Archaeology in Marlow NEWSLETTER Volume 11, Issue 6, December 2012 www.archaeologyinmarlow.org.uk

Christmas Wishes

Forthcoming Events

All are invited to the Annual Quiz Thursday 21st February 2013 AiM Local National Trust Sites (don't worry, it’s not an archaeological quiz.) by Gary Marshall Thursday 13th December 8 p.m. Garden 8.00pm Garden Room, Liston Hall Room, Liston Hall, Marlow Thursday 21st March - ‘A Tour of Medieval Marlow’, a talk by Andy Free entry to the quiz, mulled wine, hot mince Ford pies and sausage rolls, soft drinks, nibbles in- cluded. 8.00pm Garden Room, Liston Hall Thursday 18th April - A chance to have a chat, some food, some drink ‘Excavations at Elizabeth House (soft) and mildly rummage your brain cells for the (St Johns College) Oxford’, (a answers. Neolithic henge, Medieval farm and Turn up on your own or with others and teams the victims of the St Brices' Day will be put together on the night - start thinking massacre?) by Steve Ford, TVAS. of good names for teams. 8.00pm Garden Room, Liston Hall th We will be selling tickets for the bumper raffle, Thursday 16 May - AIM’s AGM to be drawn at the end of the quiz. followed by ‘The Shottesbrooke Logboat’ So hope to see you there to start off the festive a talk by Steve Allen season. 8.00pm Garden Room, Liston Hall

Any prizes for the raffle will be gratefully re- All AIM talks cost £2.50 for mem- ceived, if you have any items to donate please bers and £3.50 for non-members, contact Ann Pitwell 481792 or bring on the night. including refreshments. Hillforts of the Ridgeway by Emeritus Professor Gary Lock, Oxford University By Jeff Griffiths A large audience was attracted to this talk by Pro- historical continuity. Groups gathered at these fessor Lock on 25th October. The speaker places at particular times of the year as their co-directed the Hillforts of the Ridgeway Project forefathers had done. which ran between 1994 and 2000. Two of the three hillforts covered in his talk, Uffington and Hillforts stretched right across Europe but they Segsbury Camp, have already been published with are not necessarily defensive structures. the report on the third, Alfred’s Castle, to follow. People would employ them in different ways for The Ridgeway links these three sites which are their own particular purposes. Hillforts in this part of a series of hillforts on the northern edge of area fit into this social template. While the three the chalk uplands. By the time of the Iron Age the sites may at first appear similar, excavation has uplands would probably have undergone extensive revealed that each is one is distinctive, as the tree clearance - wood being an important commod- speaker explained. ity - while the boggy lowland would have retained large wooded areas.

Reference was made to English Heritage's Na- tional Mapping Programme (NMP) which aims to enhance the understanding of past human settle- ment by providing information on all archaeological sites and landscapes visible on aerial photographs. The Ridgeway area, a much researched region, has had a continuity of use between 1000BC and the 5th century AD with its occupants continually reusing its resources. Professor Lock explained The White Horse Hill complex encompasses the concept of ‘landscape locales as historical round barrows, a linear ditch and the chalk mnemonics’, i.e. even before the invention of writ- figure White Horse as well as the hillfort. ing, generations of peoples recognised that there were particular areas associated with The evidence suggests that Uffington Castle hillfort was constructed at the end of an earlier linear ditch in the 7th century BC with a single circuit of box rampart and opposing eastern and western entrances. In the 4th century BC the rampart was remodeled and the eastern en- trance was blocked. There was very little evi- dence for activity within the enclosure and it was concluded that the hillfort was used for pe- riodic ceremonial gatherings associated with the White Horse. The hillfort was re-used and remodelled in Romano- British times, including for burial. By these times the White Horse could have been nearly 1,000 years old and it might have been its mythological attractions that drew people there, as is still the case today.

2 Hillforts of the Ridgeway continued The Uffington White Horse is a highly stylised prehistoric hill figure formed from deep trenches filled with crushed white chalk which has been shown to date back some 3,000 years by means of OSL (Optically Stimulated Luminescence) carried out following archaeological investigations in 1994.

Segsbury Camp or Segsbury Castle, about 8 miles away, has an extensive ditch and ramparts with four gateways. It had round houses with pits in the middle dating from the 6th to 2nd centu- ries BC which had fallen into disuse by the Roman period. Excavation carried out in 1996 and 1997 suggests that it was a communal centre for various activities, including sheep manage- ment and exchange, which might also suggest religious offerings.

