Midlands Prehistory: Some recent and current researches into the prehistory of central England 086054611X, 9780860546115, 9781407318264

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Midlands Prehistory Some recent and current researches into the prehistory of central England

edited by

Alex Gibson

BAR British Series 204

1989

B.A.R. 122 Banbury Rd, Oxford, OX2 7BP, UK

GENERAL EDITORS A.R. Hands, B.Sc., M.A., D.Phil. D.R. Walker, M.A.

BAR 204, 1989: 'Jlidlands Prehistory' @The Individual Authors, 1989.

The authors’ moral rights under the 1988 UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act are hereby expressly asserted.

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be copied, reproduced, stored, sold, distributed, scanned, saved in any form of digital format or transmitted in any form digitally, without the written permission of the Publisher. ISBN 9780860546115 paperback ISBN 9781407318264 e-book DOI https://doi.org/10.30861/9780860546115 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library This book is available at www.barpublishing.com

C O N T E N T S L ist o f c ontributors

p i i

L ist o f T ables a nd I llustrations

p v

I ntroduction A lex G ibson 1

p 1

B urnt M ounds i n t he W est M idlands : S urveys a nd E xcavations L awrence B arfield M ike H odder

2

P

5

F ield S urvey b y R CHME o n t he G ritstone M oorlands o f t he D erbyshire P eak D istrict P aul E verson

3

p 1 4

E xcavations a t t he C ursus Monument o f A ston o n T rent , D erbyshire A lex G ibson R oy L oveday

4

T he B arford R itual C omplex : F urther E xcavations

p 2 7 ( 1972)

a nd a R egional P erspective R oy L oveday D

p 5 1

A L ate N eolithic ' Ritual F ocus ' a t W est C otton , N orthamptonshire D ave W indell

6

A erial A rchaeology i n L eicestershire F red H artley

7

8

p 8 5

D iscovering t he P rehistoric M idlands J im P ickering

p 9 5

p 1 06

O ut o f t he U nknown : A pproaches t o P rehistoric A rchaeology i n L eicestershire P atrick C lay

9

p 1 11

I ron A ge S ettlement a nd S ociety i n C entral a nd S outhern W arwickshire : D irections f or F uture R esearch R ichard H ingley

1 0

p 1 22

S ome L ate I ron A ge D efended E nclosures i n N orthamptonshire B rian D ix D ennis J ackson

1 1

T he A rchaeology a nd P ertology o f G roup X X A xes P hillipa B radley

1 2

p1 E , 4 3

p 1 80

F ired w ith E nthusiasm : E xperimental O pen F irings a t L eicester U niversity A nn W oods

p 1 96

L I S T

O F

C O N -1 -R I B U T O R

L AWRENCE B ARFIELD

C hapter

1

C hapter

1 1

D epartment o f A ncient H istory a nd A rchaeology U niversity o f B irmingham B irmingham , 1 5

2 T T .

P HILLIPA BRADLEY D epartment o f A rchaeology , U niversity o f L eicester , U niversity R oad , L eicester , L E 1

7 R H .

P ATRICK CLAY

C hapter 8

L eicestershire M useums A rchaeological U nit M useums A nnexe , 1 16 , H umberstone D rive , L eicester , L E 5

0 RD .

BRIAN DIX

C hapter 1 0

N orthamptonshire A rchaeological U nit , 2 , B olton H ouse , W ootton H all P ark , N orthampton , NN 4

9 B E .

P AUL EVERSON

C hapter 2

R CHME R oom

1 8 , C hancellor 's B uilding

U niversity o f K eele , N ewcastle-Under-Lyme , S T 5

5 B G .

A LEX GIBSON

E ditor

V igo C ottage ,

C hapter 3

I ntroduction 1 0 T he Nook , G reat G len , L eicestershire , L E 8

0 G Q .

iI

F RED H ARTLEY

C hapter 6

L eicestershire M useums A rchaeological

U nit

M useums A nnexe, 1 16 , H umberstone D rive , L eicester, L E 5

0 R D .

R ICHARD H INGLEY

C hapter 9

W arwickshire M useum , M arket P lace, W arwick , C V 3 4

4 S A .

M IKE HODDER

C hapter

1

C hapter

1 0

D epartment o f A ncient H istory a nd A rchaeology U niversity o f B irmingham B irmingham , B 1 5

2 T T .

D ENNIS J ACKSON N orthamptonshire A rchaeological U nit, 2 ,

B olton H ouse,

W ootton H all P ark , N orthampton , N N 4

9 B E .

R OY LOVEDAY

C hapter 3 C hapter 4

3 L inden G rove, M ountsorrel, L eicestershire.

J IM P ICKERING

C hapter 7

E lmtree D rive, H inckley , L eicestershire, L E 1 0

2 T X .

D AVE W INDELL

C hapter 5

N orthamptonshire A rchaeological U nit, 2 ,

B olton H ouse,

W ootton H all N orthampton , N N 4

P ark ,

9 B E .

i ii

A NN W OODS

C hapter

D epartment o f A rchaeology . U niversity o f L eicester , U niversity R oad , L eicester , L E 1

7 R H .

i v

1 2

LI S T 1 :

OF

TA B L E S

AN D

IL L U S T R A TI O N S

B URNT M OUNDS I N T HE W EST M IDLANDS : S URVEYS A ND E XCAVATIONS

P

7

F ig . 1 :1

D istribution o f b urnt m ounds i n t he B irmingham a rea a nd s outhern S taffordshire .

P

8

F ig . 1 :2

R adiocarbon d ates f rom W est M idlands b urnt m ounds .

F ig . 1 :3

D istribution o f m iddle b ronze a ge m etalwork i n t he s tudy a rea .

p 1 0

2 :

F IELD S URVEY B Y R CHME O N T HE G RITSTONE M OORLANDS O F T HE D ERBYSHIRE P EAK D ISTRICT : S TANTON MOOR .

p 1 6

F ig . 2 :1

S tanton Moor s urvey . S ite T 56

p 1 9

F ig . 2 :2

S tanton M oor s urvey . N ine L adies s tone c ircle a nd K ing S tone o utlier .

p 2 2

F ig . 2 :3

S tanton M oor s urvey . E xtract s howing e xtent o f m onument r econstructions .

p 2 4

F ig . 2 :4

F ield b anks a nd s ettlement o n S heepwash B ank , D erbyshire

3 :

E XCAVATIONS A T T HE C URSUS M ONUMENT O F A STON O N T RENT , D ERBYSHIRE

p 2 8

F ig . 3 :1

A ston o n T rent : l ocation m ap

p 2 9

F ig . 3 :2

A ston o n T rent :

a erial p hotograph o f t he s outhern

p ortion o f t he c ursus p 3 0

F ig . 3 :3

A ston o n T rent : s ection t hrough t he c ursus d itch a s r ecorded b y D . R eaney

p 3 1

F ig . 3 :4

A ston o n T rent : p lan s howing t he 1 987 c uttings

p 3 3

F ig . 3 :5

A ston o n T rent : p lan o f T rench 1

p 3 4

F ig . 3 :6

A ston o n T rent : T rench 1 , f eatures i n t he i nvestigated p ortion o f t he i nterior o f t he r ing d itch

p 3 5

F ig . 3 :7

A ston o n T rent : T rench 1 , n orth s ection

p 3 5

F ig . 3 :8

A ston o n T rent : T rench 1 , s outh s ection

p 3 6

F ig . 3 :9

A ston o n T rent : T rench 1 , p lan o f c ursus d itch

p 3 7

F ig . 3 :10

A ston o n T rent : p lan o f T rench 2

p 3 9

F ig . 3 :11

A ston o n T rent : T rench 2 , s ections t hrough r ing d itch

p 4 0

F ig . 3 :12

A ston o n T rent : T rench 2 , s ections t hrough c ursus d itch

p 4 2

F ig . 3 :13

A ston o n T rent : f inds

4 :

T HE B ARFORD R ITUAL C OMPLEX : F URTHER E XCAVATIONS

( 1972) A ND A

R EGIONAL P ERSPECTIVE p 5 2

F ig . 4 :1

B arford : l ocation map

p 5 3

F ig . 4 :2

B arford N E ,

p 5 4

F ig . 4 :3

B arford NE s ite I

p 5 5

F ig . 4 :4

S ite I : s ections

p 5 8

F ig . 4 :5

B arford NE s ite I

p 5 9

F ig . 4 :6

S ite I : s ections

p 6 2

F ig . 4 :7

B arford NE s ite II

p 6 3

F ig . 4 :8

B arford NE s ite I V

p 6 5

F ig . 4 :9

O utline p lans o f B arford I a nd c omparative s ites

p 7 2

F ig . 4 :10

C omparative p lans o f B arfordlike c omplexes

p 7 3

T able 4 :1

R itual/Funerary c entres i n t he M idlands a nd E ast

1 972

A nglia p 7 6

F ig . 4 :11a

D istribution o f B arford like c omplexes a nd h enges i n

p 7 6

F ig . 4 :11b

D istribution o f c lass I h enges a nd B i c ursus monuments s uperimposed o n B url 's c ircular r itual

t he M idlands a nd E ast A nglia .

m onument z ones . p 7 8

F ig . 4 :12

P ottery f rom B arford N E

p 8 1

F ig . 4 :13

F lints f rom B arford N E

5 :

A L ATE N EOLITHIC

' RITUAL F OCUS ' A T WEST C OTTON , N ORTHAMPTONSHIRE

p 8 5

F ig . 5 :1

S ites i n t he R aunds a rea

p 8 6

F ig . 5 :2

M onuments a round W est C otton

p 8 8

F ig . 5 :3

E xcavated monuments a t W est C otton

p 9 0

F ig . 5 :4

S ection o f t he l ong mound i n t he q uarry f ace

p 9 1

F ig . 5 :5

P lan o f b arrow

p 9 2

F ig . 5 :6

C entral i nhumation i n b arrow

6 :

1 1

A ERIAL A RCHAEOLOGY I N L EICESTERSHIRE

p 9 6

F ig . 6 :1

A reas o f medieval l and u se i n L eicestershire

p 9 7

F ig . 6 :2

U pland a reas a nd major r iver s ystems o f L eicestershire

p 9 8

F ig . 6 :3

A reas o f r ecorded c ropmarks i n L eicestershire

v i

p 9 9

F ig .

6 :4

D istribution o f p rehistoric e nclosed s ettlements i n L eicestershire

p 1 00

F ig .

6 :5

S ummary o f e nclosure s hapes r ecorded i n L eicestershire u p t o

p 1 01

F ig .

6 :6

1 986

D istribution o f k nown r ound b arrows i n L eicestershire

p 1 02

F ig .

6 :7

P it c ircle d iscovered a s a c ropmark a t R earsby , L eicestershire

p 1 04

F ig .

6 :8

L inear f eatures r ecorded a s c ropmarks a nd e arthworks i n t he C roxton K errial/Sproxton a rea o n t he L eicestershire/Lincolnshire b oundary

8 :

O UT O F T HE U NKNOWN - A PPROACHES T O P REHISTORIC A RCHAEOLOGY I N L EICESTERSHIRE

p 1 12

F ig .. 8 :1

P ercentage o f l ithic s catters f rom c lay s oils

p 1 13

F ig .

8 : 2a

P ercentage o f e arly n eolithic l ithics o n c lay s oils

p 1 13

F ig .

8 : 2b

P ercentage o f l ater n eolithic l ithics o n c lay s oils

p 1 15

F ig .

8 :3

O akham ,

L eicestershire .

N eolithic f eatures

( later

f eatures h atched) p 1 17

F ig .

8 :4

C astle D onnington , p alaeochannel

p 1 18

F ig .

8 :5

S proxton ,

L eicestershire .

N eolithic

r evealed d uring g ravel w orking

L eicestershire .

B uried s oil r evealed

d uring t he e xcavation o f t he b ronze a ge b arrow 9 :

I RON A GE S ETTLEMENT A ND S OCIETY I N C ENTRAL A ND S OUTHERN W ARWICKSHIRE : 9 :1

D IRECTIONS F OR F UTURE R ESEARCH

p 1 24

F ig .

T he n ature o f t he e vidence f or

i ron a ge s ettlement

p 1 25

T able 9 :1

C hronology o f i ron a ge e xcavations

p 1 26

F ig .

9 :2

S ites m entioned i n t he t ext

p 1 27

F ig .

9 :3

T he r elationship o f c ropmark e nclosures t o s urface m aterial

p 1 28

F ig .

9 :4

R egions o f s outh a nd c entral

P 1 29

F ig .

9 :5

P ottery a nd c urrency b ar

P 1 31

F ig .

9 :6

D istribution o f p ottery

p 1 32

F ig .

9 :7

D istribution o f c oins a nd c urrency b ars

p 1 33

F ig .

