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<< Other Photo Pages >> Great Western Park - Ancient Village or Settlement in England in Oxfordshire

Submitted by Andy B on Friday, 30 January 2015  Page Views: 4720

Multi-periodSite Name: Great Western Park Alternative Name: Didcot Dogmile
Country: England
NOTE: This site is 1.065 km away from the location you searched for.

County: Oxfordshire Type: Ancient Village or Settlement
Nearest Town: Didcot
Map Ref: SU50629091
Latitude: 51.614750N  Longitude: 1.270315W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
1 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
1 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
no data Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
3

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Great Western Park
Great Western Park submitted by dodomad : Early neolithic bowl found upside down within a treehole Photo credit: Oxford Archaeology (Vote or comment on this photo)
A series of significant archaeologial findings have been uncovered at the Great Western Park development in Didcot, as part of Oxford Archaeology’s investigations at the site.

Hundreds of flint artefacts dating back over 9,000 years to the early Mesolithic period, carefully excavated from a rare ‘in-situ’ deposit, have enabled archaeologists to trace Didcot’s history back much further than previously recorded. These were deposited by hunter-gatherers in a hollow with evidence of associated campfires.

The investigations in 2011 had previously found other early prehistoric finds including a complete Neolithic bowl of the earliest farmers (dating to c.3600 BC). The excavations in 2012 then revealed a rare example of a late Neolithic to early Bronze Age ‘pond-barrow’ (of about 2,000 BC) on the east edge of the development. This comprised a stone floored circular depression with a 6-post platform structure on one side.

The pond barrow was probably used for mortuary ceremonies, with exposure of the dead to the elements on the raised platform. Several superbly made flint arrowheads and other flint items were placed within the barrow, probably as offerings. Three Bronze Age post-built round-houses were found to either side of the barrow and both the barrow and these slightly later houses were enclosed within a large ditched enclosure. These houses may date between about 1500 and 1200 BC.

The 2010-11 excavations had also included investigation of a large hillcrest Iron Age settlement to the west of Stephen Freeman School comprising between 40 and 60 roundhouses. There was also hundreds of grain storage pits, several quarries, human burials, domestic rubbish and dumps of pottery and animal bones associated with feasting. This site indicates that the population of Didcot really started to flourish during this period with the establishment of a village sized settlement. An Iron Age pit containing animal bones, the remains of feasting

Moving into Roman times, there is evidence of a late Iron Age to Roman farmstead settlement, including ditched farmyard for stock, several wells and six ‘corn drying ovens’. In the late Roman period, a modest stone walled villa with a hypocaust (under-floor heating) was located and partially excavated on the north side of Wantage Road, south of, and deliberately avoiding, the Iron Age village. The villa would have had a ceramic tile and stone roof tile roof and replaced round-houses, with probable thatched roofs that had continued to be used into the Roman period at this site.

Taylor Wimpey has redesigned the perimeter road around the new ‘Boundary Park’ playing fields to avoid damaging the villa remains which will be preserved for the future. Other findings have included an Anglo-Saxon sunken-floored building of the 5th or 6th century north-west of Zulu Farm possibly indicating the ‘coming of the English’ to Didcot.

One of Didcot's six Roman corn-drying ovensRob Phelps, Technical Director for Taylor Wimpey continued: “The archaeological work at Great Western Park has revealed some extremely interesting and significant findings that otherwise would have remained unknown. We are eager to safeguard this window to the past - much of the Roman farmstead for instance, will be preserved under sports pitches. Our intention is for the development to provide homes for generations to come in Didcot, just as the site has done for thousands of years.”

Rob Masefield (Director of Archaeology & Historic Environment) from RPS Planning who are managing the archaeological works said: “This has been one of the largest and most significant archaeological projects to have taken place in Oxfordshire in recent years with results that provide a detailed historical narrative for Didcot and the surrounding area that extends back deep into prehistory. Some of the findings may be regarded as ‘type-sites’ for archaeological study for the country as a whole. None of these important findings would have been possible without the backing and logistical support provided by Taylor Wimpey.”

The majority of archaeological works at Great Western Park are now complete although further smaller studies will continue as the development grows.

