REVIEW BY CH
Large infrastructure schemes are often archaeologically exciting because they allow us to explore underlying features on a landscape scale. This comprehensive monograph summarises the results of one such excavation, by Cotswold Archaeology, where the creation of a new water pipeline in Oxfordshire prompted the investigation of an area of c.48ha, uncovering finds ranging from the Mesolithic to the Anglo-Saxon period. Highlights include possible post-built structures, an intriguing pit alignment, and Iron Age and Roman settlements, as well as two small cemeteries, one late Roman in date, the other Anglo-Saxon. We also learn of an unusual Iron Age burial in a re-purposed storage pit: that of a young woman who had been arranged with her arms above her head, her knees widely splayed, and her feet removed and placed beside her (see CA 352). Finds are first summarised by the area of the site and the historical period that they came from; there then follow in-depth discussions of the human remains (including genetic and isotope analysis, and the funerary practices that they reflect), artefacts, and environmental evidence.
Just Out and Coming Soon
Death in Irish Prehistory
Gabriel Cooney
Royal Irish Academy, £28.65
ISBN 978-1802050097
The Lost Paths: a history of how we walk from here to there
Jack Cornish
Michael Joseph, £20
ISBN 978-1405951289
