Land off Sires Hill, Didcot, Oxfordshire

The evaluation fieldwork comprised the excavation of 47 trenches: " 45no 30m x 1.8m trenches; " 2no 30m x 3.6m trenches. The trenches were located to test geophysical anomalies and to provide a representative sample of the remainder of the site. Trenches were set out and overburden was stripped from the trenches under archaeological supervision to the top of the natural substrate, which was the level at which archaeological features were first encountered. Archaeological features/deposits were investigated, planned and recorded. Deposits were assessed for their palaeoenvironmental potential and samples were taken. In January 2025, Cotswold Archaeology carried out an archaeological evaluation of land off Sires Hill, Didcot, Oxfordshire. A total of 47 trenches were excavated. The evaluation recorded a concentration of ditches and pits towards the northern limit of the application site. Associated dating evidence was limited, but one pit contained sherds of Late Iron Age/early Roman pottery and a fragment of Roman brick or tile. This pit also contained a large amount of charcoal, which may have originated as dumped domestic hearth material, and a relatively large quantity of animal bone. Although the majority of the features recorded by the evaluation were undated, the presence of Late Iron Age/early Roman domestic and butchery waste suggests that there was some activity within the northern part of the application site associated with known Iron Age and Roman activity recorded previously in the immediate area.