Evidence of Bronze Age monument at Newbury housing development

Fragments of pottery among the finds

Archaeologists working at the site of a Newbury housing development have uncovered signs of a Bronze Age monument.

The excavations – carried out at Taylor Wimpey's Shaw Valley development at Hilltop, Shaw-cum-Donington – have unearthed evidence that a round barrow dating back around 4,000 years once existed there.

Foundations Archaeology, which carried out the work, believes the 16m barrow originally comprised a mound surrounded by a ditch and was likely used for funeral rites as far back as 2200BC.

At one point, it would have had a distinctive white appearance from the chalk used in constructing it.

Weathering and extensive farming over a period of millennia have, however, disguised the barrow and it was only recently rediscovered as a crop mark through aerial photography.

Fragments of prehistoric pottery, horn and animal bone have also been recovered from the surrounding area, bolstering the archaeologists' theory.

A spokesperson for the archaeology team said: "We were excited to be provided with the opportunity to excavate and record this fascinating addition to our corpus of knowledge about this period of our history, and we are grateful to Taylor Wimpey for funding the works."

Taylor Wimpey Oxfordshire land and planning director Gary Needham said: "Before we start developing a site it's really important that we try to establish what was there before.

"Often this can be easy to see, but sometimes we need to work with a team of archaeologists to dig a little deeper.

"It's been fascinating to learn what the team has uncovered at Shaw Valley.

"While the Bronze Age barrow had long since disappeared from sight, this discovery means it can be recorded in history as an early example of settlement in Newbury."

The team from Foundations Archaeology will now put together a formal report about the discovery, so the existence of the monument can be recorded in the history of the area.

With archaeological investigations now complete, Taylor Wimpey is able to begin work on the construction of the new homes.

This follows on from the recent archaeological finds at a development site in Greenham.