Archaeological Evaluation at St Edwards School, Oxford

A total of 29 evaluation trenches ranging from c.5m to c.30m long by 1.6m wide were excavated across the proposed site of the new sports facilities and sports centre. All trenches were excavated down to the natural geology using a 9-tonne excavator equipped with a toothless ditching bucket and rubber tracks, and operated under direct archaeological supervision. To minimise impact, a planned tracking route was established for the machine beforehand. Furthermore, trenches on the sports pitch had their spoil placed on boards on either side of the trench to protect the turf as much as possible. Based on bore-hole investigation results showing that the ground in the location of Trench 22 had been raised, with natural geology expected at a depth of up to c.2m, a stepped trench was designed and excavated. Trenches 17 and 16 were placed to either side of the possible bank of the sub-circular earthwork, to protect its profile. The trenches were intended to determine the survival of any ditch associated with the bank; however, no remains of a ditch were observed. Subsequently, in consultation with the City Archaeologist, the trenches were joined to cut through the possible bank for further investigation, but failed to determine the presence of any archaeological feature. The archaeological evaluation at the site of St Edward's School, Woodstock Road, Oxford, was undertaken to assess the presence, extent, and character of any surviving archaeological remains, particularly of Prehistoric and Roman date, in light of the site's proximity to the Scheduled Monument at Port Meadow. The investigation formed part of the planning process for proposed development of new sports facilities, and sought to test the archaeological potential suggested by aerial photographic evidence, previous mapping, and field observations. The investigation, consisting of 29 evaluation trenches, yielded limited archaeological evidence; what was found was primarily modern in date. Despite the site's location within a wider landscape of considerable archaeological interest, the evaluation revealed no significant in-situ archaeological deposits. The negative results, while limited in terms of material evidence, contributes to refining the understanding of the distribution and character of past activity in the northern Oxford area. In this respect, the work has fulfilled its research aims by demonstrating the absence of substantial buried remains and confirming that the density of Prehistoric and Roman settlement or activity would appear to be concentrated further west, within Port Meadow and immediately adjacent to the course of the River Thames. The absence of earlier features may be the result of the local topography and underlying geology, comprising Oxford Clay Formation, which suggests that principal zones of Prehistoric and later settlement were focused on the gravels closer to the Thames. This pattern is consistent with observations made in the Thames-Solent Research Framework Resource Assessment, which identifies a concentration of Prehistoric and Romano-British activity along the Thames floodplain margins, with less intensive use of the adjacent heavier clay zones. It should be kept in mind that whilst a very small area of gravels was identified in the trenches to the south of the site, no archaeological features were observed within them. Previous aerial photographic analysis and the National Mapping Programme identified possible ring ditches and sub-circular features within or adjacent to the school grounds, potentially indicative of Bronze Age funerary activity or Iron Age enclosures. Targeted trenching (Trenches 16 and 17) around as well as through one such feature demonstrated that the visible earthwork does not relate to an underlying ditch or barrow, and is most likely a product of later landscaping or potentially associated with Post-Medieval agricultural activity.