9 :8

D istribution o f s ettlements

p 1 34

F ig .

9 :9

S ettlement e nclosures

p 1 35

F ig .

9 :10

E xcavated s ettlement e nclosures

v ii

W arwickshire

p 1 37

T able 9 :2

A reas o f s ettlement e nclosures

p 1 38

F ig .

9 :11

C omplex s ites a nd s urrounding l andscapes

p 1 39

F ig .

9 :12

C omplex s ite p lans

p 1 40

F ig .

9 :13

D istribution o f s imple a nd c omplex s ettlement t ypes

p 1 41

F ig .

9 :14

H illforts

p 1 42

T able 9 :3

A reas o f s ettlement e nclosures a nd h illforts

p 1 44

F ig .

9 : 15

D istribution o f t rackways a nd l inear b oundaries

p 1 45

F ig ,

9 :16

H obditch a nd B arborough B ank

p 1 49

F ig .

9 :17

P olitical

p 1 51

F ig .

9 :18

T he S tour V alley a rea

1 0 :

t erritories

S OME L ATE I RON A GE D EFENDED E NCLOSURES I N N ORTHAMPTONSHIRE

p 1 59

F ig .

1 0 :1

D istribution o f l ate N orthamptonshire

i ron a ge d efended e nclosures i n

p 1 60

F ig .

1 0 :2

C omparative p lans o f

l ate i ron a ge d efended

e nclosures , p 1 61

F ig .

1 0 :3

I

C omparative p lans o f l ate i ron a ge d efended e nclosures ,

I I

p 1 62

F ig .

1 0 :4

C omparison o f g ateways

p 1 69

F ig .

1 0 :5

S tanwell S pinney ,

W ellingborough :

S ite l ocation

p 1 70

F ig .

1 0 :6

S tanwell S pinney ,

W ellingborough :

g eneral

p 1 71

F ig .

1 0 :7

S tanwell S pinney ,

W ellingborough :

d etailed

p lan

e xcavation p lan p 1 73

F ig .

1 0 :8

S tanwell S pinney ,

W ellingborough :

d itch s ections

p 1 74

F ig .

1 0 :9

S tanwell S pinney ,

W ellingborough :

E nclosure D

p 1 77

F ig .

1 0:10

S tanwell S pinney ,

W ellingborough :

p ottery ,

1 1 :

s cale

1 :4

T HE A RCHAEOLOGY A ND P ETROLOGY O F G ROUP X X A XES

p 1 81

F ig .

1 1:1

T he g eology o f C harnwood F orest ,

p 1 88

F ig .

1 1:2a

P hotomicrograph o f L e 2 3 .

p 1 88

F ig .

1 1:2b

P hotomicrograph o f L e 2 3 . ( PPL)

L eicestershire

C rossed p olars

x 40 .

p 1 89

F ig .

1 1:3a

P hotomicrograph o f L e

1 4 .

X P

p 1 89

F ig .

1 1:3b

P hotomicrograph o f L e

1 4 .

P PL

p 1 90

F ig .

1 1:4a

P hotomicrograph o f L e

1 9 .

X P

v iii

( XP)

x 40 .

P lane p olarised l ight

x 40 . x 40 . x 40 .

p 1 90

F ig .

1 1:4b

P hotomicrograph o f L e

p 1 91

F ig .

1 1:5a

P hotomicrograph o f a g eological C harnwood L odge , X P

p 1 91

F ig .

1 1:5b

1 1:6a

F ig .

1 1 :6b

F ig .

1 1:7a

F ig .

1 1:7b

L eicestershire .

s pecimen f rom

C harnwood F orest ,

L eicestershire .

s pecimen f rom

C harnwood F orest ,

L eicestershire .

x 40 .

P hotomicrograph o f a g eological S trawberry H ill P lantation ,

p 1 93

s pecimen f rom

C harnwood F orest,

P hotomicrograph o f a g eological P PL

L eicestershire .

x 40 .

C harnwood L odge ,

p 1 93

C harnwood F orest,

P hotomicrograph o f a g eological X P

s pecimen f rom

x 40.

C harnwood L odge , p 1 92

x 40 .

P hotomicrograph o f a g eological P PL

F ig .

P PL

x 40 .

C harnwood L odge ,

p 1 92

1 9 .

x 40 . P hotomicrograph o f a g eological S trawberry H ill

P lantation ,

s pecimen f rom

L eicestershire .

X P

s pecimen f rom

L eicestershire .

P PL

x 40 . p 1 94

F ig .

1 1:8a

P hotomicrograph o f a g eological S trawberry H ill x 40 .

p 1 94

F ig .

1 1:8b

P lantation ,

P hotomicrograph o f a g eological S trawberry H ill P lantation , x 40 .

p 1 95

F ig .

1 1:9a

p 1 95

1 2 :

F ig .

1 1:9b

L eicestershire .

X P

X P

s pecimen f rom

L eicestershire .

P hotomicrograph o f a g eological H ills ,

s pecimen f rom

L eicestershire .

P PL

s pecimen f rom W arren

x 40 .

P hotomicrograph o f a g eological s pecimen f rom W arren H ills , L eicestershire . P PL x 40 .

F IRED W ITH E NTHUSIASM :

E XPERIMENTAL O PEN F IRINGS A T L EICESTER

U NIVERSITY p 1 97

F ig .

1 2 :1 .

S ections o f p rehistoric v essels s howing m ethods o f m anufacture

p 1 98

F ig .

1 2 :2 .

P rehistoric p ottery f rom P ilismarot,

H ungary ,

m ade

o f d iagonally b onded r ings p 1 99

F ig .

1 2 :3 .

B eaker p ottery f rom N orthton , e vidence o f d iagonal b onding

p 2 00

F ig .

1 2 :4 .

A f ood v essel

H arris ,

s howing

s herd f rom I rton M oor s howing e vidence

o f d iagonal b onding p 2 01

F ig ,

1 2 :5 .

V ertical s queezing t echnique u sed b y a G ciriku p otter

i n K avango ,

N amibia

p 2 01

F ig .

1 2 :6 .

V ertical r olling t echnique u sed b y a L uchazi i n K avango , N amibia

p 2 02

F ig .

1 2 :7 .

F ire c louds o n a n o pen-fired v essel N amibia

p otter

f rom C aprivi,

p 2 03

F ig .

1 2 :8

F ire c louds o n o pen-fired v essels f rom K avango , N amibia

p 2 04

F ig .

1 2 :9 .

A n i ncompletely o xidized s herd ;

t he b lack c entral

z one i ndicates a s hort f iring t ime a nd i s c haracteristic o f o pen f iring p 2 05

F ig .

1 2 :10 .

V essels s tacked p rior t o f iring .

T he h igh

t hermocouple i s v isible a t t he t op o f t he p ots . ( Firing 3 4 .) p 2 05

F ig .

1 2 :11.

V essels s tacked p rior t o f iring . t hermocouples a re v isible .

p 2 06

F ig .

1 2 :12 .

T he c one o f f uel

A ll

t hree

( Firing 3 8 .)

b uilt u p o ver t he p ots .

( Firing

3 2 .) p 2 07

F ig .

1 2 :13 .

A fter f iring . b e s een .

T he h igh a nd m iddle t hermocouples c an

( Firing 4 3 .)

p 2 08

F ig .

1 2 :14 .

F iring g raph - F iring 2 4

p 2 09

F ig .

1 2 :15 .

F iring g raph - F iring 3 8

p 2 11

F ig .

1 2 :16 .

F iring g raph - p eat f iring

p 2 12

F ig .

1 2 :17 .

F iring g raph - F iring 2 6

p 2 13

F ig .

1 2 :18 .

F iring g raph - F iring 4 1

p 2 14

F ig .

1 2 :19 .

F iring 4 1 - a verage t ermperatures r ecorded a t 4 ,

5 ,

1 ,

2 ,

a nd 5 /6 m inutes

p 2 16

F ig .

1 2 :20 .

F iring g raph - F iring 3 9

p 2 17

F ig „

1 2 121,

F iring g raph - F iring 4 2

p 2 18

F ig .

1 2 :22 .

F iring 4 2 - a verage t emperatures f rom d ifferent c ombinations o f t hermocouples

p 2 19

F ig .

1 2 :23 .

F iring g raph

p 2 20

F ig.

1 2 :24 .

F iring g raph - F iring 4 0

p 2 21

F ig .

1 2 :25 .

F iring 4 0 ,

- F iring 2 0

w ith t he h igh t hermocouple p ositioned

i nside t he r im o f t he v essel p 2 22

F ig .

1 2 :26 .

F iring 3 5 - a verage t emperatures r ecorded a t

1 ,2 a nd

4 m inute i ntervals p 2 23

F ig ,

1 2 :27 .

P eat f iring - a verage t emperatures r ecorded a t 4 m inute i ntervals

I N'T R O D U C T I O N T hat t he p rehistoric d esert c onstituting i s

l argely

a r esult

o f

t he

i nability

o f

l arge a reas o f c entral E ngland

p rehistoric

man

t o

c ultivate

t he

h eavy c lay s oils o f t he r egion i s a n a rchaeological h ypothesis u sed t o e xplain t he a pparently monument-devoid r egion b etween t he d ensely p opulated c halklands T he

o f W essex t o t he s outh-west a nd L incolnshire t o t he

p resence

o f

s ome

o bvious

f irst

m illennium

s ites

-

n orth-east . p articularly

h illforts - i n t he M idlands s erved n ot t o c ontradict b ut i nstead t o c onfirm t his a ccepted

v iew b ecause i t w as c onsidered t hat o nly

t he i ntroduction c laylands . M ost

o f

i ron

a rchaeologists

p loughshares

a re

w ell

a llow

a ware

o f

t he

t his

i n t he i ron a ge d id e xploitation

o ft-used

o f

t he

a rchaeological

d ictum b ut t he f act t hat i t i s t otally i naccurate i s l ess w ell k nown d espite t he e xtensive p ublications a nd r esearches

o f t he

a nd

a rchaeologists

t rusts .

I t

i s

t he r egion

m ight

b arrow

f or

i n ,

f elt

c onsider

e xample ,

p rove t he r ule . more

o ften

t hat

a s ite

s uch a s

L eicestershire ,

p ositive

f orm

o f

t hat

e vidence

i f

p eople

p ractising

o utside

a n

e arly s econd m illennium r ound

a s

a n

a ttesting

w ere

P rimarily t hrough t he e fforts a reas

l ocal a rchaeological u nits

e xception

w hich

s erves

t o

I nstead , t his t ype o f s ite s hould b e s een a s r epresenting a

l ogic d ictates h ere t oo .

l arge

m any

o f t he M idlands

a re

d ying

e arly

b ronze

h ere ,

t hey

a ge

w ere

s ettlement ; d oubtless

f or

l iving

o f a erial a rchaeologists a nd f ieldwalkers p roducing

e vidence

o f c ropmarks

a nd

f lint

s catters a ttesting p rehistoric o ccupation o f t he r egion f rom t he M esolithic . S imilarly , e nvironmental r esearch i s s howing t hat t he p resent h eavy c lay s oils a re t he r esult o f s ome 6 ,000 y ears o f a griculture f rom t he a dvent o f t he

f irst

f armers

c learance

o f

t he

t hrough e arly

t he

R oman

a nd

f orest

c over ,

r ich

medieval

p eriods .

b rownearths

P rior

w ould

h ave

t o

t he

c overed

l arge a reas o f t he m odern c lays a nd i n a ddition t he g ravels o f t he e xtensive r iver s ystems w ould h ave p rovided a ttractive a reas f or s ettlement b oth f rom t he p oint o f v iew o f w ell-drained l ocations a nd r ich r iver v alley r esources . I ndeed

i t

i s

t he

v ery

f ertility

a pparent p rehistoric l acuna . c lassic

a nd

m edieval

p ronounced

a nd

o f

M idlands

s oils

t hat

h as

c reated

t he

L arge t racts o f t he M idlands a re c overed w ith

r idge

p ost-medieval

a nd

l and

f urrow

u se .

I t

c ultivation i s

t his

a ttesting

d evelopment

i ntensive o f

a d eep

m edieval p loughsoil i n p resent d ay p asture , modern i ntensive a rable f arming a nd

o f

c ourse

p ost-medieval

u rban

d evelopment

t hat

p rehistoric monumental a rchaeology i n t he r egion . f ieldwalking a nd p rogrammes o f a erial p hotography

o bscures

m uch

o f

t he

N evertheless , i ncreased a re r apidly i ncreasing

t he d ensity o f a rchaeological s ites , p articularly o f t he p rehistoric p eriod , i n a ll p arts o f t he M idlands . S ome o f t hese c omparatively r ecent s ites h ave

b een

e xcavated

e nvironmental

a nd

a nd

h ave

c ultural

d ata

p rovided r egarding

i mportant t he

c hronological ,

p rehistory

o f

c entral

E ngland . I t w as a ccordingly f elt t hat t he t ime w as r ight t o h old a c onference o n M idlands P rehistory t o c onvey r esearches r egion . b y

t he

S evern t o

t he

a nd

t o

o utline

t o a w ider a udience t he n ature o f t he r ecent

s ome

o f

t he

c urrent

r esearch

p rojects

i n

t he

T he M idlands w as d efined a s a l arge c entral b lock b ordered r oughly T hames

V alley

t o

t he

a nd t he W elsh b order e ast .

