Cite this as: Scholma-Mason, O., Tierney, M., Goacher, H. and Edgeworth, M. et al. 2021 Iron Age Settlements and Roman Roads: archaeological fieldwork along the Angelinos trunk water main in north Oxfordshire, Internet Archaeology 56. https://doi.org/10.11141/ia.56.13
Excavations along an 18.5km stretch of the Angelinos trunk water main in north Oxfordshire between Tackley and Milton uncovered a panoply of prehistoric to post-medieval remains. Residual sherds of Beaker pottery suggest Chalcolithic/early Bronze Age activity within the vicinity of the development, but most of the excavated features were middle Iron Age in date, comprising linear boundaries and probable enclosures. At least three areas of domestic occupation were recorded, ranging from a single structure to multiple pits associated with various linear features. A double burial, comprising an adult male and a child, dating to the middle Iron Age was also recorded. Roman remains were largely limited to a section dug through Akeman Street, which formed a key arterial route during the Roman period. Other Roman evidence includes a possible midden or manure spread, suggestive of nearby agricultural activity. Medieval and post-medieval features ranged from plough marks to probable quarry pits.
Corresponding author: Owain Scholma-Mason
owain.scholma-mason@headlandarchaeology.com
Headland Archaeology
Figure 1: Site location
Figure 2: The site in its wider context
Figure 3: Calibrated radiocarbon dates
Figure 4: Plan of archaeological features in Area 1
Figure 5: Plan of archaeological features in Area 1/13
Figure 6: Section through Roman road [13015]
Figure 7: Plan of archaeological features in Area 2
Figure 8: East-facing shot of pits [02045], [02051] and [02072]
Figure 9: North-east facing shot of SK2108
Figure 10: Plan of archaeological features in Area 3
Figure 11: Plan of archaeological features in Area 4
Figure 12: Plan of archaeological features in Area 5
Figure 13: Plan of archaeological features in Area 7
Figure 14: Plan of archaeological features in Area 9
Figure 15: Plan of archaeological features in Area 10
Figure 16: Plan of archaeological features in Area 11
Figure 17: Plan of archaeological features in Area 12
Figure 18: Iron Age pottery from the pipeline
Figure 19: Glass bead from burial [02084]
Table 1: Summary of excavated areas
Table 2: Summary of main phases by area
Table 3: Summary of radiocarbon dates
Table 4: Summary of dated pottery recovered by area (no. sherds)
Table 5: Quantification of Iron Age pottery from across the pipeline
Table 6: Quantification of Roman pottery from across the pipeline
Table 7: Number of identified animal specimens (NISP) from hand-collected and sieved faunal material by period
Table 8: Location and summary of micromorphology samples
Table 9: Summary of principal features and possible site functions
Table 10: Examples of Iron Age settlement sites near to the development
Albarella, U. 2007 'The end of the Sheep age: people and animals in the late Iron Age' in C. Haselgrove and T. Moore (eds) The Later Iron Age in Britain and Beyond, Oxford: Oxbow Books. 393-406. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvh1dsh9.24
Allen, T.G. 1990 An Iron Age and Romano-British Enclosed Settlement at Watkins Farm, Northmoor, Oxon, Thames Valley Landscapes: the Windrush Valley volume 1, Oxford: Oxford University Committee for Archaeology.
Allen, T., Miles, D. and Palmer, S. 1984 'Iron Age buildings in the Upper Thames region' in B. Cunliffe and D. Miles (eds) Aspects of the Iron Age in Central Southern Britain, Oxford: Oxford University Committee for Archaeology. 89-102.
Allen, M., Davies, A. and Teague, S. 2020 Graven Hill, Bicester, Oxfordshire. Post-excavation assessment and updated project design, Oxford Archaeology: unpublished client report.
Biddulph, E. 2004 'The Iron Age pottery' in C. Stevens, 'Iron Age and Saxon settlement at Juggler's Close, Banbury, Oxfordshire', Oxoniensia LXIX, 404-10. https://www.oxoniensia.org/volumes/2004/stevens.pdf
Blinkhorn, P. 2009 'The Iron Age assemblage' in S. Ford 'Middle Iron Age occupation at Ells Lane, Bloxham, Banbury, Oxfordshire', Oxoniensia LXXIV, 121-3. https://www.oxoniensia.org/volumes/2009/ford.pdf
Booth, P. 2011 'Romano-British trackways in the Upper Thames Valley', Oxoniensia LXXVI, 1–14. https://www.oxoniensia.org/volumes/2011/Booth.pdf
Booth, P. and Madgwick, R. 2016 'New evidence for diverse secondary burial practices in Iron Age Britain: a histological case study', Journal of Archaeological Science 67, 14-24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2016.01.010
Booth, P., Dodd, A., Robinson, M. and Smith, A. 2007 The Thames Through Time. The archaeology of the gravel terraces of the Upper and Middle Thames, The early historical period: AD 1-1000, Thames Valley Landscapes Monograph 27, Oxford: Oxford Archaeology.
