Routledge Library Editions: Archaeology [1 ed.] 9781138799714, 9781315751948, 9781138808287, 9781315750675, 1138799718

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ROUTLEDGE LIBRARY EDITIONS: ARCHAEOLOGY

Volume 6

THE PREHISTORIC SETTLEMENT OF BRITAIN

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THE PREHISTORIC SETTLEMENT OF BRITAIN

RICHARD BRADLEY

First published in 1978 This edition first published in 2015 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 1978 Richard Bradley All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN: 978-1-138-79971-4 (Set) eISBN: 978-1-315-75194-8 (Set) ISBN: 978-1-138-80828-7 (Volume 6) eISBN: 978-1-315-75067-5 (Volume 6) Publisher’s Note The publisher has gone to great lengths to ensure the quality of this book but points out that some imperfections from the original may be apparent. Disclaimer The publisher has made every effort to trace copyright holders and would welcome correspondence from those they have been unable to trace.

The Prehistoric Settlement of Britain Richard Bradley Department o f Archaeology Reading University

Routledge & Kegan Paul London, Henley and Boston

First published in 1978 by Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd 39 Store Street, London W C iE 7D D , Broadway House, Newtown Road, Henley-on- Thames, Oxon R G q i E N and 9 Park Street, Boston, M ass. 02108, U SA Set in Baskerville and printed in Great Britain by Lowe & Brydone Printers Limited Thetford, Norfolk (£) Richard Bradley, 1978 No part o f this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except fo r the quotation o f brief passages in criticism British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Bradley, Richard, b.1946 The prehistoric settlement o f Britain. - (Archaeology o f Britain). 1. Man, Prehistoric - Great Britain I. Title II. Series 936.1*01 GN805 78-40619 I S B N o 7100 8993 7

For Bari Hooper and Collin Bowen

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Men are made of what is made, The meat, the drink, the life, the corn, Laid up by them, in them reborn. And self-begotten cycles close About our way; indigenous art And simple spells make unafraid The haunted labyrinths o f the heart. Edwin Muir, The Island

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Contents

1 2 3

Preface Introduction Still Life o f Sherds A Pure Soil Clearance and Colonisation

xiii i

5

T illage and H ard Labour A rable and Pasture

29

4

R igidly Liturgical Movements Transhum ance and Nomadism

55

5

T h e H ealing o f the Woods H unting and Gathering

73

T h e M agnitude o f Antique Fragments Possibilities and Suggestions

97

6

Abbreviations

131

Bibliography

133

Bibliographical Index G eneral Index

M7 I51

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Figures

2: i

M esolithic and early N eolith ic rad iocarb on dates in southern E n glan d .

7

2 :2

T h e location o f pre-E lm D ecline clearings in C u m b ria.

10

2 :3

T h e percen tage o f tree pollen in d ated clearan ce horizons.

14

2 :4

Profiles o f possible spade furrow s beneath excavated barrow s.

17

2 :5

T h e size o f m ed ieval villages in Bedfordshire in relation to the extent o f their arab le land

23

2 :6

T h e distribution o f R om an o-B ritish settlem ents in tw o areas o f north-east E n glan d .

25

2 :7

T h e relative frequ ency o f dated clearan ce horizons.

27

3:1

T h e percen tage o f sheep bones on later Bronze A g e and Iron A g e sites in E ngland and W ales.

38

3 :2

T h e distributions o f Iron A g e sickles and four-post structures.

43

3 :3

T h e ch ronological distribution o f evid ence for arable farm ing.

44

3 :4

T h e ch ronological distribution o f evid ence for pastoral farm ing.

52

3 :5

T h e arable/pastoral ratio in dated clearan ce horizons.

52

4:1 4 :2

T h e relationship betw een hut d iam eter and elevation in part o f north-w est W ales. T h e d iam eter o f stone-built huts on D artm oor.

61 62

4 :3 4 :4

T h e relationship betw een hill fort area and elevation in the north W elsh M arches. In terpretation plan o f T r e ’r C eiri hill fort.

63 63

4 :5 4 :6

T h e range o f dom estic pottery under barrow s on the W iltshire downs. T h e relationship o f Iron A g e salt prod u ction to the a gricu ltu ral cycle.

64 68

5:1

T h e intensity o f occu pation in relation to the num ber o f separate activities on M esolithic

5 :2

sites: (a) in L o w lan d B ritain ; (b) in H ig h lan d B ritain. T h e n um ber o f separate activities in relation to the floor area o f M esolithic shelters.

75 77

5 :3

G roups o f M esolith ic pits at F arn ham , S urrey, and H a va n t, H am pshire.

78

5 :4

T h e interpretation o f N eolithic and B ronze A g e flint scatters in part o f W harfed ale, Yorkshire.

81

6:1

T h e siting o f W in d m ill H ill and its extern al contacts.

104

6 :2

T h e d a tin g o f new and aband oned clearings in the later N eolithic.

106

6 :3

C o n tin u ity and d iscontin uity o f lan d use based on finds from barrow s in southern E n glan d .

6 :4

T h e m ain concentrations o f M id d le B ron ze A g e m etalw ork in southern E n glan d in relation to m ajor enclosures o f the period.

113 120

T ables

I

T h e N eolith ic clearan ce at H o ck h a m M ere

2

T h e relationship b etw een lan d use and the deposition o f flint scrapers at B room e H eath

3

F req u en cy o f association betw een dom estic and gam e anim als in m ajor inland caves o ccu p ied in the L a te N eolith ic to E a rly B ronze A g e

4

F req u en cy o f association b etw een dom estic and gam e anim als in m ajor inland caves

5

A g e distribution o f anim al bones on m inor Iron A g e sites, b y n u m ber o f separate

occu p ied in the Iron A g e occurren ces 6

8 45 66 67 70

F req u en cy o f association betw een the prin cip al dom estic and gam e anim als on Iron A g e coastal sites in Scotlan d

87

7 8

D istribution o f anim al bones at D u n M o r V a u l

87

P rin cip al p lan t foods, N eolithic to Iron A g e. T otals o f m acroscopic id en tification

89

9

P rin cip al bird rem ains on coastal sites in A tla n tic S co tlan d b y n u m ber o f separate occurrences P rin cip a l fish rem ains on coastal sites in A tla n tic S co tlan d b y n u m ber o f

90

10

separate occurren ces T h e m ean n um ber o f com partm ents in C ly d e cairns in relation to their heigh t

91

11 12

B ronze A g e lan d use at Sw arkestone, D erbyshire

a bove sea level

103 114

Preface

T h is book has happ ened over a lon g period and

also read the text and is responsible for the

m an y debts h ave accru ed in its com position. T h e

E nglish translation. V e rn a

most obvious are for the use o f published and

R ich ard s k in d ly drafted some o f the origin al

C a re

and J u lia n

un published m aterial and these are a ck n ow ­

d raw ings and Son ia Burgess produced a clean

ledged at approp riate points in the text. B ut

typescript from an alm ost u n read able palim psest.

beyond these are other debts w hich no such

Bill and J u d i S tartin put m e u p w hen I b egan

ackn ow led gm ent can pay. I ow e m ore to m y

w ork on the book and K a th erin e has put up

teachers and colleagues than they m igh t care

w ith me as I brou gh t it to a protracted con ­

to agree. T w o o f them , B arry C u n liffe and

clusion. It is d ed icated to two friends: B ari

M ich a el F ulford, have read and com m ented on

H ooper, for rem ind in g me, m ore than anyone

the m anuscript. I h ave also discussed m uch o f

else, h ow intellectual curiosity is a source o f

this m aterial w ith J o h n B arrett and B rendan

en joym en t; and C o llin B ow en, w ho has shared

O ’C on nor. N one o f them , I suspect, has coaxed

his ideas so lib e ra lly that an y m erits o f this book

m e from the errors o f m y w ays. A la n D in gle

are not the a u th o r’s alone.

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Introduction

Chapter

/

Still Life of Sherds

w as innocent o f satire. F lan n O ’Brien was not.

A word about this Royal Myles na gCopaleen Institute o f Archaeology.. . . It would be rash to suppose that the Institute was just a gatherum o f clay-minded prodnoses. Each branch o f research has a sub-institute o f its own. . . . Within the Royal Institute you have, for instance, the Institute o f Comparative Bronzes. This body is con­ cerned only with time-bronze progressions. Flann O’ Brien, from T h e Best o f M yles (1968)

B ut, like all creatures, it seizes on real features o f its subject. T h e fram ew ork o f prehistoric studies is based upon both o f these sources. T h e bronzes provide a chronological schem e w hich unites local sequences over m uch o f E u rop e and even tu ally relates them to a historical chronology. T h e ceram ics can locate m ore restricted ph eno­ m ena. T h e problem is w hen these objects lose all connection w ith the m en w ho m ade them and are studied as an end in them selves, a herm etic exercise in self-valid atin g skill. A b o u t the tim e

T h is book was plann ed as synthesis and em erged as speculation.

has

In betw een cam e a

phase o f B infordian fellow -travelling. W h y this u n certain ty o f aim ? W h y so m any changes o f p lan? C o m p lete synthesis is alw ays im possible since it presupposes finite d a ta and the exhaustion o f all approaches. B ut it is p a rticu la rly d ifficult w hen so little o f this basic d a ta has been prop erly collected or recorded. A d d to that the frustration that little carefu lly collected m aterial is ever accessible. F ew excavations reach the prin ter; a cad em ic distinction is ap p a ren tly m easured by the n um ber o f projects aband oned . B u t to turn

that O ’Brien was w riting, the A m erican arch ae­ ologist, W a lter T a y lo r, was lam basting the sam e e v a sio n : F ellow students . . . h ave accused the archaeologist o f tattin g endless taxonom ic rosettes out o f the sam e old ball o f ‘m aterial c u ltu re’ and m ain tained that his findings are next to useless for the purposes o f history and cu ltu re study. It seems that archaeologists are becom ing, as T o lsto y once said o f m odern historians, like d e a f m en answ ering questions w h ich no one has asked them (1948).

entirely to theory w ould be dull for both author

T h e ‘ tim e-bronze progressions’ w ere inevitable.

and reader, and to discuss m ethod ology w ith ou t

W ith o u t this fram ew ork there w ou ld have been

a pprop riate d a ta is as likely to w in converts

no tim e-scale, and its long tim e-scale is the one

as a p a rty political broadcast. For these reasons

contrib u tion that prehistory can offer to other

alone, w h a t has em erged is a trial piece, from

disciplines. T h e study o f p ottery could have served a sim ilar end, b u t here chron ology and ex p la ­

w hich outlines can be copied or erased. It is a personal interpretation o f biased and elusive

nation h ave becom e so tangled together that

evidence.

discussion often ends in d eadlock. T o show chron ­

T h e title is o f course caricatu re. It is borrow ed from a pain tin g b y K le e , w ho, on this occasion,

ological relationships, cu ltu ral relations are inferred. T h ese have then taken over, at times

2

Introduction - Still Life o f Sherds

lea vin g a dubious historical n arrative in support

‘ R a d io carb o n dates for M id su m m er H ill C a m p

o f a circu lar argum en t. T h e C h ild e an ‘cu ltu re’ is not a testable hypothesis, b u t it is som etim es

have now ind icated that the L a T e n e invasions

an idee fixe. W h en C h ild e ’s schem e fails to offer

185 b .c .) ’ (Stanford, 1972, p. 308). T h e second area o f d evelop m en t has been in

the accep ta b le solution, the questions are ch an ged to a ccom m od ate the a n sw ers: J u d g e d b y these [C h ild e ’s] standards, the ea rly L a T e n e invasions from the M a rn e have been found defective b y several authorities. . . . I f . . . w e are ob liged to a p p ly less rigorous criteria, then . . . the M a rn ia n invasion . . . stands upon firm er grou n d (H a rd in g, D ., 1974, p. 230).

