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IN TOUCH Issue 43 Review 2016/17

Maximising public benefit Highlights of our work Spotlight on the environmental team Community archaeology roundup OA in print and in the news Welcome to In Touch Oxford Archaeology is committed duce a huge amount of wonderful to making a positive contribution information (as evidenced in to knowledge about the past, and this and previous reviews) that to communicating these results to is not being used to best effect. the public at large as well as to other John Barrett reflects on this issue researchers. We believe that this pro- in his piece below. But we also vides both best value for the funding know that we undertake a lot of invested in archaeological work, and our work in a very routine way, a legacy for future generations. The either because of client/curatorial leave for future researchers; and how National Planning Policy Framework, constraints, or because it is just much to do this. It has ever been thus, but introduced by the Government in easier to follow the familiar convey- failure to grasp the nettle will lead 2012, focuses on the importance of or-belt, process-driven systems we to increasingly pertinent questions gaining archaeological knowledge and are used to. Changing this status quo about why we are spending so much understanding from our work, this throws up significant challenges, as money on replicating past results. We being ‘the primary source of evidence John discusses. must demonstrate that we do, indeed, about the substance and evolution of provide value for money, a benefit places, and of the people and cultures that the public appreciates and, fol- that made them’ (DCLG 2012, 50). At OA, we have embarked upon a lowing NPPF, a richer understanding It moves us away from the previous review of all our processes in order of how we came to create the places Planning Policy Guidance 16 (1990) to achieve better research outcomes and communities in which we live world of ‘preservation by record’; we from our work. By improving and and flourish. are more than data gatherers. changing our practices, and by being more efficient, we aim to ensure that our resources are devoted to maxim- Gill Hey Even though we have a proud record ising our efforts to understanding the CEO, Oxford Archaeology of publishing our results, making past. Sometimes we will have to make client reports available on our website difficult choices: what to dig and what and engaging community groups in to leave; what to recover and what to our work, we are aware that we pro- discard; what to analyse and what to

Mark Bowden (Research Timothy Mowl (Co-opted from David Shotter (Co-opted from Committee) the former Academic Panel) the former Academic Panel) Senior Investigator and Team Emeritus Professor of History Emeritus Professor of Roman Manager, Historic of Architecture and Designed Imperial History, University of Landscapes, University of Lancaster Bristol, and Professorial Research Fellow in the Humanities Research Institute, Anwen Cooper (Research Buckingham University Committee) Barney Sloane (Research Committee) Post-doctoral Research Assistant, EngLaId Project, Head of Strategic Planning Joshua Pollard (Research and Management, Historic Committee) England Reader in Archaeology, The Research Committee Martin Bell (Research University of Southampton Committee) John Cruse (Trustee) Our Research Committee is Adrian Tindall (Trustee) instrumental in helping us Professor in Archaeological Retired Oil Executive, form new ideas, policies and Science, University of Reading Member of the Yorkshire Consultant, Archaeological procedures, and in backing Archaeological Society Peter Salway (Co-opted from Risk Management us in our endeavours to put the former Academic Panel) new methods into practice. Emeritus Professor of the John Blair (Research History and Archaeology of Lindsay Allason-Jones OBE Committee) Chris Gosden (Chair of Roman Britain, The Open Gabor Thomas (Research (Research Committee) Trustees) University Committee) Professor of Medieval History Retired Director of the Centre and Archaeology, The Chair of European Associate Professor in Early for Interdisciplinary Artefact Queen’s College, University Archaeology at the Institute Medieval Archaeology, Studies and Reader in Roman of Oxford of Archaeology, University of University of Reading Material Culture, Newcastle Oxford Rick Schulting (Research University Committee) Lecturer in Scientific and Richard Bradley (Chair of the Prehistoric Archaeology, Peter Warry (Advisor to (Trustee) Trustees) John Barrett (Trustee) Research Committee) University of Oxford Emeritus Professor of Professor of Early Medieval Visiting Research Fellow, Emeritus Professor, Archaeology, University of Archaeology, University of University of Reading, Department of Archaeology, Reading, and Chair of the Oxford Honorary Fellow, University University of Sheffield Niall Sharples (Research of Oxford Research Committee Committee) Professor of Archaeology, William Manning (Co-opted Cardiff University Nick Barton (Research David Breeze OBE (Research from the former Academic Jan Wills (Trustee) Committee) Committee) Panel) Historic Environment Professor and Lecturer in Honorary Research Professor, Emeritus Professor of Consultant and Chair of CIfA Palaeolithic Archaeology, University of Durham Roman Archaeology, Cardiff University of Oxford University 2 The In this issue theme of this review edition of In Touch is ‘Maximising public benefit’. We reveal how we are working to deliver a more efficient service, while increasing research and public value. We present a roundup of our outreach and publications, and share some of the highlights of our work both in the field and the office from the past 12 months.

Weclome to In Touch ���������������������������������2 In this issue ����������������������������������������������������������������������3 Maximising public benefit �����������������������������������������������������������4 Spotlight on... ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������7 Utilities and renewables ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������10 Find spot ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������10 Housing and mixed development ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������11 Minerals and aggregates ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������13 Geoarchaeology ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 14 Find spot ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 14 Environment and landscape �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������15 Burials ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 16 Urban regeneration ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������17 Training and capacity building �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������18 Find spot ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 18 Historic buildings ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 19 Find spot �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 20 Public and communitiy ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 21 Transport and infrastructure �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������23 Heritage services ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 24 Publications ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 25 Talks and conferences ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 26 In the news ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������27 Community ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������28 Our clients �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������30 Our staff ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������31 Our work 2016-2017 ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������32

In Touch Issue 43 3 REVIEWING WHAT WE DO Over the past few months, we have been critically examining our policies and procedures to identify where we can focus more effectively on gaining knowledge and delivering research and public benefit. Our review looked first at our finds collection policy, the environmental archaeology policy and sampling guidelines and post-excavation assess- ments. More recently we have turned to how we deal with animal bones, human remains, publica- tion and digital archiving. This feature is introduced by John Barrett, Emeritus Professor in the Department of Archaeology at the University of Sheffield and one of our Trustees and Research Committee members, who discusses the challenges of working in the sector and how we can change the way that archaeology is done for the better. We then take a look at some of the policies and procedures that have been reviewed, and highlight why the review has been necessary and how the changes will help deliver results that will save our clients time and money and increase the research and public value of our work.

DELIVERING BENEFIT paid for by research funding, are designed to increase our The challenge faced by Oxford Archaeology (OA) is to understanding of the historical mechanisms that generated increase the value of its work given the financial con- those formation processes, but is not necessarily undertak- straints within which it necessarily operates. This involves en within OA. increasing the efficiency of its operations for its clients, The lack of any established line of feedback between these

MAXIMISING PUBLIC BENEFIT increasing an understanding of the past whilst making this two kinds of investigation means that field investigations, understanding available to the wider public, and increas- and those who undertaken them (and the curators who of- ing the career opportunities and rewards for those who ten design them), seem to be disconnected from the wider work for OA. I have doubts that current procedures can procedures aimed at increasing historical understanding. deliver on these key requirements. This is because archae- This may well result in fieldwork generating redundant ological investigations are currently divided between, data (at some expense to the client) whilst failing to target on the one hand, the client-funded field and specialist enquiries into new lines of historical understanding. It investigation of formation processes achieved by recording might also fail to enhance both the working environment patterns of material deposition and reporting upon them within OA and the ease with which historical information in ‘grey literature’ and publications and, on the other hand, is made available to the wider public. ‘syntheses’ of these results which, when they occur, are I suggest one option would be to realign field procedures towards the investigation of historical mechanisms, instead of lim- iting these procedures to the establish- ment of formation processes. On the face of it this sounds like adding an additional task, and therefore an additional cost, to field investigations. However, to counter this any realignment of field procedures must demonstrate that they will deliver benefits to clients, OA staff, and the wider public. Is this possible? My optimistic response to this question is based upon the princi- ple that the design of field investigations should be the responsibility of those who Excavation at Heathrow Airport by Framework Archaeology, a joint venture between OA and Wessex will undertake that work. Such designs Archaeology from 1998 to 2015. The collaboration was notable for its innovative approach to excavation and recording, which was developed by John Barrett and Gill Andrews are likely to evolve during their execu- tion because they must address, and be

4 MAXIMISING PUBLIC BENEFIT relevant to, the investigation of stated historical problems at least: how to collect more intelligently on site in order given the kinds of data that become available. They must to better focus resources on significant site-based, regional also be accountable to the client, curators and the wider and national research questions, but also research avenues public. The aim of any such realignment should ensure prompted by the significance of the material itself. Allied that field investigations are targeted towards processes of to this was the need to review sample processing meth- historical understanding, more than towards the catalogu- odologies to try to ensure that the material extracted is ing of deposits and the repetitive collecting of potentially only that of interest to the various specialists who will be irrelevant data. The implied selectivity, whilst aiming to reporting on it, and to streamline the handing over of ma- deliver financial efficiency, is likely to be met with con- terial to enable the post-excavation processes to proceed siderable suspicion by the archaeological profession as a more swiftly. whole. But such suspicion is based, I would suggest, upon The key to improving efficiency comes down to training – the false notion that data whose historical relevance is not a more informed workforce is able to make more strategic currently understood will nonetheless contribute to some choices. Improving communication at all levels is essential future historical understanding, a notion that was once and a central part of this process review. The review has embedded in the principle of ‘preservation by record’. highlighted the need for specialists to visit sites wherever By empowering OA staff with the responsibility to develop possible and to be more involved in the design of sampling levels of historical understanding through fieldwork, the strategies in order to avoid the collection and processing of reasoning employed in those fieldwork commissions, low value ‘routine’ samples. Specialists will also be able to along with their results, could be relayed to both the provide training on-site during visits. archaeological profession and to the wider community The standardisation of recording systems across all offices through a more extensive range of media than hard-copy will also enable data to be collected in a manner which is reports. Current electronic media can form a bridge easily accessible to researchers outside OA, as well as our between on-site recording and the analytical development own specialists. Consequently, a new OA database for the and the dissemination of that work to a wider off-site au- recording of animal bone and an archaeobotanical data- dience. One obvious benefit of such a bridging mechanism base promoted by Historic England are being trialled. would be the feeling of immediate engagement and the enhanced level of understanding of archaeological proce- Rebecca Nicholson (Head of Environmental dures that could be gained by the wider audience. Archaeology, OA South) The argument for redesigning field procedures is not presented here to throw any doubt upon the considerable POST-EXCAVATION ASSESSMENT achievements of OA in executing archaeological commis- Post-excava- sions, often under difficult circumstances, and its work in tion assessment community outreach. Nonetheless, the competitive envi- (PXA) is an ronment within which OA is operating, with its restricted important stage financial returns, challenges us to develop a more direct, in most medium and therefore cost-effective, understanding of historical to large exca- processes as a way of demonstrating archaeological value vation projects, to the client and to the wider community (in whose name carried out after this work is undertaken), whilst also providing the envi- completion of ronment necessary for career development amongst OA’s the fieldwork staff. and before the John C Barrett final analysis and publication. The ENVIRONMENTAL SAMPLING PXA establishes the potential OA South has had in-house of the excavation archive to contribute to understanding environmental sampling of the past. It also updates the project design – that is, guidelines for many years, it presents revised research aims for analysis, a plan for but the process review has meeting these aims, and proposals for dissemination of allowed for a group-wide the results and curation of the archive. Although the basic examination of these in principles of PXA are well established in guidance from order to streamline proce- Historic England and other national bodies, in practice dures across the organisa- varying approaches have been taken to the PXA process. tion in line with national ‘Mission creep’ can be tempting, with more recording and standards. reporting undertaken than is appropriate at this stage of The aim of the process work. This is problematic, as it limits the ability to focus review for environmen- work most effectively at analysis stage, thus reducing the tal archaeology was fairly archaeological value produced by the project. OA’s new straightforward, in theory PXA guidelines and report template aim to ensure that ef-

