Why did people gather at the site of a long abandoned Roman farmstead not far from the river Thames sometime around the year AD 760; what was their purpose and where did they come from? The middle Thames valley in the Saxon and early medieval period defies easy explanation. While archaeological discoveries and historical research have illuminated our understanding of the upper Thames to the west and London and the estuary to the east, the nature of settlement between has remained elusive and obscure. With no apparent evidence of any major Saxon or early medieval settlement focus, how did this area relate to the important sites at Taplow and Windsor? Was it merely uninhabited pastureland? Given the political importance of the Thames as a border between Mercia and Wessex through much of the Saxon period, was this an area in dispute, and if so, is this reflected in the remains (or lack of them) to be found? The excavations by Oxford Archaeology on the sites of the Environment Agency's Maidenhead, Windsor and Eton Flood Alleviation Scheme and the Eton College Rowing Course have produced an exceptional site of Anglo-Saxon date, suggesting occupation and activity unlike that from any existing 'type site'. Its unique nature is perhaps best seen as a product of the role that the middle Thames valley played, as both axis and boundary, in the middle Saxon period. The excavations have also shed light on the medieval settlement pattern. This is a full colour synthetic report on the excavations, and includes a CD with interactive features.

Gathering the people, settling the land: The Archaeology of a Middle Thames Landscape, Anglo Saxon to post-medieval (Thames Valley Landscapes Monograph)

History

Hiller, Jonathan

Foreman, Stuart

Petts, D.

Europe

Oxford University School of Archaeology

This report documents the discovery, excavation and preservation of a Norman moated stone manor house found in 1984 at the Mount House, Witney. The trial excavations that were made in advance of housing development, revealed groups of buildings surrounded by a curtain wall and moat. Further excavations in the north-west and south-east parts of the complex uncovered a massive and well-preserved tower and attached range of the first half of the 12th century which was progressively enlarged by a chapel, a central pier, a raised terrace and a garderobe block. The buildings were further modified in the later medieval period. Coins in robber trenches indicate that some buildings were demolished during the English Civil War, though others were maintained. The front cover shows Nathaniel Buck's early 18th century engraving purporting to show the remains, which were systematically demolished in the mid-18th century to make way for a new house. The site remained in the ownership of the Bishops of Winchester until 1862, when it was purchased by the 6th Duke of Marlborough. The present house was built c 1904. The site was purchased by Oxfordshire County Council in 1993, and the tower is now on display to the public.

Excavation of a Medieval Manor House,Witney (Thames Valley Landscapes Monograph)

Allen, T. G.

Durham, Brian

Lancaster

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