T H A M E S V A L L E Y ARCHAEOLOGICAL S E R V I C E S Glebe House, Reading Road, Wallingford, Oxfordshire Archaeological Recording Action by Andrew Mundin Site Code: GHR15/256 (SU 6068 8892)
Glebe House, Reading Road, Wallingford, Oxfordshire An Archaeological Recording Action For Dr Sue Roberts by Andrew Mundin Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd Site Code GHR 15/256 April 2016
Summary Site name: Glebe House, Reading Road, Wallingford, Oxfordshire Grid reference: SU 6068 8892 Site activity: Watching Brief Date and duration of project: 2nd 4th November 2015 Project manager: Steve Ford Site supervisor: Andrew Mundin Site code: GHR 15/256 Summary of results: The groundworks revealed and partially disturbed the location of eight human burials in land that would have once been close to the site of the now lost St Lucian's church. Most of the articulated remains were left in situ and a moderate quantity of disarticulated remains were retained. Previous burials recorded at the site included those of late Saxon date. Location and reference of archive: The archive is presently held at Thames Valley Archaeological Services, Reading and will be deposited at Oxfordshire County Museums Service in due course. This report may be copied for bona fide research or planning purposes without the explicit permission of the copyright holder. All TVAS unpublished fieldwork reports are available on our website: www.tvas.co.uk/reports/reports.asp. Report edited/checked by: Steve Ford 14.04.16 Steve Preston 30.03.16 i Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd, 47 49 De Beauvoir Road, Reading RG1 5NR Tel. (0118) 926 0552; Fax (0118) 926 0553; email tvas@tvas.co.uk; website: www.tvas.co.uk
Glebe House, Reading Road, Wallingford, Oxfordshire An Archaeological Recording Action by Andrew Mundin Report 15/256 Introduction This report documents the results of an archaeological recording action carried out at Glebe House, Reading Road, Wallingford, Oxfordshire (SU 6068 8892) (Fig. 1). The work was commissioned by Dr Sue Roberts of Glebe House, Reading Road, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, OX10 9DT. Planning permission (P12/S1959/HH) has been gained from South Oxfordshire District Council for alterations to the house to make it more eco-friendly, and landscaping of the garden frontage to reconfigure parking areas and access. Due to the potential disturbance of archaeological deposits, which have previously been identified on the site in the form of human burial associated with the former church of St Lucian, a staged programme of archaeological investigation was to be maintained during groundworks on the front garden. This groundwork was to include ground reduction for new access and a parking, and a new garden retaining wall. This is in accordance with the Department for Communities and Local Government s National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF 2012) and the District s policies on archaeology. The field investigation was carried out to a specification submitted to the local planning authority and was based on a brief supplied by Mr Richard Oram, Planning Archaeologist, of Oxfordshire County Council Archaeological Services (Oram 2013). The fieldwork was undertaken by Andrew Mundin, between 2nd and 4th November 2015. The site code is GHR 15/256. The archive is presently held at Thames Valley Archaeological Services, Reading and will be deposited with Oxfordshire County Museums Service in due course. Location, topography and geology The site is located at the southern end of Wallingford town centre and on the eastern side of Reading Road (SU 6068 8892). The site is a private residence with associated gardens and parking (Fig. 2). The site lies at approximately 47m above Ordnance Datum, slightly above the level of the road. The underlying geology is recorded as younger river gravels, specifically the first (flood plain) terrace deposits (BGS 1980). 1
Archaeological background The archaeological potential of the site has been highlighted in the brief for the project. In summary, the site lies beyond the southern boundary of the Saxon defences of Wallingford but within an area of possible extra-mural medieval settlement (Christie et al 2013; Preston 2010; Airs et al. 1975). There are also records of Roman and Iron Age finds from the vicinity, as well as human remains marked on the Ordnance Survey map of 1881. A memorandum attached to a charter of AD945 suggests that there were three churches outside the borough of Wallingford for which Roffe suggests that the only three candidates are those dedicated to St Leonard, St Lucian and St Rumbold (Roffe, 2009, 38) making these all pre-conquest in date. St Lucian's church was located roughly 70m to the north of the proposal site. Documentary evidence for St Lucian's is limited, though it is possible to demonstrate that the church was present within Henry I's reign and given to the Priory of St Frideswide, Oxford in 1122 along with the nearby St Leonard's church. By the early 14th century, however, St Lucian's had been incorporated into St Leonard's parish (Dewey, 2009, 21). Previous fieldwork on the proposal site (Elliot 2014) revealed