T H A M E S V A L L E Y
S E R V I C E S
Trajan House, Mill Street, Osney, Oxford
Archaeological Watching Brief
by Andy Mundin
Site Code: MSO04/35
(SP 5040 0595) Trajan House, Mill Street, Osney, Oxford
An Archaeological Watching Brief
For WE Black Ltd
by Andrew Mundin
Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd
March 2010 Summary
Site name: Trajan House, Mill Street, Osney, Oxford
Grid reference: SP 5040 0595
Site activity: Watching Brief
Date and duration of project: 16th December 2009 to 19th January 2010
Project manager: Joanna Pine
Site supervisor: Tim Dawson, Andy Taylor and Andrew Mundin
Site code: MSO04/35
Area of site: 0.24ha
Summary of results: Two lift pits were observed during excavation. No other groundworks were observed due to foundation designs not requiring deep truncation. New ground beams mostly disturbed modern made ground and demolition deposits. A layer in each lift pit, at a depth of c.0.6m, contained 15th/16th century pottery, but also more modern finds. The lowest levels could not be clearly identified as being of Medieval date, as no finds were recovered.
Location and reference of archive: The archive is presently held at Thames Valley Archaeological Services, Reading and will be deposited at Oxfordshire Museums Service in due course, with accession code OXCMS 2004.50.
This report may be copied for bona fide research or planning purposes without the explicit permission of the copyright holder
Report edited/checked by: Steve Ford 31.03.2010 Steve Preston 31.03.2010
i Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd, 47–49 De Beauvoir Road, Reading RG1 5NR Tel. (0118) 926 0552; Fax (0118) 926 0553; email [email protected]; website : www.tvas.co.uk Trajan House, Mill Street, Osney, Oxford An Archaeological Watching Brief
by Andrew Mundin
Report 04/35b
Introduction
This report documents the results of an archaeological watching brief carried out at Trajan House, Mill Street,
Osney, Oxford (SP 5040 0595) (Fig. 1). The site was an irregular shaped plot of land of 0.24ha on the west side of Mill Street, directly north of the disused Osney Mill. The work was commissioned by Mr Tony Nolan of
Ardent Ltd, Suite 2, Temple Court, 107 Oxford Road, Oxford, OX4 2ER, on behalf of WE Black Ltd, Hawridge
Place, Hawridge, Bucks, HP5 2UG.
Planning permission (70/20387/A) has been gained from Oxford City Council to alter the existing building, leaving initially only the core steelwork and concrete bases, modifying the exterior facades and building a new extension and associated lift access. As a consequence of the possibility of archaeological deposits being damaged or destroyed by groundworks, a programme of archaeological work had been requested. Initially, a field evaluation (Pine 2004) established the survival of archaeologically relevant levels on the site. After establishing a foundation plan to mitigate the disturbance of lower archaeology, a watching brief was required on the areas which might potentially disturb archaeological levels, namely; examination of lift pits and any other areas that may require deep excavation such as trenches for ground beams or crane bases.
This is in accordance with the Department of the Environment’s Planning Policy Guidance, Archaeology and Planning (PPG16 1990), and the City Council’s policies on archaeology. This stage of the field investigation was carried out to a specification approved by Mr David Radford, Archaeological Officer for the City Council.
The fieldwork was undertaken by Tim Dawson, Andy Taylor and Andrew Mundin, between 16th December
2009 and 19th January 2010. The site code is MSO 04/35, and is the second report to be produced for this site.
The archive is presently held at Thames Valley Archaeological Services, Reading and will deposited with
Oxfordshire County Museum Service in due course, with the accession code OXCMS.2004.50.
Location, topography and geology
The site is located to the west of Oxford city centre in Osney, on an irregularly-shaped parcel of land, bounded by a Mill race leading off the River Thames, and the course of the Thames itself, to the west. To the east is the southern end of Mill Street, and Osney Cemetery. The main Oxford- Birmingham railway runs to the east of the
1 cemetery. To the south is the abandoned Osney Mill. Osney in effect forms an island between branches of the
Thames. At the time of the groundworks, the frame of the existing structure was all that remained and previous extensions had been demolished (Figs 2 and 3). Only a small amount of Tarmac carparking remained in the north half of the site. The highest point on the site is at 57.4m at its eastern entrance. The underlying geology, according to British Geological Survey, is alluvium, which is directly east and on the opposite side of the river from the Osney Island first (flood plain) terrace deposits (BGS 1982).
Archaeological background
An evaluation was undertaken on this site in 2004. Part of this report contained a desk-based component, of which its findings are summarized below. It was thought that the site had high potential for the presence of archaeological deposits. Prehistoric and Roman findspots had been noted from locations close to the River to the west and north, but of much greater significance was that the site was located close to or even within the grounds of the Augustinian priory of ‘Oseney’ Abbey. This was founded in AD1129 and raised to Abbey status in 1154
(VCH 1979).