w ere as ea rly as perhaps c. 390 b .c. (420 db

the en viron m ental sciences, and in p a rticu la r in pollen analysis. T h is is no lon ger ju s t a tech ­ nique

o f com p ilin g

b o ta n ical

and

clim atic

sequences, b u t has proved itself a d iscrim in atin g ju d g e o f hu m an a ctiv ity . M u c h can n ow be learn t o f ea rly land use, and studies o f the dis­ sem ination o f pollen m ay e v en tu a lly reveal the size and location o f the occu p ied areas. T h e analysis o f closely spaced sam ples has shed sur­

T h e result has been a cu ltu ral fram ew ork w h ich

prising ligh t on early agricu ltu re, p a rticu la rly

owes som ething to changes in m etalw orkin g

w hen all the pollen grains h ave been cou nted . T h ree-d im en sion al pollen analysis, the stu d y o f

and not a little to a suspect ethnology. N ow it seems that the m ain areas o f study,

separate cores over a lim ited area, can also

at least b y those in the field, are to be settlem ents

help to localise prehistoric a ctiv ity . S ince peat

and even w hole landscapes. T h e re is n oth in g new

can be carb o n -d ated , m an y periods o f lan d use

to econ om ic prehistory. G ra h a m e C la rk p ro­

can be tied d ire ctly to an absolute ch ro n ology.

d uced his grea t classic in 1952 and his a ch ieve­

P reviou sly palaeobotanists had show n u n du e d e­

m ent has not been m atch ed since. It is not p a r­

ference to the arch aeologist’s assu m ptions: ‘T h e

ticu larly constructive to trace the d evelop m en t o f this clim ate o f opinion. T h e re is a tem ptation

L a te B ronze A g e com m unities in this area are regarded as h a vin g been n om ad ic w ith a p re­

to d iscip lin ary a u to b io gra p h y that reveals the

d om in an tly

frustrated historian, and on this occasion it is

eq u ated w ith episode C 3’ (Birks, 1965). G ive n these opportunities, it seems w orth w h ile to exp lore the evid ence for prehistoric settlem ent.

better resisted. S ettlem en t a rch a eo lo g y is cer­ tain ly p opular, b u t in B ritain it seems to rest on a com prom ise. It is de rigueur to stu d y ‘settle­

pastoral

econ om y

and

are

thus

ments in B elgic B rita in ’ (R o d w ell, 1976) or ‘ the

A num ber o f basic econ om ic practices are dis­ cussed in the next four chapters. T h e final

F ood V essel econ om y’ (H e rity a n d E ogan , 1976).

ch ap ter, w h ich is m uch the longest, is an a ttem p t

B u t is this a n y h elp ? It m ust be asked w hether lan d scap e history can rea lly be studied using

to d ra w this evid ence together and to suggest how it m igh t ev en tu a lly form its ow n fram ew ork

an in tellectu al structure form ed alm ost en tirely

for the stu d y o f settlem ent patterns. T h is is

aroun d artefacts.

perhaps a w orth w h ile am bition , b u t the reader

T w o developm ents m ay provide a release. T h e

m ust be w arn ed that it is still ve ry m uch an

d evelopm en t o f rad iocarb on d a tin g at last holds

ideal. T h is book asks m ore questions than it can answ er and avoids m ore problem s than it solves.

ou t som e prospect o f b u ild in g sequences in d e­ pend ent o f d iagnostic artefacts, and indeed o f p u ttin g trad itio n al chronologies to the test. D e ­

B ut the attem p t is still w orth m akin g, p rovided it is understood that this is a stu d y o f the in fo rm a­

spite the statistical u n certain ty a ttach ed to every

tion that is a lrea d y accessible. T h e em phasis

d ate, an in telligen t ap p licatio n o f this techn iqu e should ev en tu a lly p rovide both an absolute tim e-

rep eated ly falls on its p oten tial, rath er than its

scale and a m easure o f rates o f ch an ge. A t present con troversy over the tree rin g calib ra tio n o f rad iocarb on rules ou t an y d og m atic co n clu ­ sion. B ut again there is a d an ger o f abuse:

present shortcom ings. T h e re are four areas w h ich d ra stica lly need to be explored before all the propositions in this book can be pu t to the test. U n til then a few gn om ic assertions can be useful in setting exam s.

Introduction - Still Life oj Sherds

3

T h e most im portant o f these problem s is the

T h e m ain reason for this situation has been a

selective destruction o f evidence. C hristopher

p ragm atic avoid ance o f form al analysis. T h ere is

T a y lo r has argued that the prehistoric landscape

a general terror o f theory. Som e review ers o b ­

can be d ivided into a ‘zone o f su rvival’ and a

viously think that N ew M exico is the seat o f

‘zone o f destruction ’ (1972). H e considers that this division cuts across the settlem ent pattern

the Spanish Inquisition. M eth od olog y is w id ely portrayed as a tiresome retreat from the data.

so com pletely that it can no longer be u n der­

But the evidence never speaks for itself, and

stood. T h is depressing conclusion is nearly ju s ti­

w ithou t questions there are no answers. C o n ­

fied. B ut it is still possible to locate some sites

troversy o f a sort can be felt, but reappraisal

in the zone o f destruction, althou gh it is un ­

soon turns into rem iniscence. O b jectives are

likely that a large sam ple can now be achieved.

rarely discussed. T h e critics have not been w on ­

It is also true that the q u ality o f the evidence

d erfu lly constructive. T h e y are content to parse

w ill v a ry rad ically betw een these zones. C ertain

the polem ic and to criticise its sentence structure.

areas, for instance the W essex d ow n lan d

or

R e p u n ctu ated , rew orded, the charges are exactly

D artm oor, dom inate the arch aeological literature

the sam e: ‘A rch aeo lo gy [here British arch ae­

for reasons w hich are them selves part o f lan d ­ scape history. T h e continuous pressure placed

ology] is undisciplined . . . an intuitive skill . . .

on the best resources means that the q u ality

(C larke, D .L ., 1968, xiii). W ith o u t better co llec­

a

m an ipu lative

d exterity

learned

by

rote’

o f the rem ain in g m aterial can be in inverse

tion o f the basic m aterials, this is not likely to

proportion to its origin al significance. T h e w a y

change.

forw ard is perhaps to consider each area in

L astly, the bias towards econom ic evidence

relation to its potential for field survey and to

also means a bias tow ards a functionalist inter­

w eigh t all distributions accord in gly.

pretation. T h e poor recovery o f econom ic d ata

B ut fieldw ork needs to be planned on a more

w eakens these explanations still m ore. A rc h a e ­

the

ology and an th rop ology in B ritain have quite

w hole o f the British Isles w ill ever be exam ined,

different em phases, although one can not help

all surveys w ill be a form o f sam pling. It w ould

n oticin g that kinship m odels can look like bronze

be sensible to m ake proper use o f the techniques

typologies. B y avoid in g the social m eanin g o f his

w hich have a lread y been devised for ob tain in g

m aterial, the archaeologist is choosing a rather

a representative pattern. T hese have been w id ely

narrow

discussed in A m e rica (e.g. M u eller, 1975), but their potential has been alm ost ignored in this country, w ith the result that financial resources

strictures w ere rude but not quite unfair (1976). T h is book is another exploration o f econom ic evidence, since this is alm ost all that has been

are still dissipated in hun ting for biased in­ form ation.

recorded. Because o f this self-denial it is not a com plete interpretation.

It is because so little inform ation has been co l­ lected on an approp riate basis that hypotheses are so hard to test. T h ere are very few reliable

the limits o f inference is finally an unprod u ctive exercise. It has led too m any prehistorians

rigorous basis. Since it is un likely

that

personal

m ythology.

L e a ch ’s

recent

T hese gaps m ay seem fatal. B ut to bew ail

figures for the m ovem ent o f settlem ent betw een

into the pessimism o f Sam uel B eckett: ‘ I have

different soils, or for changes in the num ber o f

nothin g to say, but I can on ly say to w h at extent

sites from one period to another, even though

I have nothing to sa y .’ A ltern atively one can be

such processes are w id ely claim ed in the litera­

more foolhardy. T o quote W alter T a y lo r again :

used,

‘W h y should every arch aeological hypothesis

w ithou t any real w a y o f know in g w hether they

have to stand and be correct for all tim e? . . .

reflect a general trend. Few o f the ideas in this

W h y should arch aeology assume the pretentious

book can be tested for statistical significance,

burden o f in fa llib ility ? ’

ture. O n ly

a few case-studies can

be

since the sam ple w hich has been used is an accid en t o f acad em ic history.

T h is book contrives its ow n obsolescence.

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A Pure Soil

Chapter 2

Clearance and Colonisation

I like a plantation in a pure soil - that is, where people are not displanted to the end to plant others. . . . Planting o f countries is like planting o f woods, for you must take account to lease almost twenty years3 profit and expect your re­ compense in the end. . . . In a country o f plantation first look about what kind o f victual the country yields o f itself to hand, as chestnuts, walnuts, pine-apples, olives, dates, plums, cherries, wild honey and the like, and make use o f them. Then con­ sider what victual or esculent things there are which grow speedily and within the year, as parsnips, carrots, turnips, onions, radish, artichokes o f Jerusalem, maize, and the like. For wheat, barley and oats, they ask too much labour. . . . For beasts and birds take chiefly such as are least subject to diseases and multiply fastest, swine, goats, cocks, hens, turkeys, geese, house doves and the like. The victual in plantations ought to be expended almost as in a besieged town, that is, with certain allowance. Francis B acon,(O f Plantations3from Essays, or Counsels C iv il and M o ra l, 1625 Said Ysbaddaden Chief Giant. . . . ‘ When I have myself gotten that which I shall name to thee, then thou shalt get my daughter. . . . Dost see the great thicket yonder? . . . I must have it up­ rooted out o f the earth and burnt on the face o f the ground so that the cinders and ashes thereof be its manure; and that it be ploughed and sown so that it be ripe in the morning against the drying o f the

dew, in order that it may be made into meat and drink for the wedding guests and my daughter’s. And all this I must have done in one day.3 ‘ It is easy for me to get that, though thou think it is not easy.3 ‘ Culhwch and Olwen3, T h e M ab in ogion , trans. G. and T . Jones, 1949

INTRODUCTION

W h en J oh n A u b re y was w riting his Natural History o f Wiltshire in the second h a lf o f the seventeenth cen tu ry, his views o f early a gri­ cu ltu re w ere not surprisingly coloured b y w h at he knew o f A m erica. As so often, his sp ecu la­ tions have proved rem ark ab ly acute. In J a m a ica , and in other parts o f A m erica, e.g. in V irg in ia , the natives did burne dow n great woods, to cu ltivate the soil w ith m aiz and potato-roots, w hich plaines w ere there m ade to sowe corne. T h e y doe call these plains Savannas. W h o knows but Salisbury plaines, etc. m ight be m ade long time ago, and for the sam e reason? T h is suggestion, w hich w ould have seem ed so pecu liar w hen it was finally published in 1847, w ould h ard ly have surprised the anonym ous author(s) o f ‘C u lh w ch and O lw e n ’ . But, b y the nineteenth cen tu ry, little or nothing rem ained o f the n ative forest, and these ap p aren tly sim ple processes o f clearan ce had long since given w a y to m ore com plicated patterns o f m anagem ent (R ackh am , 1976). E ven w ithin the prehistoric

6

A Pure Soil — Clearance and Colonisation

period, the evid ence for land clearan ce is re­

this view d raw analogies w ith con tem p o rary

m ark ab ly com plex. It is the purpose o f this ch ap ter to consider some o f the w ays in w h ich

p ractice in northern E u rop e and w ith u n dou bted evidence for le a f collection in the Swiss N eolithic.

the n atural lan dscape was prepared.

T h e re are difficulties in the u n critical extension

T h e op en in g part o f this ch ap ter deals w ith actu al m ethods o f clearan ce, althou gh

o f these view s. G ro en m an -va n -W a aterin ge has

some

argued that sim ilar phenom ena can be created

atten tion w ill be paid to ch ronology, and to those

n atu ra lly (1968), and P enn ington , in p articu lar,

m odifications o f the forest w hich fall short o f

has

com plete rem oval. O th erw ise, clearan ce w ill be

occu rred in a period o f increased rain fall (1975).

shown

how

the

E lm

D eclin e

a ctu ally

taken as a d eliberate prep aration for farm ing.

