Evaluation at Land North of The Moors at Kidlington

The evaluation fieldwork comprised the excavation of 36 trenches, each measuring 50m long by 1.8m wide, in the locations shown in Figure 2. The trenches were located to test geophysical anomalies and to provide a representative sample of the remainder of the Site. With the approval of the OCAS, the locations of Trenches 1, 4, 10, 17, 20, 24, 28, 30, 31, 35 and 36 were adjusted on site to avoid field boundaries, public footpaths, borehole caps, and overhead services. However, where trench locations were adjusted, the new locations aimed to target the same geophysical anomalies wherever possible. Trenches were set out on OS National Grid co-ordinates using Leica GPS. Overburden was stripped from the trenches by a mechanical excavator fitted with a toothless grading bucket. All machining was conducted under archaeological supervision to the top of the natural substrate, which was the level at which archaeological features were first encountered. In September 2024, Cotswold Archaeology carried out an archaeological evaluation of Land north of The Moors, Kidlington, Oxfordshire. A total of 36 trenches were excavated across the site, targeting anomalies identified by a preceding programme of geophysical survey. In general, the correlation between geophysical anomalies and the features identified in the trenches was good, with features predicted by the geophysical survey matching those encountered in the trenches. Directional trends identified by the geophysical survey matched furrows, the remains of medieval and post-medieval cultivation practice, in the trenches across the majority of the Site, although the preservation of the furrows was poor. A single Iron Age pit and a single Roman pit were revealed in Trenches 24 and 7 respectively. Both features contained only limited finds assemblages. Although the trackway encountered across Trenches 22-23 and 25, and the possible enclosure ditch running through Trenches 24 and 25, contained no datable finds, it is possible that these may represent Iron Age/Roman activity within the Site. The absence of finds may suggest that the Site was located away from any focal settlement area. Two pits encountered in Trenches 7 and 10 produced small assemblages of Early to Middle Saxon pottery, suggesting some activity within the area during the mid-5th to 7th or 8th century. The remains of two disc-shaped objects with central perforations, most likely annular weights dating to the earlier Saxon period, were also recovered, along with animal bone fragments suggestive of primary butchery waste. Poorly preserved remnant furrows of likely post-medieval date were encountered in Trenches 13, 18, 20, 26, and 27, broadly matching directional trends identified by the geophysical survey. At least two separate phases of ridge and furrow were found to be present within the Site, running on east/west and north/south alignments.