Iron Age and Roman occupation on land adjacent to 60Radnor Road, Wallingford, Oxfordshire

An Archaeological Excavation

for Feltham Construction

by Sean Wallis

Thames Valley Archaeological Services

Ltd

Site Code RRW 09/23

June 2009

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Iron Age and Roman occupation on land adjacent to 60 Radnor Road,Wallingford, Oxfordshire

An Archaeological Excavation

by Sean Wallis

with contributions by Ceri Falys, Steve Ford, Mark Robinson and Jane Timby

Report 09/23b

Introduction

Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd carried out a small open-area excavation on land adjacent to 60

Radnor Road, Wallingford, Oxfordshire in May 2009. Planning permission (app no P08/W1075) had been

granted to Feltham Construction by South Oxfordshire District Council to redevelop the site for two two-storey

flats, following the demolition of existing garages. This permission was subject to a condition relating to

archaeology, requiring the provision of a programme of archaeological fieldwork prior to the commencement of

construction work.

The site comprises a rectangular plot of land located about 500m west of the historic core of Wallingford

(SU 5989 8954) (Figs 1 and 2), and covers approximately 325 sq m. The site is relatively flat at lies at a height of

approximately 47.5m above Ordnance Datum. According to the British Geological Survey, the underlying

geology consists of Second Terrace River Gravels (BGS 1980).

The archaeological potential of the site was highlighted by a design brief prepared by Mr Richard Oram,

Planning Archaeologist with Oxfordshire County Council (Oram 2008), and this potential was confirmed by a

field evaluation (Wallis 2008) which revealed well-preserved features and deposits of Roman date. As a result of

likely damage to or destruction of these archaeological deposits during the construction of the new houses a

formal programme of archaeological excavation was required for the site, in accordance with the Department of

the Environment�s Planning Policy Guidance Archaeology and Planning (PPG16, 1990) and the District

Council�s policies on archaeology, in order to satisfy the archaeological condition placed on the planning

permission. This was carried out following a specification approved by Mr Oram.

The fieldwork was supervised by Steve Ford with the assistance of Susan Colley and Aidan Colyer. The

excavations took place between 5th and 7th May 2009, during a period of fine weather. The archive is currently

held by Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd but it will be deposited with Oxfordshire Museum Service

in due course. The site code is RRW 09/23.

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Archaeological background

The archaeological potential of the site had been highlighted in a brief prepared for the evaluation by the County

Archaeological Service (Oram 2008). In summary, the site was thought to lie beyond the western limits of the

Saxon and medieval town of Wallingford, as defined by the burh defences, although extra-mural occupation of

those dates was believed to be possible. It also lies approximately 500m east of a large area of cropmarks, which

are thought to represent prehistoric or Roman settlement, whilst a small number of finds and features dating from

the Bronze Age, Iron Age, Roman and medieval periods have been found to the east and south-east of the site.

The evaluation

An evaluation was carried out by Thames Valley Archaeological Services in April 2009. Two trenches were

excavated, 10m and 11m in length, and positioned to target the areas which would be most affected by the

proposed development. The evaluation revealed two gullies and a pit, along with a large feature which was

interpreted as either a large pit or a ditch. Pottery recovered from the features initially suggested a Roman date,

although some of the assemblage has since been re-dated to the Late Iron Age. It was therefore anticipated that

the development would impact upon an area of Roman settlement and that excavation and preservation by record

would be required in that area.

Aims and objectives of the excavation

The general objectives of the project were to :

excavate and record all archaeological deposits and features within the areas threatened by theproposed development;produce relative and absolute (radiocarbon) dating and phasing for deposits and features recordedon the site;establish the character of these deposits in an attempt to define functional areas on the site, such asindustrial, domestic, etc; and toproduce information on the economy and local environment for each phase and compare andcontrast this with the results of other excavations in the region.

The specific research objectives of the excavation and post-excavation project aimed to answer the following

questions :

When was the site first occupied ?

When was the site abandoned ?

What is the layout and organisation of the site in each phase ?

What is the palaeoenvironmental setting of the area ?

Are there any deposits present to indicate a high status settlement ?

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Excavation Methodology

The follow-up excavation comprised a single trench targeted at the footprint of the proposed new structure and,

as a result, the excavation area was rectangular in plan, covering an area of c. 75 sq m (Fig. 3). Topsoil and

overburden were removed by a 360°-type mechanical excavator fitted with a toothless bucket, under constant

archaeological supervision, to expose the uppermost surface of the archaeological deposits. The whole of the

excavation area was covered by demolition rubble from the garages, which had previously stood on the site, and

made ground up to 0.35m thick. In general the made ground sealed buried soil deposits, about 0.55m thick,

which in turn lay directly above the natural geology. This consisted of an orange brown silty clay with

occasional gravel inclusions across much of the site, although patches of the underlying gravel were noted. The

archaeological deposits were all cut directly into the geology.

