Waddesdon in the Roman period
Several Roman roads are thought to pass through Waddesdon and archaeologists have found
evidence of several Roman houses and other settlement.
Roads
Please contact the County Archaeological Service for a map showing the location of Roman
remains in Waddesdon parish.
Your teacher will give you a map of the Roman period remains in Waddesdon parish. The
purple lines are Roman roads, four of them pass through Waddesdon parish. One goes from
Aylesbury in the far right of the map, though Fleet Marston (where the green dots and
orange triangles are) through Waddesdon village (where the brown spots are). This road is
called Akeman Street and links London with the west of England and Wales. Another road
goes south-west through Eythrop. Two head north, one of them passes through Blackgrove
Farm (where the blue dots are). Roman ditches, pottery and the road were found in an
excavation when a gas pipeline was laid.
Figure 1: Section through a Roman road at Blackgrove Farm
The same pipeline uncovered ditches that seem to be field boundaries at Littleton Middle
Farm.
Buildings
A site at Cranwell, just south of Akeman Street near Fleet Marston, was found on an aerial
photograph. It is a rectangular building and may be Roman.
Waddesdon in the Roman period
Figure 2: You can see the cropmark of the possible Roman building on this aerial photograph.
Artefacts
Roman artefacts were also found south of Akeman Street but, this time, closer to
Waddesdon. Roof and floor tiles, brick and flue tiles (hollow bricks used for walls to let the
hot air through) were found in a field. Some pottery was also found, including parts of a
mortarium (a pot used to grind spices and similar foods), flagons, storage jars and a cheese
wring.
Figure 3: Roman flue tile fount at Foscott, like the one found in Waddesdon
It seems as though Roman settlement concentrated near the roads and the fields were
further away from the roads.
www.buckscc.gov.uk/archaeology