Bronk Ramsey, C. 2009 'Bayesian analysis of radiocarbon dates', Radiocarbon 51, 337–60. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033822200033865
Case, H. 1956 'Beaker pottery from the Oxford region: 1939-1955', Oxoniensia XXI, 1-22. https://www.oxoniensia.org/volumes/1956/case.pdf
Clark, A. 1891 The Life and Times of Anthony Wood, Antiquary, of Oxford, 1632-1695, described by Himself, Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Clarke, D. 1970 Beaker Pottery of Great Britain and Ireland, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Collis, J. 1994 'An Iron Age and Roman cemetery at Owlesbury, Hampshire' in A.P. Fitzpatrick and E. Morris (eds) The Iron Age in Wessex: Recent Work, Salisbury: Association Française D'Etude de L'Age du Fer, Trust for Wessex Archaeology Ltd. 106-8.
Cook, S. and Hayden, C. 2000 'Prehistoric and Roman settlement near Heyford Road, Steeple Aston, Oxfordshire', Oxoniensia LXV, 161-210. https://www.oxoniensia.org/volumes/2000/cook.pdf
Copeland, T. 2009 Akeman Street: moving through Iron Age and Roman landscapes, Gloucestershire: The History Press.
Cromarty, A.M., Foreman, S. and Murray, P. 1999 'The excavation of a late Iron Age enclosed settlement at Bicester Fields Farm, Bicester, Oxon', Oxoniensia LXIV, 153-235. https://www.oxoniensia.org/volumes/1999/cromarty.pdf
Cunliffe, B. 2005 Iron Age Communities in Britain, 4th edition, London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203973578
De Roche, C. 1978 'The Iron Age pottery' in M. Parrington (ed) The Excavation of an Iron Age Settlement, Bronze Age Ring-ditches and Roman Features at Ashville Trading Estate, Abingdon, (Oxfordshire) 1974-76, CBA Research Report 28/Oxfordshire Archaeological Unit. 40-74. https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/cba_rr/rr28.cfm / https://doi.org/10.5284/1000332
Ellis, P., Hughes, G.A. and Jones, L. 2000 'An Iron Age boundary and settlement features at Slade Farm, Bicester, Oxfordshire: a report on excavations 1996', Oxoniensia LXV, 211-65. https://www.oxoniensia.org/volumes/2000/ellis.pdf
Fearon, J.M. 1971 'Deddington, Oxon', CBA South Midlands Newsletter 1, 9. https://www.archaeologyuk.org/cbasm/index_htm_files/1%201971.pdf
Featherstone, R. and Bewley, B. 2000 'Recent aerial reconnaissance in North Oxfordshire', Oxoniensia LXV, 13-27. https://www.oxoniensia.org/volumes/2000/featherstone.pdf
Fitzpatrick, A. 1997 'Everyday life in Iron Age Wessex' in A. Gwilt and C. Haselgrove (eds) Reconstructing Iron Age Societies, Oxbow Monograph 71, Oxford: Oxbow Books. 178-88.
Gilbert, D. 2005 An Archaeological Evaluation at Gossway Fields, Kirtlington, Oxfordshire, John Moore Heritage Services: unpublished client report. https://doi.org/10.5284/1008177
Gill, H. and Hind, J. (eds) 2014 Solent Thames Research Framework for the Historic Environment: Resource assessment and research agendas, Oxford Wessex Monograph 6, Oxford: Oxford Archaeology. http://eprints.oxfordarchaeology.com/id/eprint/2597
Grundon, I. 1998 An Archaeological Excavation and Watching Brief on the line of the Finmere B4031 Diversion, Oxfordshire (FDIV 97), AOC Archaeology Ltd: unpublished client report.
Guido, M. 1978 The Glass Beads of the Prehistoric and Roman Periods in Britain and Ireland, Reports of the Research Committee of the Society of Antiquaries of London 35, London: Society of Antiquaries of London.
