Archaeological Observation, Buckinghamshire
Our services were required to monitor school redevelopment excavations near Missenden Abbey, a 12th century Augustinian monastery and later country house of 1574.
In Brief
Key Points
- School car park and coach access
- Roman-British rubbish pits with human bone fragments found
- New light on Roman influence in the area
Summary
Three rubbish pits dating to the Romano-British period were uncovered during the excavation of a soakaway in an area of the county where Roman influence had been poorly understood and reliant on occasional finds of pottery and coins.
The pits contained a range of finds that included pottery of 1st/2nd and 4th century AD, Roman roof tile, cattle bones and iron smelting slag. One of the pits had been used to dispose of a contaminated wheat crop infested by pests.
More remarkable was the discovery of human bone representing the partial remains of an adult individual who had possibly transgressed the social norms of the day and been denied formal burial rites.
The results point to there being a Roman-British farmstead in the vicinity, the earlier date attributed to the iron smelting slag suggesting the Romans may have reoccupied an existing Iron Age site.
Results
Our report containing specialist assessment and analysis of the finds was submitted to the council and approved. In view of the significance of the results, it is likely that any future work in this area would require further archaeological investigation.
