Untitled - Council for British Archaeology

99the University continue to grow notably through the Oxford UniversityDepartment for External Studies and St. Cross College. In the County itselfthe many local fieldworkers and groups continue to provide essential intelligenceand fieldwork. The Unit is particularly grateful to the AingdonSociety which actually raised funds for the Unit.Finally the Unit would like to offer its heart-felt thanks to itsfinancial supporters notably from Central Government: the DoE and the ManpowerServices Commission, from Local Government: Oxfordshire County Council,Oxford City Council, the Vale of White Horse District Council, the OxfordshireDistrict Council and West Oxfordshire District Council and from outside localand central government particularly the Amey Roadstone Corporation, whosegenerosity in some senses 'saved' the Unit in 1977, and the British Academy.City Motors gave a free service to the ARC.crew bus before the Unit took deliveryof it.SURVEYSTHE OXFORDSHIRE PARISH SURVEY - Richard ChambersDuring the last year the number of groups and individuals participatingin the parish survey increased again over the previous year's total of 35(Fig.28 ). New interest has arisen mainly in W and N Oxfordshire where therehas always been a paucity of fieldworkers. However the maintenance andinstruction of these groups has become a problem reflected in the amount ofbasic information that the majority of groups are able to feed into theOxfordshire Department of Museum Services Sites and Monuments Record. Atpresent the solution to this problem can only be seen in the longer term asfield workers gain more experience. At the autumn progress meeting held atthe Oxfordshire Archaeological Unit on the 27th November 1977 it became clearfrom the reports given by group representatives, from discussion and fromselected examples of material that were brought along, that the effort putinto the survey by the Oxfordshire Archaeological Unit, the Oxfordshire CountyCouncil Department of Museum Services and the Oxford University Department forExternal Studies is being justified in the gradual increase of confidence andactivity of fieldworkers. The majority of the most successful groups remainthose who have been formed through archaeological and local history eveningclasses. It is pleasing to see that as well as the basic field-walking, moregroups are tackling graveyards and various building surveys, including farms.A little industrial archaeology continues to be recorded, the largest taskbeing the recording of a deserted-C19th pottery workshop and kiln in a convertedfarm at Fowler. Inspite of all this activity sites are still beinglost, earthworks and ancient pastures being ploughed up without sufficientrecord being made or indeed, any notice being taken in the more remote areasof the county.Three days schools were held to assist those active in the field, two ofwhich, Place Names and Charter Boundaries by Margaret Gelling and Trees andWoodlands by Oliver Rackham were organised by the Oxford University Departmentfor External Studies. The third on Oral History Recording was organisedjointly by the Unit and John Rhodes of the Oxfordshire County CouncilDepartment of Museum Services with several contributors. All were extremelysuccessful.