within. Ithad collapsed into the remains of the adult's coffin, whichmay have been bound with a woven fabric and waselaborately decorated with bronze rivets. The adult skeletonwas articulated and in good condition. No other finds wererecovered from the vault. The brickwork of all the vaultssuggests a late date, probably of the seventeenth oreighteenth centuries, if not nineteenth-century.Some of the overlying sandy layer was removed around thevaults and found to extend to a depth of at least 0.10m. Asimilar exercise was carried out beneath the arches of thesouth aisle in the hope of being able to trace the foundationsof the south wall of the original Anglo-Saxon church. Largefragments of limestone, often pitched, were indeed foundalong this alignment, but appeared to have been badlydisturbed by the post-medieval renovation work. No datingevidence was recovered and it seems likely that the stoneshad collapsed from the foundations of the pillar-basesforming the south aisle.Removal of some of the uniform sandy layer in the areaaround the foundation of the arch pillars did however revealanother burial, oriented east-west and located at thesouth-east corner of the easternmost pillar base - though norelationship could be detennined. About half of the ovalgrave was uncovered, including the head and top left side ofthe body. Three limestone fragments supported the skull.The grave was a minimum of 0.14m deep and verticallysided. No datable finds were found in its fill.As far as possible all the exposed features were left intact.Following recording, the large stone covers were replacedacross the vaults and a layer of sand spread over the areabefore a hanicore foundation was laid. The area was thenconcreted prior to the setting of the new wooden floor.Great Doddington, Wilby Way(SP 8809 6589) - P O'HaraFollowing prior evaluation, which had denoted the existenceof important settlement remains dating from the middle tolate Iron Age periods (cf SMA 20 (1990), p 35), detailedarchaeological recording was undertaken on behalf ofWelland Homes (East) Ltd in advance of proposedroundabout construction. A series of enclosures, ranging indate from towards the close of the first millennium BC until60

Fig. 1.about the third quarter of the first century AD, included onewhich had been defended by a massive ditch, up to 6m wideand 3m deep. A group of linear boundaries and a smallanimal pen probably formed part of an adjacentfield-system.Gretton, Kirby Hall(SP 925 927) - B DixContinued exploration of the series of historic gardens (cfSMA 19 (1989), pp 25-7 and 20 (1990), p 36) involved therecovery of detaiLs of an hitherto lost wing of the lateElizabethan/Jacobean mansion, together with otherstructural aspects, and the investigation of disturbed gravesand church-remains on the Mount in the South Terrace.Further excavation is planned in 1991 to investigate thebridge-cum-dam across the Kirby Brook where details of itsseventeenth-century canalisation and an existing watergatehave already be,en recorded.Higham Ferrers(centred on SP 958 694) - M Shaw and S SteadmanSecondary evaluation was carried out for the Duchy ofLancaster in September and October 1990 on a block ofland, c 40ha in area, comprising five fields to the north ofHigham Ferrers. Systematic fieldwalking in 1989 hadrevealed a dense concentration of Roman pottery at the westend of Field 1, a minor concentration of early to middleSaxon pottery towards the centre of Field 1, and a majorconcentration of early to middle Saxon, late Saxon andmedieval pottery at the southern end of Field 2 (cf SMA 20(1990), p 38). In addition a detailed plot of cropmarks in thearea was compiled. These comprised: linear enclosureditches in the area of the Roman pottery concentration; apossible ring ditch towards the east end of Field 1; a largeoval enclosure, c lha in area, in the vicinity of the majorSaxon pottery concentration in Field 2; and rectangularenclosures, linear boundaries, ring ditches and pits at thenorth end of Field 2.61

The work in 1990 comprised magnetometer survey, and trialtrenches across the fieldwalking and cropmark sites.Magnetometer survey of an area of 0.72ha of the Romanconcentration in Field 1 revealed a possible ditchedtrackway crossing the area on the saine alignment as thelinear enclosure ditches. Trial trenches across the westernside of the trackway uncovered a series of layers ofmetalling, confirming its identification.Further trialtrenches were excavated to investigate surface scatters oflimestone within the areas of the pottery concentration.Stone wall footings, floor surfaces, a hearth and postholeswith limestone packing were revealed. The associatedpottery has a date-range from the second to fourth centuriesAD. Trial trenches within both the minor early to middleSaxon pottery concentration and the possible ring ditch inField 1 failed to uncover any related features, apart from ashallow, square pit or cellar of late medieval date in the areaof the possible ring ditch.An area of 3.2ha was surveyed by magnetometer at thesouthern end of Field 2, including all of the oval enclosure.Subsequently trial trenches were excavated in the area of theSaxon and medieval pottery concentrations and across theditch of the oval enclosure. Ditches, pits, postholes and slotsof Saxon, medieval and post-medieval date were revealed.The oval enclosure appears to be of Saxon date.Trial n-enches at the northern end of Field 2 confirmed thepresence of features in the area of the cropmarks. All appearto date to the middle to late Iron Age.Irchester(SP 9148 6679 - SP 9191 6699) - G CadmanFollowing the mechanical cleaning out of over 500m of astream-bed located between Chester House and the RiverNene two undated, tapering, stone fish-trap weights wererecovered from the dredgings (centred on SP 9186 6695)along with 27 sherds of unstratified, mainly Roman, potteryand tile.Irthlingborough, Station Road(SP 9510 7088) - G Cadman and D Sutherland -Several sherds of medieval pottery were found during houseconstruction, with traces of limestone features present at theterraced, western side of the site.Middleton Cheney(SP 4965 4140) - G CadmanFollowing field survey of the line of a proposed bypass theMidland Archaeological Research Society (MARS)conducted a detailed metal detecting survey in a fieldreputed to be the site of a minor Civil War battle. Though aconsiderable quantity of recent metalwork was located andplotted, the survey found little evidence with which toconfirm that an engagement had taken place in the field.Northampton, 6 Peveril's Way(SP 7342 6076) - G CadmanOver 100 sherds of Belgic/Roman pottery, dating as a groupto the late first and second centuries AD, were retrieved bythe householder from "dark earth" exposed by constructiontrenches in his rear garden: the items are retained by theowner. The finds are presumably associated with theadjacent Roman town of Duston.Northampton, 40-42 Abington Square(SP 7613 6081) - G CadmanA watching brief carried out in November 1990 duringrebuilding on a site located a short distance outside thetown's medieval defences recorded archaeological levelsbehind the site's destroyed northern frontage. Up to 1.30mof disturbed deposits overlay the natural Northampton Sandand appeared to be largely of post-medieval or later origin.Traces of possible earlier features were noted, with theearliest pottery dating to the fourteenth or fifteenthcenturies.Northampton, Church Lane(SP 7540 6086) - G CadmanInspection of office development footings in May 1990 ledto the recovery of a small quantity of thirteenth- tofourteenth-century pottery from a pit.Northampton, Freeschool Street(SP 7508 6038) - M Shaw, B Giggins and P O'HaraAn archaeological evaluation was carried out in July andAugust 1990 on a plot of land, 0.06ha in area, to the east ofFreeschool Street. The area was scheduled as an ancientmonument in 1988. Since it is situated immediately to theeast of the middle Saxon timber and stone halls excavatedby the Northampton Development CorporationArchaeological Unit between 1973 and 1985 it was thoughtto lie within the middle Saxon palace complex of which thehalls formed the centrepiece. The area also contained mostof the site of the medieval church of St Gregory's which mayhave originated as a chapel within the middle Saxon palacecomplex. The evaluation was intended to assess what formof development might be possible on the site withoutdamage to the archaeological levels. It comprised: a surveyof the present standing structures in the area (factOrybuildings of Victorian and later date) in order to establishthe degree of survival of any remains of the church or theFree School which succeeded it; an examination of thelocally accessible documentary evidence for the church andschool; an accurate plan of cellars in the area, includingchecking by excavation, in order to assess the extent ofdestruction of archaeological levels; and the excavation oftrial trenches in order to deterrnine the survival ofarchaeological levels within the area of the church, in thechurchyard and in an area to its north.62

The documentary and architectural survey suggest that noremains of the church now survive above ground and thatVictorian cellars have removed at least part of the remainsbelow ground but the foundations of the tower and chancelmay survive outside the cellared area. Stonework survivingabove ground appears to be part of the Free School whichwas largely rebuilt in the 1840s.The trial trenches established that cellars had removed all ofthe archaeological levels over most of the southern half ofthe site but that part of the graveyard of the church remains,while at the northern end Saxon and medieval depositssurvive c 1.8m below the present ground surface.Northampton, Guildhall Extension(SP 7562 6048) - M Shaw and S SteadmanArchaeological evaluation followed by full-scaleexcavation of a sample area was carried out between Marchand June 1990 immediately to the east of Northampton 'sGuildhall prior to the construction of the Guildhallextension. The work was financed by the NorthamptonBorough Council.MAREFAIRThe site lay between two medieval streets, St Giles' Streetat the south and Dychurch Lane to the north. Initially twoevaluation trenches were excavated. One trench atright-angles to St Giles' Street, a major thoroughfare,showed that while medieval levels survived the immediatestreet-frontage had been lost due to later cellars. The othertrench, at right-angles to Dychurch Lane, was more heavilydisturbed. Stone wall footings, floor levels and part of a tiledfloor attested to occupation on this frontage but an area ofonly c 4m2 of archaeological levels survived, the remainderhaving been removed by Victorian cellars and pits. It wastherefore decided to concentrate work upon the St Giles'Street frontage.Accordingly a further trench was excavated immediately tothe east of the preceding trial trench. The total area of thetwo trenches was c 200m. The earliest features were twolarge pits and two postholes, both probably of aneleventh-century date.Subsequently a boundary ditch was excavated across the siteat fight-angles to St Giles' Street. This was later recut on aslightly different alignment. To the west of the ditch theremains of a posthole-structure were uncovered. To the eastof the ditch less substantial structural remains werediscovered. Further postholes possibly relate to a second----------- ------I Tower I- - --GREGOgsf SkE.°,I III I,KeyCella red area30mFreeschool Street, Northampton, cellared area and supposed position of St Gregory's ChurchFig. 2. Freeschool Street, Northampton.63

phase of timber structures which may be connected with therecutting of the boundary ditch. This phase of activity isdated to the twelfth to thirteenth centuries.A layer of stony, clay loam was laid over the remains of theposthole structures and the boundary ditch was replaced bya stone boundary wall c 3m to the east of the originalboundary.To the west of the boundary wall a stone-founded buildingwas constructed. The front of the building had been lost dueto the cellars along St Giles' Street but the back of thebuilding survived, running at right-angles to the street for adistance of over 10m. Where the walls of the building werebuilt over the back-filled pits of an earlier phase the footingswere laid on top of large stone slabs set in a foundationtrench, but elsewhere they were built directly on top of thestony layer. A build-up of c 0.3m of clay and sand floorlevels and loamy occupation deposits survived within thebuilding and three rooms divided by stone-founded wallscould be identified. A possible stone-floored passageway, c2m wide, was located on the east side of the building. Thestone-founded building was constructed sometime after themid-thirteenth century and probably went out of use by theearly seventeenth century.No evidence for a building was discovered to the east of theboundary wall, but it is likely that one formerly existedparallel to the street in the cellared area by the streetfrontage. Hence the excavated area is likely to have formeda yard behind such a building. Two large ovens werediscovered at the southern edge of the site, pits occupied thecentral area and a corn-drying oven the northern end of thesite.Post-excavation work is proceeding on the site and it ishoped to publish a digest of the completed report inNorthamptonshire Archaeology.Northampton, St John's Street(centred on SP 755 603) - M Shaw, P O'Hara and M WebsterAn archaeological evaluation was carried out in December1990 on a plot of land, 0.8 ha in area, bordered by St John'sStreet at the south, Fetter Street to the east, Angel Street tothe north and the rear of properties fronting Bridge Street atthe west. Ail these were streets within the medieval town,outside the area of the late Saxon town, and it was thoughtthat deposits relating to the earliest occupation of this areamight survive. The intention was to establish the extent andquality of preservation of any archaeological stratificationrather than to excavate it. A survey of cellarage establishedthat archaeological deposits on the Angel Street frontagewere likely to have been largely destroyed. Trial trenches onthe Fetter Street frontage, however, established that timberstructures of probable twelfth-century date did survive andthat there was the potential for recovery of completetenement plans. Similarly, along the St John's Streetfrontage evidence for a timber structure of medieval datewas recovered and here it had been replaced by astone-founded structure in the late medieval period. Againthere was the potential for recovery of complete tenementplans. An evaluation report is currently being prepared forthe owners of the site.Outer Northampton, Brackmills Extension(centred on SP 780 579) - M Shaw and T SharmanArchaeological evaluation of an area of 250ha to the southof Northampton was carried out in January 1990 in order toassess the archaeological constraints on proposals for theextension of the area of the Brachnills Industrial Estate.The work was undertaken on behalf of the Commission forthe New Towns. The area was divided into two parts, anInner Zone of 130ha which lay towards the bottom of theNene valley on an Upper Lias Clay subsoil and an OuterZone on the sides and towards the top of the valley on avariable subsoil. Initially fieldwalking was carried out in theInner Zone where the proposals for development were mostpressing. No sites were discovered in this area. Two fieldsin the Outer Zone were fieldwalked. A minor concentrationof early to middle Saxon pottery (10 sherds) was discoveredin Field Bk 6 (SP 773 573). In Field Bk 7(5? 794581) largeconcentrations of Iron Age (270 sherds), early to middleSaxon (101 sherds) and medieval pottery (818 sherds) wererecovered. The medieval concentration presumablyindicates that the village of Great Houghton, which liesimmediately to the north, once extended into this area.Outer Northampton, King's Heath(centred on SP 729 628) - M Shaw, P O'Hara and M WebsterArchaeological evaluation of an area of some 40ha to thenorth- west of King's Heath Housing Estate, Northampton,was carried out for the Northampton Borough Council'between April and July 1990 in order to assess thearchaeological constraints on any development proposals.This involved the plotting of cropmarks, fieldwalking,magnetometer survey and the excavation of trial trenches.A settlement of Middle-Late Iron Age date (possibly thesecond to first centuries BC), covering an area of c 15ha andsurrounded by the remains of trackways and field systems,was discovered. It comprised rectangular enclosures ofvarying sizes, circular ditches which mark hut sites andlinear ditches and rows of pits denoting tracicways andboundaries. One enclosure with a particularly wide ditch(Enclosure 1) is of a type which it has been suggestedrepresents the homestead of a local chieftain.Passenham- S SteadmanAn evaluation in summer 1990 for RMC Technical ServicesLtd of an area of proposed gravel extraction in the upper GtOuse valley identified a series of gravel "islands" within thealluvial floodplain and confirmed the presence on one of aprehistoric burial mound. The only other archaeological64

5977 7879585777 78Brackmills Extension. Contours and Fields walked.79Fig. 3. Outer Northampton. Brackmills Extension.features related to medieval or later agriculture andquarrying.Raunds Survey- S Parry with M WebsterAutumn 1990 saw the completion of fieldwalking and thestart of post-collection analysis. Some 2864 ha, representing72% of the total study area, has been examined usingtraverses at 15m spacing (cf SMA 18 (1988), pp 49-50).Indeed, the kind co-operation of almost all the local fannershas meant that only 15ha of arable land were unavailable forsurvey. The reconnaissance identified some 70 sites of allperiods. The work has been followed by more detailedinvestigations including the incorporation of cropmarkevidence, magnetometer surveys and rescue-relatedexcavation - the most recent work is described below. Thishas permitted an appreciation of some early prehistoricburial and ritual monuments, later Iron Age and Romansettlement patterns and the evolution of the medievalvillages and hamlets.The significance of early to middle Saxon surface scattersis less certain, however, as only in a few cases inNorthamptonshire are features visible as cropmarks (but cfHigham Ferrers, above). Magnetometer surveys, based on alm grid have been carried out on four early to middle Saxonscatters in the Survey area but failed to reveal significantanomalies. Presumably this paucity of evidence is due to therarity of large boundary ditches and the small size ofindividual features. Blind acceptance that surface scattersdirectly relate to subsoil features requires validation and asan attempt to redress this lacuna, six surface scatters ofvarying size, density and location were chosen forinvestigation. The successful identification of featuresrelating to settlement at Crow Hill. Irthlingborough and atUpton, to the west of Northampton (cf SMA 19 (1989) pp27-8 and 20 (1990), pp 51-3 respectively), suggested thatthe excavation of long machine-cut trenches was a suitablemethod of investigation. The trenches were located in orderto provide a balanced investigation of both the core of eachsurface scatter and its periphery. Where features wereidentified further excavation was carried out to allowadequate identification of the remains. The work wasundertaken between July and early October 1990 in theperiod between harvest and ploughing. Excavation onpermeable geologies in the valley was hampered by thedrought-conditions which prevailed in summer, while onlylimited investigation could be carried on sites located uponOxford Clay.West Spinney, Denford(SP 9818 7640)Some 168 early to middle Saxon sherds and six Ipswichware sherds were collected during the main reconnaissancefrom a field located on the lower flanks of the valley sideadjacent to the River Nene. Further intensive collection65

AKing's Heath, Outer Northampton: CropmarksFig. 4. Outer Northampton. ICing's Heath.confirmed the high density of early to middle Saxon potteryon the field. In addition smaller quantities of bon Age andRoman pottery were found, possibly associated with threerectilinear enclosures identified from cropmarks.Excavation of 15 trenches was confined to the central andwestern parts of the field since the eastem portion wasunavailable due to a different crop regime. Trenches acrossthe cropmarks confinned the presence of enclosure ditchescontaining Iron Age pottery. A number of aceramicpostholes and small pits within the enclosures could havebeen contemporary. Despite the presence of dense surfacescatters no early to middle Saxon pottery was found in theenclosures or to the east of enclosure A. However,inrunediately to the west of enclosure B three trenchesrevealed features containing early to middle Saxon pottery.One of the trenches was enlarged exposing a ditch some0.8m deep, containing four Roman and 60 early to middleSaxon sherds, including one sherd with twodiamond-shaped stamps. Adjacent to the ditch a group ofpostholes may denote the partially preserved remains of acontemporary strUcture. Five of the postholes contained atotal of 29 sherds of similar pottery, including one whichwas decorated with a rusticated pattern. An ovalvertically-sided pit; some 0.48m deep, located 50m southwestof the structure contained a further 29 sherds of earlyto middle Saxon pottery. These features were locatedbetween the principal concentrations but not within them.The dense concentrations of pottery in the ploughsoil mayhave been caused by damage from later agricultural activityremoving subsoil features. 'However, deeper features maybe expected to have survived and this pattern could reflectdeliberate dumping of domestic. waste away from livingareas.Scalley Farm, Raunds(centre SP 9820 7320)Investigations have continued between the desertedmedieval village of Mallows Cotton and Scalley Farmwhere concentrations of bon Age, Roman and early to66

RAUNDS AREA SURVEY SITES.11 km National Grid50511 Westfield Spinney, Denford2 Scalley Farm, Raunds3 Cotton Henge, Raunds4 West Cotton, Raunds5 Friendly Lodge, Raunds6 Rose Cottage, HargraveFig. 5. Raunds Area Survey Sites.middle Saxon pottery have been identified duringfieldwalking. The area forms part of the eastern side of theNene valley with a deep tributary valley bisecting two fields.Part of the Roman scatter in the southern field was excavatedin 1986 ahead of road construction (NorthamptonshireArchaeol, 21(1986-7), pp 16-17).Magnetometer survey at both sides of the stream hasrevealed extensive series of anomalies. In the northern fieldat least two broad phases may be distinguished with adouble-ditched oval enclosure (A) and larger rectilinearenclosures with possible drove roads (B). A circularanomaly (C) within the centre of one of the enclosures mayrepresent the eaves-drip gully of a roundhouse. A secondcircular anomaly with a diameter of 20m (D) could representthe remains of a further roundhouse or perhaps an earlierring ditch. Iron Age pottery recovered from fieldwalkingcoincides with the oval enclosure and may suggest that itformed the original settlement with the rectilinearenclosures perhaps of Roman date. In the southern field themagnetometer survey identified elements of a rectilinearenclosure system measuring 100m by at least 70m whichpartly enclosed the excavated area. Survey over the early tomiddle Saxon concentration failed to identify anysignificant anomalies.Excavation related to the investigation of the early to middleSaxon surface scatter was confined to part of the southernfield where a slight concentration of 21 sherds was locatedupslope from a more general distribution. The southernportion of the field was unavailable due to a different cropregime. Some 20 trenches were opened but only 53 early tomiddle Saxon sherds were recovered, mostly from the baseof a secondary tilth. Three oval pits measuring up to 1.78mby 1.73m and 0.4m deep and filled with a leached reddishloam which contained no more than two sherds of early tomiddle Saxon pottery formed the only features of possibleSaxon date, though their significance is unc,ertain. A groupof aceramic small postholes and two g-ullies adjacent to twoof the pits could represent contemporary activity. Thesefeatures were located some 55m south-west of the apparentsurface scatter concentration. A further 13 sherds of early to67

Westfield SpinneyCropmarks ;Excavated Area1 2-5 6+Early-Mid SaxonPottery DistributionFig. 6. Westfield Spinney.__...a l.929 100 Metres 982Magnetometer Surveyr - - - -1 2-5 6+Scal ley Farm1986 ExcavationEarly-Mid SaxonPottery DistributionSurrey TrenchesFig. 7. Scalley Farm.68

middle Saxon pottery were recovered from the upper fill ofa Roman ironstone quarry pit located some 16m south-eastof similar pits found during the 1986 excavation. It isprobable that these sherds represent later infilling. Theremains of two Roman burials and a fiirther quarry pit wereaLso found within the same trench. A number of Iron Agepits and ditches were also found at SP 9824 7308.West Cotton(SP 9776 7254)A fairly dense early to middle Saxon surface scatter,comprising some 46 sherds, was identified from the Surveyreconnaissance in a field to the east of Cotton Lane, adjacentto West Cotton. Nine trenches were excavated to cover mostareas of the field except for the north-west corner wherecropmarks of three ring ditches may denote the remains ofround barrows.Only seven sherds of early to middle Saxon pottery wererecovered and then mostly at the base of the secondary tilth.One sherd was found in the fill of a possible palaeochannelwhich may have been the original line of the Tip Brook. Ifso, the line of the palaeochannel would have divided thesurface scatter from the two early to middle Saxon structuresexcavated to the west of Cotton Lane (SMA 20 (1990), p 46),thus forming one of a number of paired sites noted in thearea To the east of the palaeochannel trenc/iing revealedgroups of aceramic postholes, pits and gullies which, giventhe long history of land-use, cannot be assigned even a broaddate. A double ring ditch containing pottery possibly fromthe beaker period was identified in a trench some 20m eastof the cropmarks Adjacent to Cotton Lane a medievalboundary wall and stone bank were uncovered. The purposeof the bank is uncertain but it may have been intended as aprotection against flooding. A contemporary hearth andlimestone surface, possibly a road, were also revealed.Friendly LodgeTwo early to middle Saxon pottery scatters forming apossible pair across a small tributary valley draining into theGreat Ouse basin were partially investigated.TL 0283 7353Eieht trenches were opened in the southern scatter where 73sherds of early to middle Saxon pottery formed a fairly denseconcentration. Despite attempts to water and clean thecracked and desiccated surface of the Oxford Clay, the edgesof potential features remained indistinct but some producedcontemporary pottery where sampled. Some 85 early tomiddle Saxon sherds were recovered in total, perhapsimplying that with more favourable weather conditionsfeatures relating to settlement may have been identified.II 0292 7389Two trenches were opened within a small concentration of18 sherds of early to middle Saxon pottery. Similarconditions were encountered as with the southern scatter andthe trendies were backfilled with only limited work.Rose Cottage, Hargrave(ii 0303 7103)Investigation of an extensive surface scatter comprising 37early to middle Saxon and four Ipswich ware sherds wascarried out in July and early October 1990 due to differentcrop regimes. In July, despite relatively moist conditions,only slight features probably of geological origin werefound beneath low density concentrations of surface pottery.In October conditions were similar to those at FriendlyLodge so that possible features could only be sampled.Other survey related work:Cotton Henge, Raunds(SP 982 725)A possible henge identified from aerial photography wasfurther investigated as part of the Raunds Survey. Themonument is located on the upper flank of the Tip Brookadjacent to its probable former confluence with the RiverNene and some 450m to the east of the prehistoric ritualfocus identified during excavation at West Cotton (cf SMA20 (1990), p46).The monument may originally have been more prominentas there are traces of a much infilled dry valley to the east.Provisional analysis of struck flint collected from transectswalked at 15m intervals suggests the occurrence ofconcentrations above and hrunediately to the west of themonument. A similar concentration occupied part of the dryvalley to the south-east.A magnetometer survey provided a complete plan of themonument and confimied the presence of two ditches, eachmade up of roughly straight lengths to form an almostcircular plan. The inner ditch was c 21m in diameter, whilethe outer ditch had an elliptical plan with a major axis of75m aligned north-west to south-east and a minor axis of70m. The northern side of the outer ditch is slightlyflattened, matching that of the iruier circle. A possibleentrance might have been formed by a slight projection ofthe northern side of the outer ditch, though the presence ofa nearby hedge may partly obscure the original layout. Noapparent entrance has been observed for the inner circle.East Langham Road, Raunds(SP 9984 7322)Six evaluation trenches were opened in the rear garden of10 Langham Road ahead of house-building. The area is69

