Archaeology in Marlow www.archaeologyinmarlow.org.uk NEWSLETTER Volume 14 Issue No: 2 April 2015 AiM’s Forthcoming Events

Thursday 30th April Roman Brooches a talk by Justine Bailey, arranged by Archaeology in Marlow as a joint event for AiM and Marlow Archaeo- logical Society Roman brooches can be divided into three main groups, bow brooches, plate brooches and penannulars. All these groups are typologically very diverse which makes them relatively good chronological markers; an introduction to the diver- sity of types and their dating will be provided. Most Roman brooches were made of a range of different copper alloys, though both silver and gold were used occasionally for particular types. Most brooches have some form of decoration, and in many cases this was made of other materi- als that were added to the brooches. Commonest are a variety of styles of champlevé enamelling, and tinning. There are good correlations between date of manufacture, the alloy used to make the brooch, and most types of applied decoration. These relationships will be discussed. 8 pm Garden Room, Liston Hall, Chapel Street, Marlow, SL7 1DD Free parking in the adjacent car park after 7 pm £3 members of AIM and MAS, £4 non-members

Thursday 21st May Operation Nightingale a talk by Phil Andrews of Wessex Archaeology, Site Direc- tor at Barrow Clump, Salisbury Plain Operation Nightingale is an award-winning project established by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation, and involving Wessex Archaeology. Its aim was to in- vestigate how archaeological excavation could be used to aid the recovery of sol- diers injured in Afghanistan. The project has now concluded after three very suc- cessful seasons on Salisbury Plain. The team of archaeologists and soldiers un- earthed a major sixth-century burial site at Barrow Clump, uncovering approxi- mately 60 burials – including Anglo-Saxon warriors. Artefacts uncovered included a sword, shield bosses, spearheads, brooches, beads and other jewellery, as well as a unique wooden drinking vessel with bronze bands. The Anglo-Saxon graves had been dug into and around a large, still upstanding Early Bronze Age barrow, which itself covered a similarly well-preserved but smaller Beaker burial mound, with Neolithic remains sealed beneath it. Several well preserved Bronze Age cremation burials also survived. 8 pm Garden Room, Liston Hall, Chapel Street, Marlow, SL7 1DD Free parking in the adjacent car park after 7 pm £3 members, £4 non-members 1 AiM’s Events at a Glance

Thursday 30th April Thursday 25th June ‘Roman Brooches’ AiM AGM followed by a talk by Dr Justine Bayley, specialist in metal ‘Discovering Prehistoric Landscapes: and glass technology of the Roman and medie- Grims Ditch and HS2’ val periods (a joint event for Archaeology in a talk by Sandy Kidd. Marlow and Marlow Archaeological Society Sandy will be speaking on the mysterious organised by AiM) Grims ditch network and discoveries on 8 pm Garden Room, Liston Hall* the HS2 route not far from Marlow. £3.00 AiM and MAS members, £4.00 non- Thousands of ancient relics could be un- members earthed during HS2’s construction making it the biggest archaeological dig Aylesbury st Thursday 21 May Vale –and indeed Britain – has ever seen. ‘Operation Nightingale’ 8 pm Garden Room, Liston Hall* a talk by Phil Andrews of Wessex Archaeology £3.00 AiM members, £4.00 non- Operation Nightingale is an award-winning members project established by the Defence Infrastruc- ture Organisation, and involving Wessex Ar- *Liston Hall’s full address is: chaeology, using archaeology to aid the recov- Chapel Street, Marlow, SL7 1DD. ery of soldiers injured in Afghanistan. 8 pm Garden Room, Liston Hall* Free parking is available in the adjacent £3.00 AiM members, £4.00 non-members car park after 7 pm.

Discovery and Reporting of Treasure When someone discovers an artefact or coins that she or he believes meet the criteria for treasure they have 14 days within which they should notify the coroner in that district.

Saddle Safari CYCLE SALES & SERVICE 9 Dean Street, Marlow, Bucks, SL7 3AA. Tel. 01628 477020 www.saddlesafari.co.uk 2 New Research on Roman Rural Settlements in Southern Britain A joint talk for Archaeology in Marlow (AiM) and Marlow Archaeological Society (MAS), organised by MAS

