South Oxfordshire Archaeological Group

SOAG Lectures 2026/27

Our lecture series begins on Thursday October 1st with Professor Gary Locke, Emeritus Professor of Archaeology, Kellogg College, Oxford, on the Iron Age features and Roman temple complex that developed at Marcham. Visit our Events page for information on all the lectures this season.

SOAG Fieldwork 2026 – Smokedown – no dates have yet been confirmed

As expected, the field where this site is located has been returned to an arable crop this year which was planned to be harvested in late September. SOAG will be welcome to do some limited fieldwork post-harvest, but what may be possible at that time of year will be dependent on the weather and ground conditions. Any work will be limited in scope and have to be planned and arranged at short notice.

SOAG Fieldwork 2026 – 12th to 16th September at Greys Court, Upper Lawn

As part of the National Trust’s Heritage Days, SOAG excavated two trenches on the upper lawn to investigate features that had been apparent in the geophysics surveys. It appeared that some of the features comprised compacted dry sand, which is suggestive of back-filling of robbed-out walls and structures. This has probably been the result of demolitions, remodelling and landscaping that may have taken place from the late 17th century onwards.

SOAG Fieldwork 2026 – Test pitting at Duns Tew – 22nd August to 6th September

A total of 20 test pits were excavated at Spring Farm, Duns Tew. Geophysics surveys have indicated the presence of at least Iron Age and Roman occupation. The test pits covered various areas of this large site and were planned to evaluate the soil layers and the depth and preservation of any archaeology. Some of the pits revealed interesting features such as Iron Age ditches and post-holes and a spread of limestone demolition rubble that may relate to a Roman era building; however, many of the pits did not reveal any features. A report on the test-pitting will be circulated once completed.

SOAG Fieldwork 2026 – 18th to 27th July at Greys Court – Oval lawn

We have completed this year’s excavation on the oval lawn at Greys Court – the 18th – 27th July as part of the CBA Festival Of Archaeology in partnership with the National Trust.

Many members of SOAG took part and we uncovered further evidence of the range of late-medieval buildings that connected the main house to the guest accommodation across the courtyard. This included an unexpectedly deep cellar or cold-store under one of the structures that may have formed part of a gatehouse. The cellar is the brick structure on the right of the trench in this photograph.

A report on this year’s excavations will be added to the Greys Court project page in due course.

June 2026 – Publication

SOAG was founded in 1969 and has operated as an amateur archaeology society continuously since then. But there has never been an easy-to-read history of the group, describing its origins, its activities, its people and its accomplishments. Mike Green, who joined SOAG in 2007, has written a first draft of our history and this can now be found on the About SOAG – Our History page.

SOAG Visit

A group of SOAG members visited Butser Ancient Farm in Hampshire on Tuesday 12th May. This included a private tour which introduced the five main time periods – Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age, Roman, and Anglo-Saxon – illustrated by buildings. The archaeology behind the experimental buildings and the evidence that informs each reconstruction was clearly explained. Members were free to explore the site at their leisure after the tour.

SOAG COMMITTEE FOR 2026-2027

At the SOAG AGM in April 2026 most of the current members of the committee agreed to stand for a further year and were re-elected. The exception was Nigel Peters who stood down as Secretary and Messenger editor as he is moving out of the area. On behalf of SOAG, the committee expresses its grateful thanks to Nigel for his years of work supporting the group. Nigel is replaced by Neil Killoran. To see who we all are and what we do in SOAG, see About SOAG – People.