Fawler Road Charlbury Oxfordshire

Home , Fawler

Archaeological Watching Brief

for Southill Community Energy

CA Project: 5823 CA Report: 16590

November 2016

Fawler Road Charlbury Oxfordshire

Archaeological Watching Brief

CA Project: 5823 CA Report: 16590

Document Control Grid Revision Date Author Checked by Status Reasons for Approved revision by A 4 Charlotte Steven Draft Cliff November Haines and Sheldon Bateman 2016 Ray Holt

This report is confidential to the client. Cotswold Archaeology accepts no responsibility or liability to any third party to whom this report, or any part of it, is made known. Any such party relies upon this report entirely at their own risk. No part of this report may be reproduced by any means without permission.

CONTENTS

SUMMARY ...... 2

1. INTRODUCTION ...... 3

2. ARCHAEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND ...... 4

3. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ...... 5

4. METHODOLOGY ...... 5

5. RESULTS (FIGS 2-4) ...... 6

6. THE FINDS ...... 6

7. DISCUSSION ...... 7

8. CA PROJECT TEAM ...... 8

9. REFERENCES ...... 8

APPENDIX A: CONTEXT DESCRIPTIONS ...... 9

APPENDIX B: THE FINDS ...... 9

APPENDIX C: OASIS REPORT FORM ...... 10

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Fig. 1 Site location plan (1:25,000) Fig. 2 Area of observed groundworks, showing archaeological features (1:4000). Fig. 3 Identified archaeological features (1:250) Fig. 4 Sections (1:20) and Photographs

1 © Cotswold Archaeology Fawler Road, Charlbury, Oxfordshire: Archaeological Watching Brief

SUMMARY

Project Name: Fawler Road Location: Charlbury, Oxfordshire NGR: SP 36231 17927 Type: Watching Brief Date: 27 September 2016 – 11 October 2016 Planning Reference: 15/01523/FUL Location of Archive: To be deposited with Oxfordshire County Museum Service Site Code: FRC 16

An archaeological watching brief was undertaken by Cotswold Archaeology during groundworks associated with the erection of photovoltaic panels and associated infrastructure at Fawler Road, Charlbury, Oxfordshire.

Two pits, one of which contained a sherd of Iron Age pottery, were identified in the north- western third of the development area and may be associated with the North Oxfordshire Grim’s Ditch, a possible territorial oppidum thought to date to the later Iron Age.

2 © Cotswold Archaeology Fawler Road, Charlbury, Oxfordshire: Archaeological Watching Brief

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 In September and October 2016 Cotswold Archaeology (CA) carried out an archaeological watching brief for Southill Community Energy at Fawler Road, Charlbury, Oxfordshire (centred on NGR SP 36231 17927; Fig. 1). The watching brief was undertaken to fulfil a condition attached to planning consent for the erection of photo-voltaic panels, boundary fencing and associated infrastructure (West Oxfordshire District Council (WODC), Planning ref: 15/01523/FUL, condition 13).

1.2 The watching brief was carried out in accordance with a detailed Written Scheme of Investigation (WSI) prepared by Cotswold Archaeology (CA) and approved by Hugh Coddington, Principal Archaeologist, Oxfordshire County Council (OCC), archaeological advisor to WODC. The fieldwork also followed Standard and guidance: Archaeological watching brief (CIfA 2014).

The site

1.3 The development area is approximately 13.7ha in extent and comprises two rectangular fields currently under arable cultivation. The site is bounded by the London to Worcester railway line to the west, by the B4022 (Fawler Road) to the east, by an electricity sub-station to the north and by agricultural land to the south. The site lies at approximately 100m AOD at its north-eastern extent, with ground level sloping down to approximately 91m AOD at the sites south-western edge.

1.4 The underlying bedrock geology of the area is mapped as Chipping Norton Limestone Formation of the Jurassic era (BGS 2016). No superficial deposits are recorded. The natural substrate, comprising compact mid yellow-orange limestone brash, was revealed throughout the areas subject to ground works.

