Winchester Road, Oxford, Archaeological Evaluation Report

Oxford Archaeology undertook an archaeological trial-trench evaluation on the site of a proposed student residential development in the rear gardens of properties facing Winchester Road, Bevington Road and Banbury Road, Oxford, in February 2023. The fieldwork was commissioned by the University of Oxford and Hertford College. A total of 12 evaluation trenches were excavated within the accessible parts of the gardens to the rear of the properties on Winchester Road, Banbury Road and Bevington Road (Fig. 2). The trench dimensions varied depending on access constraints with the combined trench area representing an approximate 1% sample of the development proposal. The trench locations were set out using a GPS immediately prior to the start of the fieldwork. Trench excavation was then undertaken using a 1 tonne mechanical excavator with a toothless bucket measuring 750mm wide. Stepped trench excavation was not utilised as a means of gaining access to deeper trenches, as limited space prevented localised widening of trenches. Localised deeper excavation within a single width trench was undertaken where thick made or modern ground was encountered. This was limited to test-pit style excavations using the machine to establish the presence and extent of historic quarry areas or other made ground deposits. In such instances the test pit was generally limited to a 2m length of the evaluation trench and was backfilled immediately after recording from the surface level. Hand excavation and recording was undertaken in line with OA's standard procedures as set out in the WSI (OA 2023). Backfilling was then undertaken with the agreement of David Radford. Backfilling comprised the infilling of the trenches with the excavated material, with the topsoil and turf being tracked into the top. The work was carried out in accordance with Chartered Institute for Archaeologists' standards (CIfA 2014a and 2014b). The results of this evaluation have addressed the general aims of the investigation as outlined in the WSI for the work, within the limitations imposed by the accessible sample size. The presence and absence of archaeological remains in the excavated areas have been clearly defined and appropriate conclusions about the condition and complexity of the remains have been addressed. All the features and archaeological deposits recorded during the evaluation were 19th century or later in date and were generally associated with pits, quarrying or areas of made ground and distributed across the site. The specific aim of determining the location and extent of the historic quarrying has been broadly addressed, but with such a limited area of investigation there is a lack of precision to the results. Within the central and northern portions of the site, the quarrying activity was more typically represented by smaller pits, and the density of their distribution remains uncertain. Although some deposits of made ground were recorded, these are probably layers infilling larger areas of truncation and were cautiously recorded as made ground in Trenches 10 and 11 because no specific evidence for truncation was observed. In the northern part of the site the preservation of the possible supra-natural does, however, demonstrate the potential for the preservation of undisturbed ground levels. No early prehistoric funerary remains or features were recorded and there was no evidence for the activity in University Parks continuing into the site.