P1--729Cotton Henge Flint Distribution-727100:&&?=.-#4 *Sy0: #0#714#0% 0601P:4.-/ARWÇA ve_mu.vis#. 4.:es44 eoe4W 0#8d per100m'762 8,01-2 per 100m'2-5 per meII I I,5 per 100m'FP-H..... I'979 100 Metres.982995Fig. 8. Cotton Henge. Flint distribution.MODERN HEDGE LINESurveyed by P. Maser,Fig. 9. Cotton Henge. Magnetometer survey.70

located between previous excavations at Langham Road andThe Orchard, both of which have produced evidence of earlyto middle Saxon activity and late Saxon and medieva1plots(Northamptonshire Archaeol, 21(1986-7), pp 18-25).The excavation identified a total of 155 features of whichonly 36 contained pottery. This paucity of finds may suggestthat the area was peripheral to both the Saxon and medievalsettlement Seven pits and a gully each contained a singlesherd of early to middle Saxon pottery. While they mayattest to activity at that period, a later date could also bepossible given the limited amount of pottery at the site. Asingle late Saxon ditch, twice recut, may indicate acontinuation of plots identified to the north. A series of deeppostholes in a rectangular arrangement and containingmedieval pottery could represent the remains of a smallstructure. A large pit or ditch aLso of medieval date waspresentMarket Square, Raunds(SP 9986 7284)Excavations in 1989 (cfSMA 20 (1990), p43) were extendedso that the trench measured 29m by 20m. This revealed asequence of boundary ditches dating from the late Saxon toearly medieval periods. The earliest ditches may have beenaligned upon High Street but were subsequently reorientatedtwice. The site appears to have been largely abandoned bythe thirteenth century.Park Road, Raunds(TL 0015 7298)Trial excavation some 50m east of the possible early tomiddle Saxon cemetery (cf SMA 20 (1990), pp 42-3)revealed a dispersed scatter of features of various dates. Ashallow hollow containing 10 sherds of early to middleSaxon pottery and three others each with a single sherd mayattest to limited activity of that period though there was noevidence for the continuation of the cemetery. Other shallowpits contained medieval pottery but their function remainsuncertain.Hill House, Stanwick(centre SP 9783 7127)Extensive trail excavation in the gardens of the now ruinousHill House failed to identify any archaeological features.This absence may further suggest that the central area ofmodem Stanwick was unoccupied until relatively recenttimes (cf SMA 20 (1990),p 43).Road Construction Projects- G CadmanA14 (M1-Al Road Link)By the end of 1990 construction work on Contract 3(Kettering Southem Bypass) and Contract 4 (Kettering toRothwell) was well advanced. No new sites have beenidentified on Contract 4 which largely follows the line of theexisting A6. The following observations relate to Contract3.Burton Latimer(SP 9025 7633)Following initial road-scraping rescue excavations wereconducted at Easter 1990 on a series of at least 17sub-circular pits and other features containing Iron .Agepottery. These extended across the width of theroad-corridor and along its length for a distance of over 70m.Pytchley Lodge(SP 877 756)Apart from a few unstratified finds of worked flint andpottery sherds no significant archaeological discoverieswere made in this area despite the proximity of cropmarkand other sites.A43 Blisworth and Milton Malsor BypassGayton(SP 715 540)Ditches, a possible corn-drier and other features, togetherwith Roman pottery, were identified during initialroad-scraping beside the site of the Gayton Roman villawhich is believed to have been substantially destroyed bynineteenth- and early twentieth-century ironstonequarrying. Reports have also been made of the exposure ofinhumation and cremation burials. Metal detecting by DDerby recovered a dozen coins mainly of Roman date; otherfinds have been similarly made by G Heritage and othersworking elsewhere along the road-corridor.Gayton(SP 7166 5444)A scatter of small pits and other features vvith Iron Agepottery was recorded during road-scraping.Stanion, 17 Little Lane(SP 9143 8713) - G CadmanA watching brief in January 1990 during redevelopment ofpart of one of the village's medieval tenements led to thediscovery of several features including a medieval potterykiln straddling the southern boundary of the modemproperty. The northern half of the kiha was excavated toreveal a single central pedestal. A considerable quantity of71

pottery was recovered from the site. This appears to betokentwo distinct phases of production or, altematively andperhaps more likely, originates in part from a separatenearby source. Of considerable interest was the finding ofthree rare, small "whistle-pots" in a sandy orange-pinkfabric and probably dating to about the fifteenth century. Adetailed report is in preparation.Stoke Bruerne, A508 River Tove Bends(SP 7480 4826) - G CadmanSeveral features, mainly former water courses, wererecorded in a roadside drainage ditch during realignmentroad-construction works across low lying land beside theRiver Tove in December 1990. Of particular interest was adeliberately constructed, straight channel, 8.80m wide andat least 0.90m deep. Inunediately adjacent to it were exposedpart of a substantial limestone wall, limestone rubble and atleak three rough surfaces. These features, from which asmall amount of fourteenth-century pottery was recovered,lie on the edge of some previously unrecorded earthworkslocated to the west of the new road-corridor. They appear torepresent part of a mill or other riverside focus.Thrapston, Trust House Forte(TL 0035 7817)With the support of Trust House Forte a limited evaluation.was carried out in October 1990 on part of an enclosurecropmark lying within the area of a service station andrestaurant complex planned for construction alongside theA14 (Al-M1) link-road to the south-east of Thrapston.Trenches, confined to the eastern side of the site, confirmedthe existence of the enclosure. Two phases of ditch wererecorded. The larger, approximately 4.40m wide and 2.10mdeep, was cut by a smaller ditch set on a slightly differentalignment. Both contained a small quantity of Iron Agepottery. The presence of gravel quarrying across part of thesite was also confirmed. No other significant features wereencountered outside the enclosure or within the small areaof its interior which was investigated. One Roman coin andan unidentified coin were recovered with the aid of a metaldetector used by Mr N Howe.Trust House Forte kindly agreed to exclude that part of theenclosure within their development from any constructionaldisturbance. No evidence was found however with which tosupport the RCHM's suggestion of a Roman temple orshrine hereabouts (Archaeological Sites in North-eastNorthamptonshire (1975),p 96).Towcester, Old Tiffield Road(SP 688 495) - S Steadman and B DixThe site of Roman Lactodurum, mentioned as astopping-place in the routes of the Antonine Itinerary, islargely buried beneath modem Towcester. The importanceof its location at the junction of Watling Street and the roadto Alchester was formerly recognised by the provision ofdefences which enclosed an area of c 11.25 hectares. Thediscovery of large quantities of Roman material beyond thefortified core shows that settlement was also extensiveoutside the area which came to be defended.Archaeological excavation of part of its environs at thesouth- west has located the remains of an industrial suburbalong the Alchester road, while elsewhere evidence foroccupation and cemeteries has been noted. To the north ofthe walled area settlement appears to have been strung outalong Watling treet. Existing information, based onobservations made in connection with he construction of theA43 Towcester-bypass and prior to other recent localedevelopment, indicates the existence of former propertiesand their Associated features.A proposal to develop land situated to the east of WatlingStreet and lying between the A43 new road and Old TiffieldRoad led to the requirement for an archaeological evaluationto determine the extent and nature of any below-groundremains which might thus be affected. Such work wasundertaken in February 1990 for the Hesketh Estate andFig. 10. Stanion, 17 Little Lane. 'Whistle pot'.72

comprised geophysical survey in addition to the excavationof a series of trial trenches.Following a general survey of the entire application-siteusing a fluxgate-gradiometer, an area of c 0.4 ha wassurveyed in detail at the western end of the land-parcelbeside Watling Street. Despite a possible pattern ofbuildings and boundaries being identified, there was noindication of the existence of special features such as kilnsor other industrial structures which might be denoted by amajor anomaly.The subsequent excavation of trial trenches both parallelwith Watling Street and at right-angles to it confirmed theexistence of Roman features behind the former frontage.Roman remains were uncovered immediately below thetopsoil at a depth of up to c 0.5m. Their upper levels hadbeen so truncated by succeeding agriculture, however, thatthe best survival occurred on the ridges between the furrowsof later cultivation.The densest concentration of features lay nearest to the road,where the discovery of a robbed-out wall and other possiblestructural elements suggests the former presence ofbuildings within plots extending back from the mainhighway. The apparent intercutting between featuresindicates that activity might not have been confined to asingle period of time and that its relative sequence may bepreserved by stratification. Associated fincis suggest thatoccupation could have begun as early as towards the closeof the first century AD and continued through to the fourthcentury.By contrast, the features located further back from thefrontage were more discrete. The sporadic occurrence of pitsand postholes over a seemingly wide area was consistentwith the effects of intermittent, low intensity,'backland -usage.Towcester, Meadow(SP 6938 4893 and SP 6941 4891) - G CadmanOn behalf of the Hesketh Estate two machine-dugevaluation trenches were opened in August 1990 across asinuous low earthwork ditch and bank situated onmeadowland a short distance to the east of Towcester's BuryMount. A flat-bottomed ditch up to 3m wide and at least0.40m deep was recorded together with an earth and gravelbank approximately 3m wide at its base and set close to thewestern edge of the ditch. A single fragment of hand-madegreen glass found in the lower fill of the ditch dates from theperiod c 1650-90. It remains uncertain, however, whetherthese earthworks are of seventeenth-century origin (CivilWar defensive?) or later.A series of earlier features which pre-dated the bankincluded a ditch, a gully and two inhumations which, fromaccompanying late Iron Age and Roman amian pottery mayhint at the presence of a hitherto unlmown cemetery to theEast of Lactodurum.Towcester, Saracens Head Hotel(SP 6918 4880) G CadmanA watching brief has continued throughout 1990 and willprogress into 1991 during refurbishment of this property.Some limited exposures of archaeological stratificationhave been observed together with several pits andpost-medieval and later wells. Small quantities of Romanand medieval pottery have been collected.Upper Faxton-B DixA preliminary survey, involving a search of existing recordsand two field visits, was undertaken as part of anEnvironmental Impact Assessment concerning a proposednew village site, located mainly in Lamport parish but alsoimpinging upon the adjacent parishes of Draughton andOrton. The work was commissioned by Brian BarberAssociates Ltd.Much of the study area had been utilised as part of theHarrington airfield built during the Second World War. AnIron Age defended enclosure was excavated at that time butother details of the former landscape, such as theridge-and-furrow of the local common fields, were larg.elyobliterated without record. It is therefore uncertain if therehad been any form of medieval occupation or otherexploitation of the local resources, among which the nearbyclays were used subsequently for pottery and brickmaldng.Weldon, Church Street(SP 9297 8943) - G CadmanMachine-dug evaluation trenches opened during July 1990with the support of the landowner in pursuit of a planningapplication revealed a substantial limestone quarryalongside part of the Church Lane frontage. The quarry infillincluded medieval pottery, charcoal, ash and metal slagattesting to the nearby presence of iron-working.A stone wall which sealed the infilled quarry is believed tobelong to a building fronting Church Lane which wasabandoned or demolished in about the eighteenth century..Wollaston(SP 887 636) - P O'HaraAs a result of previous trial excavation on a series of IronAge sites, which had highlighted the presence ofwaterlogged deposits containing environmental remains,controlled archaeological excavation and a wider watchingbrief were undertaken for Pioneer Aggregates (UK) Ltd inpart of their Wollaston gravel pit. Early forms ofland-division were denoted by boundary ditches and apit-alignment but the major feature was a double-ditchedenclosure of c 0.6ha containing pits and other featuresindicative of occupation. The richly organic, peat-like fill of73

o20m1 1Wollaston Site B: Plan of EnclosureFig. 11. Wollaston, Site B.74

its outer ditch was extensively sampled for scientific studyby Leicester University.OTHER PROJECTSPost-excavation and publicationConsiderable progress was achieved during 1990 in thepreparation for publication of the results from the Unit'swork in the Raunds Area Project. Work is now welladvanced for a major report on North Raunds which willcombine the evidence of individual sites to provide acomprehensive analysis of the settlement's history.Post-excavation studies of the results from almost fiveyears' excavation at the deserted medieval hamlet of WestCotton also commenced in 1990. An illustrated interimreport on the excavations was published in November underthe title "From barrows to bypass". Copies are availablefrom the Archaeology Unit at a cost of £3.95 includingpostage.The detailed identification and analysis of the range- ofexcavated materials from the sites within the Raunds areawill facilitate comparison of the economies betweenindividual sites and between settlements of differentperiods, thereby increasing knowledge and understandingof the changing landscape. Many specialists are involved inthese studies which range from environmental research,concenaing animal bones, plant remains and soils, to thereporting of single artefact-types.The Archaeology Unit itself is cataloguing the largecollections of Saxon and medieval pottery where it is hopedto refme the dating of individual types and to investigateaspects of their distribution and trade. Allied with this iswork at Liverpool University to identify residues within thefabric of pottezy in order to, determine the ftinctions ofdifferent classes of vessels.A different kind of research has involved the study ofmedieval documents by Dr Paul Courtney in order toprovide historical and early topographical information forthe area. The analysis of the former manorial and peasanteconomies contributes information which is relevant toindividual sites in addition to increasing the generalunderstanding of landscape and society and showing the latemedieval land-market to have been in a dynatnic state.Education - R Shaw1990 was the fourth year of the Education Project and itseffectiveness was improved by the appointment, in April, ofa part-time assistant. As in 1989, the single, mosttime-consuming aspect of the programme was the summerseason of on-site activities for schoolchildren, and all therelated work of publicity, teachers' sessions, preparation ofteaching material, and pre-visits to schools. This year, all thevisits took place at Stanwick Roman villa, where we offereda wide range of activities- planning, levelling, work on finds,and excavation techniques. The presence on site of a largeexhibition cabin, containing a wall-display on the RaundsArea Project and portions of the Stanwick mosaics, addedto the variety of experiences available to the pupils. Classesof all ages visited, from both mainstream and special schoolsin the county. The success of these visits owes a great dealto the enthusiasm of the teachers and to the help andforbearance of David Neal and the rest of the team atStanwick.The gradual introduction of the National Curriculum, whichmakes statutory what should be taught to pupils at differentstages in their development, is preoccupying everyoneconnected with Education. Although archaeology as aseparate subject is rarely mentioned, there are many areaswhere its study has much to offer. For example, both theHistory and Geography documents encourage LocalStudies, and the county Sites and Monuments Record is anideal tool in building up detailed local knowledge.Increasing numbers of teachers are coming to theArchaeology Unit to consult the SMER and practical courseshave been given in how to use the matenal and to provideideas for local fieldwork. Likewise, the Unit's collection ofaerial photographs has great potential for work in Historyand Geography, and there is much common ground still tobe explored in the Technology document, which includesthe design and use of artefacts, modem or early.Regular visits are made to schools to give talks on variousaspects of archaeology or to run classroom finds' handlingsessions. However, there is a limit to the number of schoolswhich can be visited, so, during the year, work has beenudertaken towards increasing the range and availability ofmaterials for the teacher to use. A complete resource list hasjust been completed, and more artefacts kits are beingprepared for classroom use.Other highlights of the year include the noisy involvementof hundreds of local schoolchildren at the opening ceremonyat Long Buckby Castle, and similar events at Naseby, wherea Civil War camp was set up in the school playing field bythe Sealed Knot.The teaching resource pack, "The Quest for the Past:Archaeologists at Work" is well into its second print-run andit was the subject of an invited talk at the annual conferenceof the Schools History Project in April. A separatecontribution was made to the year's York ArchaeologicalWeekend which took the theme of "Archaeology andEducation".Interpretation - M WhewellThe opening of Long Buckby Castle in April 1990 was ajoint venture with the Education Project. Over 500 localschoolchildren and their families participated in the eventwhich was assisted by the Escafeld Medieval Society fromSheffield. Displays of medieval combat were followed byworkshops which gave the children the opportunity to havea closer look at the costumes and to discuss what life would75

have been like in a medieval castle. Much following up workwas carried out by the schools: one even used the event inFrench lessons by discussing the implications of the Normaninvasion linguistically! The interpretative panel which hasnow been installed consists of an artist's impression of whatthe castle might have looked like when it was in use, togetherwith a small amount of text explaining the history of the site.The unveiling of two interpretative panels on NasebyBattlefield was similarly used to promote the educationpotential of the area. Members of the Sealed ICnot fired asalute over the battlefield and gave an interpretation of theevents to the invited guests. A Civil War camp was set up atthe village school where children were able to see how theannies would have lived. A leaflet has also been producedwhich can be purchased from local tourist informationcentres and museums. Signage to the site is also beingimproved.The touring exhibition "Villages from the Past" has nowbeen on the road for nine months and has been well receivedthroughout the county. Its appearance at the East of EnglandShow gave the Archaeology Unit the opportunity to explaindirectly its work to a large number of people. A supportingleaflet has been on sale with the exhibition. The importanttask of evaluating the success of the exhibition is currentlybeing carried out by Heather Kinch, a student in the Schoolof Archaeology at Leicester University.In conjunction with the county's Buildings ConservationSection much of the year was devoted to enhancing theCounty Council's guardianship policy. A re-survey of allNCC Guardianship sites is currently being undertaken. Thenecessary funds have been made available by theEnvironment 2000 Committee to cany out vital repairs, toassess interpretative potential and to establish an effectivemanagement plan for all the sites.The Unit continues to work closely with the CountrysideServices branch by offering archaeological advice andcontributing to all of the countryside walks leaflets. Closelinks with the Pocket Parks initiative (which promotes localaction in the countryside) has resulted in an archaeologicalpamphlet being incorporated into the recently producedinformation pack. With the help of Andrew MacDonaldthere has also been involvement in Operation Woodpecker,an environmental playscheme held in the county's CountryParks. Children were able to make, decorate and fire theirown pots following Andrew's example.OXFORD ARCHAEOLOGICAL UNITRedlands Farm, Stanwick - Round barrowSP 961705A ploughed-out round barrow, defined by double concentricring ditches on aerial photographs, was excavated on behalfof ARC Ltd. Four graves were located, containing fiveburials in total; all lay within the circuit of the inner ditch.The central though not necessarily primary burial was thatof an adult male lying on his back with the legs flexed to theleft: there were no grave goods. There were traces of apossible coffin or mortuary structure around and under thebody. Approximately 5m. to the north a second gravecontained a crouched infant inhumation, accompanied by aBeaker, the only grave good or other find recovered fromthe barrow excavation. A secondary inhumation, of aneo-natal infant, had been inserted into the top of thebackfilled grave. The remaining burials each contained acrouched infant inhumation.Redlands Farm, Stanwick - Roman villa complexSP 960705 (Figs. 1 and 2) - Graham D KeevillApproximately 5,000 sqm. of a Romano-British villacomplex were examined; included in this area were ancillarybuildings, field boundaries, yard surfaces, at least onetrackway and two palaeochannels. Post-excavation analysisis at a very early stage, but a provisional sequence of eventsis provided here.I A field system was established, consisting of gulliesrunning N-S in parallel. Similar features excavated byEnglish Heritage at the Stanwick villa one mile to the northhave been dated to the Bronze Age (Neal 1989, 152).During this phase a pit was excavated and a Beakerdeposited in it; there was no evidence for a burial, althougha Roman building had truncated the feature. The pit, at least,is likely to be broadly contemporary with the round barrowdescribed above.lia A more complex field and enclosure system wasestablished in the early Roman period (possibly with a lateIron Age component). At the eastern limit of the system two,or possibly three, buildings were erected. Two of these weresmall rectangular barns, one of which might belong to a laterphase, and certainly continues in use beyond this phase. Thethird building was a mill, lying on a low sand island betweentwo palaeochannels; the latter were tributary channels of theriver Nene, and both had been diverted through aqueducts,or leats, which joined beyond the NE corner of the mill. Thelatter consisted of a rectang-ular building measuring 14 x6.5m. externally; the east end was cellared, with a wide barndoor in the south wall.Ilb The field/enclosure system was replanned and field wallswere built. One of these was extended westwards to becomepart of a curtain wall enclosing .the building complex;building the wall necessitated the demolition of one of therectangular barns. Roughly-paved courtyards were laiddown within the circuit of the curtain wall and also in theangle formed by its junction with the field wall. The millwas converted into a small villa. The barn door was blockedand a hypocaust was constructed in the cellar, the remainderof the mill was divided into two rooms, each equal in sizeto the cellar. The west room was furnished with a tessellatedpavement, the central room with an opus signinum floor, andthe hypocausted room with painted wall plaster. A backcorridor was added, within which was placed the furnace forthe hypocaust; the corridor linked a pair of long wing rooms76

FIELD SYSTEMFIELD SYSTEM-r/LJ./;L.Phase BaPhase libdiNUTS xPhase Ltd50 100 mFig. 1. Redlands Farm villa complex, phasesFurnace room* Adult burialCollapsed wCoitapeed watt*/Child burialsTessera dumb...UnescavatedPhase BbTessellatedPavementPhase lidRobbedFloorCrude pavmg overRYPOcaust collapse0 5 10 /STSeal* for an pna..sFig. 2 Redlands Farm villa, plan of phases77

flanking the mill building. The newly-converted villa facedsouth, and the facade between the projecting wing roomswas embellished with four columns, the central pair flankingthe new entrance.Bc The curtain wall was interrupted, and possibly removedaltogether, by the construction of two circular stonebuildings across its line. The first, 9.5m. in diameter, overlaythe phase lia rectangular barn. The interior of theroundhouse was completely filled with pitched limestone:fragments of a slab floor survived in places. A limestoneramp/track led to a wide doorway in the north side of thebuilding, which seems to have served as a threshingfloor-cum-barn.The second roundhouse cut through the eastern ann of thecircuit wall. This massive structure, 15m. in diameter, isamong the largest stone roundhouses discovered in RomanBritain. Its intenor seems to have been divided into humanand animal quarters, in the west and east halvesrespectively, while the central area was occupied by asuccession of hearths. The roof was supported on four largestone pads.Another stone building, rectangular in plan, was insertedinto the corner formed by the junction of the curtain and fieldwalls. Truncation by modern quarrying meant that thenorthward extent of the building could not be deterrnined; itmay have continued beyond the curtain wall, which wouldthus have to be removed, or it may simply have been alean-to in the corner. Certainly the building was very slightlyconstructed.The fate of the curtain wall in this phase is unclear. Itsimportance was at least diminished, but one cannot be surewhether the various buildings were simply inserted into itscourse rather than being built after its demolition.Further developments took place at the villa. It is not clearthat these occurred at the same time as the construction ofthe roundhouses. The two events have been phased togetherhere for convenience.A paved corridor or verandah was built between theprojecting wings of the villa's south facade. At the east endof the verandah a short length of wall was added to theeasternmost column base. The wall may have acted as abuttress to the blocking of the old barn door, alternatively itmight be the base of a stairway leading to an upper storey inthe east wing. The ground floor of the latter, and of the westwing, was now divided in two by the insertion of a partitionwall. In each wing the partition was replaced once, entailingthe enlargement of the south room. In the central room inthe original mill building, a mosaic pavement was laid.It is notable that symmetry of plan was maintained duringthese alterations. The exception to this rule occun-ed in therear corridor and was entirely dictated by functionalconsiderations. The hypocaust furnace had evidently beenfunctioning poorly, and so it was entirely enclosed by theconstruction of walls to the west and north (abutting theexterior wall of the villa), and by the blocking of thedoorway between the east wing and the back corridor.Bd Towards or at the end of the Roman penod the villa wentinto serious decline. Both wings were demolished (Keevill1990). The hypocausted room fell into ruin, with the cellarbeing breached and the wall plaster collapsing; over this waslaid a crude, paved floor. The tessellated and mosaicpavements were deliberately removed. The tesserae of thelatter were scattered and trampled in, but those from thetessellated pavement were used for a quite specific purpose- to seal off a group of three burials of neo-natal infants inthe abandoned west wing.Although the level and status of activity had declined, it isclear that the shell of the villa was in use for some time. Agroup of three sunken-featured huts was built c 80m. to thesouth-east, possibly contemporaneously with the final useof the villa, in the courtyard to the east of the largeroundhouse. Early Saxon pottery was present inassemblages dominated by late Roman forms from thesehuts. A similar pattern of bifocal, small scale activity wasnoted at West Cotton; as at Redlands Faim, the foci wereseparated by a stream channel (Windell et al. 1990, 16).Abandonment of the villa complex may have been causedby overbank flooding; certainly the villa itself was partlysealed by alluvium. The fact that it was not used as a quarry- in contrast to the wholesale robbing of the neighbouringvilla at Stanwick - suggests that access was impossible dueto the floodwaters. It is notable that the westernmost extentof the ridge-and-furrow fields was c 75 m. east of the limitof inhabitable land in the Roman period. The furrows cutthe Phase Ild huts. At West Cotton mid-Saxon cultivationalso superseded the early Saxon occupation (Windell et al.1990, 17) This would sugeest that overbank flooding, andperhaps a general rise in the water level, had forced theabandonment of a wide strip of land.This pressure on the land must have intensified, and in theend the ridge-and-furrow was abandoned. Exactly when thishappened is not clear, but it seems to have been during themedieval period, again as at West Cotton (Windell et al.1990, 41). The field system was sealed by a thick deposit ofalluvium. The land was left fallow thereafter until thenineteenth century, when improvement took place.Ceramic pipe land-drains were inserted; ironically, theywere laid along the furrows of the Saxon/medieval fieldsystem. Fortunately this modern activity did very littledamage to the Roman archaeology, especially over the westside of the site. The added depth of alluvium herecontributed to the extraordinarily good preservation of thevilla, the rectangular barns and the smaller roundhouse. It isnotable that these lay beyond the limit of ridge-and-furrowcultivation, unlike the larger roundhouse which had therebysuffered considerable truncation.ReferencesKeevill G D 1990, 'Redlands Farm Villa' CA 122 52-578

Neal D S 1989, 'The Stanwick Villa, Northants: An InterimReport on the Excavations of 1984-88' 13ritannia XX149-68Windell D. Chapman A and Woodiwiss J 1990, FromBarrow to Bypass: Excavations at West Cotton, Raunds.Northamptonshire, 1985-1989OXFORDSHIREOXFORDSHIRE COUNTY ARCHAEOLOGY,1990Keith RayBoth an active and a difficult year for County Archaeologysaw a final decision made to incorporate the service whollywithin the Centre for Oxfordshire Studies at the WestgateLibrary, Oxford. The possibility of the formation within theDepartment of Leisure and Arts of an EnvironmentalHeritage Service incorporating also the Countryside Sectionand the Biological Records Centre had been exploredbriefly. However, this idea was considered as a potentiallycosdy option, and one which could have cut across theopen-access ideas behind the COXS plan. So from July1991, the Sites and Monuments Record and the planning/conservation staff will be located on the second floor of theCentral Library in the centre of Oxford. Here it is intendedto provide an integrated Local Studies, Family History,Photographic Archival and Sites and Monuments Recordservice to the public. Other developments during the yearincluded the retirement of John Steane after fifteen yearsservice as County Archaeologist, the appointment of CarolRosier as Deputy County Archaeologist (HistoricBuildings) and the appointment of Paul Smith as CountyArchaeologist. The computerisation project continued withhigh input levels despite staffing problems, and three of thefive Districts have now been processed. A number ofconservation studies were carried out, two of which weredeveloped as projects by Oxford University In-ServiceTrainees. The level of demand on advisory servicescontinued to grow during the year, including severalrequests to provide data for national level conservationstudies - two of which related to the potential impact of roadschemes. Grants in support of archaeological work in theCounty were reviewed as part of a Countywide reappraisal.Following considerable discussion and comparison ofoptions, the grant hitherto made available to the OxfordArchaeological Unit was reformed into a contractualarrangement for the provision of particular services. Inaddition to involvement in the planning process (andespecially in development control) at both County andDistrict level, there was an enhanced involvement inresource management issues. Besides continued localliaison with the National Trust, advantage was talcen of theopportunities afforded by the Forestry Commissionconsultation scheme to provide some archaeological inputinto estate management practice. Interpretation studiescontinued to be an important focus. At Cogges, Witney, astudy of the fabric and interiors of the Manor House whichforms part of the Farm Museum was begun. Guide literaturefor the 'Bishops Palace' at Witney was prepared. Areappraisal study of current site interpretation at East Endvilla, North Leigh was also carried out. Finally, in the yearwhich saw the publication of the long awaited PolicyGuidance on Archaeology and Planning, seminars on theCounty Archaeological perspective were held for Districtand County Planners. These included a day school inBanbury on the archaeoloeical resource of villages withguest speakers David Austin and James Bond.Cherwell District(SP62503255 (centre)) Foxley Fields Farm, FinmereA desk top study was carried out as part of a review of thepotential implications of minerals extraction here. The studyrevealed that two ring-ditches previously perceived asisolated (PRN 13468 and PRN 13469) are in fact part of acomplex arrangement of early landscape features. Furtherpossible barrows were noted from direct vertical aerialphotographs, together with a linear boundary and apparentlyassociated enclosures.Cherwell District(SP 52652945 (centre)) FritwellAs part of the constraint map study referred to above, a fieldvisit was made to a group of villages in the near vicinity ofthe newly-constructed Wendlebury-Banbury section of theM40. No earthworIcs had previously been recorded in theSites and Monuments Record for Fritwell, but prior study ofaerial photographs indicated that they might exist in pastureat several points in the village. The visit led to the definitionof two principal historic elements represented byearthworks. The first was a series of enclosures andplatforms in the near vicinity of St Olave's church. Thesecond element was the location of further such featuresaligned onto and stretching along the line of anorthwest-southeast routeway through the village stillrepresented in large part by the Souldem-Middleton road.Cherwell District(SP 4937 2440 (centre)) Lower Heyford PRN 5608This unusual hillslope enclosure apparently with twoconCentric banks was first recognised as a cropmark site byCrawford in 1930. It survived as an earthwork into thenineteenth century but was subsequently levelled, and deepdrainage trenches dug across its western half. Thiseffectively obliterated this portion of the feature, even fromthe air. Restudy of the 1930 photos in 1990 and comparisonalso with those of 1947 and 1961 produced the observation79

that the outer bank (diameter 240m.) clearly liesinunediately inside the ditch. Also, the inner bank is notconcentric, but is closer to the northeastern edge of the perimeter.At this point, the outer bank contains a straightsection some 60m. long. These observations, together withthe absence of an entranceway, can be taken to contradictan identification of this site as a henge monument.However, the present form is sufficiently anomalous tothrow doubt on an Iron Age date either. Finds ofAnglo-Saxon burials from the same field, reported in theearly nineteenth century (possibly at the same time as theinitial levelling of the earthwork), do nothing to clarify thestatus of the enclosure which at present must remainanomalous.South Oxfordshire District(SU 6965 8588 (centre)) Swan Wood, HighinoorReports of finds of Romano-British pottery and a kiln werefollowed up here prior to woodland regeneration. The findsreported from the vicinity of the house (see Fig. 1) were notcorroborated there, but a dense scatter was located in thenortheastern corner of the wood. A possible contemporaryenclosure was noted some 40m. south of this latter, and aseries of linear banks of low but broad dimensions was notednorth and east of the house. An inspection of Deadman'sLane to the north of the wood led to a series of observationsabout its forrn and topographical location. In particular, thescarp forming the northern edge of the trackway is morepronounced than that forming the southern, and the route ofthe lane cuts across the head of a southward- facing valley.'This conjunction suggests that this stretch of the ditch can,in contradistinction to some earlier conclusions, beconsidered to be part of an eastwards extension of theMongewell Grim's Ditch. In turn this again raises thepossibility that the boundary work concerned, sharing someclose similarities throughout its route, does in fact traversethe whole tract of country from Wallingford to Henley.Vale of the White Horse(SU 28088305; 28428215 and 28788098) Ashdown ParkA collaborative field visit with National Trust staff led to therecognition of further features to those noted during a surveyin 1989. These additional features included lynchets in thelower (eastern) areas of Hailey Wood, and rectilinearpaddock- like enclosures defined by low earthem banks inamong the sarsen stones in Kingston Bottom immediatelysoutheast of the Park entrance. Further earthworks in thesoutheastern corner of Upper Wood were observed. Thesecomprised a series of rectangular mounds arranged in anL-shape. They have been interpreted provisionally as apillow mound complex.West Oxfordshire District(SP 3250 1850 (centre)) Stag's Plain, ChilsonA rapid surfce survey was carried out in advance ofafforestation in fields northwest and southwest ofKnighton's Copse. At SP 3232 1825 a light scatter ofRomano-British pot sherds was noted close to thenortheastern edge of a copse and on the edge of anorthwest-facing combe. It appears likely that the settlementfrom which this material derives lies within the copse itself,surmounting a broad level spur of land overlooking theEvenlode valley.West Oxfordshire District(SP 3265 2640) Glyme Fann, Chipping NortonTwo reconnaissance visits were made in advance ofafforestation of outlying areas of this farm. At SP 3318 2610an area of ridge and furrow, unusual for the locality, wasfound to survive only within a copse north of New ChalfordFarm. The ruin of the latter is designated as an SSSI, and ismuch overgrown. It is sited on a south-facing slope at thelower edge of a broad level lynchei The surviving fabricincludes a fireplace at the western end, spanning almost theentire width of the building. The mantel has collapsed, butappears to have been at an unusually high level. This raisesthe possibility that the central cell of the structure was oncea hall open to eaves level. This is surprising in view ofdocumentary indications that the farm was a post-medievalmeation. At the southern end of a field called Whipwell tothe southwest of the faim at SP 322261 a slight earthenmound was noted Orientated north-south and oval in shape,the long axis of this possible barrow measuresapproximately 25m. The mound is broadest at its southernend, measuring 15m. A Romano-British site on thenorthwestern margins of the farm has produced numerouscoins and a carved stone head, but remains ill- defined.Earthworks which may relate to the building complex whichapparently survives here were noted in Whipwell, next tothe spring in the northwestern corner of the field. Ploughingof an adjacent area had brought to the surface sherds ofSamian as well as colour-coated ware.West Oxfordshire District(SP 2829 2426) The Corner House, Churchill (PRN 12795)A group of 115 medieval floor tiles was reported discoveredin the above house in CBA9 Newsletter No 11. (1981: p83).A variety of foliate and heraldic designs were noted amongthe 30 decorated tiles, and the source of the group wasdeduced to be local. At that time, the possibilities werethought to be the now-abandoned medieval church, ornearby Bruern Abbey. However, examination of thepart-cellar beneath this ostensibley eighteenth centurybuilding revealed a two-light fourteenth century window,the upper mouldings of which are partly obscured by a laterplain barrel vault contemporary with the piesent building.In addition to the tiles, a number of other building fragmentshave been retained, some built into one of the ground floorfireplaces, were decipherable. These represent mouldingsfrom a fourteenth century doorway. There seems to be,therefore, a strong likelihood that the tiles and other buildingfragments, both in-situ and reincorporated elsewhere, formpart of a medieval building truncated at ground floor level80