Hambleton, E. 1999 Animal Husbandry Regimes in Iron Age Britain A comparative study of faunal assemblages from British Iron Age sites, British Archaeology Reports British Series 282, Oxford: Archaeopress. https://doi.org/10.30861/9781841710006
Harding, D.W. 1972 The Iron Age in the Upper Thames Basin, Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Hart, J., McSloy, E., Warman, S. and Mudd, A. 2010 'Later Iron-Age settlement and burial near Aves Ditch: excavations on the Angelinos Pumping Station to Ardley Reservoir Mains Pipeline reinforcement', Oxoniensia LXXV, 133-65. https://www.oxoniensia.org/volumes/2010/Hart2.pdf
Headland Archaeology 2016 Archaeological Mitigation and Observations for Angelinos Trunk Main, Oxfordshire. Written Scheme of Investigation, Headland Archaeology: unpublished client report.
Hewitt, G. 2016 Archaeological Evaluation on land at Hill Farm, Duns Tew, Oxfordshire, May 2016, MOLA: unpublished client report, no. 16/100.
Hey, G., Booth, P. and Timby, J. 2011 Yarnton: Iron Age and Romano-British Settlement and Landscape, Thames Valley Landscapes Monograph 35, Oxford: Oxford Archaeology.
Hey, G., Bell, C., Dennis, C. and Robinson, M. 2016 Yarnton Neolithic and Bronze Age Settlement and Landscape, Thames Valley Landscapes Monograph 39, Oxford: Oxford Archaeology.
Jennings, D., Muir, J., Palmer, S. and Smith, A. 2004 Thornhill Farm, Fairford, Gloucestershire. An Iron Age and Roman pastoral site in the Upper Thames Valley, Thames Valley Monograph 23, Oxford: Oxford Archaeology.
Johnson, D.E. 1979 An Illustrated History of Roman Roads in Britain, Bourne End: Spurbooks.
Johnston, R. 2001 'Breaking new ground: land tenure and stone clearance during the Bronze Age' in J. Brück (ed) Bronze Age Landscapes Tradition and Transformation, Oxford: Oxbow Books. 99-110.
Johnston, R. 2005 'Pattern without a plan: rethinking the coaxial field systems on Dartmoor, southwest England', Oxford Journal of Archaeology 24(1), 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0092.2005.00222.x
Lambrick, G.H. 1992 'The development of late prehistoric and Roman farming on the Thames gravels' in S. Needham and M.G. Macklin (eds) Alluvial Archaeology in Britain, Oxbow Monograph 27, Oxford: Oxbow Books. 78-105.
Lambrick, G. and Allen, T. 2004 Gravelly Guy, Stanton Harcourt Oxfordshire, the development of a prehistoric and Romano-British community, Thames Valley Landscapes Monograph 21, Oxford: Oxford Archaeology.
Lambrick, G. and Robinson, M. 1979 Iron Age and Roman Riverside Settlements at Farmoor, Oxfordshire, CBA Research Report 32, Oxfordshire Archaeological Unit: Report 2. https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/cba_rr/rr32.cfm
Lambrick, G. and Robinson, M. 2009 The Thames Through Time. The archaeology of the gravel terraces of the Upper and Middle Thames, Late prehistory 1500 BC–AD 50, Thames Valley Landscapes Monograph 29, Oxford: Oxford Archaeology.
Lang Hall, M. 2014 Angelinos Pipeline, Oxfordshire: An Initial Assessment of the Archaeological Implications, Lang Hall Archaeology: unpublished client report 1405.
Lawrence, S. and Hardy, A. 1996 Hopcrofts Holt Hotel, Steeple Aston, Oxford Archaeology: unpublished client report. https://doi.org/10.5284/1028253
Leeds, E.T. 1938 'Beakers of the Upper Thames district', Oxoniensia III, 7-31. https://www.oxoniensia.org/volumes/1938/leeds1.pdf
Macphail, R.I. and Crowther, J. 2013 'Glaxo-Smith-Kline site, Ware, Hertfordshire – Roman Road Area: Soil Micromorphology (including SEM/EDS), Chemistry and Magnetic Susceptibility', [Report for KDK Archaeology: Institute of Archaeology, University College London].
