Berkshire Archaeological Journal 80

This stone scatter from Marsh Benham, in Berkshire, southern England was excavated in 1972 but this is the first detailed analysis of the excavations including a full typological inventory. Much of the original scatter was probably destroyed by railway construction and what remains is only a small sample of a much larger scatter. Analysis of this sample suggests that the assemblage belongs to the 'Deepcar' Early Mesolithic assemblage-type. Assessment of three radiocarbon dates associated with the assemblage indicates that only one is acceptable, but that this corresponds well with the current typo-chronological frame-work. Unfortunately, spatial patterning is impossible to determine due to the small excavated sample. However, on the basis of the stone inventory it is speculated that the site may have serviced a domestic location.

The excavations at Lea Farm, Hurst, provided more evidence of the extent of Late Bronze Age to Romano-British occupation of the valleys of the Kennet and Loddon, both tributaries of the Thames. The site provided further evidence for pastoral agriculture. It is suggested that cereal production and processing took place elsewhere.

The second, and final, report on the large housing development at Dunston Park considers i) the identification of a Bronze Age burnt mound at Dunston Plantation, ii) further modest evidence for Early Iron Age ironworking at Cooper’s Farm, and iii) the site of the demolished 18th century mansion of Dunston House and those elements of its formal gardens which survive as earthworks. Enclosed gardens and associated water features, ponds and a possible mount can be identified. Other elements of the park, such as the turning circle, can also be identified from aerial photographs.

The Windsor conduit, built in 1551-8, brought water five miles from the Great Park to the Castle’s Upper Ward. The conduit was completed by 1558 but by 1609 it was already causing problems and by 1635 had fallen out of use. The original accounts of the Windsor conduit do not survive, but an edited and transcribed version prepared by Elias Ashmole does. This sheds light on the entire process of building a water conduit.

Excavations at Newbury Wharf revealed eight phases of development from the construction of the wharf and basin between 1715 – 1723, later construction, extension and demolition of a Weighing House to its eventual infilling and use as a car park in the 1960s.

The Berkshire Archaeological Trust was formed in 1975 to commission and direct archaeological activity in Berkshire. Over the years it evolved as responsibility for providing archaeological services passed to the regional Trust for Wessex Archaeology and local government was devolved to six unitary authorities. In 2009 it was dissolved and the Berkshire Archaeological Society took on the responsibility for encouraging public awareness of archaeology in the area covered by the old Royal County of Berkshire and the unitary authorities that have replaced it.

Berkshire Archaeological Society published its first transactions in 1878, and has published a journal since 1889. By 2008 eighty-five volumes had been published. This paper records the work of a project run by the Society in 2007/2008 to digitise all this material and make it available on the internet through the Archaeology Data Service (http://ads.ahds.ac.uk) and the Council of British Archaeology: ArchLib service (http://archlib.britarch.net). The work was undertaken by volunteers from the society led by the Chairman, Andrew Hutt.