GrimFig. 1. Swan Wood, Nettlebed, Oxon.81

and used as a plinth and partly as cellarage for the laterbuilding. That this is a common feature locally is suggestedby the incorporation at cellar level of yet more elaboratewindows and vaulting of a medieval building at ChippingNorton (PRN 4509). The present discovery echoes earlierobservation of a fouteenth century roll-moulded arch atadjacent Hastings Hill (CBA9, 10, p88 : PRN 11855) andindicates a medieval focus at Churchill considerably southof and uphill from the medieval church.West Oxfordshire District(SP 3828 2838) Little TewThe discovery of human skeletal material some time agowas reported from a property southwest of TimberyardCottages. This latter building contins a fourteenth centurydoor and screens passage from a medieval hall building,once Broc house (one of three manors lcnown to have existedin Little Tew at Domesday: VCH Oxon, XI, 249-51). A sitevisit early in 1990 located a truncated mound which was notobviously a mortuary structure. Grass-tempered potsherdswere recovered from its surface, and these finds echo similardiscoveries in fields to the south of this part of the village.In a corner of the same area of garden, a series of low narrowconcentric banks were also observed. The innermost of thesecontinues its line northwards, becoming the boundary of apaddock to the rear (west) of Timberyard Cottages. Tracesof the line of the outer two are just detectable in the arablefield beyond this paddock. Attempts to trace the rest of whatwas presumed to be a circuit of banks and ditches met withonly partial success on the ground (see Fig. 2). Both aerialphotographs and a map of the open fields of Little Tew of1742 indicate the line of this banked enclosure on all sidesexcept the southeast. Whether this means that the enclosurewas D-shaped and never fully circular is at presentimpossible to detemiine. As to its date, this is again difficultto establish. Fields to the south, between Manor Farm andthe river Dom, have produced large quantities of prehistoricmaterial. A multivallate fortification might best be regardedas Iron Age, but even a Dark Age date cannot be ruled outat present. Several small platforms were observed within theenclosure, in the paddock mentioned earlier. The dispositionof these level areas in reference to the banlcs appears tofavour contemporaneity.West Oxfordshire District(SP 3975 1542) East End Villa, North LeighA request for information on the early excavations at thisGuardianship site from its part-time custodian led to areview of its interpretation from available source materialand close observation on-site. Within the guardianship areait was possible to establish the original location of a seriesof massive columns as being the baths/temple complex inthe north east range of buildings. This would have had a hugefacade, perhaps surmounted by a pediment. Measurementof wall thickness facilitated a reconstruction whichenvisages a three storey structure for the principal range. Anarea of parching observed by Mr Ray Young in the centreof the main courtyard is thought to be suggestive of anornamental centrepiece. Beyond this courtyard. furtherobservations of growth patterns of crops, and slight parchingof meadow grassland were made. This amplifiedinformation from a watching brief carried out in 1979 whichsuggested further substantial structures existing beyond theGuardianship area to the north, and towards the riverEvenlode to the east. Matching of these marks with the planof the excavated structures leads to a suspicion that furthercourtyards may be ranged along the northern front of thepresumed principle structures, and that the northeastern andsouthwestern ranges were carried fiirther southeastwards toa river frontage.West Oxfordshire District(SP 3189 2869) (house) Over Norton ParkIn August 1990 a service trench was dug from thecontinuation of the village main street (at SP 3174 2853) toa point eastwards beyond the garden surrounding the House(at SP 3192 2872). The trench was observed when open,only in the eastern two-thirds of its course. Directly south ofthe House, a bank running northwest-southeast was visibleat surface, and was intersected by the trench at SP 31902862. In section, the bank was shown to be 1.5m broad, andfronted to its eastern side by an entirely infilled ditch 2.5m.wide and 0.5m. deep. One of the two sherds of plainmedieval pottery recovered from this part of the trench camefrom spoil immediately adjacent to the ditch. Theopportunity was taken to record other features in the Park.A short stretch of a broad ditch northeast of the garden ispresumed to be the remains of a ha-ha, then in process ofbeing infilled with building rubble. A series of ponds in thevalley of the Cleeve stream below the House was beingrestored, and one of the earthen dams for the upper series ofponds had recently been cleared of vegetation. A largeirregular stone had been revealed, embedded in the surfaceof the dam at SP 3201 2860. The shelly oolitic limestone ofthis stone, its size and weathering pattern and lichen coveredsurfaces is closely similar to these characteristics of theKing's Men among the Rollright Stones. Another monolithhas been re-erected in the rear garden of a house near thecentre of the village at SP 3169 2830. The existence of twosuch stones in secondary contexts here may represent thesurvival of elements of a circular barrow with stonework onits east side noted by 0 G S Crawford at SP 3217 2847. Ifsuch an identification can be sustained (see Lambrick, TheRollright Stones, 1988, p114-5), it supports the recognitionof a continuous distribution of 'portal dolmen' structures setin small circular barrows, of which the Hoar Stone, Enstone,and possibly also the Hoar Stone at Barton Abbey may befirther examples eastwards.West Oxfordshire District(SP 3485 2155) Court Close, SpelsburyA tree downed in winter gales was found to have been rootedin stone rubble on the northeastern corner of the churchyardof All Saints Church. An attempt to adduce a context for this82

Little Tew..Mb-,.. MD,SCALE: 1:1250Fig. 2. Little Tew.83

Fig. 3. Spelsbury.84

ubble led to close inspection of Court Close, immediatelyadjacent to the West, and a review of information about thelate Saxon and early Norman episcopal residence presumedby some writers to have stood here. The church itself was asubstantial stone cruciform structure at the relevent date, butthe nave and both transepts were subsequently removed.This leaves a west tower of massive proportions with cleartraces of its earlier form in shallow clasping pilaster stripsextending to ground level at the tower angles, buttenninating at eaves level in the centre of all three visiblesides. The present churchyard has been extended to the westonto a pronounced platform. This is tracable in the adjacentpaddock (known as Court Close) as a broadly rectangularfeature, the eastern edge of which is marked by a bankrepresenting the former eastern limit of the churchyard. Theoriginal nave of the church may have extended this far westalso. Aerial photographs of 1935 taken by Major Allen helpto clarify the disposition of features. The 'platform' appearsto comprise a spread of rubble, and smaller circular andlinear dumps are visible to the north of it, also under pasture.At least one large rectangular building is visible partlyburied beneath one of the smaller dumps. Two straightparallel banks are traceable on the western flank of CourtClose (see Fig.3). The exact status of this site is uncertain.It is difficult to sustain one interpretation, namely that theearthworks are part of a shrunken medieval village. Mrs E.Corbett in her History of Spelsbury (1962) identifies CourtClose as the site of the Wycbwood residence of the Bishopsof Worcester and subsequently as that of a castle of theBeau champs, Plantagenet Earls of Warwick. Certainly theamount of rubble adduced as present here suggests asubstantial stone building, and the number of banks indicatethat the complex occupied a substantial plot of land. Onefind made in Court Close in 1933 has been little reported,but does appear to support the idea that a high statusresidence existed here. This is a gilt bronze disc 4.6cm. indiameter with relief-cast interlace fields pierced by rworivets. These latter have led to its identification as a brooch,but it is more likely to have been a hanging-bowlescutcheon. InterlaCed patterns on these objects are regardedas late in the series, and as late seventh or even early eighthcentury in date. This is of particular interest in view of theearliest documentary reference to the Spelsbury area, aMercian royal charter of 840 in which King Berlitwulf gaveBishop Heaberht of Worcester 'land enough for tenhouseholds in the place the countrymen call Wychwood'.West Oxfordshire District(SP 4438 1679) Fletcher's House, WoodstockDuring the rebuilding of the brick half-wall dividing thegarden area of the County museum, the footings of an earlierwall were discovered. Based on nibble foundations, up tothree courses of limestone ashlar survived. Following therecovery of flint-tempered pottery as well as late medievaland post medieval finds, the base of the construction trenchfor the rebuilding was carefully cleaned. It appeared that theconstruction trench for the original stone wall was cut intoa level containing medieval material, but it was flot possibleto trace the boundaries of this latter deposit. Theflint-tempered pottery is unlikely to be later in date than theeleventh century and may therefore predate the foundationfo New Woodstock in the late twelfth century. The onlyearlier known finds nearby were those of 1755, of Romancoins from near the parish church.OXFORDSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL UNITMERTON: BORROW PITSSP 571170 - George Lambrick and Mick ParsonsThe huge limestone quarry being dug to provide roadstonefor the new M40 threatened to destroy two Bronze Age ringditches and a possible Iron Age enclosure. Vigilance by theCounty Museum Services prevented their destruction in thenick of time, and in January and February an excavation wascommissioned by the contractors, Sir Alfred McAlpine, tofulfil the County's planning requirements. An adjacent fieldwhich was to be landscaped was also assessed. The site liesvery close to the river Ray, just upstream from theDorchester-Alchester Roman road crossing. Spring 1990saw some of the most extensive floods for many years andat one point almost the whole area was under water, whichseverely hampered work. Eventually, however, the waterretreated and the project was successfully completed. Thetwo ring ditches were very typical, one 24 m. in diameterwith a ditch 3 m. wide and 1 m. deep, the other similar insize but with a shallower ditch. The southern ring producedfive cremations, three of them in ums (one at least a smallcollared um with twisted cord decoration), which werefound just inside the ditch in its SE quadrant. There was nocentral burial, and it is not clear what form the barrowtook:it may have been a bowl barrow with a central mound or adisc barrow with an extemal bank. The ditch was largelydevoid of finds, except for an interesting cluster of 45 mostunusual large square flint flakes which probably represent abagful of scraping or cutting tools. The second ring ditchalso had no central burial, and the only cremation, again witha small um, was in the bottom of a very large shallow pit, 4x 5m. but only 0.3m. deep. This had been filled with stone.This ring ditch contained several pieces of pottery includinga fragment of a decorated um. The ditch cut the end of thesmall rectangular enclosure which was confirmed to bemiddle Iron Age. The only other possible Iron Age featuresin this excavation were a large pit (possibly for grainstorage) and two much smaller pits and a few postholes withburnt stone in them. Unfortunately these did not add up topositive evidence for a house. The assessment of the nextfield revealed an area with more evidence of Iron Ageactivity, mostly of a low derisity, and this is to be preservedin the landscaping proposals.CUMNOR: PINKHILL MEADOWSP 460067 - Naomi HutchingsAt Farmoor Reservoir a watching brief was carried out onbehalf of Thames Water during the enhancementprogramme for Pinlchill Meadow, to check for finds and85

BladonBegbrokeKidlingtonThe Evenlode ConfluenceArchaeologylYsYarntonLIM *CuttesloweWORTON RECTORY FARMAWolvercoteGosfordee0PREHISTORICRing ditches/barrowsFlint scatterCircular enclosureHengeHillfortIron Age settlementROMANRoman settlementRoman cemeterySwinfordSAXON AND MEDIEVALoF*Botleyz?OxfordSaxon settlementSaxon cemeteryDeserted medieval village *CropmarksAFilchamsteado5 km.Fig. 3. Evenlode Confluence Archaeology.features Pinkhill Meadow is approximately one ldlometreto the NE of a previously identified Iron Age and Romansettlement site. Three lakes were dug: a large central onewith two smaller, shallower lakes to the NE and to the S,revealing alluvium to a depth of approximately lm. abovethe natural gravel. The only obvious archaeological featurewas an E-W linear ditch showing in the E side of the centrallake, lm. wide and approximately lm. deep, containing afew sherds of Iron Age pottery. The ditch could be followedfor a length of 14m. On the S side of the central lake ashallow scoop was identified, containing burnt material butwith no associated finds. Part of a quartz hammerstone wasalso picked up. These finds would seem to indicate someoccupation, probably seasonal, of the Thames floodplain inthis area during the Iron Age.YARNTON WORTON RECTORY FARMSP474113 - Gill HeyGravel extraction by ARC in their new Cassington Pit hasprompted a new programme of work by the OxfordArchaeological Unit. This work is being funded by EnglishHeritage and has the full co- operation of ARC.Archaeological backgroundThe gravel pit lies in the Thames/Evenlode confluence area(Fig. 3). Extensive gravel extraction, railway and roadbuilding and housing development in the past have led to thedestruction of many rich sites with only limited andpiecemeal recording. The large late Iron Age enclosure atCassington Mill is the most obvious example of a range ofsites from the Neolithic to the early medieval period whichhave suffered this fate. [Fig lilt is hoped to set some of thesesites into contexi and test regional hypotheses relating toIron Age, Romano-British and Saxon settlement patternsand political, social and economic change. It is also hopedto provide evidence of land use in the past. The site lies onan area of second terrace gravel, interspersed with Oxfordclay and silty loam deposits, sloping down onto the alluviumof the Thames floodplain. Two palaeocharuiels, runningroughly east to west, cut gravel islands on the floodplainwhich lie very close to the surface in several places. OxeyMead, a well documented historic hayrneadow, lies in thesoutheast of the pit (Fig. 4).Outline of Archaeological ProgrammeThe project was initiated by the discovery of a set of airphotographs of a dense cropmark site in the future ARCplant area and the exposure of part of a wooden platform ortrackway on the edge of a palaeochannel. The wood, fromwhich two flint flakes and several hazelnut shells wererecovered, was destroyed before it could be properlyexamined but the Oxford Archaeological Unitwas able tomount an assessment of the future plant site and on the basis86

A40PaleochannelAluviumGravel terraceCropmarksPossible cropmarks1kmFig. 4. Yamton, Worton Rectory Farm: Sites in pit.of the results English Heritage funded a limited programmeof excavation. Evidence of continuous occupation from thesixth century BC to the eighth century AD has beenrecovered. Such longevity of occupation is unique in theUpper Thames area. A complex site dating from the earlyIron Age to Saxon period was excavated on the plant site.The area adjacent has now been stripped and work is inprogress on a high-status seventh century Saxon settlement.Some further assessment work has talcen place on the fieldto the north of the plant site and the early Iron Age seulementwas found to extend into this field. Fieldwalking in the areaof the pit will help to locate other possible occupation sites.The project also intends to address the problem of theenvironmental background of the settlement and the landuseof the area Sections cut through a series of alluvial depositsin the palaeochannels, both in Oxey Mead and immediatelyto the south of the settlement, have been sampled formacrobotanical remains and pollen. Bundles of flax, fromthe flax retting process, were recovered from a probable IronAge context in Oxey Mead. The fieldwalking programme isintended to examine manuring patterns and includes fieldsover varied geology beyond the pit area but within thepresumed site catchment. Comparisons with environmentalevidence from contemporary occupation contexts should beparticularly interesting.Excavations on the plant siteThe cropmarks on the air photographs indicated that the sitehad a great density and variety of archaeological features.Two small, circular enclosures, as well as a large number ofintercutting ditches of rectangular and sub-circularenclosures, linear features, a mass of pits and some possiblegullies were all visible. In February' 1990 an area about 1hectare in size was opened for excavation and a further 3hectares to its south and east was dealt with as a salvageoperation. The archaeology proved to be much morecomplex than originally envisaged, partly because thefeature density was so great (nearly 70% of the site). Therewas only sufficient tune and money to assess and selectivelysample the different elements of the site. Post-excavationanalysis has not yet taken place. Although the first clearevidence of occupation was early Iron Age in date a lateNeolithic flint scatter has been recovered from the lowerploughsoil and subsoil; part of a greenstone axe was found.A pit in the west of the site, mostly chopped away by threelate Iron Age ditches, contained Mortlake Ware and anothersmall pit in the present excavations to the east was filled with75 flint tools and flakes, including a transverse arrowhead.A cremation was cut into the top of the pit. Bealcer pits wererecorded in the last century from the railway cutting to thenorth.Iron AgeThe early Iron Age occupation could be traced across thenorthern part of the site and into the salvage area to the east.Remains of at least five circular post-built houses werefound, as was a fence-line and gullies which may representland division. Remains of other structures and pits,including many grain storage pits have been recorded (Fig.6). Later activity has disturbed and confused the layout of87

'.YARNTONWorton Rectory Farm47260/ I11330 i-0.Q.0000A0F0I47260/ 1128050mr 1, 1 .ç sca,...ZIII, i I1-t-,--k, 0 1II,,---J.J.:, r»,--.: -,- - -'--,.. -,'''') - - L.,- --i--;:----, ---71. LI 1.'2";7.-D---7-----_,,,,-,,,,,,-_____........ --.....,............. . 1-,.:' ------ -:,------_Z----=-.` __.0VOAU

Fig. 6. Comb from early Iron Age pit.the settlement to the east, except in the salvage area wherethe plans of two buildings and several grain storage pits wererecovered. Recent assessment work in the field to the northof the plant site has shown that this phase of occupationspread at least two hectares to the northeasi The middle bonAge settlement (c 350 BC - 50 BC) retained a similar focus.A ditch enclosed an area 15 m in diameter. Within theenclosure were the postholes of a circular timber house.This replaced an earlier circular building with entranceposts, which was probably early Iron Age in date. Otherpostholes in the enclosure probably represented the remainsof animal pens and fence lines. An annexe on the north edgeof this enclosure contained the postholes of a semicircularstructure, probably a workshop. Slag from metalworkingwas found in the backfill of the ditches nearby. Otherfeatures of middle bon Age date, especially pits, have beenfound elsewhere on the site. In the late bon Age (c 50 BC -AD 50) the site layout was altered and several large animalenclosures were excavated. Two smaller, circularenclosures with good pottery groups could have had adomestic function. Postholes lay within one of theseenclosures but the arrangement was disturbed by laterRoman ditches.RomanThe focus of early Roman occupation lay to the east of theexcavation. The remains of a building with a compact earthand clay floor surface was associated with a corn (or pot?)drying oven. Two pottery kilns were excavated a little to theeast, within the salvage area. These small, clay-lined, ovalkilns both had a double flue and a central pedestal forsupporting the racks upon which the pots would have beenfired (Fig. 7). Wasters from a pot which broke during firingwere found in one of the kilns and suggested a late firstcentury AD date. A stone-lined, T-shaped comdrier wasexcavated on the west edge of the site. Several charred seeds,probably of wheat, were recovered from the flue. Several ofthe enclosures, first dug in the late bon Age, were recut andbackfilled in the early Roman period, Wustrating the strongdegree of continuity within this period. New enclosures,presumably connected with stockmanagement, were dugincluding a large and frequently recut circular enclosurewhich from the air photographs was suspected to be aBronze Age ring ditch. A small (?) late Roman cemetery wasdiscovered, lying mostly within the salvage area.Unfominately few objects were found with the bodies.Fifteen of the burials appeared to be pagan and laynorth-south, two with their heads by their feet and anotherburied with a dog. A further seven were exposed a little tothe northeast, lying east-west. This change in orientationcould reflect Christian influence in the late Roman period.The evidence of late Roman occupation was slighter. Threepost pads and other postholes in the north of the site were ofthis date but did not form a coherent structure. They wereassociated with a possible grain processing area. To thesouth part of a yard surface survived. It is suggested that thisphase of occupation was worst affected by later ploughingand late Roman finds in the ploughsoil confirm this. On theeast edge of the salvage area rows of large, rectangularpostholes were found regularly spaced in threes and lateRoman pottery was recovered from two of these. It may havebeen a granary. Other late Roman features were mostly fieldboundaries and paddocks.SaxonSaxon occupation of the site was first attested by thediscovery of a sunken-featured building 4.30 x 3.70m.within the plant site excavation area. It was terraced into theslope and had a trampled floor surface and lm. deeppostholes to north and south. Several circular loomweightswere found on the floor.Nine further sunlcen-featured buildings were discovered inthe salvage area. Postholes were only found at each end ofthe long axes. A decorated glass bead come from one ofthese structures (Fig. 8). The postholes of a rectangulartimber building lay next to one of the sunken-featuredbuildings but there was insufficient time to examine thiscarefully.Excavations east of the plant siteIt was clear that the concentration of Saxon occupation layto the north and east of the site, towards the Anglo-Saxoncemetery, which was discovered and largely destroyedduring gravel extraction and railway building in the lastcentury. Air photographs also indicated an interestingarrangement of enclosures in this area and late Roman finds89

Fig. 7. Reconstruction of pottery kiln.far recovered from them makes them difficult to date. Aseries of boundary ditches running east-west seemed to forrnthe southern limit of the site. Part of what appeared to be aneverted entranceway was found, possibly a droveway ontothe pasture of the floodplain and small rectangularenclosures nearby were probably associated paddocks.Fig. 8. Anglo-Saxon bead.had been recovered from the ploughsoil. When ARCstripped this area in Autunui 1990 English Heritage onceagain agreed to finance a programme of work. This work isnow in progress and the following are preliminary results.The ditches of a Roman rectilinear field system were theearliest features discovered, although the paucity of finds soThe dating and sequence of the later enclosure system hasnot yet been fully investigated. It is potentially Saxon orsub-Roman in date. A large almost square enclosure cutacross the earlier field system. Virtually no finds have comefrom the sections so far excavated although its southwesterncorner was overlain by the smithy associated with theseventh century settlement. The enclosure appears to havebeen enlarged to the east. One of the timber halls and otherpotential structures not yet fully investigated were laid outwithin the enclosure. Either later cuts were open during theearly to mid Saxon period (this in loose and fast-eroding siltyloam) or the enclosure layout was retained in some way,possibly by hedges. A series of shallow ditches recut alongthe eastern arm of the large enclosure were certainlycontemporary with the building and the latest silting seemsto be filled with material from its destruction.90

47500/I 11330YARNTONWorton Rectory Farm50m

A smaller almost square (25 x 28m.) enclosure in thesouthwest of the site was certainly Saxon in date. Work isin progress on the seventh century settlement. The plans ofthree thnber halls approximately 17 x 6.5m have so far beenrecovered and two others on the western edge of the site arenow coming to light. Simple post-bulit wall constructionseems to have been used, although some beam slotconstruction has been observed. At least one of thestructures has a very complex history of rebuilding. Furtherhalls within the large enclosure are suspected. Other smallerbuildings have been observed but only two sunken-featuredbuildings have been found and both are in the southwest ofthe present excavation area. Gullies and shallow ditchesseemed to delineate the occupation zones. Finds from thesefeatures are rare, in common with other high status sites ofthis date. However, imported Niedermendig lava quernstonehas been found in reasonable quantity suggesting a midSaxon date.A smithy with a circular stone hearth base and a square stoneworking platform (?) is being excavated. Hammer scale andslag have been recovered from the adjacent area. Deep,irregular pits, generally devoid of occupation refuse, couldwell have been excavated to recover the fine sand for use asflux in welding.Waterholes presumed to be contemporary with thesettlement have been excavated in the lower, south part ofthe site. Well preserved waterlogged deposits wererecovered including part of. a wooden object, resembling aladder.Audleft Drive, AbingdonSU 505973 - G D Keevill and M ParsonsExcavations by Oxford Archaeological Unit for dordshireCounty Council revealed three early Saxon sunken-featuredbuildings, a number of gullies, and a major boundary ditch.The latter appears to be of mid to late Saxon date. Thesunken-featured buildings are small, typically 2.5m. square,with a posthole centrally placed at each end. Finds includetwo bone spindle whorls, a triangular bone comb, a smallcopper alloy penannular brooch and large quantities ofpottery. 359 postholes were revealed, 158 of which wereexcavated. Very few contained finds. Beaker pottery wasrecovered from a posthole which was sealed by one of thesunken-featured buildings. Some of the postholes, however,are clearly associated with the major Saxon boundary ditch.Oxford, Park End Street: former Halls BrewerySP 507062 - Brian DurhamThe former Halls Brewery site in Park End Street lies westof Oxford Castle in St Thomas, a medieval suburbestablished on the Thames flood plain terrace in the earlythirteenth century. The two principal street frontages werebeen excavated ahead of office and residential developmentby Grosvenor Square Properties, who provided fulancialsupport.Most of the documentation for this area comes from theCartulary of Oseney Abbey, which owned enough propertyto give a representative picture. Three of the Hollybush Rowproperties were given to the abbey in 1265 by Roger ofComenore (ie Cumnor). At that time the street would havelinked Hythe Bridge and perhaps the manor of North Oseney(under Rewley Abbey?) to the new St Thomas's Church andOseney Abbey.Apart from the frontage walls, the entire plan of one houseand parts of two others wete recorded, apparently plantedon undisturbed topsoil, running parallel to the street. 'Therewas evidence of previous attempts to drain the area, andwater channels remained an important feature of the localmaps through to the 18th century. This was demonstrated inthe excavation, where Buildings 1 and 2 were divided by adeep narrow channel whose stone linings formed the housefoundations. A good range of medieval metalwork and coinscame out of the earlier buildings, and in one case there wasa semicircular oven built inside against the back wall.A major reconstruction of the middle building occurred inthelate Fourteenth or early Fifteenth century, when it wasextended over the narrow channel, now infilled. From thisfill came a vesicle-shaped lead seal matrix, inscribed SROGERUM COMENORE CLICI (the seal of Roger ofCumnor, clerk), the name of the thirteenth century ownerwho had given these properties to Oseney perhaps 150 yearspreviously. This seems to be the first time in Englishmedieval archaeology that an identifiable personalpossession has been recovered from its owner's property.The declension of ROGERUM is vvrong, which is surprisingfor a man who described himself as a clerk. However, at thedate when he was giving these properties to Oseney, he usedanother seal with his name contracted to ROG, therebydodging the issue. It is therefore tempting to believe that theexcavated seal was Roger's first, and that it was lost duringthe period when he was spending a lot of time at Holly BushRow. He owned these properties for only five years, and thediscovery of something as important as his personal seal isthe strongest possible circumstantial evidence that heactually lived here.Roger was a man of substance as well as being a clerk. In1265 he unloaded no less than six properties on OseneyAbbey, having previously given another to his son Henry.Three years later he made the initial grant of land to thenewly arrived Austin Friars to enable them to build theirhouse and oratory. Perhaps he was a prosperous solicitor.Should we, therefore, expect to find him living in acomparatively humble house in St Thomas? The mostsubstantial of the three was probably Building 1, of whichonly a fragment was accessible, but which may also proveto have been the oldest Although the Oseney properties onthis frontage are later described as cottages, the two in themiddle were so much more valuable than the rest that it isreasonable to tbink that they arose from a tenement whichwas traditionally more prosperous. This could have been thehouse of Roger of Comenore.92

