Digital Archive from an Archaeological Watching Brief at Building 70, BMW Mini Plant, Oxford, Oxfordshire 2022

This collection comprises images, databases, GIS data, scanned site records and a Written Scheme of Investigation from an archaeological watching brief (controlled strip) by Oxford Archaeology on land to the rear of Building 70 within the BMW plant at Garsington Road, Oxford. The work was undertaken between August and September 2022, in relation the development of a new vehicular test track and associated works on the site.
The controlled strip produced useful information regarding late Iron Age and/or early Roman activity along the line of the Dorchester-Alchester Roman road, located on the Corallian ridge to the south-west of Oxford. This part of the city is recognised for its nationally important Roman pottery industry, evidence for which has been found in the past at dispersed locations broadly along the line of the Roman road. The current small-scale excavation did not produce any direct evidence for the pottery industry but has revealed evidence for a ditched enclosure of probable early Roman date, at least 50m long, on a parallel NNW-SSE alignment to the nearby Roman road, as well as two other settlement features - a pit and possible ditch - that are probably broadly contemporary.
While no evidence for buildings or other structures was found, the charred plant remains, pottery and animal bone recovered from these features are suggestive of detritus from hearth fires from domestic contexts. The late Iron Age or early Roman settlement that produced the charred material is unlikely to lie very far from the controlled strip.