T h is had the effect o f ch an gin g the com position

T h is definition confines the discussion to the

o f lake sedim ents and o f increasing the rate at

N eolithic and later periods, and the relevan ce o f

w hich pollen grains w ere deposited. T h e re are,

changes in the course o f M esolithic hu n tin g w ill

o f course, am biguities in this evidence, since

be considered sep arately. E ven w ith this lim i­

increased rain fall and h u m a n ly generated erosion

tation, m uch o f the evidence is controversial

can both h ave played a part. O th e r authorities

and alm ost all o f it uneven. T h ere are few

see a fall in tem peratu re and a d eterioration

arch aeological sites show ing en viron m ental ev i­

o f soils w ith in

dence and even few er palaeoecological studies

1966; P ennington, 1975).

this

cru cial

phase

(F renzel,

w hich allow a clear correlation w ith these. T h e

It is essential to separate the differen t strands

ecologist’s lon g-standin g interest in forest history

in the argum ent. Som e o f the difficulties m ay

has also m eant that m uch

evidence

now have been p a rtly offset b y w ork in n orth­

em phasises N eolithic p ractice at the expense o f

w est S cotlan d (P ennington et aL, 1972). H ere

o f the

later developm ents. The

second

part

the situation is sim plified in tw o ve ry im p ortan t o f this

chap ter

w ill

be

w a ys: the areas chosen for study show ed no

concerned w ith the transfer o f settlem ents into

arch aeological evidence for clearan ce at this early

the new ly cleared areas.

d a te;

and

in

an y

case

they

seem

to

h ave

supported too low a proportion o f elm in the T H E B E G I N N I N G OF A G R I C U L T U R A L

T h e actu al onset o f N eolithic clearan ce is not

n atu ral forest for a n y econ om y based on its exp loitation to have been w orth w h ile. In fact, elm was on ly really com m on in parts o f Irelan d ,

easy to recognise. T h ere is still no real agreem ent

south-w est W ales and C o rn w a ll (Birks, D eaco n

on

w h ich

and P eglar, 1975). D espite these q u alification s,

marks the division betw een zones V i l a and b

there was still evidence for an elm d ecline in

in the b o ta n ical literatu re and b etw een the M esolithic and the N eolithic in a rch aeology.

this area, an observation w h ich m akes it difficult to accep t a pu rely an th rop ogen ic origin . T h is

CLEARANCE

the

n ature

Its clearest

o f the

E lm

characteristic

D ecline,

is its virtu al

syn-

agrees w ith another observation, one w hich has

chroneity across the British Isles (Sm ith, A . G .

alw ays created

and P ilcher, 1973). T h e re is d ifficu lty in choosing

presentation o f elm pollen seems to have d ropped

difficulties:

alth ou gh

the

re­

a single exp lan ation , especially since the Elm

a b ru p tly close to 3000 b .c., the d etailed v a r i­

D ecline is such a com plex phenom enon. Iversen

ations in other species at this tim e are not p a rticu ­

interpreted the initial fall in elm pollen as a

larly consistent and, taken on their ow n, w ou ld not

p urely clim atic effect and on ly saw its later

alw ays be enough to suggest hum an a ctiv ity . T o

cu rtailm en t as a ‘lan d n a m ’ or lan d -clearan ce

some extent the presentation o f pollen diagram s

phase (19 4 1). M o re recen tly there has been a tenden cy to extend the cu ltu ral in terpretation

b y p ercen tage rath er than b y absolute frequ en cy m ay be to b lam e for this confu sion; it can even

to the earlier episode, and it has now been

p roduce q u ite spurious episodes w h ich are a

pa rtly exp lain ed b y the selective gath erin g o f

p rod u ct o f the m ethod itself (cf. P enn ington ,

le a f fodder (Troels Sm ith, i960). Proponents o f

! 973> P- 96 )-

A Pure Soil - Clearance and Colonisation

7

A m ore rew ard in g approach m ay be the one

drained soils into less favou rable areas; and, on a

adopted b y Sims at H o ckh am M ere, w here a

larger scale, it also contradicts the notion that

com plex E lm D eclin e was revealed b y absolute

farm in g was gra d u ally introduced across E urope

pollen analysis and certain ly included cereals

from south-east to north-west. In the second case,

and other indicants o f hum an a ctiv ity (1973,

A m m erm an and C av alli-S fo rza have tried to

T a b le 1). Sims him self view s the E lm D ecline

show that the earliest rad iocarb on dates for

as a result o f m an ’s interference, bu t also accepts

N eolithic a ctiv ity in different regions support

that there is evidence for clim atic deterioration

the spread o f agriculture from its traditional

in this period. H e has suggested that a result

areas o f origin at an approxim ately constant

o f this ch an ge in clim ate and o f soil deterioration

rate (19 7 1). A lth o u gh their detailed selection o f

m ight have been to force the popu lation to

rad iocarb on dates has m et w ith criticism (E vett,

‘ch an ge from a nom adic existence to one w here a stable com m u n ity was bu ilt u p ’ , in effect a

1973)5 general trend w hich they expose still seems to be correct. It conflicts absolutely w ith

ch an ge from ‘incipient a g ricu ltu re’ to the more

the synchroneity o f the Elm D ecline. A second difficulty arises if an attem p t is

intensive system in evidence on this site. T h e arch aeological im plications o f this sugges­

m ade to set the M esolithic/N eolithic transition

tion are interesting, w hether or not Sim s’s d e­

as late as the E lm D ecline. T h e greatest problem

tailed argum ents are accepted. T h e y suggest that

w ith the late M esolithic is sim ply its failure to

the E lm D eclin e does not m ark the b egin n in g o f

m eet

N eolithic clearan ce but m ay correspond m ore

m ajority o f rad iocarb on dates still seem to lie

up

w ith

the

succeeding

period.

The

closely w ith a period o f intensified activity. I f so,

in the fifth m illennium b .c., w ith on ly a sm all

it becom es less o f an archaeological problem , and

n um ber in the earlier fourth m illennium . T his

the pioneerin g phases o f clearan ce must be sought

applies p a rticu la rly in southern E ngland , w here

at an earlier date.

M esolith ic and N eolithic distributions overlap,

T h ere are three reasons for accep tin g this

bu t not, for instance, in western Scotlan d, w here

revision. T h e most serious objection to con ­

C ly d e C airns and O b a n ia n shell m iddens show

n ecting the first period o f clearance to the E lm

an alm ost com plem en tary distribution. In Ire ­

D ecline is its ve ry synchroneity. T h is poses two

land

problem s w hich this m odel could not contain.

(W oodm an , 1974b). W h a t a pparen tly happens

It runs counter to the distributional evidence for

in most parts o f B ritain is that the frequency o f

a slow expansion o f settlem ent from lighter, w ell-

dated sites declines, follow ing a classic S-shaped

the

degree

o f overlap

is controversial

MESOLITHIC

0

3500 be

4000b.c.

NEOLITHIC

10

2:1

3000b.c.

C h ro n olog ical distribution o f late M esolithic and early N eolithic rad iocarb on dates from southern E n glan d , plotted at tw o standard deviations.

8

A Pure Soil — Clearance and Colonisation

cu rve, before an y N eolithic a ctiv ity replaces them

for the presence o f open grassland on the ch alk

(fig. 2 :1 ). T h is suggests three a ltern ative solu­

at this tim e, and L im b rey now considers this to

tions : to invoke an independent dem ise o f M eso­

be related, not to an initial large-scale clearan ce,

lithic

bu t to a developed stage o f settlem ent after

a ctiv ity ,

for

w hich

there

is no

other

evid en ce; "to assume that this is a fortuitous

earlier a ctiv ity had depleted the soil, w ith the

prod uct o f arch aeological sam pling; or to pos­

loss o f part o f its m olluscan fau na (1975, p. 185).

tulate that the pioneering stage o f the N eolithic

T h e extent to w hich the pu b lic m onum ents

began in the earlier fourth m illennium b.c. and

m ay relate to this level o f organisation can be

led to progressive accu lturation.

dem onstrated b y a sim ple exam ple. T h e clearin g

T h ere are good reasons for a ccep tin g this last

at H o ck h am M ere seems to have lasted a b ou t

altern ative. T h e dates at present a va ila b le for

230 rad iocarb on years, w ith an initial d ate o f

extended clearings are very m uch the sam e as

3036 ± 1 1 5 b.c. (Q,— 1048). F ollo w in g the w ork

those for large N eolithic m onum ents. C ase has

o f T a u b e r, Sims has attem p ted to relate the

argued co gen tly that the difficulties o f pioneer

position o f his sam pling site to the pollen c a tc h ­

agricu ltu re, p a rticu la rly after settlem ent b y sea,

m ent w hich it represents (1973, p. 233). His sm allest estim ate is an area o f 36 sq. km . A ssum ­

w ould not allow such undertakings until the population had ach ieved a ‘stable ad ju stm ent’ to

ing that this overall episode (or episodes) lasted

its new surroundings, perhaps at a tim e w hen

rou gh ly

hu n tin g was a lrea d y less viab le (1969, cf. Sims,

estim ate

1973s P- 234)- I f this w ere so, Sim s’s suggestion m ight be p a rtly correct, and a clim atic flu ctu a ­

strippin g this area o f trees, assum ing th at no part

tion,

m akes use o f the felling rate for stone axes

m irrored

to some

extent

in

the

E lm

250 calendar years, it is possible the

m inim um

effort

in volved

to in

w as cleared m ore than once. T h is calcu latio n

D ecline, w ould also correspond w ith the first

provided b y Iversen. T h is suggests

period o f extended farm ing. T h is could accou n t

sm allest w ork-effort requ ired for clearan ce w ould

that the

T A B L E 1: The Neolithic clearance at Hockham Mere Effects on forest

Agricultural indicators

Interpretation

T e m p o ra ry lo ca l red u ctio n

P io n eer settlem en t and w o o d la n d g ra zin g

S econ d te m p o ra ry red u ctio n

A s ab o v e

C le a ra n ce o f m ajor trees

E L M D E C L IN E

Y o u n g trees felled ; o ld er trees rin ge d

Som e colo n isation and scru b

D ry in g o f tim ber

C le a ra n ce o f scru b

B u rn in g o f dried w o od

A p p e a ra n c e o f grasslan d S tart o f re gen eratio n

C e re als and grasslan d

R e g e n era tio n o f elm and ash

S h iftin g a g ric u ltu re w ith w o o d la n d g ra zin g . R e d u c tio n o f n utrients le a d in g to g rea te r g ra zin g . M ix e d farm in g . T w o phases, the second on a g rea te r scale D e p letio n o f soil n utrients A bandonm ent

F u ll se co n d a ry forest M in im u m p ollen ca tc h m e n t c. 36 sq. km. E lm D e clin e to fall o f herb p ollen c. 236 ra d io ca rb o n years. B ased on d a ta from Sim s 1973.

A Pure Soil - Clearance and Colonisation

9

have been abou t 4,000 m an-hours per annum .

m ent here w hich was partly responsible for the

T his corresponds q u ite closely w ith estim ates o f

extension o f this period back from

the w ork requirem ent for bu ild in g an earthen

third m illennium b.c. It now appears that even

long b arrow (R enfrew , 1973a, p. 547). But it

this date m ay b elong to a developed phase. In no

the later

must be added that Sims him self adm its that

case is the C u m b rian evidence decisive, but it is

his calculations are tentative - and this applies

perhaps significant that five o f the six sites w ith

even more to the present schem e.

possible pioneer clearings are situated near the

T hese argum ents im p ly clearance before the

coast (fig. 2 :2 ).