All archaeological deposits were cleaned and excavated by hand. Discrete features, such as pits and post-

holes, were half-sectioned, recorded and then fully excavated to recover all possible finds. The two gullies were

also fully excavated, within the area opened, as was the large feature which had previously been sampled during

the evaluation, and the small feature with was recorded immediately to the south of it. A full written, drawn and

photographic record of the excavation was made. A catalogue of phased features and contexts is to be found in

Appendix 1.

A range of context types across the site were sampled for environmental evidence. Samples were taken

from five sealed and securely dated contexts, some of which yielded small amounts of carbonized plant remains.

Results

Although the evaluation had already exposed approximately 40% of the final excavation area, there was a

surprising paucity of new archaeological features revealed in the area between the two trenches, with just one

additional pit (7) and a single post-hole (6) being recorded (Fig. 4). The excavation exposed more of the two

gullies (2 and 5) which were recorded in evaluation Trench 1, although the presence of the adjacent property�s

wall meant that it was not possible to extend the limit of excavation further east to reveal more of the large

feature which was believed to be a pit or ditch (3). A further possible pit (8), which had not been clearly visible

during the evaluation, was noted to the south of feature 3, although its exact form could not be determined as it

extended beyond the eastern section of the stripped area. All the archaeological features were fully excavated

following any necessary recording, including those which were previously sampled during the evaluation.

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Phase by phase summary

Despite the relatively small number of features revealed during the evaluation and excavation, all those that were

archaeological in origin could be securely dated from the pottery recovered from their fills, which suggests two

clear, distinct, phases for the site.

Middle to Late Iron Age

Two gullies (2 and 5) were recorded within the western part of the site, both of which contained Iron Age

pottery. Gully 2 ran NE�SW for 2.4m before disappearing beneath the southern limit of excavation. It was 0.5

wide and 0.12m deep (Fig. 4), and had a single fill of brownish grey sandy silt (53). As well as thirteen sherds of

Iron Age pottery, fragments of animal bone and a broken quartzite cobble were recovered from this fill. The

feature also contained a piece of struck flint, of Neolithic or Bronze Age date, which is probably residual. Gully

5 was recorded running SE from the eastern section for a distance of about 2m. It was 0.45m wide and 0.1m

deep, and filled with a deposit of brownish grey sandy silt (57) which yielded several sherds of middle to late

Iron Age pottery. Burnt cereal grains were recovered from both gullies. The limited extent exposed of these

gullies restricts their interpretation but the pottery indicates that they are broadly contemporary with one another,

and they could possibly represent the terminals forming an entrance of a ring gully structure.

Roman

The remaining features recorded during the excavation appear to be Roman in date. Two pits (1 and 7) and a

post-hole (6) were noted in the south-west corner of the excavation area, whilst two possible pits (3 and 8) were

investigated against the eastern limit of excavation.

Pit 1 was 0.75m in diameter and 0.09m deep, with a flattish base. Fragments of animal bone were found

within its fill of brownish grey sandy silt (52), along with a number of Roman pottery sherds. A further sherd of

Roman pottery was recovered from the grey sandy clay fill (61) of pit 7. This feature was 0.1m deep, with a

flattish base, and measured about 0.6m in diameter. A single possible post-hole (6), about 0.15m in diameter and

but only 0.05m deep, was noted to the south-east of pit 7. Its fill of grey sandy clay (60) contained two sherds of

Roman pottery, dated to the 3rd century, and one small piece of animal bone.

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The large feature (3) against the eastern section, which had previously been sampled during the evaluation,

was fully excavated with the available area. As no more of the feature could be exposed during the excavation, it

was still not possible to establish whether it was a large pit, or part of a ditch. However, the uneven nature of the

feature�s base suggests that it was more likely to be a pit than a ditch. All the finds from the feature were

retrieved from its upper fill of dark brown sandy silt (54), with its lower fill (55) being quite sterile. The feature

contained nearly fifty sherds of Roman pottery, which date from the late 3rd to 4th century, along with three iron

hobnails, a small piece of burnt flint and several fragments of animal bone. Although not fully exposed during

the excavation, feature 8 was irregular in plan, measuring at least 0.4m by 0.35m, and was probably a pit. It had

a single fill of grey sandy clay (62), 0.15m thick, which yielded one small fragment of animal bone, along with a

sherd of early Roman pottery and one residual Iron Age sherd. Small amounts of charcoal were recovered from

features 1, 3 and 6.

Finds

Pottery by Jane Timby

The archaeological work resulted in the recovery of a small assemblage of 82 sherds of pottery, weighing 1641g,

dating to the Iron Age and Roman periods. Pottery was recovered from seven contexts with two unstratified

finds from the spoil-heap. Generally speaking the Roman material is in quite good condition with an overall

average sherd weight of 20g. This high figure is in part skewed by the presence of some large storage jar sherds.

In most, but not all, cases surface finish has been preserved. For the purposes of the assessment the assemblage

was scanned to assess its likely chronology and quantified by sherd count and weight for each recorded context.

The resulting data are summarized in Appendix 2.

Later PrehistoricAt least 18 sherds of handmade pottery are present dating to the mid-later Iron Age. None of the pieces is

featured precluding close dating. At least three fabrics are present, a coarse shelly ware, glauconitic sandy ware

and black sandy ware, the latter with a burnished finish. Most of the sherds were recovered from gully 2 with

three sherds from gully 5 and a single residual sherd of flint and grog-tempered ware from pit 8.

RomanThe remainder of the assemblage, some 64 sherds, are typical of the Roman period. Most of the sherds are local

oxidized, reduced or grog-tempered sandy wares with no fine wares present. Two sherds of Dorset black

burnished ware from feature 3 are the only traded items present.

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There are few featured sherds to allow close dating on typological grounds but in broad terms the wares

appear to indicate a date between the 2nd/3rd and late 3rd-early 4th centuries. The earliest sherd is probably a

grey ware jar with a simple incurved rim from feature 8 perhaps early Roman. The later date is indicated by a

flanged conical bowl in a grey sandy ware from feature 3. There are several sherds from locally-made large

grog- and sand-tempered storage jars, mainly from feature 3, which have quite an extended lifespan.

Although a very small group of material the impression from the pottery is of a modest rural settlement

with a fairly limited repertoire of wares mainly locally procured. There does not appear to be any firm continuity

of occupation on the basis of the wares present between the Iron Age and subsequent Roman occupation

although at least one sherd hints at an early Roman presence.

Animal Bone by Ceri Falys

A small assemblage of animal skeletal remains was recovered from five contexts. A total of 31 fragments of

bone were present for analysis, weighing 144g (Appendix 3). Overall, the surface preservation of the remains

was good, although all pieces demonstrated high degrees of fragmentation, which hindered identification.

Eighteen pieces of bone were allocated to animal size categories (�large� - horse/cow; �medium� - sheep/goat/pig;

or �small� - dog, cat etc), but species could not be confidently determined for any. Cut marks were observed on a

shaft portion of large animal long bone. Several fragments of bone had been burnt. No further information could

be derived from these animal skeletal remains.

Flint by Steve Ford

A single struck flint (a spall) was recovered from gully 2 (53). It is a residual find of Neolithic or Bronze Age

date. A small fragment (2g) of burnt flint was recovered from pit 3 (54).

Metalwork

Three small iron objects, probably hobnails, were recovered from the upper fill (54) of feature 3.

Stone

A broken quartzite cobble was found in gully 2 (53), although it did not show any clear evidence of having been

worked or used in any way.

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Carbonized Plant Remains by Mark Robinson

Soil samples from the Iron Age gullies and Roman pits were floated onto a 0.25mm mesh to recover carbonized plant

remains. The flots were scanned under a binocular microscope and the results are listed in Appendix 4. Both the

cereals being used, Triticum spelta (spelt wheat) and Hordeum sp. (hulled barley), and the fuel being burnt,

Pomoideae (hawthorn, apple etc) and Quercus sp. (oak), are typical of the Iron Age and Roman periods in the region.

While their presence suggests the proximity of a settlement, the remains are of no archaeological significance in their

own right.

Summary

Despite the relatively small size of the excavation area, enough archaeological features were recorded to suggest

two distinct phases of human activity on the site. The two gully termini, dating from the middle to late Iron Age,

may be part of a ring gully ditch, although due to the short lengths exposed this suggestion could not confirmed.

No other features from this period were recorded. Nevertheless, although the evidence is limited, the gullies,

with pottery, animal bone and cereals, do provide a good indication of middle to late Iron Age occupation in the

area.

All the remaining features revealed during the excavation appear to be Roman in date and, where they can

be more closely dated, seem to suggest settlement activity during the 3rd to 4th century. This suggests that the

site was not continuously occupied although, in view of the small size of the excavation, it is entirely possible

that if the settlement moved a short a distance in the ensuing years, it may have been located outside the limits of

the site.