several burials and disarticulated human bone. and it is considered that this area lay within the burial ground of St Lucians.. Radiocarbon dating of a skull fragment from one of the burials returned a result of 940-1040AD (UBA-26109).. Objectives and methodology The purpose of the recording action was to excavate and record any archaeological deposits affected by the works. This involved the examination of all areas of intrusive groundworks, including the excavation of foundation and ground reduction. All archaeological deposits exposed by the groundworks were to be cleaned and recorded but not excavated unless threatened by the groundworks. Human remains were to be left in situ unless under immediate threat of destruction, and lifted under MoJ licence (15-0334). Results Garden area ground reduction The excavations were carried out using a 360 Kubota machine fitted with a toothless bucket. Initially excavation occurred on the raised garden to the south of the main access removing overburden of topsoil and other general rubble (150). After a depth of 0.6m had been reached in-situ human remains were uncovered (Grave 100, Skeleton 151; Fig..3, Pl. 1). These were hand cleaned and recorded. The grave measured 1.4m long 2
and 0.4m wide with the lower limbs and feet missing. One nail was recovered from its fill. Most of the pelvic area and ribs were intact and the arms are identified along the side of the body, with a suggestion of a ring of copper alloy which had stained the bone green in the location were the hands would have been over the pelvis. Most of the skull was missing apart from the occipital bone. Once they were recorded these remains were left insitu. Even so, it was identified as a young adult aged between 18-24 years and was probably female as decided from diagnostic elements of the pelvis. During excavation of the rest of this part of the garden, disarticulated human bone was recovered from the overburden and at a depth of 0.65m disturbed remains of two skulls and part of a rib cage (Grave 101, Sk153; Fig.3). From the fill (152) of this burial were 10 nails all roughly of 550mm in length. The skulls were likely to have been disturbed as they were face down. The ribs were recorded as a complete skeleton as they were laid prone on a E-W axis. Most of the spine and the left side ribs were present. Roughly 1m to the west of these remains the top of another skull was uncovered but this was below the formation level so was not further investigated. Also at the base of this formation level, the top of a pit and ditch were also exposed. This ditch was on a roughly E-W alignment and contained a chalky fill (Pl. 3). Due to the concentration of articulated human bone and the presence of other cut features, the development plan was changed and no further ground reduction took place lower than the mixed soil identified to contain human remains (155). The only other find from this deposit was large headed ferrous nail 590mm long. There was no associated dating evidence for these burials. The site was reburied with topsoil to preserve the remains. Excavation of the ground to the north of the access road revealed less human bone in the topsoil. This area was reduced by 0.6m and uncovered another skeleton (Grave 102; Sk157; Fig.3, Pl. 2). This was near complete, but was missing the tibia bones and the feet. The skull remained intact. This diagnostically contained elements of male characteristics on the skull and pelvis. The teeth were seen to be in good preservation, and it was probably an individual of 18-24 years old. The remains measured 1.57m long and 0.47m wide. Once recorded they were preserved in-situ. Continued observation of the remainder of reduction to the east uncovered no more in-situ remains. Retaining wall Observation was also made during demolition of the existing retaining wall on the roadside face of the front garden. A 2m reduction occurred after the old retaining wall had been removed which reduced this part of the garden to road level 1.3m from existing ground level. The tops of three in situ skulls were noted in the west facing section (Pl. 4). All were at a depth of 0.7m. No further excavation eastwards was carried out on the 3
location of the remains and they were left in-situ. The retaining wall trench was 1.2m from the road edge and dug 0.3m deep. This revealed a light reddish grey sandy silt which was clear of finds to the south and could have been natural geology, but this gave way to a brown reddish grey sandy silt with contained a skull and possible grave cut at 1.2m deep (Fig. 3). This, as with the rest of the bone was left in-situ as it was not under immediate threat of destruction from the rest of the construction of the retaining wall. Finds Metal In total, twelve nails were recorded during the fieldwork, with ten identified in one discrete cluster (152). The other two are large headed nails that were both associated with human remains (155 and 156). Human bone by Ceri Falys A moderate amount of human bone was recovered from six contexts within the investigated area. A total of 446 fragments were recovered for analysis. The deposits of bone were not individual inhumations, but rather areas of