Land to the Rear of Building 70, BMW Mini Plant, Oxford

Oxford Archaeology (OA) was commissioned by David Lock Associates, on behalf
of BMW UK Manufacturing Ltd, to undertake an archaeological watching brief
(controlled strip) in relation the development of a new vehicular test track and
associated works on land to the rear of Building 70 within the BMW plant at
Garsington Road, Oxford.
The controlled strip produced useful information regarding late Iron Age and/or
early Roman activity along the line of the Dorchester-Alchester Roman road,
located on the Corallian ridge to the south-west of Oxford. This part of the city
is recognised for its nationally important Roman pottery industry, evidence for
which has been found in the past at dispersed locations broadly along the line
of the Roman road. The current small-scale excavation did not produce any
direct evidence for the pottery industry but has revealed evidence for a ditched
enclosure of probable early Roman date, at least 50m long, on a parallel NNWSSE
alignment to the nearby Roman road, as well as two other settlement
features – a pit and possible ditch – that are probably broadly contemporary.
While no evidence for buildings or other structures was found, the charred plant
remains, pottery and animal bone recovered from these features are suggestive
of detritus from hearth fires from domestic contexts. The late Iron Age or early
Roman settlement that produced the charred material is unlikely to lie very far
from the controlled strip.