In Touch Issue 43 5 fort is tightly focused on efficiently assessing the evidence cause offence, and to maximise scientific value. While the and updating the project design. The guidelines stress that spirit and intent of the document still holds, it was drafted the most important part of the PXA process is producing almost 10 years ago, so is being reviewed in respect of a well-considered, meaningful set of research aims. This is changes that have taken place in legislative (for example, key if our projects are to fulfil their potential by generating revised licence application forms), scientific (for example, new insights into the past. the more common use of isotopes and DNA), ethical (for example, the increase in destructive sampling), and herit- Leo Webley (Head of Post-Excavation, OA age (the introduction of NPPF) spheres. South) The revised policy will also incorporate changes we have made to our processes over the last 10 years, from the ANIMAL BONE Being largely hand-recovered, animal bone is often consid- ered to be a ‘find’, but unlike many artefacts, the signifi- cance of most faunal remains is dependent on assemblage size and context. Large assemblages are usually the most informative, but recovering, storing, reporting and archiv- ing large assemblages are time-consuming and costly. The process review identified a need for specific guidance for animal bone, which has now been produced in draft. Foremost among the recommendations is that animal bone should be collected with the research aims of the project and regional and period-based research agendas in mind. Assemblages may also prove to have additional, unforeseen, research value, so too prescriptive a collection policy should be avoided. The costs of marking and weigh- ing bone are considerable and most specialists do not require this to be done, especially as marking can obscure important evidence, such as fine tool marks or pathologies. Unfortunately, many remain wedded to the idea of marking. Further dialogue is clearly needed, but some MAXIMISING PUBLIC BENEFIT savings can be made by only marking bone recommended for retention after the assessment has been completed. Rebecca Nicholson (Head of Environmental Archaeology, OA South)

OSTEOARCHAEOLOGY Unlike other finds and environmental cate- gories, archaeological processes relating introduction of digital recording (on-site photogram- to human remains metry and post-excavation osteology database), to the are closely governed collection of bone from site and the retention/disposal by legal and ethical of small cremation residues. In addition, it will build on considerations. This is our efforts to share our results by making our data more reflected in OA’s exist- accessible,2 collaborating on new and innovative research ing policy document projects,3 and by engaging the public.4 While challeng- for the treatment of ing, it is hoped this review will help us in our goal to create human remains in our and disseminate knowledge about past humans in a highly care, which conforms innovative and effective manner. to national codes and guidance.1 Louise Loe (Head of Heritage Burial Services) The primary aims of the document are to For your information: ensure that human 1 http://oxfordarchaeology.com/images/pdfs/oa%20human%20re remains are treated mains%20policy%20document%20update%20dec%202012.pdf with the utmost care 2 Eg http://pastpeopleoxon.uk/about.php and respect and in a 3 Eg https://www.biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/05/09/136176 manner that does not 4 Eg Wellcome ‘Hidden Lives Revealed’ exhibition 6 SPOTLIGHT ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL TEAM Inter-office working in environmental archaeology dates back to 2001 when Oxford Archaeology and the Lancaster University Archaeological Unit (now OA North) joined forces, bringing expertise in archaeobotany, palynology and ecology. Since then, the office (OA East) has been established, and the archaeozoologists in each office are now also part of the environmental team. Together with our geoarchaeologists, we provide a comprehensive in-house palaeoenvironmental and palaeoecological service across all three offices. For this short piece we are turning the spotlight on a range of largely archaeobotanical projects undertaken by each of our offices. We look at the role of experimental archaeology to answer ques- tions raised during projects, demonstrate the need for intelligent research-focused sampling on-site to enable multi-proxy evidence to be used, and show how, even in the absence of archaeological artefacts or features, the heritage of a site can be recorded and documented.

Core 3, extracted from turbine location 3, showing contact between organic sediments and mineral sediments

THE WHOLE STORY: THE ADVANTAGES OF conditions of this small agricultural settlement in north MULTI-PROXY ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS Lancashire. The value of incorporating a wide range of palaeoen- The Bay Gateway project exemplifies just how rich the vironmental evidence, provided by both our internal archaeological record can be through proper invest- team of specialists and our external specialists, cannot be ment, intelligent sampling and inclusive and creative site underestimated, especially where a range of feature types narratives. Thankfully, the time of specialist reports being containing charred and/or waterlogged deposits exist. confined to separate sections or (worse still) appendices, is The Bay Gateway, a road built to the north of Lancaster nearly a thing of the past! by Lancashire County Council and substantially funded by the Department for Transport, is a recent example. The information about the site obtained from analysing a range PALYNOLOGY AT BECK BURN, SOLWAY of evidence, including pollen, fungal spores, waterlogged MOSS, CUMBRIA and charred plant remains, insects, and charcoal, togeth- Solway Moss in Cumbria is situated on an interfluve er with animal and fish bone, provided a comprehensive between the rivers Sark and Esk, 2.5km north-east of the account of the agricultural landscape and the various food Solway Firth. The site is an area of active peat extraction, and plant-based preparation activities carried out at How- resulting in a largely flat, brown and bleak landscape. gill Brook, which has now been identified as being part of During 2016, a windfarm was erected by EDF Energy Beaumont Grange, an estate belonging to Furness Abbey Renewables at Beck Burn on the Moss. As part of the EDF and dating to the 12th-17th century. work, OA North collected cores from three of the wind- Along with the dating results, changes in the environmen- farm turbine locations (where peat had previously been tal data were seen to reflect periods of reduced activity, extracted) and one from a nearby area of apparently uncut followed by subsequent shifts in agricultural practices. peat. Although aerial photographs had shown cropmarks This was probably linked to significant local and nation- indicative of prehistoric settlement in the wider vicinity al historical events (for example, the 15th/16th century of the site, there were no known archaeological features. climatic downturn). Alongside the building and documen- Finds were limited to the recovery in 1991 and 1992 of the tary evidence, a complete ‘package’ was produced, which remains of the ‘Solway cow’ and ‘Solway sheep’, which were has provided an extremely detailed account of the life and dated to the early medieval and post-medieval periods,

In Touch Issue 43 7 SPOTLIGHT ON SPOTLIGHT

View of Beck Burn site, Solway Moss, prior to installation of windfarm

although the peat deposits within which the remains oc- data have been extracted, dated and interpreted to provide curred were not contemporary with the finds. a chronology of vegetational and cultural change at the site, revealing that organic sediments as old as the earliest The peat itself is a significant archaeological asset, espe- Holocene (c 9000 cal BC) and as young as the late medie- cially in the absence of any other archaeological evidence. val/early post-medieval period (c 1500 cal AD) are present Through detailed palaeoenvironmental (pollen) work, in the cores.

8 SPOTLIGHT ON FOOD OR DRINK? EXPERIMENTAL SPELT Fosberry at OA East grew and attempted to germinate GERMINATION several varieties of spelt wheat. Charred cereal grains are recovered from most archaeo- For the first experiment some grain was dehusked and logical sites where there has been human occupation. This the rest left as hulled grain. After steeping both batches in is hardly surprisingly as cereals have been a staple food water overnight, germination started almost immediately, since they were first cultivated in the Neolithic period, but with the embryo emerging after 24 hours. There proved it is often unclear whether cereals were cultivated for food to be very little difference in germination rates between (bread) or for drink (beer). the hulled and clean grain, which was surprising, as it is usually assumed that storage of hulled grain Sprouted spelt from Over – showing attached coleoptile would prevent accidental germination. The sec-

(left) and dorsal groove (right) ond surprise was the different germination rates within each sample. Again, it has been assumed that deliberately germinated grain would pro- duce sprouts of roughly equal length, whereas the opposite seems to be true, with some sprouts developing much more quickly than others. Of particular significance, the experiment confirmed Rachel’s hypothesis that the dorsal groove only develops in grain germinated whilst still hulled in a spikelet. This was clearly the case as in the clean, dehusked, grain the sprout grew up away from the grain whereas in the hulled grain the shoot was constricted and grew along the back of the grain to escape from the spikelet, causing the groove. The experiments also demonstrated that even under identical conditions deliberate germi- nation is not guaranteed. Attempts to encourage germination by gentle heating were unsuccessful and smelt vile! The results of these simple experiments have shown that it is not necessary to dehusk spelt wheat when malting for beer production and that uneven germination cannot be used as evidence that germination was accidental. This was consist- Archaeobotanists often find charred grains that show ob- ent with Rachel’s findings from the charred assemblages vious signs of germination; that is, where the embryo has from Over and Kettering, and strengthens the likelihood developed into a shoot. This shoot may still be attached that spelt wheat was used for brewing at these sites. and it is sometimes possible to see how it has grown along the back of the grain causing a groove. Often the shoot After drying, the malt the grains would be removed from is absent, but the presence of the dorsal groove indicates the spikelets, along with the developing coleoptiles and that the grain has germinated and the germinated grain roots, and the waste products most likely burnt as fuel. may also have shrunken sides. Barley is usually thought of This is what we see at Langford Lane, where along with as the cereal for brewing, but there is a mounting body of charred spelt grains showing the signs of germination evidence that during the Roman period spelt wheat was within the spikelet there were charred deposits rich in malted. At Langford Lane near Bicester (excavated by OA detached coleoptiles and cereal chaff. South), and at two Roman sites excavated recently by OA East (at Over in and Kettering in North- amptonshire), large deposits of charred cereals have been IN OTHER NEWS identified and sampled, producing abundant quantities of Apart from the policy and procedures review, we have germinated spelt grain and detached sprouts. been investigating better ways of standardising our data to make them more accessible between offices and nationally. Germinated grain does not necessarily mean malting, This has been achieved by the use of new databases to re- however. Accidental germination can occur quite easily in cord both archaeozoological and archaeobotanical data, in stored grain that has become damp or even whilst the crop the latter case utilising the ArboDat database now widely is still in the fields before harvest. It had been thought that used across and by Historic England. an assemblage of deliberately germinated grain would have a high percentage of grains showing evidence of germi- Denise Druce, Rachel Fosberry, Julia Meen, nation and that the degree of sprout development would Rebecca Nicholson and Mairead Rutherford be uniform. To test this theory, and so better understand archaeobotanical assemblages of sprouted grain, Rachel

In Touch Issue 43 9 ALLER, SOMERSET Last December, a team from OA South completed trial the pits produced a pierced, worked stone object, a single trenching and targeted excavation just west of the vil- fragment of animal bone, and a pot base, which may repre- lage of Aller, next to the Somerset levels. The work was sent an intentionally placed deposit. Similarly, a second commissioned by British Solar Renewables ahead of the pit, near the enclosure’s entrance, contained the near-com- construction of a new solar farm, and focused on two en- plete skeleton of a cow. It is possible, therefore, that this closures that had been identified by an earlier geophysical enclosure functioned as a meeting place or corral. survey. The smaller enclosure differed from its counterpart in that The larger of the enclosures had a rectangular plan, with a it was square and was bounded by a continuous ditch con- southerly entrance, and was defined by a boundary ditch, taining early Bronze Age pottery. Importantly, at its centre which contained early to middle Bronze Age pottery, and were three cremation burials, two of which contained an- was overlain by a Roman trackway. Within its interior was imal bone suggesting that they were associated with pyre a scattering of postholes, which may represent internal goods. The cremation burials were all dated to between divisions, as well as a few small pits. Interestingly, one of 1960 and 1760 cal BC, and represent the remains of three adults, of whom two are likely to be female. There are no known parallels with this type of mortuary enclosure from this date. Two round barrows in the immediate vicinity of the site have carbon dates either side of the Aller Court enclosure. UTILITIES AND RENEWABLES Martyn Allen and Gerry Thacker