The Roman rural settlements. settlement project by Reading Uni- Farms can be divided into “enclosed” farms, versity, Cotswold with one or two enclosures, and “complex” Archaeology and farms, with many conjoined enclosures used Archaeological for different activities, e.g. stock, crop proc- Data Systems, essing (such as corn drying), and industry York, is led by (such as iron working) and, possibly, for ritu- Prof. Mike Ful- als. “Enclosed” farms, which are generally of ford. Data Is be- older origin, appear mostly on high ground, and “complex” farms on low ground. ing collected Dr Alex Smith of Reading from many University Villas were surrounded by agricultural es- sources, including tates, usually of “complex” character. The unpublished “grey literature”, on exca- term “villa” includes a wide variety of build- vated sites, nearly half of them developer ings, from palatial Woodchester in the Cots- funded as part of the planning process. wolds to humble Claydon Pike in Oxford- Burials, coins, brooches, pottery and other shire. Roman settlement spread west from finds, as well as environmental remains, earliest settlement in north Kent and the south coast. Upland Cornwall farms were are connected to a site plan, with a sum- rd th mary for each site. So far over 3,600 sites “enclosed” or “rounds”. By the 3 and 4 have been included, covering farmsteads century AD some of the earlier villas in the (the highest number of excavated sites), south east were going out of use. Most high villas and village and roadside “nucleated” status villas and “complex” farms of the later period are found in a central band across in the river valleys. Deductions about agricultural practices and social systems can be drawn from the study. The number of cattle grew as they were in- creasingly used as plough animals, corre- sponding with an increase in the amount of spelt wheat grown. Most sites show evi- dence of milling, with larger scale centralised production in the central belt and north Kent, and by the 4th century grain was being Whitehall Roman Villa and farm, Nether Heyford exported to troops in the Rhineland. Illustration by Dr John Hodgson Brooches were most commonly found in the

3 New Research on Roman Rural Settlements in Southern Britain (cont) central belt, with coins appearing in in- tral band: decapitation burials, with the de- creasing numbers by the later period, par- capitated head placed by the feet, and prone, ticularly in “nucleated” sites, villas, face down, burials are still unexplained. shrines, temples and “complex” farms. Data will be going on-line with the Arch- Data has been collected on over 14,000 aeological Data Service over the next two rural burials, including around 4,000 from years and the website is to be launched at a the south east and 345 from - free national conference in Reading on 14th shire: 40% cremation and 60% inhuma- April 2015. For further information, see: tion, cremation more from the earlier www.reading.ac.uk/archaeology/research/ period and with a south east bias. roman-rural-settlement/ “Deviant”, odd, burials found in the cen- Sarah Greenhous

Hunt’s of Marlow For First Class DIY, Hardware and Garden Supplies 35 Station Road, Marlow Tel 01628 488228

4 Warren Wood Update

On Sunday the 1st of March we welcomed onto the site map for Warren Wood. Andrew Phil Andrews, of Wessex Archaeology, to and his colleague, David, conducted the Re- Warren Wood to advise us on our plans for sistivity survey and were then shown how the 2015 investigation programme. Phil our Total Station works and both helped to took us on a tour of the area and we in- carry out this topographical survey. Many spected the third enclosure around a kilo- thanks to Andrew and David for helping us metre from our current double enclosure out with good humour and great efficiency. site. We marked out the two trenches which will be dug across the bank and the Concerning future visits, a timetable has now ditch of the inner enclosure and we also been drawn up for fortnightly (mostly) Sun- marked out the places where profiles day visits to Warren Wood on the following across the bank and ditch of the inner en- Sundays:- April 12th and 19th, May 10th and closure will be measured and recorded. 24th, June 7th and 21st, July 5th and 19th (and beyond). In February, we contacted Roger Ainslie th (AiM member) to ask him to conduct a On the 12 of April we intend to recom- resistivity survey at the site, but unfortu- mence our excavation work in Test Pits 10 nately Roger was abroad in late March, so and 11, to start work on the bank and ditch we asked Andrew Hutt from Berkshire trench, to record the profiles and to consider Archaeology Research Group (BARG) if he further excavation options, dependent on would conduct the survey for us and he the results of Andrew’s resistivity survey. agreed to do so. Members may remember Andrew gave AiM a talk on ‘Dovecotes John Laker in Berkshire’ a couple of years ago.