3 © Cotswold Archaeology Fawler Road, Charlbury, Oxfordshire: Archaeological Watching Brief

2. ARCHAEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND

2.1 The site and a wider study area have been subject to a previous archaeological desk based assessment (O’Reilly 2015). The following is a summary of the assessment:

Prehistoric 2.2 A number of Bronze Age barrows were identified throughout the wider study area as upstanding earthworks. These include a bowl barrow, located c. 900m to the north- east of the development area, and two further barrows located c. 300m to the west. A further possible Bronze Age barrow (MOX3063) is recorded within the north- western corner of the development area. However, the location of this feature, at the base of a slope, is considered unusual. Furthermore, its position immediately adjacent to the London to Worcester Railway line has led to the suggestion that it i represents a spoil heap associated with the construction of the railway during the 19th-century.

2.3 A section of the North Oxfordshire Grims’s Ditch, a large linear earthwork and possible section of a territorial oppidum thought to date to the later Iron Age, is located approximately 200m to the north of the development area. Although a poorly defined class of site, these oppida may have represented high status settlements in this period and usually contain evidence for industrial, commercial, ritual and burial activities.

Roman/Romano British 2.4 Two well preserved Roman military camps are located within Cornbury Park, approximately 200m to the north-west of the development area. A number of Roman villas, including excavated examples at North Leigh, were established in the 1st- century AD within the area of the probable later Iron Age oppidum to the north of the development site. The line of Akeman Street, a major Roman Road linking Watling Street with the Fosse Way, passes approximately 2km to the south-east of the development area.

Post-Medieval/Modern 2.5 Historic mapping depicts the development area as open, and presumably agricultural, land throughout the post-medieval period. However, evidence of a road

4 © Cotswold Archaeology Fawler Road, Charlbury, Oxfordshire: Archaeological Watching Brief

or track leading across the site to a bridge over the River Evenlode and into Cornbury Park is depicted on mapping from the ﬁrst half of the 19th-century.

3. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

3.1 The objectives of the archaeological works were:

• to monitor groundworks, and to identify, investigate and record all significant buried archaeological deposits revealed on the site during the course of the development groundworks;

• at the conclusion of the project, to produce an integrated archive for the project work and a report setting out the results of the project and the archaeological conclusions that can be drawn from the recorded data.

4. METHODOLOGY

4.1 The fieldwork followed the methodology set out within the WSI (CA 2016). An archaeologist was present during intrusive groundworks comprising the machine excavation of cable trenches and the excavation of foundations for the base for a substation (Fig. 2).

4.2 Where archaeological deposits were encountered written, graphic and photographic records were compiled in accordance with CA Technical Manual 1: Fieldwork Recording Manual.

4.3 The archive and artefacts from the watching brief are currently held by CA at their offices in Kemble. Subject to the agreement of the legal landowner, the artefacts will be deposited with Oxfordshire County Museum Service along with the site archive. A summary of information from this project, set out within Appendix C, will be entered onto the OASIS online database of archaeological projects in Britain.

5 © Cotswold Archaeology Fawler Road, Charlbury, Oxfordshire: Archaeological Watching Brief

5. RESULTS (FIGS 2-4)

5.1 The natural substrate, comprising compact mid yellow-orange limestone brash, was revealed throughout the excavated cable trenches and substation foundations at an average depth of 0.5m below present ground level (bpgl). This was overlain by clay silt subsoil, typically measuring 0.32m in thickness, which was in turn overlain by topsoil, typically measuring 0.18m in thickness.

5.2 Two sub-circular pits, 212 and 219, were revealed in the north-western third of the development area. Pit 212 (Fig. 4, section AA) measured 0.8m in diameter, 0.72m in depth and had steeply sloping sides and a concave base. It contained a sequence of five clay silt fills 211, 210, 209, 208 and 213. Its earliest fill, 211 contained a single sherd of probable Iron Age pottery. Pit 219 (Fig 4; BB) was revealed approximately 10m to the north of pit 212. It measured 1.45m in diameter, 0.48m in depth and had steeply sloping sides and a flat base and contained a series of three, undated, clay silt fills, 218, 217 and 216.