A CACHE OF MARBLES UNEARTHED AT ETON COLLEGE An unexpected discovery was made during the resurfacing gaps in the floorboards, have been found at a of the courtyard of Eton College in 2016. When workmen few other school sites, but the mar- lifted a flagstone within the 17th-century colonnade as bles from Eton College appear part of new drainage works, they uncovered a stoneware to be, as far as we know, the bottle, which seems to have been deliberately buried in only cache deliberately buried a small pit dug into the rubble underlying the paving. A in a container. It seems more team from OA South was called in to investigate. than likely that they were delib- erately buried by a schoolboy Manufactured by Stephen Green of Lambeth, the stone- who, for whatever reason, ware blacking bottle has two very closely datable marks

FIND SPOT never came back for them. which, combined with the presence of an internal glaze, place its manufacture between 1831 and 1834, the middle John Cotter and Carl years of King William IV’s reign. Blacking bottles, pro- Champness duced in their millions, were not recycled and were prob- ably disposed of very soon after use, so it is likely that the bottle was buried here not very long after its manufacture. Blacking liquid, made from graphite, was used to blacken and polish boots, iron fireside grates and ovens. The marbles are all made from very hard, mostly light grey, banded limestone or perhaps from a low-grade marble. Early marbles really were made from marble, hence the name. Glass marbles were produced from about 1850 on- wards. Gaming marbles, probably lost over time through

10 HOUSING AND MIXED DEVELOPMENT NEWARK-ON-TRENT, NOTTINGHAMSHIRE Urban and Civic Plc began a large-scale development at activity during the Roman period. This phase saw inten- Newark-on-Trent in August 2016. The development cov- sive industrial use, with evidence of metalworking and six ered an area of 280ha, and aimed to deliver key infrastruc- well-preserved pottery kilns recorded. ture and mixed residential, commercial and communal West of Bowbridge Lane, excavations were concentrated facilities. Over a period of 12 months, OA North was on on a large circular ditched enclosure or potential hengi- site to mitigate the potential impact of the development on form monument, about 35m in diameter and provisionally the extensive archaeological remains. dated to the late Neolithic/early Bronze Age. There is a hint Excavations on the east side of Bowbridge Lane identified of at least one entrance, and postholes, a gully, and pits the remains of a predominantly Iron Age settlement with were identified within its interior. Some of these features the discovery of nearly a dozen roundhouses, pits and may indicate internal post-built structures, while others various other features nested within an extensive system of were the focus for funerary activity during the Bronze Age; ditched enclosures and associated land divisions. A large 12 urned and 2 unurned cremation burials were found. A enclosure appears to have formed the focus for significant fragment of a socketed stone axe of early Bronze Age date was found in a pit outside the monu- ment, while a beautifully decorated jet plate divider, presumably deriving from a necklace of Bronze Age origin, was collected as a surface find. A feature of probable Iron Age date, a rather innocuous gully, produced a heavily patinated stone axe. Further chemical analysis of the axe will firmly establish its lithic source, but the axe ap- pears to have been deliberately curated. Adam Tinsley

CHESTERTON, CAMBRIDGE OA East was commissioned by Lovell to conduct an excavation in advance of residential development for the Hundred Houses Society, on the outskirts of Chesterton. The site lies adjacent to a known medieval moat, and prior to the work it was antici- pated that any archaeology present would be medieval in date. However, it was also suspected that much of this might have been destroyed during the construction of council houses in the 1930s. Surprisingly, the work indicated that damage from the council houses was restricted, and so clear evidence for of at least six animals, including sheep, dog and pig, that medieval activity was present. This comprised bounda- had been carefully crammed into one of the pits. ry ditches and several post-built structures likely to be agricultural buildings at the rear of medieval plots. More Taken together, these Iron Age remains were clearly part surprisingly, the excavations also revealed a dense swathe of a larger settlement extending beyond the footprint of of Iron Age archaeology. This included ditches that formed the development site. They are nonetheless an important parts of small sub-rectangular enclosures dating to the discovery for this suburb of Cambridge, particularly as middle and late Iron Age, along with scatters of early Iron they represent the earliest, significant settlement yet to be Age pits. These pits contained pottery, a relatively large discovered in Chesterton. number of sawn antler fragments and well-preserved ani- mal bone that may represent ‘ritual’ deposits. Indeed, some confirmation for this was provided by articulated remains Matt Brudenell and Andy Greef In Touch Issue 43 11 GRAVEN HILL, OA South was at Graven Hill, near Bicester in Oxfordshire along a road corridor revealed at least four medieval towards the end of 2016 and in 2017 to carry out an exca- buildings with shallow stone foundations and stone and vation for the Graven Hill Village Development Company earth floor levels. One building is terraced, with a raised (part of Cherwell District Council) in advance of the UK’s platform to one side and a stepped foundation or wall that largest self-build development. stands several courses high. Another building is circular and of uncertain function, though environmental sam- The results were somewhat low-key to begin with. The ples taken from this and other team uncovered a Roman field features may provide clues as system in use during the 2nd to the use of this and other century AD, which, though not buildings. Among the finds are particular remarkable, adds a copper finger ring, a deco- to our growing knowledge of rated floor tile, and plenty of the Roman landscape in the domestic pottery dating to the Bicester area. This field system 12th and 14th centuries. was probably associated with a contemporary Roman structure Excavation has moved onto with evidence of opus signinum another Iron Age site on the floors identified some 500m higher slopes of Graven Hill. away during an earlier evalu- Post-excavation analysis will ation. Further excavation un- commence once fieldwork has covered evidence for a late Iron been completed, and this will Age settlement characterised by, doubtless reveal further secrets among other features, ditches, of this multi-period site. pits, postholes and enclosures. More spectacular, and rather unexpected, was the discovery Steve Lawrence and of the remains of a deserted Becky Peacock medieval village. Investigation

RAF Brampton, Cambridgeshire Following on from a phase of work in spring 2016 ahead of The sites produced evidence of medieval timber structures, housing development, OA East returned to RAF Brampton gravel extraction pits and enclosures. More significantly, in autumn 2016 and winter 2017 to excavate two addi- at one of the sites, the remains of a late medieval wooden tional sites. The excavations, funded by JCAM Commer- tank were revealed. This was set within a pit that had been cial Real Estate Property VII Ltd, unearthed a range of capped in the 16th century when the area was converted medieval features and finds, which may represent parts of to parkland. This tank was composed of stakes and many a settlement that formed the medieval precursor to nearby reused planks derived from carts and structures, and also

HOUSING AND MIXED DEVELOPMENT Brampton House. contained plant remains and pieces of leather. Similarly, at the other site, two late medieval tank-like pits were also revealed. The larger of these was the most intriguing and, although it did not contain a wooden structure, it did con- tain charcoal, plant remains, and 25 pieces of well-preserved leather, including shoe fragments dating between the 14th and 15th centuries. Regarding the function of the tanks, analysis of the recovered waterlogged plant remains has proved highly informative. This suggests that the tanks were used for retting hemp, whereby bundles of this plant would have been submerged in the water-filled tanks in order to facilitate the separation of the hemp fibres from the stems.

Kat Blackbourn

12 MINERALS AND AGGREGATES SUTTON COURTENAY, OXFORDSHIRE A team from OA South returned in 2017 to Bridge Farm, a The curve in a segment of the enclosure respected the mineral extraction site in Sutton Courtenay with which we ring-ditch, suggesting that both features were in existence have been involved for over a decade. Previous excavations at the same time. revealed extensive archaeological remains dating from the Further excavation of the ring-ditch revealed it to be Upper Palaeolithic to post-medieval period. The most re- formed of three intercutting ditches, with an internal di- cent excavation, for Hanson Aggregates, focused on a very ameter of 11m and external diameter of 16m. Two possibly well defined ring-ditch and a cluster of linear features. contemporary phases, an inner wide ditch, were super- Stripping the topsoil revealed an entrance in the ring- seded by a later steep-sided and deeper ditch. Artefactual ditch, along with several pits and a three-sided enclosure evidence from the feature all dates to the Iron Age, but as ditch. Pottery from the pits indicates that the features are the lower fills are incredibly sterile, a Bronze Age origin of Iron Age origin and likely to have been used as storage cannot be ruled out. pits. The enclosure ditch was also dated to the Iron Age. A small cluster of pits to the west of the enclosure ditch produced Saxon pottery and a small knife. A sunken-featured building with two external postholes was also excavated. Two crouched inhumation burials were also found. Work continues at Sutton Courtenay on a further phase of excava- tion. John Boothroyd

NORTH CAVE, EAST YORKSHIRE During the latter half of 2016, archaeologists from OA North worked alongside a team from Humber Field One of the leather shoes Archaeology (HFA) to excavate and record several sites in North Cave, East Yorkshire. These excavations, located within a busy sand and gravel quarry, continue a pro- gramme of works that HFA has been involved with for over 15 years. Previous works at the Humberside Aggregates quarry site had uncovered an extensive network of boundary ditches and enclosures relating to an Iron Age/Romano-British ‘ladder’ settlement. During the expansion of the quarry, HFA was given the opportunity to ‘fill in the gaps’ with new excavations targeting fields adjacent to prior phases. This new work unearthed large quantities of pottery and other domestic refuse, along with several inhumation bur- ials, the last with remarkably good preservation for a site with sandy soil. One of these burials was apparently in- terred sitting partially upright in a large rectangular wood- en chest or box, with the recovery of hinge straps, corner braces and studs, suggesting that this was a well-construct- ed receptacle. Chest burials are characteristically mid-An- glo-Saxon, with a date range of the 7th to 10th centuries. Further interesting finds came to light in a large refuse pit which produced parts of leather shoes complete with hobnails, laces and a radiate motif decoration. Aidan Parker