A g eneral

s outh ,

t he

D erbyshire

P eak

t o

t he

n orth ,

t he

t o t he w est a nd t he F enlands a nd L incolnshire

c all

f or

p apers

1

w as

i ssued

t o

a rchaeologists

w orking S urvey

i n

t he

a rea

u nder

( including a erial

r esponse

w as

L eicester

t he

s urvey)

o verwhelming

U niversity

t hemes

t o

was

o f

G eneral

a nd E xcavation , t he

e xtent

o rganised

o r

R egional

a nd A rtefact S tudies .

t hat

a r esidential

t he

S pring

f or

S yntheses ,

o f

T he

w eekend

1 988

a t

b y

t he

U niversity 's D epartment o f C ontinuing E ducation a nd t hanks a re h erewith e xtended t o s taff o f t he C . E . D epartment w ho w orked h ard i n o rganising t he e vent .

T he e nthusiastic

t he c onference

( an

r esponse

i ndication

o f t he 2 5

s pecialists

o f t he a mount

o ffering p apers a t

o f w ork c urrently t aking p lace

w ithin t he f ield o f M idlands P rehistory) w as u nfortunately n ot matched b y t he p ublic a nd f or f inancial r easons t he c onference h ad t o b e a bandonned . W hile

t he

l ack

o f

p ublic

r esponse

c an

b e

a ttributed

t o

a

n umber

o f

r ectifiable f actors s uch a s t iming a nd a dverse p ublicity , i t was d ecided n ot t o

r eschedule

t he

t herefore r each

c onference

b ut

t o

a w ide a udience b ut

a im

a t

p ublication

i n a d ifferent

o f

t he

f ormat .

p apers

a nd

T his v olume

i s

t he r esult o f t hat a ttempt . O bviously n ot a ll t he p apers o ffered a t t he c onference h ave b een p ublished . S ome c ontributors h ad t o w ithdraw d ue t o p ressure o f w ork a nd o ther c ommittments . S ome p apers w ere b eing p ublished e lsewhere a nd o thers w ere i nterim s tatements o f o ngoing r esearch n ot y et a t a s tage s ufficiently a dvanced f or w orthwhile p ublication . N evertheless , t his v olume i s a r esult o f t he r e-orientated c onference a nd e nsures t hat a t l east s ome o f t he w ork t hat w ent c onference

i nto t he o rganisation o f t he e vent a nd t he p apers h as n ot b een wasted . T he c ontributors

p reparation o f a re t hanked f or

t heir e fforts . T he

f ormat

o f

t his

v olume

i s

r oughly

t he

s ame

a s

t he

i ntended

c onference a nd t he p apers a re d ivided i nto t he c ategories o f E xcavation a nd S urvey ,

A erial

B arfield

a nd

u pdating

s tatement

p rehistoric

P hotography ,

H odder 's o f

r emains

R egional

a rticle t heir

c an

o n

r esearch

s till

S yntheses

t he

b urnt

i nto t his

s urvive

i n

a nd

m ounds

o f

A rtefact

S tudies .

B irmingham

f ascinating

g limpse

a n e ssentially u rban

i s

a n

o f h ow

e nvironment .

G iven t he l ack o f k nowledge r egarding t he f unction ( s) o f t hese s ites a nd t he c ooking s ite - p arallelled i n I reland a nd S cotland - v ersus t he s weat h ouse

- p arallelled

i n t he N ew

o f

b urnt

a nd

a

e agerly K eele

mound

a waited .

o ffice

o f

B y t he

i ts

c ontrast R CHME

W orld - a rgument t he l arge s cale e xcavation

i mmediate

a nd

t he

s urroundings

S tanton

r eported

M oor

h ere

b y

i s

s urvey P aul

w ell

o verdue

u ndertaken

E verson ,

i s

a nd

b y

a t

t he

f irst

s ight more c onventional i n t hat i t w as u ndertaken i n a n a rea w ell-known f or i ts p rehistoric m onuments a nd a pparently w ell-documented . T he p aper , h owever , i s a n i mportant o ne d emolishing p revious monument t ypologies a nd i llustrating t he f act t hat a p reviously c onsidered r emnant l andscape i s i n f act a p alimpsest o f i ntensive h istoric l anduse . E ven u pland a reas i n t he M idlands

a re

u nsafe ,

i t

a ppears ,

f rom

l ater

a griculture

o r

l and

e xploitation . C ursus monuments a nd o blong d itches a re t ypes o f s ites which a re b eing i ncreasingly

d iscovered

i n

t he

r egion ,

m ainly

t hrough

a erial

p hotography

t he i nvestigative t echnique r esponsible f or d iscovering b oth t he A ston o n T rent c ursus a nd t he B arford c ursus w hose e xcavation r eports a ppear i n t his v olume . T he e xcavations a t A ston o n T rent w ere small-scale a nd i nvestigative d esigned t o t est t he s tratigraphical r elationship b etween t he c ursus i tself a nd a l arge r ing-ditch o n w hich t he c ursus a ppeared t o h ave b een a lligned . T he B arford e xcavation , b y c ontrast w as a r escue o peration i n

a dvance

o f

s upport-road

g ravel

e xtraction .

c onstruction

m edieval h amlet o f W est B eneath t he s ettlement ,

w hich

I t

w as

p rompted

a s imilar t he

t hreat

e xcavations

C otton i n t he N ene V alley i n h owever , p roved a l arge a nd

2

p lus o f

a ssociated

t he

d eserted

N orthamptonshire . i mportant r itual

c omplex

o f

t he

l ate

t hird

a nd

e arly

s econd

m illennium .

T he

e xcavations

r eported h ere a nd u nder t he d irection o f D ave W indell a re s till i n p rogress b ut

t heir

i mportance

i s

o bvious

f rom

t he

i nterim

s tatement .

O ne

o blong

d itch , p ossibly a s econd o void e nclosure a nd a t urf mound c ombine w ith r ing d itches

a nd

a h engiform

s ite

t o

f orm

a n

i mportant

r itual

f ocus

o f

a t ype

t hat i s b ecoming i ncreasingly r ecognised i n t he N ene V alley . T he

c ontribution

r econnaisance F red

o f

H artley

a nd

a rchaeological t ypes

m any

p ersonal

J im

w hich

u seage

v iew

a erial

o f

i n

l ong

a nd

w ork

o f

a rchaeological t he

p articularly

u nknown

o ffers

f lying

t he

a L eicestershire

i llustrates

a nd

P ickering

t erm

t o

w ith

H artley

u ndated

i nferred .

h is

p hotography

s ummarised

L eicestershire

r emain

i s

i s

P ickering .

c ropmarks

o f

s ettlement

o f

t he M idlands

o ver

t he

f unction

a h ighly

b ias

v ariety

o f

e nclosure

t hough

s ome

i ndividual

t he E ast

M idlands .

a nd T his

p aper i s u nillustrated b ecause M r P ickering f elt t hat a erial p hotographs n ot

r eproduce

w ell '

t hem p roperly . s ome

o f

t he

a nd

t hat

most

a rchaeologists

a re

u nable

b y

t o

' do

i nterpret

S ome r eaders m ay o bject t o s ome o f t he v iews e xpressed a nd

i nterpretations

o ffered

b ut

t he

w riter

i s

e ntitled

t o

h is

o wn

o pinions a nd t hey may s erve a s d iscussion p oints . I n

t he

t hree

r egional

s urveys ,

P atrick

C lay

d escribes

t he

s urvey

p rojects a nd r esearch p rojects o f t he L eicestershire M useums A rchaeological U nit d esigned t o t ry t o a nswer s pecific q uestions r egarding t he p rehistoric s ettlement o f t he c ounty . R ichard H ingley 's a rticle d eals s pecifically w ith w hat c an b e g leaned f rom t he a rchaeological e vidence r egarding t he i ron a ge s ettlement

o f W arwickshire a nd makes s ome s uggestions

B rian

a nd

D ix

D ennis

s ettlement b ut t ype o f c ounty .

l ate

T he v olume

t wo

J ackson

s imilarly

d eal

w ith

f or

t he

f uture r esearch . f irst

m illennium

i n N orthamptonshire a nd w ith p articular r egard t o a s pecific i ron

a ge

d efended

a rtefact

d iffer

p apers

d ramatically

s ettlement

w hich

i n

w ere

c ontent

which

a ppears

s ubmitted

a nd

f or

a pproach .

p eculiar

i nclusion

I t

i s

t o

i n

t he

t his

a p leasure

t o

i nclude P ippa B radley 's p aper which d eals w ith t he g eological o rigins o f t he g roup X X p olished s tone i mplements a nd i s b ased o n o riginal work w hich w as u ndertaken ' factory ' g roup

f or

a n

s ite

i s

w as

w ell

u ndergraduate l ocated ,

d issertation

t he

c omplexity

i llustrated

a nd

a

p aper

w ith

i n

a nd

c onvincing

a rchaeology . i nternal

T hough

v ariation

g eological

match

i n

h as

n o t he

b een

i dentified . A nn

W ood 's

d eals

a n

i mportant

s eries

o f

e xperiments

i nto

t he o pen f iring o f p ottery w hich h ave b een u ndertaken u nder h er s upervision a t L eicester U niversity . T his i s i mportant w ork a nd t his r esum4 n ot o nly o utlines c ompleted r esearch i nto t he manufacture o f p rehistoric p ottery , t he m ethods o f f iring a nd t he r esults o f t emperature r ecording b ut a lso s uggests t he d irection o f f uture r esearch . W ell-designed e xperiment i s e ssential

t o

a rtefact

s tudies

a nd

M iss

W ood 's

p aper

m akes

a n

e xcellent

c onclusion t o t he v olume . T he

a rchaeological

p rehistoric a rchaeology

w ilderness a bundant

R econnaisance b eing

r ecord t hat b ut

t echniques

i n

t he

w as o nce r esearch

s uch

a s

f ield

i ncreasingly u sed a nd r efined

M idlands ,

e nvisaged . i nto i t w alking

t hen ,

i s

f ar

f rom

t he

N ot o nly i s p rehistoric i s i ncreasing r apidly . a nd

i n t he r egion

a erial

p hotography

a re

t o e nhance o ur k nowledge

o f p rehistoric s ettlement . R itual c omplexes a re f ound i n n early a ll t he m ajor r iver s ystems o f t he M idlands s uggesting t hat t hey w ere a reas o f m ajor s ettlement , a ccess r outes o r e ven t erritorial b oundaries . P re-iron a ge

s ettlements

a re

s till

r are ,

b ut

3

d oubtless

many

o f

t he

m esolithic ,

n eolithic a nd b ronze a ge f lint s catters w ill f ill t hat g ap . e xcavation i s c ostly a nd , more i mportantly , d estructive r eason

n ow

v arying q uestions

f or

s oil i n

t he

e xcavation

t ypes

a nd

m ind .

i n

o f

a n umber

d iffering

T he a ugmentation

i s c ommendable e nough

o f

b ut more n eeds

o f

c arefully

l ocations

w ith

T hough modern t here m ust b e c hosen

s pecific

t he s everal SMR 's

i n

s ites

o n

r esearch

t he M idlands

t o b e d one t o e xtract t he m eaning o f

t he e merging p atterns a nd t o d etermine t he n ature o f many e nigmatic s ites . F inally ,

t he

i ntensive

m eans t hat p loughing t hat

a p otential

A rchaeology u pon

u s

t o

b y

a rable

s ettlement

i ts

c ombine

a griculture

i s a c onstant t hreat .

n ature

h as

i s

r esearch

a lready

a lso w ith

b een

a f inite r escue

p ractised

F lints

i n

t he

M idlands

i n t he p loughscil m eans

t runcated

i f

n ot

d estroyed .

r esource a nd

t he t ime m ust

b e

i n

a ctive

o f

t he

v ery

s phere

M idlands P rehistory . A lex G ibson 2 9th N ovember 1 988

4

1:

B U R N T

M O U N D S

M I D L A N D S: S U R V E Y S

I N

T H E

A N D

W E S T

E X C A V A TI O N S L. H .B arfield M. A .H odder

S ummary I ntensive n umber s tream T his

f ieldwork

i n

t he

B irmingham

a rea

h as

b rought

t o

l ight

a

o f b urnt mound s ites r ecognised mainly i n t he e roded s ides o f b anks a nd c onsisting a lmost e ntirely o f b urnt s tones a nd c harcoal .

paper

d iscusses

t he

f unction ( S)

d istribution a nd t he s ubsequent t he W est M idlands .

of

t hese

s ites ,

i mplications f or

t heir

d ensity

o f

b ronze a ge s ettlement

i n

I NTRODUCTION B urnt

m ounds

s hattered

s tones

e xcavated ,

t hey

l ined o f

t rough

h ave

a nd

materials .

t his t ype n umber o f

a re

o val ,

c rescentic

a nd c harcoal b een

s tone

F ew

w hich

f ound

o r

t o

t imber

d atable

o f

h eat-

a re u sually a djacent t o s treams

o r

W here

b e

a ssociated

h uts ,

a rtefacts

k idney-shaped w ith

d epending

h ave

b een

o n

a s tone

t he

f ound

mounds o r

t imber-

l ocal a vailability

i n

a ssociation

w ith

o f s ite , b ut r adiocarbon d ates i ndicate t hat t hey b elong t o a d ifferent p eriods . T he u sual i nterpretation o f b urnt mounds i s

t hat t hey r epresent t he d ebris f rom a c ooking p rocess ( O 'Kelly , 1 954; H edges , 1 977) b ut t he p resent a uthors h ave a rgued f or a n i nterpretation a s s team o r s auna b aths B urnt

m ounds

( Barfield a nd H odder ,

h ave b een

r ecorded

1 987).

t hroughout

t he B ritish

I sles

a nd

t his

r egional p attern h as b een d escribed b y H edges ( 1977). I n t he W est M idlands , b urnt mounds w ere f irst i dentified a round 1 900 b y t he G eological S urvey d uring i ts w ork i n t he s outh S taffordshire c oalfield ( Cantrill , 1 913).