5.3 Three broadly parallel, east-west aligned ditches, 205, 207 (Fig. 4, section AA) and 221, were also identified in the north-western half of the development area. The ditches measured between 0.56m and 0.64m in width and 0.08m and 0.14m in depth. All contained single silt clay fills (204, 206 and 220 respectively) and had open ‘U’-shaped profiles. Three shards of post-medieval glass were recovered from the fill of ditch 205. A single shard of post-medieval glass and a fragment of post- medieval brick were recovered from the fill of ditch 207. No finds were recovered from the fill of ditch 221.

6. THE FINDS

6.1 Artefactual material from the watching brief was hand-recovered from three deposits (ditch and pit fills). The recovered material dates to the prehistoric and post-medieval periods. Quantities of the artefact types recorded are given in Appendix B. The pottery has been recorded according to sherd count/weight per fabric.

Pottery: Late prehistoric 6.2 An unfeatured bodysherd of a handmade, reduced-fired pottery was retrieved from fill 211 of pit 212. The sherd is of a quartz-tempered fabric and also contains sparse,

6 © Cotswold Archaeology Fawler Road, Charlbury, Oxfordshire: Archaeological Watching Brief

fine shell. In the absence of form or decoration, this sherd is broadly dated to the Iron Age on the basis of its fabric and firing characteristics.

Ceramic building material 6.3 Fill 206 of ditch 207 produced a fragment of post-medieval brick in a substantially abraded condition.

Other finds 6.4 A total of four fragments of green bottle glass of post-medieval date were recovered from ditch 205 (fill 204) and ditch 207 (fill 206). A base fragment from fill 204 appears to be dateable to the mid to late 18th-century on the basis of its profile and the shape/height of the kick (Noël Hume 1969, 68).

7. DISCUSSION

7.1 The watching brief has identified a small number of archaeological features dating to the Iron Age and post-medieval periods within the area subject to groundworks.

7.2 Pit 212, located in the north-western third of the development area, contained a single sherd of probable Iron Age pottery and it is possible that pit 219, identified to the north, may be broadly contemporary. It is possible that these pits are associated with the North Oxfordshire Grim’s Ditch, located approximately 200m to the north of the development area (see archaeological background above) and may represent contemporary activity outside of this postulated oppidum. However, this interpretation is necessarily tentative due to the isolated nature of these features within the area of groundworks and the limited dating material recovered.

7.3 Ditches 205 and 207, identified in the north-western half of the development area, contained post-medieval artefactual material and it is likely that ditch 221 is broadly contemporary due to its similarity in form and alignment. Ditch 207 appears to correspond to a field boundary depicted on the 1881 First Edition Ordnance Survey map. This boundary appears to have been removed shortly after this as it is not depicted on subsequent editions of the OS map.

7 © Cotswold Archaeology Fawler Road, Charlbury, Oxfordshire: Archaeological Watching Brief

8. CA PROJECT TEAM

Fieldwork was undertaken by Michael Joyce and Sian Reynish. The report was written by Charlotte Haines and Ray Holt. The finds report was written by Jacky Sommerville. The illustrations were prepared by Tilia Cammegh. The archive has been compiled by Ray Holt, and prepared for deposition by Hazel O’Neill. The project was managed for CA by Steven Sheldon.

9. REFERENCES

BGS (British Geological Survey) 2016 Geology of Britain Viewer http://mapapps.bgs.ac.uk/geologyofbritain/home.html Accessed 2 March 2016

CA (Cotswold Archaeology) 2016 Fawler Road, Charlbury, Oxfordshire: Written Scheme of Investigation for an Archaeological Watching Brief

Noël Hume, I. N. 1969 A Guide to Artifacts of Colonial America. Philadelphia. University of Pennsylvania Press.