On the south side of the site fronting St Thomas Street themedieval levels had suffered much more damage from thebrewery buildings, and most of the stone structures appearedto be comparatively late. There were, however, someanomalies in the shape of medieval floor levels which didnot respect the stonework, and by careful excavation itbecame clear that the earliest medieval buildings were madeof shuttered mud or 'cob'.Parts of two rooms were found, with a yard area beside. Itappears, therefore, that this frontage was even less built upthan that on Holly Bush Row, and provisional datingsuggests it may have been as late as the fifteenth century.Behind was a rear wing, perhaps a service wing, and it washere that a second seal was found.The later seal was disc-shaped and had no inscription, onlya letter 'A' with a crown above it, three stars and a leaf.Martin Henig points out a similar crowned 'A' on a broochcarried by the prioress in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales whereit is followed by the words 'amor vincit omnia' - 'loveconquers all'. We ought to read this as the love of Christ,but Chaucer seems to be levelling a subtle innuendo at theprioress. The second excavated seal could therefore havebeen one of many medieval seals relating to love andfriendship. One seal lost by a prosperous solicitor in hisstone house, the other by a lover in a mud hut!Thame: the PrebendalSP 702064 - Brian DurhamThe prebendal house at Thame has a classic thirteenthcentury arrangement of solar and chapel, but the original hallwhich linked them was converted to a barn when a later hallwas built to the north. Margaret Wood in The EnglishMedieval House describes the buildings, and shows how thelater hall has become the focus of the present house. Since1837 it has been totally detached from the chapel and solar,and the owners have acquired a genuine medieval roof fromelsewhere, which they propose to reerect on a new 'hall'linking the three components.Thame church became a prebend of Lincoln Cathedral in1234, and much of the surviving architecture is attributed tothis date. The hall area was investigated with two hand-dugtrenches, which encountered various modern disturbancesand a large eighteenth century well, but it was clear that thereare thin medieval floors within the foundations of the oldbuilding. The floors do not show the accumulation of ashwhich is associated with the open Ems of a ground-floorhall, and the building does not appear to have pier baseswhich would be needed in a stone undercroft beneath a firstfloor hall; the logical explanation is that it had a first floorof timber, and it need not have been the hall at all, rather anadditional solar or an antechamber.This assessment has therefore provided significant newinformation on an important medieval house, and it is hopedthat the development proposals will allow it to beinvestigated further.Wallingford: former Cattle Market, Wood StreetSU 608892 - Brian DurhamSouth Oxfordshire District Council extended a surface carpark up to the line of Wood Street, which is known fromprevious excavations to have the only tenth-century depositsso far found in Wallingford, and is therefore an indicator ofthe centre of settlement within the Alfredian burh.Only in one place were the contractors' excavations deepenough to show early deposits on Wood Street; there was aseries of ashy and gravel occupation surfaces with a smallgroup of Oxford Fabric B pottery undemeath. Theimplication is that these were floors of the earliest buildingin this part of Wallingford, and that they are an indicationof what may still survive a few inches beneath the clearancelevel over the rest of the site.A typically eleventh-century group of St Neots-type warefrom a pit cutting through this level supports the view thatthe earlier settlement was on the riverward side of the burh.Oxford: Bartlemas House and leper hospital chapelSP 534055 - Brian DurhamA watching brief on earthmoving for a omamental pondshowed a medieval ditched and walled boundary betweenthe existing fourteenth century chapel of the leper hospitaland Bartlemas House to the north. The inference is that thehouse is a later addition, and therefore not part of themedieval hospital, which means that the hospital buildingsmust lie to the south of the chapel.Oxford: Oriel CollegeSP 515068 A sixteenth cennizy leisure amenity? - BrianDurhamOAU has been investigating a real tennis court at OrielCollege, looking at the floor deposits inside the buildingbefore they are disturbed by underpinning work.Before the late sixteenth century, most of the surface nowcovered by the existing building seems to have been part ofthe garden of a property on the High Street (Nos. 104-5),with household refuse pits and two large squarish hollows,unlike anythine seen in Oxford before. They are assumed tohave a horticultural purpose.The garden or gardens became a 'tennis play' by 1572,which seems to have been roofed by about 1600, the date ofthe pottery from a silt-filled pit. The reasoning is that thiswas the earliest of four pits under the court with similar cleansilty fill, and at least two of them were fed by a drain fromjust outside the W wall, so logically they were collectingrun-off from a roof.The existence of a roof is not improbable, because real tennisrequires a firm surface with a clean bounce for the hard balls,93

and it is clear that in the English climate many courts wereroofed.The inside walls of the court are made of fine ashlar, againto give a true bounce, but many courts were timber and itappears that there was a timber phase at Oriel. The evidencehere is the cast of two big earth-fast posts sunk more than1.2m. into the ground, still in place when the stone footingswere built up against them. Many sixteenth andseventeenth-century courts were timber, the play surfacesformed by horizontal planking, and it only remains to bedecided at what point the Oxford court was rebuilt in itspresent form.The first of a series of mortar floors dates from tbis time, andsubsequent refloorings left the impressions of 6 inch and 9inch paving tiles. A large number of the larger tiles from thelater seventeenth century survive where they have beenreused in the final phase of soakaway and its associateddrain. A floor of stone slabs was laid around the beginningof the eighteenth century and this still survives in many partsof the building. As the slabs extend over the entire floor, itmust mean that all the intemal fittings of the court, includingthe ashlar walls of the penthouse, had been temporarilyremoved. In 1833-6 the building was used as the first ofOxford's four 'New "theatres, with doorways cut throughthe playing surface of the E wall. This was subsequentlyreinstated to a playable standard before tennis was finallyabandoned c 1860.Thame: St Mary's ChurchSP 703063 - Brian DurhamEvaluation trenches at Tbame Church have shown medievalfloors in the N aisle and extemal burials back to the twelfthcentury, with more underneath, in part of the churchyardwhere it is proposed to build an underground complex ofparish rooms.The church lies in the oldest part of the town, in Priest End,opposite the thirteenth century Prebendal House close to theThame Bridge and next door to the presumed site of theBishops' Court.It is a big crucifonn church with aisles added in the thirteenthcentury on the sort of site which might have been the focusof a pre-Conquest settlement, perhaps even the site of thealtar of Thame' on which Wulfhere swore in the seventhcentury. The excavation found sherds of late Saxon potieryfor the first time in Thame, and the lowest tier of burialsexcavated (as opposed to those left in place) had stone'ear-muffs' to support the head, typical of the twelfthcentury. In all 30 burials were lifted, and calculationsindicate that there may be at least another 1000 in the areaof the proposed undercroft. Assuming the developmentproceeds, this will be a major section of Thame's medievalpopulation, perhaps with Saxon features beneath in someplaces. The Unit is very grateful to the church authorities forallowing this preview of what may be in store.A small CoggeBrian DurhamFor the past five years the Unit has been running trainingexcavations at Cogges Manor Farm Museum, Witney,looking at the layout of the medieval manor house andcastle. Each previous season work has been justified by arescue threat, ie tree-planting, pipe-laying etc., and 1990was the first year of pure research, with appropriate results.The objective was to find the N range of the manor house,which had been hinted at in last year's excavations. Theshape of the building is now clear, with two doorways, oneinto the courtyard on the S side, and one through a gable orcrosswall to the W.The interior of the building is very instructive in itseighteenth century forrn, with a stove base and a large corneroven. Just outside in the yard a small pit was stacked witheighteenth century wine bottles, perhaps the result of a partyjust before the building was pulled down. It would makesense as a utility wingfor the shortlived boarding school ofMr Morland between 1753 and 1766, pulled down whenLord Harcourt reorganised the estate around 1778.This puts a new complexion on the shape of the house at thisstage, but it doesn't necessarily make the N range medieval.Further work in the next two years will concentrate on thearea to the W, and there is evidence of a large stone buildingcontinuing the N range.Little Milton: Betts FarmSP 617005 - Brian DurhamWhilst landscaping the area beside a stone barn in the villageof Little Milton, the owner recognised human bones comingfrom the side of his excavation, and they seem to be from anunusually large grave pit of prehistoric date. OAU recordedthe deposit, but the rest of the feature run.s into the adjoiningproperty and no further excavation will be possible.This grave must have been on a slight ridge, not the highestground in the village, but higher than the church. There isno sign that it was marked by a barrow, but the grave cutwas certainly large, about 1.8m. wide, and flat-bonomed.Most of the bones were dug out of the bank by the ownerand his assistants, and they show that the body lay on itsback with the head roughly N; and as far as could be seen itwas parallel to the side of the grave cut. There was some ashin the lower fill, but otherwise no evidence of ritual and nograve goods.This is the first prehistoric find in the village, which liesbetween the Ditch End Roman villa site and the suspiciouslystraight alignment of the A329 coming from the direction ofDorchester on Thames. The Unit is very grateful to MrCaldwell for drawing our attention to the new find.94

Eye and Dunsden: a dene hole at Dunsden GreenSU 740769 - Brian DurhamThe Unit was asked by the County Archaeologist toinvestigate a report of a dene hole on cultivated land atDunsden Green Farm near Reading.The 9m. shaft was open to the bottom, with a scramble downsteep ramps into the two opposing chambers, which wereabout 5m. high with barrel-shaped roofs and a floor widthof 3-4m.Damaged flint nodules in the walls suggested that themining had been done with steel tools, and that the primarypurpose was to recover challc for marling. The reason forgoing so deep may have been that the roof of the mine wouldbe self-supporting for use in successive years withoutsacrificing agricultural land, and the opposing chamberswere parallel to the field boundary and may therefore havebeen designed to conform with a strip holding.Witney: former Mount Mills site: 'Palace Farm'SP 358093 - Brian DurhamThe Unit carried out an evaluation of the site of a proposedoffice development by Tarmac Provincial Properties. It liesimmediately to the E of twelfth century manor house of thebishops of Winchester at Witney, which since theexcavations in 1984 has become laiown as Witney Palace.The rock-cut E moat proved to be rather narrower than onthe N side, and it seems to describe a gentle arc at a distancefrom the E terrace wall. To the N of the new site, fronting alane leading from the manor to the bishops' mill, were aconcentration of walls and internal floors, and the base of avery large oven or perhaps a lime kiln. These are presumedto be part of the manorial faim which is described in thebishopric rolls as being E of the manor house.The proposed development of landscaped offices has beenredesigned to avoid the structures found in the assessment,but there is still likely to be an archaeological impact andfurther rescue excavations may show more of the peripheralparts of the faim.Ducldington: Gill MillSP 373075 - Paul BoothWork at Gill Mill on behalf of J Smith and Sons wasconcentrated in two separate areas in 1990. The first, in thenorthern part of the gravel extraction complex (SMA 19,50)was a small middle Iron Age farmstead which was identifiedat Gill Mill during assessment trenching in 1988. Thisexcavation revealed its plan, consisting of a single house siteand a series of attached animal pens or enclosures (for a plansee OAU Archaeological News xvii no. 2 (1990), 11). Twomain phases are discernible. There was very little domesticrubbish and the farmstead was probably not occupied forvery long. Some of the ditches were still waterlogged andthe site had been covered by alluvium: it may have beensubject to flooding when it was in use, and occupied onlyseasonally .The forrn of the site is typical of low-lying summer grazingcamps of the kind excavated by the Unit at Farmoor andClaydon Pike.Three such sites (also sampled by the Unit) still survive asearthworks on Port Meadow, and the preserved plantremains from their ditches reflect exactly the modern floraof Port Meadow, which is lcnown to have been commongrazing land for at least 800 years.The Gill Mill site dates from the same period (c 200-50 BC)and again waterlogged plant remains are likely to provideevidence of its environment. A preliminary inspection byMark Robinson has already revealed the presence ofbracken, which occurs at other sites and was probably usedfor animal bedding.Gill Mill fits neatly into the pattern of Iron Age settlementin the lower Windrush Valley. The Unit's intensive work onsites in this area like Gravelly Guy, Mingies Ditch andWaticins Farm, together with earlier discoveries, is makingit one of the best understood areas of Iron Age ruralsettlement anywhere in Britain. Not only is it clear howdifferent types of site occupied specific topographical andenvironmental niches, but it is aLso becoming apparent howthey developed through time and how in economic terms thesettlements complemented each other, reflecting theirstrong social links.A part of a major Roman settlement lying some 800m. SEof the Iron Age site was examined by excavation and salvagerecording in June and July 1990. This settlement, identifiedin assessment trenching in 1988 and 1989, is in parts verywell preserved, and some features contain waterloggeddeposits. The importance of these deposits has beenrecognised by the gravel company, Smiths, who have agreednot to extract the main part of the Roman occupation area.This is to be protected from water loss during quarrying bythe construction of clay bunds against the sides of theadjacent gravel pits as they are excavated.The Roman settlement is a linear one, laid out on both sidesof a road running NNE/SSW across the Windrush Valley.The 1990 work examined parts of the rear of a series of plotslaid out along the western side of the road. The westerlyextent of these plots was defined by a sequence of boundaryditches. Within the main excavated area (c 40 x 50m) thealignment of these ditches veered away from being parallelto the road to a N-S orientation.In this area the earliest version of the boundary ditch wasthe most westerbi, about 4m. wide. Later ditches to the Eperpetuated this alignment through at least two furtherphases and were related to more ditches at right-angles, thelatter presumably separating different properties. Threelarge pits were probably contemporary with the laterditches; they contained waterlogged organic material,95

including wooden and leather objects, and tesserae werefound in one of them.Further S the situation was even more complex, withperhaps as many as four phases of ditch running parallel tothe road, though it is possible that some of the ditches werein contemporary use.Unfortunately the proximity of the eastern edge of the areaexamined made it impossible to identify with certainty thenumber of plots defined by ditches at right-angles to themain alignment, but there may have been at least four suchplots, varying in width from c 25-35m., in addition to thoselying within the area of excavation to the N. Behind theroadside plots, to the W, further ditches may have definedsmall fields or paddocks. These contained a number offeatures of uncertain function, some of which may have beentree holes, and one which is tentatively interpreted as a pond.Nine cremation and three inhumation burials were found.Most of these were located within the area defined by theprincipal ditch alignment, usually close to it. One group ofthree cremations and an inhumation occurred within a smallrectilinear enclosure at the southern edge of the areaexamined. This well defined space may have been intendedspecifically for buriaLs, though the small number of burialslocated may argue against this suggestion.There was no conclusive evidence for structures within theareas examined, but part of the floor of a possible timberbuilding was located in a trench at the northern end of thesite. The presence of tesserae, some with mortar adhering tothem, in a pit presumably indicates the existence of at leastone substantial stone buil:ding within the settlement.Four rows of post settings, some containing waterlog eedtimber, were found in the excavated area. The similarity ofalignment of one of these rows to the E-W ditches in theexcavated area was probably coincidental, however, and itseems likely that these rows represented post-medievalfence lines, despite the fact that some of the settingsappeared to be sealed by alluvium. Many of the Romanfeatures lay beneath alluvial deposits which made the siteinvisible from the air. The most obvious features visible onaerial photographs are former watercourses; severalprobable examples were located within the salvage recordedarea. Some, at least, must have predated the Romansettlement. .The finds have yet to be examined in detail, but suggest asecond to fourth-century date range, with early Romanmaterial poorly represented. A large number of third-fourthcentury coins have been recovered from the general area.The outstanding small object from the recent work was panof a limestone shrine or altar. two pieces of which werefound at the northern end of the site (Fig. 10). This objectand the very large numbers of coins might imply theexistence of a temple which could perhaps have formed afocus for the settlement, the presence of which in such alow-lying location is not easily explained.Further salvaee work to the NW of the area described aboveproduced evidence for a second Roman road running acrossthe Wintirush Valley. The alignment of this road, like thatof the one forming the axis of the Roman settlement,coincides with the position of a known ford across the river,the two crossing places being some 650m. apart. It isuncertain why two crossings were required so closetogether, and they may not have been in use at the sametirne. Nevertheless, their survival up to the present day isinteresting.An archaeological display concentrating on the work at GillMill was provided for the official opening of the gravel pitin early June 1990.Uffington: White Horse Hill projectSU 302866 - Simon FlamerFig. 10. Limestone altar fragment.The Uffington Hill figure, the White Horse, began to revealsome of its long-hidden secrets over the last year. Like allthoroughbreds it has a long pedigree, stretching back indocuments to the twelfth century; none of the othersurviving horse figures can claim a date earlier than theeighteenth century. The Uffington Horse has been thecentre of a controversy in recent centuries over its exactdate, with two opposed schools of thought. Its stylisedoudine, reminiscent of figures on Celtic coins, has beentaken as finn evidence for it being an Iron Age creation.There is, however, a view argned cogently by DianaWoolner that its present shape is purely an accident and that96

time, erosion and successive scourings have had their effectand gradually changed the shape. From this argument aSaxon date would seem more likely, making the monumentup to a thousand years younger.Excavation work in 1990, again undertaken with thebacking of English Heritage and the National Trust, was anattempt to clear up this mystery not only by investigating theHorse's changing shape but also by attempting to date thesilt deposits interstratified with the Horse.The Horse was extensively restored after the war and theopportunity was taken then to excavate a trench adjacent tothe beak-like projection from the head of the Horse. Theresults of this work were never published but werenevertheless important.They showed two successive phases of beak, separated byhillwash and positioned some way above the chalk bedrock.This trench was reopened in May and revealed foursuccessive beaks - an earlier beak which was missed in thepost-war investigation and a later one which has formedsince the 1952 restoration. This beak certainly has a longhistory and has kept its shape and position with only minorvariations, despite completely disappearing at times. The siltbeneath the earliest beak has been dated to the prehistoricera by optical stimulated luminescence (OSL). Thishowever only gives a terminus post quem for the horse;further dates above this earliest beak are still awaited.Another trench was placed down the hill from the belly ofthe horse to see how much this bottom edge had moved -was it once a more natural-looking animal rather than thepresent, somewhat outre beast? This trench showed clearlythat the horse was mainly of a packed chalk construction andthat the original edge was never more than *2m. furtherdown-slope. Thus the horse seems never to have been anatural equine shape.At the same time work has continued on the hillfort,Uffington Castle. In 1989 an area of rampart that had beencut through by a breach was investigated. Documentaryevidence (in the form of Saxon boundary charters) indicatedthat this breach on the NE and a similar breach on the SEwere extant in the ninth century AD.The 1989 section was continued through the outer ditch andacross the counterscarp bank, giving a complete section ofthe fortifications.The SE breach was also investigated in 1990. This trenchgave the same sequence as the previous year's excavation -a box rampart with backing bank, succeeded by a dumprampart with a large V-shaped ditch. Sarsen stones wereagain encountered in the middle layers of the later ditch,adding weight to thesunnise that there had been a Sarsen'parapet' wall which had been slighted. The infilling of theditch seems to indicate that the cutting of the breaches mayhave occurred at the same time.The only dating evidence for the slighting was from thelayers above, from which quantities of Roman pottery wererecovered. These breaches in Uffington Castle thereforeseem to have at least 2000 years of antiquity to their creditand as such will now remain as permanent features of themonument.Little was recovered in 1990 in the way of dating evidencefor the initial construction of the fort - an early Iron Age datewas indicated in 1989.In 1989 the interior of the fort was subjected to a geophysicalsurvey: this year it was sampled for magnetic susceptibilityand phosphates. Results to date do not seem to suggest along-term, densely occupied site.The Ancient Monuments Laboratory's geophysics teamhave also surveyed the top of Dragon Hill - the flat-toppedchalk outlier beneath the White Horse. The main interesthere is the reference to an E,cclesia in a Saxon charter - couldthere be a Saxon church on this site? Unfortunatelypreliminary results do not indicate any anomalies beneaththe present surface.The Manger, the deep dry valley below the fort and Horse,was also investigated in 1990. The accumulation of silts wastrenched in an attempt to document landuse history on topof the Downs by the study of snails and other environmentalevidence.Similar exercises on colluvial deposits on the South Downshave been successful. Just under a metre of colluvium hasbuilt up at the head of the manger but with up to 2m. ofchallcwash beneath. Most of this hillwash appears to beRoman or post-Roman in date and seals an earlier soilhorizon, now buried.The geomorphology of the area has been elucidated by thisexercise. The terrace or 'bench' around the head of themanger has its origin in an early postglacial scree deposit,loose chalk blocks piling up at the bottom of the slope.An 'oppidum' at Abingdon, OxfordshireSU 499 973 - Tim AllenSince the end of the main excavation in December 1989salvage has been progressing to the N in advance of roadconstruction. This has revealed further Iron Age and earlyRoman features N of the silted course of the river Stertplotted by Rocque (Fig. 11), and has located the boundaryof the Iron Age and early Roman settlement, marked by aditch some 10m. wide and 3m. deep in gravel.The ditch was only seen in part in three narrow exposures,but a group of mid 1st century pottery was recovered froman occupation dump halfway up the fills. Waterloggedorganic deposits were preserved in the primary silting,which should provide the environmental context for theditch. Immediately S of the ditch was a band c 10 m widewithout features of early Roman date, which is interpreted97

TheSquare\ 0r\\ :IMarket 0 ",SquareXSt. NicholasRiver ThamesAbbeyMillAndersey IslandSt. HelensD'400 rn.Fig. 11. Map of Abingdon.as the site of the upcast bank from the ditch. N of the ditchexcavations in Vineyard Area 1 (Allen 1989, 45) and inVineyard Area 6, currently under excavation, have revealedonly second-fourth century Roman activity, showing thatthe ditch was the limit of the dense early Roman settlement.This defensive-sized ditch suggests that the riversidesettlement at Abingdon was enclosed, making it similar tothe surviving valley enclosure at Dyke Hills,Dorchester-on-Thames and the largely destroyed Big Ringsat Cassington, Oxfordshire.Like these other two sites it occurs at the junction of theThames with one of its tributaries, in this case the Ock. Thepottery from this period includes a wide range of finely madebutt-beakers, a small quantity of Claudio-Neronian samianand Continental imports, for instance Terra Nigra vesselsand sherds of glazed St Remy ware. These high status findsconfurn Abingdon's role as a central place or 'oppidum' atthis time.Another result of the salvage has been to show that the Stenvery probably did not follow the course plotted by Rocquein the Iron Age or Roman period. Roman ditches can betraced continuing on either side of the river without anyindication of a break, and the proximity of the 'oppidumditch' to the course of the river makes it very unlikely thatboth are contemporary.It seems plausible that the river was diverted into this course,which runs against the natural direction of flow, by AbbotAethelwold in the tenth century when the Abbey stream wasbeing dug to feed the Abbey mill. Diversion of the Stertwould have provided both an additional head of water anda defensive boundary on the N and NE of the abbey precinct(Fig. 12).A further 35 buriaLs were recovered from salvage on the NWside of the Civil War cemetery, bringing the total number ofbodies from this to 285. These are at present being studiedby Dr Helen Bush at Sheffield University, who hascommented on the high incidence of pathology amongstboth adults and children.Study of a similar sample of the medieval burials, whichtotal nearly 1000, has just been agreed with Dr JennyWakely of Leicester University.Sufton Courtenay: Otney gravel pitsSU 495945 - John MooreAn assessment was carried out for the proposed extensionto the gravel pit of J Curtis and Sons Ltd. The site comprisessome 7 hectares of first terrace gravels adjacent to the riverThames.Aerial photography has revealed two enclosures at Otneyand two prehistoric monuments east of the Drayton Bcursus. Roman field boundaries and trackways associatedwith the small Roman settlement immediately to thesouth-west of the present plant site of Curtis & Sons are alsoclear on the aerial photographs.The northern enclosure at Omey was defined by a shallowditch, while the north-eastern side of the other enclosure wasfound to have been formed by a series of five ditches,perhaps successive phases. These ditches were veryshallow. No features were found in the interior of the98

enclosures. Further ditches were located in the assessmenttrenches but only one sherd of pottery (Roman coarse ware)was recovered. There were no finds from the enclosures.While the character of the enclosures suggests aRomano-British date, there was a total lack of surface findsof this period.There was also a surprising absence of prehistoric activity;only one flint was found on the ploughed surface during thework on the site.Extensive gravel quarrying had been carried out during thepost-medieval period. This, coupled with the modemploughing, has led to a poor state of survival of thearchaeology in this area.A Neolithic long enclosure is known from aerialphotographs. It is parallel to the Drayton B cursus and has asub-rectangular enclosure some 15m. to the south. One ofour assessment trenches defined the precise location of thenorthern terminal of the long enclosure while trialexcavation by AAAHS further south through the east ditchrevealed that the ditch originally had almost vertical sidesand a near flat base (Gledhill and Wallis 1989, 'SuttonCourtenay: a Neolithic long enclosure', SMA 14, 58).Pits and possible postholes indicated activity extemal to theenclosure along the main axis of the two monuments. Thistype of activity has also been found at West Cotton,Northants.(Windell 1981, 'The Raunds area project: second interimreport', Northants Archaeol 21, 9).Banbury: Inner Relief RoadSP 459406 - R A Chambers and M NapthanThe construction of stages II and III of the Banbury InnerRelief Road provided an opportunity to examine the dateOppioumOPPIDUM___ I __ ____irCkiDESTROYED BYVICTORIAN PITSARCHAEOLOGICAL FEATURESkRa OPPIDUM DITCHDESTROYED BY'CONVENT DITCH0 40 80 mFig. 12. Oppidum ditch and later course of River Stert.99

and character of the development at the very east end of themedieval town.The work was split into two phases: an initial excavationlasting four weeks in January-February 1990 followed by awatching brief. The excavation examined those areas oneither side of the carriageway immediately north of BridgeStreet where a watching bnef would have been ineffectivein recording the archaeology destroyed by service trenchesand minor development.The work was funded by Oxfordshire County Council. Theexcavation lay within a triangular site between the canal andthe north side of Bridge Street at the foot of the causewayleading up to the bridge across the Cherwell. Two arches ofthe 14th century medieval stone bridge remain visible withinthe core of the modem road bridge. To the west, the site wasbounded by properties along Mill Lane.The site is best known locally for the canalside warehousefeatured on the cover of the current telephone directory. Thewarehouse was demolished in December 1989, just onemonth short of the bicentenary of the Oxford-Birminghamcanal. This warehouse and the former fire station weresurrounded by a complex of small industrial units during thiscentury, causing much ground disturbance, but enoughsurvived below ground todemonstrate the earlier history ofthe site.The southwestern two-thirds of the site occupied higherground which fell away quite sharply along its northeasternside into the river Cherwell floodplain. The first medievalbuildings on the site lay at an angle to Bridge Street and thelater property boundaries. These buildings, represented byrubble built foundations from two separate structures, weresurrounded by soil containing medieval pottery probablydeposited in the thirteenth century. Later a linear boundaryditch was dug from Bridge Street northwards to the edge ofthe floodplain. This probably represents a growing need toincrease the density of settlement in this part of the town,which had gradually expanded as far east towards the bridgeas it could while keeping to the dry higher ground. By theearly post-medieval period the ditch had been replaced witha wall. This wall included much re-used weathered stone andsome non-local ashlar masonry, probably robbed from thecastle after the Cromwellian Civil War. The line of thisproperty boundary remained unaltered until the present,having been incorporated into the canalside warehouse andrespected by the later industrial units.The northern frontage onto Bridge Street was examinedbelow two tum-of-the-century brick built houses, nos 59 and60. These late Victorian houses had replaced earlierpost-medieval buildings built in the local brown ironstone.In turn, these buildings probably lay over a medievalbuilding of which the central, undated open hearth was allthat remained. Several pits showed that this frontage wasopen ground for at least part of the medieval period. The lackof walls which could be directly associated with the openhearth suggests either that the medieval foundations hadbeen reused for the later houses, or that the open hearth wasdirectly replaced with a central chimney stack enabling asecond floor to be inserted into the shell of the medievalbuilding. The position of the medieval street frontage wasnot confirmed. Either it had been destroyed by the turn ofthe century housing or it lay further out into Bridge Street.The medieval properties backed northwards onto the edgeof the flood plain which was then gradually silting up andproviding a convenient dumping ground for medievalrubbish. Following the construction of the canal just belowthe edge of the flood plain, the intervening depression wasinfilled with large amounts of Victorian rubbish and soilbefore being built upon.A further opportunity to explore the street frontage betweenthe cellars of nos 63 and 64 Bridge Street suggested thatmedieval occupation had not extended this far to the east.The earliest feature here was a small sixteenth orseventeenth century pit later cut by a barrel lined well. Thewell was later sealed by a metalled pathway and stonefoundations.Bicester: fishpondsSP 586 217 - R A ChambersIn January 1990 these fishponds were bulldozed for a newbuilding development. The ponds were almost certainlymedieval, built for Bicester Priory on what was originallymarshy ground. The fact that they survived to be recordedon the First Edition Ordnance Survey Map suggests that theycontinued to be maintained and stocked after the dissolution.This is not particularly surprising as fresh sea fish wouldonly have become available with the arrival of the railwayin the mid nineteenth century.It is regrettable that no provision was made forarchaeological recording. Such fisheries were an importantelement in the medieval economy and their role will not beclearly understood until opportunities to examine theirconstruction and maintenance are grasped. These pondsmay be seen as an integral part of the fabric of the everydaylife of Bicester's Augustinian priory, the remains of whichcontinue to suffer unrestricted and unrecorded destructionby piecemeal development as a result of the failure toimplement existing planning controls.Bicester: Tesco supermarket siteSP 579 219 - R A ChambersThis site fills the corner northeast of the junction betweenthe A421 Oxford-Bicester road and the new southernbypass. During the construction of the southern bypass in1989, a fragment of a sword from a Bronze Age smith'shoard was found immediately to the south of the present site.The underlying clay and brashy limestone have been onlypartially cleared of top soil for the access road which isbedded on Terrain. It is highly unlikely that any underlyingarchaeological features could be seen in such conditions.100