The Abbey may not have been affected early on by the Dissolution, in fact becoming the Cathedral of the new diocese of Oxford in 1542. However, the episcopate was transferred from the Abbey to Christchurch in
1546 (Spires, 1928). The construction of this new Cathedral may have reused stone from the Abbey: it has been noted that the bells were transferred there (Spires 1928, 96). Throughout the Civil War in the 17th century, more stone was taken from the Abbey to strengthen Royalist defences. Part of the Grade II Listed outbuildings at
Osney Mill contain elements that may have reused Abbey timbers and structural elements.
A likely layout has been hypothesized, by using mapping and documentary sources, and parts of the Abbey have been investigated archaeologically (Sharpe 1985). The present site would seem to be located on the site of the Great Court, which lead to the refectory and kitchens to the south, and almshouses to the north, the latter thought to lie to the rear of the properties on Barrett Lane. The excavation, to the south of the current site, found at least two phases of waterfront development and associated buildings, fishponds and the final abbey precinct wall.
Evaluation of the proposal site (Pine 2004) showed that 13th-century features had survived in Trench 3
(Fig. 3). Most seemed to be overlaid by 16th-century demolition and made ground. Building stone (limestone) was identified within demolition deposits. It is thought from the mix of pottery recovered from various layers in the evaluation that the earliest construction of the Mill had disturbed Abbey deposits, with further disturbance in
2 the 19th century. There must also have been some disturbance from Trajan House’s original construction, as concrete bases and service cuts were noted within upper deposits.
Objectives and methodology
The purpose of the watching brief was to record any archaeological deposits affected by intrusive ground works.
The foundation design for the new build component of the project took account of the findings of the evaluation.
The foundations, which consisted of piles and groundbeams, were designed to be minimally invasive at depth to allow for preservation in-situ of the vast majority of archaeological deposits on the site. Components of the foundation design possibly of greater depth such as ground beams trenches and lift pits were to be observed as part of the archaeological mitigation reported here.
If any archaeological significant deposits were encountered, these were to be archaeologically excavated down to just below the formation level of the foundations.
Excavation of the lift pit trenches took place under archaeological supervision using a small 360º mechanical excavator, fitted with a bladed bucket.
Results
Before the programme of archaeological works commenced, all but the frame of Trajan House was demolished and piles for the new extension had been placed.
Lift pits
Two lift pits were observed during the watching brief. Both were excavated off the eastern side of the existing frame (Fig. 3). Lift pit 1 was excavated c.5m to the west of evaluation Trench 3, close to a 13th-century feature found in this Trench (Pine 2004). Lift pit 2 was excavated c.5m south west of evaluation Trench 1, close to an areas of medieval or later yard surface (Pine 2004)
Lift Pit 1 took place in an area of carpark. Tarmac was removed over an area 2.7m square , and uncovered crushed concrete and orange gravel to a depth of 0.15m (Fig. 4). A layer of made ground was identified beneath this to a depth of 0.28m. This layer contained modern brick and tile and composed of a dark brown sandy silt
(350). Beneath this another modern made ground, a dark grey/brown clayey silt, which contained sub-angular limestone pieces (351). This extended to a depth of 0.49m. To a depth of 0.62m, a brown sandy silt was noted, with small gravel and limestone pieces clustered at the top of the layer (352). This layer contained two
3 reasonably large sherds of Brill/Boarstall ware dated to between the middle of the 15th to the 16th-century and a small piece of glazed floor tile. It is thought that this material belongs to the later end of its date range, or is residual, as similar contexts in the evaluation and other lift pits found later pottery. Beneath this, to a depth of
0.85m, was a brown/orange sandy gravel (353), which contained a couple of sub-angular limestone blocks, and occasional small pieces of undiagnostic tile. Below this was a loose light orange/yellow clayey silt (354). This may have been redeposited natural geology. No datable material was recovered from this layer, and no cut features were seen at this level. At the base of excavation from 1.47m deep, a piece of machined metal pipe was found in an otherwise sterile layer (355). This layer was a brown/orange sandy gravel. This may well have also been a redeposited natural geology. No features were seen cutting any of these fills within this lift pit trench.
Lift Pit 2 was excavated at the eastern end of the previous building. Below concrete hardcore and scalpins
(0.1m), a layer similar to 350 was noted; this also contained modern building material (356). This layer was seen to a depth of 0.45m. Below this was a layer (357) similar in character to 352, to a depth of 0.9m. One rim sherd, with a handle extension, of red earthenware pottery, of at the earliest, late 16th-century date came from deposit
357. Fragments of animal bone were seen, but not retained. Below this layer was an brown/yellow silty sand
(358), which contained small sub-angular limestone pieces, similar to material seen in 354. This layer was seen to a depth of 0.8m. Below this layer, from 1.2m to the base of excavation at 1.5m, was a red/brown sandy clay
(359). No features were seen cutting any of these fills within this lift pit trench.
Ground beams and service trenches No monitoring of these took place as the maximum depth of excavation for these trenches was 0.6m below ground level. As the data from the lift pit and evaluation trenches indicated, at this depth no deposits of archaeological interest would be encountered. Other services comprised only modification of existing facilities and thus ground disturbance was limited only to areas disturbed when the services were originally installed.