O’Reilly, J. 2015 Heritage Statement: Southill Solar Community Project

8 © Cotswold Archaeology Fawler Road, Charlbury, Oxfordshire: Archaeological Watching Brief

APPENDIX A: CONTEXT DESCRIPTIONS

Trench Context Type Fill of Context Description L (m) W Depth Spot- No. No. interpretation (m) /thick date ness (m) 1 101 Layer Topsoil Mid grey brown clay silt 0.18 1 102 Layer Subsoil Light orange brown clay silt 0.32 1 103 Layer Natural Compact mid yellow-orange >0.1 substrate limestone brash. 2 201 Layer Topsoil Mid grey brown clay silt 0.18 2 202 Layer Subsoil Light orange brown clay silt 0.32 2 203 Layer Natural Compact mid yellow-orange >0.3 substrate limestone brash. 2 204 Fill 205 Single fill of ditch Mid orange brown silt clay >1.4 0.64 0.12 P-med 205 2 205 Cut Ditch East-west aligned ditch >1.4 0.64 0.12 2 206 Fill 207 Single fill of ditch Mid orange brown silt clay >1.4 0.56 0.14 P-med 207 2 207 Cut Ditch East-west aligned, shallow ‘U’- >1.4 0.56 0.14 shaped profile 2 208 Fill 212 4th fill of pit 212 Mid grey brown clay silt 0.84 0.78 0.24 2 209 Fill 212 3rd fill of pit 212 Mid grey brown clay silt 0.78 0.33 2 210 Fill 212 2nd fill of pit 212 Mid orange brown clay silt 0.46 0.15 2 211 Fill 212 1st fill of pit Mid grey brown clay silt 0.38 0.08 IA 2 212 Cut Pit Circular, steeply sloping sides 0.84 0.8 0.72 and rounded base 2 213 Fill 212 5th fill of pit Mid grey brown clay silt 0.84 0.8 0.04 2 216 Fill 219 3rd fill of pit Mid orange brown silt clay 1.45 1.02 0.24 2 217 Fill 219 2nd fill of pit Mid orange grey clay sand 1.45 0.62 0.22 2 218 Fill 219 1st fill of pit Mid orange brown clay silt 0.95 0.4 0.1 2 219 Cut Pit Sub-oval, steeply sloping sides 1.45 1.02 0.48 and concave base 2 220 Fill 221 Single fill of ditch Mid orange brown silt clay >1.3 0.61 0.08 221 2 221 Cut Ditch East-west aligned, shallow ‘U’- >1.3 0.61 0.08 shaped profile 3 401 Layer Topsoil Mid grey brown clay silt 0.18 3 402 Layer Subsoil Light orange brown clay silt 0.32 3 403 Layer Natural Compact mid yellow-orange >0.1 substrate limestone brash. 4 401 Layer Topsoil Mid grey brown clay silt 0.18 4 402 Layer Subsoil Light orange brown clay silt 0.32 4 403 Layer Natural Compact mid yellow-orange >0.2 substrate limestone brash.

APPENDIX B: THE FINDS

Context Category Description Fabric Count Weight Spot-date Code (g) 204 Post-medieval glass Bottle 3 566 Post-medieval 206 Post-medieval ceramic Brick 1 156 building material Post-medieval glass Bottle 1 274 Post-medieval 211 Late prehistoric pottery Quartz-and-shell tempered QZSH 1 3 IA fabric

9 © Cotswold Archaeology Fawler Road, Charlbury, Oxfordshire: Archaeological Watching Brief

APPENDIX C: OASIS REPORT FORM

PROJECT DETAILS

Project Name Fawler Road, Charlbury, Oxfordshire Short description An archaeological watching brief was undertaken by Cotswold Archaeology during groundworks associated with the erection of photovoltaic panels and associated infrastructure at Fawler Road, Charlbury, Oxfordshire.

Two pits, one of which contained a sherd of Iron Age pottery, were identified in the north-western third of the development area and may be associated with the North Oxfordshire Grim’s Ditch, a possible territorial oppidum thought to date to the later Iron Age.