The resistivity survey took place on Sunday

the 22nd of March on a cold, but sunny day (see photograph). In addition, we con- ducted a topographical survey to record both the resistivity survey grid and other present and future points of investigation

5 Our Common Heritage

At the end of January Dave Greenwood and hence they were uncultivated but were myself attended the Chiltern Society’s Com- an important source of grazing, peat, mons Project meeting. gorse and brushwood for burning, timber for repairing property and sometimes There are 187 registered Commons within fishing and hunting. Their present status the Chilterns AONB. The project aims to is mostly one of recreation, exercise and make the public more aware of these areas as home to precious wildlife and decreas- and to encourage their use for walking, play- ing habitats. ing and enjoying the outdoors. Gradually it is The second talk told the story of the en- hoped that endangered habitats for wildlife closure and survival of wooded commons will be restored, historic features repaired, in Chepping Wycombe Parish, referring access and interpretation improved, each specially to the history of St Johns Wood common’s history researched and hidden and Kings Wood up to the present day. secrets unearthed, surveyed and recorded. This 4 year project is scheduled for comple- Talk number three gave a splendid insight tion in July 2015. into the past world of the drovers and droving detailing clues that can still be found in the landscape be they place and road names, public houses, or were established routes and resting places, many of which can be found through the Chilterns. The afternoon session began with an in- triguing presentation about the Gypsies and Romanies. They usually camped on Commons close to villages, found the raw materials for their own survival and to make goods for local sale as well as sup- plying services to the local communities. Commons project volunteers in action. Next came Norman Groves and Brian The meeting was well attended, nearly 150 Shepherd detailing the history of the im- people representing archaeological and his- pact of the Inns of Court Officers Training torical groups, Parish Councils and Friends of Corps in and around Berkhamsted during Commons. WW1, the extensive trench systems, There were six presentations and several most of which have now been filled, were photographic displays. depicted in a superb series of photo- graphs taken by a local professional and The meeting commenced with a history of often sold in postcard form at the time. Common Land in England and Wales. Com- The small remaining area of trenches mons used to be vital to the economies of have now been cleared and recorded us- local communities with a wide range of local ing similar practices that used at rights that benefitted specific groups of soci- AiM Pullingshill Wood. ety. Commons were generally on poor soil, 6 Commons Project (cont)

The meeting closed with a talk by the New Forest where he holds common Chairman of the Open Spaces Society. rights to graze ponies, cattle, donkeys He is a Director of the Foundation of and pigs and is the author of a forth- Common Land and is working on an his- coming book on Commons. tory of the Royal Forests (most of which was once Common land). He lives in the Gerry Platten

Obituary

th Arthur Boarder, an original member of AiM, sadly passed away on the 14 of March aged 94. Arthur was a policeman in Marlow for many years before he retired. Before and after retirement, Arthur spent much of his spare time investigating the archaeology and his- tory of the Marlow area. As early as 2003 Arthur gave AiM members a talk about the archaeological discoveries uncovered during the construction of the M40. Arthur took part in a major medieval excavation at Fillington Wood, conducted research into Roman Roads in the local area, investigated Warren Wood back in 1978, and much more. Arthur’s Warren Wood investigation prompted AiM to first record the site as part of AIM’s ROMADAM Project and then to conduct the WW10, WW12 and WW14 (current) Projects. Arthur will be greatly missed and our condolences and best wishes go out to his family. His extensive knowledge of the history and archaeology around Marlow will not be lost, as it is planned that his records will be made available for interested parties to in- spect.

John Laker

Marlow Market Dean Street Car Park, Marlow - Every Wednesday, 8.00am - 3.00pm.

 A small friendly market offering top quality cut flowers, a full floristry service, a large selection of herbaceous plants and all seasonal plants.  Large quantities of English and Foreign fruits and vegetables, with discounts for bulk orders.  Fresh eggs, pet foods, peanuts and wild bird foods.  Fresh fish from Grimsby (until 12.00)  Top quality organic food from Sicily, 100% Italian products - www.topofsicily.com

All enquiries - Di Roberts 07957-837261

7 Cambridge University Institute of Continuing Education upcoming weekend residential course

New weekend course: Introduction to Great War archaeology 17th – 19th April 2015 The Great War (1914–18) encompassed whole nations and utterly changed both lives and landscapes. This course will present an introduction to the archaeology of this period. Through a mixture of formal presentations, discussion and artefact handling, you will be introduced to field archaeology, monuments and artefacts both in Britain and abroad. The course is taught by Martin Brown, professional archaeologist with over 25 years ex- perience at Institutions like the Ministry of Defence, English Heritage and local govern- ment. Martin has also featured on Time Team! He is a leading conflict archaeologist, with particular expertise in the Great War so is the ideal man to help you explore the landscapes of war but also to see the men and women within it. This weekend course is held at the Cambridge University Institute of Continuing Educa- tion’s home, Madingley Hall, and lasts a whole weekend. It costs £250 which includes lunch and dinner during the weekend, refreshments and tuition. Accommodation is also available at the Institute’s home, Madingley Hall, over the week- end at an additional cost starting from £50 per night and subject to availability. If you would like to sign up or want to find out more information, please visit www.ice.cam.ac.uk/ GreatWarArchaeology AiM’s Outreach Programme

