Master's Lodgings New Basement Balliol College Oxford

In April, August and December 2001 Oxford Archaeology (OA) carried
out an archaeological watching brief at Balliol College, Broad Street,
Oxford. The work was commissioned following advice given to the
College by the City Archaeologist, Brian Durham. The watching brief
took place whilst excavations of a new basement underneath the Masters
Lodgings were being carried out. The excavations revealed the natural
gravel capped by a layer of red-brown prehistoric subsoil. Five early
medieval pits dating from the mid-late 11th century were recorded. These
represent domestic rubbish pits associated with early tenements on the
site. A substantial section of masonry was also uncovered and may be
associated with the early foundation of the college. A later section of
walling may relate to a garden wall depicted by Loggan’s drawing of
1675