Macphail, R.I. and Goldberg, P. 2017 Applied Soils and Micromorphology in Archaeology, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9780511895562
Malim, T. and Hayes, L. 2011 'An engineered Iron Age road, associated Roman use (Margary Route 64), and Bronze Age activity recorded at Sharpstone Hill 2009', Transactions of the Shropshire Archaeological and Historical Society 85, 7-80. https://shropshirearchaeologyhistory.files.wordpress.com/2019/09/shropshire-transactions-vol.-85_sm.pdf
Manning, P. 1898 'Notes on the archaeology of Oxford and its neighbourhood', The Berks, Bucks & Oxon Archaeological Journal 4, 9-28. https://doi.org/10.5284/1069693
Marter, K. and Brown, K. 2011 'Later Prehistoric and Romano-British pottery' in J. Martin 'Prehistoric, Romano-British and Anglo-Saxon activity at Whitelands Farm, Bicester', Oxoniensia LXXVI, 201-11. https://www.oxoniensia.org/volumes/2011/Martin.pdf
Mays, S. 2010 The Archaeology of Human Bones, Routledge: London. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203851777
Miles, D., Palmer, S., Smith, A. and Perpetua Jones, G. 2007 Iron Age and Roman Settlement in the Upper Thames Valley, excavations at Claydon Pike and other sites within the Cotswold Water Park, Thames Valley Landscapes Monograph 26, Oxford: Oxford Archaeology.
Millett, M. and Gowland, R. 2015 'Infant and child burial rites in Roman Britain: a study from East Yorkshire', Britannia 46, 171-89. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0068113X15000100
Morigi, A., Schreve, D., White, M., Hey, G., Garwood, P., Robinson, M., Barclay, A. and Bradley, P. 2011 The Thames Through Time. The archaeology of the gravel terraces of the Upper and Middle Thames, Early prehistory to 1500 BC, Thames Valley Landscapes Monograph 32, Oxford: Oxford Archaeology.
Mulville, J. 2008 'Foodways and social ecologies from the middle Bronze Age to late Iron Age' in J. Pollard (ed) Prehistoric Britain, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. 225-48.
Needham, S. and Spence, T. 1996 Refuse and Disposal at Area 16 East Runnymede, Runnymede Bridge Research Excavations, Volume 2, London: British Museum Press.
Peacock, D.P.S. 1968 'A petrological study of certain Iron Age pottery from western England', Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 34, 414-28. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0079497X00013967
Plot, R. 1705 Natural History of Oxfordshire, being an essay towards the natural history of England 2nd edn, with large additions and corrections: also a short account of the author, Oxford: Leon Lichfield.
Pryor, F. 2006 Farmers in Prehistoric Britain, 2nd edn. Stroud: The History Press.
Rahtz, S. and Rowley, T. 1984 Middleton Stoney: Excavation and Survey in a North Oxfordshire Parish 1970–1982, Oxford University Department for External Studies.
Reimer, P., Austin, W., Bard, E., Bayliss, A., Blackwell, P., Bronk Ramsey, C., Butzin, M., Cheng, H., Edwards, R., Friedrich, M., Grootes, P., Guilderson, T., Hajdas, I., Heaton, T., Hogg, A., Hughen, K., Kromer, B., Manning, S., Muscheler, R., Palmer, J., Pearson, C., van der Plicht, J., Reimer, R., Richards, D., Scott, E., Southon, J., Turney, C., Wacker, L., Adolphi, F., Büntgen, U., Capano, M., Fahrni, S., Fogtmann-Schulz, A., Friedrich, R., Köhler, P., Kudsk, S., Miyake, F., Olsen, J., Reinig, F., Sakamoto, M., Sookdeo, A. and Talamo, S. 2020 'The IntCal20 Northern Hemisphere radiocarbon age calibration curve (0–55 cal kBP)', Radiocarbon 62, 725-57. https://doi.org/10.1017/RDC.2020.41
Rentzel, P., Nicosia, C., Gebhardt, A., Brönnimann, D., Pümpin, C. and Ismail-Meyer, I. 2017 'Trampling, poaching and the effects of traffic' in C. Nicosia and G. Stoops (eds) Archaeological Soil and Sediment Micromorphology, London: John Wiley and Sons Ltd. 281-98. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118941065.ch30
Salter, C. and Ehrenreich, R. 1984 'Iron Age metallurgy in Central Southern Britain' in B. Cunliffe and D. Miles (eds) Aspects of the Iron Age in Southern Britain, Oxford: University of Oxford Committee for Archaeology. 126-46.
