Land off Townsend Road, Shrivenham, Oxfordshire

Between January and February 2017, Oxford Archaeology undertook an
archaeological evaluation comprising 20 trenches on land off Townsend Road,
Shrivenham, Oxfordshire (NGR SU 23100 88510). The work was undertaken as
required by a planning condition for a proposed new housing development at
the site.
A geophysical survey of the site had previously identified a number of linear
anomalies and possible archaeological features. These were targeted during
the evaluation and were proven to be the remains of ditched enclosures. The
remains included an undated possible D-shaped enclosure within Trenches 1, 2,
3 and 5, towards the west of the site. A late Iron Age L-shaped enclosure was
located in Trenches 7 and 9 and a previously undetected possible Bronze Age or
early Iron Age ditch in Trench 4. Additional features included three undated pits
in Trenches 1 and 8, which each contained burnt remains, and two possible
ditches in Trench 14.
Overall, it appears that the archaeological activity on the site was limited to the
later prehistoric periods and was predominantly agricultural in nature.
Potentially spanning a long period between the Bronze Age and late Iron Age, it
is not possible to determine whether this activity was the result of continuous
occupation within the vicinity, or represents distinct and separate phases. Either
way it appears to have been low intensity activity which may have been at the
periphery of a more significant settlement.