South Moreton to Hagbourne Hill Main, Oxon: Archaeological Watching Brief

CONTENTS

List of Illustrations 2

Glossary 3

Summary 4

1. INTRODUCTION 5

1.1 Introduction 1.2 Geology and topography 1.3 Archaeological Background 1.4 Methodology

2. WATCHING BRIEF RESULTS 7

3. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS 8

4. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 10

5. BIBLIOGRAPHY 10

ILLUSTRATIONS

1 South Moreton to Hagbourne Hill Main, Oxon: Archaeological Watching Brief

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Fig. 1 Location Plan Fig. 2 Route of pipeline and archaeological features

Plate 1 View towards East Hagbourne Plate 2 Possible linear in trench section Plate 3 Showing dark humic band Plate 4 General view in area of Fulscot Manor Plate 5 Modern rubbish pits Plate 6 ?Palaeochannel

2 South Moreton to Hagbourne Hill Main, Oxon: Archaeological Watching Brief

GLOSSARY

ARCHAEOLOGY For the purposes of this project, archaeology is taken to mean the study of past human societies through their material remains, from prehistoric times to the modern era. No rigid upper date limit has been set, but AD 1900 is used as a general cut-off point.

CONTEXT The simplest level of excavated archaeological data, ie a context could be the cut of a ditch (shown as - [1]), or its fill (shown as (2)).

IRON AGE The first period in which iron was the predominant metal. In Britain it is dated between c700 BC to the Roman conquest in AD 43.

MEDIEVAL Taken here as the period from the Norman invasion in AD 1066 to approximately AD 1500.

NATURAL Defined in archaeological terms this refers to the undisturbed natural geology of a site, eg. Lower Lias clay, river terrace gravels etc.

NGR National Grid Reference given from the Ordnance Survey Grid.

OD Ordnance Datum; used to express a given height above mean sea level.

ROMANO-BRITISH Term used to describe a fusion of indigenous late Iron Age traditions with Roman culture, often abbreviated as `R-B.'

SETTLEMENT An area of habitation, perhaps surrounded by associated closes, paddocks, approach ways and other features which together constitute a complex of earthworks or cropmarks distinct from fields.

SITE Sites may be defined as `windows' onto the archaeological resource, eg an excavation, aerial photograph, or an old map. Any of these may reveal certain archaeological features (pits, ditches, etc) which can be classed as components, but not monuments.

3 South Moreton to Hagbourne Hill Main, Oxon: Archaeological Watching Brief

SUMMARY

Between January and March 1996 Cotswold Archaeological Trust carried out an archaeological watching brief of groundworks for the construction of a water-main between South Moreton and Hagbourne Hill in Oxfordshire, the result of which are presented in this report. Despite intensive checks during the the cutting of the pipeline little evidence was found of archaeological remains.

4 South Moreton to Hagbourne Hill Main, Oxon: Archaeological Watching Brief

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction

1.1.1 In January 1996 Cotswold Archaeological Trust (CAT) was commissioned by Thames Water Utilities to undertake a Watching Brief during the construction of a pipeline between South Moreton and Hagbourne Hill, Oxfordshire (Fig.1). The watching brief was commissioned in accordance with the Code of Practice on Conservation, Access and Recreation, published as a result of the Water Act, 1989, insofar as its activities may affect the historic landscape.

1.1.2 The work was carried out in accordance with brief prepared by Juliet Roper, Senior Conservation & Heritage Scientist, Thames Water Utilities and approved by Hugh Coddington, Deputy County Archaeological Officer, Oxfordshire County Council; and in accordance with the 'Standard and Guidance for Archaeological Watching Briefs’ (IFA).

1.2 Study Area

1.2.1 The study area is a strip of ground 25m wide and 6km in length. The pipeline is to run from a valve complex near the village of South Moreton to a service reservoir on Hagbourne Hill. The route of the pipeline runs predominantly through open countryside crossing four roads and passing under a disused railway embankment.

1.2.2 The underlying geology of the area is green sands, fractured chalk, and yellow clay. The topography of the area is generally flat rising up to Hagbourne Hill . The study varies between 51.58 & 131.28 OD at Hagbourne Hill.

5 South Moreton to Hagbourne Hill Main, Oxon: Archaeological Watching Brief

1.3 Archaeological Background

1.3.1 Very little archaeological field work has been undertaken in the area of the pipeline. The pipeline passes within the vicinity of two sites of recognised archaeological potential: Fulscot Deserted Medieval Village (NGR SU 5450 8880) and Hagbourne Hill (NGR SU 4969 8679) where Iron Age finds have been recorded.

1.4 Methodology and Field Recording

1.4.1 All intrusive groundworks were monitored for the presence of archaeological deposits. All topsoil stripping was carried out using a toothless ditching bucket, under archaeological supervision.

1.4.2 Areas where fill/alluvium were located (or where the wayleave has not stripped to a sufficient depth) were monitored during the excavation of the pipe trench.

1.4.3 Archaeological deposits encountered during the wayleave stripping or the cutting of the pipe trench were recorded following the CAT Field Excavation Manual. Each context was recorded on pro-forma context sheets by verbal and measured description. Principal deposits were recorded by drawn plans and sections (normally at a scale of 1:20). Photographs (black and white; colour slide) were taken at regular intervals as the works progressed.