Late last year, AiM members, Martin Fowkes, Gerry Platten and John Laker vis- ited Signature Senior Living’s Cliveden Manor in Little Marlow Road. Marlow (see photo’). The team were welcomed into this luxurious complex and quickly set up to present a talk on the AiM investiga- tions at Warren Wood. An attentive audience viewed the pres- entation, listening to John and Martin speaking about the earlier and later devel- opments at the site, respectively. Martin and John answered a series of questions and then showed some of the Warren Wood artefacts to the assembled resi- dents. This talk was a good example of ‘an out- reach programme’ that the Local Heritage Initiative encouraged, following their award of a grant to fund AiM’s ROMADAM Project, back in 2005. 8 Other Events ofOther interest Organisations’ This is the information available to us at the time of publication, but we advise you to check as thisEvents may have changed and since then. Resources

Other Events of interest This is the information available to us at the time of publication, but we advise you to check as this may have changed since then.

Buckinghamshire Archaeological Society South Oxfordshire Archaeological Group Saturday, 11th April 2.30 pm (SOAG) ‘The Hoard’ Sunday, 26th April 2-5 pm A talk about the recent discovery of this SOAG's public Review of Archaeology, hoard on farmland between Buckingham preceded by SOAG AGM and . Goring Heath Parish Hall Gareth Williams from the Whitchurch Hill RG8 7NY The Learning Zone at the Buckinghamshire Presentations from the leaders of the County Museum, SOAG field archaeology projects, followed Church Street, Aylesbury, HP20 2QP by a social with drinks and food, this is 01296 397200 open to the general public. www.bucksas.org.uk [email protected], 01189 787829

CBA South Midlands Marlow Museum ‘Castles of the South Midlands: Recent Re- Peacock Room, front of Court Garden en- search’ trance Saturday, 25th April 10 am – 5 pm Higginson Park, Pound Lane, Marlow The Town Hall, Watling Street, Towcester, The Spring Exhibition is ‘Marlow’s River’ NN12 6BS with photos, pictures, stories and arte- This conference will focus on recent docu- facts relating to our stretch of the mentary and fieldwork research into the Thames. In addition there is the latest castles of Luton, Oxford, Northampton, quarterly display on WW1 with war news, Wallingford and Torpel Manor. There will local activity and a memory of a lost life. be a guided walk to Bury Mount Motte dur- There are still items on show about local ing the lunch break. history and they are happy to talk to visi- AIM members can take advantage of the tors about Marlow, past and present. member’s rate for this conference, £16 in- Open at weekends and Bank Holidays 1-5 stead of £20, booking needed. pm with FREE Admission http://www.archaeologyuk.org/cbasm/cba- www.marlowmuseum.wordpress.com sm%20events.htm [email protected] or 07717 866767

9 AiM ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP RATES  £10.00 Individual (over 18)  £12.00 Household Membership (one adult and any children under 18 at the same address)  £15.00 Household Membership (two adults and any children under 18 living at the same address)  £6.00 Student (over 16 in full time education, or pre-university gap year) Corporate Membership is available on application

AiM Committee Meetings Future AiM Committee Meetings 7.30 pm on Wednesday 8th April at 9 Spinfield Lane, Marlow, SL7 2JT 7.30 pm on Wednesday 6th May at 30 Bovingdon Heights, Marlow, SL7 2JS All members are welcome to attend all AiM meetings. Please telephone a committee member in advance to confirm date and venue.

AiM Committee Members

Chairman and Vice-Chairman – Vacant [Chairmanship of the committee meetings will follow an agreed rota.] Secretary Sarah Greenhous 30 Bovingdon Heights, Marlow, SL7 2JS 01628 485961 - [email protected] Treasurer Ann Pitwell 9 Spinfield Lane, Marlow, SL7 2JT 01628 481792 - [email protected] Membership Secretary Nicky Pendered c/o 9 Spinfield Lane, Marlow, SL7 2JT Newsletter Compiler Tony Birkett 28 The Spinney, Beaconsfield, HP9 1SB 01494 675195 - [email protected] Joint Field Work Co-ordinators 9 Spinfield Lane, Marlow, SL7 2JT 01628 481792 - [email protected] John Laker 01628 481141 - [email protected] Andy Ford Committee Members 01494 675195 Tony Birkett 01628 530832 Martin Fowkes 01628 481792 John Laker 01628 472126 Gerry Platten

10