E lm D ecline, but none o f them prove it. H o w ­

E vid en ce is not confined to C u m b ria and

ever, there is pollen evidence w hich is quite con ­

N orthern Irelan d , although these are the areas

sistent w ith this outline. Six sites in C u m b ria

w here pollen analysts have been most active. In

h ave dem onstrated clearan ce before the Elm

East A n glia , D im b leb y and Evans concluded that

D ecline, and w ork in Ireland and elsewhere is

the first forest clearance at Broom e H eath took

givin g sim ilar results. M ost botanists have so far

place abou t 3500 b.c. (in W ain w right, 1972, pp.

treated these episodes as a M esolithic pheno­

86 ff.), and recently published w ork on the

m enon, not because o f their p articu lar character,

N orth Yorksh ire M oors raises sim ilar (Spratt and Sim m ons, 1976):

but because o f the dem ands o f the p revailing N eolithic chronology. A . G . Sm ith, how ever, has cast doubts on this procedure, pointing out how the date o f the first clearance at B allyscullion corresponds very closely w ith those from the N eolithic

settlem ent

at

B ally n a gilly

(1975).

W oo d m an has also argued that hunting, w ith or w ith ou t burn ing, was not im portant in the Irish M esolithic (1976). Pennington, w orkin g in C u m b ria , has preferred a M esolithic context for sim ilar episodes, although she specifically noted

issues

A feature o f the period around the Ulmus decline is the conglom eration o f sm all forest recessions ju st prior to that event, so that the decline o f Ulmus its e lf. . . appears as the culm in ation o f a series o f clearances rather than suddenly. Such interference phases m ight represent the end o f M esolithic occupation or m ight eq u ally be due to initial N eolithic incursions.

that the early clearan ce at Blea T a rn was not

O n ce again the nature o f these early episodes is

v e ry d ifferent from a later episode on the same

not apparent, and the authors suggest that they

site: ‘ the N eolith ic effect on the p rim ary ve g e­

m ight show some opening o f the upland forest

tation was, though m ore intense, similar in kind to one o f Mesolithic date for which no material

for hunting. T h e y note that the specifically N eolithic clearings on the moors ‘w ere m ore

evidence in artefacts remains’ (1975) (m y italics). Elsew here in the L ak e D istrict there are per­ haps five other sites dem onstrating clearance

pronounced than those o f M esolithic times, but

before the E lm D ecline. A t Storrs Moss, w here w orked tim ber was recovered in excavation,

easy to characterise these early clearings. N ot

there w ere two such episodes, the later possibly

at B allyscullion m ay have covered a cen tury.

associated w ith

not different in kind’ (m y italics). As this last quotation makes clear, it is not all w ere o f short duration, and the first episode

in

T h ere is little evidence for the use o f fire, except

P ow ell et al., 1971)- A t W illiam son ’s Moss there is greater am b igu ity, since both M esolithic and

at Storrs Moss, w here arable farm ing is also a

N eolithic artefacts are know n near the sam pling

included cereals but these are in evidence from

arable

farm ing

(O ld field

possibility. N one o f these clearings seems to have

site. A t W illiam son ’s M oss and again at B arfield

the Elm D ecline onw ards. Joh n Coles has argued,

T a rn , these m inor episodes w ere follow ed by

on the basis o f m ore recent pioneer agriculture,

clearan ce for cu ltivation at the E lm D ecline

that the earliest interference w ith

(Pennington, 1975, p. 84). A n oth er precocious

w ould have left little or no pollen evidence

clearin g was at Ehenside T a rn (W alker, 1966);

(1976). I f this is true, it m ay be m ore rew ard ­ ing to isolate the arch aeological traces o f this

it was a rad iocarb on date for the N eolithic settle­

the forest

io

A Pure Soil — Clearance and Colonisation

ea rly phase. A p S im o n has alread y suggested an

ever, there is w idespread trad itio n al evid ence

‘E arliest N eo lith ic’ period ending a b ou t 3500 b.c.

that the ecological preferences o f p a rticu la r trees

T h ere need not be any conflict betw een this

and plants are n orm ally w ell understood. J o h n

(1976). As

C oles has recen tly considered the a rch a eo lo g ica l

A . G . S m ith has rem arked, ‘ It m ay be that the

im plications o f pioneer agricu ltu re in C a n a d a

decline in elm is overem phasised both in the

and R ussia (1976). H ere tree types w ere certain ly

pollen d iagram s and in the literatu re’ (1970,

em ployed as a gu id e to local fertility and w in d ­

p- 9 0 -

falls w ere also used as a m eans o f exam in in g

suggestion and the pollen record

the subsoil. A n o th er clu e to soil conditions was THE C L EARAN CE

OF W O O D L A N D

Evidence from analogy

the ease o f splitting these w indfalls. B ecause o f the tim e required to prep are the grou n d for a gricu ltu re areas w ith n atu ral p lan t foods w ere

The location o f clearings In all pioneerin g a gri­

also favoured, a proced u re w h ich w as recom ­

culture the choice o f clearance site is especially

m ended b y L ord B acon.

cru cial, the m ore so since the farm er m ay have

T h e re h ave been suggestions that ea rly N eo ­

no exp erience o f the area to gu id e him . H o w ­

lithic farm ers sp ecifically sought ou t areas w here

0 2 :2

5 km T h e location o f pre-E lm D eclin e clearings in C u m b ria.

A Pure Soil - Clearance and Colonisation

11

p articu lar trees w ere grow in g. T h is is one ex­

and burnt, leavin g the forest floor open to light-

planation o f the events in those parts o f Ireland

lovin g plants. A further alternative was suggested

w here elm was the com m onest tree. M itch ell

in W a lk e r’s study o f N eolith ic a ctiv ity in C u m b ria

(1956)

has suggested that the pioneer settlers in

(1966), that trees m ight m erely h ave been ring-

such areas selected relativ ely pure stands o f elm , p a rtly as a source o f le a f fodder, but p rin cip a lly

barked and the interven ing spaces used until

as a clue to local fertility. T h e one d ifficu lty w ith

years after the b ark was rem oved. T h ere is some

this argum en t is that elm is n otoriously d ifficult

evidence for this type o f procedure from the

to w ork. V e r y m uch the sam e approach m ay

Swiss site o f N ied erw il. T h is was a settlem ent

a p p ly to the later fall o f lim e pollen (T u rner,

provid in g rem arkab le evidence o f w aterlogged

J ., 1962). T h is was at one tim e seen as another

tim ber buildings. O n e curious feature o f the

clim a tically induced phenom enon, bu t now it

site was that the sequence o f houses established in

these had died. T h is m igh t be five to fifteen

appears to result from hum an interference. L im e

excavation did not correspond to the sequence

m ay have been selected as another source o f

o f felling established b y d en drochron ology. T h e

fodder, or indeed o f bast, bu t again its c h ief

excavator, W aterb o lk , argues that some o f the

im portance m ay h ave been as a gu ide to better

trees w ere not a ctu ally felled, bu t w ere ring-

q u a lity soils. T h ere is the further com plication

barked, and then left standing until the tim ber

that both elm and lim e are slow to recover from

was needed (1972). A va rian t o f this a rran ge­

interference and do not release pollen again for

m ent is to attack the sm aller trees in itially and

several years.

to fell the larger ones a year or so later.

Selective clearance O n e extension o f this principle

allow ed ligh t-lovin g plants to flourish, the effects

is through forest m anagem ent, the careful m an i­

o f grazin g anim als w ould assume increasing im ­

pulation o f w ood land

In each case, once the initial open in g had

areas to fulfil specific

portance. C a ttle, and p articu la rly pigs, h ave a

tim ber requirem ents. It is d ifficult to use pollen

most destructive effect on w ood land , not on ly b y

analysis to investigate selective interference o f this kind, m ain ly because the intervals betw een

suppressing

regrow th and pollin ation v a ry from one species

observed that in w inter cattle can even strip

to another. T h e regu lar cu llin g o f one p articu lar

elm bark (1975, p. 65). It is possible that b y

tree can lead to its virtu al exclusion from the

carefu lly controlled g ra zin g at the right intensity

pollen record and the over-representation o f others o f far less econom ic im portance (cf.

forest clearings could be m aintained and even extended. C on versely, cattle w ill not attack the

R a ck h a m ,

secon dary

grow th,

but

also

by

atta ck in g the trees them selves. A . G . Sm ith has

high

you n g shoots o f h azel and this m ay be one

Som erset

reason w h y it increases its holding in secondary

Levels does suggest N eolithic and B ron ze A g e

forest. G roen m an -van -W aaterin ge has recently

copp icin g, and preserved w ood show ing ap p ro­

argued that controlled grazin g o f this kind can also lead to the creation o f hedges (1972). She points out that a num ber o f characteristic hedge

1976, p. 82). E ven so, the

proportion o f hazel

pollen

in

the

priate grow th patterns has now been excavated (Coles, J . and O rm e, 1976; cf. T u rn er, J ., 1965, p. 3 5 1). P ollard in g w ou ld also have been em ­

plants are a lread y recorded as pollen or ch arcoal

ployed in later prehistory to supply the m any

in British N eolithic contexts. O n a rather sim ilar

oak tim bers used in defensive and dom estic architecture.

principle, P ollard has used the species com ­

O th e r

forms

o f selective

interference

are

position o f some m odern hedges to suggest their origins in m edieval w ood land (1973).

eq u ally hard to confirm on the basis o f ph ysical evidence. O n e a ltern ative to the total strippin g

Complete clearance F ull clearan ce proceeds in tw o

o f tree cover is the d eliberate rem oval o f the

w a y s : b y felling or b y fire setting. T h e actu al

upper can opy, retain in g on ly the trunks. T h e cu t m aterial can then be spread on the ground

choice o f m ethod w ill p ro b ab ly be governed b y both the size and the hardness o f the tim ber.

12

A Pure Soil - Clearance and Colonisation

T h ere is now a va lu a b le b od y o f exp erim ental

stages until

w ork on the problem s o f felling and from this it w ould ap p ear that stone axes can be alm ost as

( 1957) * F ellin g m ight have taken place in early sum m er, w hen the sap was no lon ger rising and

efficient as m etal tools. T h e best-know n exp eri­

when there was tim e for the w ood to d ry. In

m ent (Iversen, 1956) suggested th at one a rch a e­

R ussia b ark was stripped from felled trees to

the

groun d

was

fu lly

prep ared

ologist could clear a b ou t a hectare o f forest in

hasten this process (Coles, J ., 1976). Slow fires

five weeks. In eigh teen th -cen tu ry C a n a d a the

w ere essential and needed carefu l m anagem ent.

felling rate using a steel axe w as ro u gh ly d ou b le

O n e techn ique w as the rollin g o f logs. N ot all

this figure, b u t in m odern B razil clearan ce w ith

tim ber

m etal tools is at a rate o f a b ou t one h ectare a

exam ple, p rovid in g m ore ash than oth er trees

was

eq u a lly

prod u ctive,

alder,

for

m onth (Coles, J ., 1973, pp. 20 ff.). T h e re are

(Coles, J ., 1976). In som e cases felled tim ber was

m an y im pon derables, such as the precise w a y in

a ctu a lly im ported to be b u rn t, and E styn E vans

w hich d ifferen t tools w ere used, and the tim e

has pointed out how u p to 4 hectares o f w ood lan d

needed to fell trees o f different sizes. S tartin

could be b u rn t to nourish the soil in a tenth

( 1976)

7

o f this area (1975, p. 3). In a n y cycle o f shifting

m inutes for fellin g a tree 15 cm across to 90

gives

estim ates

w hich

ran ge

from

exp loitation firebreaks m ight also be needed to

m inutes for one 60 cm across. E vid en ce from

protect the secon dary cover in ad join in g plots

preserved tim bers shows v e ry clearly that felling

(cf. C on klin , 1957). T h e re w ou ld also be a need

n orm ally depen ded not on b ru te force b u t on

for

sp lin tering

secon d ary forest, though rath er easier, w ould

o ff

chips

around

the

trunk

to

create a ‘sharpened p en cil’ outline. T o o l m arks

fencing.

