Details

The monument is situated on level ground to the north west of Cooks Cottages.
It lies immediately south of a drainage channel. The monument is not visible
on the ground having been ploughed level over time, but is visible on aerial
photographs as a cropmark caused by crops growing to different heights or
ripening at different rates over buried archaeological features. Two long
barrows located 350m and 180m to the south are the subject of separate
schedulings.
The Romano-British settlement includes at least 13 rectilinear enclosures
defined by ditches, with dimensions ranging from 22m-128m, some separated by
double ditched trackways. The settlement is focused around a large rectangular
enclosure which measures 128m by 102m, internally subdivided into several
small enclosures. A complex of trackways and the associated field system are
located around this main enclosure. A number of pits (up to 35) are scattered
across the site.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features,
considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

Romano-British settlements are formed by groups of farmsteads and houses,
often individually enclosed in rectilinear yards, along with associated
structures such as wells, storage pits, corn-drying ovens and granary stores.
The yards are surrounded by ditches and are often associated with pits, stock
enclosures, ditches and field systems. Most settlements in the Thames Valley
have been located through the analysis of aerial photographs. They survive in
the form of buried features usually appearing as crop or soil marks and
occasionally as low earthworks. In use throughout the Roman period (AD 43-450)
they are often found on the sites of earlier agricultural settlement. As
a representative form of rural settlement they provide important evidence of
land use and agricultural practices in the Roman period and all examples which
have significant surviving remains are considered to be nationally important.
The Romano-British settlement 520m north west of Cooks Cottages is a
particularly good example of this type of rural settlement, and preservation
of below ground deposits is believed to be good. The site has a range of
features including enclosures, ditches, trackways, pits and elements of the
field system which will provide valuable information on the contemporary
economy of the surrounding countryside.
The buried remains of the settlement will provide valuable information on
Romano-British settlement practices. The site will retain both archaeological
and environmental evidence within the below ground deposits held in ditches
and pits, providing evidence for the occupation of the site and the landscape
in which it was constructed.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Benson, D, Mile, D, The Upper Thames Valley: An Archaeological Survey, (1974)
Other
Interpreted by Ms V Fenner, RCHME APU, Thames Valley National Mapping Project, (1995)
Multiple AP's assessed by RCHME APU, RAF, OS, USAF, Private. All at NMR, 63 vertical and oblique prints (1941-1990),
Multiple AP's assessed by RCHME APU, RAF, OS, USAF, Private. All at NMR, 63 vertical and oblique prints (1941-1990),
NMR SU 69 SW 94, NMR, NMR Monument Detail, (1993)
NMR SU69SW 90, NMR, NMR Monument Detail, (1993)
Oxfordshire SMR, Square Enclosure, (1994)
Title: Ordnance Survey 1:10000 SU 69 SW (NMP overlay)
Source Date: 1993
Author:
Publisher:
Surveyor:

Title: Thames Valley National Mapping Project
Source Date: 1995
Author:
Publisher:
Surveyor:
Interpreted by Ms V. Fenner

Source: Historic England