Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club & Archaeological Society

An Iron Age enclosure complex recognised from aerial photography was investigated by a series of substantial trial trenches in the 1980s, and a series of enclosures defined, with phases from the Early Iron Age to the Late Iron Age/early Roman period. Part of the complex was re-investigated in 1995. A number of features, in addition to those visible from the air, were found during both phases, although no structural evidence was present. A moderate-sized assemblage of pottery dating from the Middle Iron Age to the late-first century AD was recovered during the latest phase of excavation, which focused on the main enclosure ditches. The number of finds but lack of structural evidence suggests that the main focus of what may have been a substantial settlement was located elsewhere. Specialist reports include

Archaeological work prior to chalk extraction at Manor Farm, Monk Sherborne, recorded a number of late prehistoric ditches and other features, and also identified an area in which there were the remains of Roman buildings. Excavations revealed a typical Roman winged corridor house. The north wing of the building had been remodelled and a channelled hypocaust inserted into one room. There was no direct dating evidence, but finds from two adjacent pits suggest the building was in use from the second half of the third century. Close by were traces of a second, aisled building, constructed using substantial rubble-packed post-pads. Within it was a well-preserved T-shaped channelled corn-dryer, which went out of use in the later-fourth century. A third masonry-built structure of Roman date was briefly recorded during chalk extraction works. The most remarkable objects from the site were an intricately decorated Anglo-Saxon iron wire-inlaid belt buckle and a square belt fitting of the seventh century AD found together near the top of a Roman pit. A post-built timber structure nearby is likely to have been contemporary. Specialist reports include

Field-walking and metal detecting in the vicinity of previously investigated Roman and Anglo-Saxon sites at Shavards Farm, Meonstoke have provided additional evidence for land-use and settlement. Although finds from the Late Iron Age through to the post-medieval period were recovered during the field-walking, the evidence for the earlier periods is slight. Long-term cultivation appears to have been a major factor influencing the distribution patterns and the differential survival of pottery. The low-fired Anglo-Saxon fabrics are likely to have suffered most from plough damage and attrition, and for that reason the period is best represented by the metal finds.

The paper discusses evidence of origins and growth in Hampshire between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries, with particular reference to the town of Alton. It uses ideas relating to the gradual evolution of medieval towns to balance the suggestion that the dominance of Winchester stifled urban development in the county before 1100.

In the aftermath of the fire that had swept through Andover in 1434, Winchester College carried out a major programme of urban investment, building a new inn and three houses. The records of expenditure are preserved in the college archives, and are used to explore the buildings, both within the context of the college's investments and growing income, and as part of the economy of the small towns of northern Hampshire.

Article on parish records of payments for the killing of a range of wild birds and animals, examining the kinds of birds and animals for which bounties were paid, and their presence and distribution in Hampshire over the period of time for which the records exist; in particular the records provide evidence of those species which became extinct in the county.