Agenda item

·       Buckinghamshire Archaeological Society

·       Conservation Board for the Chilterns AONB

·       Buckinghamshire Conservation Trust

·       Archaeological Officer – Buckinghamshire

·       Archaeological Officer – Milton Keynes

·       Heritage Officer- Buckinghamshire

·       Heritage Officer- Milton Keynes

·       Historic England

·       National Trust

·       Milton Keynes Heritage Association

·       Museums

·       Oxford Diocesan Advisory Committee

The forum received verbal updates from external partners on their ongoing work. The following partners updated the forum:

Phil Markham - Senior Archaeology Officer (Buckinghamshire Council)

Phil drew attention to the report circulated with the agenda pack which gave a detailed summary of the work his team were undertaking. And summarised the following key points:

Much of the fieldwork in relation to HS2/Fusion sites had been completed, with a number of sites continuing to be monitored during the construction phase.?

The excavations at the site of the South-East Aylesbury link Road developments had now been underway for over a year, with the first phase due to be completed soon. Evidence of a Roman settlement had been found there.

A further phase of evaluation had been completed at the Hampden Fields development between Aylesbury and Weston Turville. Locations for excavation work had been identified, and this was likely to begin during the autumn.

A cache of 3 eggs was discovered in association with a basket, pottery vessels, coins, leather shoes and animal bone at the Berryfields excavation site a number of years ago, all dating to approximately the 3^rd Century AD. One of the eggs was intact and scans confirmed that there was liquid still inside. The egg is currently at the British Museum.

Nick Crank - Archaeological Officer (Milton Keynes City Council)

Nick directed attention towards the update document circulated earlier with the agenda pack and reported the following:

A third phase of excavations was underway at the MK East Strategic Urban Extension. Findings were in keeping with expectations following earlier geophysical surveys, with a key find being evidence of a late Iron Age to Roman settlement complex to the east of the A509 Newport Road.

Following examinations of the roof structure at the Grade II listed Old Bakehouse, High Street, North Crawley, it emerged that it was likely that the house had been of open hall layout, and possibly built much earlier than the 17^th Century, as had previously been thought. It was possible that the listing of the building would be revised in the wake of this discovery.

A late Roman building had been uncovered following excavation works by Oxford Archaeology at the Warrington Road site to the north of Olney. The site also included a large mosaic, which will be left in situ, and the planning permission will include a condition for its preservation.

Milton Keynes Archaeology Day would take place at the Central Library on Saturday 4^th November. There would be talks related to ongoing excavation works as well as information stands, displays and activities.

Simon Peart - Conservation and Archaeology Team (Milton Keynes City Council)

Several schemes were being developed and implemented to retain and repurpose old buildings in central Milton Keynes as a means to mitigate the embodied carbon emissions caused by the development of new buildings.

Simon gave details on a few examples including Station House, and Saxon Court. It was explained that schemes such as these normally involved conversion to residential use, with an upgrading of their thermal performance.

Councillor Charlotte Hall - Milton Keynes Heritage Association

Charlotte gave an overview of the Heritage Association, explaining that seventy heritage groups were affiliated, and were given help to catalogue and archive their collections properly. Over two hundred and twenty events, open days and activities had been put on. The primary focus of the association was promoting education related to local heritage, and engaging with younger generations to develop a continuing interest in the future.

Gary Marshall - Buckinghamshire Archaeological Society

The Buckinghamshire Archaeological Society was working on volume 64 of their journal, which would be published in May 2024. The journal would cover reports of discoveries from recent archaeological excavations, historic buildings, local and industrial history and all aspects of times past across Buckinghamshire.

Efforts had been made to digitise and publish historic editions of the journal going back over 150 years. Many of the currently available editions were available on the BAS website

The Active Archaeology Group were excavating at the ‘Ha-Ha’, Gt Linford for a third year.