Moreton Lane, Northmoor, Oxfordshire

Oxford Archaeology was commissioned by PCA Architects to undertake a strip,
map and sample excavation at the site of a proposed dwelling at Moreton
Lane, Northmoor, Oxfordshire. The site lay within a Scheduled Monument
comprising an extensive area of cropmarks thought to be principally of Iron
Age and Roman date. Watching briefs had previously been undertaken at the
site in 1995 and 2007 in advance of construction of agricultural buildings. The
excavation uncovered ditches of mid to late Roman date that defined the
boundaries of rectilinear enclosures that abutted a trackway to the west, part
of which had been uncovered by the 2007 watching brief. There was no
definite evidence regarding the function of the enclosures, but it is evident
from the artefactual assemblage that domestic occupation lay somewhere
nearby, although no structural remains were uncovered.