Cotswold Archaeology carried out excavations on the north side of Grange Road, Tongham between September and November 2020. This revealed a settlement enclosure and possible buildings dating to the Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age transition, associated with an extensive series of rectilinear field boundaries. It is near the Tongham Nurseries site, dated from the Early and Middle Iron Age, suggesting shifting settlement around the headwaters of the Blackwater River.

There were also a handful of funerary/ritual features of Roman date, including five cremation-related pits, an inhumation burial and a horse burial. The funerary features seem to have been located in relation to the still discernible prehistoric landscape. The cremation method is currently unclear but raises questions about the variety of practices employed during this period.

Clare Randall is Senior Publications Officer at Cotswold Archaeology where she prepares reports on a wide range of archaeological sites. Her background is in zooarchaeology and osteoarchaeology and she has a particular interest in the operation of past agricultural landscapes.

This meeting is open to those SyAS members who are also members of Roman Studies Group; a Zoom link will be sent out a week in advance. The link will also be sent to members of the Prehistoric Group, due to the overlapping interest in the archaeology to be discussed.

If you wish to join RSG please see details re. membership on the group's home page.