PCA Winchester was commissioned to undertake archaeological investigations at Barton Farm, ahead of a large housing development, covering an area of roughly 70ha, which lies 1.5km north of the historic core of Winchester. It covers a roughly triangular plot of land located on the chalk Downland on the west side of the river Itchen valley.

The strategy of investigation was two-fold, firstly the pre-emptive investigation of aerial photographic and geophysical survey evidence and secondly in response to ‘Phase 2’ of the phased development of the site. An initial stage of ‘strip and excavation’ comprised several discrete areas across the site and was followed by a stage of ‘targeted intervention’ which comprised monitoring the main contractor’s preparatory site stripping of Phase 1, in the northern part of the site, and targeting what this revealed. All these investigation areas were pre-determined and were set out in a WSI. Additional areas were investigated in response to updated development proposals and to meet the requirements of the Winchester Historic Environment Team Archaeologist and include the use of evaluation trenches and strip, map and sample excavation.

The Barton Farm investigations have involved the excavation and recording of widespread archaeological evidence. Prehistoric evidence included a rare Neolithic pit circle, two Beaker period Burials, Bronze Age ring ditches, bronze Age and Iron Age unenclosed settlement including pits, ditches, roundhouses, and sporadic inhumation and cremation burials. An Iron Age crouched inhumation cemetery contained a burial which has yielded a 3rd-century BC radiocarbon date. Roman remains include a section of the aqueduct that supplied water to the Roman town at Winchester and Late Romano-British funerary enclosures and inhumation burials. Two Middle Saxon Hall buildings, fence line and pits were uncovered as was a late Saxon group of 22 inhumation burials. Later, post-medieval military activity included remains of the Hessian militia that camped at Barton Farm in 1756–57 and remains of the Hampshire militia that camped at Barton Farm in 1761.

Completed phases of archaeological work have been the subject of post-excavation assessment reports, work continues and it is expected that in due course the investigations will fully published.