In Touch Issue 43 13 OXFORD FLOOD ALLEVIATION SCHEME Oxford Archaeology continued work on the £120m as well as trackways and settlement evidence. Oxford Flood Alleviation Scheme for the Environment Our geoarchaeologists have been helping to record and Agency throughout 2017. The scheme, which runs over interpret the sediments as well as sampling for palaeoenvi- 5km across flood meadows behind OA South’s office at ronmental remains and radiocarbon dating. We have also Janus House, includes the excavation of a new channel been using the Cobra power auger to extract cores with flood storage areas, from deeper sequences when access to trenches has embankments and sever- become difficult to water ingress. al new bridges. Prior to the inception of the scheme in 2008, there The team from Geoar- were fewer than a dozen reliable data points across chaeological Services the western floodplain; the 3D deposit model now has been supporting the holds several hundred. This scale of data collection fieldwork team during is quite unprecedented for the floodplain surround- the excavation of nearly ing Oxford. We expect to add significantly to this 200 evaluation trenches. database to help assess the potential impact of the The work builds on the scheme on buried archaeology and formulate future previous stages of work mitigation strategies. that included extensive deposit modelling with Liz Stafford boreholes and electro- GEOARCHAEOLOGY magnetic survey, aimed at building a map of the prehistoric topography buried beneath a thick blanket of river silt. OA South Evaluation trenching on the floodplain of a major river such as the Thames is particularly challeng- ing. This is in part due to the high-water table, which requires a lot of pumping equipment, and the health and safety implications of opening deep Evaluation excavations through soft sediments. In addition, trench the network of buried channels, some dating back thousands of years and associated with archaeol- ogy of multiple periods, can be very complex. The range of archaeological remains spans the Meso- lithic to post-medieval and includes flint scatters Iron Age cat paw print The imprint of the paw of a small animal was discovered to a recently published assemblage from Moore’s Farm, a on a sherd of pottery from an early Iron Age settlement short distance to the west of the Shinfield site, where it was site at Shinfield in Berkshire during excavations by OA dated to c 700-400BC on style and associated radiocarbon South for CgMs Consulting. The sherd is part of an as- dates. semblage recovered from a feature within an intercutting The species of the animal which wondered over the drying group of shallow, irregular pits. pot is uncertain, but is a small mammal. A likely candidate The print is on a basal sherd of a flint-tempered vessel, is domestic cat, considering the size and shape of the print, which, although of uncertain form, is associated with and the absence of claw marks. Wildcat (felis silvestris) coarse jars with fingertip decorated rims and must be considered, but wildcats are notoriously shy forest shoulders and small carinated bowls dwellers, unlikely to stray into an area of human activity, FIND SPOT with flaring rims. The and the print is too small to have been a mature wildcat. print was left on a It is also too small for a mature dog or fox, animals which newly-formed ves- anyway do not retract their claws, and there are no visible sel, left to dry in an claw marks on the Shinfield paw print. inverted position Evidence of domestic cats in Iron Age contexts is uncom- (the most stable mon but not unknown. Further research is required, but position for an the Shinfield paw print, if left by a domestic cat, could unfired pot). The be amongst the earliest evidence for their presence so far pottery corre- recorded in Britain. sponds stylisti- cally and in fabric Lisa Brown and Alex Davies 14 ENVIRONMENT AND LANDSCAPE BINCHESTER ROMAN FORT, COUNTY DURHAM When the Auckland Castle Trust wanted to find out Away from the Roman fort and settlement, however, there more about the historic environment around Binchester is comparatively little evidence for sites of potential his- Roman Fort in County Durham before it drew up plans to torical and archaeological importance. The non-invasive enhance the visitor and display facilities, it commissioned field surveys forming phase 2 of the study focused on this OA North to undertake the work – a two-phase, non-in- less well-known area. data were collated and aerial trusive archaeological study of some 130 hectares of land. photography using a drone was carried out. The work revealed that features of the late medieval/post-medieval The first phase of the study, a desk-based assessment, rural landscape are preserved over large areas, principally sought to gather, collate and present all known informa- in the form of ridge and furrow and field boundaries. A tion about the site’s historical and archaeological resource, magnetometry survey augmented the results of the other and ran concurrently with the field surveys. In total, 44 ar- survey techniques. chaeological interventions and 86 sites of archaeological or historical significance were identified within the study area Taken together, the different elements of the project or its buffer zone. The majority are certainly or possibly demonstrated the great importance and longevity of Bin- Roman in date and relate to the various phases of occupa- chester’s archaeological and historical resource. tion within the Roman fort and the associated settlement (vicus) that grew up outside its walls. Alan Lupton

HATFIELD FOREST, ESSEX Hatfield Forest is one of the few remaining medieval Royal The majority of the surveyed earthworks comprised me- Forests. It has been heavily managed, with areas used dieval, and more recent, drainage ditches, dug to enhance for coppicing, livestock, farming and hunting. Given the the land for growing hardwood. The survey also recorded importance of this area, over the winter of 2016/2017, OA several sizeable coppice boundaries consisting of banks East was commissioned by the National Trust to complete and ditches up to 2m wide and high. The survey recorded, the mapping of earthworks in the forest which was started too, several significant features in Woodside Green and by English Heritage in 1999. Wall Wood, which related to medieval field systems. These included boundary ditches that been cleaned out and The focus of the survey was four coppices that had become reused as drains. Most of the survey areas were open to accessible since the original 1999 survey, and also the the public, and OA 26-hectare Wall East’s surveyors Wood and 18-hec- regularly consulted tare Woodside local people during Green, which had the course of the recently come into work, who pro- the ownership of vided many useful the National Trust. insights into the Technically, the landscape features work proved chal- that were being lenging, as some recorded. of the survey areas comprised very dense woodland. However, most fea- Gareth Rees tures in these areas were surveyed with an error of less than 50cm.

In Touch Issue 43 15 TRINITY BURIAL GROUND, EAST YORKSHIRE In 2015, OA North was gravestones were removed, so commissioned by Balfour that a ground-penetrating radar Beatty on behalf of High- survey and geotechnical ground ways England to investigate investigation works could pro- Trinity Burial Ground in ceed. This was then followed by Hull. The cemetery was in archaeological trial trenching. use between 1783 and 1861 This entailed the excavation of BURIALS and the parish registers one trial trench across the site of indicate that it contained a mortuary building, and three many thousands of burials. others positioned around the The archaeological inves- impact zone, where the differ- tigation was completed in ences in the surviving grave partnership with Humber monuments hinted at variations Field Archaeology, and in the social and economic aimed to assess burial status of those buried beneath remains in part of the cem- them. As these last three trench- etery likely to be affected es lay within the burial ground by a Highways England proper, sensitivity was a key scheme to improve Hull’s issue and, as such, during exca- main arterial route (A63) to vation a large tent was used to the docks. screen off the work from public view. The density of burials in The investigation initially the different trenches will enable included a survey of the a better mitigation strategy to be burial monuments with- devised when the proposed road in the proposed impact scheme is commissioned. zone, and also enabled the grave headstones to be recorded. After this, 195 Stephen Rowland CHERRY HINTON, CAMBRIDGE Recent excavations carried out by OA East in advance of amples of Anglo-Saxon barrow burials, in addition to the a residential development by Weston Group Plc (commis- remains of a rare, possibly contemporary, timber structure. sioned by CgMs Consulting) in Cherry Hinton uncovered The post-excavation assessment stage is complete and it is a landscape utilised from the Iron Age to the post-me- hoped that following analysis the results of this important dieval period. Occupying an area of higher ground was multi-period site will be published within the East Anglian a long-lived burial ground. First used during the early/ Archaeology series as an occasional paper or small mono- middle Roman period, this subsequently became the focus graph. for a richly-furnished early Anglo-Saxon cemetery. Richard Mortimer and Stuart Ladd Excavations revealed 126 inhumations predominantly dating to the 6th century AD, with burial continuing until around 560. Although several graves showed evidence of robbing, many still contained an array of finds, includ- ing glass and amber beads, brooches, buckles, shield bosses, spears and knives. Several graves also had whole pottery vessels, and one contained a rare glass claw beaker. Although these finds are gener- ally typical of Cambridgeshire, some are more commonly found in Kent or the Continent and are suggestive of a mixed population with some recent migrants. Another notable aspect was the large number of multiple burials, with up to four individuals to a grave, often buried sequen- tially. The cemetery also included two relatively early ex-

16 URBAN REGENERATION WOOLWICH STONEWARE KILN, LONDON A team from OA South completed the re-excavation of a duration of the kiln (apparently the kiln was short-lived, 17th-century stoneware kiln at Woolwich, with some of with a mass of fused pottery, cracks in the fire bars and the kiln’s original excavators on hand to watch proceed- firing chamber, and the slumping of the kiln floor hinting ings. at structural failure). A digital 3D model of the kiln was created using data from a photogrammetric survey of the The kiln was originally excavated in 1974. The excavators kiln. revealed a brick-built structure and large quantities of bel- larmine jugs and other stoneware forms. Apart from being Edward Biddulph a remarkably well-preserved kiln of its type, it is potential- ly the earliest stoneware kiln in Britain, having been dated to the mid-17th century. After the kiln was exposed and recorded, it was covered in protective foam and sealed in a wooden box. It was then lifted in bulk and stored at various locations before being moved to the Greenwich Heritage Centre. Forty-three years later, OA staff were on site to carefully re-excavate and record the kiln over a period of a week be- fore it was removed completely by Berkeley Homes ahead of redevelopment. Some of the kiln’s original excavators were invited to view the work, and shared their experienc- es of the 1974 dig with the team. The work also generated a lot of interest among pottery specialists, some of whom were also present to observe the excavation.

Post-excavation work followed the fieldwork and ad- 3D model of the kiln dressed questions about the construction, date and https://sketchfab.com/models/5e0309bedac7418ea9b25344c9a2712b ST JOHN’S COLLEGE, OXFORD Excavations undertaken by OA South in advance of the and 3m in depth, with a sharp V-shaped profile. Finds construction of the new library extension at St John’s Col- from the upper fills dated to the 11th-13th centuries AD, lege in Oxford revealed a series of dense inter-cutting pits but the lower part was completely sterile. Clearly the ditch and rubbish deposits that date back to the establishment of had been silting for a considerable period of time before the college during the mid-16th century. The pits probably artefactual material began to be deposited into it, but we originated as gravel quarries during the initial building do not know how long. works and were then in-filled with rubbish and other Interestingly, the ditch follows the same alignment as an materials to help level the ground. The objects found shed early medieval bank located on two previous OA inves- light on life at the college during its early years. They in- tigations at Saville House and New College. This discov- ery raises the possibility of the presence of a previously unrecognised defensive bank and ditch 300m north of the defences of the Saxon burh and medieval city, a hypothesis previously proposed by David Sturdy but not generally accepted until the new evidence. Possible historical con- texts for the defence include the Viking raids between the 9th and early 11th centuries or the civil war known as the Anarchy during AD 1135-1153, although it is alternatively possible that the lower part is an earlier, perhaps pre- historic feature, since clude a book clasp, the lower half of a tin-glazed earthen- the site lies only 100m ware medicine jar (or albarello), the stem of a glass goblet from the Oxford henge. and a bellarmine jug, as well as moulded stove tiles bearing classical figures that must derive from some high-status Carl Champness accommodation. and An unexpected discovery during the final phases of the Andy Simmonds dig was a large defensive ditch that follows the line of the parish boundary. The ditch was approximately 5m wide

In Touch Issue 43 17 WHS NOMINATION, In February 2017, OA North was invited to participate in an UNESCO-funded workshop on the Caribbean island of Carriacou, which forms one of the 32 islands that make up the Grenadines. The islands are divided between the nations of St Vincent and Grenada, and the workshop was to provide training and guidance in setting up an inventory of the heritage resource on the islands as part of the process of application for World Heritage Site status for the Grenadines. It was largely a gathering of local delegates, whose areas of expertise lay with The workshop proved highly successful, in that it high- cultural heritage and the environment. The five-day work- lighted that any WHS application should be expanded to shop consist- include both the main islands of St Vincent and Grenada, ed of a series which contain important French and British colonial de- of seminars fences. Importantly, it also brought the respective delegates on the cultur- from St Vincent and Grenada together for the first time to al and natural discuss their shared cultural heritage and to formulate a resources of strategy for its preservation and protection. OA was very the islands, pleased to be able to share its expertise and help to facili- along with tate such a successful outcome. visits to sites Jamie Quartermaine of possible interest.