Three broadly parallel ditches, probably relating to agricultural land management or division, were identified in the north-western half of the development area. Two of these ditches contained artefactual material of post-medieval date. Project dates 27 September 2016 – 11 October 2016 Project type Archaeological watching brief Previous work N/A Future work Unknown PROJECT LOCATION Site Location Fawler Road, Charlbury, Oxfordshire Study area (M2/ha) 13.7ha Site co-ordinates SP 36231 17927 PROJECT CREATORS Name of organisation Cotswold Archaeology Project Design (WSI) originator Cotswold Archaeology Project Manager Steven Sheldon Project Supervisor Michael Joyce MONUMENT TYPE None SIGNIFICANT FINDS None PROJECT ARCHIVES Intended final location of archive Content Physical Oxfordshire County Museum Service Pottery, glass, CBM Paper Oxfordshire County Museum Service Context sheets, trench sheets, permatrace drawings Digital Oxfordshire County Museum Service Digital photos BIBLIOGRAPHY

CA (Cotswold Archaeology) 2016 Fawler Road, Charlbury, Oxfordshire: Archaeological Evaluation. CA typescript report 16590

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Andover 01264 347630 N Cirencester 01285 771022 Cotswold Exeter 01392 826185 Archaeology Milton Keynes 01908 564660 w www.cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk Site boundary e [email protected] Area of observed groundworks PROJECT TITLE Fawler Road, Charlbury, Oxfordshire Archaeological features

FIGURE TITLE Area of observed groundworks Esri, DigitalGlobe, GeoEye, Earthstar Geographics, CNES/AIrbus DS, USDA, USGS, AEX, Getmapping, showing archaeological features Aerogrid, IGN, IGP, swisstopo, and the GIS User Community, Esri, HERE, DeLorme, Mapmyindia, c 0 200m OpenStreetMap contributors, and the GIS user DRAWN BY TC PROJECT NO. 5823 FIGURE NO. community CHECKED BY LM DATE 18/10/16 APPROVED BY MJ SCALE@A4 1:4000 2

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Pit 219 B

212 Observed groundworks A

2.3 Archaeological feature 218100 218100 A Pit 212 C C Section location

207 Ditch

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Esri, DigitalGlobe, GeoEye, Earthstar Geographics, CNES/AIrbus DS, USDA, USGS, AEX, Getmapping, Aerogrid, IGN, IGP, swisstopo, and the GIS User Community, Esri, HERE, DeLorme, Mapmyindia, c OpenStreetMap contributors, and the GIS user community

Andover 01264 347630 Cirencester 01285 771022 Cotswold Exeter 01392 826185 Ditch Archaeology Milton Keynes 01908 564660 205 2.1 w www.cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk e [email protected]

PROJECT TITLE Fawler Road, Charlbury, Oxfordshire 218050 218050

FIGURE TITLE Identified archaeological features

2.5 Ditch DRAWN BY TC PROJECT NO. 5823 FIGURE NO. 221 CHECKED BY LM DATE 18/10/16 APPROVED BY MJ SCALE@A3 1:250 3 N

Pit 212 (partially excavated), looking north-east (1m scale) Pit 219, looking east (1m scale)

Section AA Section BB NW SE 96.7m NW SE AOD topsoil 201 96.8m AOD 216 subsoil 201

203 213 203 217 208 pit 219 218 Andover 01264 347630 Cirencester 01285 771022 203 Exeter 01392 826185 209 Cotswold Archaeology Milton Keynes 01908 564660 w www.cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk e [email protected] 210 pit PROJECT TITLE 212 Fawler Road, Charlbury, Oxfordshire 211

FIGURE TITLE Sections and photographs 011:20 m

DRAWN BY TC PROJECT NO. 5823 FIGURE NO. CHECKED BY LM DATE 18/10/16 APPROVED BY MJ SCALE@A3 1:20 4