People of Oxford : An Archaeology of Local Lives

The study of ancient human remains can provide vivid insight into past lives. Extensive archaeological investigations in Oxford, related to modern development projects, have recovered traces of human stories from nearly every period of the town’s prehistory and history.

The journey starts in the reforested world of the Mesolithic and moves through the creation of a monumental prehistoric landscape across the Oxford terrace. Settlement around these earthworks in the early Saxon period was followed by the emergence of Oxford in the Middle and late Saxon period, and later by the transformation of the successful Norman town into a university city.

Local archaeologist David Radford provides an overview of the town’s history and archaeology, introducing and offering a glimpse into the lives of farmers, labourers, monks, friars, nuns, soldiers, and others. Some of these Oxford residents led affluent and healthy lives, whilst others suffered sickness and hardship. They lived on and around the Upper Thames gravel terraces and the surrounding limestone hills from the fourth millennium BCE. In their own ways, they shaped the city and the landscape experienced today. This is a part of their story, retrieved from the earth.