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Oxford Archaeology (South)
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In September 2019, Oxford Archaeology was commissioned by Orion Heritage, on behalf of Lightsource Renewable Developments Ltd, to undertake an archaeological evaluation on the site of a proposed solar installation (centred on SP 50789 82666). A total of 147 trenches were excavated across the site, targeted on 2 areas identified from the geophysical survey and otherwise arranged on a standard grid array, representing a 4% sample of the proposed development area. The evaluation confirmed the presence of archaeological remains in the areas identified on the geophysical survey and showed that there are three main areas of archaeological activity across the proposed development area. Remains of Late Iron Age to Roman activity were found in two fields in the form of ditches and pits representing field or enclosure boundaries. Elsewhere on the development a ditch related to a historic field boundary and remnants of ridge and furrow were seen across the site. The archaeology is consistent with the results produced by the geophysical survey and historical mapping and indicates the preservation of a late Iron Age and Roman settlement landscape dating to the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. A gas pipeline traversing the site and agricultural ploughing are likely to have truncated some archaeology.