Monument record 0784900000 - Central fields of Aylesbury Woodlands development area -Site D

Site D, an Iron Age to Roman settlement located near the centre of the survey. Largest of the sites detected covering 4.5ha. The core of the site measures 100m x 250m. Its principle axis aligned north-west to south-east, with a mostly regular layout. Most of the individual enclosures are fairly large with relatively few instances of internal sub-divisions. A moderately strong dipolar anomaly towards the centre of Site D might be indicative of an oven or kiln. A linear ditch extends c200m southwards from the min group of enclsoures then turns to form a rounded courner and continues south-westwards. This may represent part of a field system associated with the main group ofenclosure. Anomalies perpendicular to this ditch may also define parts of the field system. Although these may represent ridge and furrow (B1).
Site D represents a domestic focus, perhaps providing the centre of a local farm. Clear evidence of early to late Iron Age activity. It is possible that domestic occupation of the site began in the AD 1st century with substantial increase in the 2nd and 3rd centuries. Features mainly comprise ditches and gullies relating to enclosures. Within the enclsoures was an area of occupation defined by possible stone foundations. Artefact assemblage includes domestic and utilitarian pottery vessels, painted wall plaster, and a range of ceramic building material including tegulae, box flue tile, and also tesserae suggesting that a substantial building stood in the immediate vicinity. Animal bone assemblage suggest that horses were stable here (B2).

Enclosures, linear features and maculae of possible Iron Age/Romano-British date are visible on historic aerial photographs as extant cropmarks and were mapped as part of the Aylesbury Vale Aerial Investigation and Mapping project (EBC18604). Located approximately 900m north west of Vatches Farm, Aston Clinton, and centred at SP 86244 13421. Cropmarks show a possible sub circular or D shaped enclosure, with a double ditch at the western end, measuring 130x70m at its largest, and three sides of a subrectangular enclosure measuring 50x46m, further cropmarks of linear features and maculae are visible as cropmarks within the same field. Two long straight linear cropmarks could be earlier field boundaries but are on a different alignment to existing field boundaries and any shown on historic mapping. Dating of these features cannot be exact from the sources available to this project. In common with other cropmark sites mapped during this project there are no ridge and furrow earthworks on this field in the 1940s. Some of the linear features mapped are parallel to ridge and furrow field systems mapped in nearby fields but no earthworks or cropmarks of ridge and furrow were recorded; this could mean that any remains have been removed by continuous arable land use since World War II. A pit appears to have been dug at the southern end of the cropmarks and this is visible as a cropmark. Underlying solid geology is Gault Formation and Upper Greensand Formation so this may have been a clay pit. (3-6)