Excavations at Oxford Castle 1999-2009 (Thames Valley Landscapes Monograph) Hardcover – November 10, 2019

by Julian Munby (Author), Andrew Norton (Author), Daniel Poore (Author),

4.6 3 ratings

Oxford Castle was built in 1071 at the west end of the thriving late Saxon town. Although it was never a castle of the first rank as a royal or seigneurial stronghold, it was an active county castle throughout the medieval period. Largely abandoned by the late 16th century, it continued to serve as the county gaol; new gaol buildings reflecting contemporary ideas on prison reform were constructed in the 18th century, and again in the 19th century when Oxford Prison adopted the ‘separate system’. The closure of the prison in 1996, and the subsequent redevelopment of the site, provided the opportunity for archaeological investigation between 1999 and 2009.

This volume reports and discusses the results of the excavations, building recording, documentary research, and the specialist finds and environmental analyses. The most substantial results relate to the late Saxon town and its rampart, and to the construction of the Norman motte and bailey castle and its defensive rampart and ditches. More limited information was obtained for the castle in its later medieval form and for its brief refortification during the Parliamentary occupation of Oxford in the Civil War. Numerous human burials found at the site are reported, including an important group of early post-medieval prisoners who had been dissected (or ‘anatomised’). A number of innovative later prison buildings surviving at the site are described and discussed, and the evidence for the castle chapel of St George and the date and function of the associated St George’s Tower are considered in detail.

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About the Author

Head of Buildings Archaeology, Oxford Archaeology

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University School of Archaeology (November 10, 2019)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 520 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1905905459
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1905905454
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 4.27 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 11.97 x 1.38 x 8.62 inches

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Chris Sterling

A castle used for some 400 years as a prison is well researched and described

Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2019

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This is an impressive archaeological report on a decade of selective digging at the site of Oxford Castle, well illustrated (with much in color) as well as well referenced and indexed. This is a fine example of what is often termed "rescue" archaeology, the work being driven by plans for site redevelopment (in this case a luxury hotel, among other uses). The first five chapters trace the history from the initial castle (a motte and bailey structure begun in 1079) through later centuries of site use as a prison (until 1996)--and will be the material of most interest to general readers. Further chapters detail what objects were found. There is no Roman era evidence here.

The book is well produced with hundreds of photos, charts and maps--and is well worth its reasonable cost. Would that other modern archaeological research projects were recorded so well.