Lowbury Hill, Oxon: a Re-Assessment of the Probable Romano-Celtic Temple and the Anglo-Saxon Barrow

Abstract

AbstractFollowing earthwork, geophysical andfield-walking survey, a limited evaluation was carried out by excavation of the enclosure and Anglo-Saxon barrow on Lowbury Hill, Oxon. in 1992. Evidence for prehistoric activity on the hilltop is provided by a few sherds of beaker/collared urn, and a more substantial quantity of late bronze age/early iron age pottery. The combination of the new field evidence and a reappraisal of the excavation and finds made by D. A. Atkinson in 1913–14 affirms the sacred character of the Romano-British enclosure and the probability that it was the site of a Romano-Celtic temple from the second century A.D. Despite the limited findings of the early work, re-excavation showed the extensive survival of archaeological deposits, particularly negative features cut into the chalk. A radiocarbon date for the robbing of the temenos wall between the late sixth and mid seventh century and finds of Pagan Saxon pottery provide an opportunity for a reassessment of the seventh-century 'warrior' burial and its context.