The topsoil contained nothing except an occasionalpost-medieval pottery sherd.Charney Bassett: St Peter's ChurchSU 381 944 - R A ChambersThis small church, which comprises a rectangular chancel,nave and north aisle, lies immediately south of the survivingmedieval manor house. In early February a drainage gullybetween 0.6m. and lm. deep was cut round the west, northand east sides of the church exposing the foundations. Littleof archaeological merit was exposed by this trench excepton the north side of the west end of the nave. Here the presentnave wall overlay a short 2.4m. length of rubble builtfoundation aligned at a slight angle to the present wall. Thissuggested the north wall of a small square buildingoriginally occupying the ground inunediately west of theend of an earlier short nave. The function and precise dateof this structure remains unknown, but it is tempting to viewit either as a bell tower or as a tomb or shrine. Thefoundations are too massive for it to make sense as a cell fora religious recluse or vicar's house. Inside the present churchthe wall plaster concealed any structural evidence for anextended nave and the junction between the nave wall andthe west end of the unusually short north aisle had beendestroyed by the insertion of a nineteenth century brick flue.Great Chesterton: St Mary's ChurchSP 562 213 - R A ChambersThe replacement of the suspended timber floors beneath thepews in St Mary's has confinned that both the north andsouth aisle arcades rest on the foundations of an earlierrectangular nave.Little was seen of the wall foundation beneath thetransitional Norman north arcade, but beneath the earlyEnglish south arcade a substantial mortared wall foundationsurvived. The decicing beneath the pews had been installedduring the Victorian period.The ventilation cavities below the decking extended 0.5 to0.6m. below the level of the aisles and the medieval floorlevels appear to have been dug away. The present reflooringwas a direct replacement of the existing wooden deckingbeneath the pews and no excavation was necessary.Souldern: Souldern ManorSP 518 315 - R A ChambersLandscaping the grounds continued in 1990 with theconstruction of a new metalled access along the medievaleast-west hollow way and a new tennis pavilion. Neitherdevelopment revealed any medieval building evidence.Upper Thames Valley: aerial surveyR A ChambersDuring 1990 the Oxford Archaeological Unit undertookseveral survey flights, each targeted at specific areas withinthe Upper Thames Valley. On 9 February archaeologicalfeatures highlighted by floodwater were photographedduring a short reconnaissance flight from Wallingford toBampton. Of particular interest were the relict waterchannels in the valley floor, heavily silted and often difficultto recognise. At Eynsham the floodwater revealed channelson either side of a newly discovered Bronze Age seulement,confirming at a glance the results of an, earlierarchaeological assessment. At Dorchester-on-Thamesflooding did not affect the interior of the fortified lion Agesettlement behind the massive bi-vallate linear earthworkknown as Dyke Hills. Although the interior remained dry,floodwater filled the surviving part of the defensive ditchbetween the banks, illustrating the full defensive potentialof this site.At Oxford, the floods across Port Meadow emphasisedmuch of man's past intervention. Of particular note were thecircular banks of two Bronze Age barrows standing severalcentimetres above the flooding. These photographs willcontinue to be of value in the coming years as more and moreassessment work is undertaken along the Upper ThamesValley. Unfortunately the survey stopped near Bampton atthe edge of a cold front rnarked by dense low cloud.Perhaps the most interesting view of all was of a well-knownfield near Bampton with its Iron Age seulement portrayedin fuie detail as cropmarks in winter wheat - in midFebruary! While crossing West Oxfordshire the lack ofearthworks picked by the low early morning sun emphasisedthe continuing loss of this form of evidence for pastsettlement activity, particularly medieval.A striking public reaction during the summer was theunprecedented number of farmers who have suddenly takenan interest in cropmarks, a useful by-product of the mediacoverage of non-archaeological crop circles. In July theRAF aLso began to take an interest in inexplicable marksnear their Brize Norton aerodrome - could spaceships havemade crop circles here, undetected by Bnze radar? Yes,quite probably, but these circles were the remnants ofBronze Age burial monuments to the W and S of a longcorridor of land defined by two parallel cropm arks. Thissuggested either a Roman road or perhaps a cursus. Eitherway the OAU is grateful to RAF Brize Norton for pointingout this and several other previously unknown features.August brought two harvests, one of winter wheat and oneof archaeology, with farmers 'phoning in to reportcropmarks in their cereals and drought-stricken pastures.Two evening flights on the 3 and 16 August concentrated ongrowth marks in pasture on the gravel terraces of the Thamesbetween Oxford and Faringdon. The drought stress wasmuch greater than in 1976, and soil-filled archaeologicalfeatures were showing as lines of green growth againstbrown, parched pasture. In consequence areas of permanentgrazing revealed underlying archaeology for the first time,in particular Roman roads, settlements and field systems NEof Faringdon.101

Waterstock to Wendlebury: M40R A ChambersAlthough the carriageway is now well advanced and offerslittle further scope for archaeological prospection, thiscontract continues to destroy adjacent archaeology. Aninitially illicit stone quarry opened up by McAlpines atMerton removed 200 m of the line of the Dorchester toAlchester Roman road including the approach to the latefirst century AD timber bridge whose piles survive in thesilted river channel. A complex of Neolithic and Bronze Ageremains at the west end of the quarry was also badlydamaged, but some archaeolocal recording, describedseparately under Merton, was possible.Wendlebury: Wendlebury HoltSP 576 203 - R A ChambersThis building plot lies directly above the projected line ofthe Roman road running east from Alchester. Site clearancehas not provided any recognisable evidence for a roadway,but the variable quality and construction of Roman periodroads often makes the recognition of their former presencedifficult in the best of conditions.West Hanney: St James the GreatSU 406 927 - R A ChambersDuring January the rotten wooden decking beneath the pewsin this parish church was replaced. This confirmed that theVictorian restorers who rebuilt most of the nave hadremoved all of the medieval floor levels and rebuilt the aislecolumns on new foundations. No traces of an earlier navewere seen. The ventilation cavities beneath the pews were0.5 - 0.6m. deep and were floored with mixed soil andVictorian construction waste.The Victorians had carefully retained the brick built burialvaults of the previous century. These had been let into thefloor of the unrestored medieval nave and the protrudingcrowns of the vaulted roofs gave an indication of thepre-Victorian floor level. The roof arches of nine brick builtburial vaults were found within the nave. None could berelated to wall plaques or otherwise directly dated. Brickswere removed from three vaults in order to view the integrityof the structures inside. One vault was only 1.7m. deep fromthe present floor level whilst a second, double vault wassignificantly deeper and flooded with ground water from thehigh water table. The vault showed the poor quality of thelocally made bricks; as at nearby Chamey Bassett thisalmost certainly reflected both the quality of the local dayand the firing technique employed during manufacture. Thedividing wall between two vaults had already collapsed andcrumbling brickwork was evident all round. One vault wasseen to contain the collapsed remains of a coffined burial.The coffin, edged with domed upholstery nails, had bornethe embossed arms and family monogram. Now rusted andhalf disintegrated, the arrns had presumably been brightlypainted.Of particular note within the remains of this coffin of one ofthe wealthy landed gentry was the distribution of largeclenched iron nails, mirroring the irregular nail scatterfrequently found in coffined Romano-British graves. Itseems the quality of the joinery had not changed!Eynsham: royal centre, minster and abbeySP 432 091 - Graham Keevill and R A ChambersEynsham Abbey was a Benedictine house of the top rankrebuilt in the early twelfth century on the site of the previousBenedictine abbey, whose foundation was confirmed in1005. A minster church which is known to have been inexistence by 864 AD was probably situated in the vicinity.Eynsham appears to be the focus for a sub-Roman kingdomand later West Saxon estate centre named in theAnglo-Saxon chronicle. Beneath the remains of the lateSaxon abbey lies a sequence of settlement remainssuggesting the presence of major Anglo-Saxon buildingsfrom the late fifth or sixth century onwards.The Unit was concerned that the last opportunity to exploreand record the heart of this Saxon royal and monastic centreand later medieval abbey might be lost to cemeteryexpansion, and a trench was excavated in 1989 to assess thequality and quantity of the archaeological remains.Favourable results led to large-scale excavation, and we nowknow that the remains from each period are of exceptionalinterest. Eynsham is emerging as the key site for thearchaeology of the Anglo-Saxon period both within theUpper Thames Valley and regionally.The 1989 assessment was funded from the OxfordshireCounty Council annual grant. On the basis of the evidencerecovered during this assessment English Heritage decidedto fund the excavation of those areas of the Church ofEngland and Roman Catholic churchyards wheregrave-digging will eventually destroy the archaeology.Excavation since January has shown that the remains of thelate Anglo-Saxon Benedictine abbey survive below thelarger medieval abbey (Fig. 13). There are also the remainsof substantial early and middle Saxon buildings whichapparently represent the domestic elements of the middleSaxon minster and earlier royal centre. For the first time inthe Oxford region there is an opportunity to recover potteryfrom securely dated middle Anglo-Saxon deposits. Acoin-dated circular cesspit represents the first depositexcavated in the Oxford region which can be dated withconfidence to the mid eighth century, and pottery and goodenvironmental material have been recovered from thedomestic debris with which it was partially backfilled. Inaddition, a fragment of wall face from the above groundstructure of a niajor timber-framed building has been found,for the first time in England. Finds reflecting the status ofthe late Anglo-Saxon monastic site include a fragment of afinely carved elephant ivory panel from a casket and anunfinished walrus ivory figure of a saint, originally from acrucifixion scene (Figs. 14a and b).102

Area 1Area 2North halfTrench 2003irdTrench 2002Trench 2001N -411St PetersChurch0 10Eirmimmisl20 30 40m

Fig. 14a & b. Carved panel from casket and figure of saint.Comparatively little survives of the Norman and medievalBenedictine abbey founded at the end of the eleventhcentury on the site of its late Anglo-Saxon predecessor.After the Dissolution in 1539 there followed three centuriesof methodical robbing of all reusable building materials,from stonework for house- building to floor tiles for roadmending. Even the massive wall foundations were quarriedfor their stone.Summary of phases of occupation uncovered in the northernhalf of St Leonard's churchyard extension (Fig. 15)Although residual Neolithic flint blades have been found onthe site, the early E-W ditch (4m. wide and 2m. deep)probably represents part of a substantial Bronze Agemonument (Phase I). A second large, possibly Bronze Age,ditch was discovered beneath the E edge of the excavation.After the ditch sides had stabilised and become overgrown,Late Bronze Age-Early Iron Age domestic debris from anadjacent but as yet undetected settlement accumulated. Thearea was not occupied again until the early Saxon period,but two Roman coins and several sherds of lst-4th centurypottery show that occupation was not far away. A generalpre-Saxon spread of gravelly homogeneous soil suggestscultivation, either Iron Age or Roman period.A sunken featured building and some post pits 15m. to theS belong to the early Saxon reoccupation of the site (Phase1). This building, backfilled with domestic waste, was latercut by a N-S palisade trench of Phase V. There was no traceof the structure against which the southern end of thisboundary stopped. The circular cess pit (Phase ifi) whosebackfilling is dated to the mid-eighth century by an imitationsceat minted AD 720-730 is almost certainly later than thePhase il post pits.An extensive and long-lived hearth area (Phase IV)comprising many individual hearths beside or overlyingeach other lay on almost undisturbed cultivated soil,suggesting an earth-floored building with a central hearth onan exact W-E alignment No other trace of this building wasfound.The precise relationship between the N-Sboundary trench (Phase V), the hearth area (PhaseIV) and the circular cess pit (Phase DI) is unclear.The eighth-century well filling settled to leave adepression into which a section of the daubsuperstructure of a timber building collapsed(Phase VI). The impression of the timber framingsurvived within the daub, which was of mortarrather than clay. The building represented by thiswall face may be assoiciated with a short alignmentof possible post pits and several larger pits to theS, and may also be associated with the N to Sboundary ditch in Phase V.By the later Anglo-Saxon period building remainshad become more substantial. A timber buildingleft an interrupted cill beam trench and a largecesspit (Phase VII). It is conceivable that thisbuilding was a lean-to against the inner wall of theS range of the next building phase (Phase VIII),although the beam slot was not parallel to the S wall.The late Anglo-Saxon Benedictine abbey, whose foundationreceived royal confirmation in 1005, appears to berepresented by a range of substantial stone buildings, someof which were rendered inside and out and sealed with a bufflime wash (Phase VIII).The bases of two circular mortar mixers similar to three frommiddle Anglo-Saxon levels in Northampton were used in theconstruction of these buildings (Fig. 16).Follovving the Conquest in 1066, the abbey was initiallydeserted and later translated to Stow in Lincolnshire. Thismove was quickly reversed by the next Bishop of Lincoln.The abbey then passed through an unsettled period beforeHenry I confirmed the re-endowment of the abbey in 1109.At this time, the abbey was clearly still not rebuilt and layin ruins (dissipatam et desolatam).The early twelfth-century rebuilding of the abbey appears tohave begun in earnest with the shallow foundations oftemporary, possibly timber, buildings to the S of the church(Phase X). The preceding phase of building (Phase IX) isdifficult to interpret but may represent a first attempt toreoccupy the abbey during the unsettled period followingBishop Bloet's decision to re-establish Eynsham Abbey in1093.Although a sketch made by Anthony Wood in 1657 seemsto show only alterations and additions to the Norman abbeychurch, we now lmow from excavation that at least some ofthe buildings to the S were demolished and replaced duringthe medieval period. Phase XI represents medieval abbeybuildings which appear to have been built or rebuilt in thelate twelfth-early thirteenth century. Little can be concludedabout the foundation plan of these buildings until a morecomprehensive picture is produced by further excavation tothe W later this year. The area A is no longer thought to bethe great cloister because of a building discovered in the NEcorner of the present excavation, and the walk B and104

IPREHISTORICVIIIIEARLY SAXONVIIILATE ANGLO-SAXON BENEDICTINE ABBEYIIIIXIV X NORMAN REFOUNDED BENEDICTINE ABBEYHEARTH AREA 0VMID SAXONXIMEDIEVALVIXII LATE MEDIEVAL OR POST DISSOLUTIONtti0 1030 40m.Fig. 15. Summary of phases in N half of St Leonards churchyard extension.105

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substantial building C buttressed on its S side are open tointerpretation.D was a garden throughout the life of the medieval abbeyand a curving path led through it against the N side ofanother range of buildings. Little of the fabric of themedieval abbey was left in the excavated area, which hadbeen thoroughly robbed of all usable stone, tile and flooringmaterials.The plan of Phase XII shows the remnant of an area of stonepaving within a shallowly founded drystone-walledbuilding. This may be a small post-Dissolution agriculturalbuilding built within the robbed remains of the medievalstructure. The excavation of the southern end of St.Leonard's churchyard extension has now been completed.This has revealed a complex of drains and cesspits, theremnants of a sequence of lavatory blocks which probablyserved a building which may have been the abbot's lodging.This building lay immediately S of the garden excavated lastspring and began life as a Norman hall. The uneven bare soilfloor of its larger medieval replacement suggests a hall overa ground level undercroft. The medieval builders had nottaken sufficient account of the patches of soft ground createdby the pits and ditches of earlier occupation and part of theW wall of the later hall had been subjected to extensiveunderpinning. The sequence of lavatory blocks, each with acesspit and a drain for the washing facilities, appears to haveimproved in structural quality as each successive block wasbuilt progressively nearer to the hall.By the late fourteenth to early fifteenth century a lavatoryblock was built onto the W end of the hall with a stone-linedcesspit of truly palatial proportions. This cesspit, cleaned outand partially rebuilt after the dissolution of the abbey in1538, continued in use into the seventeenth century,suggesting that it was retained for a while as part of theprivate manor house. The layers of grey soil representing theAnglo-Saxon occupation have proved to be a continuationof the sequence recorded in the northern half of the trench.The soils were ail laden with domestic refuse.Occasional post pits and an area of burning suggested theformer presence of lightly founded buildings, but the slightnature of these buildings and the destructive activities oflater generations on this continuously occupied part of thesite have left us no clear plans.The Unit carried out an assessment of the S half of St Peter'schurchyard, to the W of St Leonard's churchyard, in October1990. This was part of a review of research prioritiesconnected with grant applications to English Heritage. AnH-shaped trench was excavated, covering 70sqm. andsampling two distinct hollows in the ground surface, one ofwhich turned out to be a post-medieval gravel quarry. Theother represented a sequence of very large pits; one pitcontained cess, and they may have been garderobes. Astone-lined drain was associated with them.The most spectacular find lay inunediately to the E of thepits (Fig. 17). A 6.5m. length of wall was found, standing toa height of at least 0.5 m. The masonry incorporated ablocked-up doorway, against which slates had been stacked.New walls had been added to the N and S of the E doorjamb,and more masonry was found immediately to the N. Themost tantalising information, however, was in the N face ofthe wall, where the springing for one side of an arch wasfound; the other side lay beyond the edge of the trench. Thearch had been blocked while the building was still in use.The position of the head of the arch would be consistent withthe existence of a cellar or undercroft.This building is obviously of considerable significance; hereat last was a structure which survived as more than justrobber trenches! The implication is that the buildingcontinued to be lived in after the Dissolution and thusescaped the wholesale robbing which happened elsewherein the abbey. We know the Abbot's Lodging was used as amanor house well into the seventeenth century. We nowhave two good candidates for the lodgine!The assessment also produced more evidence for Saxonactivity. The dark earth revealed in St Leonard's churchyardcontinued into St Peter's. Several large postholes or pits cutthe dark earth, and early to mid Saxon pottery wasrecovered, including two fine, stamp-decorated sherds.Watlington: St Leonard's ChurchSU 684 947 - R A ChambersShallow burials and a wall foundation were revealed byworlanen enlarging the drainage trench around the E and Swalls of this church. Several W-E burials, some clearlydisturbed in antiquity, were found close to the wall of the14th century S aisle. Originally only 0.6 - 0.8m. deep, nonecan be dated with precision, although several coffin nailsappeared to be associated with one burial.The Norman building was heavily refurbished and extendedin the fourteenth century but little of this survives as thechurch was almost completely rebuilt in 1877. A length ofchalk rubble wall foundation was revealed extending S fromthe SW corner of the fifteenth-century chapel. The Normanbuilding may have followed a cruciform plan and the newlydiscovered foundation suggests an early extension to the Stransept, suppressed when the fifteenth century chapel wasbuilt.Bicester: Littlebury HotelSP 583 222 - R A ChambersA substantial extension to the rear of this hotel will be builtin the autumn on a large piece of land between the parishchurch and the Oxford-Bicester road. This is the part ofBicester called Kings End and is traditionally beld to be thesite of the original Anglo-Saxon settlement destroyed by theDanes. The position of ICing's End, between the latermedieval settlement and a main Roman road, indicates thatthere was a settlement growing up beside a continuingcross-country route similar to pre- Domesday Merton to the107

Trench 2003. it w,0.- iiiflio -a,as vt ,s NO °No. 0 vt, tP.%110 D)11 voiksEt,ii, 0wrAri,;-;- ii .., 1 oi a %my__.1,41%1111'''* 4 4-k, 0 6`\BlockeddoorwaySection AANESW67.00mOD77PossiblespringingITrench 20021 2Fig. 17. Length of wall With blocked doorway.108

south. An evening class fieldwork group based in Bicesterexcavated a series of trial trenches across part of theproperty. Although no evidence for Anglo-Saxon settlementwas found, Romano-British pottery was recovered. Thenature of the Romano-British settlement is not known.Charlbury: Queen's OwnSP 194 355 - R A ChambersMore human bones have been found on the S side of Queen'sOwn while digging the footings for an extension. Theremains consisted mainly of the long bones and skulls fromat least four adults, and represent the reburial of gravesdisturbed in antiquity, probably during the construction ofthe original cottage. The cottage, which had already beenmuch enlarged before the present work, was originally verysmall and bears no date stone; it probably belongs to theseventeenth or eighteenth century.Before the Conquest, Charlbury was the centre of a largeepiscopal estate whose minster church almost certainlystood either on or perhaps immediately to the N ofCharlbury 's present pari.sh church. St Mary 's is a largemedieval church with a Norman north arcade surviving froman earlier building. No Anglo-Saxon work is evident. Theburials around Queen's Own are 30 m beyond the northernlimit of the present churchyard and are therefore likely tobelong to the late Anglo-Saxon graveyard of a minsterchurch lying to the N of the present building. The fact thatthe original cottage was not built facing W onto Church lanebut was set back facing S suggests gradual encroachmentonto the ancient churchyard, which had survived into thepost-medieval period as open ground.Cogges: moated enclosuresSP 361 096- R A ChambersThe last grave to be dug in the now full churchyard at StMary's, Cogges, cut deeply into the heart of thenorthemmost part of two moated islands. In the midseventeenth century Anthony Wood recorded that this area,then called Castle Yard, was where 'oftentimes great thickfoundations [were] dug up'. Cogges was the caput of theArsic barony throughout the twelfth century, and the moatedenclosures are likely to mark this site of their defendedmanor house.The recently dug grave revealed 1.6m. of overburden abovea massive, solidly mortared limestone foundation whichextended beyond the sides of the grave pit in every direction.Although undated, the foundation is likely to be Norman andis more substantial than any other Norman work so far foundon the site.Fawler: Barn CottageSP 372 171 - R A ChambersA large drystone culvert 4' wide by 4' high with an archeddrystone roof has been discovered while digging a smallpond in the garden on the N side of the present house. This'tunnel' runs N-S along the top edge of a steep slope parallelto the highway.Built during the nineteenth or very early twentieth century,it probably carried spring water southwards from the higherground to former farm buildings now partly incorporatedinto Barn Cottage.Although the culvert leads from the general direction of the19th-century iron workings and Boulton Brothers' brick andpottery manufactory, it is almost certainly part ofagricultural, rather than industrial, archaeology.Swalcliffe: Swalc1iffe BarnSP 377 379 - R A ChambersIn the autumn of 1990, restoration work began on the largerof the two medieval barns to the W of the manor house.Unfortunately, the northern porch was underpinned beforethe OAU was notified and the reason for the subsidenceremains unknown; it was probably induced byarchaeological features that could have had a bearing on theearlier function and layout of this area of the Normanmanorial curtilage.ABINGDON AREA ARCHAEOLOGICAL ANDHISTORICAL SOCIETYBetter preserved early Roman building exposed byexcavations behind Twickenham House, Abingdon.Bob Wilson using dating evidence from Paul Booth andMaureen MellorExcavations in the walled garden behind TwickenhamHouse, 20 East St Helen Street, were carried out in 1989 bythe Abingdon Area Archaeological and Historical Societywith the permission of Mr John Lightfoot In this trench,over 1m of post-medieval soil was removed bymini-excavator to expose important earlier deposits.Excavation then was confmed mainly to the north end wheremedieval disturbance had missed the Roman levels.The earliest manmade feature was a hollow cut into thenatural yellow river silts. Romano-Celts had also removedall prehistoric soil, and probably previous settlementdeposits, and quickly refilled the hollow with thick layers ofgrey silt and fireash, F38, and greenish cesslike deposition,F33, intercalated with thin spreads of redeposited red brownnatural soil and yellow gravel, Fs32 and 39. These andsimilar ashy layers above, Fs 26, 30 and 31, appear to havebeen dumped to bring the ground up to a level suitable forthe construction of a building or an extension of one. Anashy deposit, F29, mostly later destroyed, was probably acontinuation of Fs 26 and 30-32. All these contained potterydating to the mid first century.109

