Further Evaluation at Land East of Aylesbury Broughton Crossing Bierton Buckinghamshire phases 1 & 2

Phase 1 : In July and September 2012, Oxford Archaeology (OA) carried out a field evaluation
on Land at Broughton Crossing, Bierton in Buckinghamshire. The evaluation
comprised machine excavation of 41 trenches, each measuring 30m by 1.8m, in two
separate areas. Evaluation trenching of two further areas at the site will be carried
out when access is available.
Area B, adjacent to Burcott Lane, comprised 27 trenches, located to investigate two
areas of anomalies recorded in a geophysical survey of the site as well as an
apparently blank area between them. The trenching revealed two concentrations of
archaeology in the northern part of the area, most of which dated to either the
medieval or Roman periods.
Some evidence of prehistoric activity was present in the north of the area, in the
form of a small group of pits and, possibly, human remains (although these were not
dated). The nature of this activity is unclear and it was not closely dateable.
Roman activity, probably originating in the 2nd century AD, was recorded at the
northern edge of the field. Here, a considerable density of archaeological features
produced pottery, fragments of oven furniture and a range of economic crop
remains, strongly indicating the presence of a small rural settlement or farmstead.
In the south-eastern part of Area B, a series of ditches and a pit were recorded.
These features largely coincided with a series of geophysical anomalies indicating
the presence of a series of enclosures. Pottery from the features suggests a Roman
date for the enclosures, although some late Iron Age material was also present.
In the north-western part of Area B, medieval remains, including a cobbled surface,
pits and ditches, were present. Examination of the 1780 Enclosure map for the area
suggests these features form part of a more extensive area of medieval activity,
forming part of the medieval village of Burcott. In general, the pottery recovered
from these features suggests a 12th-14th century date for this activity, but the
presence of a few sherds of St Neots-type ware may suggest an earlier, late Saxon
origin.
Scattered post-medieval field boundaries and furrows were also present further
south.
Area C, adjacent to Gib Lane, comprised 14 trenches and revealed very sparse
archaeological remains that consisted mostly of probable plough furrows, of
medieval or post-medieval date. A sherd of medieval pottery was recovered from an
irregular pit or tree-throw hole. It is likely that a series of geophysical anomalies
recorded in the area largely resulted from variations in the underlying natural
geological deposits.

Phase 2: In July 2014, Oxford Archaeology (OA) carried out a field evaluation on land at
Broughton Crossing, Bierton in Buckinghamshire. The evaluation comprised
machine excavation of 35 trenches, each measuring 30m by 2m. These trenches
were in two areas, Areas A and D. This area was part of a larger development site,
previously investigated by Oxford Archaeology in 2012.
A single trench was proposed for Area A to investigate an area of strong magnetic
response recorded during the geophysical survey of the site. The trench had to be
abandoned due to the probable presence of modern services.
The trenches in Area D were located to investigate two areas of anomalies recorded
in a geophysical survey of the site as well as the apparently blank areas between
and around them. The trenching revealed two main concentrations of archaeological
remains. One, in the north-eastern part of the area, mostly dated to the late Iron Age
to early Roman period, and one, in the south-eastern part of the area, was of mainly
middle to late Roman date.
Evidence for later prehistoric activity was present in the north of the area, in the
form of sherds of flint tempered pottery recovered from later features and from the
subsoil. The nature of this activity is unclear and was not closely datable.
Evidence of activity of late Iron Age or early Roman date was recorded in the northeastern
part of the area, with pottery recovered from a number of ditches
corresponding with an area of geophysical anomalies. Further evidence of activity of
this date was recorded on the northern and southern peripheries of the area of
Roman activity.
Roman settlement activity, perhaps originating in the 1st century AD, was recorded
in trenches in the south-east of the site. A considerable density of archaeological
features produced pottery, fragments of oven furniture, ceramic building material,
iron nails and animal bone, strongly indicating the presence of a farmstead with its
main period of occupation in the middle Roman period but extending into the late
Roman period. A possible demolition layer, consisting of a tumble of limestone
blocks, along with the presence of a variety Roman tile, suggests that a building
existed in this area set in a series of enclosures and fields.
A number of plough furrows, the remnants of ridge and furrow, suggest that during
the medieval period and later, the site lay within agricultural fields. Ceramic land
drains, present in many trenches, attest to efforts to improve the drainage of the
site, probably in the 18th century or later.