More details at Great Western Park, Didcot Archaeology

Note: A petition to commemorate the archaeology of Great Western Park, Swindon. See the comment on our page
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Great Western Park
Great Western Park submitted by dodomad : A fine Early Bronze Age barbed and tanged flint arrowhead from the pond barrow Photo credit: Oxford Archaeology (Vote or comment on this photo)

Great Western Park
Great Western Park submitted by dodomad : An Iron Age ‘ritual’ pit containing parts of animal carcasses and pottery Photo credit: Oxford Archaeology (Vote or comment on this photo)

Great Western Park
Great Western Park submitted by dodomad : This reflecting obelisk is on a roundabout at the entrance to Great Western Park, a new housing estate on the edge of Didcot. Copyright Des Blenkinsopp and licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Licence. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Great Western Park
Great Western Park submitted by dodomad : Excavation of the Mesolithic flint scatter in winter conditions. Photo credit: Oxford Archaeology (Vote or comment on this photo)

Do not use the above information on other web sites or publications without permission of the contributor.

Nearby Images from Geograph Britain and Ireland:
SU5091 : Power Station in the Mirror by Des Blenkinsopp
by Des Blenkinsopp
©2012(licence)
SU5091 : Power Station & Pink Gravel by Des Blenkinsopp
by Des Blenkinsopp
©2012(licence)
SU5091 : Frozen Pond, Great Western Park by Des Blenkinsopp
by Des Blenkinsopp
©2012(licence)
SU5090 : Road to Great Western Park by Bill Nicholls
by Bill Nicholls
©2011(licence)
SU5091 : Traffic lights for junction of new housing estate road and the A4130 by peter robinson
by peter robinson
©2013(licence)

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"Great Western Park" | Login/Create an Account | 1 comment
  
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Petition to commemorate the archaeology of Great Western Park by Andy B on Thursday, 29 January 2015
(User Info | Send a Message)
Ken Brophy writes: Plans were developed by local people to create an archaeological walking trail within the new development. Karen Waggott was one of the main drivers behind this proposal, including getting 1200 signatures on a supportive petition. A campaign was organised by locals under the banner the Didcot Dogmile group and a proposal laid out.
http://www.ddmile.org.uk/ddmile/HOME.html

The group called themselves this due to an existing dog walking trail. The proposed history walk was pitched as a ’9000 years of history’ trail. As well as information boards, the walk would also include green spaces and a reconstructed BA roundhouse. This was very much a community lead initiative: ‘Up until local people found out about the archaeology, developers planned to build over most of it, having first removed the finds.’
http://wantage.com/save-our-sites-didcot-archaeology/
You can sign a petition at http://www.petitionbuzz.com/petitions/ddmile

And the campaign was explicitly about preserving the memory, significance and identity of this place - the residents' proposal is aimed at 'Saving our heritage for our children'. The message here is that archaeological ideals like 'preservation by record' and 'a phased approach to archaeological works, reducing programme and cost risk to the client' (Oxford Arch) hold little water with local people.
http://oxfordarchaeology.com/professional-services/case-studies/24-housing/46-archaeology-didcot-oxfordshire

But in the end the developer’s decided against adopting the archaeological trail, and instead offered to put up five rather passive noticeboards and protect the location of – how boring – a Roman villa. Karen Waggott noted (as she received an award for her campaigning) “I wanted a trail linking up the sites of the key archaeological finds but the developers didn’t agree to this.” The Private Eye’s Rotten Boroughs (14th November 2014) take on this situation was less charitable – "now that important artefacts have been removed, most of the greenfield site will be destroyed beneath a carpet of ticky-tacky boxes". Various levels of local government passed the buck between them and left the decision to the developer, Taylor Wimpey, who vetoed the plans. Private Eye noted: "Cue much wringing of hands, but no action, and the JCBs move in". Construction of the estate has been ongoing since 2011 although campaigning for the history trail continues to this day.

Yet the Developer’s are happy to exploit the archaeological and historical heritage of this place for their own social and marketing ends. Rob Phelps, Technical Director for Taylor Wimpey has said: 'The archaeological work at Great Western Park has revealed some extremely interesting and significant findings that otherwise would have remained unknown. We are eager to safeguard this window to the past - much of the Roman farmstead for instance, will be preserved under sports pitches [what!?]. Our intention is for the development to provide homes for generations to come in Didcot, just as the site has done for thousands of years'. (Oxford Archaeology project webpage). But yet in reality little has been done to enshrine and embed these discoveries in this newly created suburbia.

Wouldn’t it be nice if each new home owner was informed of what was found beneath their property? What was removed / destroyed to allow their home or garden or garage or driveway to be built? What about a nice photo of key objects found or a certificate of ancient authenticity? If housing developments like this must happen (and for various reasons, it appears they must) then at least let them be teaching and learning opportunities. Let one outcome be that peop

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