South Midlands Archaeology (44)

Short preliminary report on excavations at Broom South Quarry, Southill, Bedfordshire, undertaken between April and November 2013, which revealed significant archaeological remains dating from the Neolithic through to the Anglo-Saxon period. The 32.6 hectare site is located on the western flank of the Ivel valley to the south-west of Biggleswade and forms the latest part of a long-established landscape-scale investigation into the archaeology of Broom Quarry. LD

Short report on the part excavation of a late Iron Age enclosure in advance of redevelopment at Colley Hill Farm, Colmworth, north Bedfordshire. Some earlier pottery dating to the middle Iron Age was also recovered. The site is of regional as well as local significance in view of the lacunae in present knowledge about the character and extent of Iron Age settlement beyond the valley and gravel areas of the county. A separate phase of evaluation revealed evidence of domestic occupation in the late Saxon/ early Norman period, comprising a possible raised water channel and a pit or ditch terminus. LD

Short summary of activities at the Buckinghamshire County Archaeology Service in 2013, including changes to personnel, development-related fieldwork projects, and enhancements to the Historic Environment Record. LD

An investigation by Souterrain Archaeological Services revealed evidence of the earliest known medieval tenement in the High Street, Olney, Buckinghamshire. The discovery was made during groundworks for a building extension within a former medieval burgage plot. The remains appeared to represent a large timber structure that fronted the main road in the 12th or 13th century. A number of sub-rectangular cellar-pits, understood to have been used for the cool storage of food such as meat and dairy products, were present. The investigation results, including the pottery recovered, are briefly discussed in the local historical context. LD

Introduces the planning archaeology service at Northamptonshire County Council, outlining its areas of work and how development-led planning advice has increased since the inception of the service in 2010. As a result of this work, a number of previously unidentified archaeological sites have been discovered in the county, contributing to understanding of Northamptonshire's historic environment. An overview of selected investigations from 2013'“14 is presented in this article. LD

Short article summarising the findings from an open-area excavation in 2013 in advance of the construction of a new railway station building in Northampton. Despite the levelling of the remains of Northampton Castle in the later 19th century to permit the building of the Castle Station and its extensive goods yard, trial trenching had shown the survival of a stone wall dated to the 12th century within the outer bailey, as well as pre-castle deposits. The excavation found that the wall related to a minor functional stone building, perhaps a farriery. Beneath the castle remains lay an extensive buried soil and a system of boundary ditches running down towards the late Saxon river edge. The presence of quantities of animal bone suggested that this area had been a dumping ground from a busy slaughterhouse situated near the river crossing. LD

Short summary of the excavation in 2013 of a 7.5 hectare area at Pineham, 4 kilometres south-west of Northampton, by University of Leicester Archaeological Services. This revealed evidence for human activity over a long period of time, with the earliest comprising an Upper Palaeolithic stone tool. Neolithic and Bronze Age pits and an Iron Age roundhouse and ditches were also identified, as well as Anglo-Saxon sunken-featured buildings and post-medieval ploughing. However, the key discovery was a substantial Roman rural settlement. LD

Middle Iron Age pits and fifteen Victorian garden features were identified during an archaeological investigation in Park Town, Oxford. The contents of the fills of the best-preserved pit indicate that it was associated with settlement activity in the immediate vicinity, whilst the 19th century features provide indications of the layout of the grounds to the villa house occupying this plot; some could be matched to features shown on an 1878 map. LD

Short report on the work of the Heritage and Specialist Services Team at Oxford City Council during 2013. Thirty-nine development-related archaeological investigations took place in the city over the year, reflecting the continuing economic dynamism of the city and the level of forward investment being deployed by the university and college sector. Some of the more significant projects are mentioned here, including the excavation of the 18th to 19th century burial ground belonging to the former Radcliffe Infirmary. Outreach work undertaken during the year and progress on the Oxford Archaeological Action Plan for 2013--18 are also outlined. LD

Short report summarising recent findings from the excavation of a Roman villa at Gatehampton Farm, Goring, Oxfordshire, run as a voluntary project by the South Oxfordshire Archaeological Group. Two large rooms and part of a corridor were excavated in the 10 metre by 12 metre trench in the site field. Meanwhile, a trench within the car park revealed substantial walls, suggesting that the project may be close to finding the extent of the building. LD

The Stanford in the Vale Archaeological Research Project is an ongoing project which commenced in 2008, aiming to prove or disprove the hypothesis that Stanford in the Vale was planned as a medieval market town which had failed by the end of the medieval period and subsequently became a village. During the 2011 season the project expanded from looking at one field in the village to examining the settlement and its surrounding fields as a whole. In 2012 six main areas of land within the village were examined through resistivity surveys, identifying archaeological features ranging in date from the Roman to modern periods. Furthermore, excavation work was undertaken at Cox's Hall, investigating the demolished western wing of the 17th century house, and two trenches were excavated within the field at Ashdown House, one of which revealed extensive medieval and Saxon remains. During the 2013 season a large amount of further work was carried out within the village and its surrounding fields, including: ground penetrating radar over the internal floors of St Denys Church; excavation work in the vicinity of Ashdown House, arising from the results of the previous geophysics surveys; and test-pitting at nine sites in the village. The findings are discussed in this article, and work proposed for the 2014 project season is also outlined. LD

Numerous brief, separately authored notes on archaeological investigations carried out, in the main, during 2013 in Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire. Entries are organised within county sections by archaeological unit, consultancy or society, and within these sections alphabetically by location. The more substantial contributions include: