Two, 5m long trenches were mechanically excavated within the footprint of the PDA (Report Figure 2), Each trench was excavated using a mechanical micro-digger fitted with a smooth-bladed ditching bucket operating under the close and constant supervision of a suitably experienced archaeologist. Any discovered archaeology was investigated and recorded as per the methodology laid out in the WSI (Network Archaeology, 2015). Archaeology was discovered in both trenches. Alan Watson Design Ltd, in consultation with BCAS, decided to implement design mitigation which obviated the need to investigate the discovered archaeology below the depth of the revised reduced dig. As a consequence, some of the discovered archaeology, notably in Trench 1, was recorded in plan but not investigated by hand. The evaluation was carried out by up to two archaeologists over a six-day period between February and March 2015. The evaluation has successfully identified evidence of human activity taking place within the vicinity of the PDA from the Saxon to the early modern periods. The earliest finding was the small assemblage of residual Saxon pottery, which adds to the growing corpus of Saxon material previously found in this part of Buckingham town. There was no evidence of any Saxon structures or features and nor was there any evidence of the postulated burh. No direct evidence of medieval domestic or industrial buildings was identified, but the stone spread (113) within trench 1 may represent part of a structure dating to this period. The pit fills in trench 2 could relate to a series of inter-cutting domestic refuse pits or might conceivably represent the filling in of a large quarry pit or ditch. With the exception of a single fragment of human bone, no evidence of in-situ burial was identified. There is a moderate level of confidence in the factual results of this evaluation, and in the interpretations made due to the clarity of the archaeology, the stratigraphic relationships, and the prevailing site conditions at the time of the fieldwork. A degree of uncertainty remains over the interpretations of the rubble spread in trench 1 and the pit fills in trench 2, as these deposits were not fully investigated. Based on the evaluation results, the findings would appear to be of local importance.
Lingard et al. (Fri,) studied this question.