ARCHAEOLOGISTS believe the former Radcliffe Infirmary site was the burial area for Oxford’s great and good 4,000 years ago.

Experts from Museum of London Archaeology (Mola) spent the summer working on the site between Woodstock Road and Walton Street and revealed a host of information offering clues to the city’s past.

Oxford University revealed its plans to redevelop the area earlier this month and the dig was carried out prior to work beginning on the site.

Three large ditches were uncovered, along with evidence of life from different periods across history.

A spokesman from Mola said the ditches could be the remains of burials of high status individuals from the later Neolithic period or Bronze Age – 4,000 years ago.

He said: “We are grateful to the university for enabling this unusually large site to be archaeologically investigated.

“The knowledge obtained should make a significant contribution to public appreciation of this important part of Oxford’s past, when the landscape was very different from that seen today.”

Further finds on the site included what archaeologists believe could have been cremation burials, and a rectangular enclosure.

Experts are carrying out radio carbon dating on material recovered from the site to try to get a better idea how old it is.

Along with the oldest findings, there was also evidence of a 6th century Saxon settlement including a sunken craft hut, known as a Grubenhauser, and a pit containing unfired clay loom weights.

Mike Wigg, head of capital projects at Oxford University, said: “The university was delighted to provide the opportunity for an investigation of Oxford’s heritage to be carried out in advance of any development work.”

The pits confirmed the expectation the site was used in prehistoric times.

Historical documents refer to a medieval hamlet by the name of Barrowcroft – suggesting prehistoric barrows were still visible in the landscape as late as the 12th century.

Other ancient settlements unearthed in the centre of Oxford include the University Parks, which show signs of ancient earthworks, and a recent excavation at St John’s College in St Giles, which found a mass grave dating back thousands of years, along with evidence of a huge ditch thought to link up with the parks archaeology.

Between 30 and 40 bodies were found in the site, which was excavated in early 2008 to make way for a new quad, along with part of a “henge” monument dating back to about 3,000BC and measuring an estimated 150 metres in diameter.

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