Data copyright © Oxford Archaeology (South) unless otherwise stated
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Jody
Bloom
Oxford Archaeology (South)
Janus House
Osney Mead
Oxford
OX2 0ES
UK
In November 2015, 13 trenches were excavated across a proposed housing development at Ambrosden Court, Merton Road, Ambrosden, Oxfordshire, centred on SP 6018 1911.
Evidence was found for agricultural activity of late-medieval to post-medieval date across the site in the form of field drainage furrows, ditches and drains.
The 19th century OS mapping for the area shows that the western side was regarded as marshy ground. This has been substantiated by the sequence of alluvial deposits overlain by peaty/ humic material in the western most trenches. The deliberate dumping of material, to raise the ground level and allow the entire western field to be utilised, appears to have occurred in the mid 20th century. The material used as infill was consistent with Victorian structures and some modern debris. It is assumed that these were demolished and imported from elsewhere, rather than any structures on site.