A succession of higher flattened layers were associated withwall trenches, stone foundations remaining in one. Walltrench F21c survived as a notch cut in F29 and therefore thewall appears dug into the other dumped layers Fs 26 and29-32.Certainly some later layers must be floors, namely those ofcrushed chalk, F23; mortar, F16; and large flat pavingstones, F34; with intervening less diagnostic layers oforange brown loam, F15b; gravel, F41; and, possibly, ash,F22 (equally may be deposifion from anintervening phaseof construction) and layers as deep as F25 indicate otherfloors down to levelling deposit F26.Total depth of the flooring was around 0.6m. It extendedhorizontally over 2-3m between three trench sections andprobably once occurred throughout the excavated area.Most floors appear laid between the mid first to early secondcenturies.A major stone wall base, Fs 19b and 28b, of the building rannorth-south for at least 5m along one side of the excavationtrench. It consisted of irregularly shaped lumps of corallineragstone packed solidly and competently together, 0.5mwide and 0.2m deep, during the rnid first century. Onmeeting the surviving floors, this wall turned west but itspassage was only registered by the robbed trench, F21. Anarrow robber trench, F14, was cut through upper levelsdown to floor F24 and parallel to the east-west walltrench.Originally it was a building feature since the flat stonepavement, F34, formed a 1.2m wideeast-west corridor between it and theother wall but otherwise there was littleevidence of the defmitive structure orfunction of the building.layers containing debris from the 'missing ' buildingdestruction rubble and the upper parts of the pits and robbertrenches. Some of this soil transformation seems related tothe construction of a later building since rocks, suggestiveof a stone standing and posthole pacifing supporting awooden pillar, were found in F7 above F21. At the south endof the excavation trench, pits or trenches, were cut throughmedieval layers, perhaps to rob the wall, 28b below. B ackfillof F10, dating to the later seventeenth century, included afragment of gilded and red painted sculpture - perhaps a relicof Civil War desecration.Later intrusive and higher features, including a macabre c.nineteenth century deposit of human bones, F3, - subject ofa coroner's inquest, also penetrated into the thickaccumulation of 'dark earths' but their upper levels werehomogenised by further activities, presumably gardening.More details and generalities should appear in Oxoniensia.64 Bath StreetSU 49522 9728 - Roger AinslieA small trench approx. 3.5m x lm x lm deep was dug in therear garden of this house to establish whether medieval andRoman deposits survived in this area.The following sequence was found: Soil had developedfrom the natural clay with the lowest find being a singleIt appears to have been at least 8m by 3min size and, from an earlier trench directedby Jeff Wallis, appears to have stood tothe south and west of yard areas of layeredgravel and soil. Floor layers containeddomestic rubbish, probably of lowerstatus people with limited tradingconnections.No abandonment and demolition depositsoccuned above the uppermost floorlevel,F15a. It is significant, however, that themajor thirteenth centurystone robbingtrench and pit, F21; layers of a largefourteenth-fifteenth century pit, F27; andthe shallow robber trenches, F8114 and19a appear truncated and totallytransfonned at the same level as floorlayer F15a ceased probably during thelate medieval period. F27 was bark-filledwith much rubbish including horn coresof cattle indicating tannery waste.The medieval features and the buildingfloors were overlaid by deep 'dark earth'0 1 2 metresEMIFig. 1. 64 Bath Street, Abingdon.110

sherd of Iron Age pottery. (A sherd of late Bronze Age/earlyIron Age pottery was also found as residual matenal in pit(5)). Above this silty clay subsoil was a dark brown siltyloam (6) which contained 60 sherds of Roman pottery and48 pieces of bone. This layer was probably of late thirdcentury/early fourth century date although it contained somelarge sherds of second century pottery including a piece ofAntonine samian ware of form 18/31R[1]. Cutting this layerwas a pit-like feature (5) which had its upper levels filledwith a deposit containing approx 50% clay. The fill of thiSfeature (4) and (5) contained some 130 sherds of Romanpottery, mainly local grey wares but including Oxfordshirecolour-coated products, Nene valley wares, a southernSpanish amphora sherd and a piece of roof tile. This materialwas in smaller pieces than would normally be expected ithad been deposited as rubbish into a pit dug for that purpose.This Roman feature was cut by a medieval pit (2) whichcontained some 100 sherds of medieval pottery and 81 ofRoman. Its fill is dated to the early thirteenth century bylarge pieces of tripod pitcher with a handle decorated witha twist of clay, similar to one found in St. Ebbe's, Oxford[2]. This pit may originally have been stone lined as it hada shelf in the natural clay which could have been the basefor such a lining, which must have been removed beforemuch of the fill was deposited. Over these deposits weremixed layers containing residual Roman and other materialincluding a piece of Roman flue tile.The excavation showed that large amounts of Romandeposits are preserved in this area beneath 56 metresOrdnance Datum. The later Roman date of the materialcontrasts with the late Iron Age and early Roman depositsfound in the centre of Abingdon.The house at 64 Bath Street has been found by its owners,Mr & Mrs Rushbridge, to contain a considerable amount ofits timber framed structure, probably of fourteenth centurydate behind its eighteenth and nineteenth century exterior.REFERENCESB.R. Hartley `Samian Ware of Terra Sigillata' inCollingwood and Richmond 'The Archaeology of RomanBritian' 1969, p244.M. Mellor - Medieval finds in 'Excavations in St Ebbe's,Oxford 1967-1976' Oxoniensia 11V (1989), p210.ARCHIVEThe archive material and finds will be deposited withOxfordshire CountyCouncil's Museum Service.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSWe would like to thank Mr and Mrs Rushbridge for theirhelp and encouragement, Mr Booth of the OxfordArchaeological Unit for looking at the Roman pottery. Theusual digging team was assisted by Mrs S Wallis who alsodrew the section.Andersey Island, AbingdonSU 505 967 - Roger AinslieDuring 1989-1990 work was undertaken to assess thearchaeological potential of this area which lies to the southof Abingdon bridge.Air photographs were talcen, the area was fieldwalked anda trench and several smaller trial pits were excavated. Theresults of these investigations can be summarised thus:Air Photography: This was probably the most successfulpart of the project as photographs were taken when thecropmarks showed well. Whilst the barrows and therectangular enclosure near Rye Farm have been known forsome time our photographs located features on the westernside of the survey area. In particular a possible trackway wasfound running N-S and this was respected by other featuresand another possible track cut it diagonally towards thenorth of the area.Fieldwalking: The arable fields were walked in parallel lines20 metres apart with finds bagged every 50m. Post medievalpottery was not collected as there was a considerable amountof it on the western side of the area. This may have comeonto the fields as rubbish from the town.The flint has, vvith one exception, no obvious focus althoughit tended to be more abtmdant on the western, higher, partof the area. The exception was a cluster of blades on thesouth-eastern edge of the area. These and the Thames pickindicate the possibility of there being a mesolithic site underthe alluvium in this vicinity. Robin Holeate (1) has in thepast carried out fieldwalking in this area and this shouldenhance his work, particularly for the mesolithic period.The little prehistoric pottery which was collected wasmainly found near the barrows.The Roman pottery could indicate a settlement or that duringthe late Roman period rubbish was being dumped here fromthe town. There was none of the early Roman pottery whichoccurs in abundance in central Abington. Perhaps this is anexample of the more dispersed late Roman settlementindicated by Tim Allen's excavations in the Vineyard,Abingdon (2).The medieval pottery was mainly in small pieces, widelydispersed, indicating its deposition with manure rather thanany defuaite settlement.ExcavationsTrench 1 - 25m x 1.5m: This was located to the west of RyeFarm. It found a barrow ditch (11), a Roman ditch (13) anda medieval pit, possibly a gravel quarry (9). All ofthese,particularly the first two, had fills which included reddishbrown silty loam of the type which often overlies thegravels. Elsewhere this did not survive indicating that in thepast ploughing has disturbed the layer. The upper layers111

APIJIM/ 1--- limit of surveyalluvium1- trench2-7 test pitscrop marksfield boundaries. churchpalaceFLINT(patinated)bladefoot a thames pickotherPREHISTORIC-potteryROMANcolour coatother potteryquernMEDIEVALpotterylead tokenFig. 2. Andersey Island, Abingdon.112

in, ri lir7,-7-7-1-r-r-r-7-77-77 77.JI-1 ...J. J. J.0... .111110?Ly.:(ii.ri toFilf LC-H.111-mTRENCH 1NORTH SECTION12 3 4metres'1:)'-.1.ir.k-tic-slf,-;--;-1-13111-I1111149, 11.1).1.QiJ...I I I loam sandHMI silly loam gravelFig. 3. Andersey Island. Trench 1.included the remains of a north-south track (2 and 3)probably of nineteenth century date.A piece a pottery of collared um-type shape but hard fabricwas found in the layer which overlies both the barrow ditchand the Roman ditch.Trench 2 - 7.5m x lm: This was located to the southern sideof the track to Rye Farm. It found a compacted gravelsurface probably a medieval road running E-W, a precursorofthe current track. Underneath this was a possible palisadetrench running north south. This had post holesapproximately 40cm diameter and 60cm deep.Trench 3 - 6m x 50cm: This trench was located to findditches identified on air photographs and found the areacovered with approximately 50cm of alluvium. Towards thebase of the alluvium a single abraded sherd of Roman greywait was found. One definite N-S ditch was found 2m wideand 70cm deep. 3m. to its west a smaller possible ditch wasfound 30cm deep and at least 1.5m wide.Trench 4 - 6m x lm: This showed that ploughing hadpenetrated 30-40cms to the natural gravel. A single post hole40cm diameter and 40cms deep was found. The eastern endof the trench had been disturbed by a pit containingeighteenth/nineteenth century pottery.Trench 5 - 6m x lm: This was located over an area of darkpatches on the air photographs. It found that ploughsoilextended to a depth of 30cm, then 10cm of light brown sandysilt occurred before natural gravel. The patch investigatedwas however caused by a pit approximately 90cm deepwhich had nineteenth century pottery in its fill.Trench 6 - 6m x lm: In this area there had been relativelylittle disturbance with 30cm of sandy silt between theploughsoil and the natural sand. One piece of medievalpottery was found in the sandy silt.Trench 7 - 3m x lm: Beneath the ploughsoil here was ayellow brown clayey soil from which at a depth of 50cmwere found 2 unpatinated flakes. The clay continued untilnatural sand was found at lm depth.CONCLUSIONSPrehistoricAs ploughing has disturbed the top 30cm it is unlikely thatanything other than flint scatters will be found except wherethe material is protected in ditches or under alluvium. Thealluvium on the SE part of the area has a potential for amesolithic site. The rectangular enclosure to the east of RyeFarm could be of Iron Age date and requires investigation.RomanThe late Roman pottery and the Roman ditch from trench 1indicate settlement here. Roman material has also beenfound to the east at SU 526 968 and perhaps the track shownas a cropmark at the eastern side of the area links the twosettlements.MedievalOrdnance survey maps show the location of a palace andchurch. Of the former trench 4 only found a single postholewith no dating evidence. The presumed palace site is in anarea much quarried for gravel but further investigations113

causeway which formed the western boundary tothe survey area.BIBLIOGRAPHYRobin Holgate Mesolithic, Neolithic and EarlierBronze Age Settlement Patterns south-west ofOxford. Oxoniensia LI, 1986.Tim Allen Abingdon Vineyard Redevelopment.SMA 20 1990.0 5imi=====. msSally Crawford The Anglo Saxon Cemetery atChimney, Oxfordshire. Oxoniensia LIV, 1989.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSSeveral members of the Society have assisted inthis work. In particular Jeff Wall's directedtrench 1 and John Copper, Alison Gledhill, JohnCarter, Jacqueline Smith, Bob Wilson, CharlesWrench, Terry Stopps, Bob Eeles and SallyOatley were often on site. Mr. Tom Arthur kindlyassisted by preparing the base and archive plans.In particular I would like to thank Mi. A. Lay forpermitting work on his fields and Mr. Beaumontfor permitting trench 1 to be dug.FINDS AND ARCHIVE MATERIAL0 3cms=11C=311These are to be given to the keeping of theOxfordshire County Council's Departrnent ofMuseum Service.Fig. 4. Thames pick - white patinated flint found during fieldwalkingThe top half has been broken off and missing.Piece of Collared Um - The fabric of this sherd is unusually hard forprehistoric pottery approximately 5 on Mohs scale. Its core is grey andsurfaces grey/brown and it is of a sand tempered fabric. The decorationhas two diagonal and one horizontal incised lines and at the brokenedge are 2 stabbed holes slanting upwards. From layer 8 of trench 1.English lead token - Fifteenth-?Eighteenth century kindly identifiedby staff at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. Found duringfieldwalking.should be carried out in the vicinity and to the east of trench4. Of the supposed site of the church no remains were found.The church is recorded as being demolished in 1101/2 andits 'stone used to rebuild the monastery at Abingdon. Thedemolition must have been very thorough or the foundationsvery shallow to have left no traces for fieldwalking or airphotography. Only one enigmatic right angle of crop markto the NE of the supposed church site could be a clue as toits location. The sites of the other chapels are sometimesfound by their burials as at Chimney (3) but here there areno records of burials being found. The track running N-S onthe western side of the area appears to be earlier than mostother features. Its extent and purpose need to be traced as itcould be a predecessor to the early fifteenth century,50 West St. Helen Street, AbingdonSU 49685 96903 - Roger AinslieA small trench was dug into the yard at the rearof this house as the owner proposed to build anextension. It was located some 11m behind thepresent street frontage, was approximately 1.8mx 1.5m and reached an average depth of 1.5m.The excavation revealed a nineteenth centurystone-lined cess pit which had cut through earlierlevels. These were mainly medieval pits (5,6 and7), although in one corner Roman levels (8, 9, 10and 11) had survived. Only one piece of potterycame from these Roman deposits but the lowestlayer (11) consisted of small pebbles compactedto form a surface which contained a single piece of bone.Natural gravel was immediately underneath this surface.The excavation was therefore successful in finding the depthof Roman levels in this area. Finds included a small flintcore, 31 sherds of Roman pottery and 17 sherds of medievalpottery.The Roman pottery is almost all of mid first to early secondcentury date although there is a least 1 sherd of later potteryfrom the Oxford kilns The amount of Roman potteryalthough almost all from residual contexts, at 7.6 sherds percubic metre compares with only 0.3 sherds per cubic metreof the material excavated by hand at the site further west at114

SOUTH OXFORDSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICALGROUPPillboxes in OxfordshireA W J Graham-KerrThis is part of a large-scale study of pillboxes in variousregions, carried out by the Fortress Study Group.0 1 me tre0 5 EmsFig. 5. North section of excavation.Piece of hand made pottery from layer 5. It is dark grey/blackthroughout, has a small amount of grass 'tempering and isslightly bumished externally. The external rim diametermust have been approx. 24cm. Opinions are divided as itcould be late Iron Age or early Saxon in date.Winsmore Lane (1), reinforcing the theory that the edge ofRoman Abingdon must be located somewhere betweenthese sites.The finds and archive material will be deposited withOxfordshire CountyCouncil's museum service.REFERENCEAbingdon-Winsmore Lane, SMA 20, 1990, p. 90-93ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSWe are grateful to Paul Booth of the Oxford ArchaeologicalUnit for looking at the Roman pottery and Mrs J. Jones forpermitting the excavation to take place. The digging teamwas largely the same as carried out the Andersey Islandwork. Thanks are also due to Mis Jones for allowing theSociety access to her premises.If the Germans had crossed the English Channel and in timetaken London, it is said that the Government would havemoved to Stratford-upon-Avon. Working on the basis thatthe Germans had landed in the south of England, it wasreasoned that once they had a foot-hold in the southemcounties they would start to head in a northerly directiontowards Oxford. Re-grouping at Andover and thdn movingnorth to the GHQ line nmning along the Kennet and Avoncanal it would be important for them to pass around thetowns because of sniper fire and booby-traps. BetweenHungerford and Newbury would be the main push, so thisis what GHQ did. Joining the A338 to Oxford on the northof the town, Wantage was the only other town on the A338,which was easy to by-pass. Oxford, which they hoped todefend, sits on the Thames at the top of its bottle-neck,Abingdon lies south of Oxford and has the river passingthrough it after Oxford; further up the Thames and to thewest is Newbridge. The distance between Abingdon andNewbridge is only six and a half miles; this is where GHQchose their second line of defence.It is this line that I am looking at: the pillboxes are built athalf mile intervals, in a line running from AbingdonCommon through the villages of Marcham, Frilford andFyfield to the Thames at Newbridge. The line consists of 20pillboxes, of which most are rectangular (FW3728). Thesewere the largest of the pillboxes built for the 2-pounderanti-tank gun, in some cases even a 3-pounder or a6-pounder. The 2-pounder was a highly mobile gun which,with wheels removed and trails splayed, made an effectiveweapon against the lighdy armoured tanks of 1939-401.The main period of building pillboxes was the summer of1940, although they were built at other times during the war.They were cheap and relatively easy to build. As well as this,each one required less than a platoon of men plus a fewweapons; a pillbox with a machine-gun made a formidableobstacle which rarely could be bypassed in an attack withouta great deal of diversionary effort. An important part ofpillbox construction was the use of steel bars. Both ends ofeach bar were bent through 90 degrees for a distance ofalmost a metre. One set was laid with the end projectingupwards, while those which were part of the roof projecteddownwards, being linked together by the others whichformed the skeleton of the walls. The structure nowresembled an enclosed cage, with small apertures for a door,ventilator and loopholes. Then, using wood around theframework of bars, concrete was poured in to form athic.kness of 18". This set to fonn a very solid wall. Localbuilders could build a pillbox in less than three weeks' fromstart to finish. The first pillboxes were marmed by the army,115

Fig. 1.but as war progressed, they were handed over to the LocalDefence Volunteers, later known as the Home Guard2.Along this line between Abingdon and Newbridge wereother pillboxes. As well as the rectangular pillboxes therewere hexagonal ones. There are also, where roads wereinvolved passing through the line, road blocks. These weresteel posts embedded in concrete. The concrete blocks tookseveral forms - Pimples, Dragons' Teeth, Blocks andCoffins which are simply extended blocks. These can befound at SP 421009 and SU 465974. There are only a fewtraces of the anti-tank ditch: this was 8' deep and between10' and 12' wide, the ditch ran the whole length of the stopline.Heading north towards Oxford along the A338, one passesover a stream then past the pub, the Noah's Ark. Just aheadlies the cross-roads of the A415; at this cross-road is ahexagonal base: this is rather unusual and during the war itwould have had a 6-pounder Hotchkiss gun bolted to the topof the base. The site is at SU 443971.Also in this GHQ line is where 15 of the 2-pounder guns are,of the 170 2-pounder guns for the whole GHQ line. Oneinteresting bunker remains (which is underground and is atSU 413995) is that of the Royal Observer Corp, and was inuse until the 1960s. Aerial photographs show the outline ofthe anti-tank ditch, especially between Marcham andAbingdon. The GHJQ line was manned by five platoons andthese were: Frilford, Cothill, Appleton, Fyfield and part ofFrilford.References1 Wills, H., Pillboxes (Leo Cooper, 1985)2 Bnce, M., Stronghold (Batsford, 1984)Notes on the Celtic Head Tradition in the SouthOxford shire AreaCynthia A Graham-KerrIntroduction.Attention was drawn to this subject by an article by MaryKift in our journal, The Bulletin, 1986, pp28-29, describinga fine Celtic head noticed locally. This reminded us ofanother, noted years ago in Woodcote - were there othersextant?. They are not by any means conunon in this region,but about 13 possibilities were located and recorded.Some may well be medieval, but are included as theycontain Celtic features, and the sculptors might easily havebeen influenced by the Celtic cult when carving them. Thedescriptions are headed under the area from which the headcame.Note: The measurements are approximate, as the heads areoften in totally inaccessible places, such as church towers.116

West Challow (Wantage District) (Fig. 1)It was this particular head which started the project and isnow in a garden in Seaton, Devon. The family who used tolive in a cottage "near Wantage" (?West Challow) unearthedit in 1956 about 2 feet below ground. They thought it was agarden ornament and took it with them on moving to Seaton.The following comments were made abotit it by Dr AnnRoss: "Among the hundreds of stone heads, etc, from allover once-Celtic Europe ... there is a class which isdistinguished by the treatment of the features, fromeyebrows to chin ... this example is one of the finest". Itwould appear to be about 60cm high with negroid features,and a feeling of character and strength about it; the carvingis crude, with the typical bulging eyes. It was not possibleto locate its supposed original site in West Challow, in spiteof help from locaLs.Fig. 2.eyes, placed at the outer sides of the head. It is around 30cmhigh and over a blocked north door inside the church: butwe have been unable to find any reference to it in the churchliterature. It is limestone, and not in very good condition -the edges are broken and chipped.Woodcote (Fig. 4)This is a large and well-sculptured head, 28cm high, withtypical protruding eyes, exaggerated lips and flattened nose.The folds of skin on the neck and musculature at the backof the head have been carefully detailed. It is of white oolitelimestone, and was found at Wayside Green, Woodcote. Itis Romano-Celtic, probably 1st - 2nd century, and is now inReading Museum (Ref 401-78).Fig. 1.Wlaitchurch (Fig. 2)This small head, of about 24cm high. is still in positionabove the Norman archway of the south door of St Mary'schurch, sheltered by a 15th century porch. It was noted byCanon Slatter in his History of the Parish of Whitchurch inthe 1880s when the church was rebuilt: "The porch haddecayed ... and was taken down, revealing a crudely carvedface set into the wall ...". This head has decidedlyRomano-Celtic characteristics and was fortunately leftalone during the Victorian rebuilding.Aldermaston (Fig. 3)This head has the typical crescent-shaped droopymoustache (cf Figs. 2, 7 and 11) and "Celtic" protrudingFig. 3.117

Fig. 5.Chaddleworth (Fig. 8 & 9)Caversham (Fig. 5)Fig. 4.A small head in Jurassic limestone, of Romano-Celtic date,was found near St Anns's well at Priest's Hill. This is oneof the old holy chalybeate wells, associated with paganCelts, and the head was in a garden nearby. It is 16cm highand crudely executed in a slab-like manner - almostbas-relief, with prominant eyes. It is now in ReadingMuseum (Ref 262-74).Tidmarsh (Fig. 6)This head is not an integral part of the early Norman arch,as would seem at first glance. Upon close observation it isclear that it has broken edges fitted neatly ontothe Norman edging, and may even have beenpart of a vertical slab, as suggested by theshoulders. The features show a strong Celticinfluence. The black outlines in the drawingare white mortar in the original.This church was mentioned in Domesday, it lies besides afine old manor and has many Norman features. Here weretwo possible heads: one set in the centre of the string-courseon the south side of the tower (Fig. 8) - thus it was difficultto see clearly but it had the characteristic features - unlikethe heads on the corners which looked decidely medieval.The second head (Fig. 9) was quite different, being insidethe church and on the eastern pillar, about 6 feet from thefloor of the tower arch, southern side, and just jutting out.There was no stone, carved or otherwise, protruding fromthe north pillar of the arch, although the carved head bad aflat top not unlike a corbel. In contrast to the rather severeone outside, this one has a broader and most amiable face,but serves no apparent purpose. It measured about 20 x26cm.Buc.klebury (Fig. 7)This head, in the south Norman doorway(1150-70) may be more medieval than Celtic,with its extraordinary crest, and the very odddotted object, "entwined" with mantling ofsorts. The eyes, moustache, and nose, however,repeat the Celtic formula. In this case it seemsto be integral with its surroundings and it isincluded in this article, as a "curious reversionto an earlier type - a strange face" (Keith Poste,History of St Mary the Virgin, 1976).Fig. 6.118

East Oarston (Figs. l0& 11)Fig. 7.On the south side of the tower is a large old sundial and justbelow it, attached to a small plinth is a head with decidedlyCeltic features (Fig. 10). Again, it was difficult to see detail.It is interesting to note this church is very near the RiverLam boume; water is so often associated with paganworship. The head was rather triangular, eyes and nosecrowded together in the middle and what might be hair, ora background, squaring up the sides.On the outside of the Lady Chapel. on the eastern wall wasa stone with the date 1684, below, a string course withdecorative heads each end. In the centre, however, is set ahead of a different type (Fig. 11) with the thin moustacheand plain features of the Celtic head, and usual glumexpression. His chin rests curiously on the apex of thewindow, and like his neighbour at Chaddleworth, heFig. 9.appears to have been added in when alterations were beingmade.Abingdon (Fig. 12)The Abingdon Museum has a tricephalous, or three-facedhead, 32 x 5cm high, and 18cm wide (Acc. No 8096.1142),but they do not know its exact locality, but think it was fromthe Abbey area. This is quite possible as recent newexcavations (Allen, 1989) have produced quantities of IronAge, Bronze Age and Roman artefacts. Sculptured heads ofthis type were made by the Celts in Roman times and severalhave been found in Britain (see below). The triple aspectmWknrcruRFig. 8.Fig. 10.119

apparently held a special religious significance for the Celts(Ann Ross, Pagan Celtic Britain, 1967).Ibstone (Fig. 13)Fig. 11.Heads are often placed on or over the keystone of an arch,but this one at Ibstone church is strange indeed. It lies at thehighest point under the chancel arch (rebuilt in the 13thCentury). There is some unusual Norman work in thechurch, noted as "probably Saxon" (church notes). It is a tinychurch on a hillock, a stone coffin lies by the gate. (TheFig.13.village moved further up, following the plague, leaving themanor and church isolated).The head, high at the top of the arch, has a slab base andtypical Celtic features including a long chin as noted onother heads. It faces the floor, lying N-S under the arch andestimated as 22cm long. Outside the church over the windowto the right of the porch is another head (not illustrated), butalthough it has the long moustache and plain features, themouth is open and hollow and it does not look many Celtic.SummaryIt is interesting to note the positions of these heads: overdoors, or towers, and loose' ones, which are dug up quitenear the surface. Were they 'saved' when pagans becameChristians, as familiar friends to be tolerated? Also, thepresence of water nearby is a pagan link: eight of thechurches concerned are within reach of water - rivers and StAnns's Well, Caversham, was a holy well of chalybeatewater, used for cures. The Celtic religion held that both thehuman head and healing waters were of the utmostimportance and this runs through Celtic cults everywhere.The head was the centre for the spirit and thus became anelaborate ritual object, a symbol of veneration, whichdeveloped into heads with horns, cats' ears and otherappendages although we have not, so far, found any of theselocally.Fig. 12.Looking through the photographs in Aim Ross' PaganCeltic Britain, it is remarkable to see how different types ofheads mentioned in these notes have parallels in heads fromsuch diverse places as Norway, Denbighshire and Corbridgebut the ones in this region seem to have more moustaches.Did these various types originate from a few sources, orwere ideas spread as the sculptors travelled, or did the heads120

themselves travel? Any further information on heads in thisregion would be of considerable interest.AcknowledgementsI would like to thank my colleagues and members' of SOAGwho have worked with me on this project, especially MaryKift, who started me off with her article in the SOAGBulletin 1986. Janet Shaipe who came hunting in the coldof winter, also Malcolm Todd, and my husband whoaccompanied me to obscure Places and held chairs whilst Iphotographed.Also Professor Stuart Piggott who encouraged me and putme in touch vvith Dr Miranda Green, who has talcen an activeinterest in the project and Nancy Hood, Curator, AbingdonMuseum, Leslie Dram of Reading Museum, both of whomproduced heads and information.ReferencesSOAG, The Bulletin 1987/8 Nos 42 and 43, pp28-29Poste, K, History of St Mary the Virgin, Bucklebury, 1976Ross, A, Pagan Celtic Britain, 1967Slatter, J, History of the parish of Whitchurch, 1880Drawings by the authorNotes on some old local implementsC A Graham-KerrThese old country implements have been lying around ourhouse for years - people are inclined to dump "old things"on me - knowing they will be appreciated, and I thought itmight be of some interest to put them on record.Billock - Figure 1Properly spelt "Billhook" (or, in some localities, `bille'), thisis pronounced bill 'ock locally, and they are still in everydayuse for light chopping and hedge-trimming. There are about30 different types which vary from county to county and thisis the typical `Oxfordsheer' one. Each locality has a strongFig. 1.tradition as to shape and indeed they vary so much that somehardly seem to be the same tool. Other craftsmen who usethem are the thatcher, who splits his spars and runners(usually hazel in our loCality) with skilful strokes, and thewoodman who have them for general work such as beanrods, and for trimming.Thatcher's Needle - Figure 2This T-shaped flattened iron, with its sharp point is anessential tool for the thatcher. The slim stem will stab intothatch WithOUt harming the straw. It is 51.5cm. long andstrong enough to stop a ladder slipping and hold up the0.0t,,Fig. 2.121

undles of straw; but mainly forkeeping one layer of thatch up tight,whilst the next bundles are tuckedunder, when using wheat or Norfolkreed. It is, in fact, a maid-of-all-workwhere anything needs holding,stopping or pinning down.Skimmer - Figure 3This circulai object, which looks likeFig. 3. a vegetable ladle, is evidentlyhandmade, the holes being unevenlyspaced, and its small curly handleroughly soldered to the edge, and it measures 13cm. indiameter. It is especially made to skim off the cream fromshallow pans of rich milk, which are "set" to allow the creamto rise, as with Devonshire cream. This one is a very superiorbrass skimmer - they are usually made of tin.Baker's Bat - Figure 4This wooden bat, or peel, for removing loaves etc from theoven was discovered in a neighbour's roof under the thatch.(Later a round brick oven, smooth inside, with a domed roofwas found behind a wall in the house). The handle is of ash,124cm. long and the bat blade itself probably oak (whichdes not bum) they can also be elm or beech. The bat bladeis 34cm. long to the handle and 37cm. across the mouthwhich is chamfered to get under the loaf easily. It has beenphotographed together with the next item for the records.Dung Foric - Figure 5This article materialised mysteriously in my 'Yard. Thehandle is 154cm long, with a nicely shaped end and theprongs probably hand, forged, are 25cm: long, stronglycurved for scooping up litter from the stables and byres whenmucicirig out. It is fixed by three rivits to the handle. It is alsocalled a muck-ralce, and a local friend told me that when hewas farming in Gloucestershire they called it a "shavick".Cook's Basting Spoon - Figure 6This vast cooking spoon has a handle 41cm. long and thebowl itself is 11cm. in length but is not to sup with the devilbut to baste the joint. I found it in a farmyard together witha jack of the mechanical brass types. The beaten out handleshows it is forged work, very neatly made.Well Pale - Figure 7This object has puzzled a number of people but was incommon use in the villages around here and has been seenused at the back of cottages at Fyfield, at Whitechurch Hill,Preston Crowmarsh and by a friend's grandfatyher atChalgrove. It is for lifting and lowering the bucket into ashallow well - the pole (broken off on this one) could be verylong or quite short, accorcling to the depth of water in theFig. 4.I 42.0..,79 cwFig. 5.122

well for which it was used. This one is a nice piece of forgedironwork, (45cm long) and no doubt local, with the springclip still strong and working. This looks crooked, but that isintentional, making it easier to catch the handle of the bucketand heave it up, clipped securely in the loop (Figure 7a).Fig. 7.123

