New Archaeological Landscapes of Oxfordshire: Wallingford and its Environs

Overview

Recent large-scale developments around Wallingford, and development in the town itself, have led to many important archaeological investigations in this area.

Abundant new evidence, including Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age and Roman remains, has been found, and the scale of the work is revealing the long-term evolution of the landscape as a whole. Within Wallingford itself, a programme of test-pitting is also yielding new insights into the character and history of the Saxon and medieval town.

This day school will provide an overview of these latest results. Through a combination of talks on some of the most important recent excavations, and ones which present a wider synthesis of particular topics, we will explore how all this new information from archaeology is greatly expanding our understanding of Oxfordshire’s past.

This is the third in a series of day schools, looking at recent archaeological advances in different parts of Oxfordshire. Previous events have looked at the Didcot and Wantage areas.

Programme details

9.30am
Registration (in-person attendees only)

9.45am
Setting the scene
Roger Thomas

10.00am
Town and country: archaeology, development and discovery in and around Wallingford
Richard Oram

10.45am
Tea/coffee break

11.15am
Prehistoric landscapes of the Wallingford area: seeing the big picture
Alex Davies 

12.15pm
Continuity and change: the Cholsey Roman villa and its context
Andy Hood

1.15pm
Lunch

2.15pm
Background to a burh: early medieval evidence from Wallingford and its surroundings
Toby Martin

3.00pm
Tea/coffee break

3.30pm
Test-pitting the town: looking at growth, space and change in historic Wallingford
Neil Christie and Katharine Keats-Rohan

4.30pm
Discussion and concluding remarks
Roger Thomas

4.45pm
Course disperses

Fees

Description Costs
Tuition - in-person attendance (includes tea/coffee) £85.00
Tuition - virtual attendance £75.00
Baguette £6.10
Hot lunch (3 courses) £16.50

Funding

If you are in receipt of a UK state benefit or are a full-time student in the UK you may be eligible for a reduction of 50% of tuition fees.

Concessionary fees for short courses

Tutors

Prof Neil Christie

Speaker

Professor of Medieval Archaeology, University of Leicester

Dr Alex Davies

Speaker

Project Manager, Oxford Archaeology South

Mr Andy Hood

Speaker

Project Manager, Foundations Archaeology

Dr Katharine Keats-Rohan

Speaker

Katharine Keats-Rohan is a medievalist specializing in north-west France and the prosopography of the Norman Conquest of England. She has worked at the universities of Sheffield, Leeds, QMUL and Oxford. Numerous publications include Domesday People (1999 and 2001) and The Cartulary of the Abbey of Mont-St-Michel (2006). An edition of the abbey’s necrologies is almost complete, with two preliminary articles in press. Papers on the honour and the castle of Wallingford appeared in two BAR volumes, Origins of the Borough of Wallingford (BAR 494, 2009) and Wallingford: the Castle and the Town in Context (BAR 621, 2015) co-edited with Neil Christie and David Roffe.

Dr Toby Martin

Speaker and Director of Studies

Toby obtained his BA in Archaeology and Anthropology as well as his MSt in European Archaeology from the University of Oxford, and studied for his PhD at the University of Sheffield. Since 2013 Toby has worked as a Research Fellow and a Lecturer at the University of Oxford’s School of Archaeology. His research focuses on the early medieval period, with a particular interest in the social role of objects in Europe in the centuries that followed the collapse of Roman imperial rule.

Mr Richard Oram

Speaker

Planning Archaeologist, Oxfordshire County Council

Mr Roger M Thomas

Course Director and Chair

School of Archaeology, University of Oxford

Accommodation

Accommodation is not included in the price, but if you wish to stay with us the night before the course, then please contact our Residential Centre.

Accommodation in Rewley House - all bedrooms are modern, comfortably furnished and each room has tea and coffee making facilities, Freeview television, and Free WiFi and private bath or shower rooms.  Please contact our Residential Centre on +44 (0) 1865 270362 or email res-ctr@conted.ox.ac.uk for details of availability and discounted prices.

IT requirements

For those joining us online

We will be using Zoom for the livestreaming of this course. If you’re attending online, you’ll be able to see and hear the speakers, and to submit questions via the Zoom interface. Joining instructions will be sent out prior to the start date. We recommend that you join the session at least 10-15 minutes prior to the start time – just as you might arrive a bit early at our lecture theatre for an in-person event.

Please note that this course will not be recorded.