Salway, P. 1999 'Roman Oxfordshire', Oxoniensia LXIV, 1-23. https://www.oxoniensia.org/volumes/1999/salway.pdf
Salzman, L.F. (ed) 1939 A History of the County of Oxford Volume 1, London: University of London. https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/oxon/vol1
Sauer, E.W. 2005 Linear Earthwork, Tribal Boundary and Ritual Beheading: Aves Ditch from the Iron Age to the early Middle Ages, British Archaeology Reports British Series 402, Oxford: Archaeopress. https://doi.org/10.30861/9781841718996
Sauer, E.W. 2006 'Alchester: origins and destiny of Oxfordshire's earliest Roman site', Oxoniensia LXXI, 1-31. https://www.oxoniensia.org/volumes/2006/sauer.pdf
Serjeanston, D. 2007 'Intensification of animal husbandry in the Late Bronze Age? The contribution of sheep and pigs' in C. Haselgrove and R. Pope (eds) The Earlier Iron Age in Britain and the near Continent, Oxford: Oxbow Books. 80-93. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvh1dwqj.7
Simmonds, A. and Lawrence, S. 2018 Footprints from the Past. The south-eastern extramural settlement of Roman Alchester and rural occupation in its hinterland: The archaeology of East West Rail Phase 1, Oxford Archaeology Monograph 28, Oxford: Oxford Archaeology.
Smith, A., Allen, M., Brindle, T. and Fulford, M. 2016 The Rural Settlement of Roman Britain, New Visions of the Countryside of Roman Britain Vol. 1, Britannia Monograph 29, London: Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies. https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/library/browse/issue.xhtml?recordId=1161495
Smith, A., Allen, M., Brindle, T., Fulford, M., Lodwick, L. and Rohnbogner, A. 2018 Life and Death in the Countryside of Roman Britain, Britannia Monograph 31, London: Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies. https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/library/browse/issue.xhtml?recordId=1161497
Spencer, P., Boucher, A. and Tierney, M. 2017 Archaeological mitigation and observations for Angelinos Trunk main scheme, Oxfordshire, Post-excavation assessment and updated project design, Headland Archaeology: unpublished client report.
Stratascan 2015 Angelinos Pipeline, Oxfordshire, Stratascan: unpublished client report.
Tomber, R. and Dore, J. 1998 The National Roman Fabric Reference Collection: A Handbook, Museum of London Archaeology Service Monograph 2, London: Museum of London Archaeology Service. http://romanpotterystudy.org.uk/nrfrc/
Wait, G.A. 1985 Ritual and Religion in Iron Age Britain, British Archaeology Reports British Series 149, Oxford: Archaeopress. https://doi.org/10.30861/9780860543626
Waldron, T. 2009 Palaeopathology, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Wessex Archaeology 2006 Land South-west of Bicester, Oxfordshire, Report on Archaeological Evaluation, Wessex Archaeology: unpublished client report, report reference 63560.01.
Westgarth, A. and Carlyle, S. 2008 'A Roman settlement at Bicester Park, Bicester, Oxfordshire', Oxoniensia LXXIII, 121-47. https://www.oxoniensia.org/volumes/2008/westgarth.pdf
Whimster, R. 1977 'Iron Age burial in Southern Britain', Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 43, 317-27. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0079497X00010446
Whimster, R. 1981 Burial Practices in Iron Age Britain, British Archaeology Reports British Series 90, Oxford: Archaeopress.
Wilson, B. and Bramwell, D. 1993 'Bone and shell evidence' in T.G. Allen and M.A. Robinson (eds) Mingies Ditch Hardwick-with-Yelford, Oxon, Thames Valley Landscapes: the Windrush Valley volume 2, Oxford: Oxford University Committee for Archaeology. 168-91.
Wing, W. 1877 Annals of Rousham in the County of Oxford, Dryden.
Winton, H. 2001 'A possible Roman Small Town at Sansom's Platt, Tackley, Oxon', Britannia 32, 304-9. https://doi.org/10.2307/526966
Internet Archaeology is an open access journal based in the Department of Archaeology, University of York. Except where otherwise noted, content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 (CC BY) Unported licence, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided that attribution to the author(s), the title of the work, the Internet Archaeology journal and the relevant URL/DOI are given.
Terms and Conditions | Legal Statements | Privacy Policy | Cookies Policy | Citing Internet Archaeology
Internet Archaeology content is preserved for the long term with the Archaeology Data Service. Help sustain and support open access publication by donating to our Open Access Archaeology Fund.
Home
