Archaeology Group

Marcham Society has a strong tradition in actively taking part in local digs and the dissemination of the findings through talks, exhibitions and of course, Coral Rag.

Volunteers from the Society help with the methodical evaluation of the finds from local archaeological digs and in Post Excavation work there are strong associations with the Vale of the White Horse and Ridgeway Archaeological and Historical Trust (VWHRAHT), Abingdon Archaeology and History Society (AAAHS) and South Oxfordshire Archaeological Group (SOAG).

ARCHAEOLOGICAL TEST PITS IN MARCHAM 2025

Oxford University Department of Continuing Education (OUDCE)

Following the recent Marcham Society talk by Jane Harrison on the Excavations in the village of Besselsleigh, we have been asked if a similar exploration would be possible in Marcham as it would complement Jane’s research already done in Appleton and Besselsleigh (as photo below).

Although the excavations at Manor Farm and on Anson Field have given us insight into Iron Age and Roman occupation there are few finds from other periods on record and we would hope to learn more about the medieval past of Marcham itself. 

This would involve a one metre square test pits dug in selected gardens carried out by mature archaeology students as part of the OUDCE Certificate in Archaeology. The excavations would be supervised by professional archaeologists. Clearly we would prefer gardens that are situated in the older parts of the village rather than new developments where archaeological survey has already been carried out.

If you would be interested in receiving more information or even ‘hosting’ one of these test pits in your garden, please let us know.

In Coral Rag (see under Publications) there have been several articles by the late Will Cumber on the excavations at Trendles Field, Manor Farm, Marcham. 

There have been articles on other archaeological sites of interest in the village - not least the Iron Age and Bronze remains on Anson Field in Coral Rag 10 (2019). In the same publication Steve Nicholson and Sheila Tilley have written an update to Roger Gelder's article of Fieldwalking in Big Leas from Coral Rag 7 (2007).

You may read the articles referred to in the bibliography here:

Janey Cumber, 'Marcham: The Place-Name', Coral Rag 1 (2001), pp 7-9.

G Druce, 'The Saline Spring at Marcham', Ashmolean Natural History Museum of Oxon, 1914.

Julia Brocklesby, 'A Preliminary Analysis of Pottery from Big Leas', 2006 (unpublished).

Roger Gelder, Three articles from AAAHS Newsletters, Spring 2006 - Spring 2007.

Roger Gelder, Fieldwalking Big Leas 2005-2007.

Roger Gelder, 'A Detailed Description of Fieldwalking Big Leas Field', Coral Rag 7 (2007), pp. 18-27.

Clive Chatters, 'Saltmarsh', British Wildlife Collection, 2017.