Oxford University has a reputation for prestige and tradition stretching back centuries.
But excavators working beneath one of its colleges just discovered something nobody expected.
And Oxford archaeologists uncovered one medieval secret that will leave history buffs speechless.
Construction work reveals centuries of hidden history
Archaeologists excavating the grounds of Hertford College at Oxford University unearthed the remains of three medieval academic halls buried beneath the current campus.¹
The discovery came during construction of a new library at Hertford College, which required extensive excavation work throughout 2024.
Workers uncovered Hart Hall, Black Hall, and Catte Hall — medieval student lodging houses that predated the college by hundreds of years.²
Hart Hall was established in the 1280s by Elias de Hertford as accommodation for Oxford students studying at the university.³
These medieval halls were essentially boarding houses where students lived during their studies before the larger college system took hold.
The three halls all occupied the same piece of land along Catte Street in central Oxford that eventually became Hertford College.
But that's just the beginning of what excavators found.
Medieval students left behind a treasure trove
The excavation team recovered hundreds of artifacts spanning nearly a millennium, from the Norman Conquest in 1066 through the 19th century.⁴
Workers discovered book clasps that held manuscripts closed, plus styli that medieval students used like modern pens and pencils.⁵
The discoveries paint a vivid picture of daily life for medieval students cramming for exams and scribbling notes 700 years ago.
Trash heaps revealed what medieval students ate — animal bones and oyster shells mixed with other refuse that showed surprising details about medieval trade networks.
The fish remains excavators discovered were imported from London's River Thames, 50 miles away — showing medieval Oxford students ate better than you'd think.⁶
The dig turned up evidence of medieval trade — coins and tokens alongside personal items like combs and buckles.⁷
Clay pipes and drinking vessels turned up alongside unusual wooden bowling balls used for early lawn games.
One find stood out above all the rest.
https://twitter.com/usanewsrepost/status/1983880521362153591
Star discovery shows medieval innovation
Archaeologists recovered a perfectly preserved reading stone made of either rock crystal or glass.⁸
Medieval scholars used the device to magnify words in handwritten manuscripts when candlelight made reading difficult.
Ben Ford, senior project manager at Oxford Archaeology, called the reading stone "an exceptional find."⁹
"It's not only because it is so intact but because, unlike many archaeological finds, you can still use it for the purpose for which it was made," Ford explained.¹⁰
The reading stone still works after potentially 700 years underground.
"It seems very fitting that the construction of the new library has revealed such interesting evidence of historic book-making activities," Ford added.¹¹
The excavation team showcased their discoveries during an open day at Hertford College in September that attracted more than 650 visitors.¹²
Archaeological boom sweeping across Britain
The Oxford discovery is part of a remarkable year for British archaeology in 2025.
Earlier this year, archaeologists found evidence of a prehistoric village at a future golf course in Scotland, with remains dating back 6,000 years.¹³
That excavation beneath a school playground uncovered a Neolithic timber hall predating Stonehenge by over 1,000 years.¹⁴
In the Cotswolds just west of Oxford, archaeologists recently uncovered an extensive Roman settlement after a metal detectorist found cavalry swords at the same location.¹⁵
These discoveries keep rewriting what experts thought they knew about Britain's ancient past.
Here's what makes this discovery so fascinating.
Church officials and university administrators kept plenty of written records about medieval student life. But those documents tell you what the authorities wanted you to know — not what actually happened.
Trash pits don't lie. Medieval students were eating imported fish from 50 miles away and tossing oyster shells in their rubbish heaps. The official records never mentioned any of that.
And get this — that reading stone proves medieval scholars figured out magnification technology 700 years ago. Today's students whine about eye strain from computer screens. Their medieval predecessors already solved that problem with rock crystal lenses.
Hart Hall lasted for centuries while dozens of competitors went bust.¹⁶ The larger colleges kept expanding and swallowing up the smaller halls, but Hart Hall hung on until 1740 before finally becoming Hertford College.
The system worked differently back then. Independent landlords ran these halls, housed the students, and the older scholars taught the younger ones. No massive bureaucracy. No administrative bloat. Just education happening in smaller settings where people actually knew each other.
Oxford consolidated everything into the rigid college system that runs the show today. These excavations show what got lost in that transformation — and it's worth remembering.
¹ Andrea Margolis, "Hidden medieval halls discovered beneath world-famous university as archaeologists sift through remains," Fox News, October 30, 2025.
² Ibid.
³ "A short guide to Hart Hall & the first Hertford College," Hertford College Library & Archives Blog, accessed October 30, 2025.
⁴ Margolis, "Hidden medieval halls."
⁵ Ibid.
⁶ Ibid.
⁷ Ibid.
⁸ Ibid.
⁹ Ibid.
¹⁰ Ibid.
¹¹ Ibid.
¹² "From Medieval Books to a New Library: Oxford's past uncovered," Hertford College, September 11, 2025.
¹³ Margolis, "Hidden medieval halls."
¹⁴ Emily Snow, "The Top 8 Archaeological Discoveries of 2025 (So Far)," TheCollector, July 16, 2025.
¹⁵ Margolis, "Hidden medieval halls."
¹⁶ "A short guide to Hart Hall," Hertford College Library & Archives Blog.
