Data from an Archaeological Trial Trench Evalution at Oatleys Farm, Buckinghamshire, 2021 (HS2 Phase One)
COPA: Cotswold Oxford Pre-Construct Archaeology, High Speed Two Ltd., Oxford Archaeology Ltd, 2025. https://doi.org/10.5284/1126728. How to cite using this DOI
Data copyright © High Speed Two Ltd. unless otherwise stated
This work is licensed under a The Open Government Licence (OGL).
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Resource identifiers
- ADS Collection: 4336
- DOI:https://doi.org/10.5284/1126728
- How to cite using this DOI
Introduction
This collection comprises the site records, pottery data, and photographic archive from an archaeological trial trench evaluation at Oatleys Farm, Buckinghamshire, in 2020. The documentary and finds archives will be deposited with Discover Bucks Museum.
Project Summary
An archaeological trial trench investigation was undertaken at Oatleys Farm, Buckinghamshire (hereafter referred to as ’the Site’), as commissioned by the Contractor as part of the enabling works for High Speed Two Phase 1. The Site is located c. 1km north-west of the village of Westbury and is situated immediately north of Brackley Road (A422), centred at NGR 461043 236793. The Site encompasses three parcels of land (Areas C25108, C25109 and C25110; Fig. 1) measuring c. 10.51ha in total. The Site code for the investigation is 1C20OATTT. The fieldwork was carried out in February–March 2021.
Previous remote sensing survey of the Site in 2013 revealed levelled ridge-and-furrow earthworks and a possible field boundary/boundary bank earthwork in the east of the Site. Subsequent geophysical survey of the Site undertaken in 2020 identified anomalies of possible archaeological origin, as well as anomalies of further medieval/post-medieval ridge-and- furrow cultivation. Geophysical anomalies of undetermined nature and those indicative of modern ferrous disturbances and variations in the natural geology were also identified.
In accordance with a Fieldwork Change Control Form (FCCF) and a Location Specific Written Scheme of Investigation (LSWSI), the trial trench investigation comprised the investigation of 49 machine-excavated trenches. Of these, 48 trenches measured c. 30m by c. 2m and one trench measured c. 20m by c. 4m representing a c. 3% sample of the Site. During the investigation, c. 6m by 6m and c. 10m by 10m box extensions were added to Trenches 2 and 4, respectively, and a contingency trench was added between Trenches 1 and 2. The location for the trial trench investigation was selected to address the construction programme risk to locations required for the Turweston Cutting and the creation of a new access track to Oatleys Farm.
Re-Use Value Statement
The trial trench investigation did not reveal any evidence of early prehistoric date, and so the results have no potential to contribute further to GWSI: HERDS objective KC5. No clear evidence of Bronze Age settlement activity was revealed on Site, though the fragmentary remains of a tentatively dated late Bronze Age pottery vessel is suggestive of a limited background presence in the landscape during this period. It is possible that associated prehistoric activity was transitory in nature and may not be archaeologically visible. The Roman pottery found alongside the prehistoric vessel and the plough furrows seen across the Site demonstrate later disturbance, and so other potential remains of prehistoric activity may have been removed by later activity. Therefore, the trial trench investigation has not recovered sufficient evidence to contribute to GWSI: HERDS objective KC10.
The trial trench investigation identified the remains of a pit alignment of probable late prehistoric date. Whilst no clear evidence of associated Bronze Age or Iron Age settlement was revealed, with only a few nearby postholes of potentially prehistoric date suggestive of possible related activity, the pit alignment provides evidence of an important land boundary that was perhaps associated with nearby settlement. These remains therefore have the potential to make a contribution to GWSI: HERDS objective KC15 and the understanding of landscape organisation during the later prehistoric period.
No archaeological features or finds indicative of Anglo-Saxon activity within the Site were revealed and so the results have no potential to address GWSI: HERDS objective KC 31. The archaeological remains indicative of medieval/post-medieval ridge-and-furrow cultivation demonstrate the agricultural nature of land use during this period. A deposit roughly corresponding with a faint earthwork detected by the remote sensing survey in the east of the Site (Area C25109) probably comprised the remains of a headland formed through medieval/post-medieval ridge-and-furrow cultivation. The Site is located in the agricultural hinterland of the medieval historic market town of Brackley and the village of Westbury, and given the lack of medieval settlement evidence encountered at the Site, the results of the trial trench investigation have little potential to contribute to GWSI: HERDS objective KC40 and the understanding of patterns of change in the formation of rural settlement in the medieval period. Nevertheless, the trial trench investigation results have some potential to contribute to the understanding of the nature of associated agricultural activities within the wider medieval landscape by comparing patterns of medieval open field systems between Turweston and Westbury. Furthermore, the boundary between the parishes of Westbury and Turweston forms part of the Site’s eastern boundary and likely dates to the medieval period. Anomalies indicative of ridge-and-furrow cultivation and a faint earthwork initially interpreted as a possible field boundary/boundary bank were identified by the remote sensing survey of the wider landscape in 2013. The latter roughly corresponds with the position of a deposit underlying topsoil in trenches in the east of the Site (Area C25109) and is suggestive of a headland formed through medieval/post-medieval ridge-and-furrow cultivation. Below-ground plough furrows were also revealed across the Site, many correlating with the 2020 geophysical survey results. Therefore, the trial trench investigation results demonstrate some potential to contribute to GWSI: HERDS objective KC49.