I n

d iscovered

1 926 a nd

M ichael

N ixon

1 980).

A ll

s hattered m ounds .

a s ite

a t

p artially l ocated

e xcept

s tones

t hirteen

o ne

a nd

S utton

P ark ,

e xcavated o f

s ites

t hese

c harcoal

i n

s ites

i n

t o

t he

( Bullows , t he

s outh

w ere

s tream

b anks

o f

B rimingham ,

B etween

1 950

B irmingham

v isible

a s

r ather

a nd

a rea

e xposures t han

a s

w as 1 980

( Nixon ,

o f

h eat-

u pstanding

C harcoal f rom o ne s uch s tream e xposure i n B ournville P ark p roduced

a r adiocarbon d etermination o f 1 010+/-140 b .c . I n

1 980

e xcavated a nd

n orth

1 930).

l ay

a nd

b y

1 981

t he

o n

o ne

p resent

a k noll

o f

o f

t he

( Birm-697).

s ites r ecorded

a uthors . a lluvium

T he i n

mound

w hat

b y

w as

h ad

N ixon s hown

a t t o

o riginally

C ob L ane w as b e

9m ,

b een

a cross

a s tream

m eander . A p it a nd a h earth w ere f ound u nder t he mound a nd a d ate o f 1 190+/-90 b .c . ( Birm-1087) w as o btained f rom c harcoal a t t he b ase o f t he mound t ree b ed

( Barfield t runks

a nd

a nd

s uggesting

H odder ,

o rganic

1 981).

r emains

T he

d ated

t o

a lluvium

u nder

1 210+/-70

b .c .

t he i n

mound t he

o verlay

o ld

s tream

t hat s hortly b efore t he mound was c onstructed t here w as a n

e pisode o f f orest c learance f ollowed b y s oil e rosion p erhaps a s a r esult o f c ultivation . F ollowing

t he

C ob

s earch

s treams

l ocate e xposures

t o

f or

L ane

s ystematic

b urnt

e xcavation , mounds

i n

t he

s outh

p resent

B irmingham

a uthors b y

o f h eat-shattered s tones a nd c harcoal

b anks .

5

b egan

w alking

a

a long

i n t heir

C URRENT R ESEARCH I n m iles

t he b y

c urrent

2 m iles

c ompleted .

W e

s urvey w ide

h ave

w e

f or

a lso

i nitially

i ntensive

s trayed

s elected

s tudy

o utside

a nd

t he

a r ectangle t his

a rea

s till

b ecause

m easuring

r emains i t

i s

7

t o

b e

e asier

t o

s tudy i ndividual d rainage s ystems . T he R iver B lythe i s a lso b eing s earched a t p resent a nd t he w ider s tudy a rea i n w hich a ll t he s ites w ere r ecorded e xtends f rom R ugeley i n t he n orth t o W ythall i n t he s outh . I n

s outh

B irmingham ,

e xposed

s tream

b anks

o pen s paces s uch a s p arks a nd g olf c ourses . c ulverted o r t heir b anks h ave b een r evetted . S tream

w alking n ecessitates a ctually

s tones

a re

n ot

a lways

b ank .

T wo t ypes

o f

v isible

r ecording

s ites a nd t he o ther

w alked .

O n

l atter ,

t he

f orm

i ndividual

t he

i n

a re

w ading s tream

a re

g enerally

E lsewhere ,

h ave

t o

b een

i n t he s treams s ince b urnt s ections

u sed .

r estricted

s treams

f rom

T he f irst

i s

t he

o pposite

f or d etails

o f

f or t he s tretches o f s tream which h ave b een

t he

e xtent

o f

e xposed

b anks ,

t he

e xtent

o f

c ulverting , t he h eight o f t he w ater a nd t he t ype o f v egetation a re r ecorded a s

w ell

B oth

a s

mounds O f

o ther

r esistivity i n

b oth

t hese

f actors a nd

t he

w hich

m ight

m agnetometer

s outh

t echniques

B irmingham

r esistivity

a ffect

s urveys

t he

h ave

s tudy

i s

v isibility b een

a rea

c ertainly

a nd

t he

o f

t he

s ites .

o n

e xtant

c onducted i n t he

most

R ugeley a rea .

e ffective

( Jones ,

1 987 ; H odder a nd W elch i n p ress). T he s ites h ave b een c lassified i nto f our c ategories :A

U ndisturbed s tream

a nd

f ragments

b urnt

mound

d eposits .

h eat-shattered a nd

c harcoal

s tones

d ust .

T hese a re

T his

h ave

v isible g roup

b een

i n

c ut

i nto

a matrix

a lso

o f

i ncludes

b y

t he

c harcoal

a f ew

s ites

w hich a re s till u pstanding mounds o ften u ncut b y t he s tream . B

Wounds

which

h ave

b een

washed

s tones a re r edeposited . t han

a t hin

t hough

l ine

o f

d estroyed a nd

T hese

t hrough

h ave

b y

a s tream

n o c harcoal

h eat-shattered

s tones .

a nd

where

t he

a nd a re o ften n o more T hese

a re

c ommon

a nd

l ess e asy t o s ee , t hey a re p aradoxically t he m ore

l ikely t o b e f ound s ince t he s tones h ave b een s pread o ver a w ider a rea . O ne s ite h as a n o utwash o f s tones e xtending f or o ver 6 0m . a long t he s tream b ank , a nd a t o ther s ites w ashed o ut s tones a ppear i n t he s tream b ed . C

C lusters o f s tones . t ogether

T hese c onsist

o f t hree o r more s tones f ound c lose

i n t he s tream b ank a nd h int a t t he p resence o f a mound i n t he

v icinity . D

S ingle b urnt s tones . f urther r eveal

f inds m ore

b ut

T hese a re a lso r ecorded a s t hey may

t here

v alue

i nformation .

i s

d ubious .

T ypes

C a nd

L ater

D a re

s urvey ,

n ot

l ead l ater t o h owever ,

c onsidered

may

i n

t he

f ollowing s tatistical a nalysis . O ne

o f

t he

main

a ims

o f

t he

s urvey

i s

t o

s ites a long s treams w ithin s pecific s tudy a reas . e nough

a dvanced

e merging . f ound

T he

i n t he 2 2

B irmingham . F irstly s ome

u s

t o

make

f irm

d ensity

f or

o f

s ites

i s

u nderstand

c onclusions ,

r emarkably

t he

d ensity

o f

T he s urvey i s n ot y et f ar b ut

h igh :

s ome 2 3

p atterns

s ites

h ave

a re b een

m iles o f s tream s o f ar s earched i n t he s tudy a rea o f s outh

T his s ites

i s , h owever , n ot o ccur v ery c lose

a t rue p icture f or s everal r easons . t ogether a long o ne s tretch o f s tream

a nd c an b e e xplained a s t wo p arts o f t he s ame s ite .

6

S econdly s ome s ites

AREA O F I NTENS IVE S URVEY 5 IM ILES

...... .

•.•.•.•.'.'. . . .

( , • •• • ••. •. •. . •. .. .• .• . . . .

....

.

........ •• . . . . . . .

T r i g . 1 : 1

D i stribution o f b u rnt m o unds i n t h e B i rm ingham a r ea a n d s o uthern S ta ffordsh ire , 1- S u tton P a r k, 2 - R i dge A c re , 3-M e rrits B roo k , 4-C o b L ane P a rk, 5 B o urnev ille P o o l , 6-C o b L ane P o lice S tation , 7-W o od lands P a rk , 8-M oseley B og , 9-H i ghbury P a rk , 1 0 -S andwe ll V a lley , 1 -B a rston , 1 2 -R uge ley , T h e d a shed l i ne r e presents t h e l i m its o f t h e s outh B i rm ingham i n tens ive s t ream s u rvey ,

7

w ithin

a f ew

T hirdly

m etres

many

v egetation

o r

d epositing

t he

o f

t he t he

s treams

h ave

c ulverting .

o n

V isibility

o f

s treams

l arge

F ourthly

o ther

a re most

t herefore

s tream

b ank

n ot

v isible

s ections

o f

s treams

a re

e liminating

v aries

f rom

2 %

i n

t heir

t o

t he

s tream

b anks

e roding

b anks .

o bscured o ne

b ank

5 0%

o f

p otential

5 0%

a nd

t herefore

b y a nd

s ites . i t

m ay

b e e stimated t hat w e a re s eeing o nly 2 0% o f t he a ncient s tream b ank . T aking o f s ites o btain m ile

a more

o f

mounds

i n

t he

b y

t he O n

i s

a n

s ince

b y

w e c an

a f actor

p robably m ultiply t he n umber

o f 5 s ites p er m ile o f s tream t o

p icture o f a bsolute n umbers ;

t his

s outh map

i nto a ccount ,

s urvey

r ealistic

t he

t here

u njustified

f actors

b y

s tream .

c overed t hat

t hese

f ound

b asis

t here would

B irmingham ( Fig .

1 :1)

e ven s ome

s urvey T hese

a rea o f

o f

o f f urther

c oncentrated p icture . s till

e xclusively

I ndeed

a ssociation

s urvey . t here

b etween

c onsider

u nrealistic

t o

t he

I t

o n

c ould

s tream

a re

k nown

b urnt mounds p resent

p roject

f ive s ites p er

o n

T his ,

s eems

t o

o f

1 80 w hole

t he

a ssumption

h owever ,

b e

b urnt

t he

a rea

may

e merging

i n

b e

s ome

T his c ould b e a n i mportant

a lso b e c ommented t hat t he s urvey h as c ourses

a nd

d ensity

i s

o ver

b ased

s ites .

s ites

s ites

a pproach

t he

4 700

a re

a reas while s ome s treams l ack s ites a ltogether . f eature

t hat

b een a t otal

a nd

f igures

d istribution

c lustering

h ave

a nd

o n

s treams t o

o f

b e

t hus

t he i s

b y

n ow

v alid .

s ites

h as

p roduced

i nterfluves I t

l ocated

b ut

a b iased s ince

t he

w ell-recognised w e

would a long

a ppear s treams

t otally t o

t he

a reas i n b etween . C harcoal

s amples

h ave

b een

e xtracted

f rom

s ites a nd r adiocarbon d ates f or t hese r ange f rom 1 :2)

t hus

p lacing

t he

s ites

i n

t he

m iddle

s tream

s ections

1 340 b .c .

b ronze

a ge .

a t

s everal

t o 8 80 b oc . O ne

( Fig .

d etermination

h as p roduced a l ate t hird o r e arly s econd m illennium d ate o f 2 020+/100 b oc . ( Birm-799)

( Appendix 1 ).

2 500 S ha rme r F a r n

1 500

2 000 — —

± 1 s . d . ± 2 s . d .

S ha rme r F a rn S andwe l l P a rk H a rbo rne , R idge A c re Me r r i t ts B roo K B ou rnv i l le , C ob L ane , P o l ice S ta t io 1 C ob L ane B ou rnv i l le , Y ach t ing P oo I Wood lands P a rk Mose ley B og Mose ley , H ighbu ry P a r( D a r tmou th G o l f C ou rse F ig . 1 :2

R a d io carbon d ates f r om W e st M id lands b u rnt m o unds ,

8

1 000

5 00 B .C .