There is little evidence of early Iron Age activity in the area around Wallingford, and extensive monitoring

in advance of the Wallingford Bypass produced little evidence of Iron Age activity before about the 1st century

BC:; Some of the pottery from Bradford�s Brook, about 1km south-west of the current site, could be middle Iron

Age in date and similar pottery was also found during an earlier excavation of rectilinear enclosures at Newnham

Murren, approximately 500m south of the site. The situation seem to have changed dramatically during the late

Iron Age, with new settlements appearing along the Thames corridor, which seems to have become increasingly

important for trade, and may also have acted as a tribal boundary (Cromarty et al. 2006). Wallingford may have

been situated in the boundary zone of three tribes at this time, the Atrebates, the Dobunni, and the Catuvellauni,

as coins from all three have been found in the area (Booth et al. 2007).

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Although a large number of Roman coins have been found in the wider area around Wallingford, there is

little evidence for substantial settlement in the town itself at this time. No evidence of structural remains has

been recorded, and most of the Roman finds have come from either the western part of the Saxon walled town,

or the area outside it, between the town defences and the present site (Cromarty et al. 2006) Indeed, the

Oxfordshire HER contains a number of entries relating to Roman finds, including coins, pottery and lamps, to

the east and south-east of the site, many of which were found in allotment areas. The deposits recorded here

therefore appear to indicate another location of Roman occupation in this western area of Wallingford.

References

Airs, M, Rodwell, K and Turner, H, 1975, �Wallingford�, in K Rodwell (ed), Historic Towns in Oxfordshire,Oxford Archaeol Unit Survey 3, Oxford, 155-62

Booth, P, Dodd, A, Robinson, M and Smith, A, 2007, The Thames through Time: The Archaeology of the GravelTerraces of the Upper and Middle Thames: The early historical period AD1�1000, Oxford ArchaeologyThames Valley Landscapes monogr 27, Oxford

BGS, 1980, British Geological Survey, 1:50000, Sheet 254, Solid and Drift Edition, KeyworthCromarty, A M, Barclay, A, Lambrick, G and Robinson, M, 2006, Late Bronze Age ritual and habitation on a

Thames eyot at Whitecross Farm, Wallingford: the archaeology of the Wallingford bypass 1986�92,Thames Valley Landscapes Monogr 22, Oxford

Henig, M and Booth, P, 2000, Roman Oxfordshire, StroudOram, R, 2008, �Land adjacent to 60 Radnor Road, Wallingford, design brief for an archaeological field

evaluation�, Oxford County Archaeological Service, OxfordPPG16, 1990, Archaeology and Planning, Dept of the Environment Planning Policy Guidance 16, HMSOWallis, S, 2009, �Land adjacent to 60 Radnor Road, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, an Archaeological Evaluation�,

Thames Valley Archaeological Services report 09/23, Reading

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APPENDIX 1: Catalogue of excavated features

Cut Deposit Type Phase Dating evidence1 52 Pit Roman Pottery2 53 Gully Iron Age Pottery3 54 Large pit or ditch Roman Pottery4 56 Geological feature n/a n/a5 57 Gully Iron Age Pottery6 60 Post-hole Roman Pottery7 61 Pit Roman Pottery8 62 Pit Roman Pottery

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APPENDIX 2: Summary of pottery

RomanCut Context IA sandy grog shell BB1 crumbs Tot No Tot Wt

Spoil - 1 - - - - 1 12 Spoil - - 1 - - - 1 21

1 52 1 - 2 - - 1 4 44.52 53 13 - - - - - 13 1213 54 - 34 12 1 2 - 49 12795 57 3 - - - - 6 9 22.56 60 - - 2 - - - 2 1257 61 - 1 - - - - 1 28 62 1 1 - - - - 2 14 TOTAL 18 37 17 1 2 7 82 1641

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APPENDIX 3: Inventory of animal bone

Cut Context No. Frags Wt (g) Large Medium Small1 52 - - 32 53 15 43 2 6 13 54 10 95 5 1 -6 60 1 1 - - -8 62 1 2 - - - Total 31 144 7 7 4

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APPENDIX 4: Carbonized plant remains

Iron Age Gullies Roman PitsSample 2 5 1 3 6Feature 2 5 1 3 4Context 53 57 52 54 60

Triticum spelta - grain spelt wheat 1 - - - -T. dicoccum or spelta - glume emmer or spelt 1 - - - -Hordeum sp. - hulled grain hulled barley 1 - - - -cereal indet. - grain 1 2 - - -Pomoideae indet. - charcoal hawthorn, apple etc - - ++ - +Quercus sp. - charcoal oak - - - + -

89000

90000

SU60000 61000

SITE

RRW09/23

Reproduced from Ordnance Survey Explorer 170 at 1:12500Ordnance Survey Licence 100025880

SITE

Bicester

Henley-on

Banbury

OXFORD

-Thames

Witney

Wantage

Thame

Abingdon

Didcot Wallingford

Radnor Road, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, 2009Archaeological Excavation

Figure 1. Location of site within Wallingford and Oxfordshire.