Monument record 0414601000 - LOWER ICKNIELD WAY

Plan Form - LINEAR
LOWER ICKNIELD WAY. ROMAN & MODERN ROADS COINCIDE S OF NASH LEE, WITH ROMAN ROAD RUNNING SLIGHLY SOUTH OF MODERN LINE, MARKED BY FOOTPATH & HEDGEROW & SLIGHT AGGER (B1).
UNDOUBTED ROUTE BEGINS AT TERRICK, MOST OF ROAD BEING STILL IN USE FOR 7 MILES TO CHINNOR (B2).
NGR'S FROM MAPS IN B1 (B3).
Existence of routeway east of Princes Risborough questioned (B4).
In a field identified as an allotment within Stony Field on the Tithe and Inclosure Maps of 1805 at Nash Lee, an area of disturbance was discovered in a watching brief on the line of a water main. It could be the line of the historic Icknield Way. It comprised light greenish grey sandy clay containing a mix of c.50% Greensand rock fragments with 5-10% flint. It measured approximately 18m east/west and was 0.15m thick. No evidence was recovered for metalling the road. Historic maps show it on the current line, but the ancient route may have been further to the south. The absence of metalling suggests it was not a Roman road. As seen it appeared to be a rural lane or droveway rather than a significant axis for traffic. It was not quite on the alignment of the putative Icknield Way; when sectioned no differentiation could be seen; the edges of the feature were very indistinct; the greensand fragments within the matrix of the possible road were angular and not abraded as one might expect if associated with the passage of people or animals; it is possible that it represents an area of deeper ploughing as the deposit was very similar to the subsoil (B5).