B eyond

t he

a rea

c overed

b y

t he

i ntensive s urvey ,

a s imilar

b urnt m ounds i s s uggested b y t he r esults o f o ther s urveys . b een

f ound

i n

t he S andwell

t hat h as b een 1 020+/-160 b .c . t o

t he n orth

o ver

7 0

v alley t o

o f

o f B irmingham

a nd

o ne

e xcavated h as p roduced a r adiocarbon d etermination o f ( Birm-1268) ( Hewitt a nd H odder i n p ress). A round R ugeley ,

o f B irmingham ,

y eas

t he n orth-west

d ensity

F our s ites h ave

a go

b y

m ore

s ites

t he G eological

h ave b een a dded

S urvey

( Fig .

1 :1)

t o t hose r ecovered

( Hodder

a nd

W elch

i n

p ress), I n B arston , a r ural a rea t o t he s outh-west o f B irmingham , t wo s ites h ave b een l ocated d uring a n i ntensive p arish s urvey ( Burnett , 1 982). I t

c an

b e

c onventional

n oted

t hat

most

f ield w alking

o f

r ather

t hese

l atter

s ites

h ave

b een

f ound

b y

t han s tream w alking a nd t hey c onfirm t he

o bserved c orrelation b etween m ounds a nd s treams .

I MPLICATIONS T he d iscovery o f h ow many u nderstanding a ssumptions

o f s o m any b urnt mound s ites a nd t he p rojected e stimates

more t here may h ave b een h as major i mplications o f t he W est M idlands d uring t he m iddle B ronze A ge .

t hat

t he

B irmingham

P lateau

w as

s parsely

s ettled

f or o ur P revious

b efore

t he

m iddle a ges ( eg T horpe , 1 950) h ave b een c ontradicted b y i ncreasing e vidence f or p rehistoric a nd R oman s ettlement ( summarised i n W ebster , 1 982 , a nd H ingley ,

t his

m esolithic n ow

b e

v olume),

a ctivity

s uggested

I n

p articular

( Saville ,

f or

t he

1 974)

l ater

t here

a nd

e ven

s econd

i s

g rowing

more

m illennium

b .c .

t his a rticle n ot

i t

r elated

o riginally ( 1954),

( see

i s

B arfield a nd H odder ,

o bvious t o

i t c an

i mprovised

i mplied

i n

R ather ,

p robably

t hat

r elate

t he

o n t o

1 987)

h unting

I rish

a ccount

l iterary

o f

a p ermanent

b e a ccepted

e xpeditions

t heir

i n

t radition

n umber

f arming

a nd

i nterpretation i s

t hat

t he s ites a re

f orest

a nd

l and

a ccepted

s ize

p opulation

t he n ature

w e s ee t he s ites a s n ot b e d iscussed i n

b ut w hatever

p robably

t hese

( Hedges ,

a s

b y

I t

i s

s tarting i n

t o

e merge

t he

f rom

B ournville

t he

s urvey

a rea

i s

t hat

s ome

p robably

s ites

1 977 ;

c lustering

i ndicative

u se o f m ounds a s t he s upply o f p ebbles w as e xhausted . s ites d oubtless b elong t o t he s amne s ettlement . H owever , t his

l iklihood ,

t he

r atio

o f

mounds

t o

s ettlement

s ettlements

i s

a s

i s

o f

w as

O 'Kelly m ore

B arfield

a nd H odder , 1 987) i mplying t hat t he a rea h ad b een c leared o f f orest . n ot k nown i n what r atio t o a ssociated s ettlements t he b urnt mounds p articularly

f or

o ccupation c an

H owever ,

o f t his s ettlement s till n eeds c larification . Whether s weat b aths o r c ooking s ites i s a q uestion t hat w ill c orrect

e vidence

i ntensive

o f

I t i s o ccur . mounds ,

a s equential

T he t wo C ob L ane e ven a llowing f or

u nlikely

t o

b e

m ore

t han 3 :1. T he

l ocation

o f

t he

y et

a nother

u nresolved

p roblem .

T hese p robably e xisted o n t he h igher g round a djacent t o t he s treams b ut a s y et F isherwick i s t he o nly s ettlement f rom t he w hole a rea ( Smith , 1 976). T he l ack o f v isibility o f o ther s ites m ust b e d ue t o t he a bsence o f d urable a rtefacts a nd i nsubstantial s tructural r emains f rom t he s ettlements , T he s outhern a

g eneral

d istribution

p attern

E ngland

p resented

R owlands

r espectable

d istribution T his ,

i s

q uantity n ot a s

n evertheless

a lso

b y

o f

f inds

d ense a s

o f

m iddle

( 1976

i n

o ur

i n o ther

s upports

t he

b ronze

map a rea

a reas ,

2 7 ;

a ge

F ig .

t hough o f

h ere)

i n

s hows

a dmittedly

p articularly

i mpression

m etalwork

1 :3

t he

f urther s outh .

a s ubstantial

m iddle

b ronze a ge p opulation . T he

m iddle

b ronze

a ge

f inds

a re ,

i n

f act ,

m uch

m ore

c ommon

t han

e ither e arlier o r l ater b ronze a ge a rtefacts f rom t he a rea o f o ur map . T his

9

2 0 M i les

C on tou rs a re i nf ee t

F langed a xe o r p a lstave o

Ch ise l o r p unch

✓ D irk o r r ap ier • S pearhead o Go ld t orc Hoard

F ig .

1 :3

D istribution

o f

M iddle B ronze A ge m etalwork

u npublished m ap p repared b y D r H , B amford c , 1974 , f or h er p ermission t o u se i t ,

p attern mounds t o

t he

s upport

m ay a nd ,

c oncur t aken

c onstruction t he

r elatively

w ith

w ith o f

p eriod

n arrow

c hronological

t he e vidence f or t he

i nterpretation

s hort

t he

o f

b urnt t hat t ime .

mound t he

i n t he s tudy a rea b ased o n a n

T he a uthors a re g rateful t o D r , B amford

a t

a rea

S uch

r ange

f orest c learance C ob w as

L ane ,

i t

i ntensively

a h ypothesis ,

o f

d ated

b urnt

i mmediately p rior c an

b e

s een

s ettled

h owever ,

n eeds

t o

f or

c onfirmation w ith b oth a g reater e nvironmental a nd a rchaeological d atabase .

1 0

a

m ore

A PPENDIX 1 R adiocarbon d ates f or b urnt mounds

i n t he W est M idlands . N ote t hat S harmer

F arm l ies t o t he e ast o f t he p resent s tudy .

S harmer F arm , L eamington

B irm .371

2 990+/-100 B P

1 040b .c .

B irm .344

2 950+1-100 B P

1 000b .c .

S andwell P ark R ef S V6 1 380

B irm .1268

3 070+1-160 B P

1 020b .c .

H arborne , R idge A cre

B irm .799

3 970+/-100 B P

2 020b .c .

M erritts B rook 2

B irm .800

3 070+1-100 B P

1 120b . c .

B ournville , C ob L ane

B irm .1087

3 140+/-90 B P

1 190b .c .

P olice s tation , C ob L ane

B irm .1149

3 290+/-60 B P

1 340b .c .

B ournville Y achting P ool

B irm .697

2 960+/-140 B P

1 010b .c ,

W oodlands P ark

B irm .1211

3 020+/-50 B P

1 070b .c .

M oseley B og

B irm .1114

2 830+1-80 B P

8 80b .c .

M oseley , H ighbury P ark

B irm .1099

2 975+/-80 B P

1 025b .c .

1 1

R EFERENCES B arfield , L .H . a nd H odder , A rchaeology 7 8 , p p198-200 .

X .A .

B arfield , L .H . a nd H odder , LA . p p370-379 . B ullows , W .L . i n

S utton

1 930

1 981

1 987

B irmingham s

b ronze

a ge .

C urrent

B urnt mounds a s s aunas . A ntiquity , 6 1,

N otes o n a p rehistoric c ooking s ite a nd c amping g round

P ark ,

W arwickshire ,

e xcavated

1 926 .

T ransactions

o f

t he

B irmingham A rchaeological S ociety , 5 2 , p p 2 91-300 . B urnett , V . C antrill ,

1 987

T .C .

B arston . W est M idlands A rchaeology , 3 0 1 913

S tone-boiling

i n

t he

B ritish

I sles .

R eport

o f

t he

L iddle

a nd

B ritish A ssociation f or t he A dvancement o f S cience , B irmingham , 1 91 H edges ,

J .

B eaquoy .

1 977

E xcavation

P roceedings

o f

t he

o f

t wo

S ociety

O rcadian

o f

b urnt

A ntiquaries

mounds

o f

a t

S cotland ,

1 06 ,

p p38-

9 8. H ewitt ,

J .R .

V alley ,

1 982-1986 .

a nd

H odder ,

KA .

I n

T ransactions

p ress

o f

t he

A l andscape S outh

s urvey

S taffordshire

o f

S andwell

A rchaeological

a nd H istorical S ociety , 2 5 . H odder ,

MA .

a nd

W elch ,

C .

i n

p ress

B urnt

mounds

i n

t he

s outh

S taffordshire a rea . S taffordshire A rchaeological S tudies , 4 . J ones , A .E . d ollies

1 987

P ark ,

A g eophysical a nd c ontour s urvey o f b urnt mounds a t F ox

A cocks

G reen s

B irmingham

a nd

E arlswood ,

W est

M idlands ,

U npublished M .A . t hesis , B irmingham U niversity . N ixon , N .J .

1 980

B urnt mounds i n t he s outh B irmingham a rea . W est M idlands

A rchaeology 2 3 , p p8-11 M elly , p laces .

N .J .

1 954

J ournal

E xcavations

o f t he R oyal

a nd

e xperiments

S ociety

i n

o f A ntiquaries

a ncient o f

I rish c ooking-

I reland 8 4,

p p

1 05-

1 55 . R owlands ,

N .

1 976

N iddle B ronze A ge

T he

P roduction

i n S outhern

a nd

D istribution

o f

M etalwork

B ritain B ritish A rchaeological

i n

t he

R eports N o .31,

O xford S aville , f rom

A .

1 974

B ourne

P ool ,

A r econsideration A ldridge ,

S taffs .

A rchaeological a nd H istorical S ociety Smith , C .A . I ce-wedge

1 976 c asts

o f

t he

p rehistoric

T ransactions

f lint

a ssemblage

o f t he S outh S taffordshire

1 4 , p p 6 -28

S econd r eport o f e xcavations a t F isherwick , S taffs . a nd

a m iddle

b ronze

a ge

s ettlement .

T ransactions

S outh S taffordshire A rchaeological a nd H istorical S ociety 1 6, p p 1 -17

1 2

1 973 .

o f

t he

T horpe ,

H .

1 950

K invig , R .H . e t a l . S urvey B irmingham

T he g rowth ( eds)

o f

s ettlement

b efore

t he

B irmingham a nd i ts R egional

W ebster , G . 1 982 P rehistoric s ettlement a nd a nd t he i mpact o f R ome . i n S later , T :R . a nd F orest N orwich

1 3

l anduse J arvis ,

N orman C onquest . S etting :

i n

a S cientific

i n t he W est M idlands P .J . ( eds) F ield a nd

2:

F I E L D S U R V E Y B Y R C H ME O N T H E G RI T S T D N E M O O R L A N D S O F T H E D E R B Y S HI R E

P E A K

S T A N T O N

D I S T R I C T:

M O O R

P aul E verson S UMMARY Non-excavational o ut

b y RCHNE o n

ground-based

e arthwork

S tanton Moor i n D erbyshire a s

survey

h as

b een

c arr ied

t he f irst p hase of w ork o n

u pland r emains i n t he southern P ennines . T he c hoice o f s cales a nd a pproach t o t he w ork w ere r elated t o t he t ask's d efined o bjectives a nd t o promoting a metrically a ccurate a nd t opographically b ased s urvey of t he w hole moor a s t he

b asis

f or

c orrelating

p ast

w ork

i n

t he

a rea .

T he

a pproach

r evealed

f actors o f c ontinuing l and-use a nd i mpact of e xcavations w hose a ppreciation w ere

f undamental

t o

u nderstanding

b oth

promoted

t he i dentif ication

i ndividually

i n

a ny

remains ,

a nd

d etail i n

a nd

i n

o f

o f a dditional

c larifying

t he

n ature

e xtensda

t he

T he

o f

s ame

t he p rehistoric

a ppreciation

h as

e arly f eatures o f i mportance b oth

m ixed

c omposition

o f

e arly

l and-use .