An early Bronze Age Beaker from Sutton Courtenay

A near-complete early of the vessel. The Beaker would have been open-fired, but Bronze Age Beaker was uniform reddish-brown inner and outer surfaces, con- discovered in a shallow trasting with a black core, were achieved. TRAINING AND CAPACITY BUILDING TRAINING AND CAPACITY pit during continuing Beakers, a pan-European ceramic phe- excavations by OA South nomenon, were manufactured at the Hanson Aggregates in a wide variety of forms. The quarry at Bridge Farm, Sutton Sutton Courtenay example is of Courtenay in Oxfordshire. a low-carinated, All-Over-Cord The Beaker is complete except Beaker, a type that was common- that it is missing most of ly associated with burial or burial the rim, probably due to monuments. It was this type later disturbance rather that was found with the Ames- than burial of a partial bury Archer from Boscombe vessel. The total height is Down, Wiltshire. More locally, just under 180mm. The low-carinated’ with ‘All-Over- Beaker is handmade in a Cord Beakers have been found soft, soapy-textured, fine by OA at Radley Barrow Hills clay fabric tempered with and the Dorchester cursus. The common angular orange grog date range, based on radiocarbon pieces. The surface was well- determinations, is broadly c 2400- smoothed prior to the application 2100 cal BC. of all-over-corded decoration, executed by impressing a length of Lisa Brown fine twisted cord around the full height FIND SPOT 18 HISTORIC BUILDINGS GREAT GRANSDEN POST MILL, CAMBRIDGESHIRE The windmill, located on the outskirts of the historic vil- lage of Great Gransden c 18km to the west of Cambridge, is of ‘open trestle’ design set on low piers. OA East was commissioned by the owners, Cambridgeshire County Council, to undertake a photographic record before vital restoration work was undertaken by the Cambridgeshire Windmills Consultancy. The Grade II* listed building may be the oldest post mill in the country, dating from some time prior to 1694. The mill was last worked in 1911 and had become disused and derelict by 1925, although it was later owned by Queen Marie and her son, King Peter of Yugoslavia, who lived in the mill house during World War II. In 1950 the mill was given to the county council but by the 1970s it was again in a state of disrepair, supported by scaffolding. Restoration was last undertaken between 1982-4, when two common and two patent clockwise sails were installed. As well as photographing the structure and its (remarkably well-preserved) internal workings, the project involved making a photographic record of the various graffiti. Once restored to full working order, it is hoped that the mill will be preserved for many more years to come and perhaps may even produce flour once again. James Fairbairn

RAF MEMBURY TRAINING BUILDING, DEVON A crumbling mid-20th century building adjacent to the at many airfields during this time and had a standardised M4 motorway has a somewhat unprepossessing charac- design. ter, but this disguises the structure’s origins as a bombing The structure at RAF Membury was designed to house teacher building, constructed at the former RAF Mem- three identical bombing trainers, each one comprising a bury to train new crew for Bomber Command. OA South tall open space and a projector above which projected a recently undertook the investigation of the building for large aerial photographic mosaic image onto the floor. This Berkshire Pallets and discovered more about its interesting image would show a section of landscape and would move history. to simulate the flight path of an aircraft. The bomb aimer Construction of RAF Membury began in 1941. The base being trained would then have lain on a balcony overlook- included a complex of buildings intended to be used to ing the mosaic and used a bomb release mechanism to train the crew members for the bombing campaigns over target specific features. Germany. Bombing teacher buildings were constructed By the summer of 1942 the military situ- ation of the war had considerably altered with the US entering the conflict, and shortly after its construction, RAF Mem- bury was passed to the US Air Force. It is uncertain whether the bombing teacher building was much used for its original pur- pose, but the building nevertheless provides an interesting fragment from a relatively little-known airfield that now incorporates motorway services. Jon Gill

In Touch Issue 43 19 HEADSTONE MANOR, LONDON Since 2014, OA South has been carrying out a watching The watching brief area ad- brief for Cultura London at Headstone Manor as part of jacent to the manor house restoration works. This scheduled site is thought to also proved productive, have been built for the Archbishops of Canter- as there a series of bury in around 1310, and, in early 2017, mortared walls the watching brief focused on the were exposed works occurring in the Outer Court, that were asso- and also directly adjacent to the ciated with manor house. 16th-cen- tury pot- The Outer Court contains the late tery. medieval Great Barn and the Sig- Small Barn (though the latter is not in its original position) and the watching brief recorded 18th- and 19th-cen- tury brick nif- structures,

HISTORIC BUILDINGS HISTORIC icantly, belonging to these buildings shown appeared to form on historic maps. the external walls of Close to the Small a northern wing, or later Barn, the remains of a extension to the manor house, large pond or tank were and, interestingly, they occu- also recorded. This feature pied the supposed site of a medieval had a timber revetting, kitchen. Other walls were also recorded appears to date to the 16th or closer to the moat, which may again relate to early 17th century and may have an ancillary building, possibly a gatehouse. been related to the moat. Tim Allen

Unusual sandstone-tempered pottery from Kent Back in 2009, a team from OA South excavated a late Iron distinct white and grey rock fragments. These were Age and early Roman settlement at Leybourne Grange, thought to be ragstone, a stone that was quarried in Kent a former hospital in the village of Leybourne, near West from the Roman period and used in the buildings of Kent Malling in Kent, on behalf of Taylor Wimpey SW Thames. and London. The ceramic assemblage comprised, as would be expect- Analysis revealed that the rock-tempered fabric was main- ed, grog-tempered wares (pottery tempered with crushed ly used for bead-rimmed jars. A sherd of the pottery was fragments of fired clay or pottery) and to a lesser extent also submitted for petrographic analysis. Dr Patrick Quinn sand. Initial assessment of the pottery, however, revealed of UCL examined a thin-section of the sherd and found that some of the sand-tempered pottery also contained the rock fragments to be siliceous, not calcareous. In other FIND SPOT words, they were sandstone, not limestone, and therefore not ragstone. The result was exciting. The sandstone was extracted from the Hythe Formation, a geological band that runs past the site, suggesting that the pottery was locally produced. What is more, the apparent absence of sandstone inclu- sions in later Roman assemblages in the region points very strongly to the use of sandstone being short-lived, perhaps relating to a period of experimentation in the choice of tempers at a time of significant flux in pottery repertoires, styles and technology. Edward Biddulph Sandstone inclusions

20 PUBLIC AND COMMUNITIY NEWARK, NOTTINGHAMSHIRE Considering the somewhat reactive and organic way in centre in Farndon, where it was extremely well attended. which excavations developed at Newark, it was a challenge Inquiries were made at the meeting as to the potential for to establish any form of community outreach programme further site visits and soon after we were able to host a visit in relation to the project. However, as soon as we realised by members of FARI Archaeology during excavation of the the scale and significance of what we were dealing with, hengiform monument and area west of Bowbridge. a quick call to OA’s Community Archaeology Manager, The fieldwork programme relating to the Phase 1 parcel of Clemency Cooper, soon had channels to the Young Ar- the Newark development has come to a close, but works chaeologists’ Club in place. Soon after that we were able to relating to Phase 2 and 3 areas are imminent. During the offer an introduction to eager members of the Newark and course of these, it is hoped that there will be further op- Nottingham branches of the club, including a short talk portunity to involve the local community in survey work about the development and our discoveries, a show-and- and a mooted community excavation. tell session with some of the finds, and a site tour of the excavation area east of Bowbridge Lane. In the meantime, a recent news article was recently pub- lished in the Newark Advertiser, featuring the site and Following on from these well-received site tours, Oxford its findings. In addition, Urban and Civic invited Oxford Archaeology and the developer, Urban and Civic Ltd, were Archaeology to participate in a presentation to be deliv- invited to give a joint presentation on the development ered to local secondary schools sometime in the new year. and the archaeological finds to individuals in the com- This will, showcase the Newark development and, more munity and generally, careers in the design and construction industry, members of during which OA will present the results of excavations so local groups. far undertaken, and talk about the planning process and This was made archaeology’s place within it. Looking forward, Newark possible with continues to offer great opportunities to enhance commu- the help of nity engagement in the project. eminent local archaeologist Adam Tinsley Daryl Garton, and held at the community DUDDON, CUMBRIA After 2016’s enormously successful excavation of a late medieval or early post-medieval longhouse, OA North returned in 2017 to the Duddon Valley to investigate another longhouse and provide training in archaeological excavation and surveying for people from West Cumbria. This year, staff from OA North and volunteers from the Duddon Valley Local History Group examined a settlement of two (or three) longhouses and two later stock pounds, all set within a small enclosure on the side of the valley. The longhouse excavated was a cross-passage type, set within a long narrow boat-shaped ‘pound’, which raised the question of whether the pound could actually be an earlier longhouse. If so, it would have been very large for a simple, domestic house, and its boat shape may be sugges- tive of a Norse communal longhouse. The result of the excavation is that our small longhouse was late in the sequence and had three floors under- neath it, the floors all relating to the outer pound. By the close of the excavation, the general feeling was that the pound probably was an earlier longhouse. It is hoped that radiocarbon dates will cast light on the site, and we have also resolved to return and complete the excavation of the longhouse/pound next year. Jamie Quartermaine

In Touch Issue 43 21 CUNSEY FORGE, CUMBRIA Cunsey Forge was first documented in 1549, and in its could begin. The team, quickly came down to an incredi- heyday in the 17th century, it was a significant bloom forge bly hard hammerscale surface which was contained within and finery forge. From this, a blast furnace was created at a rectangle, conveniently showing us the extent of the Cunsey in the early 18th century, precipitating the devel- former timber building. Despite the enormous amount of opment in Cumbrian iron working, culminating with the hammerscale, we had no slag, so this confirmed that we blast furnaces of Barrow which, in the late 19th century, had found the finery forge but not the bloom forge. But was the largest iron better than that, we production site in the discovered a rather world. magnificent anvil and mounting for a trip As impressive as that hammer, driven by sounds, what there was water power. We also to see on the ground found a water wheel, was anything but im- but nowhere near our pressive. At the outset head and tail races, of a community pro- leaving us mystified. ject, set up by the Lake District National Park By the end of the and run by OA North excavation, we had in collaboration with revealed a remarkable Salford University, the 17th-century finery site was just a large forge, with all its hollow, located within component features, an area of woodland, and we now have a with a gully feeding in and another feeding out, but oth- fantastic insight into iron working of the period. All in all erwise it was just a dump for modern rubbish. There was a remarkable result. little on the ground that would provide any credence to the PUBLIC AND COMMUNITIY documented story. Jamie Quartermaine Once the rubbish had been cleared, the community dig CHESTER FARM, IRCHESTER, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE Chester Farm comprises an 80 acre site with a complex of led Northamptonshire County Council to commission a 17th- to 19th-century farm buildings, several of which are small team from OA East to excavate the features. The first Grade II listed. Northamptonshire County Council owns of the wells was excavated in October 2016 and the second the site, most of which is scheduled, and which includes in November. a buried Roman small walled town. With help from a Both wells had very small internal diameters (less than Heritage Lottery Fund grant, the council is converting the 0.7m) and in order to excavate them safely the level of the buildings to provide a heritage and archives centre for the surrounding ground was reduced in stages by machine. county. The bases of both wells were reached successfully, at 3.75m A community excavation at the site last summer found and 3.35m below ground level respectively. Their fills pro- evidence for both Roman and post-medieval occupation. duced a wealth of finds, including animal bone – mostly However, the discovery of two circular stone-lined wells cattle horn cores, skulls (one complete with its horns from the second well) and long bones. This may represent waste from a nearby tannery. The vast pottery assemblage from the first well in particular includes two complete jars and a number of near-complete vessels, including a pen- tice-moulded beaker and an Oxfordshire red-slipped bowl. Louise Bush and Aileen Connor

22 TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURE THE BAY GATEWAY, LANCASTER Several significant sites were identified on the northern worked flint and burnt material that was radiocarbon outskirts of Lancaster during the construction of the Bay dated to c 4500 cal BC. Subsequently, Mesolithic hunter Gateway. The road, substantially funded by the Depart- gatherers moving up and down the valley visited the site ment for Transport, developed by Lancashire County on several occasions to prepare and repair tools. They left Council, and built by Costain, links the port of Heysham an occupation horizon within three distinct concentra- and junction 34 of the M6. The complex history of one tions of flint-working debris and broken tools. site, located on a gentle slope overlooking the confluence The focus of middle Neolithic (c 3400 cal BC) settlement of the Howgill Brook and the River Lune, was unravelled activity was a simple sub-circular building, up to 6m through detailed analysis and radiocarbon dating. across and supported by posts at the centre and south- The earliest remains, a row of small features, contained east-facing entrance. It was associated with two external fire pits and, although it may have been a dwelling, there was little pottery or contemporary flintwork. Instead, several nearby pits were filled with burnt stones and charcoal, material that is analogous to the make-up of burnt mounds. Collectively, this might suggest that the building had a specific func- tion, perhaps as a dry sauna. The remains repre- sent an example of a structural form that remains nationally scarce and barely represented in the Neolithic of north-west England. Following the abandonment of the structure, the site seems to have been occupied on at least two further occasions in the Neolithic, as well as in the Bronze Age. Clearly this small piece of Lancashire was an attractive spot for millennia. Stephen Rowland

BELHUS PARK, M25 WIDENING SCHEME, ESSEX Analysis of Pleistocene deposits uncovered during the The faunal M25 widening project at Belhus Park in Essex in 2011 for and pal- Skanksa Belfour Beatty has been completed. It reveals an aeoenvi- intriguing story of early hominin occupation. ronmental evidence in- The project recorded a sequence of interglacial organic de- dicates that posits dating to the Purfleet interglacial, otherwise known the deposits as Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 9e. These deposits, associat- were formed ed with the former courses of the Thames/Medway rivers, when date from 338-322 thousand years ago. Lithic artefacts, temperate Teeth of white-toothed shrew among them handaxes, a cleaver and a small discoidal conditions core, had been recovered from the cutting of the M25 in prevailed. At 1980-1, while this time, a dense woodland existed, with herbaceous vege- in-situ waste tation along the riverbanks and patches of open grassland. flakes were This provided suitable habitats for shrews, voles, and mice. identified The deposits also produced a juvenile tooth from a sa- during the bretooth cat, a top level predator and a very rare find from new phase the British mainland. It is clear from this evidence that the of work. Our climate was notably warm during this period. analysis has now placed This is an important piece of the overall jigsaw, demon- these finds strating that our ancestors had moved sufficiently far north within a to have colonised Britain, before increasing warmth and more secure rising sea-level isolated it as an island, and that they con- dating and tinued to prosper in this rich interglacial environment. environmen- tal frame- Carl Champness Hand axes work.