Finds
Pottery by Paul Blinkhorn The pottery assemblage comprised four sherds with a total weight of 163g. It was recorded utilizing the coding system and chronology of the Oxfordshire County type-series (Mellor 1984; 1994), as follows:
OXAM: Brill/Boarstall ware, AD1200–1600. 2 sherds, 89g. OXDR: Red Earthenwares, 1550 onwards. 2 sherds, 74g.
The pottery occurrence by number and weight of sherds per context by fabric type is shown in Appendix 1. The
OXAM sherds are from the neck of a bifid-rim jar, and are probably of mid 15th – 16th century date (Mellor
4 1994, 132). The sherds are all in fairly good condition and show little sign of redeposition. They are typical finds from sites of the period in the city.
Tile by Andrew Mundin Two pieces of tile were recovered from two contexts, totalling 82g. One green glazed, possible floor tile, was recovered from layer 352. One piece of red machine-made tile came from modern made ground 350 in Lift Pit 1.
Conclusion
The excavations for the lift pits were of limited extent both spatially and in depth. The underlying natural geology was not reached. A small number of archaeological finds were recovered and several layers were present, but no cut features. From one of the lift pits (1) were recovered modern objects from close to the bottom of the stratigraphic sequence suggesting that the overburden was also of recent date. The other lift pit (2) appeared to have revealed an in-situ stratigraphic sequence of deposits but with archaeologically relevant levels
(of late/post-medieval date) only just being reached at the base of the trench.
References BGS, 1982, British Geological Survey, 1:50 000, Sheet 236, Solid and Drift Edition, Keyworth Mellor, M, 1984, ‘A summary of the key assemblages. A study of pottery, clay pipes, glass and other finds from fourteen pits, dating from the 16th to the 19th century’, in T G Hassall, C E Halpin and M Mellor, ‘Excavations at St Ebbe's’, Oxoniensia 49, 181–219 Mellor, M, 1994, ‘Oxford Pottery: A Synthesis of middle and late Saxon, medieval and early post-medieval pottery in the Oxford Region’, Oxoniensia 59, 17–217 Pine, J, 2004, ‘Trajan House, Mill Street, Osney, Oxford: an archaeological evaluation’, Thames Valley Archaeological Services report 04/35, Reading PPG 16, 1990, Archaeology and Planning, Dept of the Environment Planning Policy Guidance 16, HMSO Sharpe, J, 1985, ‘Oseney Abbey, Oxford, Archaeological Investigations, 1975-83’, Oxoniensia 50, 95-130 Squires, T, 1928, In West Oxford, Oxford VCH, 1979, Victoria History of the County of Oxford, IV, London
5 APPENDIX 1: Catalogue of Pottery
Deposit No. frags Wt (g) Identification 350 1 24 OXDR: Red Earthenware, 16th century or later 352 2 89 OXAM Brill/Boarstall Ware 13th-16th century 357 1 50 OXDR: Red Earthenware, 16th century or later
6 APPENDIX 2: Catalogue of tile
Deposit No. frags Wt (g) Identification 350 1 30 Machine made 352 1 52 Glazed; floor tile
7 Banbury SITE
Bicester 07000
Witney Thame
OXFORD Abingdon
Wallingford Wantage Didcot Henley-on -Thames
06000
SITE
86000
SP51000 MSO 04/35b Trajan House, Mill Street, Osney, Oxford, 2009 Archaeological watching brief
Figure 1. Location of site within Oxford.
Reproduced from Ordnance Survey Landplan at 1:10 000 Ordnance Survey Licence 100025880 06000
SITE
05900
SP50300 50400
MSO 04/34b Trajan House, Mill Street, Osney, Oxford, 2009 Archaeological watching brief
Figure 2. Location of site off Mill Street, showing site before structural modifications. Reproduced from Ordnance Survey digital mapping under licence. Crown copyright reserved. Scale: 1:1250
Plate 1. Lift pit 1, looking west, scale 1m.
Plate 2. Lift pit 2, looking north-north-west, scale 0.5m. MSO 04/35
Trajan House, Mill Street, Osney, Oxford, 2009 Archaeological watching brief
Plates 1 and 2 TIME CHART
Calendar Years
Modern AD 1901
Victorian AD 1837
Post Medieval AD 1500
Medieval AD 1066
Saxon AD 410
Roman AD 43 BC/AD Iron Age 750 BC
Bronze Age: Late 1300 BC
Bronze Age: Middle 1700 BC
Bronze Age: Early 2100 BC
Neolithic: Late 3300 BC
Neolithic: Early 4300 BC
Mesolithic: Late 6000 BC
Mesolithic: Early 10000 BC
Palaeolithic: Upper 30000 BC
Palaeolithic: Middle 70000 BC
Palaeolithic: Lower 2,000,000 BC Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd, 47-49 De Beauvoir Road, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 5NR
Tel: 0118 9260552 Fax: 0118 9260553 Email: [email protected] Web: www.tvas.co.uk