F urther f ieldwork i n t he a rea h as t aken u p t he q uestion o f t he f orm o f s ettlements a ssociated w ith t he b ronze a ge f ield systems t hat t his project r aised . I NTRODUCTION F ield r ecording b y t he t hen a t

K eele

o f

p rehistoric

( 1984)

r emains

n ewly e stablished R CHME l ocal o ffice

s urviving

a s

e arthwork

f eatures

o n

t he

moorlands o f t he s outhern P ennines h as r esulted f rom a n umber o f c auses . H art 's g eneral r eview ( Hart , 1 981) o f t he a rchaeological r esources o f n orth D erbyshire o f

t he

r easserted t he e xtensive

e astern

i dentification r easoned

g ritstone s urveys

p lanning

o f

moors ( now

1 983).

A t

t he s ame t ime

n ature

f ield

o f

B arnatt 's

B arnatt ,

m easured

p ioneer w ork o f L AL B utcher

a nd

1 986)

t he b ronze a ge f ield r emains more

d etailed

a nd

h as

p rovided

a

r ecording

t o

a ugment

i n t he 1 950 's a nd 1 960 's

a nd

i nvaluable b asis

f or

i mprove

t he

( Beswick a nd M errills ,

i t w as k nown t hat r outine r evision

i nput i nto t he

N ational A rchaeological R ecord a t S outhampton h ad b een p atchy a nd g enerally n ot r ecent , a nd l imited t oo b y t raditional m apping r equirements w hich , f or e xample , e xcluded d etailed r ecording o f f ield s ystems . F urthermore , i n t he s outh-west

a nd

d eliberately

n orth-east

s hifting

t he

o f

E ngland

b alance

o f

t he

o ther

n ew

R CHME

C ommission 's

o ffices

w ork

i nto

w ere u pland

a reas w ith w ork o n B odmin a nd i n t he C heviots ( RCHME 1 984-5 , 7 -10), a nd t he s outhern P ennines o ffered a M idlands c ontribution t o t hat n ew e mphasis . B ut

t he

i mmediate

c ause

w as

a n

a greement

w ith

t he

P eak

D istrict

N ational P ark A uthority t o a ssist i n i mproving t he e xisting a rchaeological r ecord f or t he a rea n ot o nly f or i ts o wn s ake b ut a s a b asis f or d ecisions r egarding

l and

m anagement ,

i nterpretation

a rchaeological f ieldwork t hat a re D iscussion w ith t he a uthority 's

a nd

d isplay ,

o r

r ecurrent c oncerns o f t hat a rchaeologist , K en S mith ,

f urther a uthority . t herefore

i nfluenced a nd c ontinues t o i nform t he f ieldwork t hat h as t aken p lace .

1 4

S TANTON MOOR P ROCESS T he

f irst

S K247630), s ide

o f

1 100m

i solated

t he R iver

n orth

p lace

s ubstantial

a n

i n

t o

t he

c omplex ,

i s

D erwent .

s outh

A s

a nd

a nd

1 930 ,

1 939 ,

k nown

o f

w as

e ast

moor ,

t o

c are

p lus

a

n umber

a t

o utlier , o f

a s

1 976).

a bove

a nd a nd

t he

w est

a m aximum

a b urial

f ather

( centred

o n

t o

2 80-322m

a ttention

H eathcotes ,

M oor

l ying

e xtends

p rincipally

1 945 ; S ummarised b y T homas ,

s tone c ircle a nd

S tanton

moors

i t

w est

a ntiquarian t he

o f

g ritstone

l iterature ,

t hrough

p ublications

H BMC

t he

a modern

t he N ine L adies o f

u ndertaken

o f

1 000m

a rchaeological w ell

e xcavations 1 936 ,

s urvey

o utlier

O D .

a nd

r itual

l atterly s on

o f I ts t he

( Heathcote

T he moor c ontains

i n

t he K ing S tone , a p roperty i n t he

o ther

i ndividually

s cheduled

a ncient

m onuments . I n

S tanton

t ogether ,

t o

s tandards N ational p ublic

M oor ,

w hich

c ould

a

w hole

o f

m ake

a

a ccess A ll

l and t he

f undamental

w here m ajor

s ome k nown t o b e d ocumented a rchaeological q uestion w hether d estructive

o f

s urvey

t o

c ontribution . i nterested

management m onuments

a rchaeological

f ield

P ark a uthority w ere e specially

i mproved .

t otally

r ange

n on-excavational

a nd

a nd t hat

s igns

s ome n ot , e xcavation

a rchaeologically

T he

i n

p ublic

s howed

c oncerns t he

b est

P eak

D istrict

i t a s m uch-frequented i nformation

o f

p revious

c ould

b e

e xcavation ,

a nd t here w as ( case b y c ase)

w orthwhile

c ame R CHME

d eposits .

a b asic h ad b een F or

R CHME

s pecifically , b ut a lso f or a ny i nterested r ecord-base , t here was t he p roblem o f a ssessing a nd a ssimilating t he r esults o f a w ide v ariety o f r ecording e xercises o n t he moor s urvey o f H art ( 1985). N one o f t his a llowed t he o ften i dentified g enerated

a nd

e specially

t he

most

r ecent

a nd

most

a mbitious

e arlier w ork w as a t opographically-based s urvey t hat r ather d egraded a nd e quivocal f ield r emains t o b e r e-

c ertainly a ccurate

o n

t he

n ational

g round : g rid

b y

t he

s ame

r eferences .

I n

t oken ,

n one

c onsequence ,

o f

t hen

h ad

c onsiderable

c onfusion a nd c ontradiction h ad e ntered a nd w as l ikely t o c ontinue t o e nter t he a rchaeological r ecord , w ith s eparate n umbering s ystems i ntroduced b y i nitially t he H eathcotes ( 1936) a nd s ubsequently b y H art ( 1985), M arsden ( 1986) a nd B arnatt ( 1986) a s w ell a s b y t he O rdnance S urvey a nd t he l ocal S ites

a nd

M onuments

R ecord ,

w ith

c orrelations

p iecemeal

a nd

o ften

i naccurate . J ust h ow m uch c ontradiction a nd e rror t here w as h as , o f c ourse , o nly e merged t hrough c arrying o ut t he n ew s urvey a nd i ts s upporting d ocumentation .

T his

e ssentially

f ield

r ecord ,

a lso t he t opographical k ey f or t he i mportant M oor n ow l odged i n t he S heffield C ity M useum .

i t

s hould

b e

e mphasised ,

f inds c ollection

i s

f rom S tanton

T o m eet t hese n eeds , t he R CHME s urvey w as p lanned a t t wo s cales , 1 :1000 a nd 1 :200 . U sing e quipment ( EDM) a

t heodolite a nd e lectromagnetic t raverse s cheme c omprising a

d istance m easuring r ing t raverse a nd

s ubsidiary b racing n etwork o f l ink t raverses w as g enerated O rdnance S urvey t riangulation p illar w hich i s s ited t owards t he

f rom s outh

t he e nd

o f t he moor . F rom a t otal o f 2 5 s tations c ontained i n t hese t raverses , a d ense a nd e xtensive n etwork o f f urther d etail s urvey c ontrol p oints ( all w ith t hree-dimensional n ational g rid c oordinates) w ere s ited o n o r i n c lose p roximity t o a rchaeological a nd t opographical t he

w hole

m oor

a nd

t echnically

h as

b een

p lanned

a t

1 :1000

s ensible/well-informed

f eatures .

s cale .

d eployment

I t o f

F rom i s

E DM

t he

t his n etwork , a vailability

s urvey

e quipment

t hat a llowed R CHME f or t he f irst t ime t o t ackle s uch a m ajor s urvey t ask t o g ood t olerances a nd w ithin a n a cceptable t imescale . A dditionally , t he

1 5

STANTON

MOOR

Reduced f ro m 1,20 0 s ca le p enned

f ie ld d ra w ing o f T56 ;

o r ig ina l i n t wo c o lours t o c lar ify

re bu i ld ing

_ --

e xtent o f e xcava t ion a nd t . .: 7 . , . , i , . , 1 . . \ , s .i ; , \ \ . , , i \ i , i \: :: , , / i , :J, i i , t , , . , , 1• 1, 1, : 1 5 . / 7 1 - ; -

, ,

; _ .:\ \ .

: 6 ‘ . 4\ 3 . ( a r z :: . 7 .: " 4 . : : „ :_ . i; i i T 1 , 1 7 T 1 T , , il/

'' ; . : * " / .( ' ' ' ' / I 'i • i ii

' "-, . „ , Z i ' l " , .

4 . 1 " .

, . . , . N , . . . . , • , . . . , . . , . 7 . . .: ; . . : , -, . , - •. .. , , , , , , , ; . : - -• , . • -_. . 7 , , _ ,. . -• , " • . ' „ . . % > .,•' * , ' '. -. 7 -' . . • .. . . . • : . _ • . „. . , , . : . . , , , „ . -' • . ., „ , g.., . .. . „ . . .. . . , , I . • , . _ . . . • • • „ , . , , . • f . . . : . . , , ,- i . N. i ^,• . ‘ • ' . : • , : ' ; ; ' , ; % , ( , . . . . z . . . . . „ . . . . _ . . . .< . . 2 :

,

. . • : , . .

,

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, 11 . ,,

-- - . . -

:. ' Z ' t

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, , , . 4 6 \ -

-

Il0\

z t . x .. , / i ,, , . . „ .

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.

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, < • . , .Z . ,„ ,„

i

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;

\ .

/// • • •

-4--.•

,

: 741

— . . , • , —_

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:

. ; • . . A :: :-. : • : . . . . . . -. , , • . . ,s• .. , . , .

. - \' ‘LAW . I : ' : ‘ '1 . . . \ % ‚ \ ( . 0 "

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, • - 's\ I :i4 , / 1 1 : 1 : 1 1 't i ' . o i e t l lt ni : i i . . . l i .i l\ I l li i , -, < ! -4 , .

. "

. , . ,

* . . .-

; , ' • ‘ , . • , „ . , . .1 , . .- i „r . • , . .,, . , . i , . : . . . . . ,\1 . 1 . 1 . 1 i l l % ' 0 ,, .

: • ; , 2 , .. . r it tl

• • 1 : .

, . , . • . . „\ l ‘ \- - . -1 2; , \ \ 7.: ' , . ,•- .-

, . , , , , ;

b . . ; :. r ; , -1 , . . , „;• 5 • ; .

z . , : '

•,

' .;

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. , . . , . ; . , . , . , . . .: : , : . , z ;

. . '

'

.\.\ . . . . , . : . , : ‘ , ,

. s 2 , z , . . . . . , . \ : s . , . . , ‘ •

.. / , ,: : i .A . : : . 1 . 1 : 17 . . , . , e . . . . . , . , ._ . . , . , ‘ . i , I > i . r r r, , , . .• ' . , ; :7; , r °1 / . -I

'

2 "3 .1

R dIM

EN GL A N D

2

12 m

6

4

PR OF ILE

1 3—

9 1 3R . c r e 2 .0 m

8

1. 0

T i r g r .2 :

0.6

f C r i

z

9 6

0 .6

2

0.

0 .2 m

0

1

F ig .

2

3

2 :1

: 2

: 3

: 4

; 7 1 5

1 6

: 1 3

1 9

2 0

2

4 t

S tanton ' f l oor s urvey ,

S ite T 56

‘ 7 ,

1

2 2

23

2 4

2 5

26

2 7

2 8

2 9

310

3 1

3 2

33

3 4

35

36

3 7

p roceedure

p rovides

a l ong-term

f acility .

F or

e xample ,

w hen

H BMC

i n

1 988

e stablished a l ocal g rid f or a c lose c ontoured s urvey o f t he N ine L adies t o m onitor e rosion f rom f ixed l ocal r eference s upply N GR c o-ordinates f or t hose m arkers . A

c o-operative

e xercise

w ith

D avid

markers ,

I ngram

R CHME

o f

t he

w as

a ble

t o

D epartment

o f

G eography a t B irmingham U niversity h as e nabled u s , t hrough h is c omputer p rogrammes , t o a dd c ontouring a t 2m i ntervals t o t he t otal 1 :1000 s urvey a rea . T his w ill a llow t he l ocal t opographical m onuments t o b e more c learly a ppreciated . A t

t his

1 :1000

s cale ,

v egetational

c over

b oth

d etailed

a llows

h ave

a ntiquities ,

b een

p icked

d ifferences

v ariations

t opographical

u p

i n

( Fig .

t he

2 :1).

f orm

a nd

d etails ,

a nd

P lanning

a t

a nd

make-up

o f

s iting

o f

l imits

o f

t his

s cale

t he

f ield

m onuments t o b e d epicted g raphically ( and e qually i mportantly t he l ocations o f e xcavation t renches a nd s poil t o b e s hown) a nd , a s c orollary , c ompels t hem

t o

b e s ought

i ndividual

a nd

c arefully o bserved .

m onuments

o r

g roups

o f

W ithin t his

monuments

h ave

f ramework ,

a lso

b een

s elected

p lanned

a t

1 :200 . T hey i nclude t he N ine L adies/King S tone c omplex a nd a ll t he o ther r ing c airns , p lus s ome l arge c airns l ike H eathcote T 2 a nd T 55 . T his l arger s cale

h as

a llowed

a dditional

f ine

d etails

o f

t he

monuments

t o

b e

p lanned ,

w hich h as p roved e specially i mportant w here s everal p hases o f i nvestigation h ave t aken p lace ( as o n T 55), p erhaps f rom t he l ater 1 8th C entury o nwards . T hrough e ngender ,

c hoice

i t

i s

o f

t hereby

s cales ,

t herefore ,

p ossible

t o

make

a nd

s ome

f rom

t he

d etailed

a ttitude

a ssessment

t hey

o f

t he

i mpact o f e arlier d isturbance , t he l ikely s urvival o f u ndisturbed l evels t hat m ight b e c apable o f f uture i nvestigation , a nd i ts e ffect o n t he s ize , s hape t he

a nd

S tanton f actors t he

c onstruction

f ield

monuments

M oor , j ust a s o f d isturbance

b asis

o f

- a nd

a s

e ven

p resently

i n

s ome

c ases

e ncountered .

