Appleford’s earliest farmers: Archaeological work at Appleford Sidings, Oxfordshire, 1993-2000 By P Booth and A Simmonds with contributions by D Allen, A Barclay, A Boyle, R Devaney, D Druce, R Francis, J Kitch, H Lamdin-Whymark, M Robinson, F Roe, G Thompson and A Witkin Illustrations by Sarah Lucas with ** Oxford Archaeology Occasional Paper Number xx 2008 Appleford’s earliest farmers: Archaeological work at Appleford Sidings, Oxfordshire, 1993-2000 Designed by Oxford Archaeology Graphics Offi ce Cover design by ?? The publication of this volume has been funded by Mount Anvil. Edited by Ian Scott This book is part of a series of Occasional Papers published by Oxford Archaeology - which can be bought from all good bookshops and internet bookshops. For more information visit thehumanjourney.net Figures 1 and 2 are reproduced from the Ordnance Survey on behalf of the controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Offi ce, © Crown Copyright, AL 100005569 Typeset by ??? Printed by ??? ISBN XXX-X-XXXXXX-XX-X © 2008 Oxford Archaeological Unit Contents List of Figures ..............................................................................................................................................................vi List of Plates ............................................................................................................................................................... vii List of Tables ................................................................................................................................................................ix Summary ........................................................................................................................................................................ x Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................................................xi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND PROJECT BACKGROUND ..................................................................... 1 LOCATION AND SCOPE OF WORK ......................................................................................................................... 1 FIELD WORK METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................................ 1 GEOLOGY AND TOPOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................................... 1 ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND GEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND ..............................................................................1 STRUCTURE OF REPORT ............................................................................................................................................. 1 ARCHIVE .......................................................................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 2: THE SITE SEQUENCE ...........................................................................................................................1 PERIOD 1: NEOLITHIC ................................................................................................................................................. 1 PERIOD 1: MIDDLE BRONZE AGE ............................................................................................................................1 Linear boundary ditches ............................................................................................................................................. 1 WNW-ENE boundary ditches 6044 and 6045 ...................................................................................................... 1 Ditches 6022, 6023 and 550 ..................................................................................................................................... 1 South-west rectilinear fi eld system .......................................................................................................................... 1 Enclosure 6111 .......................................................................................................................................................... 1 Enclosure 6112 .......................................................................................................................................................... 1 Enclosure 6016/6108 ................................................................................................................................................ 1 Enclosure 6005 .......................................................................................................................................................... 1 Associated ditches ................................................................................................................................................... 1 Central enclosures ................................................................................................................................................... 1 Eastern and northern enclosures and ditches ......................................................................................................... 1 Ditch 6074 ................................................................................................................................................................. 1 Enclosure 6113 .......................................................................................................................................................... 1 Enclosure 6114 .......................................................................................................................................................... 1 Enclosure 6115 .......................................................................................................................................................... 1 Waterholes ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Relationship between waterholes and boundary ditches ................................................................................. 1 Pits ................................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Pits adjacent to boundaries 6044 and 6045 ......................................................................................................... 1 Pits within enclosures ............................................................................................................................................ 1 Isolated pits ............................................................................................................................................................. 1 Burials ............................................................................................................................................................................ 1 Grave 1566 ................................................................................................................................................................ 1 Cremation burials ................................................................................................................................................... 1 PERIOD 3: LATE IRON AGE – ROMAN OCCUPATION ....................................................................................... 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................. 1 Principal enclosure ...................................................................................................................................................... 1 Enclosure ditch ........................................................................................................................................................ 1 Internal features ...................................................................................................................................................... 1 Trackways and fi eld system ....................................................................................................................................... 1 Western trackway ................................................................................................................................................... 1 Boundary ditches west of the trackway .............................................................................................................. 1 Period 3a: Earlier phase of the fi eld system ........................................................................................................ 1 Northern area ...................................................................................................................................................... 1 Central area ........................................................................................................................................................ 1 Period 3b: Later phase of the fi eld system ........................................................................................................... 1 iii Archaeological work at Appleford Sidings Northern area ...............................................................................................................................................