Aves Ditch (also known as Ash Bank, or Wattle Bank) is an Iron Age ditch and bank structure running about on a northeast to southwest alignment in the

Cherwell District Cherwell ( or ) is a local government district in northern Oxfordshire, England. The district was created in 1974 and takes its name from the River Cherwell, which drains south through the region to flow into the River Thames at Oxford. Towns ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

. It was once believed to have been a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

road but excavation has shown it to be a boundary dyke of Iron Age date that was reused in the Anglo-Saxon period. A skull found in the ditch was dated to the Anglo-Saxon period. It now forms the boundary between the

civil parishes In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishe ...

Lower Heyford Lower Heyford is a village and civil parish beside the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, about west of Bicester. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 492. The parish measures about east–west and about north–south. It is boun ...

and

Middleton Stoney Middleton Stoney is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish about west of Bicester, Oxfordshire, England. The United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 331. The parish measures about north–s ...

. Both Sauer and Lambrick have suggested that the Aves Ditch along with the North Oxfordshire Grim’s Ditch and the South Oxfordshire Grim’s Ditch may have formed the boundary between the Iron Age tribes of the

Dobunni The Dobunni were one of the Iron Age tribes living in the British Isles prior to the Roman conquest of Britain. There are seven known references to the tribe in Roman histories and inscriptions. Various historians and archaeologists have examin ...

and the

Catuvellauni The Catuvellauni (Common Brittonic: *''Catu-wellaunī'', "war-chiefs") were a Celtic tribe or state of southeastern Britain before the Roman conquest, attested by inscriptions into the 4th century. The fortunes of the Catuvellauni and thei ...

References

External links

Geograph: SP5123 : Aves Ditch (photograph)
{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Oxfordshire History of Oxfordshire Linear earthworks Archaeological sites in Oxfordshire