I t

t he

v ery

i s

e xistence

q uite

c lear

- o f

t hat

o n

r ecently r eported e lsewhere , ( Leighton 1 984) t hese a re s o p ervasive a s t o r ender d etailed a nalysis o n

t he

o vert

i n

which

morphology

o f

t he

p resent

f ield

r emains

m ost

u ncertain .

R ESULTS T he a nd

manner

c arried

a ffected

t he

t hrough whole

t his

r evealed n ature

o f

n on-excavational w ith t he

g reat

f ield

c larity

p rehistoric

s urvey

t wo

w as

f actors

r emains

o n

c onceived t hat

S tanton

h ave M oor ,

t hough n either a ppears t o h ave c aused a ny c omment b y a rchaeologists h itherto t hat r ecognises t he f ar-reaching i mplications f or t heir i nterests .

M oor

O ne i s c ontinuing f ar f urther f rom

a nd c hanging t he u ntouched

h as p reviously b een e nvisaged .

l and-use . T his h as r endered S tanton r elic o f a p rehistoric l andscape t han

I t t akes many d ifferent f orms .

A t t he most

o bvious l evel , t he h ollow w ays , p aths a nd t rails - ' pack-horse w ays ' - a re w ell-known b ut v ery n umerous . I nterestingly , t heir c haracteristically c urving a voidance o f major a nd m inor m onuments c an s ometimes f orm a s ubstantial a rgument i n t he a cceptance o f a d oubtful o r i ll-preserved m onument a s a g enuinely e arly f eature . A lso w ell-known i s t he d isturbance o f t he moor 's s urface b y t he t aking o f g ritstone i tself , b oth i n b ig modern q uarries

a nd

i n e arlier

o f a ncient s urface

s urface d elves ,

t hough t he e xtent

o f e ffective

a long t he e astern s carp o f t he m oor i s d ifficult e ven t o g uess a t . g etting o n t his moor i s c ertainly d ocumented s ince t he l ater 1 6th f or

d oor ,

w indow

l oss

i s p erhaps g reater t han a rchaeologists h ave r ealised a nd

a nd q uoin

s tones ,

a nd

1 7

w as

S tonec entury

p robably a lready t hen a n o lder

r ight

( BL ,

l arge

A ditional

n umbers

o f

MS

6 668 ,

p 571).

small-stone

O ne

s poilheaps

c onsequence

which

may

o f

b e

s uch

d elving

i s

r endered

s imilar

t o

p rehistoric c airns b y s ubsequent l and-use . T he s urvey h as a lso i dentified s everal l ocalities where l enses o f s and a ppear t o h ave b een e xtracted ( as i s i ncidentally d ocumented i n 1 859 ( Howarth , s andy

1 899 ,

m ound

w arren ,

8 )

t hereby

( Hart ,

l ies

r emoving

1 985

N o .51),

e xtensive s urfaces .

i dentified

b y

H art

a long t he d ownslope s ide o f o ne s uch

T he

a s

l ong

i rregular

a m edieval

r abbit

l ocality a nd i s d oubtless

t he s poil o r r esidue f rom s uch e xtraction . E nclosed f rom

t he

f ields

o f

o nto

w hat

w est

i dentifiable n ow

e arly i s

modern

n ow

d ate

o pen

h ave

moor ,

a s e arthworks p artly

a lso

o nly

f ormerly

s ystems ,

b ut

i t a lso t hrows a dditional

i n t his s ector t hat i s 1 985 ,

N o .10).

d ew-pond b ank , h as

F or

( with

i n

a ssociated

o bvious

a nd s urvival o f t he

l ight o n t he c ircular f eature

i dentified b y H art a s a n a dditional r ing c airn a ddition

t o

t hat

r ubbing

f eature h aving

p ost)

i t a lso o verlies t races o f p lough a n

t o b e

o verlying more a ncient f ield s ystems .

N ot o nly h as t his h ad a d etrimental e ffect o n t he f orm e arlier

e ncroached

t o b e a bandoned a nd

c ontext

a nd

a nd

t he f orm

o verlying

a n

( Hart ,

o f a modern

e arlier

f ield

l ines w ithin t he e nclosed f ields a nd

f unction

w ithin

s uch

a n

i ntake

f or

i mproved

p asture . T he o f

T hese i n

p rincipal

t he

m oor w ere

s ome

b y

a nd

a ll-prevasive

p lantations

c lear-felled

a reas .

T hey

i n

a nd

w ere

l and-use ,

t he

e arly

r eplanted

h owever ,

1 9th

p iecemeal

f inally c leared

f or

l ine i n t he F irst W orld W ar a nd r ebuilding

i n

i s

c entury a nd

t he a fforestation

( Rhodes ,

p erhaps

1 818,

s everal

8 4). t imes

t rench t imbers f or t he f ront i ts a ftermath .

T he c learance ,

a m ilitary o peration c arried o ut b y t he C anadian F orestry C orps i n 1 918-19 , e mployed a n etwork o f h orse-drawn t ramways o r r ailways w hose f ield r emains c onsist t ypically h ave

b een

f orthcoming).

t oday

mapped

b ecause

t hey

l ines

f or

e mphatically

i mportant

r idges ,

b e

a nd

T hese

n evertheless p lanting

o f a l ow c auseway w ith

i dentified

a s

a nd

s poradic

a rchaeologically

p eriods o f

a re t ree-

l and-use t hat w ould

a nd

t hey

t he

s ide

t hat a re d evoid o f e arly e vidence may o we t hat s tate t o t his

l ater

p articularly

s ome

o f

t o

s urvive

i f

t he

s lopes

o n

l and-use .

I t

i s

e vidence B arnatt

a gainst

f or

e xample ,

i n

t he t he

( 1986)

p ossible , t o

c ase

o f

t he i n

p art

r ecognise a nd

l inear

b racken-covered

b ackground u se

t he

i n

b y

c learance

a reas

s ystems

t o

s ection t his

s everal

l ayout . a nd

o verall

moor

I n

b e

j udged .

p lanned

b y

H art

o f

t he

moor ,

t hat

l ater

p hases

e ach

c airns ,

i t

t heir

l and-use ,

a ddition ,

c learance

a ssessment

m ust

u nderstanding

m uch

t hen

a n

t he

w estern t he

o wes

c oherent

t hat

o f

f ield

c entral

a ppearance

c haracteristics d isjointed

t his

p rehistoric

i n

a ided

d iscontinuous a nd

moor ,

b e e xpected

d efine

whole

t he

m ight

n arrow

S ome

o f

f eatures

o f

a t

a reas

e arly

e vidence

d etrimental

( Ainsworth , r emains

c ondition

t he e ast

which

t ime f ield

d egraded a ll .

i n

f irst

n on-prehistoric

c omprise f ield e vidence f or

r agarded

o f f lanking b orrow p its a nd

t he

h ave

t he f or

( 1985)

a nd

h as

p roved

r agged

b oth

w ith

f urther

o f S o ,

t o

a nd

e xtend

d istinctive

e mbanked b een

f ields ,

p lanned

i n

o n e ast t o s outh-east f acing s lopes t o t he n orth a nd

n orth-west o f t he N ine L adies ( field b anks) a nd t o t he s outh e ast o f t he s ame s ite ( banks a nd c airns) a nd l ess c ertainly ( cairns) a t t he s outhern e nd o f t he moor . p oorly

d efined

T hough t hey f eatures ,

t his

n ow may

o ften a ppear a s f ragmentary , d etached o r b e

l and-use o f which t hey a re o nly t he s hift t he b alance o f f ield e vidence

1 8

t he

r esult

b attered

o f

c omparatively

s urvivors .

T hese

r ecent f actors

STANT ON

M OOR

Reduc t ion o f a n e x trac t f rom 1 :2 00 s ca le p enned f ie ld d ra w ing o f t he N ine

L ad ies — K ing S tone a rea

K ing




F ig .

3 :7

A STON 8 6

A ston o n T rent :

T rench 1 ,

n orth s ection

o ld p loughso i l 2 1 '

l eached s i lts & c lay

F ig .

3 :8

f

c lay & s tone

s i lts

Z b' r: k. P . 7 2d

d ense c harcoa l

g rave l 8 i ron p an

g rave l 8 , s and

< Z )O .

b rown s and

C ursus d i tch S s ec t ion

c en tra l s ect ion

.

2m

• • • " ' "

A ston o n T rent :

T rench 1 ,

s outh s ection

A le

d ense s toney l ayer

c lean

s and

b • "

-

1 1 . 1 , • 1 1 ) ) ) ) / I loi l i

x - / ._/I1I'

-•

—

I

f i e ld

/

d ra in

. ----

LN

F ig . 3 :9

A ston . o n T rent :

C ut

i nto

n orthern

t his

s ection

t hrough

t he

s lipping f orming

t he

T rench 1 , p lan o f t he c ursus d itch

p enultimate

t owards

f inal

i nto

s ilts

t he

b ase

t he a nd

d itch o f

3 m

t he

a t

t he

f ill

i nner

w as

s andy

t his

a small

s ide

g ravel

s tage .

f eature

( Appendix

a l ate

r ecut

s uggests

T his

s upported b y t he p lan o f t he

t he

i s t op ,

f eature T ime

i n

i nner i s

a nd

t he

e dge

a nimal

manpower

f inal

t op

i f t his

o f i s

t he t he

o f t he d itch

g enerated

t hough

s een

3 :8).

o nly

a d ense

a nd

w as

i n

w hich

c harcoal-rich

f illed

t he

T his h ad c ut

t he mound material

h ad

2 )

( Fig .

w ith

was

l ense

c lean

s and .

T he p ossibility e xists t hat i t may b e

d itch

c ase

b ut

i t

i s

i ts

a bsence

i n

t he

s outhern

l ocalised r ather t han u niform .

f eature w hich a ppears a s a n o val c ut i n

( Fig .

d id n ot p ermit

t he d itch s ection . T he

v ery

t hat

o f

I t

T he p urpose o f t his f eature i s u ncertain . s ection

d epression

o f t he d itch

3 :9).

t his t he

I t

m ight

f urther

m ay

n ot

a lso b e p ossible t hat

e xplain

e xploration

t he

c harcoal

o f t his

t he

l ayer .

f eature

i nto

I t w as n ot , h owever , e ncountered a t a ny p oint i n c utting 2 .

f ill

o f

t he

d itch

w as

a l ight

s andy

s oil

d erived

f rom

t he

t o

n aturally

medieval p loughsoil a nd c ontaining p ieces o f c oal a nd c inder , T hat w as

t he

d itch

c onfirmed

l arge

b y

s ections

o f

h ad

r emained

t he r agged o uter g ravel

p artially

o pen

a nd

h ad

b een

a llowed

f ill

e dge o f t he d itch a nd t he p resence t here b roken

o ff

f rom

t he

l ip

o f

t he

d itch

a s

o f a

r esult o f t he i nstability o f t he d itch s ides , g ravity a nd p robably a lso n atural w eathering , p articularly i ce f ormation . T his c an b e s een a t ' X ' o n F ig . 3 :9 , D espite d itch w as

c areful

a nd

s pecific

l ocated a nd t hus

s earch ,

n o

t race

o f

t he

d itch

o f

t he

i t c an b e c oncluded t hat t he c ursus d itch w as

r ing l ater

t han , a ligned u pon a nd i n c onsequence d estroyed t he e arlier monument ,

T rench 2 T rench

2 w as

l aid

o ut r adially

f rom

t rench

1 ( Fig .