cemetery deposits containing comingled disarticulated bone. No articulated skeletons were excavated, and five of the six contexts contained the remains of more than one individual. The analysis of comingled and disarticulated remains is problematic, as skeletal elements cannot usually be attributed to specific individuals. Each bone may in fact belong to a different person. Although osteological analysis is employed to examine each piece of bone for its demographic profile (age and sex), the resulting information may under-represent the actual number of individuals present. In addition, pathological observations can give indications of the diseases that were present within in the population, but not provide accurate representations of skeletal involvement nor the prevalence rate within the community. The preservation of the bone varied between contexts, although in general, the bone was well preserved with good surface preservation and had a moderate amount of fragmentation. Very few elements were complete at the time of analysis, and the comingled nature of the remains limited the amount of information that could be retrieved about the individuals represented in the assemblage. Each piece of bone was subjected to osteological analysis following the guidelines suggested by Buikstra and Ubelaker (1994) and Brickley and McKinley (2004) in order to assess the minimum number of individuals present in each deposit, the sex of the individuals, estimates of the age at death, and presence of disease. 4
The minimum number of individuals for each deposit was made based on the presence of duplicated elements or differing states of skeletal development. Due to the fragmentation of the remains, general assessments of sex were made using metric analysis of the femoral heads (using criteria by Stewart 1979), and morphological features of the cranium and pelvic bones. Age was estimated based on the extent of element development and maturity (i.e. fused or unfused epiphyses) and the severity of dental wear (Brothwell 1981). Wherever possible, non-adult ages were stated within concise estimates, although unfortunately, adult ages could only be most commonly stated as a very broad category of 20+ years, which was indicated by the completed fusion of epiphyses. Pathological conditions were also recorded for individual bones where observed. It was not possible to determine stature for any long bone, due to the fragmented nature of the skeletal elements. Appendix 2 summarizes the findings from each deposit, and the osteological analysis of each context is discussed in greater detail below. 150 Deposit 150 contained the greatest quantity of skeletal elements. A total of 135 human bone fragments were present for analysis, in addition to five pieces of animal bone. All regions of a human skeleton were present within this assemblage of bone, including many fragments of cranial vault, two right maxillae, a portion of mandible, few pieces of vertebrae and innominates. The upper and lower limbs were the most plentiful. The minimum number of individuals present was calculated based on the presence of the left proximal femur, as it was the most frequently occurring part of the skeleton recorded. A total of five individuals were represented, of those two were non-adults and three were adult. The non-adults were identified as such due to the non-fusion of the femoral head, which usually commences around the age of 12 years for girls and 14 years for boys (Scheuer and Black 2004). Although both were unfused, a significant size difference was present between the femurs themselves, suggesting one of the children was much younger than the other. Unfortunately, it was not possible to provide a more specific age range than 14 years or younger for either of the children. The three fully developed proximal femora could only be stated as adult (i.e. 20+ years). Metric analysis of the maximum diameter of the adult femoral heads suggested the presence of one individual of indeterminate sex (44.1mm), one probable male (46.6mm) and one male (49.4mm). Three types of pathological alterations recorded, including dental, metabolic and infectious diseases. The dental diseases were observed on each of the two right maxillae and the single mandible present. Linear enamel hypoplasia on one maxilla indicated the individual survived periods of stress or illness during childhood while 5
the tooth crowns were developing within the jaws. The second maxilla demonstrated carious lesion to a right canine in addition to severe wear of the anterior dentition. Due to the location of the dental wear (i.e. anterior teeth), it may be related to the individual s occupation or a habitual specific activity. The single segment of mandible had antemortem tooth loss of the second premolars, first and second molars all bilaterally, and the left third molar. This extensive loss of teeth prior to death may be an indication of advanced age. Metabolic disease was observed in the form of cribra orbitalia on the roofs of the orbits of the complete frontal bone of a male individual, which is suggested to indicate the presence of megaloblastic anaemia resulting from a diet deficient in vitamins B 9 and B 12 (found in animal products) (Walker et al 2009). Lastly, the presence of osteomyelitis (bone infection) in a fragment of femur recovered from this context resulted in a bulbous and irregularly shaped femoral shaft. 