Site Data from Archaeological Trial Trenching at Calvert Depot, Calvert Cutting, Buckinghamshire, 2017-2018 (HS2 Phase One)
Oxford Archaeology (South), High Speed Two Ltd., 2025. https://doi.org/10.5284/1126804. How to cite using this DOI
- HS2 Phase One: London to West Midlands Historic Environment Digital Archive
- Curated Collection: Homes of Iron Age and Romans
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This work is licensed under a The Open Government Licence (OGL).
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Resource identifiers
- ADS Collection: 4248
- DOI:https://doi.org/10.5284/1126804
- How to cite using this DOI
Introduction
This collection comprises the reports, site records, flint recording data, CBM recording data, and animal bone recording data, along with the photographic archive from an archaeological Trial Trench Evaluation at Calvert Depot, Calvert Cutting, Buckinghamshire, 2017-2018. The documentary and finds archives will be deposited with Discover Bucks Museum.
Project Summary
COPA were commissioned by Fusion to undertake an archaeological trial trench evaluation at Calvert Depot, Calvert Cutting, Buckinghamshire within Community Forum Area (CFA) 13 Calvert, Steeple Claydon, Twyford and Chetwode. The trial trenching addresses an area of agricultural land located to the south and south-west of the village of Steeple Claydon, Buckinghamshire (NGR SP 69197 26128), hereafter referred to as the ‘Site’, measuring c. 36.9ha in total. The Project Plan established the scope, aims, contribution to the Generic Written Scheme of Investigation: Historic Environment Research and Delivery Strategy (GWSI: HERDS) objectives, techniques, deliverable and reporting mechanism for the trial trench investigation. The fieldwork, which comprised the excavation of 146 30m long trenches, was undertaken in four phases, addressing seven different Areas across the Site:
- Areas 1.1 and 1.2. The fieldwork was undertaken between 30 October and 10November 2017 and comprised the excavation of 35 evaluation trenches:
- Area 1.1: 29 trenches (Trenches 17-45);
- Area 1.2: six trenches (Trenches 76-81).
- Areas 2.1, 2.2 and 2.4. The fieldwork was undertaken between 21 February and 29 March 2018 and comprised the excavation of 81 evaluation trenches:
- Area 2.1: 16 trenches (Trenches 1-16);
- Area 2.2: 32 trenches (Trenches 48-50, 52-53, and 107-133);
- Area 2.4: 33 trenches (Trenches 134-166).
- Area 2.3. The fieldwork was undertaken between 21 May and 8 June 2018 and comprised the excavation of 15 evaluation trenches (Trenches 58-66 and 68-73).
- Area 2.5. The fieldwork was undertaken between 21 June and 10 August 2018 and comprised the excavation of 15 evaluation trenches (Trenches 89, 91 and 93-105).
The land within the Site is required for the construction of a new Above Ground Instillation(AGI) and diversion of SGN high pressure gas mains (Areas 1.1, and 2.1, 2.2, and 2.4 respectively) and construction of a new substation, diversion and undergrounding of WPD high voltage electricity cables (Areas 1.2, 2.3 and 2.5 respectively) as part of enabling work within the Calvert Cutting including construction of the HS2 Phase 1 Infrastructure Maintenance Depot between Calvert and Steeple Claydon.
Re-Use Value Statement
The results have indicated that a previously unknown Late Iron Age/Roman settlement in the vicinity of the Site was recorded in Area 2.3. Trenches 59-61 revealed a high frequency of intercutting features and it is likely that these were located within or on the periphery of the settlement. The existence of the Roman features on this Site could be significant as there is very limited evidence of Roman activity in this area. As such these remains recovered at the Site enhance our understanding of the Roman activity along the route. The research framework for Buckinghamshire highlights that there is some continuity between Late Iron Age and Roman sites in this county. There are also examples of discontinuity and decline and this suggests that sites which perhaps had the highest quality of agricultural land became larger and more prosperous under Roman administration (Thorpe 2009, 54-65). The Site is located c 5km north of the main Roman road in the region which linked the settlements of Fleet Marston to Alcester (Bicester, Oxfordshire). The Site is located on the peripheral sphere of these localities in an area with no known Roman roads. The discovery of the potential trackway in Area 2.3 may indicate links to other settlements. The possible field system boundaries identified on the site suggest that the Site may have been part of an arable farmstead. A small amount of animal bones were found in a poor condition so the lack of survival of this material may affect future interpretation at this Site. Generally Roman farmsteads in Buckinghamshire practiced a mixed agrarian economy with arable and pastoral elements including cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, horses and fowl (Thorpe 2009, 59). There was also limited evidence of medieval activity on the Site, indicating that it would have formed part of the open field system on the outskirts of the village of Steeple Claydon in the medieval/early post-medieval periods. The evidence revealed in the evaluation included furrows, on varied alignments, as well as a number of associated ditches which could be drainage or boundary ditches. This data contributes towards understanding the landscape history of the parish of Steeple Claydon and the impact of the settlement on the surrounding area. Overall the investigation on the Site has added to the archaeological dataset for this area of Buckinghamshire and the HS2 route including identifying a previously unknown Late Iron Age/Roman settlement which is located in the vicinity of Area 2.3. It would, however, have benefited greatly from more secure dating evidence, particularly for both the Late Iron Age/early Roman phase and also the mid-late Roman phase.
