Phase 1, Land at Culham, South Oxfordshire

Between August and October 2022, Oxford Archaeology undertook a trial trench evaluation on land east of Culham, the site of a proposed residential development. The evaluation comprised the excavation of 156 trenches targeting the results of a geophysical survey. The works comprise the first of a two-stage programme of evaluation within the site. The trenches were laid out using a GPS with sub-15mm accuracy. The layout is broadly in line with that proposed in the WSI and the archaeological method statement. However, minor adjustments were made during the fieldwork due on site restrictions including ecological and access constraints. In addition, Trench 126 was split into two trenches (A and B). Overall, the trenching array provided a 2% sample in areas of the site where geophysical survey had demonstrated the presence of archaeological features, and a 4% sample where the survey results were considered to be less reliable. A total of 154 30m by 1.8m trenches and two 15m by 1.8m trenches were excavated across the area. Upper Palaeolithic to early Bronze Age struck flints were recovered from the site, however no archaeological features could be dated to these periods. The flint assemblage includes a high percentage of fine tools and suggests significant activity occurring during these periods within the site. Two foci of Iron Age activity were present, both comprising potential settlement sites with curvilinear ditches attesting to the presence of roundhouses. Roman rectilinear enclosure systems accounted for most of the remains identified. Artefactual evidence suggests that the activity spans the whole period, however the pottery distribution suggests a shift of focus from the north of the site to the south. No direct evidence of structures of Roman date were identified beyond isolated postholes. The recovery of later pottery from ditches forming the enclosure systems suggest partial reuse during the Anglo-Saxon period. However, no focus of Saxon activity was identified within the site. Evidence for post-medieval and later agricultural acidity was also noted but limited to widely dispersed ditches and potential sand extraction. Overall, the results of the evaluation provide evidence of a well-utilised landscape with activity ranging from early prehistory to the post-medieval period. The nature of the archaeological remains is characteristic of activity recorded throughout the Thames Valley.