Alfred’s Castle is a small enclosure that lies a mile south of the Ridgeway. It has a large enclo- sure attached started around 6th century BC. The hillfort was established within a series of late Bronze Age linear ditches and revealed much evidence for occupation within it. In the late first century AD a Romano-British farmhouse was built within the abandoned prehistoric enclosure.

The speaker also described Banjo enclosures, a number of which are found in this area. They are so named be- cause they consist of a small round area with a long en- trance track leading inwards from one direction, giving them the appearance in plan of frying pans or banjos. The enclosure is defined by a low bank and ditch with the earthworks at the end of the track sometimes turned out- wards, creating a funnel effect. Once believed to be small farming settlements occupied between around 400 and 100 BC, the lack of finds relating to settlement associated with them means that they are currently thought to be sea- Professor Gary Lock, Oxford University sonal ritual centres where feasting occurred.

For information on the Hillforts of the Ridgeway see http://www.arch.ox.ac.uk/HOR1.html

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS

Peter Barnett Lyndy Boorah Feliks Bartkiewicz

Ron Symington Hilary Symington

3 Warren Wood Update By John Laker Our last visit inner enclosure, one between test pits 8 this year to and 7 and one between 6 and 8. These Warren Wood excavations should give us more infor- took place on mation as to both the extent of medieval Remembrance buildings and activities, as well as the ex- Sunday. Al- tent of any Iron Age occupation. though coldish, For more info’ on Warren Wood go to the weather www.archaeologyinmarlow.org.uk and was bright and click on ‘blog’. sunny.

Four AIM members (see three in photo’) helped by inserting pegs and poles on the bank of the outer enclosure every 7/8 me- tres. Measurements were then recorded on AIM's Total Station at these points and at one metre distances up and down Trench 9. On the hachure drawing to the right, the (red) dots show where we recorded the bank . The area where the dots and the ha- chures do match up, is in the north-east corner. This part of the bank is almost in- visible to the naked eye and either version may be accurate. Trench 9 is still not fully excavated and further work will have to wait until 2013. In the meantime the trench has been cleaned up and we have replaced the hazard tape around the trench for added safety. Looking forward to 2013, we already have a plan, which we have forwarded to the Bucks County Archaeologist. Our inten- tion is to excavate two more test pits in the

COMPETITION What is the greatest distance, depicted on a sign post, or milestone, within the town of Marlow? Courtesy of Gerry Platten The answer will be published in the February newsletter.

4 ‘Ad Chicksands Per Omnibus’ A Tour of the Collection and Wrest Park There we were stood in a line clutching our photo The existence of the Medmenham Collection is due ID and faced with an armed military guard. A less substantially to the enthusiasm of Medmenham Club likely looking bunch of terrorists you could hardly members which comprises serving and retired per- imagine but rules are rules especially when sonnel associated with this discipline. We were well you’re visiting the Defence Intelligence and Se- served by our guide, Mike Mockford, who’d worked curity Centre. It was October 6th and we’d arrived himself at RAF Medmenham in the post-war years. In at Chicksands, just south of Bedford, formerly an April 1941 a RAF photographic interpretation unit RAF station. Our none too secret mission was to moved to Danesfield House at Medmenham as its view the Medmenham Collection kept there. This previous location at Wembley was short of space. covers the history of military aerial photographic During 1942 and 1943 the unit gradually expanded interpretation and imagery analysis from the time and was involved in the planning stages of practically of World War One up to the present day. Most every operation of the war and in every aspect of in- readers will be familiar with the vital wartime role telligence. By 1945 the daily intake of material aver- performed at what is now the Danesfield House aged 25,000 negatives and 60,000 prints. By VE-day luxury hotel and was once RAF Medmenham. the print library, which documented and stored world- The importance of the work that was undertaken wide cover, held 5 million prints from which 40,000 there has achieved greater public awareness reports had been produced. since the showing of the BBC’s recent documen- tary called Operation Crossbow. The development of the technology was well illus- trated. Central to the success of the unit was the I was surprised by the scale of the well-displayed stereoscope, a simple Victorian invention which exhibition, filling as it did two rooms plus the brought the enemy landscape into 3D. 3D photogra- obligatory shop where one publication described phy was achieved by each print taken overlapping how Bedford became the intelligence capital of the next frame by 60%. The results when viewed by the country in WWII. While our main purpose stereoscope allowed the photographic interpreters was to view the Medmenham Collection, the (PIs) to measure height, especially of unidentified wider tale of aerial photography and its uses was new structures - such as rockets and their launch fascinating. sites. This technique was to prove decisive and saved thousands from the V missiles barrage at the I especially enjoyed the descriptions of the end of the war. The V1 - known as the doodlebug – earliest attempts at aerial photography from the first landed in in the summer of 1944, bring- balloons which the American Samuel Cody first ing terror to the capital. The Germans were using introduced in this country for military less conspicuous launch sites, and brought missiles observation moving on to the perilous attempts out at the last moment. But these sites were identi- by the pioneering pilots leaning out of their flimsy fied by PIs who spotted scarring on the land caused planes using plate by the jets' booster motors dropping off. cameras over the Western Front. These sites were targeted in what was called Opera- We learned that tion Crossbow and the doodlebug barrage was lim- even pigeons with ited. The day after the last V1 landed on 7 Septem- miniature cameras ber 1944, however, the first V2 crashed in west Lon- strapped to their don. Because it was silent, offering no warning, there breasts had been was no defence against it. Since the V2 was mobile, pressed into service. bombers directed by RAF Medmenham attacked the (See right) supporting infrastructure, such as roads and railways. Saddle Safari CYCLE SALES & SERVICE 9 Dean Street, Marlow, Bucks, SL7 3AA. Tel. 01628 477020 www.saddlesafari.co.uk

