Monument record 7527/0/1 - Upper Palaeolithic and Neolithic remains, south of Banbury Road

Two features were identified during archaeological evaluation. Initially interpreted as palaeochannels, further investigation determined that they were natural hollows infilled by alluvial deposits and possibly periglacial loess. A reworked late Upper Palaeolithic long blade was recovered from the fill of one of the features

{1} Archaeological evaluation in 2018 revealed two former water-filled features at the north-west end of the site, thought to be palaeochannels. One of the features was visible in two trenches and was c10m wide and 0.28m deep. The other was at least 21.3m wide and 0.5m deep and contained a re-worked late Upper Palaeolithic long-blade and animal bone.

{2} Further archaeological investigation in 2019 determined that the features were natural hollows/depressions lying in a landscape of open meadows periodically under flood from the nearby watercourse. The hollows were filled in with alluvial material over time. Environmental evidence, other than molluscs, was limited, but domesticate cereal grains suggest a Neolithic date or later date. The lack of forest snail species might refine this date date to the Bronze Age or later. However, the flint artefacts, dating from the Upper Palaeolithic to the early Mesolithic periods were in a condition that suggests they lay more or less undisturbed since they were discarded or lost. The hollow in which the flints were found might therefore have been infilled by other processes, possibly by periglacial loess, thousands of years prior to the example to the north.

<1> Iliff, E, 2018, Land south of Field View, Brackley, Northamptonshire: Archaeological evaluation report (Report). SNN111444.

<2> Lovett, P, 2019, An archaeological investigation at land south of Field View, Brackley, Northamptonshire (Report). SNN111443.

Record last edited

Feb 25 2025 8:13PM