A Neolithic Burial and Prehistoric to Anglo-Saxon Activity at Polar Technology, Eynsham

Excavation at the edge of a dense cropmark complex south of Eynsham uncovered features spanning the Neolithic to the medieval period. The cropmarks probably represent a monument complex that developed around the adjacent Eynsham causewayed enclosure, and the three earliest pits, associated with Decorated Bowl pottery (c.3770-3245 BC), may have been contemporary with the construction and use of the enclosure. Eight middle Neolithic pits associated with Peterborough Ware (mid-fourth millennium to early third millennium BC) were excavated. One contained the burial of a woman, accompanied by an oyster shell pendant and a whelk shell, both exotic items this far from the coast. The burial produced a radiocarbon date of 3340-3030 cal BC. Three pits dating from the earliest Iron Age, one possibly a waterhole, represent rare evidence for settlement of this period, and limited Roman activity was restricted to pits that were probably dug for gravel extraction. Anglo-Saxon occupation was represented by a sunken-featured building, and medieval evidence comprised further gravel pits, field boundaries and plough furrows.