5 A Tour of the Medmenham Collection and Wrest Park, cont.

In the end, the advancing allied armies over-ran the Up to 150 women were also employed as PIs including launch sites. It has been claimed that should Hitler’s Sarah Churchill, the daughter of the wartime Prime revenge weapons and their more advanced jet tech- Minister (in the photo’ below on the right) who visited nology not have been countered then the story of the her from time to time at Medmenham. It was Constance end of the Second World War might have been very different. Babington Smith, the journalist and writer, who was credited with the discover of the V1 at Peenemunde on Medmenham also contributed to the mass bombing the Baltic Sea coast of Germany. One completely raids that brought Germany to its knees. Prints were unsuspected spin off of taken to nearby Hughenden Manor - codenamed Medmeham’s work was Hillside in the war – where Air Ministry staff created the construction of scale maps for bombing missions, including the famous models. On the walls of ‘Dambusters’ raid. RAF Medmenham played a central role in countering Germany’s military capac- the museum were two ity and its achievement should rank alongside that of large models of the D- its sister organisation, Bletchley Park, with its code Day landing beaches, breaking operation. aids which were vital to the Allied invasion of A large number of photographic interpreters was re- Europe. cruited from the Hollywood Film Studios, American personnel having provided an increasing element of This was not the only treat this day. Leaving Medmenham’s staff as the war advanced. One of Chicksands we drove to Wrest Park in Bedfordshire. the American After decades behind virtually closed doors, its treas- ures overgrown forces staff was and largely un- Colonel Elliott known, English Roosevelt, son Heritage has of the USA revived one of President. Britain's largest Among the and most impor- tant 'secret gar- British dens'. It offers a personnel, the wonderful actor Dirk 90-acre historic landscape, a French-style mansion, Bogarde was impressive garden statuary, a large central water fea- employed in the ture and miles of reinstated historic pathways. We saw Army recon- it at its best on a warm, sunny day. To anyone who like PR Mosquito & PR Spitfire naissance sec- me had never even heard of Wrest Park, I urge you to drive around the M25 to visit this delightful garden. tion. Two renowned archaeologists also worked there as Our visit to these two attractions was superbly interpreters: Dorothy Garrod, the first woman to hold organised by Mike Hyde as a fund raiser and an Oxbridge Chair, and Glyn Daniel, who went on to promotion event for the Marlow Museum (now open gain popular acclaim as the host of the television Sundays 2-4pm till March) which needs the support of game show Animal, Vegetable or Mineral? all of us concerned with our local heritage. Jeff Griffiths

6 Roman Archaeology in South Bucks by Allan Wilson Wednesday 7 November 2012 at the Denton Rooms, Marlow Methodist Church

