Magdalen College School Oxford

Between May 2007 and August 2008 Oxford Archaeology (OA) carried
out an archaeological excavation and watching brief at Magdalen College
School, Oxford, where a proposal has been submitted to redevelop the
Dining Hall (Planning Application No. 06/01530/FUL). Residual earlymiddle
Saxon pottery was revealed and may be indicative of Anglo-Saxon
activity on the banks of the Cherwell, possibly relating to a river crossing
on the site of Magdalen Bridge.
Three 19th- and 20th-century ditches were revealed on the western side of
the excavation, which may have represented a re-establishment of a
medieval field boundary. A large 19th-century gravel quarry respected the
limits of the ditches, and may have been dug to provide material for local
development. There was no evidence for any activity associated with the
17th-century Civil War defences lying c 100 m to the north.