Excavations at Winchester 1962–63: Second Interim Report

Abstract

One result of the excavations in Winchester in 1961 was the formation in 1962 of the Winchester Excavations Committee. The city is at present passing through a period of intensive rebuilding and development which offers many opportunities for archaeological research. Moreover, the 1961 excavations had directed attention to the problems of Winchester's Saxon minsters and the Dean and Chapter were willing to allow excavation near the cathedral. With these opportunities in view, the committee was formed to undertake excavations, both in advance of building projects, and on sites not so threatened, aimed at studying the development of Winchester as a town from its earliest origins to the establishment of the modern city. The centre of interest is the city itself, not any one period of its past, nor any one part of its remains. But we can hope that this approach will in particular throw light upon the end of the Roman city and on the establishment and development of the Saxon town, problems as vital to our understanding of urban development in this country, as they are difficult to solve. Further, it is essential to this approach that the study and interpretation of the documentary evidence should go hand in hand with archaeological research, for the existence of documentary materials greatly enhances the possibilities of interpretation inherent in the archaeological results, and vice versa.