1.4.4 All finds and samples were bagged separately with unique numbers relating to the context record and in accordance with the CAT Finds and Environmental Manuals. Spoil heaps were scanned for artefacts by eye and metal detector.

6 South Moreton to Hagbourne Hill Main, Oxon: Archaeological Watching Brief

2. WATCHING BRIEF RESULTS

2.1 A tracked 360º excavator equipped with a toothless ditching bucket removed 300mm of topsoil from the area of the wayleave. The topsoil was a light grey coloured clay/ silt. Observation showed that the surface left was almost certainly still within the horizon of the plough soil. Underlying archaeological features were unlikely to have been revealed due to this shallow depth of stripping.

2.2 The wayleave stripping began on the western side of the disused railway embankment (NGR SU 451330 187280) moving west towards Hagbourne Hill; and on the eastern side (NGR SU 451450 187280) moving towards East Hagbourne. (Plate 1).

2.3 A third machine began stripping from the Thames Water compound at East Hagbourne (NGR SU 453560 188070) towards South Moreton.

2.4 Archaeological monitoring of the initial stripping revealed very little of interest. This was almost certainly because the topsoil stripping did not expose the underlying natural substrata.

2.5 Stray finds of pottery and worked flint indicate some archaeological activity but could not be related to specific features. A sherd of Roman pottery was recoved by Alex Farr of Thames Water from the general area of NGR SU 452900 187700 (Fig.2 Area A). The pot sherd was a piece of heavily degraded Oxford Red Colourcoat ware that is almost certainly a local copy of Samian pottery. Further investigation of the area revealed post medieval material but no further Roman artefacts. A metal detection sweep also failed to reveal any further Roman finds.

2.6 The later cutting of the pipe trench through this area revealed several possible linear features, which were observed in the section (Plate 2). The area in which the possible linears were observed cut through very loose waterlogged material, for Health and Safety reasons these features could not be fully investigated. The area had been the

subject of land drainage which could account for their presence.

7 South Moreton to Hagbourne Hill Main, Oxon: Archaeological Watching Brief

2.7 Sherds of 16th century pottery were discovered in the vicinity of Fulscot Manor (NGR 454700 188410) (Fig.2 Area B). The sherds were distributed over a fairly wide area and did not appear to relate to a discrete feature. The area was carefully checked but showed no further signs of archaeological activity. Cutting of the pipe trench between NGR SU 4544 1882 and 454800 188500 revealed a dark band, up to a metre deep in places, of dark humic material showing that the area had been heavily waterlogged in the past (Plates 3 & 4). It may be the case that waste from the nearby medieval settlement was dumped on the marshy ground to the south.

2.8 During the wayleave stripping two other areas of interest were identified. The wayleave stripping revealed a broad band of very dark organic silt at NGR SU 552450 187520 (Fig.2 Area C). The pipe trench showed it to be 400mm at its maximum depth. Investigation of the material did not reveal any artefactural material. This feature was either a palaeochannel or a silted pond (Plate 6).

2.9 At co-ordinates NGR SU 452300 187480 a small group of pits, four in all, were observed (Fig.2 Area D). Investigation showed the pits to be filled with identifiable modern rubbish (Plate 5). They seen to relate to a possible camp site as the refuse included metal and plastic food containers. The rubbish had been deposited in the recent past and therefore was not thought to warrant further recording.

3. DISCUSSIONS AND CONCLUSIONS

3.1 Little or no archaeological activity has been identified along the length of the pipeline. This may in part be due to the site conditions and the fact that the wayleave was not stripped to an adequare depth to assess the archaeological potential of the area.

3.2 Hagbourne Hill and Fulscot Manor were two areas of known archaeological significance which may have revealed archaeological features. The wayleave stripping

8 South Moreton to Hagbourne Hill Main, Oxon: Archaeological Watching Brief

on Hagborne Hill partly revealed the underlying chalk but did not show any evidence of pits or linear features. Any Iron-Age activity may be located in an area at some distance from the line of the striped wayleave.

3.3 The area to the south-east of Fulscot Manor displayed some signs of post-medieval activity. It would appear from the available evidence that domestic refuse had been disposed of in what was a wet boggy area. The ground had almost certainly been waterlogged over a long period of time and was unlikely to have been built on.

3.4 Scattered and isolated finds suggest that the area may contain evidence of occupation but that the line of the pipe did not cut through any significant archaeological remains. The overall impact of the pipeline on the archaeological resource is therefore thought to be low.

9 South Moreton to Hagbourne Hill Main, Oxon: Archaeological Watching Brief

4. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Cotswold Archaeological Trust would like to thank, Juiliet Roper, Peter Clarke and Alex Farr, of Thames Water Utilities for their assistance in the course of this project.

5. BIBLIOGRAPHY

CAT 1995, Project design for an archaeological watching brief, South Moreton to Hagbourne Hill Main, Oxon.

Roper J. 1995, Brief for Archaeological Monitoring, Thames Water Utilities.

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