SUMMARY

Excavations in advance of development at Cross Keys public house, St Georges Road, Wallingford revealed part of a substantial ditch, which was located to the west of the extant late Anglo-Saxon burh rampart. Limited dating evidence suggested that the ditch was contemporary with the earliest phase of the burh and it was possible, though not proven, that it represented the northern extent of wider, or enhanced military outworks associated with the west gate. A note by John Blair proposes an alternative hypothesis: that the large primary ditch at Cross Keys represented the north-west corner of an earlier phase of the fort, possibly dating from the mid to late eighth century. Such a sequence is compatible with the earliest radiocarbon dates so far obtained from Wallingford. A linear bank, which was constructed of imported chalk marl, was subsequently laid along the line of the infilled ditch, possibly as early as the mid eleventh century, or shortly thereafter. The purpose of this bank was not entirely clear, although, a military function was a distinct possibility. A further ditch to the west of the bank appeared to be of a later date and may have been related to a boundary shown on historic mapping, however, this feature was only partially revealed during the excavations and its interpretation remained highly uncertain.