Pieces of Abingdon’s rich history have been unearthed by the ADAS Archaeology team, working on behalf of Vale of White Horse District Council, ahead of car park improvement works.
Vale of White Horse District Council carried out work to Cattle Market car park, including installing a rain garden to help mitigate flooding. In advance of the works, ADAS archaeologists investigated the site to understand the likely impact of the proposed project.
In early 2025, ADAS archaeologists were present during the groundworks and uncovered two separate deep soil deposits, layered one on top of the other, which were immediately sealed below the car park surface.
Among the finds discovered in the upper layer were a large quantity of Romano-British pottery, including a fragment of Samian ware, a high-quality glossy red Roman tableware pottery, manufactured in southern Gaul (France).
Other finds included animal bone from cattle, sheep and even a fallow deer, oyster shell, medieval and post medieval pottery and glass, and a fragment of a 17th century clay smoking pipe.
The lower layer produced mostly Roman pottery and a 4th century coin with a small quantity of later pottery and medieval roofing tiles.
Councillor Robert Clegg, Vale of White Horse District Council Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environmental Services and Waste, said: “Not only have we been able to make improvements to Cattle Market car park that should help with flooding issues but thanks to the diligence of our officers, it also meant we could discover more of the rich history of Abingdon.”
About the ADAS project lead
Andrew Manning
Principal Heritage Consultant
Andrew Manning is a Principal Heritage Consultant at ADAS based in Salisbury. Prior to this role, Andrew worked with Wessex Archaeology, working from April 1998 to November 2024 as both an Archaeologist and an Archaeological Project Manager. He is also heavily involved in Council of British Archaeology (CBA) Wessex.
Contact Andrew via our contact form below.