Allan has tutored courses in archaeology, is an The villa at Little Missenden has been taken expert on Roman Archaeology and has written a sufficiently seriously for the HS2 to be rerouted book recently on Roman and Native in Scotland. because of it. When the Amersham Bypass was created, there were many finds from the He said that this talk would be his personal per- sizeable villa at Shardloes, Mantles Green and spective on the subject, as a great deal of exca- Old Amersham. vations had either not been published or the finds lost, so not all may agree with his thoughts. With regard to Marlow, Allan said that 2 Roman figurines were found in 1870 and it was also Allan explained he would look at the Iron Age, reported that tiles and wall plaster of 1 – 4th the Roman Military Advance, Communications, Cen. AD were found. It has been suggested Urbanisation and the Rural Economy including that there might be a shrine at Marlow but with- Roman villas in the area. out further information he couldn’t really com- ment. He firstly defined the territory of the Catuvellauni in which South Bucks lay. Their territory was The next villa he mentioned was The Rye at bounded by the Rivers, Lea, Nene, Cherwell and , saying there was controversy Thames. The capital of this large area was here. There were references to a fortress at Verulamium (St Albans) and there were other Holywell Mead following finds made there be- towns in their area, e.g. Towcester and Water tween 1722 and 1724 but although a villa, bath- Newton, and nearby was Silchester, the capital house and other buildings have been identified, of the neighbouring Atrebates. Allan said there is no evidence of a fortress. He said that there is a just published report He showed us slides and talked of various Iron which identifies parch marks which could indi- Age hillforts including Ivinghoe Beacon, Ched- cate another villa on the site. dington, Boddington Hill, Pulpit Hill, and Dyke Hills and mentioned that as recently as this sum- He then came on to the areas along the Saun- mer it was reported that a Claudian Roman fort derton gap and the Chilterns including Little had been found in London. Kimble which has been excavated but no re- ports published. At Hambledon, the original He then showed slides of Roman roads and pos- excavation report on Yewden Villa mentions 70 sible Roman roads and discussed these and styli, 40 corn dryers and 97 infant burials. Pe- mentioned that in Henley, at an excavation in ter Salway suggested it may have been the site Bell Street, Roman levels had been found. He of a rural female slave trade. At Mill End there also mentioned a report in Records of Bucks in were 4 periods of occupation. Bix had been 1970 that suggested that there was a Roman excavated but not published and at Harpsden, road near the line of the A40 running from Ux- excavations showed a small winged villa built in bridge to and beyond. the 3rd Cen. AD, part of which is underneath the 16th hole of Henley Golf Course Allan had drawn outlines of some of the Roman Villas he would then discuss, Latimer, High Wy- Allan also touched on Romano British cemeter- combe, Saunderton Lee, Saunderton, Yewdon, ies, the most important being at West Wy- Mill End, Cox Green and Harpsden combe, alongside the A40. Apparently when the lakes were drained on the West Wycombe Latimer had 3 periods of Roman, 4 post Roman estate more material was found. and 5 modern periods of occupation. At Sarratt, Chess Valley Archaeological Society had done Our thanks to Allan for an interesting and infor- extensive field walking. mative talk.

By Ann Pitwell

7 May the Committee of AIM wish all AIM members, supporters, sponsors, local and County organisations and all our other readers, a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year.

Special Thanks Celine Nonde - for taking over the compilation of the AIM newsletter and for doing such a won- derful job. Richard and Jan Mash - for giving us access to Warren Wood, storing our equipment and being so supportive. Those kind AIM members - who pass on their A5 and A4 envelopes enabling us to reduce our costs when sending out newsletters. All those supportive people - who contribute articles, quizzes and useful information which make the AIM newsletter as good as it is. Finds from the River Thames: The Thames Water Collection

Jill Greenaway spoke to the Henley Archaeologi- Additionally, the collection of river based finds by cal and Historical Group on 6 November about this George W. Smith has bolstered the collection. The collection which she curates at Reading Museum. speaker told how, after the extensive floods of 1947, Around 500 items were discovered from the non-tidal a programme of deep dredging was launched which part of the Thames, from its source in Gloucester- added to the yield. shire up to Teddington Lock, in a period which cov- However, it is likely that many more items were ered from 1911 to 1980. missed. The dredger crews only recovered what they An historic agreement with the Thames Conser- recognised as being of interest and so much may vancy Board (TCB) is allowed for all archaeological have passed unnoticed. Another problem was identi- items found in this upper section of the river during fying the locality as no careful recording was done as dredging to be deposited with the Museum on indefi- the dredger made its passage along the river. ‘Above nite loan. or below’ a bridge, lock or riverside pub was as close Then, in 1996, Thames Water, successor to the as they normally got. Thus, no evidence could be de- TCB, donated the collection to Reading Museum. duced from the finds with any accuracy, such as crossing points on the river. Finders were rewarded with ten shillings for items handed in but this was a sum that was not increased from when it was instituted in 1932! We were re- minded that, in the days before municipally-organised rubbish disposal, rivers were often used as dumps which helps to explain the eclectic nature of the items ranging from Mesolithic flints to Victorian ginger beer bottles. The most important part of the collection is the large quantity of beautiful Bronze Age and Iron Age metalwork weaponry. Similar discoveries, from the London section of the Thames and other English riv- ers flowing into the North Sea suggest a prehistoric cult of ritual offerings made to river gods. However, the speaker was sceptical of the claim that the 23 skulls in the Collection necessarily related to burial rites pointing out that accidental river fatali- ties - and criminality - over the last 10,000 years may have been equally responsible. Jeff Griffiths