The

even tu al

clearan ce

o f the

h ave follow ed sim ilar lines.

on felled tim bers found in the Som erset L evels suggest the use o f an axe rath er than chisels and

w edges, alth ou gh

w ooden

w edges

w ere

alm ost certain ly used in cleav in g planks (Coles,

Artefact evidence T h e arch aeological evid ence is lim ited b u t cer­

J ., H ib b ert and O rm e, 1973). F ire setting w ould

tain ly conform s to this schem e. T h e re is above

n orm ally be reserved for the larger or m ore

all a large corpus o f artefacts, co n v en tio n ally

resistant trees. S tartin suggests that those o f m ore than 60 cm d iam eter w ou ld on ly be cu t dow n is consistent w ith the p ractice in Som erset, w here

associated w ith clearan ce, and span nin g a period o f perhaps 2,000 years. For all its ab u n d an ce, this m aterial is little understood. T h e ch ro n ology o f flint and stone axes is on ly d ocu m en ted in

the larger trees w ere used. C arefu lly m anaged,

p a rt; their overall distribution has never been

to su p p ly b u ild in g m aterial (1976, p. 11). T h is

fire setting need not be labour-intensive and

c o m p ile d ; and there are even difficulties in u n d er­

S haw has described an instance in W est A frica w here a tree 44 m high was d espatched in six

stan din g their use. T h e re can be little d o u b t that m an y o f the tools n orm ally described as

hours (1969). B urn t tree stum ps are on record

axes

from Storrs M oss in the N eolithic and T h o rn e

evident sim ilarity o f form . Som e o f these ‘axes’

had

very

varied

functions,

despite

an

W aste in the L a te B ronze A g e (P ow ell et al.,

are far too sm all to have been used d irectly

19 7 1; B u ck lan d , 1976).

in forestry and m ay h ave served as chisels or

In either case a large am ou n t o f debris w ould

leath erw orkin g tools. O th ers again are too large

then need to be b u rn t, not on ly to clear the

to h ave been used at all. In som e cases their

groun d b u t also to eradicate weeds. A n d for

v ery q u a lity gives them a w a y ; the ja d e axes

clearan ce

im ported into B ritain in the N eolith ic are one

to be

fu lly

effective

it

m igh t

be

necessary to rem ove the boles o f dead trees, alth ou gh these w ou ld even tu a lly rot in the

exam ple

groun d . B u rn in g w ou ld need to be thorough,

1929, p. 113 ). T h e sym bolic aspects o f the larger item s h ave been considered b y Sh erratt

and carefu lly controlled. C o n k lin ’s observations show that it could be undertaken in several

(C am p b e ll S m ith,

1963), the ch alk

‘axes’ from W oo d h en g e anoth er (C u n n in gton ,

(1976) and T y le r has shown that the w eights o f

.4 Pure Soil flint axes can fall into three distinct groups (1976)T h ere are p ro b ab ly four functions to be dis­

Clearance and Colonisation

13

w ith L ate B ronze A ge axes). It was not until the Iron A g e that a suitable replacem en t for the h eavy stone tool was found. In this period

tinguished : axes s trieto sensu, adzes, stone wedges,

also the m odern type o f saw was developed.

and hoes or m attocks for use in cu ltivation .

Iron

A lth o u gh

some

tim e (cf. M an n in g, 1970).

separating

the

progress

can

be

m ade

in

hoes w ere

another

inn ovation

at

that

m orphological

It is on ly in the N eolithic that these items

grounds, the others are better distinguished b y

show really clear spatial patterns. W h a tev er the

analysis

precise functions o f ‘axes’ as a class,

of

first

two

ed ge-w ear

on

patterns.

Sonnenfeld

some

(1963) has done experim ental w ork on hoes, but

relationship w ith clearan ce and cu ltivation is

this approach has yet to be extended to British

inescapable. B ut there is a problem , in that their

m aterial. S tartin has shown evidence that stone

num bers on the ground can not be treated as any

wedges m ight w ell have been perforated towards

index o f the intensity o f clearance. In C u m b ria,

the b utt. A

w here the chronology o f L an g d a le axes offers

co m p aratively slight shaft could the w ed ge in

some control, there is an inverse relationship

place from a position o f safety (1976, p. 9). T h is

betw een the intensity o f activity, as m easured

interpretation could w ell be applied to E uropean

by

shoe-last adzes and to some o f the British axe

N eolithic axes in the field (B radley, 1972). These

then have been used to hold

pollen

analysis,

and

the

distribution

of

ham m ers, both o f w hich have been claim ed,

are most frequent in the areas w ith less d u rab le

am ongst other things, as agricu ltu ral tools (cf.

or extensive clearance. In W essex and the Cots-

Fow ler, 19 7 1; B rad ley, 1972). O n e site w here

w olds, the same relationship exists betw een the

this could a p p ly is Barm s ton in Y orkshire, w here

areas w ith pu b lic m onum ents, w hich m ay have

V a r le y found a q u an tity o f felled and ap p aren tly

been constructed in grassland, and the m ain

shaped tim ber associated w ith three o f these

d istribution o f axe finds (cf. T y le r, 1976). In

tools (1968). A p a rt from edge-w ear analysis,

each case this distribution

w ork is in progress on the extan t rem ains o f

repeated bu t lim ited onslaughts on forest or

felled tim bers, and the evidence from Som erset

cu ltivated land, and few er finds are m ade w here

is a

m easure o f

and

the ground rem ained open for longer. S im ilarly,

w ooden w edges early in the N eolithic (Coles, J .,

in the early B ronze A g e axe ham m ers are absent

certain ly shows the use o f axes,

adzes

H ib b ert and O rm e, 1973). T h e few British ‘axe-

in those parts o f C u m b ria w ith pollen evidence

heads’ w ith hafts have now been review ed by Savory, but on ly in terms o f pan oram ic cu ltu ral diffusion (19 7 1).

for grassland (B radley, 1972).

Chronological trends

T h e chron ology o f stone axes is still un certain, and there is conflict betw een the evidence from

T h ere are some chronological trends w ith in this

the prod uction sites and the few discoveries o f these tools in B ronze A g e contexts. In deed, on M id d le B ronze A g e sites they have been dis­

evidence. T hese relate to the location o f clear­ ings, the techniques o f felling and the econom ic possibilities o f pioneer agriculture.

missed as rubbish survivals (e.g. Stone, 1941, p.

O n e w a y o f view in g the grad u al retreat o f the

136). In fact, there are dates as late as the

forest is to com pare the ratios o f arb oreal and

fourteenth cen tu ry b.c. for antler picks from flint

n on-arboreal pollen betw een a series o f sites, but

mines and the tw elfth cen tu ry b.c. for the pro­

the use o f this m ethod for d atin g does o f course

duction o f other axes. It was on ly in the L ate

presuppose a fairly sim ple and uniform process

B ronze A g e that a full range o f w ood w o rkin g

o f clearance. O n e area w here it has been em ­

tools was developed , and it is dou b tfu l w hether

ployed w ith some success is the N ew Forest,

bronze im plem ents played m uch part in p rim ary

w here D im b leb y has suggested the relative se­ q u ence o f a num ber o f barrow s and other earth ­

clearan ce (but see G od w in and C liffo rd , 1938, p. 394, for w aterlogged oak and pine trees felled

works (1954). It is possible to m ake a d ifferent

14

A Pure Soil - Clearance and Colonisation

use o f this same principle. F igu re 2 :3 sum m arises this ratio for all the reliab ly dated clearan ce phases in E n glan d , Scotlan d and W ales. T h e basic sam ple is that used b y G o d w in (1975), w ith

3000 ■

some subsequent additions. O n ly clearings w ith rad iocarb on dates or d irect arch aeological as­ sociations have been used. T o ensure co m p a ra ­

2800

b ility soil-pollen analyses are not inclu d ed . T h is ratio is plotted on a 400-year m oving average, om ittin g the later N eolith ic w here too little d ata is a va ila b le for calcu lation s o f this kind. T h e

2400

resulting d iag ra m m erely sum m arises the local en viron m ent o f these p articu lar clearan ce hori­ zons. For this reason it m ay be regarded as some reflection o f the processes described above. Settin g aside the later N eolithic w here there is not enough evidence, there seem to be

2000

two

general cycles tow ards open cou n try, one b eg in ­ ning in the earlier N eolith ic and possibly ga in in g m om entum on ly b y the second m illennium b .c .; and a second, m ore rap id cycle, b egin n in g w ith the first m illenn ium . T h ere are tw o w ays o f

Q 1600

.Q

NON-ARBOREAL POLLEN

ARBOREAL POLLEN

vie w in g this p a tte r n : either as a prolon ged cycle o f clearan ce, regeneration and renew ed cle ar­ ance, or as a series o f successive onslaughts on the lan d scap e o f different areas. T h e second

1200

in terpretation seems m ore ap p rop riate, and on this basis the h igh er ratios o f arb oreal pollen m ight d enote those phases in w hich clearan ce w as d irected into m ore w ooded areas, in clu d in g

800

p rim ary forest. C on versely, low er ratios m ight represent a ctiv ity in those zones w h ich

had

alrea d y b een stron gly affected. W h a t this d iagram im plies is that the cycle o f forest cle ar­ ance discussed so far is one w hich was not

400

specific to a single period or to a single eco­ nom ic regim e. M u c h o f the discussion o f N eolithic pioneer agricu ltu re m ight a p p ly to the L ate Bronze A g e too. It is possible that other changes in the nature

0

o f forest clearan ce can be recognised from m ore

0

20

40

%

60

80

100

con ven tion al sources. O n e such ch an ge m ay in fact span the con ven tion al N eolithic/B ronze A g e division. It is perhaps first seen in the massive tim ber constructions o f the southern English henges, w h ich necessitated the shapin g o f oak uprights up to a m etre in d iam eter. T h ose at D u rrin g ton W alls w ere alm ost certain ly b rou ght

2 :3

T h e percentages o f arb oreal and nonarb oreal pollen in d ated clearan ce horizons, plotted on a 400-year m ovin g average. D ates w ere o rigin ally plotted at tw o standard deviations.

A Pure Soil - Clearance and Colonisation to the site from a llu vial or G recnsand deposits

lim ited

some distance aw ay, and yet the artefacts from

extent o f clearance m ay have perm itted corre­

the excavation

sponding changes in the econom y. B u rn ing is not ju st a means o f clearin g a w ay

w ood w orking

included tools

on ly

seven

(W ain w righ t

and

possible L ong-

and

for this

reason

changes

in

15 the

w orth, 1971, p. 222). T h is is in com plete con ­ trast w ith the n um ber o f antler picks abandoned

debris. In an eq u ilib riu m ecosystem there is a

after d iggin g the ditch. T h e im plication must

be passed to the consum er, w hile the rem ain ing

be that m uch o f the p relim inary shaping w ork

90 per cent has to be recycled through the litter

was carried out at the felling site, a reasonable

food chain. In a w ooded environm ent m uch o f

enough procedure considering the w eight o f w ood to be m oved. But this does not explain

the biom ass is concentrated above the ground in trunks, branches and foliage, w ith a finite

the rarity o f sm aller tools at the site itself, and

hum us com ponent in the subsoil. B u rn in g can

lim it o f abou t 1 o per cent to the energy w h ich can

it is possible that the detailed carp en try was

release these m ineral nutrients, but they are dis­

carried out w ith m etal im plem ents, rew orked

persed once a few crops have been taken (cf. W elin d er, 1975, pp. 28 ff.). I f the b u rn in g is

w hen they w ere blunted or broken. T h is problem becom es acute w ith M usson ’s reconstruction o f

too rapid, or if dense surface cover generates too

the circles as roofed buildings (in W a in w righ t and L on gw orth , 1971, pp. 363 ff.). A bronze axe

m uch heat, these advantages are put at risk,

has in fact been found in an eq u ivalen t con ­

advantages o f bu rn ing are relatively short-lived

text at the M o u n t Pleasant henge (W ain w righ t, 1970). T h is d ifficu lty m ay be solved b y Burgess’s

and crop yields soon start to fall, this can be

ch ro n ology for the period (1976a).

nutrients acquired by b u rn in g are gra d u ally lost,

and iron-rich soils can be harm ed. A lth o u gh the

partly due to com petition from weeds. As the

T h e m ajor transition m ay be a little later,

a len gth y period o f fallow in g becom es necessary,

and should perhaps appear w ith the adoption

but if b u rn in g is resum ed at the scrub stage

o f axe ham m ers early in the second m illen ­ nium b.c. I f any o f these w ere used in felling

this w ill be less prod u ctive and the soil itself

there could have been a grad u al ch an ge from

out, a shortening o f the fallow period can m ean

m ay need m ore attention. As Boserup has pointed

N eolithic techniques o f clearance to the use o f the

an increase in in d ivid u al w ork effort (1965). T o

beetle and w edge. It is quite possible that in the second m illennium b.c. clearance m ay have been

some extent this m ay be m irrored b y the use o f

directed tow ards soils w hich could support m ore substantial trees and, if so, the assem bling o f tim ber for the great henge m onum ents m ight be

observed that the plough can only be used in

only

that a num ber o f d u go u t canoes are o f the

often short-lived, this restriction w ould m ean that the plough m ight on ly be used on soils w hich had alread y proved them selves m ore than usually resilient. It m ay have been the conscious application o f m anure to these areas w hich did

same period, some o f them m ade from trunks up to i-6 m in diam eter and 15 m in length

several regions o f N eolithic Britain.

the start o f a

process.

