Volume 2: Iron Age and Roman Settlement and Landscape:
Summary
The earliest occupation at Yarnton was focused on the low-lying floodplain of the River Thames (Volume 3), but at the beginning of the first millennium BC this area was largely abandoned due to a rise in the water table, and a small settlement was established on the edge of the higher Second Gravel Terrace overlooking the floodplain.
The two sites excavated on the gravel terrace,
Cresswell Field and Yarnton, revealed a single settlement, possibly
the home of just two to three families, that was occupied throughout
the Iron Age and Romano-British periods, gradually shifting to the
east through time. The Iron
Age settlement comprised scattered groups of circular post-built
structures, ditched enclosures, numerous pits and fencelines and
a cemetery. During the Roman
period the settlement became more enclosed with paddocks, ditched
enclosures and trackways. Agricultural activity is evidenced by
corn dryers and two
Roman pottery kilns. Similar settlements are known nearby at Worton
and Cassington.
The continuity of occupation at Yarnton from the late Bronze
Age period through to the late Roman period is remarkable.
Click on the map to view the Phase Plan of Cresswell Field in more detail.