8 Other Organisations’ Events and Resources

Other Societies Events Maidenhead Archaeological and Historical Society This is the information available to us at the time of Wednesday 12 December 2012 publication, but we advise you to check as this may 8 p.m. WRVS Centre (ex. King George VI Club) have changed since then. York Road, Maidenhead, contact Mrs Fowler 01628 635156 Marlow Museum Cruising Along the Caledonian Canal Peacock Room, front of Court Garden entrance Talk by Dennis Lamb Higginson Park, Pound Lane, Marlow November to February, Sundays only 2 pm to 4 pm Happy Birthday Museum and Library! A History of Borlase is the current display. It com- 2 October – 31 December 2012 prises many photographs of the school, its staff and High Wycombe Library, 5 Eden Place, High pupils over the years. Wycombe, HP11 2DH What’s Brewing in Marlow is the next exhibition, Wycombe Museum and High Wycombe Library opening in December. Naturally it will include the are both 80 years old this year. We are Wethered Brewery but also other suppliers of ales to celebrating with an anniversary exhibition at the thirsty quaffers of Marlow.The Museum thanks High Wycombe Library. 01494 421895 Ray Evans for the display production following his successful book on the brewery. Beaconsfield & District Historical Society Saturday 5 January 2013 Note - Volunteers to act as Stewards after training, 2.30 p.m. Fitzwilliams Centre are welcome. Any enquiries to Mike Hyde, telephone Windsor End, Beaconsfield Marlow 485474. 01494 673778 The Amersham Martyrs A talk by Colin Oakes

Wycombe Museum Hunt’s of Marlow Romans Until 9 Jan 2013 35 Station Road, Priory Avenue, High Wycombe HP13 6PX, 01494 Marlow, SL7 1NW 421895 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday – Saturday, 2 p.m. – 5 p.m. Sunday Your Local Hardware From tesserae to toilets, discover what life was like and DIY Store in Roman Wycombe and the Chilterns. Find out what Roman houses were like, what they ate and what they did for fun. This hands-on exhibition has lots to 01628 488228 see and do for all the family. Dress like a Roman, test your Roman numeracy and piece together the www.huntsofmarlow.com past like an archaeologist. Free

Chess Valley Archaeological Society Lowndes Room, Chesham Town Hall, Chesham Friday January 18 2013 We need your help! 8 p.m. Members £1, non-members £3 Finds in the Chilterns since Latimer, Ros Tyrrell We would like to hear from members willing to The excavation of the Roman Villa at Latimer was take on some AIM publicity and some member- the seminal event in the formation and early activity ship work. of the Society. Rosalind Tyrrell, the county’s Finds So, if you have a spare hour, or two, a month, Liaison Officer, will describe some of the finds that please get in touch by contacting our Chairman, have passed through her hands and the ways in Andy Ford (details on back page). which they have added to our understanding of the past of our area.

9 AiM ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP RATES

Individual Membership £9.00 or £4.50 if in full time education Family Membership £12.00, School Membership £18.00 Corporate Membership is available on application

AiM Committee Meetings

Next AiM Committee Meetings

All members are welcome to attend all AiM meetings

The Main Committee Meeting - 7.30pm on 17th January 2013 , at Hunters House, Henley Road, Marlow, SL7 2DT The Fieldwork/Research Meeting - tba

AiM Committee Members

Chairman Andy Ford 01628 481141 - [email protected]

Secretary Sarah Greenhous [email protected]

Treasurer Ann Pitwell 9 Spinfield Lane, Marlow, SL7 2JT 01628 481792 [email protected]

Membership Secretary John Laker 9 Spinfield Lane, Marlow, SL7 2JT 01628 481792 - [email protected]

Acting Newsletter Compiler Celine Nonde

Acting Field Work Co-ordinator John Laker 9 Spinfield Lane, Marlow, SL7 2JT 01628 481792 - [email protected]

Committee Members Gerry Platten 01628 472126