Griffin Quarry, Southam, Warwickshire. Archaeological Evaluation (OASIS ID: cotswold2-281740)

The earliest remains encountered by the evaluation date to the Middle/Late Iron Age and comprise a rectilinear enclosure and part of a ditch system bordering the western boundary of the site, a 'banjo' enclosure in the south central area and a small enclosure and associated ditch system south-east of Griffin Farm. A crouched burial of probable Iron Age date and deposits containing ironworking debris were encountered close to the north-west boundary of the site, west of the farm buildings. At the northern end of the site a rectilinear enclosure surrounding the remains of at least one roundhouse and other structures was investigated. A possible burnt mound was identified close to the enclosure's western corner. Pottery from the excavated features dates the settlement to the Late Iron Age/early Roman 'transitional' period. A ditch system dating to the later Roman period (late 2nd to 3rd centuries AD) was located on the south-east facing slope at the south-west end of the site. This comprised a complex of ditches forming a cluster of small enclosures and associated trackways, with dark buried soils occurring on the lower slope. Four Anglo- Saxon burials, dated by glass and amber beads to the late 6th/early7th century, were located in the southern corner of the rectilinear Iron Age enclosure. They probably lie within a small cemetery associated with Anglo-Saxon settlement remains identified in the field immediately to the east of Griffin Farm. Medieval furrows were evident across the entire site.