IndexNOTE: references in italics denote illustrations.A14 (M1-Al Road Link) 71, 72A43 Blisworth and Milton Malsor Bypass 71A508 River Tove Bends 72Abingdon, Oxonprehistoric; Rye Faim 111mesolithic; Andersey Island 111, 113,114Beaker period; Audlett Drive 92Iron Age: 64 Bath Street 110, 1 1 1; (SU 499 973) 97Roman, early to middleoppidum (SU 499 973) 97-8, 99Twickenham House 109-10West St Helen Street 114-15Roman, lateAndersey Island 111, 11364 Bath Street 110, 111Vineyard 98, 111Winsmore Lane 115SaxonAudlett Drive 92cemetery 31,32medievalabbey 114Andersey Island (palace and church site) 113-1464 Bath Street 110, 111course of Stert 98stone head 119, 120West St Helen Street 114post-medievalAndersey Island (C19th) 114bridge (C16th) 1Civil War cemetery 98mathematical tiles 37sites: Andersey Island 111, 112, 113-14; Audlett Drive 92; 64Bath Street 110, 111; Rye Farm 111; Stert, course of 97, 98, 99;(SU 499 973)97-8,99; Twickenham House 109-10; Vineyard 98,111; 50, West St Helen Street 114-15; Winsmore Lane 115Adam, Robert 35Aethelwold, Abbot of Abingdon, Oxon 98Agars Plough, Eton College, Bucks 39airship photography 6, 7Aldeimaston, Oxon; stone head 117Aldwincle, Nhants; St Peter's church 59Alfred, King of the West Saxons 32altar, Roman limestone; Gill Mill, Ducklington, Oxon 96Althorp, Nhants 37-8Ampthill, Beds 34Anglo-Saxon Chronicle 102antler, cut red deer; Eton College, Bucks 39Antonine Itinerary 72arch, roll-moulded; Hastings Hill, Oxon 82arrowheadsflintbarbed and tanged; Houghton Regis area, Beds 28,29transverse; Yamton, Oxon 87iron, barbed; Leighton Buzzard, Beds 30Ashdown Park, Oxon 80Aston Clinton, Bucks; Belgic site 39Astwick, Beds; medieval barn 25Audley End, Essex 37Augustinian order; Oseney Abbey 92axes, stonegreenstone; Yarnton, Oxon 87polished; Carding ton, Beds 10Aylesbury, BucksColdharbour Farm middle IA site 39Baginton, near Coventry, Warks 33Bailey family of Bradwell, Milton Keynes 56Revd Kitelee Chandos Bailey 49, 56baker's bat 122Bampton, Oxon; Iron Age site 101Banbury, Oxon; Inner Relief Road, medieval town 99-100Bancroft Roman Villa, Milton Keynes, Bucks 47, 48bank, medieval stone; West Cotton, Nhants 69barnsRomanStanwick, Nhants 76, 77, 78medievalAstwick, Beds 25Barton, Beds 25Bedford, New nham Priory 22conversions in Conservation Areas 23, 25Shillington, Beds 25Streatleybury Farm, Beds 25.Swalcliffe, Oxon 109Barnwell, Nhants 59barrows (see also ring-ditches)Abingdon, Oxon 111, 112-13Brize Norton, Oxon 101Finmere, Oxon 79Over Norton Park, Oxon 82Oxford, Port Meadow 101Passenham, Nhants 64-5Redlands Fatm, Stanwick, Nhants 76West Cotton, Nhants 69Whipwell, Chipping Norton, Oxon 80Barton, Beds 25Barton Abbey, Oxon; Hoar Stone 82baths, Roman; North Leigh, Oxon 82Battams family of Bradwell, Milton Keynes 55-6bead, Saxon decorated glass; Yarnton, Oxon 89,90Beaker period (see also under pottery)pits: Redlands Farm, Stanwick, Nhants 76; Yarnton, Oxon 87ring ditch, possible; West Cotton, Nhants 69BedfordCastle 21King's Ditch 5new architecture 26Newnham Priory 20, 21-2St Mary's Church Archaeology centre 3, 4, 5-6, 8St Paul's Church 21St Peter de Dunstable church 5Southern Bypass 8, 9, 10-11Behrtwulf, King of Mercia 85bell tower; Charney Bassett, Oxon 101Benefield, NhantsBiggin Hall 59Lyveden Old Bield 59Bicester, OxonAbbey fish-ponds 100Bronze Age hoard 100Littlebury Hotel, Kings End 107, 109Tesco supermarket site 100-1Biddenham, Beds; Gold Lane Lron Age/Roman settlement 12, 13Bidford-on-Avon, Warks; Saxon cemetery 33Bidwell, Beds124

idge and furrow 30Roman site 1, 28, 29Biggleswade, Beds; St Andrew's School 25billhook 121Bird family of Bradwell, Milton Keynes 56Blisworth, Nhants; bypass 71Bloet, Robert, Bishop of Lincoln 104Boece, Hector 32bone objects (see also: antler; combs; spindle whorls)gaming pieces, Saxon 33bones, animal (see also dog)Aylesbury, Bucks 39Cardington, Beds 11Dunstable, Beds 26, 28Salford Quarry, Beds 15Willington Quarry, Beds 12bones, human see inhumationsBow Brickhill, Bucks see: Caldecotte; Magioviniumbracelet, Bronze Age gold; Milton Keynes, Bucks 40bracken, Iron Age 95Bracldey, Nhants 59Brackmills Extension, Northampton 64,65Bradwell, Milton Keynes, BucksAbbey; seal 47St Lawrence's Churchyard survey 48-57brass skimmer 122bridgesRomanMerton, Oxon 102Otmoor, Oxon 1medievalBanbury, Oxon; C14th stone 100Great Barford, Beds 7post-medievalAbingdon, Oxon; C16th timber 1Harrold, Beds 7,8Brighthampton, Oxon; Saxon cemetery 31, 32Brill, Bucksha-ha 39medieval kilns 39Brixworth, Nhants 59Brize Norton, Oxon 101Brogborough, Beds 25bronze objects see copper alloy objectsbroochesLa Téne, late; Salford Quarry, Beds 15Saxon 31, 33penannular copper alloy, Abingdon, Oxon 92Brown, Daniel ifi, of Luton, Beds 35Brown, Daniel IV, of Luton, Beds 36Bucklebury, Oxon; stone head 118,119buildings, historic; in Conservation Areas 23, 25-6buildings of unspecified typelion Age; Yarnton, Oxon 89Roman: Abingdon, Oxon 109-10; Bidwell, Beds 1Gill Mill, Ducklington, Oxon, timber 96Higham Ferrers, Nhants 62Stanwick, Nhants, rectangular stone 77, 78Towcester, Nhants 73Yarnton, Oxon, agricultural 89Saxon: Eynsham, Oxon, timber 104Yarnton, Oxon 89,90medieval: Banbury, Oxon 100Churchill, Oxon 82Northampton, stone-founded 64bunker, Second World War 116Burghley House, Nhants 37burials, human see: barrows; cemeteries; churchyards; cremations;inhumationsBurton Latimer, Nhants 71Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk 32Bute, John Stuart, 3rd Earl of 35buttress trench, tnedieval; Dunstable 26, 27Caddington, Beds 28Calcutt, Beds 28, 29Caldecotte, Bowe Brickhill, Milton Keynes, Bucks 43, 44Roman 44medieval and later 43, 44Canova, Antonio 26Cardington, Bedsneolithic/early Bronze Age ceremonial complex 8, 9, 10-11lion Age/Roman rural site 11RAF airfield 6, 7cartulary of Oseney Abbey, Oxon 92casket, Saxon ivory; Eynsham, Oxon 102, 104Cassington, OxonBig Rings 98Mill; late lion Age enclosure 86Saxon burial 31Castle Ashby, Nhants 37Catherine of Aragon, Queen of England 34Catlin, Sir Robert (d. 1574) 21cattlelion Age 11, 13, 15late medieval 110cauldrons, Saxon bronze 32-3Caversham, Oxon; stone head 118, 120Caxton, William; Chronicle (1456) 32Celtic traditionfield system, Westbury by Shenley, Bucks 44,45stone heads 116, 117-20, 121cemeteries (see also: barrows; churchyards; cremations;inhumations)lion AgeBrackley, Nhants 59RomanTowcester, Nhants 72,73Yamton, Oxon 89SaxonCharlbury, Oxon 109Chimney, Oxon 114Westbury by Shenley, Bucks 45Yamton, Oxon 89medievalBedford; Newnham Priory 22Thame, Oxon 94post-medievalAbingdon, Oxon (Civil War) 98ceremonial complexes, neolithic/early Bronze Age see Cardington;Willing ton QuarrycesspitsSaxon; Eynsham, Oxon 102, 104medieval; Eynsham, Oxon 107C19th; Abingdon, Oxon 114Chaddleworth, Oxon; stone heads 118, 119chain, copper alloy; Salford Quarry, Beds 15Chalgrove, Oxon 122Chalton, Beds 28, 29, 30chapels, Non-Conformist 25charcoal125

Iron Age 15medieval 22, 73Charlbury, Oxon; probable Saxon cemetery 109charnel pit; Newnham Priory, Bedford 22Charney Bassett, Oxon; St Peter's church 101, 102charters, Saxonboundary; Uffington, Oxon 97Mercian royal 85Chatsworth House, Derbys 37Chelfington, Beds 22Chesham, Bucks 1chessmen, Viking ivory 32Chilson, Oxon; Stag's Plain 80Chimney, Oxon; Saxon cemetery 114Chipping Norton, OxonNew Chalford Farm 80Glyme Farm 80churchesSaxonChaddleworth, Oxon 118, 119Charlbury, Oxon; minster 109Eynsham, Oxon; minster 102Spelsbury, Oxon; All Saints 82, 84, 85medievalAldermaston, Oxon 117Bedford: St Mary's 4, 5, 6; St Peter de Dunstable 5Bucklebury, Oxon; St Mary's 118, 119Charlbury, Oxon; St Mary's 109Charney Bassett, Oxon; St Peter's 101, 102East Garston, Oxon 119, 120Great Chesterton, Oxon; St Mary's 101Ibstone, Oxon 120Northampton; St Gregory's 62Thame, Oxon; St Mary's 94Tidmarsh, Oxon 118Watlington, Oxon; St Leonard's 107Whitchurch, Oxon; St Mary's 117post-medievalGeddington, Nhants; St Mary Magdalene 60Tattenhoe, Bucks 46,47West Hannery, Oxon; St James the Great 102undatedAldwincle, Nhants; St Peter's 59Chellington, Beds; St Nicholas' 22Harrold, Beds; St Peter's 22Churchill, Oxon; The Corner House 80, 82churchyardsBradwell, Milton Keynes; St Lawrence's 48-57Cogges, Oxon; St Mary's 109Daventry, Nhants; Holy Cross 60Eynsham, Oxon: St Leonard's 102, 103-6, 107; St Peter's 107Civil War 62, 73, 98clay (see also under quarries)bumt, medieval; Newnham Priory, Bedford 22Claydon Pike, Fairford/Lechlade, Glos 95Clutton, Henry 25cob huts, medieval; Oxford 93cobblesTattenhoe, Bucks 46,47Walton Hall, Bucks 43Westbury by Shenley, Bucks 45coffinsprehistoric, possible; Stanwick, Nhants 76Roman; nail scatter patterns 102Cl8th; West Hannery, Oxon 102undated nails, Watlington, Oxon 107Cogges, Witney, Oxonmanor house 79, 94moated sites 109St Mary's churchyard 109coin blanks and pellets,'Roman; Fenny Stratford, Bucks 40,41-2coin dies, Roman iron; Fenny Strafford, Bucks 40, 41, 42coins (see also token)RomanBrixworth, Nhants 59Chipping Norton, Oxon 80Eynsham, Oxon 104Fenny Stratford, Bucks (Magiovinium); forger's hoard 40, 41,42, 47Gayton, Nhants 71Gill Mill, Ducklington, Oxon 96Thrapston, Nhants 72Walton Hall, Bucks 43Woodstock, Oxon 85SaxonEynsham, Oxon 102, 104medievalBrackley, Nhants 59Newnham Priory, Bedford 22Oxford 92unidentifiedThrapston, Nhants 72combs, boneIron AgeAgars Plough, Eton College, Bucks 39Yamton, Oxon 89SaxonAbingdon, Oxon, 92Conference, CBA Group 9 Spring 1991 1Conservation Areas 23, 25-6contour survey; Caldecotte, Bucks 44Cooper family of Bradwell, Milton Keynes 56copper alloy objectsBronze Age; sword fragment from smith's hoard, Bicester, Oxon100late Iron Age; chain, Salford Quarry, Beds 15Roman: coin pellets, Fenny Stratford, Bucks 40, 42; statuette ofram, Fenny Stratford, Bucks 41, 42, 43Saxon: brooch, penannular, Abingdon, Oxon 92; cauldrons 32-3;disc, gilt bronze, Spelsbury, Oxon 85medieval; Newnham Priory, Bedford 22Coptic bronze vessels 32Corbett, Mrs. E. 85corn dryers, RomanGayton, Nhants 71Yarnton, Oxon 89Combury, near Charlbury, Oxon 37Cornwall, Sir John, Baron Fanhope 34Cotton Henge, Raunds, Nhants 69, 70Cranfield, Beds; International Eco-Technology Building 26Crawley, John (f1.1740, of Stockwood Park, Beds) 35, 37cremationsprehistoricWillington Quarry, Beds 12Yarnton, Oxon 87Bronze AgeLake End, Bucks 39Merton, Oxon 85Iron AgeSalford Quarry, Beds 13, 15late IA/RomanWestbury by Shenley, Bucks 44-5126

RomanGill Mill, Ducklington, Oxon 96Gayton, Nhants 71Saxon; ivory rings with 31modem; St Lawrence's churchyard, Milton Keynes 50, 51crofts, medievalCaldecotte, Bucks 44Tattenhoe, Bucks 46,47crop circles 101cross, Saxon ivory altar; Bury St Edmunds 32culvert, drystone, C19th-20th; Fawler, Oxon 109Cumnor, Oxon; Pinkhill Meadow 85-6cursus monumentsBrize Norton, Oxon (possible) 101Cardington, Beds 10Drayton, Oxon 98,99Cypraea shells 32Danes 5Danesfield hillfort, Medmenham, Bucks 40daubIron Age; Salford Quarry, Beds 15middle Saxon, mortar; Eynsham, Oxon 104Daventry, NhantsBorough Hill hillfort 60Holy Cross churchyard 60Delafield family of Bradwell, Milton Keynes 56dendrochronology 19dene hole, Eye and Dunsden, Oxon 95Denford, Nhants; West Spinney 65-6,68disc, Saxon gilt bronze 85ditchesBronze AgeEynsham, Oxon 104Iron AgeBiddenham, Beds 12, 13Cunmor, Oxon 8Great Doddington, Nhants (massive) 61Northampton 64,66Raunds, Nhants 69Warren Villas Quarry, Beds 19Wollaston, Nhants 73, 74, 75RomanAbingdon, Oxon 97, 98, 99, 111, 112-13Gayton, Nhants 71Gill Mill, Ducklington, Oxon 95,96Sutton Courtenay, Oxon 98-9SaxonRaunds, Nhants 71Sandy, Beds 16, 17Yamton, Oxon 90,92medievalBanbury, Oxon 100Dunstable, Beds 26, 27, 28Raunds, Nhants 71post-medievalanti-tank, Second World War 116ha-has: Brill, Bucks 39; Over Norton Park, Oxon 82documentary research; medieval Raunds 75dog buried with human; Yamton, Oxon 89Domesday Survey; Stratton, Beds 19Dorchester-on-Thames, Oxon; Dyke Hills 98, 101dovecotes, medievalCaldecotte, Bucks 44Newnham Priory, Bedford 22Dragon Hill, Uffing ton, Oxon 97drainsmedieval; Eynsham Abbey, Oxon 107Cl9th ceramic pipe; Stanwick, Nhants 78undated stone-lined; Benefield, Nhants 59Drayton, Oxon; cursus 98,99Drayton House, Nhants 37drovewaysIron Age; Salford Quarry, Beds 15RomanRaunds, Nhants 67Westbury by Shenley, Bucks 45Yamton, Oxon 90Ducklington, Oxon; Gill Mill Farm Iron Age and Roman settlements1,95-6Duncan family of Bradwell, Milton Keynes 56Dunstable, BedsC18th coaching trade 35Friary field 26Pond Cottage, Bull Pond Lane 26, 27-8Priory 3416-20 West Street 25Dürer, Albrecht 32Duston, NhantsRoman town 62bronze cauldron, Saxon 33Dyke Hills, Dorchester, Oxon 98, 101ear-muffs, stone, burials with 94East Burnham, Bucks 40East Garston, Oxon; stone heads 119, 120Ebbs family of Bradwell, Milton Keynes 56Edeway see TheedwayEdward the Elder, King of the Angles and Saxons 5eel traps, medieval; Warren Villas Quarry, Beds 1Eggington-with-Clipstone, Leighton Buzzard, Beds 26elephant as source of Saxon ivory 32enclosuresprehistoric; Finmere, Oxon 79neolithicSutton Courtenay, Oxon (long) 98, 99Bronze AgeCardington ceremonial complex, Beds 8, 9, 10-11Iron AgeAbingdon, Oxon; rectangular 113Biddenham, Beds; rectangular 12, 13Cardington, Beds 11Cissington Mill, Oxon (late) 86Denford, Nhants 66Gill Mill, Ducklington, Oxon 95Great Doddington, Nhants 60-1Merton, Oxon 85Northampton, King's Heath 64,66Raunds, Nhants; double-ditched oval 67Salford Quany, Beds 13, 14Upper Faxton, Nhants; defended 73Willington Quarry, Beds 11-12Wollaston, Nhants; double-ditched 73, 74, 75Yarnton, Oxon 87, 89Roman 67Cardington, Beds 11Denford, Nhants 66Higham Ferrers, Nhants 61-2Raunds, Nhants; rectilinear 67Sutton Courtenay, Oxon 98-9127

Swan Wood, Highmoor, Oxon 80Yamton, Oxon 89SaxonHigham Feffers, Nhants; large oval 61, 62Yamton, Oxon 90, 92medievalCaldecotte, Bucks 44Tattenhoe, Bucks 46,47undatedAshdown Park, Oxon 80Little Tew, Oxon 82, 83Lower Heyford, Oxon; double banks 79-80Enstone, Oxon; Hoar Stone 82Environment 2000 Committee, Nhants 76environmental samples 1 (see also insect and plant remains; pollen;seeds)Abingdon, Oxon 97Eynsham, Oxon 102Oxford, Oriel College 1Salford Quarry, Beds 13, 15Uffington, Oxon 97Wallingford, Oxon 1Yamton, Oxon 87Escafeld Medieval Society 75escutcheon, hanging-bowl 85Eton College, Bucks 39Evelyn, John 38Evenlode-Thames confluence area 86Eye and Dunsden, Oxon; dene hole, Dunsden Green Farm 95Eynsham, Oxon 102, 103-6, 107, 108neolithic flints 104Bronze Age settlement 101, 104early Iron Age scatter 104early Saxon royal centre 102, 107late Saxon abbey and royal centre 102, 103, 104, 105-6, 107medieval abbey 104, 107, 108St Leonard's churchyard extension 102, 103-6, 107St Peter's churchyard 107eyot settlement, late Bronze Age; Wallingford, Oxon 1Fairford, GlosClaYdon Pike 95Saxon burials 31, 33Faringdon, Oxon; aerial survey 101farm, manorial; Witney, Oxon 95Fammor, Cumnor, Oxon 85-6, 95farmsteadsIron Age: Beds 16; Biddenham, Beds 12, 13; Gill Mill,Ducklington, Oxon 95Roman; Houghton Regis, Beds 28, 29, 30medieval; Westbury by Shenley, Bucks 45-6Fawler, Oxon; Cl9th culvert 109Fawsley Park, Nhants; Dower House 60Fenny Stratford, Bucks (Magiovinium) 39, 40, 41, 42-3coin forger's hoard, Roman 40, 4 I, 42, 47field systems (see also: lynchets; ridge and furiow)Bronze Age; Stanwick, Nhants 76Iron AgeGreat Doddington, Nhants 61Northimpton 64, 66.Stanwick, Nhants 76Westbury by Shenley, Bucks ('celtic') 44,45RomanStanwick, Nhants 76;Yamton, Oxon, 90Fiiunere, Oxon; Foxley Fields Farm 79fish traps, medieval; Warren Villas Quarry, Beds 1, 19Fisher, Thomas (1781-1836, antiquary) 21, 35fishponds see pondsFitch, Rev. Samuel Edward, MD (0.1862, of Kempston, Beds) 31flax, Lron Age; Yarnton, Oxon 87flax retting pitsWarren Villas Quarry, Beds 1,19Westbury by Shenley, Bucks 1,45flint, burntHoughton Regis, Beds 28,29Leighton Buzzard Southem Bypass 30Thames Flood Relief Scheme, Bucks 39flint implementsmesolithicAbingdon, Oxon 111, 114neolithicEynsham, Oxon 104Houghton Regis area, Beds 28,29Luton, Beds 26Stopsley, Beds 26Warren Villas Quarry, Beds 19Yarnton, Oxon 87Bronze AgeHoughton Regis area, Beds 28,29Luton, Beds 26Merton, Oxon 85Stopsley, Beds 26bon AgeBiddenham, Beds 12Salford Quarry, Beds 15unspecified prehistoric 99Cardington, Beds 10Cotton Henge, Raunds, Nhants 69, 70Leighton Buzzard Southern Bypass 30Pytchley Lodge, Nhants 71Sutton Courtenay, Oxon; Otney gravel pits 99Westbury by Shenley, Bucks 44Yarnton, Oxon 86Flitwick Manor, Beds 25floors (see also: mosaics; opus signinum; tesserae; tiles)early Roman; Abingdon, Oxon 109-10food residues, late Iron Age; Salford Quarry, Beds 15fordsGill Mill, Ducklington, Oxon 96by Theodweg (Theedway), Beds 15fork, dung 122French family of.Bradwell, Milton Keynes 56Friendly Lodge, Nhants 69Fritwell, Oxon; earthworks 79fruit-stones; Salford Quarry, Beds 15Fyfield, Oxon 122Galley Lane, Fenny Stratford, Bucks 39, 40, 41, 42-3gaming pieces, Saxon bone 33gardensRomanMeppershall, Beds 16Sandy, Beds 16, 17medieval; Eynsham, Oxon 107post-medievalBedford, Newnham Priory 21-2Flitwick Manor, Beds 25Kirby Hall, Nhants 1, 58, 61Pavenham, Beds 25

walled 21-2, 25Wootton House, Beds 25Wrest Park, Beds 23,24Gayton, Nhants; Roman finds 71Geddington, Nhants; St Mary Magdalene's church 60geophysical surveys 10, 23, 73Gill Mill Faim see under Ducklingtonglass objects (see also: bead; wine bottles)fragment, Cl7th hand-made green; Towcester, Nhants 73gold bracelet, late Bronze Age; Milton Keynes, Bucks 40Gostwick, Sir John (d.1545, of Willington, Beds) 21granary, possible late Roman; Yarnton, Oxon 89grave goods, Saxon 31-4Gravelly Guy, Stanton Harcourt, Oxon 95graveyards see: cemeteries; churchyardsGreat Barford, Beds; bridge 7Great Bramingham FamMouse, Beds 25Great Chesterton, Oxon 101Great Doddington, Nhants; Wilby Way Iron Age site 60-1Great Houghton, Nhants 64Gretton, Nhants see ICirby HallGrey family of Wrest Park, Beds 23, 34Grim's Ditch, Mongewell, Oxon 80,81Grove Priory, Beds 8growth marks during drought 101gun emplacement (SU 443 971) 116ha-hasBrill, Bucks 39Over Norton Park, Oxon 82hallsSaxon timber; Yarnton, Oxon 90,92Norman; Eynsham Abbey, Oxon 107medieval: Little Tew, Oxon 82; Thame, Oxon 93hammer scale; Yarnton, Oxon 92hammerstone, Iron Age quartz; Cunmor, Oxon 86Hannibal 32Harcourt, George Simon, 2nd Earl Harcourt 94Hardwick Hall, Derbys 37Hardwick with Yelford, Oxon; Mingies Ditch 95Hargrave, Nhants; Rose Cottage 69Harrold, Bedsbridge 7,8St Peter's church 22Hastings Hill, Oxon; C14th arch 82Hatfield House, Herts 37haymeadows 1, 86hazelnut shells 86Heaberht, Bishop of Worcester 85heads, stoneRoman; Chipping Norton, Oxon 80'Celtic', Oxon 116, 117-20, 121hearth base, stone; Yarnton, Oxon 92hearthsbon Age; Biddenham, Beds 12Roman; Stanwick, Nhants 77, 78Saxon; Eynsham, Oxon 104medievalBanbury, Oxon 100Bedford, Newnham Priory; pitched-tile 22Stratton DMV, Beds 21West Cotton, Nhants 69Westbury by Shenley, Bucks 45Hemel-Humber Petrofina Pipeline 16hengesCardington, Beds 10Cotton Henge, Raunds, Nhants 69, 70L,ower Heyford, Oxon; enclosure proved unlikely to be 79-80Henry I, King of England 104Henry VIII, King of England 34Henry of Cuinnor 92Higgins family of Bradwell, Milton Keynes 56High Wycombe, Bucks; Castle Hill House 39-40Higham Ferrers, Nhants; SP 958694 61-2Highmoor, Oxon; Swan Wood 80, 81hillfortsBorough Hill, Daventry, Nhants 60Crow Hill, Irthlingborough, Nhants 65Danesfield, Medmenham, Bucks 40Dyke Hills, Dorchester, Oxon 98, 101Uffington Castle, Oxon 97hoardsBronze Age smith's; Bicester, Oxon 100Roman coin forger's; Fenny Stratford, Bucks (Magiovinium) 40,41, 42, 47Hockliffe, Beds; Methodist Chapel 25hoggin 23Holdenby, Nhants; Saxon cemetery 31Holland, Henry 38hollow waysCaldecotte, Bucks 44Souldern, Oxon 101Tattenhoe, Bucks 46,47Westbury by Shenley, Bucks 44, 45hollowsbon Age work; Salford Quarry, Beds 15Saxon; Raunds, Nhants 71possible horticultural, Oxford 93Home Guard 116horn cores, cattle; Abingdon, Oxon 110horse, white; Uffington, Oxon 96-7horse bones, bon Age; Salford Quarry, Beds 15horseshoesHoughton Regis area, Beds 30Leighton Buzzartl, Beds 30Houghton Conquest, Beds 34Houghton Park, Beds 34, 37Roman site 28, 29Houghton Regis, Bedsfieldwalking 28, 29, 30Houghton Regis Hall 25houses (see also: halls; roundhouses; sunken featured buildings;timber framed buildings)Iron Age (see also roundhouses)Gill Mill, Ducklington, Oxon 95Yarnton, Oxon 87Roman (see also villas)Sandy, Beds 16, 17Saxo-Norman; Spelsbury, Oxon 84, 85medievalEynsham Abbey, Oxon 107Oxford 92-3Stratton, Beds 21post-medievalChipping Norton, Oxon; New Chalford Farm 80country, Beds 25; and market towns 34-7Humphreys, Edmund (f1.1767, brewer, of Luton, Beds) 36hut circles, bon Age see roundhouseshuts, medieval cob; Oxford 93hypocaust; Stanwick, Nhants 76, 77129

Ibstone, Oxon; stone head 120ice-houses 40implements, country 121-3industrial suburb, Roman; Towcester, Nhants 72inhumationsprehistoricLittle Milton, Oxon 94Redlands Farm, Stanwick, Nhants 76BeakerRedlands Farm, Stanwick, Nhants 76Iron Age/Roman; Towcester, Nhants 73RomanFenny Stratford (Magiovinitun) 40,41Gayton, Nhants 71Gill Mill, Ducklington, Oxon 96nail scatter patterns 102Raunds, Nhants 69Sandy, Beds 16, 17; possible indigenous tradition 16Stanwick, Nhants 78Yarnton, Oxon 89; with dog 89; with heads by feet 89Saxonwith ivory rings 31-4Lower Heyford, Oxon 80medievalAbingdon, Oxon 98Thame, Oxon, with 'ear-muffs' 94post-medievalAbingdon, Oxon; irregular 110Geddington, Nhants 60West Hannery, Oxon 102undatedLittle Tew, Oxon 82Kirby Hall gardens, Nhants 61Wadington, Oxon 107insect remainsNorth Furzton, Bucks 1Salford Quarry, Beds 13Irchester, Nhants 62Iron Age sites not indexed by features or findsHigham Feffers, Nhants 62Lake End, Bucks 39lower Windrush valley 95Thurleigh, Beds 16iron objects see: arrowheads; coin dies; country implements;horseshoes; patteniron-working (see also slag)Roman; Dunstable, Beds 26Saxon smithy; Yarnton, Oxon 90, 92medieval; Weldon, Nhants 73ironstone quarrying, Roman; Raunds, Nhants 69Irthlingborough, NhantsCrow Hill hillfort 65Station Road 62ivory objects, Saxonaltar cross, Bury St Edmunds 32casket; Eynsham, Oxon 102, 104rings in C5th-6th burials 31-4statuette of saint; Eynsham, Oxon 102, 104Kempston, Beds; Saxon cemetery 31, 33Kent, Richard Grey, 3rd Earl of 34Kettering, Nhantsplanning constraints map 58Saxon cemetery 33kilnsagricultural, medieval; Tattenhoe, Bucks 46,47lime, medieval; Witney, Oxon 95potteryRoman; Yarnton, Oxon 89medieval: Brill, Bucks 39; Stanion, Nhants 71-2post-medieval; Chesham, Bucks 1tilemedieval; Brill, Bucks 39unidentifiedRoman; Highmoor, Oxon. unverified 80King, Isaac, of Bradwell, Milton Keynes 56Kirby Hall, Gretton, Nhants; gardens 1, 37, 58, 61kitchen, medieval; Newnham Priory, Bedford 22Knyff, Leonard 37Lactodurum Roman town see Towcesterladder, possible; Saxon, Yarnton, Oxon 92Lake End, Bucks 39latrine chamber; Oriel College, Oxford 1lavatory blocks, medieval; Eynsham Abbey, Oxon 107lead objects, medievalseal matrix; Oxford 92,93token; Abingdon, Oxon 114leather objectsRomanGill Mill, Ducklington, Oxon 96Wavendon Gate, Bucks; saddle 1medieval; shoes, Warren Villa Quarry, Beds 19leats, Roman; Stanwick, Nhants 76Leighton Buzzard, Beds2-4 Lake Street 25Leighton-Linslade bypass 15-16Southem Bypass 30Limbury, Beds; Waulud's Bank Saxon burials 31lime wash, late Saxon; Eynsham, Oxon 104Linnell family of Bradwell, Milton Keynes 56Little Brickhill, Bucks 39Little Milton, Oxon; Betts Farm 94Little Tew, Oxon; banked enclosure 82, 83Littlepark, Ampthill, Beds 34Local Defence Volunteers 116Long Buckby Castle, Nhants 75-6Long Wittenham, Oxon; Saxon cemetery 31, 33loomweightsbon Age, triangular; Eton College, Berio 39Saxon, circular; Yamton, Oxon 89Lots Hole, Bucks 39Lower Heyford, Oxon; double banked enclosure 79-80Luton, Bedsprehistoric 26Roman 26Saxon; Argyll Avenue cemetery 31post-medieval; interaction with country houses 34-6sites: Clarence Hotel 36, 37; Gooseberry Hill 26; Market Hill;Thomas Marsom's house 36, 37; Park Square 35, 36Luton Hoc, Beds 35-6, 37lynchetsAshdown Park, Oxon 80Chipping Norton, Oxon 80Grove Fann, Beds 30Lysons, Samuel 21MI-Al link, Nhants 71,72M40, Waterstock to Welidlebury section 102130

