Oxoniensia 68

The paper examines a number of banjo enclosures which have been mapped, from cropmarks, on the Lambourn Downs, and discusses the possible function of this type of site. The enclosures on the Lambourn Downs have remarkably similar topographical situations which may have social or geographically determined origins, and they appear to have formed an important part of the Iron Age landscape.

Article on the history of the Brome family from c. 1430 to 1630, including their association with Baddesley Clinton Hall, Warwickshire, and with Holton Hall, Oxfordshire; the antiquaries Henry Ferrers, Miles Windsor and George Brome; and the secret burial of Elizabeth Horseman, the last of the recusant Bromes, in the chancel of Holton church.

Excavations in advance of redevelopment on the site of the former Rivers Night Club revealed deposits with a wide range of dates. Most important was the discovery of Neolithic occupation evidence in the form of pits, postholes, gullies and possible post-built roundhouses. Three phases of Neolithic activity have been identified on the basis of the pottery, two in the earlier Neolithic and one later. Four pits represent the earliest component of the Neolithic occupation, with the majority of the deposits belonging to a second phase dated to 3637--3368 cal BC. Later Neolithic activity is evidence by a sherd of Grooved Ware and two pits containing Mortlake-style pottery. A subsequent phase of Late Bronze Age occupation, possibly continuing into the Early Iron Age, includes a loose arrangement of circular post-built structures, a four-post structure and pits. Roman activity appears minimal with a few residual sherds of pottery and two ditches. Early Saxon activity is mainly represented by three sunken-featured buildings and parts of two enclosures. A single radiocarbon date of 545--659 cal AD was obtained for one of the buildings. Benson was an important royal site occupied at various times by the kings of Mercia and Wessex. The deposits found are not thought to represent a high status or palatial complex but may be peripheral to such areas. Specialist reports include

A programme of archaeological evaluation, excavation and watching briefs was carried out in 1995--6 in association with a large housing development at Blackbird Leys. A settlement of later prehistoric date was examined, together with sample areas of the extensive Roman pottery production complex. The former included features of Middle Bronze Age and Early--Middle Iron Age date. Roman features consisted of boundary and enclosure systems with associated foci of pottery production. Seven probably pottery kilns were identified, however some of the kilns and related features were poorly preserved. Some first- to early-second-century activity was identified, but pottery production concentrated in the later-second to third centuries, thereafter continuing at least until the middle of the fourth century. A wide range of pottery fabrics and forms was produced. While most of these fell within the defined range of the industry, important groups and several pieces of considerable intrinsic interest were recovered. Specialist reports include

A field evaluation and follow-up excavation took place on a site adjacent to the course of the Roman road from Alchester to Dorchester (thought to be defined by the contemporary Bayswater Road) and close to a point where the Bayswater Brook was crossed. The fieldwork revealed third-century occupation deposits, which were later abandoned and overlain by a fourth-century road that was subsequently metalled. The road surface became heavily rutted and was repaired on several occasions. It is though that this was a local diversion caused by the need to avoid excessive erosion of the main Roman road as it sloped steeply down to the Bayswater Brook. Specialist reports include

Excavations at Manor Farm, Drayton, revealed a series of intercutting boundary features, possibly focussing on a large hollow of indeterminate function. The earliest features were a gully and possible waterhole of Middle or Late Bronze Age date. These were overlain by a series of small gullies of early Roman date. Some early Anglo-Saxon features were present, but most activity belonged to the Late Saxon/early medieval period, and comprised a series of boundary ditches forming enclosures containing postholes. The artefactual assemblage included pottery from all periods, and an unusual Late Saxon strap-end. Environmental remains included evidence for early, pre-Norman cultivation of tetraploid wheat and fodder vetch. The excavations offered the opportunity to see evidence for the earliest stages of the development of a south Oxfordshire village. Specialist reports include

Successive phases of archaeological evaluation, excavation and watching brief were carried out at Dorchester Abbey, Oxfordshire, in 2001. These revealed the first significant archaeological evidence for the Anglo-Saxon cathedral established by St Birinus in AD 635--6. The cathedral church itself remains elusive, but a succession of one sunken-featured and two timber-framed buildings were found in the Cloister Garden to the north of the abbey. Other features included a ditch and well. Artefact evidence pointed towards domestic occupation, though possibly with some industrial processes (including glass manufacture, presumably for windows). Four sherds from a single very high quality, clearly imported pot were found securely stratified in a mid-Saxon context. The vessel is believed to be of Eastern Mediterranean, possibly Byzantine origin. The archaeological work also revealed important evidence for the medieval abbey, including elements of the twelfth-century church hidden by later expansion and alteration. Much of the south side of the cloister (to the north of the church) was also revealed, including burials within the canons' cemetery. One of these, in a solid stone sarcophagus, was either a senior member of the abbey community or an important benefactor. Unusually, a majority of artefacts recovered were Romano-British but no Roman contexts were encountered. It is argued that the finds derive from midden deposits accumulating outside the Roman town's eastern defences, the line of which has been subject to debate in the past. Specialist reports include

A programme of archaeological work in advance of redevelopment revealed a sequence of cobbled surfaces and other structural fragments probably of twelfth- to fourteenth-century date outside the west gate of Oxford Castle. Part of the thirteenth-century curtain wall and the likely position of the gate itself were located. The external surfaces probably fronted onto the river channel (Castle Mill Stream) to the west, while a possible channel linking the river with the water-filled moat of the castle mound was located at the northern end of the site. Post-medieval developments included the establishment of a ditched boundary and successive realignments of the river channel before the construction of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century buildings, some of which still survived immediately prior to the redevelopment. The results of the excavation are integrated with documentary and cartographic evidence for the site to refine the understanding of the topography of this important part of Oxford Castle. Specialist reports include

Summary of the principal discoveries made during archaeological investigations undertaken during the refurbishment of the overhead supply line from Headington to Bicester in 2000--01. These included fragments of furnace bottom or tap slag and sherds of Roman pottery at Drun's Hill, Woodeaton; later prehistoric and Roman features, likely to relate to field systems and enclosures; the Alchester to Dorchester Roman road; a compact 'yard' surface containing Romano-British material, and other evidence of Romano-British occupation, probably representing extra-mural settlement; fragments of redeposited human bone close to the site of twenty-eight inhumation burials discovered in 1848; and a section of compact gravel surface possibly representing an east-west aligned road emerging from the Roman town, into which a later hearth had been cut.