In

the

earlier

Bronze A g e tree trunks over a m etre in d ia ­ m eter w ere ad ap ted as coffins (Ashbee, i960, p. 86), and recent rad iocarb on dates also reveal

m ore elaborate agricu ltu ral tools, but Coles has forest agricu ltu re after the tree stum ps have rotted

(1976). Because pioneer clearings are

most to sustain the extensive clearings know n in

(M cG ra il and Sw itsur, 1975). O th e r hollow ed

T h ere are also lim itations on stock raising in

tree trunks m ay have been used as cooking

a forested environm ent. In an interesting study o f

troughs (Sayce, 1945). In the L a te Bronze A g e

this problem , A n d rew Flem ing argues that there

there is a sim ilar relationship betw een the second

was little scope for the em ergence o f pastoral-

cycle o f forest clearan ce and the b u ild in g o f hill forts.

ism until a grassland landscape had developed

In each o f the m ajor onslaughts on the forest,

from sm all clearings and that from the larger

the ran ge o f econom ic options w ill have been

open areas. In the sm aller forest clearings it

(1972a). H e distinguishes betw een the evidence

16

A Pure Soil — Clearance and Colonisation

would be possible to obtain enough le a f fodder

accou n t for the ard m arks beneath S outh Street

to support a herd o f anim als, b u t this w ou ld be a considerable bu rd en . ‘I f 20 or 30 . . . cattle

lon g b arrow (1972, p. 364), b u t it m igh t also exp lain the eq u a lly short-lived cu ltivation w hich

required a square kilom etre o f forest b row sing

preceded the b u ild in g o f W a y la n d ’s S m ith y. In

d u rin g the sum m er, and the best part o f an ­

the L a te B ronze A g e, the presence o f w ood lan d

other for their w inter keep, dom estic anim als at

snails in the lynchets at R am s H ill invites a

this stage could never have been m ore than a

sim ilar conclusion, and here again it w as shown

sup plem en tary source o f foo d .’ In the case o f

that cu ltivation w as succeeded

the larger open areas, he offers a series o f altern a ­

(E vans in B ra d ley and Ellison, 1975, p. 143). O n ce established, these conditions lasted a m il­ lennium .

tive estim ates, d ra w n from eth n ograp h ic evi­ dence, for the relationship betw een p opu lation

by

grassland

and the total extent o f clearance. H is figures

T h e re is a considerable differen ce betw een

show that if h a lf the lan d w ere in fact used for cattle - and this w ou ld be essential if the soil

w ood lan d and grassland conditions. G rassland has m ore hum us per unit area than w ood lan d ,

w ere to rem ain p rod u ctive - no one w ould be able

and for this reason p rop erly m ain tained grass­

to keep m ore than abou t five anim als. O n ce

land has a greater poten tial under cu ltivation .

again a pastoral econ om y is seen to be rath er im p ro b ab le until w ood lan d had given w a y to

W elin d er has suggested that lan d used for g ro w ­

grassland.

ing crops m ay feed ten tim es as m an y people as it w ou ld w hen used as pasture (19 75). T h e re seems little d o u b t that a ltern ate h u sb and ry, the

THE CLEARANCE

OF G R A S S L A N D

a ltern ation o f cro p p in g and gra zin g , is u su ally m ore p rod u ctive than the m a in ten an ce o f p e rm a ­

T h e re seem to be tw o possible routes to the

nent pasture. T h e d ifficu lty is in cle arin g areas

creatio n o f open grassland. T h e first is evid en t

o f grassland once they h ad b ecom e established.

from som e o f the earlier exam ples. In these

G rass roots are resistant to o rd in a ry bu rn in g,

cases grassland cam e into b ein g less because it

and therefore Boserup argues that a p lou gh w ou ld

w as sp ecifically requ ired than as a consequence

be needed to clear grassland fallow (1965). T h is

o f m oun tin g pressure on w ood lan d . O n ce the p rim ary cover had been disturbed, the pioneer

m a y be a p p rop riate to m odern conditions but, as E styn E vans points out, there are grazed

farm ers initiated a cycle o f dim inishin g returns, in w h ich lan d that ou gh t to h ave reverted to forest was cleared at decreasin g intervals as crop

sw ards in Irelan d w h ich even to d a y are too

yields fell. U ltim a tely , all that m ight have been

tough for the plou gh (1975). T h is is a serious objection, since p ractical exp erim en t has shown

needed was the regu lar b u rn in g o f scrub. T h is

th at an ard w ou ld not be eq u al to the task o f clearan ce, p a rticu la rly i f it lacked an iron tip.

p roced ure could be consistent w ith popu lation

T h erefo re,

pressure, and each red u ction o f the fallow period

m igh t be o p e n : to retain the grassland as pasture

w ould in volve an increase in w ork effort w hich

w ith ou t a ttem p tin g cu ltiva tio n ; or to b reak it

was not com p letely offset b y an increase in p ro­

b y hand p rep ara to ry to a fresh phase o f p lo u g h ­

tw o a ltern ative

courses

o f action

d uction. T o this extent the creation o f open

ing. T h is runs counter to E styn E va n s’s ow n

grassland m ight be fortuitous, even unw elcom e.

view that in the N eolithic the ard m ight h ave

T h e second ap p ro a ch w as perhaps m ore care­

been used to break the soil before h an d -rid gin g.

fu lly calcu late d . H ere J o h n E vans has suggested

T h e re is some evid ence for the treatm en t o f

that the ard m ight h ave been used to b reak up the

grassland before iron was a va ila b le for ards and

surface in order to create pasture. T h is is an in ­

m attocks. S pad e irons are a R o m a n in n ovatio n

teresting reversal o f B oserup’s argu m en t, that

(M a n n in g , 1970). T w o N eolith ic sites are in ­ structive. A t W in d m ill H ill it appears that the

the p lough can be ad opted as the one m eans o f con tin u in g cu ltiva tio n under grassland fallow . It is a vie w that D r E vans first put forw ard to

tu rf had been stripped from the site before the enclosure b an k was built, an illo gical proced u re

A Pure Soil - Clearance and Colonisation

17

unless it was intended to release the subsoil for

from the waste, the tu rf being pared o ff the

tillage. T his layer showed signs o f possible dis­ turban ce (D im b leb y in I. F. Sm ith, 1965, pp. 34

surface as a necessary prelude to cu ltiva tio n ’ (1936). A rather sim ilar m ethod was adopted in

ff.). L ate r w ork on the associated snails supports

D u tch ‘ C eltic fields’ (Brongers, 1976, pp. 60 f f ) .

these observations, and D im b leb y has suggested that this was an early instance o f parin g and

F u rther evidence comes from B ronze A g e sites. A n um ber o f barrow s, some in m argin al areas,

b urn in g (cf. D im b leb y and E vans, 1974). T his

w ere origin ally b u ilt over furrows, possibly a

consists o f stripp in g o ff the sods, allow in g them to

result o f strippin g o ff the surface in this w ay.

d ry and then b urn in g them to nourish the soil (cf.

T hese barrow s include L atch Farm in H a m p ­

G a ile y and Fenton, 1970). T h ere m ay also be some

shire, Sim ondston C airn in South W ales and

an a logy w ith D alladies, w here 0-75 hectares o f

W in d H ill in L an cashire (P iggott, C ., 1938, fig. 2;

tu rfw e re c u tfo ru se in the long b arro w (Piggott, S. 1972a). T h e total effort required for this o p era­

F ox, C ., 1959, fig. 50b; T yson , 1972; see fig.

tion was estim ated to be 5,750 m an-hours, the

d raw n sections bu t w ere not identified in e x c a v a ­

2 :4 ). O n these sites the furrows appear in the

eq u ivalen t on other sites o f d iggin g a q u arry

tion. A t A scot in Berkshire the furrows under a

ditch. T h e excavator com m ented that this was

bell barrow w ere associated w ith scattered ch a r­

an extrem ely wasteful procedure, since the w hole o f this area had been ‘rendered useless for plough

coal and a peak o f cereal pollen (B radley and K eith -L u cas, 1975). T h ere was some sim ilarity

or pasture’ . Som e o f this m aterial certain ly in­

betw een the size o f turves used in this b arrow

corp orated oak ch arcoal, but P ig g o tt’s reference

and the w id th o f the excavated furrows.

to layers o f ‘burn t tu r f calls to m ind D im b le b y ’s

T h e tool used in tu rf stripping m ay not alw ays

earlier suggestion, alth ou gh it m ay be that the

have been the sam e. In some cases a stone or

sods w ere stripped to such a depth that too little

bronze axe, m ounted as a m attock, m ight have

soil was left. T h ere m ay be some an alogy w ith

been sufficient, and there is certain ly evidence

C ra w fo rd ’s description o f traditional tu rf w a lls :

that both w ere used in d iggin g chalk in this

‘T hese w ere once com m on in the . . . south o f

period. A n th o n y H a rd in g has now suggested that

E n glan d w here they w ere erected round intakes

some bronze ‘axes’ w ere agricu ltu ral tools (1976).

(a)

(b) (c)

(d)

0 2 :4

4m

Profiles o f buried soils show ing possible furrow s: (a) A scot (B radley and K eith -L u cas, 1975); (b) L atch F arm (Piggott, C ., 1938); (c) W in d H ill (Tyson, 1972); (d) Sim ondston C a irn (Fox, C ., 1959).

18

A Pure Soil - Clearance and Colonisation

O therw ise, a w ooden spade w ou ld h ave been

eroded or d eep ly disturbed before q u an tities o f

p erfectly ad equ ate and there is evidence for these

boulders are released (F lem ing,

in the B ronze A g e at G w ith ia n and S kaill and in

applies as m uch to erosion through o ver-g razin g

the Iron

as it does to cereal a gricu ltu re, and field cle ar­

Age

at

D an eb u ry

D u n a in (T h om as, C .,

and

R u d h ’ an

1970; Shep herd , 1976;

19 7 1a ). T h is

ance tod ay is as ch aracteristic o f pasture as it is

B. C u n liffe, pers. co m .; Scott, L ., 1934, p. 221).

o f arable land. T h e re are frequent references to

O th e r tools trad itio n ally used in p arin g and

ch arcoal

b u rn in g includ e flayin g spades, foot ploughs and

w h ether the function o f these in d ivid u a l m on u ­

breast ploughs, and the irreg u larity o f the A scot

m ents is understood or not. In these cases, it is

furrows could im p ly that a different im plem ent

n oticeable that h azel is alm ost alw ays present and is often the on ly species identified. H a zel

was used there.

layers

u n dern eath

u pland

cairns,

I f the changes in w ood lan d clearan ce d u rin g

will resist clearan ce b y fire and n orm ally re­

the E a rly B ron ze A g e m ark one transition, this

generates rap id ly. It is shunned b y gra zin g cattle

onslaught upon open grassland m ust m ark an

and a n um ber o f w riters have noticed how it

e q u a lly significan t threshold. T h e two changes

can

m ay be related to one anoth er and it is possible that as the lan d cleared rath er earlier was in­

(Sm ith, A . G ., 1970). T h e b u rn t layers under these cairns m ay possibly show that forest after

va d ed b y grassland, fresh areas o f forest m ay h a ve

m odification.

increase its density

in

secon d ary

forest

been b ro u g h t into use. F lem in g has in fact sug­

T h e m ain evidence for stone clearan ce com es

gested that m obile pastoralists could have d riven

from cairnfields, and is rath er am biguous since

farm ers o ff the best lan d. A n d ju st as renew ed

so m an y o f these sites w ere used for bu rial. For

forest clearan ce provided a v a lu a b le source o f

the N eolith ic period, A tkin son has com m en ted

raw m aterial, the second m illennium b .c. also sees

on field clearan ce as one m echanism b y w h ich

greater use o f turf. T h is rem ained the case until

m aterials for stone m onum ents w ere accu m u lated

the ad option o f m ore d u rab le a gricu ltu ral im ­

(1965, p. 127), and there seems no reason w h y

plem ents in the later B ronze A g e. B y this tim e

the processes o f land clearan ce and b u rial should

too there is evid ence for fresh inroads into the

h ave been a n y m ore exclusive in the B ronze

prim ary forest.

