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Council for British Archaeology
92 Micklegate
York
YO1 6JX
UK
Tel: 01904 671417
Oxford Archaeological Unit - Report 3
ISBN 0 906780 25 X
In 1972 the Abingdon Excavation Committee, as part of its programme of investigations of Abingdon and its hinterland, decided to carry out excavations at Barton Court Farm, 1.5km north east of the town. Cropmarks indicated that the site had been occupied by farmsteads of several periods and fieldwork produced prehistoric and Romano-British surface evidence. Barton Court Farm was on the edge of a major concentration of archaeological sites, consisting of the Abingdon causewayed camp, the Barrow Hills Bronze Age cemetery, a late Romano-British cemetery in the same area, and a large pagan Saxon settlement discovered by aerial photography.
The first season's work, in a trench 60m by 40m, showed that the settlement history was even more complex than had been suspected, with major Late Iron Age, early Romano-British, and Saxon phases. The western edge of the late Romano-British farmstead building appeared in the baulk of the initial trench. It was decided that the excavation should continue over the winter of 1972-3 in order to uncover this building.
Thanks to a slump in the building industry, excavation was able to continue from 1973 until late 1976, with limited observation through 1977. After the first phase of excavation the research design was modified to take account of the new circumstances and of the developing archaeological interests. The initial aim, to elucidate the sequences of occupation and the main factors affecting change, still remained paramount. More particularly, there was the opportunity to examine the organization of the late Romano-British farmstead and its relationship to the surrounding area. Several approaches were adopted: area excavation at Barton Court Farm itself, grab sampling on neighbouring sites such as Thrupp Farm and more emphasis on the sampling of biological evidence.
Archaeology at Barton Court Farm Abingdon, Oxon (CBA Research Report 50) | 5 Mb | |
Archaeology at Barton Court Farm Abingdon, Oxon (microfiche) | 51 Mb |