151 The 64 pieces of bone labelled at excavation as SK151 were in fact the remains of a minimum of two individuals: a non-adult and an adult individual. Approximately 15% of the expected bones of a child skeleton were present, which primarily included the upper body (portions of the skull, ribs, left clavicle and right humerus). An age at death of 18 months ± 24 months was indicted by the extent of development of the mandibular dentition. A minimum of one adult of indeterminate sex was also identified by several hand bones (the third to fifth metacarpals, proximal, intermediate and distal manal phalanges, cranial vault and rib fragments). No pathologies were observed. 152 A minimum of three skeletons were represented in the 109 pieces of bone excavated from deposit 152, including two non-adults and one adult individual. The right side of a mandible belonging to a perinatal baby (i.e. died around the time of birth) was present, in addition to a child aged 6 years ± 24 months (based on dental development).the adult was of indeterminate sex was primarily represented by pieces of cranial vault, rib and radius fragments. No pathologies were noted. 154 A total of 51 fragments of bone were present for analysis from deposit 154. Again, a minimum of one adult and one non-adult were present within the assemblage. The non-adult could only be broadly aged as less than 12 6
years old based on the presence of an unfused head on a left proximal humerus, an unsided fragment of distal femoral epiphysis and an unfused scapular coracoid process. The identified adult elements primarily originated from the lower body. Rib, innominate, femoral and tibial shaft fragments were all present. The anterior surface of a single femoral shaft of a probable female individual displayed a minimum of one perimortem sharp force traumatic wound. Measuring 10.8mm in length and 2.6mm wide, the wound is located on the anterior surface of the mid femoral shaft. Three additional possible lesions are also located surrounding the sharp force trauma wound, however, more investigation is needed to confirm or refute their true nature. 155 A single individual of indeterminate sex, aged 17-25 years by severity of dental wear, was identified in the 59 fragments of bone recovered from 155. The pieces of bone were a mixture of cranial and tibial shaft fragments. Characteristic holes of cribra orbitalia were present on a single orbital roof. 156 A minimum of two individuals, an adult and a non-adult, were again present in deposit 156. The non-adult, aged younger than 14 years, was identified by a single developing shaft of a metacarpal. Adult rib shafts, scapular coracoid process, and a proximal manal phalanx were also present. No pathological alterations were identified. Summary In conclusion, this assemblage of comingled human bone represents the cross section of a normal population, as skeletal elements from individuals of both sexes and all stages of life are present. A minimum of nine individuals were present within this assemblage. These included a perinatal baby (who died around the time of birth, identified by a piece of mandible in deposit 152); a toddler (aged approximately 18 months, based on the mandible from 151), differing stages of childhood (a six year old in 152) and early adolescence (based on the two developing femora in 150), and four individuals who survived into adulthood. Evidence of both sexes were also present. The observed pathologies suggest some individuals lived through periods of stress or disease in their early years (linear enamel hypoplasia), experienced nutritional deficiencies (cribra orbitalia), had infections (osteomyelitis), and were affected by perimortem traumatic injuries. 7
Animal Bone and Worked Bone by Ceri Falys Five pieces of animal bone were recovered from deposit 150. A minimum of three animal individuals were present within the small assemblage of animal bone, including one large, one medium and one small animal. Two fragments originated from a large sized animal (i.e. horse or cow). One was a cervical vertebra, while the second was the distal half of a horse metapodium that had been worked to a point at the distal condyle. Two fragments were of medium animal size, and were identified as a fragment of scapula and a distal radius of a sheep/goat individual. The fifth fragment was a portion of acetabulum from a small sized animal, which could not be identified to species. In summary, the assemblage contained a minimum of one horse, one sheep/goat and one unidentifiable small sized animal. Conclusion Eight complete burials were observed with three partially investigated to expose their full extent. Where detail was available, all skeletons were of adults and appeared to be laid supine with their hands by their pelves, though there were on-adult bones in the disarticulated collection. There was no direct or associated dating evidence for these burials on this occasion but they are likely to be a mix of late