Magioviniutn Roman town, Bow Brickhill, Bucks 39, 40, 41, 42magnetometer surveysCotton Henge, Raunds, Nhants 69, 70(CIERaunds area, early to middle Saxon scatters 65, 67Manger, Uffington, Oxon 97manor houses (see also moated sites)Cogges, Witney, Oxon 79, 94Eynsham, Oxon 107manuring patterns 87, 111Marsom, Thomas, of Luton 36,37Maulden Mausoleum, Beds 25Medmenham, Bucks; Danesfield hillfort 40Meppershall, Beds; Roman villa 16Mercia, kingdom of; royal charter 85Merton, OxonNeolithic site 85Bronze and Iron Age site (SP 571170) 85, 102Roman road and bridge 85mesolithic sitesAbingdon, Oxon 111, 113,114Houghton Regis area, Beds 28, 29, 30metal detectorists 40middens, burnt flint in prehistoric 39Middleton Cheney, Nhants 62millsRoman; Stanwick, Nhants 76medieval and post-medievalBarton, Beds 25Caldecotte, Bucks 44Stoke Bruerne, Nhants, possible 72Stotfold, Beds 25Millward family of Bradwell, Milton Keynes 56Milton Keynes area, Buckscessation of Unit's fieldwork 39, 40see also: Bancroft; Bradwell; Caldecotte; North Furzton;Tattenhoe; Wavendon Gate; Westbury-by-ShenleyMilton Malsor, Nhants; bypass 71Mingies Ditch, Hardwick with Yelford, Oxon 95moated sitesAlthorp, Nhants 37,38Caldecotte, Bucks 44Cogges, Oxon 109Stratton DMV, Beds 19, 21Tattenhoe, Bucks 46,47Thurleigh, Beds 22-3Westbury by Shenley, Bucks 44, 45, 46Witney, Oxon 95Moggerhanger, Beds; Park House 25monastic buildingsAbingdon, Oxon 114Bedford; Newnham Priory 20, 21-2Eynsham, Oxon 102, 103-6, 107, 108Mongewell, Oxon; Grim's Ditch 80,81monolithsBarton Abbey, Oxon 82Enstone, Oxon 82Over Norton, Oxon 82Montagu of Beaulieu, Edward Douglas-Scott-Montagu, 3rd Baron3,6Morland, Mr (fl.1753-66, schoolmaster of Witney, Oxon) 94Morris, Roger 38mortar, daub consisting of; middle Saxon, Eynsham, Oxon 104mortar mixers, late Saxon; Eynsham, Oxon 104, 106mosaics, Roman (see also tesserae)Stanwick, Oxon 77,78Westbury by Shenley, Bucks 45mound, truncated; Little Tew, Oxon 82muck-ralce 122nails, iron coffin 102, 107narwhal 32Naseby, Nhants 75, 76Nassington, Nhants; Saxon cemetery 31, 32Nature Conservancy Council; Prime Sites of Nature ConservationImportance 7Nettlebed, Oxon; Swan Wood 80, 81New Chalford Farm, Chipping Norton, Oxon 80Niedermendig lava quernstones; Yarnton, Oxon 92North Furzton, Bucks; ring-ditch complex 1North Leigh, Oxon; East End Roman villa 79, 82Northamptonbon Age settlement, ICing's Heath 64, 66Belgic/Roman; 6 Peveril's Way 62SaxonGuildhall extension 58, 62, 63-4St Gregory's church 62medieval40-42 Abington Square 62Church Lane 62Freeschool Street 62, 63Guildhall extension 58, 63-4St John's Street 64post-medieval40-42 Abington Square 62multiperiod pottery scatters; Brackmills Extension 64, 65Norway, Saxon contacts with 32nutshells; Yarnton, Oxon 86Ohthere (C9th Norwegian merchant) 32oppidum, Roman; Abingdon, Oxon 97-8, 99optical stimulated luminescence (OSL) 97opus signinum; Stanwick, Nhants 76oral history 48, 49,50Ordnance Survey Correspondent system 40Orkney Islands, Saxon contacts with 32Oseney Abbey, Oxford 92OSL (optical stimulated luminescence) 97Otmoor, Oxon 1Ouzel brook valley, Beds 28, 29,30ovens (see also: corn dryers; kilns)Roman corn- or pot-drying; Yarnton, Oxon 89medievalOxford, semicircular 92Tattenhoe, Bucks; bread- 46,47Witney, Oxon 95undated; Northampton, Guildhall extension 64Over Norton, Oxon 82Oxey Mead, Yamton, Oxon 86, 87Oxfordbon Age; Port Meadow 95, 101medievalBartlemas House and leper hospital chapel 93Oseney Abbey 92Park End Street, former Halls Brewery 92-3post-medieval; Oriel College, (latrine chamber) 1, (real tenniscourt) 93-4painted decorationRoman wall plaster; Stanwick, Nhants 76, 78131

C14th115th wall painting; St Mary's Church, Bedford 6palacesSaxon; Northampton 62Saxo-Norman; Spelsbury, Oxon 84, 85medievalAbingdon, Oxon 113-14Witney, Oxon 79palisade trenchesSaxon; Eynsham, Oxon 104undated; Abingdon, Oxon 113parchmarks 23, 82parksAmpthill, Beds 34Houghton, Beds 34Littlepark, Beds 34Over Norton, Oxon 82Passenham, Nhants 64-5pastoralism, Iron Age seasonal 1, 86, 95patten, medieval iron; Leighton Buzzard 30Pavenham, Beds 25peat formation 19pe,e1 (baker's implement) 122pellets, Roman bronze coin 40, 42periglacial features; Cardington, Beds 10, 11Petrofina Pipeline 16photography, aerialairship 6, 7climate and 23, 82, 101pick, Thames; Abingdon, Oxon 111, 114Piddington, Nhants; Roman villa 1pig bones, prehistoric 12, 15pillboxes, Second World War 115-16pillow mound complex, possible; Ashdown Park, Oxon 80pipeline, Petrofina Hemel-Humber 16pipes, clay tobacco; Geddington, Nhants 60pit alignments, bon AgeNorthampton, ICing's Heath 64,66Wollaston, Nhants 73, 74, 75pits (see also: flax retting pits; pit alignments; quarries; sand pit)prehistoricCardington, Beds 10, 11Little Milton, Oxon; large grave pit 94Sutton Courtenay, Oxon 99neolithicWillington Quarry, Beds 12Yamton, Oxon; Mordake ware and flints 87Beaker 87Stanwick, Nhants 76Yamton, Oxon 87bon AgeAgars Plough, Eton College, Berks 39Aylesbury, Bucks 39Biddenham, Beds 12Burton Latimer, Nhants; sub-circular 71Gayton, Nhants, 71Merton, Oxon 85Raunds, Nhants, 69Salford Quarry, Beds 15Yamton, Oxon, 87,89RomanDunstable 26, 27Gill Mill, Ducklington, Oxon 95-6Raunds, Nhants; quarry 69Towcester, Nhants, 73Wavendon Gate, Bucks 1SaxonEynsham, Oxon 104Raunds, Nhants 67medievalAbingdon, Oxon 111Bedford, Newnham Priory; charnel- 22Northampton 63Raunds, Nhants 71planning constraints maps 6,58plant remains (see also: flax; wheat)Gill Mill, Ducklington, Oxon 95Wavendon Gate, Bucks 1Westbury by Shenley, Bucks 45Yarnton, Oxon 87plaster, painted Roman wall-; Stanwick, Nhants 76,78platform, timber; Yarnton, Oxon 86plough damage 12, 13,15plough-marks (see also ridge and furrow).bon Age; Warren Villas Quarry, Beds 19plum stones; Salford Quarry, Beds 15pollen 13, 87pondsRoman; Gill Mill, Ducklington, Oxon 96medievalBicester, Oxon 100Caldecotte, Bucks 44Tattenhoe, Bucks 46,47post-medievalOver Norton Park, Oxon 82post-built structuresbon Age; Yamton, Oxon 87Saxon; Denford, Nhants 66medieval; Northampton 63-4post-hole alignmentsGill Mill, Ducklington, Oxon 96Willington Quarry, Beds 12post-holesprehistoric; Sutton Courtenay, Oxon 99bon AgeAylesbury, Bucks 39Merton, Oxon; with burnt stone 85RomanTowcester, Nhants 73Yarnton, Oxon 89Saxon; Abingdon, Oxon 92Norman; Northampton 63post pads, Roman; Yamton, Oxon 89post pits, Saxon; Eynsham, Oxon 104potteryneolithiccord-impressed; Warren Villas Quarry, Beds 19Mortlake Ware; Yamton, Oxon 87other; Cardington, Beds 10late neolithic/early Bronze AgeHoughton Regis, Beds 28,29Willington Quarry, Beds 12BeakerAbingdon, Oxon 92Stanwick, Nhants 76West Cotton, Nhants 69Bronze Agecollared urns: Abingdon, Oxon 112,114; Merton, Oxon 85.urns; Merton, Oxon 85other; Abingdon, Oxon 111bon AgeAbingdon, Oxon, 110-11; Aylesbury, Bucks, 39; Biddenham,Beds 12; Brackmills Extension, Outer Northampton 64, 65;1.32

Cumnor, Oxon 86; Daventry, Nhants; Borough Hill 60;Dunstable, Beds 26,28; Denford, Nhants 66; Gayton, Nhants 71;Leighton Buzzard Southern Bypass 30; Raunds, Nhants 66-7;Salford Quarry, Beds 15; Thrapston, Nhants 72late Iron AgeAbingdon, Oxon 115; Cardington, Beds 11; Houghton Regis,Beds 28, 29; Towcester, Nhants, 73; Willington Quarry, Beds12; Yamton, oxon, 89BelgicAston Clinton, Bucks 39; Dunstable, Beds 26; Houghton Regis,Beds 28,29-, Northampton 62Romanamphora, southern Spanish; Abingdon, Oxon 111butt-beakers; Abingdon, Oxon, 98coarse ware: Dunstable, Beds 26; Fenny Stratford, Bucks(Magiovinitun) 40, 41,42; Sutton Courtenay, Oxon 99colour-coated: Abingdon, Oxon 111; Chipping Norton, Oxon80grey wares: Abingdon, Oxon 111, 113; Fenny Stratford, Bucks(Magiovinium) 40, 41, 42Nene Valley; Abingdon, Oxon 111Oxfordshire; Abingdon, Oxon 111, 114Samian Ware: Abingdon, Oxon 98, 111; Cardington, Beds 11;Chipping Norton, Oxon 80; Towcester, Nhants 73St Remy ware; Abingdon, Oxon 98Terra Nigra; Abingdon, Oxon 98others: Abingdon, Oxon 97, 109, 111, 113, 114-15; Bicester,Oxon 109; Brixworth, Nhants 59; Cardington, Beds 11;Chilson, Oxon 80; Denford, Nhants 66; Eynsham, Oxon 104;Fenny Stratford, Bucks (Magiovinium) 41; Gayton, Nhants 71;Higham Ferrers, Nhants 61,62; Highmoor, Oxon 80; HoughtonRegis, Beds 28, 29; Irchester, Nhants 62; Leighton Buzzard,Beds 30; Luton, Beds 26; Northampton 62; Raunds, Nhants66-7; Sandy, Beds 16; Stanwick, Nhants 78; Towcester, Nhants,73; Uffington, Oxon 97; Walton Hall, Bucks 43; Yamton, Oxon89Saxonflint-tempered, Saxo-Norman; Woodstock, Oxon 85grass-tempered; Aylesbury, Bucks 39; Little Tew, Oxon 82Ipswich ware: Denford, Nhants 65; Hargrave, Nhants 69Oxford Fabric B; Wallingford, Oxon 93St Neots ware; Wallingford, Oxon 93stamp-decorated; Eynsham 107others: Abingdon, Oxon 92, 115; Brackley, Nhants, 59;Brackmills Extension, Outer Northampton 64, 65; Denford,Nhants 65; Eynsham, Oxon 102, 107; Hargrave, Nhants, 69;Higham Ferrers, Nhants 61, 62; Leighton Buzzard, Beds Ar,Raunds, Nhants 65-9, 71, 75; Stanwick, Nhants 78; Thame,Oxon 94medievalAbingdon, Oxon 111, 113, 114; Banbury, Oxon 100; Bedford,Newnham Priory 22; Brackmills Extension, Outer Northampton64, 65; Higham Ferrers, Nhants 61; Houghton Regis, Beds 30;Irthlingborough, Nhants 62; Leighton Buzzard, Beds 30;Northampton 62; Over Norton Park, Oxon 82; Raunds, Nhants71, 75; Salford Quarry, Beds 15; Stanion, Nhants 71,72; StokeBrueme, Nhants 72; Stopsley, Beds, 26; Stratton DMV, Beds19, 21; Towcester, Nhants 73; Weldon, Nhants 73Cl6th; Oriel College, Oxford 93Cl8th/19th; Abingdon, Oxon 113pottery residues 75Preston Crowmarsh, Oxon 122Puddlehill, Beds; Saxon settlement 28,29purse, ivory ring used to close Saxon 32Pytchley Lodge, Nhants 71quarriesclayTattenhoe, Bucks, C16/17th 46,47Westbury by Shenley, Bucks, medieval 45gravelAbingdon, Oxon, medieval 111, 112-13Eynsham, Oxon, post-medieval 107Thrapston, Nhants, undated 72ironstone; Raunds, Nhants, Roman 69limestone, Weldon, Nhants, medieval 73quernsRoman; Sandy, Beds 16Saxon, Niedermendig lava; Yarnton, Oxon 92ram, bronze statuette of; Fenny Stratford, Bucks 41,42Raunds, Nhantsprehistoric; Cotton Henge 69, 70; Scalley Farm 66-7Roman; Scalley Farm 66-7Saxon and medieval: Raunds village 69, 71; Scalley Farm 66-7,69Raunds Area Project 65-71, 75see also: Denford; Hargrave; Raunds; Stanwick; West Cottonreal tennis court; Oxford 93-4remote sensing 10resident archaeologist, role of 15, 16residuesfood late Iron Age 15pottery 75ridge and furrow ploughingBidwell, Beds 30Caldecotte, Bucks 44Chipping Norton, Oxon 80Leighton-Linslade bypass 15Stanwick, Nhants 78Tattenhoe, Bucks 46,47Walton Hall, Bucks 43ring, Cl6th; Brackley, Nhants 59ring-ditches (see also: barrows; roundhouses)Cardington, Beds 8, 9, 10-11Finmere, Oxon 79Higham Ferrers, Nhants 61, 62Merton, Oxon 85, 102North Furzton, Bucks 1Raunds, Nhants 67West Cotton, Nhants 69Willington Quarry, Beds 11-12ritual monuments, prehistoric see: Cardington; Willington Quarryroad blocks, war-time 116roads (see also; hollow ways; trackways)RomanBrize Norton, Oxon (possible) 101Ducklington, Oxon 1, 95,96Merton, Oxon 102Sandy, Beds 16, 17medievalAbingdon, Oxon 113West Cotton, Nhants 69modern construction projects 79; resident archaeologist's role 15,16Rocque, John (f11761, cartographer) 97,98Roger of Comenore (fl.1265) 92, 93roundhouses (see also ring-ditches)Iron Age1Cing's Heath, Northampton 64,66Raunds, Nhants 67133

Salford Quarry, Beds 13, 14, 15Yamton, Oxon 87, 89Roman, stone; Stanwick, Nhants 77, 78Royal Observer Corps 116Rupert, Prince, of Bavaria 37saddle, Roman leather; Wavendon Gate, Bucks 1Salford Quarry, Beds; Iron Age settlement 13, 14, 15sand pit, Cl4th; Brill, Bucks 39Sandy, BedsRoman; Municipal Cemetery 16,17see also Warren Villas QuarrysarsensAshdown Park, Oxon 80Uffmgton Casde, Oxon 97Saunders, Thomas, of Brill, Bucks 39Saxon settlement not indexed by features or findsPuddlehill, Beds 28,29Scandinavia, Saxon trade with 32-3Scotland; Saxon contacts 33sculpture (see also: heads, stone; statuettes)gilded and red painted, Abingdon, Oxon 110seal matrix, medieval; Oxford 92, 93Sealed ICnot 75, 76seals, medievalBradwell Abbey, Milton Keynes, Bucks 47with letter 'A'; Oxford 93seasonal occupation, Iron Age 1, 86, 95Seaton, Devon; stone head 117seeds, carbonisedlion Age; Salford Quarry, Beds 13, 15Roman; Yarnton, Oxon 89settlement pattern 86Iron Age 16, 28,29Roman 16medieval 19Stratton, Beds 21Tattenhoe, Bucks 46,47Shambrook, Beds; Baptist Chapel 25'shavick' (implement) 122sheep bones; Salford Quarry, Beds 15Shetland, Saxon trade with 32Shillington, Beds; barn 25shoes, medieval; Warren Villas Quarry, Beds 19Simon de Beauchamp (f1.1166) 21skimmer, brass 122Skipper, Ian 5slaglion Age: Salford Quarry, Beds 15; Yamton, Oxon 89Roman; Houghton Regis, Beds 8, 29Saxon; Yarnton, Oxon 92medievalBedford, Newnham Priory 22Weldon, Nhants 73Slatter, Canon; History of the Parish of Whitchurch 117Smirke, Samuel 36smithy, C7th; Yarnton, Oxon 90, 92Soane, Sir John 25Souldern, Oxon; hollow way 101Spelsbury, Oxon 82, 84, 85Spencer family of Althorp 37, 38spindle whorls, Saxon bone; Abingdon, Oxon 92spoon, cook's basting 122, 123spur stones; Harrold bridge, Beds 8squatter occupation, late Roman 1; Stanwick, Nhants 78Stammers, Harry James, of Bradwell, Milton Keynes, Bucks 49Stanion, Nhants; medieval kiln 71-2Stanton Harcourt, Oxon; Gravelly Guy 95Stanwick, NhantsHill House 71Redlands Faim Roman villa 75, 76, 77, 78-9statuettesRoman bronze ram; Fenny Stratford, Bucks 41, 42, 43late Saxon ivory saint; Eynsham, Oxon 102, 104Stert, River 97, 98, 99Stockwood Park, Luton, Beds 35, 36, 37Stoke Bruerne, Nhants; medieval 72Stoke Mandeville, Bucks; old churchyard site 39stone objects see: axes; flint implements; hammerstone; heads;querns; sculpture; spur stone; stones, burnt; tesserae; weightsstones, burnt Iron AgeBiddenham, Beds 12Merton, Oxon 85Stopsley, Beds; Whitehill Farm 26Stotfold, Beds 25Stow, Lincs 104Stratton DMV, Beds 19, 21Streatleybury Farm, Beds; barn 25sumps, medieval; Westbury by Shenley, Bucks 46Sunderland, Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of 37Sunderland, Charles Spencer, 5th Earl of 38sunken featured buildingsAbingdon, Oxon 92Eynsham, Oxon 104Stanwick, Nhants 78Yamton, Oxon 89, 92Surridge family of Bradwell, Milton Keynes 56Sutton Courtenay, Oxon; Otney gravel pits, prehistoric and Romansite 98-9Swalcliffe, Oxon; medieval barns 109sword fragment. Bronze Age; Bicester, Oxon 100tanninglion Age; Salford Quarry, Beds 13, 15late medieval; Abingdon, Oxon 110Taranis, god; wheel symbol, Wavendon Gate, Bucks 1Tattenhoe DMV, Milton Keynes, Bucks 46,47Taylor, Sir Robert 38Tebworth, Beds; Methodist Chapel 25temples, RomanBidwell, Beds (possible) 1Gill Mill, Ducklington, Oxon (possible) 96North Leigh, Oxon; East End villa 82Thrapston, Nhants (postulated) 72tenements', medieval; Northampton 64tesseraeGill Mill, Ducklington, Oxon 96Stanwick, Nhants 77, 78Westbury by Shenley, Bucks 45Thame, OxonPrebendal 93St Mary's church 94Thames Flood Relief Scheme 39Thames-Evenlode confluence area 86thatcher's needle 121, 122Theedway (Theodweg, Edeway, ancient road) 15, 28, 29, 30Thorn, Beds 30Thorngreen, Beds 30Thorpe, John (f1.1608, architect) 34Thrapston, Nhants; Trust House Forte 72134

threshing floor, Roman; Stanwick, Nhants 77, 78Thurleigh, BedsIron Age settlement 16moated site, Blackburn Hall 22-3Tiberius Claudius Severus; stamp on Roman tegula, Piddington,Nhants 1Tidmarsh, Oxon; stone head 118tiles (see also under kilns)RomanAbingdon, Oxon 111Houghton Regis, Beds 28,29Irchester, Nhants 62Piddington, Nhants 1; stamped tegula 1medievalfloor: line-impressed, Bedford 6; Churchill, Oxon 80roof: crested, Benefield, Nhants 59; peg, Dunstable 28post-medievalfloor; Oxford 94mathematical 37-8roofing; Chesham, Bucks 1timber framed buildingsAbingdon, Oxon; 64 Bath Street 111Bedford; Newnham Priory (stone founded, C14th) 22Beeston, Beds; Elm Farmhouse 25Brogborough, Beds; Round House 25Dunstable, Beds; 16-20 West Street 25Eynsham, Oxon; middle Saxon fragment of wall face 102Great Bramingham Farmhouse, Beds 25Leighton Buzzard, Beds; 2-4 Lake Street 25Sandy, Beds; late Roman stone founded 16, 17Thurleigh, Beds; Blackburn Hall 22-3Wilstead, Beds; Duck End Farm 23, 25Yielden, Beds; Spring Lane 25Timms family of Bradwell, Milton Keynes 56Tite family of Bradwell, Milton Keynes 56token, lead; Abingdon, Oxon 114Towc,ester, Nhants 72-3Iron Age/Roman 72-3medieval 73post-medieval 73Old Tiffield Road 72-3Saracen's Head Hotel 73SP 69384893, SP 69414891 73townsRomanAbingdon, Oxon 97-8.99Duston, Nhants 62Sandy, Beds 16see also: Magiovinium; Towcesterpost-medieval market, Beds 34-7Townsend family of Bradwell, Milton Keynes 56trackways (see also: droveways; hollow ways; Theedway; roads)Iron AgeNorthampton 64,66RomanAbingdon, Oxon 113Higham Ferrers, Nhants 62Sutton Courtenay, Oxon 98-9medievalStratton DMV, Beds 21undatedAbingdon, Oxon 111, 112, 113, 114trade, early Saxon 32Uffmgton, OxonWhite Horse Hill project 96-7Uffington Castle 97Upper Faxton, Nhants 73Upton, Nhants 65urban development; influence of country houses 34-7Usher, John 25vaults, burialGeddington, Nhants 60West Hannery, Oxon 102Vikings 5; ivory chessmen 32village settlement patterns 19, 21villages, deserted and shrunkenCaldecotte, Bucks 43, 44Great Houghton, Nhants 64, 65Stratton, Beds 19, 21Tattenhoe, Bucks 46,47Walton Hall, Bucks 43Westbury by Shenley, Bucks 1, 44, 45, 46villas, RomanGayton, Nhants 71Meppershall, Beds 16North Leigh, Oxon; East End 79, 82Piddington, Nhants 1Stanwick, Nhants 75, 76, 77, 78-9Walkendorf, Erik, Archbishop 32wall finishesRoman; painted plaster, Stanwick, Nhants 76, 78Saxondaub, mortar; Eynsham, Oxon 104wall-face fragment; Eynsham, Oxon 102medieval; painting, St Mary's Church, Bedford 6Waller, Thomas, of Luton, Beds 36Wallingford, Oxonlate Bronze Age eyot 1late Saxon 93walls (see also wall finishes)RomanStanwick, Nhants; curtain 76, 77, 78Towcester, Nhants 73medievalEynsham, Oxon; monastic 107, 108West Cotton, Nhants; botmdary 69early post-medieval boundary; Banbury, Oxon 100walrus ivory 32Walton Hall, Bucks; Roman and medieval 43War, Second World; pillboxes 115.16warehouse, Cl9th; Banbury, Oxon 100Warren Villas Quarry, near Sandy, Beds 1, 18, 19waterholes, possibly Saxon; Yarnton, Oxon 92waterlogged deposits 1watermills see millsWatkins Farm, Oxon 95Watlington, Oxon; St Leonard's church 107Waulud's Bank, Limbury, Beds 31Wavendon Gate, Bucks; Romano-British site 1,43weatherboarding, Roman; Wavendon Gate, Bucks 1weigh6 (see also loom-weights)fish-trapIrchester, Nhants 62Warren Villas Quarry, Beds 19Weldon, Nhants; Church Street 73well pale 122. 123135

wellsIron Age; Salford Quarry, Beds 15Roman 1Romano-Celtic; St Anns', Caversham, Oxon 118, 120Saxon; Eynsham, Oxon 104post-medievalBanbury, Oxon 100Towcester, Nhants 73Welney, Norfolk 32Wendlebury, Oxon 102West Challow, Oxon; stone head 117West Cotton, Nhants 75prehistoric 8, 69, 99Saxon 69, 78medieval 69West Hannery, Oxon; church vaults 102Westbury by Shenley, Bucks 47late Iron Age 44,45Roman 44, 45medieval 1, 44, 45, 46wetlands 1wheatCardington, Beds 11Warren Villas Quarry, Beds 1Yamton, Oxon 89wheel symbol of Taranis; Wavendon Gate, Bucks 1Whitchurch, Oxon; stone head 117Whitechurch Hill, Oxon 122Willington, Beds 21Willington Quarry, Beds; prehistoric cerimonial site 11-12Wilstead, Beds; Duck End Farm 23, 25wine bottles, C18th; Cogges, Witney, Oxon 94Wingfield, BedsRoman site 28,29medieval potsherds 30Witney, Oxon (see also Cogges)Bishop's Palace 79Mount Mills; manorial farm 95Wobum Abbey, Beds 26, 34, 37Wollaston, Nhants; IA enclosure 73, 74, 75Wood, Anthony (1632-95, antiquary) 104, 109Woodcote, Oxon; stone head 116, 117, 118wooden objectsRoman; Gill Mill, Ducklington, Oxon 96Saxon ladder; Yarnton, Oxon 92post-medieval baker's bat 122woodlandprehistoric clearances 1, 12sequence 1Woodstock, Oxon; Fletcher's House 85Wootton, John 38Wootton House, Beds 25workshop, middle Iron Age; Yamton, Oxon 89Wormleighton, Warks 37Wrest Park, Beds 23, 24, 37writing tablet, Roman; Wavendon Gate, Bucks 1Wulfbere, King of Mercia 94Wylie family of Bradwell, Milton Keynes 56Yarnton, Oxon; Worton Rectory Farm Iron Age to Saxon settlement86-91, 92Yielden, Beds; Spring Lane 25136

CBA GROUP 9area9 10 20m