Park Farm, Aston Clinton, Buckinghamshire. Archaeological Evaluation (OASIS ID: cotswold2-317190)
Cotswold Archaeology, 2018. https://doi.org/10.5284/1048314. How to cite using this DOI
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- DOI:https://doi.org/10.5284/1048314
- How to cite using this DOI
Introduction
In January 2016, Cotswold Archaeology carried out an archaeological evaluation of land to the west of Church Lane, Aston Clinton, Buckinghamshire. The evaluation, which was commissioned by Archaeology Collective, acting on behalf of Laxton Properties Ltd, was carried out in support of a planning application for the residential development of the site.
A desk-based assessment carried out by Archaeology Collective concluded that there were no designated or undesignated heritage assets within the site, although it was identified as being situated adjacent to Akeman Street, a major Roman road, and Late Iron Age, Roman and medieval settlement and activity was identified in the wider area.
The evaluation identified the remains of a ditch system, which was initially considered to be Roman in date, based on the recovery of two sherds of Romano-British pottery from one of the ditches. However, the abraded condition of the pottery and the alignment of the ditches, which were parallel with Church Lane, suggest that the Roman material is residual and the ditches date to the medieval period. It is therefore likely that the ditches are the remains of medieval plot boundaries aligned on Church Lane, which originally extended further to the south-west to provide access to the medieval watermill. However, it is worth noting that Church Lane follows the general north-east to south-west alignment of prehistoric trackways and boundaries in the vicinity, so a Roman date for the ditches cannot be discounted. The location and orientation of one of the ditches in the northern corner of the site corresponds with a field boundary shown on late 19th-century Ordnance Survey maps of the site; the boundary is not shown on the 1960 edition of the Ordnance Survey map, indicating that it had been backfilled by this time.
