| Title: |
Summer Fields School, Mayfield Road, Oxford. Archaeological observation and recording. |
| Series: |
Archaeology Warwickshire unpublished report series
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| Downloads: |
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archaeol27-251186_1.pdf (5 MB)
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| Licence Type: |
ADS Terms of Use and Access
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| DOI |
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| Publication Type: |
Report (in Series)
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| Abstract: |
The main aim of the work was to record any archaeological remains disturbed by the service trench associated with the development, to collate the records in an archaeological archive and present the significant aspects of the archive in a report for dissemination.
The secondary aim was to form an understanding of the remains recorded in terms of their character and date, and to place the evidence in its local and regional context.
The groundworkers had collected skull fragments and part of a femur. The Archaeological Research Agenda for the Solent - Thames region for the Roman Period states that radiocarbon dating of burials potentially post-dating 400 AD is a priority (Fulford 2014).
The Resource Framework for the Early Medieval Period (Solent-Thames) describes a key focus on when people in the region adopted Anglo-Saxon ways of living and burying the dead, to understand the transition from the late Romano-British period to the Anglo-Saxon (Dodd 2014). It also recognises the value of radiocarbon determinations in encouraging fresh perspectives on established models. More specifically the North of Oxford has been identified as having potential to provide information on the relationship between early Saxon burials and Roman sites (Oxford Archaeological Plan: Resource Assessment, The AngloSaxon and Scandinavian Period, Draft).
Following an initial visit to verify that the bones were human and that they had been buried in antiquity, a team of experienced archaeologists were made available to record the sides and base of the excavated trench. The team also examined and metal-detected the associated spoil heap, which had been kept on site, for any human remains and potential grave goods.
The human remains were assessed following English Heritage guidelines (Mays et al. 2002). The potential of the remains to supply osteological information on age, sex, stature and metrics was assessed. The adult female was most likely (95.4% confidence) buried between 346 AD and
540 AD. She was laid with her head to the east in an grave with no evidence for a coffin and without grave goods, although it is recognised that and such objects could have been removed inadvertently by the groundworkers. The potential burial date straddles the later Roman and early medieval (Anglo-Saxon) periods, an important transitional period where evidence for continuity or change are
important research topics.
The burial could be characterised as Christian, given the orientation and lack of grave goods. 5th Century burials at Queenford Farm cemetery, Dorchester-on-Thames, were considered as evidence for late-Roman conversion (Chambers 1987), although Rahtz (2000 cited in Carver et al 2009) raises the possibility that orientation of burials could relate to a point of reference no longer apparent and the lack of grave furnishings could infer more about status than beliefs (Penn and Brugmann 2007). A series of unfurnished graves at Wasperton likely dated between 400 AD and 480 AD (Carver et al 2009).
Whilst the other archaeological features identified within the trench were mostly found within the vicinity of the grave, there was no evidence to suggest they were contemporary with it. The grave was on a distinctly different alignment to the features around it. The available evidence does not provide dates or suggest functions for the features but a lack of finds might suggest that they lie some distance from a settlement focus.
One such focus may have been indicated c.500m to the west, where Roman pottery was found in 1924. Whilst early Anglo-Saxon settlements in the Oxfordshire Thames Valley are more numerous than other parts of the Solent-Thames region (Dodd 2014), there are none recorded in the vicinity. |
| Author: |
Caroline Rann
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| Publisher: |
Archaeology Warwickshire
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| Year of Publication: |
2016
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| Locations: |
| Parish: |
Oxford, unparished area |
| Country: |
England |
| County: |
Oxfordshire |
| District: |
Oxford |
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Grid Reference: 450949, 209159 (Easting, Northing)
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| Identifiers: |
| OASIS Id: |
archaeol27-251186 |
| OBIB: |
Report number 1634 |
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| Source: |
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| Created Date: |
13 Jul 2023 |