In Touch Issue 43 23 STOKESAY CASTLE, SHROPSHIRE In 2017, Julian Munby, Head of Buildings Archaeology at OA South, was commissioned by English Heritage to write a conservation plan for Stokesay Castle. This represented a welcome return to the site for Julian, as he wrote the first guidebook in 1993 when the castle was bequeathed to the nation. Located just north of Ludlow in the southern end of Shropshire, the castle is seen from the Newport to Chester railway as a spectacular medieval hall and towers rising above a small lake, and surrounded by its own dry moat. The castle and its evocative timbered gatehuose was built more for show rather than defence in the late 13th century by Lawrence of Ludlow, the fabulously wealthy wool mer- chant and banker. A prolonged assault on the hall would probably have broken through the wide windows protect- ed only by shutters, and what looks like a fierce gatehouse at the south end is a stack of noble bedchambers with served by the new owners in the 1990s, its natural setting picture windows. (with the collection of exotic Rowan trees), and the record

HERITAGE SERVICES HERITAGE of archaeological interventions. There are abundant re- The lake is intriguing, for it makes a feature to be seen cords, especially of the later history of the castle, and being from the castle, and falls in the principal view of the castle of such visual interest has always attracted artists. from its parkland to the west. Whether this was a me- dieval romantic/chivalric landscape, or a creation of the Julian Munby 17th-century gentry tenants is uncertain at present. The study looked at the fabric of the castle, gently con- GREATER LONDON ARCHAEOLOGICAL PRIORITY AREAS The Greater London Archaeological Priority Areas (APAs) to inform the application of local and national planning were originally created in the 1970s and 1980s to define policies. areas with a significant known archaeological interest or Over the past two years, Oxford Archaeology has carried the potential to contain previously unidentified archaeo- out a systematic review of the APAs within the London logical remains. Since their creation they have been used boroughs of Redbridge and Hackney. The aims of both of these projects were to refine the extent of the existing APAs in line with the new Greater London APA Guide- lines, define new APAs based on recent discoveries, and assign each APA a tier based on its significance. In accordance with the guidelines, Tier 1 APAs are con- sidered to have the potential to contain nationally impor- tant remains, Tier 2 APAs are areas considered to have the potential to contain heritage assets of archaeological interest, and Tier 3 APAs are landscape-scale zones with the potential to contain surviving areas of archaeological interest. To understand the archaeological potential of both of these London boroughs, OA staff carried out an extensive pro- gramme of desk-based research, supplemented by rapid site visits. The results of this work were used to map areas of archaeological potential and to produce statements of significance describing the archaeological potential and significance for each of the new APAs. Following completion of these projects, the APA coverage in Redbridge increased from 22% to 42% while in Hack- ney it increased from 30% to 43%. Charlotte Malone

24 PUBLICATIONS A YEAR IN PRINT The past 12 months has seen the publication of Moving into the several books and journal articles. medieval period, From Bridgehead Yarnton’s prehistoric to Brewery: the landscape is medieval and described in post-medieval Yarnton: Neolithic archaeological and Bronze Age remains from settlement and Finzel’s Reach, Landscape, by Gill Bristol, by Ben Hey, Christopher M Ford, Kate Bell, Caroline Dennis Brady and Steven and Mark Robinson. Teague, presents The book examines a the results from 2500-year settlement OA’s major history that includes examination of an early Neolithic the heritage of rectangular, post- Finzel’s Reach, the site of the former Courage and Bristol built house and later breweries. Bronze Age settlement. From Blackfriars In Horcott Quarry, to Bankside: Fairford, and Medieval and Arkell’s Land, later riverfront Kempsford: archaeology Prehistoric, Roman along the route and Anglo-Saxon of Thameslink, settlement and Central London, burial in the Upper by Elizabeth Thames Valley in Stafford and Steven Gloucestershire, Teague, presents by Chris Hayden, analysis by OA Rob Early, Edward South of fieldwork Biddulph, Paul undertaken by Booth, Anne Dodd, MOLA as part of Alex Smith, Granville the Thameslink Laws and Ken Welsh, project. The volume excavations at two includes a deposit model, and describes evidence relating to the riverfront. adjacent sites in the Upper Thames Valley revealed a A second volume contrasting picture. on the Thameslink work, Living and The Horningsea Roman Dying in Southwark pottery industry in 1587-1831, by Louise context, by Jeremy Evans, Loe, Kate Brady, Stephen Macaulay and Lisa Brown, Mark Philip Mills, and prepared Gibson and Kirsty by OA East for the East Smith, is also out. This Anglian Archaeology series, monograph focuses examines the industry’s on the investigation ceramic products, kiln of the 16th- to 19th- sites, and chronology, and century burial ground maps the distribution of the associated with Cure’s pottery in the region. College Almshouse.

In Touch Issue 43 25 Staying in London, three books by OA and Ramboll in The changing face in a series of volumes that describe the heritage of the of London: Historic Crossrail project buildings and the were published. New Crossrail route, by Frontier: The origins Richard Brown, Julian and development Munby, Andy Shelley of West London, by and Kirsty Smith. Richard Brown with Reports on our work Andy Shelley and have also appeared in Elizabeth Stafford, uses county and national historical research, journals, including site excavation Transactions of the and archaeological Essex Society for monitoring to shine Archaeology and PUBLICATIONS History, Oxoniensia, Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society, the Archaeological Journal, and a light on the history and archaeology Nature Communications. of West London. Andy Shelley and Richard Brown describe the many In addition to our books and journal articles, railway structures – stations, tracks, we have produced many client reports or bridges – affected by the Crossrail so-called grey literature. Many of these are works in From Brunel to British Rail: available to download free from our online The railway heritage of the Crossrail library (https://oxfordarchaeology.com/ Route. The industrial, commercial and oalibrary). residential buildings encountered along the route, meanwhile, are discussed Edward Biddulph

TALKING ABOUT ARCHAEOLOGY Each year, our staff give talks to local societies spoke at the inaugural conference and led a subsequent and conferences, and speak at forums that shape workshop, and wrote the updated resource assessment text. archaeological practice. Here is a flavour of In the latter part of the year, staff from OA East presented some of our talks and meetings over the past the results of several years’ work on the Anglo-Saxon twelve months. Rendlesham project at a conference organised by Suffolk County Council, the Sutton Hoo Society, Council for In 2016, CEO Gill Hey British Archaeology East, and organised a conference on the University of Suffolk, at the Neolithic of Northern Bury St Edmunds, and spoke England on behalf of the Royal at the Cambridge Antiquarian Archaeological Institute, Society’s autumn conference the Prehistoric Society, on recent archaeology in and the Cumberland and Cambridgeshire. Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society. Delegates at this year’s Current Those attending the sell-out Archaeology Live! event in event in enjoyed London heard presentations talks by eminent and popular about OA South’s excavation speakers, including some of of a Roman-period mass our own staff, while the Chair of burial in Gloucester from Louise our Research Committee, Richard Loe, and our training excavation of Bradley, gave the keynote lecture. the Roman town at Dorchester-on- Thames from Paul Booth. Also this Rachel Newman, Senior Executive year, Rachel Newman attended a Officer at OA North, serves as the meeting of the Hadrian’s Wall World Early Medieval Period Co-ordinator Heritage Site Management Plan for the review and update of the Research delivery group, which has North West Regional Archaeological been reviewing the Management

TALKS AND CONFERENCES TALKS Research Framework. In 2016, she 26 TALKS AND CONFERENCES TALKING ABOUT ARCHAEOLOGY Plan’s Action Plan for archaeological research. Becky Peacock spoke at the European Association of Archaeologists’ conference in Maastricht on the Oxford Westgate pop-up . Meanwhile, staff have spoken about our many investigations and post-excavation projects to archaeological societies and groups up and down the country, among them the Cambridge Archaeology Field Group, the North Hertfordshire Archaeological Society, the

Oakington and Westwick History Society, Radwinter Parish Council, Sawtry History Society, Lancaster University, Woodstock Museum, the Lathom Trust, the Roman Finds Group, and the Kent Archaeological Society. Becky Peacock (right) and Ben Ford (left) with session organiser Gerry Waite at the EAA 2017 Maastricht conference Edward Biddulph

OA IN THE NEWS Oxford Archaeology’s work often attracts the identity and interest of the local, national and, occasionally, migration in international press and media, and the past 12 England. One of the projects, months have been no exception. which focused on The Daily Mail and the BBC News website featured stories Cambridgeshire about OA in the early-mid Anglo-Saxon period, used data from OA East’s work on East excavations, and staff from OA were also involved in the Norwich the research. Northern Distributor Route. The Daily Mail also ran an article on our excavation at Beaulieu, Essex. There was local press coverage of OA North’s community projects in the Duddon Valley and at Cunsey Forge, and a story about an excavation, also by OA North, at St Anne’s Well, Rainhill, appeared in the Liverpool Turning to the broadcast media, the BBC’s ‘Digging for Echo. The Oxford Mail featured a story about the St Ebbe’s Britain’ team visited OA South’s site at Ardley Quarry in project, with which OA South has been involved through Oxfordshire to film the excavation and learn about the IN THE NEWS the Westgate project. exciting results. Forces TV broadcast ‘Remembering a Pilot Oxford Archaeology East’s fieldwork at Cherry Hinton and his Spitfire’, a feature on the Great Fen Spitfire project in Cambridge particularly made a splash. News of the carried out in 2015. Stephen Macaulay, meanwhile, talked excavation, which revealed an Anglo-Saxon cemetery and about Stonea Camp on the Stonea Camp YouTube channel. settlement, appeared on the Cambridge News, Heritage Our website and social media accounts are constantly used Daily, and Sci News website, and even made the news to promote our work and events. Why not check out our on Horsetalk, a New Zealand-based website (http://oxfordarchaeology.com/), or website dedicated to horses. visit us on Twitter (@oatweet) and Facebook (@ The cover story of the November/ oxfordarchaeology) to read the latest news and December 2016 issue of British join the thousands of people who follow or ‘like’ Archaeology magazine reported on our pages? three aDNA projects that looked into Edward Biddulph In Touch Issue 43 27 A YEAR OF COMMUNITY ARCHAEOLOGY North, South and East… OA continues to deliver 2017, we have been the heritage partners in a new Heritage community archaeology across the UK. Lottery Funded (HLF) project to develop, promote and research the site. Staff from both OA East and OA As a charity focused on heritage and education, we aim North have been involved in three open day events, and to ensure that the archaeological heritage doesn’t just contributed content to a new website and mobile visitor belong to archaeologists, but to everyone – encompassing app. a wide range of audiences and participants. Whether engaging with volunteers, school visits, site open days, or Another HLF scheme for OA East is a new Young Roots project with Cambourne Village College in Cambridgeshire. This