A g e. It is a m oot point w hether burials w ere a ttracted into an area w here cairns a lrea d y existed, or w heth er the ad option o f one p a r­ ticu lar place as a cem etery offered a m eans o f disposing o f field stones; bu t in the E a rly B ron ze

STONE C L E A R A N C E

So far, the evid ence has m ostly applied to lo w ­

A g e there is som etim es evid ence for the p la cin g

lan d areas o f B ritain and to those w ith light, fertile soils. For this reason, the m ajor em phasis

o f fu n erary m onum ents in situations w h ere any other use was im possible. For exam ple, G ra h a m

has been p laced on N eolith ic a ctivity. Stone

has noted the siting o f cairns on bosses o f rock

clearan ce usually b ecam e a problem w ith the

that could not be farm ed (1956). O n other sites

expansion o f settlem ent from its N eolith ic o u t­

large n atu ral rocks, w hich w ere perhaps too

lines.

h ea v y to m ove, w ere in corpo rated into stone-

Stone cleara n ce has alrea d y attracted an ex­

b u ilt m onum ents. A m o n g the exam ples given by

tensive, i f incon clusive, literatu re, m ost o f w h ich

L yn ch are a n um ber o f rin g cairns (19 7 5a ),

concerns the n ature o f cairns. For this reason,

w hilst there is also a w idespread tend en cy for

o n ly a short review o f the p rin cipal points is

stone heaps to d evelop aroun d one or m ore

needed. O n e com m en t must be m ade at the outset. N o rm a lly, stone clearan ce is not a feature

ship betw een cem eteries and clearan ce plots is

o f the first m an-m ade lan dscape and m ay not be associated w ith prep aration for crops. A n orm al

eq u a lly p rob lem atic, and J o b e y has com m en ted on the association o f cairnfields w ith hill forts

requirem en t is for the n atu ral forest soil to be

in northern E n glan d (1965, p. 54).

earthfast boulders. In later periods the relatio n ­

A Pure Soil - Clearance and Colonisation

19

T h e re is some evidence for the w a y in w hich

certain ly need this treatm ent, as Stukeley w it­

these cairns w ere accu m u lated . In a pioneering

nessed at A v eb u ry in the eighteenth cen tury

study o f Scottish cairnfields, G rah a m com m ented on the ch an gin g density o f surface boulders and

(Sm ith, I. F., 1965, p. 180). T his practice m ay explain a layer o f burn t fragm ents in the Bronze

suggested that clearan ce proceeded outw ards

A g e ditch at R am s H ill (B radley and Ellison,

from a cen tral point (1956). T h is is consistent

! 975> PP- 35 an d 5°)» an d a^so use ° f burnt sarsens in field w alls at O v erto n D ow n (Bowen, H . C . and Fow ler, 1961, p. 105).

w ith F ea ch em ’s view that sm all cairns often lie in rough alignm ents, or along slight banks w hich could m ark the edges o f plots (1973). T h is does

T h e evidence from walls and sim ilar bou n ­

not a p p ly on every site, how ever, and cairns

daries is less open to confusion, despite the w ide

could alw ays d evelop inside fields, provided

range o f possible techniques. T h e structure o f

cu ltivation was carried out by hand. T h e cle ar­

such features can give clues to the progress o f

ance o f plots tow ards their edges resem bles the

clearance. C raw ford took the view that early

accu m u latio n o f field w alls. Som e insight into

w alls w ould be based on a series o f ‘grou n d ers’,

this process is given b y a settlem ent at Bliss-

large rocks w hich w ould need m oving before

m oor in D evon w here the clearan ce o f one en­

thorough clearance could proceed (1936). H e

closure was never com pleted (Fox, A .,

1954,

argued that the superstructure o f these w alls

fig- 3)T h e intensity o f a ctiv ity can be qu ite im ­

w ould tend to use sm aller boulders, and applied

pressive. In one study o f cairnfields Scott-E lliott

early clearance in part o f C orn w all. T h is general

noted that clearan ce heaps w ere n orm ally spaced

outline certain ly has its attractions, but another

at abou t 12 m intervals, alth ou gh this could fall to as little as 6 m (1967). In part o f W ales,

sequence o f events is eq u ally likely, and neither must be given an y overall application. In this

this argu m en t him self in d ed u cin g the extent o f

H em p also showed that the large bu rial cairns

second sequence, the structure o f linear banks

fell into distinct size groups (quoted in Bow en,

betrays the difficulties o f m ain tainin g cu ltivation

E. and G resham , 1967, p. 75). T h e larger systems have been described b y F eachem and

B eaghm ore in the N eolithic and at both Sw ine

m ay cover m ore than 40 hectares (1973). O n e

S ty and A ch n acree Moss in the Bronze A ge,

as upland soils w ere progressively depleted. A t

o f the most extensive cairnfields was at C h atton

the low er m aterial o f a bou n d ary was com posed

San dyford in N orthu m berland . H ere J o b e y o b ­

o f soil and sm all stones, and as erosion bared

served plough marks against the edge o f one

larger rocks these w ere incorporated in the upper layers (Pilcher, 1969; M ach in , 19 7 1; B arrett, H ill and Stevenson, 1976). A t A ch n acree M oss

cairn and a characteristic layer o f ch arcoal on the surface beneath it (1968). H e also noticed plough dam age on stones protru d ing from a pit sealed b y the m onum ent. Interestingly, clearance cairns are still b eing b u ilt on agricu ltu ral land in this area. T h ere is little evidence o f how large stones

the b ou n d ary banks w ere associated w ith shallow ditches cut through the u n derlying podsol, and the excavators suggested that this was done to im prove the local d rain age and to brin g degraded land back into use. Such an approach m ight have

w ere cleared, w here they could not be incor­

been com bined w ith b u rn ing to control the q u ality

porated in cairns. T h ere have been few claim s

o f the browse. T h ere m ay be some an alogy b e­

for ‘stone holes’ in the literature, and it is not

tw een the basic structure o f these boundaries

alw ays clear how far surface rocks w ill bed

and the sequence from tu rf to stone seen in so

them selves in the ground to a d etectable extent.

m any round barrow s.

A t C erre g Sam son, how ever, a large hole un der­

O n e exam ple m ay clarify this last point. In

neath a portal dolm en m ay have been m ade in

1937 Sir C yril Fox excavated two n eighbouring

rem ovin g the capstone from its origin al position

round barrow s in south W ales, Pond C airn and

(L yn ch , 1975b). In some cases fire w ould be used to b reak up large surface stones. Sarsens

Sim ondston C airn (1959, pp. 78 ff. and 105 ff.). Both belonged to the E arly Bronze A g e and on

20

A Pure Soil — Clearance and Colonisation

p ottery evidence F ox concluded that Sim ondston

rath er the sam e, the responses had to be different.

C airn was p ro b ab ly the earlier. T h e stones in

In areas w here stone clearan ce was im p ortan t there is m uch to com m end F ea ch em ’s generalisa­

each cairn w ere taken from separate sources w ithin a sm all area. T h e re was va ry in g evidence

tion that agricu ltu re was sign ifican tly cu rtailed

for cereal a gricu ltu re on the tw o sites. T h e earlier

b y en viron m ental decline in the later B ron ze

barrow o v erla y a series o f furrows, p ro b ab ly

Age (i973)-

produced w ith a spade. A lth o u gh they w ere not recognised in excavation , they are clearly shown in the section d raw in g, and represent a v e ry

COLONISATION

shallow treatm en t o f the soil before the cairn

T h ese processes o f clearan ce h ave shown tw o

was built. T h e y did not affect the n atu ral b e d ­

ve ry clear tendencies. O n e is tow ards m ore d e­

rock and som e o f the stones em ployed in this

m an d in g land use and m ay be a sign o f p o p u ­

phase w ere d efinitely q u arried. T h e re was no

lation pressure; w hile the second is tow ards

physical evidence for cu ltivation under the later

gra d u al en viron m ental d ecline, w h ich dislocates

site and the m ain m ound was o f tu rf construction. A cairn rin g was added to this core and the fact

the settlem ent pattern . T h ere is d irect a rch a eo ­

that it was b u ilt en tirely o f surface stones suggests

logical evid ence for an increase in the area o f the settled lan dscape, and for thresholds b eyon d

that the surrounding area was now m ore in ten ­

w hich certain zones w ou ld fall from use or w ou ld

sively used. C ereals w ere recognised in a pit o f

on ly perm it exp lo itatio n o f a d ifferen t kind.

this phase and it is tem ptin g to suggest that the

D espite this varied b ack grou n d , these changes

stones w ere collected in the fields.

could be a ccom m od ated in ju st tw o w a ys: b y

Fairhurst and T a y lo r have argued that the ch an gin g intensity o f agricu ltu re m ay be reflected b y differen t m ethods o f stone clearan ce (19 7 1). A t K ilp h e d ir they showed that the first Iron

the expansion o f existing settlem ents or b y the creation o f new ones. T h ese questions have been review ed

in a

theoretical study b y H udson (1969). H e suggests

A g e occu p ation had been associated w ith cle a r­

that the form ation o f a settlem ent pattern m ight

ance cairns and p ro b ab ly w ith the use o f hand

go through three successive stages. T h e first w ou ld

tools like the spade and the hoe. A fter an interval, a second o ccu p ation follow ed, d u rin g w h ich the most p rod u ctive land was d ivided up by a series

be the location o f sites in m ore favou rable environm ents b u t in a ran d om distribution.

o f linear banks, w h ich they con n ect w ith the introd uction o f the plough to the site. T h e ir physical lay o u t certain ly suggests a m ore ord erly

T h ese settlem ents then exp an d ed ou tw ard s from the pioneer holdings, giv in g rise to a series o f u n evenly spaced clusters. O n ly later, w hen re­

regim e. T h ere is possible evidence in support o f

sources b ecam e the subject o f com petition , w ou ld sites space them selves into m ore regu lar p a t­ terns. T h is sequence was in itia lly dem onstrated

this succession from the pollen analysis o f n earb y

for a series o f d ocu m en ted settlem ents in N orth

arran gem en t

and

perhaps

a

m ore

intensive

peat.