Saxon and early medieval date. They add to the 12 burials recorded previously for this site which would appear to be part of the graveyard of the former St Lucian's church. References Airs, M, Rodwell, K and Turner, H, 1975, Wallingford, in K Rodwell (ed), Historic Towns in Oxfordshire, Oxford Archaeol Unit Survey 3, Oxford, 155 62 BGS, 1980, British Geological Survey, 1:50 000, Sheet 254, Solid and Drift Edition, Keyworth Christie, N, Creighton, O, Edgworth, M and Hammerow, H, 2013, Transforming townscapes From burh to borough: the archaeology of Wallingford AD 800 1400, Soc Medieval Archaeol Monogr 35, London Dewey, J, 2009, The origins of Wallingford: topography, boundaries and parishes, in K S B Keats-Rohan and D Roffe (eds), The Origins of the Borough of Wallingford: archaeological and historical perspectives, BAR Brit Ser 494, Oxford, 17 26 Elliott, G, 2014, Glebe House, Reading Road, Wallingford, Oxfordshire: an archaeological watching brief, Thames Valley Archaeological Services unpubl rep 13/70, Reading NPPF 2012, National Planning Policy Framework, Dept Communities and Local Govt, London Oram, R, 2013, Glebe House, Reading Road, Wallingford, Design Brief for Archaeological Watching Brief, Oxfordshire County Archaeological Service, Oxford Preston, S (ed), 2012, Archaeological Investigations in Wallingford, Oxfordshire, 1992 2010, Thames Valley Archaeological Services Monograph 10, Reading Roffe, D, 2009, Wallingford in Domesday Book and beyond, in K S B Keats-Rohan and D Roffe (eds), The Origins of the Borough of Wallingford: archaeological and historical perspectives, BAR Brit Ser 494, Oxford, 27 51 8
APPENDIX 1: Feature details Cut Fill (s) Type Date Dating evidence 150 Topsoil/overburden Modern 100 151 Skeleton Medieval? Stratigraphy 152 Cleaning layer 101 153 Partial skeleton Medieval? Stratigraphy 154 Cleaning layer 155 Graveyard soil Medieval? 156 Cleaning layer 102 157 Skeleton Medieval? Stratigraphy 9
APPENDIX 2: Inventory of human bone (MNI = minimum number of individuals, M = male, F = female, I = indeterminate sex) Deposit Number of Age Sex (adult MNI fragments Non-adult Adult individuals) Pathology 150 135 5 2 dental diseases, cribra orbitalia, 3 I, M?, M (both <14 yrs) osteomyelitis of femoral shaft 151 64 2 1 (18mo ± 2yrs) 1 I - 152 109 3 2 (perinate, 6yrs±2yrs) 1 M - 154 51 2 1 (<12 yrs) 1 F? sharp force trauma to femoral shaft 155 59 1 0 1 I cribra orbitalia 156 28 2 1 (<14 yrs) 1 I - Total 446 4 5 3 M, 1 F - 10
Banbury Bicester Witney Abingdon OXFORD Thame 90000 Wantage SITE Didcot Wallingford Henley-on -Thames 89000 SITE SU60000 61000 Glebe House, Reading Road, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, 2015 Archaeological Recording Action Figure 1. Location of site within Wallingford and Oxfordshire GHR 15/256 Reproduced from Ordnance Survey Explorer 170 at 1:12500 Ordnance Survey Licence 100025880
Reading Road, Wallingford 460700m 460600m 189000m 89000 189000m READING ROAD 188900m 88900 188900m SITE SU60600 60700 460600m 460700m N 13/70wb 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 m Glebe House, Reading Road, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, 2015 Archaeological Recording Action Figure 2. Detailed location of site off Reading Road. OS MasterMap 1250/2500/10000 scale 13 August 2014, ID: BW1-00351824 maps.blackwell.co.uk Reproduced from Ordnance Survey Digital Mapping under licence. Crown copyright reserved. Scale 1:1250 1:1250 scale print at A4, Centre: 460688 E, 188914 N Crown Copyright Ordnance Survey. Licence no. 100041040 GHR 15/256
gas pipe reduced to road level not reduced grave 102 reduced by 0.6m Tr3 reduced to road level grave 12 grave 11 Tr4 grave 10 Tr1 grave 9 52 Garage grave 4 Tr2 grave 6 grave 5 grave 3 1.2m deep not reduced grave 100 reduced by 0.6m skull of sk69 cal AD 940-1040 (UBA26109) 88920 lower grave not investigated pit grave 101 existing tarmac drive Glebe House ditch? chalk grave 7 88900 N SU60670 Glebe House, Reading Road, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, 2015 Archaeological Recording Action Figure 3. Location of observed areas, with graves already recorded (Elliott 2014) 0 10m 60690 GHR 15/256
Plate 1. Skeleton 151 in grave 100, looking west, Scale: 0.5m. Plate 2. Skeleton 157 in grave 102, looking west, Scales: 0.5m and 0.1m. GHR 15/256 Glebe House, Reading Road, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, 2015 Archaeological Recording Action Plates 1-2.
Plate 3. Reduced area, looking west, Scales: 0.5m. Plate 4. Roadside bank with new footing trench dug, looking west, Scales: 1m and 0.5m. GHR 15/256 Glebe House, Reading Road, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, 2015 Archaeological Recording Action Plates 3-4.
TIME CHART Calendar Years Modern AD 1901 Victorian AD 1837 Post Medieval AD 1500 Medieval AD 1066 Saxon AD 410 Roman AD 43 BC/AD Iron Age 750 BC Bronze Age: Late Bronze Age: Middle Bronze Age: Early 1300 BC 1700 BC 2100 BC Neolithic: Late Neolithic: Early 3300 BC 4300 BC Mesolithic: Late Mesolithic: Early 6000 BC 10000 BC Palaeolithic: Upper Palaeolithic: Middle Palaeolithic: Lower 30000 BC 70000 BC 2,000,000 BC
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