COMMUNITY is the fifth HLF project OA East has run in partnership with Cambridgeshire schools in the past 10 years as a result of development-led projects. Students at the secondary school carried out their own excavation of a late Iron Age/Roman farmstead on the outskirts of the new town of Cambourne in September 2017. Over 250 visitors attended the public open days and each of the four feeder primary schools visited the excavation and received visits in- community projects, staff across all three offices have been school from our archaeologists. We are now developing working on exciting outreach initiatives in the past year. an interactive online resource where the residents of the new town will be able to search what archaeology was At OA East, two of our long-standing partnerships have excavated under their houses and streets. We hope this will led to new community outreach projects. Following 25 become a tool OA can use on any project in new towns. years of excavations at the Wellcome Genome Campus in Hinxton in Cambridgeshire, we collaborated with A community dig was also run by OA East next to its public engagement team on a schools’ project called the medieval Leper Hospital Chapel in Cambridge in ‘Strands of Time’ in 2017. OA’s Community Archaeology November 2016, as part of an evaluation in advance of the Manager developed and delivered workshops for over 450 Chisholm Trail cycleway. The Cambridge branch of the pupils at eight local primary schools, which analysed the Young Archaeologists’ Club took part in the excavation, archaeological discoveries at Hinxton and linked them as did volunteers from local historical and archaeological to the pioneering work of the genomic scientists at the groups. Further community archaeology is likely to take campus. place on the site as the Leper Chapel is enhanced as part of the wider project. Similarly, OA East has had a well-established In Oxford, OA association with Stonea South has had a busy Camp since excavating programme of public there from the early events. Staff took part 1990s and after its in the annual Oxford restoration when it was Open Doors event, opened to the public. setting up displays Situated near March, and activities in the it is the lowest-lying Key Learning Centre ‘hillfort’ in Britain. In at Oxford Castle 28 COMMUNITY and bringing back the popular North has participated over the Westgate pop-up museum, last few years, is now coming which showcased finds from OA’s to an end, with reports being excavation of a medieval friary. completed on the various pieces of fieldwork. However, OA North Staff also set up a display has now begun working with of ancient stone axes and the partnership of the Friends arrowheads as part of the Being of the Lake District and the Human festival at the Pitt Rivers Yorkshire Dales National Park Museum, and were invited to on a pilot project in the area of return again to the museum with Asby Common, where the two activities during the Festival of protected areas now converge. Archaeology. At the Museum of Commercial excavations by OA Oxford, members of the public North at Newark-on-Trent included a programme of were given a chance to explore medieval life in Oxford community outreach, which is described in this review. as part of a public open day for excavations in the old Jewish quarter in St Aldate’s and Queen Street. The project In addition to the projects briefly touched upon here, manager gave a talk and there was finds handling and many OA staff across the organisation have given activities for all ages. talks to schools and local groups about their work and have facilitated placements on site and in the office for Later in 2017, volunteers and work experience students. Many of these OA South took take place at weekends and evenings, often in staffs’ own an information time. The 2017 Day of Archaeology was a great collective stand, finds effort to share updates from the three offices and in the and activities to field. A Twitter take-over coordinated by OA’s Heritage Cheney School’s Burial Services department resulted in over 4,000 visits ‘Ancient and and over 240 new followers. Modern Science Festival’, and Finally, it’s a great testament to Oxford Archaeology’s to the annual community archaeology strategy that two projects (Jigsaw Oxfordshire Cambridgeshire and Jubilee Colliery in Oldham) featured Past event as case studies in Historic England’s 2017 Heritage and presenting recent Society report, which shows how heritage contributes archaeological to personal well-being, the wider community and the work in the economy. county. Clemency Cooper The ongoing Dorchester-on-Thames training excavation held its annual open day in July 2017 and, more recently, OA South welcomed over 200 primary school students to its excavations at Slade End Farm in Wallingford for a tour of the site.

As already profiled in this review, OA North has also had a successful year of public outreach in their commercial and non-commercial ventures. A team returned to the Duddon Valley in the Lake District for the second excavation season of the three-year HLF project to investigate three longhouses, and was also involved in another HLF community project in the Lake District, at Cunsey Bloom Forge, in collaboration with Salford University.