A m erica, b u t the sam e m odel has been used in

A t first sight this sequence o f agricu ltu ral

analysis o f prehistoric settlem ents in P olan d

techniques seems to resem ble the increasingly ex a ctin g sequence o f low lan d areas, from forest

(H odder and O rto n , 1976, pp. 89 f f ) . T h ere is now one study o f the expansion o f

clearan ce through to parin g and b u rn ing. B ut

ea rly settlem ents in tw o areas o f southern E n g lan d

there is an im portan t d iffe re n ce : most o f the en­

(Ellison and H arriss, 1972). It m akes use o f site

vironm ents in w h ich stone clearan ce w as neces­

catch m en t analysis to dem onstrate th at from at

sary w ere a lrea d y so precariously b alan ced that they held little prospect for prolonged or inten ­ sive a gricu ltu re. In this sense these h igh lan d

least the M id d le B ron ze A g e onw ards settlem ent sites w ere located so as to ob tain a varied and in creasin gly p rod u ctive ran ge o f soils. T h is seems

clearances on ly achieved a rch aeological visib ility

consistent w ith d em ograp h ic expansion, and the

in their term inal phases. I f the pressures w ere

extension o f settlem ent into areas o f greater

.4 Pure Soil -

Clearance and Colonisation

21

agricu ltu ral potential w ill have m ade m ore d e­

to the earlier buildings. Interestingly enough,

m ands on m anpow er. A p articu larly arresting,

these later huts w ere also the largest (G elling,

if controversial, aspect o f this study has been its a p p licatio n to the Saxon period, through

1963* % • 0 T h ere is one im portant regional study o f settle­

the analysis o f sequences o f place names. T h e

m ent grow th, a paper by J o b e y on the R o m an

results o f this territorial analysis seem ed to suggest tw o m ain m odels for expansion from the p rim ary

stone-built settlem ents betw een the Forth and

a re a s: the d evelopm ent o f new settlem ents in a

surface evidence, that m any o f these sites did in

virtu a l rin g round a parent site and their sim ple

fact show expansion: in upland areas the pro­

the T y n e (1974). H e dem onstrates, m ain ly from

replication at an a p p roxim ately even spacing.

portion was abou t 31 per cent. E xcavation in­

T hese are b asically eq u ivalen t to H u d so n ’s two

side these enclosures has shown quite clearly that

stages o f expansion, and the sam e range o f pro­

the num ber o f houses did increase, and on sites

cedures is apparen t in the M id d le Ages (C his­

w ith lim ited space this tendency is confirm ed by

holm , 1968, p. 127).

a fall in the size o f the later buildings. Th is

from the prehistoric inform ation : the evidence

estim ate com pares w ith a figure o f 30 per cent for those hill forts in southern Scotlan d w hich

for internal expansion

show field evidence for an increase in area (data

T h ere are tw o aspects o f the m odel to consider and

the evidence for

thresholds beyond w h ich the cleared areas could not support further grow th. It m ight be at this second stage that the new settlem ents w ould form .

from R C A M

Scotlan d,

1956 and

1957 and

R C A H M Scotlan d, 1967). It is interesting that in J o b e y ’s study, w hich covers m uch o f the same region, 19 per cent o f the hill forts are over-

O n e initial problem is to distinguish settlem ent

lain b y R o m an native settlem ents, but that these

expansion from the process o f settlem ent drift.

settlem ents include 50 per cent o f the largest

The

sites.

latter

can

be

defined

as

the

grad u al

linear or lateral m ovem ent o f a settlem ent, and

In other cases it is not possible to use the

is com p arab le to the horizon tal stratigrap h y

internal area as a basis for analysis; bu t here

characteristic o f cem eteries. It is a process best

rath er sim ilar results can be ach ieved b y con­

d ocum en ted for Saxon and m edieval villages (Beresford, M . and H urst, 1971) and was usefully

sidering the hum an effort invested in the basic

defined b y D . L . C lark e in a discussion o f Beaker

the palisaded

settlem ents (1969, i, p. 57). It can arise from

B ritain seem to have been replaced b y earthw orks,

such basic factors as rotting house foundations, insanitary livin g floors, eroded arable plots and contam in ated pits. It is know n on extensive op ef. sites like the Iron A g e occupations at T w y w e ll, F en gate or P u dd leh ill (Jackson, 1975;

althou gh not all o f these should be classed as Torts’ ; and over 20 per cent o f these palisaded sites show evidence for at least one replacem ent

Pryor, 1974a; M athew s, 1976, pp. 44 ff.), b u t also extends to the location o f ind ivid u al features in enclosed com pounds. T h is is possibly seen at

1970). T h ere is some tendency for greater de­ velopm ent to take place on the double-palisaded sites, w here the w ork effort w ould in any case be

enclosures. For instance, over 40 per cent o f enclosures know n in

northern

o f the basic stockade, w hether or not an earth­ w ork was constructed later (data from R itch ie, A .,

G ussage A ll Saints, w here the distribution o f

greater, but the size o f the sam ple is unaccept-

features in the first two phases is alm ost m u tu ally

a b ly sm all (cf. G riffiths in B rad ley and Ellison,

exclusive (W ain w righ t and Sw itsur, 1976, fig. 3), and again at B urradon , w here in d ivid u al houses

1975. p- 228). T h ere is also evidence for local thresholds to

w ere replaced in the ad join in g plots (Jobey, 1970,

expansion w ithin an occupied area. Stanford,

fig.

5).

An

interm ediate

case

is

at

South

for exam ple, has shown that a n um ber o f hill

Barrule, w here the stone-built huts inside a hill

forts in the C en tral M arches increased their area

fort form ed clusters,

in w hich the construction

b y different proportions, but that the final en­

o f new houses on the perip hery blocked all access

closures show an optim um size o f abou t 8 hectares

22

A Pure Soil — Clearance and Colonisation

(1972, p. 316). In a sim ilar w a y, the earthw ork-

ind ivid u al field systems can som etim es be re­

defended enclosures o f W ales show distinctive

covered b y fieldw ork and checked against d o cu ­

regional size ranges. T h ese have been discussed

m en tary evidence. A fter d etailed field w ork in

by H o gg, w ho has defined eleven different groups

Bedfordshire, D avid H a ll has suggested that a

on this basis and has shown that there is ve ry

fairly regu lar relationship existed in this area b e ­

little overlap betw een them

(1972). In each

tw een the m axim u m size o f villages and the

area it seems that these enclosures did not d e­

extent o f their a rab le lan d. O n good soils the

velop beyond a certain threshold. In another

greatest size o f the settlem ent is 7 per cent o f the

paper he also argued that there is a regu lar

area o f its arable lan d, b u t this w ou ld fall to

density o f houses inside hill forts (19 7 1). I f this

ju st 2-6 per cent if the a rab le w ere en tirely on the

has a w id e a p plicatio n , it m ight reveal another

less prod u ctive c la y (H all, 1972). T h a t the re­

lim it to expansion. It is certain ly a p p aren t that

lationship is so regu lar is an argu m en t for p o p u ­

this density was greatest inside the sm aller ea rth ­

lation pressure (fig. 2 :5 ). It w ou ld be useful to

works (Atkinson, 1972, p. 64). O n the bou ld er

establish a series o f com p a ra b le param eters for

clay o f north-east E n glan d J o b ey has observed a

prehistoric sites, bu t this is rarely possible.

com p arab le pattern am ong the stone-built native

As an alternative, the resource catch m ents o f

farms (1974). H ere there is certain ly evid ence for

e a r ly settlem ents h ave been m uch studied. T h ese

an increase in the n um ber o f houses on each

h ave tw o possible im plications for the spread o f

site, b u t this increase was ap p aren tly cu rtailed at

sites. In a study based p a rtly upon m odern

a low er lim it than in upland areas n earby.

peasant agricu ltu re, C h isholm has suggested that

T h is last observation is especially im portan t in

restrictions o f m ob ility m ay h ave lim ited the dis­

view o f the constant process o f selection b y w h ich

tance over w hich it w as profitab le to exp lo it

less successful settlem ents w ent out o f use. T h is

land from a single centre (1968). In the M id d le

placed corresp on d in gly greater pressures on those

Ages the m inim um distance betw een E nglish

sites w h ich w ere op tim ally located. U n til this

villages w as abou t i*6 km and in m ost areas all

happ ened , it m ay have been rare for settlem ents

the land was w ithin 4 km . W h en a g ricu ltu ral

to rem ain in b ein g for long. B ut once this occu rred

land exp an d ed b eyon d this lim it, it m igh t be

settlem ent m ob ility becam e increasingly w asteful. A t C h alto n , for exam ple, the later B ron ze A g e

m ore p ra ctica l to create another settlem ent. U n fortu n ately, this prin ciple is hard to recognise

sites w hich fell out o f use w ere replaced in the

in operation. W h ere there was com petition for space, eq u a lly placed settlem ents m igh t be closer together, and in areas w here there was still room for expansion there is no w a y o f inferring the ch an gin g b ou n d ary. A n a lo g y w ith C h ish o lm ’s w ork suggests that the 2-km -radius catch m en t

R o m a n period. In the Iron A g e these had appeared as gaps in a qu ite regu lar pattern o f settlem ents (C u n liffe, 1973).

area adopted b y Ellison and H arriss w ou ld only RESOURCE CATCHMENTS

be approp riate in this second situation. T h is

T h e relationship betw een resource catchm ents

radius works m od erately w ell w hen the authors

and settlem ents is m uch m ore com plex. T h e re is

consider the parishes o f the S axon period, bu t

a p ra ctica l lim it to the num ber o f people w h ich

the problem is that the villages w ere m ore exten ­

an area o f cleared land can support, ju st as

sive than most o f their prehistoric counterparts.

there is an op tim u m size for this territory b e­

T h e ran ge o f areas is from

yond w h ich it w ou ld

have been sim pler to

(R a h tz, 1976). T h ere are tw o w ays o f ch eck in g

create a new settlem ent (cf. C hisholm , 1968). U n fo rtu n a tely, there is no com pletely reliab le

the usefulness o f this h yp o th etical catch m en t a rea: b y relatin g it to other estim ates o f the

m ethod o f estim ating popu lation or total territory from settlem ent area. A g ain , m edieval ex p eri­

cleared area based on excav ated d a ta, or b y

ence can be helpful, since the full extent o f

historic sites w here proper field survey is a va ila b le.

2 to 5 hectares

m easuring it against the actu al sp acin g o f pre­

.4 Pure Soil O n e site on w hich it is possible to check the Ellison and Harriss interpretation is L ittle W ood* b ury. H ere Bersu used the assum ed n um ber o f storage pits and granaries to calcu late that 73

Clearance and Colonisation

23

could be the use o f sherd scatters to discover the extent o f m anuring. T h e sam e conclusion,

that

a

2-km -radius

catch m ent is too large, m ay be d raw n from

bushels o f corn w ere p rob ab ly b eing stored each

published field survey. In at least six areas field

year (1940, p. 64). T h is figure was based upon

survey seems to show a rou gh ly regu lar pattern

an unfortunate m athem atical error and should

o f settlem ent w hich lends itself to sim ple c al­

be corrected to abou t 666 bushels (Bowen, H . C .,

culation , althou gh the sam ple is too sm all for

19^9’ P- 1 1 ) • T h e same correction must be applied to B ersu’s estim ate o f the arable area needed

q u ality o f the origin al w ork does suggest that a

nearest neighbour analysis. In each case the

to produce this q u an tity o f corn, increasing his

representative pattern has been recovered. T h e

figure o f 20 acres to rou gh ly 180 acres (79 hec­ tares) . In Ellison and H arriss’s h ypothetical area,

sm allest spacing o f ap p aren tly contem porary sites

based upon a 2-km radius abou t the site, the

dow n H ill, H am pshire, w here sites are on average

is in the Iron A g e at C h alton , and on Ports-

best potential arable covers no less than 700

o*8 km apart (C unliffe, 1973; J . Johnston, pers.

hectares. W h a tev er allow an ce is m ade for fallow ­

c o m .). O n the boulder clay o f north-east E ngland

ing, there is a great d ifference betw een these

J o b e y noted that native settlem ents could occu r

figures, and the second estim ate seems m uch too

rou gh ly 1 km apart (1973, p. 48), w hile extensive

large. I f the estim ates w ere reduced propor­

fieldw ork in C orn w all shows that the densest

tion ately the catch m en t area w ould have a radius

distribution o f rounds is at intervals o f 1*3 km

o f 0-7 km . O n e w a y o f tacklin g this problem

(Thom as, C ., 1966). T h is com pares w ell w ith

10% LU

_I

CO