The Headlands to Headspace project around Morecambe Bay, in which OA In Touch Issue 43 29 WHO IS OXFORD OUR CLIENTS Hopkins and Moore (Developments) Ltd Richard Ward (Oxford) Ltd Hopkins Homes Ltd Ridge and Partners Horizon Property Capital Ltd Ridgemarch Ltd Our clients include multinational and national com- HTS Estates Ltd Rockwell London Ltd Hull City Council Rose Homes (EA) Ltd panies, planning consultancies, government bodies, Hunts Properties Ltd Rose Plant Hire Ltd Hydrock Contracting Ltd Roxhill Burton Latimer Ltd charitable organisations, educational institutions, HysderWSP JV Roxhill Warth 2 Ltd Ian Farmers Associates RSK Environment Ltd and many private individuals. We can’t mention Identified Developments Ltd RTB Partnership Ltd everyone here, but large or small, your business is ISG Jackson Ltd Rural Solutions Ltd J A Pye (Oxford) Ltd Salmon Harvester Properties Ltd appreciated. J M Trippier Archaeological Savoy Construction 20Twenty Productions CIC Countryside Properties (UK) Ltd J T Mackley & Co Ltd Sawston Parish Council 360Production Ltd Countryside Zest (Beaulieu Park) LLP Jacobs UK Ltd SC Osney Lane Ltd A C Lester and Sons Ltd Crag Hill Estates Ltd JCAM Commercial Real Estates SDC Builders Ltd A C Lloyd Homes Ltd Crest Nicholson John Fyfe & Son (Ely) Ltd SEGRO UK A P & J Brown Ltd Crossrail Ltd John Young’s Ltd Severn Trent Water Ltd A2 Dominion Housing Group Ltd Croudace Homes Jones & Sons Environmental Services Sharp Bunker Aberdeenshire Council Crown Developers Ltd Keepmoat Homes Ltd Sibelco Europe Abingdon School Crown Priory Ltd Kent County Council Signature Quality Refurbished Homes Ltd Acme Ltd Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquar- Kier Construction Ltd Skanska Construction UK Ltd ADP ian Kings College School SLR Consulting Ltd AECOM Cushman & Wakefield Debenham Tie Le- Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council Smiths & Sons (Bletchington) Ltd Affinity Water Ltd ung Ltd Ladson Westbar Ltd Soham Town Council AL Lee & Sons Dacorar (Southern) Ltd Lagan Homes Ltd Somerlee Homes Ltd ALDI Stores Ltd Dalham Estate Laing O’Rourke South Cambridgeshire District Council Allen Fencing Ltd Danesfield House Hotel Lake District National Park Authority South Oxfordshire District Council Amec Foster Wheeler Environment David Wilson Homes Lancashire County Council South Ribble Borough Council Anglian Water Services Ltd David Wilson Homes Lancaster Canal Trust Southrope Developments Ltd Arcadis Consulting (UK) Ltd Dean and Dean Construction Ltd Land Use Consultants Ltd St Ebbs’s Parochial Church Council Ashbury Construction Services Ltd Department of Economic Development Landmaze Ltd St Edward Homes Ltd Aspen Build (East Anglia) Ltd Direct Excel Ltd Lawtonash Training Services Ltd St Edward Ltd Austin Newport Group Ltd Domino UK Ltd Layton Medical Centre Standard Life Investments Australian Army - Unrecovered War Casu- DONG Energy Leeds Castle Foundation States of Jersey Planning & Environment alties DPA Architects Ltd Levens Local History Group Dept Avonmouth Plot 6000 Ltd Dragonshead Productions Ltd LG Park HT1 Ltd Stepnell Ltd Balfour Beatty Drax Group Project Services Ltd Linden Homes Stockport Council Baltic 1014 Ltd DTZ Lioncourt Homes Surrey County Council Barnfield Construction Ltd Duff & Phelps Little Paxton Parish Council T J Evers Ltd Barratt David Wilson Homes DV4 Properties Swindon Co Ltd Liverpool Football Club Tarmac Trading Ltd Barwood Homes Ltd Earth Trust Lodge Park Ltd Taylor Wimpey Basingstoke & Dean Borough Council East Cambs Trading Ltd London Borough of Barnet TC Property Developments Ltd Bath & NE Somerset Council East Sussex County Council London Gateway Port Ltd Tebbit and Son BDB Design LLP Ecotricity (Next Generation) Ltd Long Preston Heritage Group Tedbin Ltd BDW Trading Ltd Ede Holdings Ltd Lovell Partnerships Ltd Thame Town Council Beard Construction Ltd Electricity North West Ltd Luminus Homes Ltd Thames Valley Developments Ltd Beechwood Solicitors Elegant Homes (Goring) Ltd LXB3 Partners LLP The Auckland Castle Trust Bellway Homes Ltd Ely Museum Lyford Parish Church Council The Burnham Trust Berkeley Homes Ltd Ely North Consortium LLP Manor Oak Homes The Canal & River Trust Berkshire Homes (Northern) Ltd Emily Estate (UK) Ltd Manx National Heritage The Charities Property Fund Bewick Homes Ltd English Heritage Trust Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology The Dean & Chapter of Carlisle Cathedral BHP Harwood Architects Enterprise Property Group Ltd Martin Grant Homes Ltd The Door London Ltd Bicester Nominees Ltd Entran Ltd Matthew Homes Ltd The Duchy of Lancaster Bidwells Environ Design (Sturry) Ltd MBC (Estates) Ltd The Environment Partnership (TEP) Ltd Birse Civils Ltd Environment Agency McArdle Sports Tec Ltd The Farmland Museum Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council Environmental Resources Management Ltd McLeod Aggregates Ltd The National Trust Bloor Homes Ltd Essex County Council Medieval Pottery Research Group The Pennsylvania State University Blue Sky Leisure Eton College MIJ Grange Estates Ltd The Restaurant Group plc Blueaxe Reproductions European Property Acquisition Ltd Moda Living (Angel Gardens) Ltd The Royal Household Blues Property Drayton Ltd Everton Stadium Development Ltd Montagu Evans LLP The Sir Ernest Shepperson Trust Boohoo.com UK Ltd Evolving Places Ltd Morecambe Bay Partnership The Story Museum Bovis Homes Ltd F3 Group Motorpoint Ltd The Trustees of the Stonyhurst Christian Bracknell Regeneration Ltd Partnership FCC Recycling (UK) Ltd Mott MacDonald The Wildlife Trust for Beds Cambs Nort- Brandon Town Council Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios National Grid hants Bridgwater Gateway Ltd Finzels Reach Property LLP National Horse Racing Museum Thomas Homes Ltd Bristish Solar Renewables Firefox Coastal Ltd Network Rail Thomas White Oxford Ltd Bristol Alliance Fishwicks Ltd Nexus Planning Ltd Thomson Habitats Ltd British Pipeline Agency Ltd Flagship Housing Developments Ltd North East Lincolnshire Council TJX UK Broadland District Council Fondazione Istituto Packard North of England Civic Trust Transport for Greater Manchester Broadland Growth Ltd Forestry Commission Northamptonshire County Council Trustees of B S Pell Brookhouse (Preston) Ltd Frank Whittle Partnership Ltd Northumberland National Park Authority Trustees of the John Colvile Will Trust Bulstrode Park Ltd Friends of Pendle Heritage Oak Foundation Trustees of Thwaites Family Trust Bury Investments LLP Friends of the Lake District Old Ginger Developments Ltd UNESCO Kingston Cluster Office Buttress Architects Ltd FW Properties Ltd On Set Location Services Ltd UNEX Group C A Blackwell (Contracts) Ltd Gallagher Estates OpenSpace Cumbria Ltd United Utilities Calco 101 Ltd and Gatwick Airport Ltd Orbit Homes Universal Property Ltd Cambridge Building Collective Ltd GBS Architects Orion Heritage Ltd University of Brighton Cambridge City Council GC Capital Ltd Oxford Brookes University of Cambridge Cambridge Medipark Ltd Geda Construction Company Ltd Oxford Castle Ltd University of Gloucestershire Cambridgeshire County Council Genome Research Ltd Oxford Diocese Board of Finance University of Lincoln Camel Creek Ltd George Gibson Foundation Trust Oxford Hotels Ltd University of Oxford Campbell Reith Hill LLP Gilbert Ash Ltd Oxford University Estates Services University of Salford Canning Town Development Company Ltd Gilbert Scurrah P J Livesey Holdings Ltd Upper Heyford LP Canterbury Archaeological Trust Ltd Gladman Developments Ltd Palace Green Homes Urban & Civic Waterbeach Ltd Capita Property and Infrastructure Ltd Glenbrook SQ Ltd Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust VINCI Construction UK Ltd - Civil Engineer- Carter Jonas Gloucestershire County Council Parsons Brinckerhoff Ltd ing Cascade Consulting Godbold Turner Partnership Pearl (Brierfield Mill) Ltd Vision Residences (Two) LLP Cassidy + Ashton Godolphin Pegasus Planning Group Ltd Vivacity Culture & Leisure Catesby Property Group Graven Hill Village Development Compa- Pentland Homes Ltd VolkerFitzpatrick Ltd Cavendish Homes Ltd ny Ltd Persimmon Homes Midlands W R Jackson & Son Centenary Construction Ltd Grove Developments Ltd Peter Brett Associates Wade Group CgMs Consulting Ltd Grundon Sands and Gravels Ltd Cathedral Wardell Armstrong LLP Cheadle Penny Black Ltd H Willis Ltd PHBS-UK Waterman Infrastructure & Environmental Cherrilow Ltd H. A. Overton & Sons Phil Stephenson Ltd Cherwell District Council Halcrow Group Ltd Pigeon Land Ltd Wates Development Ltd Cheshire West & Chester Council Hallam Land Management Ltd Pioneer Design & Build Ltd Watkin Jones & Son Ltd CHL Developments Ltd Hanson UK PJ Lee & Sons Wessex Water Services Ltd Chris Birks Archaeological Services Hanwood Park LLP Plasmor Ltd West Anglia Training Association Churchill Retirement Living Harrow Council Pochin Goodman (Northern Gateway) Ltd Westgate Oxford Alliance Ltd Partnership. Clopton Hall Farms Ltd Harworth Estates Investments Ltd Pocket Living Mapleton Ltd Weston Group Plc Coffey Construction Ltd Helmsley Estate Polar Technology Management Group Ltd Wills Estate College of Engineering, Swansea Univer- Heneghan & Sons Ltd Postland Developments Ltd Wiltshire Council sity Heritage Lottery Fund Primus inter Pares Ltd Wintringham Partner LLP College of North West London Heyford Commercial Developments Ltd Prologis UK Workington Town Council Community Gateway Association Ltd Hill Partnerships Ltd R & J Styles Ltd Worting Business Park Corylus Planning & Environmental Hillcrest Homes Ltd R Taylor and Sons WSP UK Ltd Costain Ltd Hinxton Hall Ltd Ramboll UK Wyevale Garden Centres Cottsway Homes Historic England Redrow Homes WYG Environment Planning Transport Ltd Coulson and Son Ltd Historic Royal Palaces Ribble Rivers Trust Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust Ricardo Energy & Environment Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority 30 ARCHAEOLOGY ? Mairead Rutherford Lukas Barnes Stephen Kennedy OUR STAFF Peter Schofield Robert Barnett Richard Kevill Ian Scott Alexander Batey Richard Knight Oxford Archaeology employed Ruth Shaffrey Simon Batsman Malgorzata Kwiatkowska Ian Smith Isobel Bentley Tom Lawrence some 370 staff across its three offices Kirsty Smith Michael Birtles Robert Leedham between April 2016 and September Helen Stocks-Morgan Hannah Blannin Katie Lee-Smith Lena Strid Jody Bloom Rachel Legge 2017. Many thanks to everyone for Dan Sykes Harriet Bloore Hannah Leighton their contribution to the success of the Steve Teague Sophie Bojadziev Margaret Leman Chris Thatcher Anne-Laure Bollen Edward Levermore company. Stephen Wadeson Tom Booth Debbie Lewis Helen Webb Frances Bradbury Martin Locker Senior Management Community Archaeology Robin Webb Thomas Brook Adele Lord Anne Dodd Manager Becky Wegiel Thomas Broomfield Sarita Louzolo Gill Hey Clemency Cooper Chris Wild Thomas Bruce Ana-Maria Lutescu-Jones Alan Lupton Rob Wiseman John Carne Thomas Lucking Rachel Newman IT Support Edyta Cehak Meaghan Mackie Simon Palmer Charlton Maloney Illustrators Povilas Cepauskas Carlotta Marchetto Dan Poore Paul Miles Severine Bezie Diana Chard Javier Martinez-Jimenez David Score Trevor Page Markus Dylewski Christopher Clark Ines Matos Glover Paul Spoerry Lucian Pricop Lucy Gane Steve Clarke Elena Matteacci Leo Webley Tomasz Religa Gillian Greer Zoe Clarke Ben McAndrew Ken Welsh Joseph Reeves Victoria Hosegood Guy Cockin Michael McLean Hannah Kennedy Edmund Cole Patricia Mereniuk Project Managers Project Officers Sophie Lamb Sofia Colquhoun Gonzalez Joanna Nastaszyc Leigh Allen Martyn Allen Adam Parsons Ian Cook Ryan Neal Tim Allen Lawrence Billington Marie Rowland Philip Cooke Rebecca Neilson Katrina Anker Kathryn Blackbourn Anne Stewardson Eben Cooper Lee Grana-Nicolaou Edward Biddulph Sheila Boardman Mark Tidmarsh Charlotte Cox Joseph Page Paul Booth Jeremy Bradley Charles Rousseaux Robby Copsey Matthew Palmer John Boothroyd Kate Brady Magdalena Wachnik Martha Craven Richard Palmer Matt Bradley Lee Broderick Charlotte Walton Brenton Culshaw Lynette Parkinson Fraser Brown Lisa Brown Louisa Cunningham David Pinches Richard Brown Louise Bush Supervisors Lewis Cullen Samuel Pointer Matt Brudenell Graeme Clarke Natalie Anderson Rachael Daniel Daniel Pond Carl Champness Tom Collie Bryan Antoni Grace Davies Emma Powell Rachel Clarke John Cotter Ben Attfield Rona Davis Rebecca Pridmore Aileen Connor Alex Davies Robin Bashford Alexanne Dawson Meirion Prysor Natasha Dodwell Alison De Turberville Magdalena Benysek Brian Dean Muhammed Quadir James Drummond-Murray Antony Dickson Simon Birnie Peter Dearlove Andrew Radford Ben Ford Mark Dodd Tom Black Thomas Dew Adam Rapiejko Stuart Foreman Mike Donnelly Sandra Bonsall Maria Diaz Tena Amy Revans Jon Gill Denise Druce Benjamin Brown Morgan Dirodi Matthew Reynolds Richard Gregory Paul Dunn David Brown Jessica Dyson Christopher Richardson Christopher Hayden Helen Evans Sharon Cook Barbara Dziurawiec Maria Anna Rogers Chris Howard-Davis James Fairbairn Nick Cox Jack Easen Bernadeta Rzadek Steve Lawrence Carole Fletcher Geraldine Crann Matthew Edwards Denis Sami Louise Loe Deirdre Forde Gary Evans Neus Esparza Nogues Richard Scurr Stephen Macaulay Rachel Fosberry Aidan Farnan Theodore Fautley Tomas Shanley Charlotte Malone Hayley Foste Andrew Ginns Adam Fellingham Thomas Sigsworth Richard Mortimer Andrew Frudd Steven Graham Daniel Firth Paul Simkins Julian Munby Mark Gibson Laura James Emma Fishwick Kelly Sinclair Rebecca Nicholson Nicholas Gilmour Dave Jamieson Sarah Gallagher Rachel Sisman Tom Phillips Mariusz Gorniak Toby Knight Raul Gonzalez Benjamin Slader Jane Phimester Andrew Greef Patrick Lambert Marta Golebiewska Jana Smirinova Elizabeth Popescu Angelos Hadjikoumis Neal Mason Samantha Gordon Andrew Smith Jamie Quartermaine Anthony Haskins Andew McGuire Rose Grant Benjamin Sorrill Adam Tinsley Vix Hughes Bob McIntosh James Green Caroline Souday Stephen Rowland Vickie Jamieson Stephen Morgan Victoria Green Elanor Stanley Nicola Scott Gary Jones Jim Mumford Camille Guezennec Jeremy Stone Andy Simmonds Anne Kilgour Jon Onraet George Gurney Ashley Strutt Klara Spandl Stuart Ladd Ashley Pooley Miranda Haigh Christopher Swain Elizabeth Stafford Granville Laws Alice Rose Katherine Hamilton Nicholas Swift Karl Taylor Laszlo Lichtenstein Alex Scard Joshua Hargreaves Michael Tennant Gerry Thacker Alice Lyons Mike Sims James Harriss Samuel Thomas Ianto Wain Toby Martin Lee Sparks Gareth Hatt Jennifer Thurstan John Zant Lauren Mcintyre Julia Meen Daria Tsybaeva Christof Heistermann Adrian Turner Peter Vellett Xose Hermoso-Buxan Zoe Ui Choileain Administrative Support Christine Milton Angela Warner Richard Higham Nikola Vousden Stacey Farrell Jon Millward Michael Webster David Hitchen Lisa Waldock Nicola Gifford-Cowan Pat Moan James Hodgson David Walsh Jason Graham Paul Murray Field Staff Neil Holbrook Bj Ware Krisztian Muka Aidan Parker Emily Abrehart Fergus Hooper Katherine Webster Denise Price Conan Parsons Harry Allen Thomas Houghton Katherine Whitehouse Chris Smallridge Becky Peacock Rebecca Allen Katie Hutton Rebecca Wicks Rimpa Sundar Sarah Percival Vanesa Alvarez Shanice Jackson Elizabeth Williams Debbie Waddington Andy Phelps Mary Andrews Tamsin Jones Emma Winter Louize Waltham Chris Pickard Matthew Brooks Lindsey Kemp Georgia Wood Michelle Watson Cynthia Poole Susan Rawlings David Browne Rowan Kendrick Anne-Marie Woolley Gareth Rees Robert Backhouse Elizabeth Kennard Poppy Yapp Joanna Richards Olga Balcerzyk Lisa Kennard Andrzej Zanko In Touch Issue 43 31 Where we’ve been working in 2016-2017

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In Touch was edited by Edward Biddulph, assisted by Rachel Clarke and Richard Gregory. Layout and design was by Charles Rousseaux and Markus Dylewski and the issue was printed by Holywell Press Ltd Cover image: 3D model of a 17th-century stoneware kiln, Woolwich

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