3 :4)

a nd w as d esigned

t o l ocate t he p oint o f i ntersection o f t he c ursus d itch w ith t hat o f t he r ing d itch . T he p osition o f i ntersection h ad t o b e e stimated f rom m easurements t aken f rom t he a erial p hotographs a nd c osequently i t w as p ossible t o l ocate t his a rea i n t he s outhern e nd o f t he t rench , a s w ell a s u ncovering a s ubstantial l ength

o f

c ursus

d itch

o nce

more

e asily

r ecognised

f rom

i ts

g reyish

c ontrast t o t he p ink a nd r ed c olour o f t he n atural s and a nd g ravel . 3 6

f ill

i n

T he c ursus

A STON 8 6 I

CD

1 3

F ig . 3 :10

A ston o n T rent ;

p lan o f t r en ch 2 , 3 7

d itch

i n

t his

a rea

measured

o nly

3m

w ide

i n

s tark

c ontrast

t o

t he

5m

w ide

s ection i n t rench 1 . I n

p lan

a lone

( Fig .

3 :10)

i t

c ould

b e

s een

t hat

t he

c ursus

d itch

was

r unning i nto a nd c utting t he r ing d itch which h ad a s lightly y ellower f ill . S ections w ere c ut t hrough b oth t he c ursus d itch a nd t he r ing d itch , a nd a t hird s ection w as c ut a t t he p oint o f i ntersection

t hat

T he t he

3 :8)

b eing

( Fig . 3 :10 & 3 :12).

s ections t hough t he c ursus d itch ( Fig . 3 :11 J -k , i -f ,e-f & g -h) s how d itch s ection i s d ifferent t o t hat l ocated i n t rench 1 ( Figs . 3 :7 & f lat

b ottomed a nd more

' U '-sectioned s imilar

t o t he p rofile o btained

b y R eaney ( 1968 a nd F ig . 3 :3 i n t his r eport). T he d itch a lso m easures c . 9 0cm d eep b elow t he l evel o f t he n atural g ravel . S evere l eaching w ithin t he f ill o f t he

d itch

made

t he

s tratigraphy

d ifficult

t o

i nterpret

b ut

s lightly

h eavier

s ilting f rom t he i nterior o f t he monument i n s ection g -h a lso s eems t o c onfirm R eaney 's c onclusion t hat t he c ursus p robably h ad a n i nternal mound o r mounds r unning p arallel w ith t he d itches .

N o s urface t race o f t his w as , h owever , f ound

d uring t he e xcavation . T he c oarse s and p lanned i n t he a ngle o f t he i ntersection o f

t he

c ursus

a nd

r ing

d itch

d itches

i s

i n

f act

t he

f ill

o f

a p eriglacial

f eature s imilar t o t hose l ocated i n t rench 1 . T he r ing d itch d itch w as v ery s light a nd f illed w ith y ellow-grey s oil . T he d itch

w as

' V '-sectioned

( Fig .

3 :12

) .

T he

d irection

o f

f ill was

d ifferentiated t hough t here i s a s light b ias t owards h eavier i nterior o f t he r ing d itch i n s ections b -b '-b" a nd c -c ' . S ection

b -b '

w as

l ocated a t

t he e xact p oint o f

n ot d istinctly

s ilting

i ntersection

f rom

t he

o f t he c ursus

a nd r ing d itch a nd f rom t his s ection ( Figs . 3 :10 & 3 :12) i t c an c learly b e s een t hat t he c ursus c uts t he f ully s ilted r ing d itch . T he f ull s ilting p attern o f t he r ing d itch c an b e i ntersection . I nternally

s een i n s ection a -a ' c ut j ust b efore t he p oint o f b iased s ilting i n t he c ursus d itch i n t his s ection

s uggests

mound

s lip

f rom

r efurbished

mound

p robability

a ligned .

t rench

1 c ontrasts

d eep i n i n

t rench

v olume

a

o f

t he

a nd

e arlier

i t

r ing

T he g reat d epth w ith

t he

p rofile

i s

s uggested

d itch a nd

u pon

w idth

o btained

i n

t hat

w hich

o f t he

t his

t he o f

t rench

2 - 5m

1 m 7/ p er

l inear m etre o f d itch

b e

w as

t he c ursus

1 a s a gainst 3m w ide a nd 0 .9m d eep i n t rench 2 .

i s a pproximately

m ay

c ursus

w ide

t he

i n

a ll

d itch a nd

i n

1 .2m

T he d ifference

g reater

i n

t rench

1

t han i n t rench 2 . T his o bviously s uggests t hat a g reater amount o f m aterial w as n eeded

f rom

t he

d itch

i n

a rea

1 t han

i n a rea 2 ,

i n

t urn

s uggesting more

t han

u niform b ank b uilding . T his i s f urther d iscussed b elow . A s ingle c ircular d epression w as c ursus c ursus

l ocated i n t he n atural g ravel o utside t he

monument ( Fig . 3 :10 , F 5) a nd f illed w ith t he s ame material a s t he u pper d itch . N o f inds w ere made i n t his d ish-shaped d epression , h owever a nd

i ts d ate a nd r elationship t o t he c ursus c annot b e d etermined .

T HE P HASING O F T HE S ITE A lthough

t he

d estructive

e ffect

o f

a l ong

a gricultural

h istory

h as

b een

s ufficient t o t otally r emove a ny s urface l aid d eposits t hat may h ave e xisted w ithin t he a rea e nclosed b y t he r ing d itch , t he s tratigraphic e vidence r ecovered p ermits

a t entative

r econstruction

o f

t he

c an b e s ummarised a s f ollows :-

3 8

s tructural

h istory

o f

t he s ite .

T his

F ig . 3 :11

A ston o n T rent

T rench 2 , s e ctions t h rough t h e r i ng d itch

3 9

F i tz . 3 :12

A s ton o n T r ent : t r en ch 2 , s e ct ions t h rough t h e c u rsus d it ch 4 0

P hase I

A s

t he

a erial

p rimary f ree

p hotographs

f eature .

s ilts

mound o r

T he

s how

s uggested ,

s lightness

t hat

t he

t he

r ing

o f t he d itch ,

d itch

d itch

w as

h owever ,

w as n ot a q uarry

i ndeed

t he

a nd t he s tone

f or a s ubstantial

f or m aterial a cting a s a c apping f or a t urf o r h umus mound

e xtending

t o

t he

r ing

t he

c ursus

t he

d itch

i nner

w as

i t

i s

e dge

o f

moundless

most

t he

b ut

l ikely

r ing

i n

t hat

d itch .

v iew

t here

o f

I t

t he

w as

i s

p ossible

l ater

t hat

a lignment

a s light

mound

o f

i n

t he

G iven

t he

i nterior o f t he a rea w ell r emoved f rom t he d itch e dge . P hase 2

R epresents small

t he

s ize

s ilting

o f

t he

o f

t he

d itch

r ing

a nd

s imilar s ubsoil a t D orchester

t he

d itch s peed

w ithout o f

r ecut .

s ilting

( Atkinson e t a l

o bserved

1 951, 4 2)

o n

a

t his n eed n ot

h ave b een a p rotracted e vent . N evertheless t he s hallow p rofile o f t he f eature

i n

p rocess . S toke

c ontrast

t o

t hat

o f

D orchester

where

f inal

monitoring

o f

t he

o pen

p eriod o f t wenty s ix y ears f or t he d evelop ( Case & W hittle 1 982, p l 4 c). P hase 3

s aw

I V

may

h ave

r etarded

t he

S imilarity may b e made w ith t he s outhern e nclosure a t N orth

t he a lignment

s ections

s low

o f t he n orthern d itch

s ilts

p ointed t o

t o

a

s ubstantially

o f t he c ursus monument o ver

a n e stablished d istance o f 1 550m . o n a nd a round a n o uter c hord o f t he r ing d itch . S ince n o s ocket f or a major s ighting d evice w as o bserved

i n

t he

a dmittedly

l imited

a rea

i nvestigated

a nd

s ince

t he

o nly m isalignment o f t he c ursus d itch o curred i n t he a rea i mmediately b eyond

t he

r ing

d eterminant f urther l evel

w est .

e nlarged t hat

i t

p erhaps j ust

i s

r ing

2m

b een

s eems

s lope

s upported d itch

c reated

r easonable

o f

a mound

b y

a n

a nd

w here

t o

which

o bserved

t he

s uppose

t hat

o bscured

t he

r ise

d iscovery

t he

c ursus

i n

t he

t hat

r ounded

t he a rea

s ubsoil

t he t he

w ider e arlier

n ot b y a n a ggregate o f t he t wo d itches , b ut f rom a m uch

c ursus

p resumably

i t

l ow

t he

h ad

monument -

t he

T his

w ithin

c ropmark

d itch ,

w as

d itch .

i nvisible

w as

i ts

T hat

o r

i nternal

a lso r efurbished . f rom

t he

t his

s lightly

h ad

t otally

v isible

f eature

r emoved

r ing

w hich

w as

w ith

t he

r ing

s ilted

makes

b eing

R eduction o f t he w idth

i ntersection

t he

d itch

i t

a nd

c lear

r espected

a nd

o f t he c ursus d itch d itch

t o

d imensions

c omparable t o t hose o bserved b y R eaney i n 1 968 7 00m t o t he N E c onfirms t hat t he e nlargement o f t he c ursus d itch w as r elated t o i ts i mpingement

o n

t he

e arlier

f eature .

T he

r ounding

o f

a s pread

b arrow

s eems t o b e t he o bvious e xplanation . P hase 4

T he

d estruction

t he

m edieval

o r

o f

t he

p eriod :

R omano-British

p utative

a djacent

d ate

a ppear

q uestion a nd i ts n eighbour . a c omparatively

h igh l evel

b arrow

f ield t o

p robably

b oundaries r espect

d id

o f

b oth

n ot o ccur

p resumed t he

r ing

u ntil

i ron d itch

a ge i n

A d istinct l ayer o f g ravel e ncountered a t i n c utting 2 a nd s preading o ut b eyond t he

r ing d itch m ust r ecord t his d estruction .

F INDS

( Fig . 3 :13) F inds f rom t he e xcavation w ere f ew a nd t he majority p roved o n e xamination

t o b e p lough s truck f lints a ssociated w ith b oth t he modern a nd medieval a griculture o n t he s ite . O f t he t wo f lint a rtefacts r ecovered t he f irst i s a small a nd g ood q uality t humb n ail s craper ( Fig . 3 :13.1)in a d ark g rey f lint s howing

o bvious s igns o f w ear .

N ormally c onsidered t o b e o f b eaker

o r e arlier

b ronze a ge d ate , t his a rtefact c ame f rom t he modern p loughsoil i n t rench s econd a rtefact

( Fig . 3 :13 .11)

1 . T he

i s a b ifacially w orked f lint o f t he s ame material 4 1

a s t he t humbnail s craper o f

t rench

R etouch a s

2 a djacent

o n

t he

a s craper .

e dge T his

f rom t he b ase o f t he m edeival p loughsoil

t o

o f

t he

t his

l arger

r ing

d itch

a rtefact

a nd

l ess

which

s uggests

c ontained

t hat

w ell-made

t ool

t his i s

t he

i n t hat p art

g ravel

t oo h ad

l ess

e asy

s pread .

b een u tilised t o

d ate

b ut a

n eolithic d ate w ould n ot b e u nreasonable .

0

F ig . 3 :13

A ston o n T rent : f inds

T he p ottery i n

t he

m ain

s herds w are

5 cms

i s s imilarly r epresented b y v ery f ew s herds

t hey

a re

u ndecorated

( appendix

2 ).

r epresent d iverse c eramic t raditions . ( Fig .

3 :13 .D)

f abric

w ith

l ight

q uartz

i nclusions .

r epresenting b rown T his

t he

s urfaces , s herd

c omes

o f

c ore

f rom

( Appendix 3 )

d ecorated

o r

a nd

d iagnostic

T he f irst i s a s herd o f G rimston

s houlder

a b lack

T he

a c arinated

t he

a nd

v essel

c ontaining

n atural

i n

f inely

g ravel

f ine

c rushed

s urface

i n

t he

c entral a rea o f t rench 1 a nd i ts t radition a nd c ontext c orresponds w ell w ith t he G rimston a ssociated b uried s oil f rom A ston 1 e xcavated b y R eaney ( 1968) a nd a s a c onsequence o f t his f oreknowledge , i ts p resence i s n ot u nexpected . T he s econd s herd c omes f rom t he v ery t op o f t he c ursus d itch i n t rench 2 a nd i s more d ifficult t o p lace w ithin a c eramic t radition b ut i s d ecorated w ith a s ingle b road g roove o n t he

( ?)lower p art o f t he s herd

( Fig . 3 :13.3). T he s herd

h as a l ight b rown o uter s urface a nd a b lack c ore a nd i nterior . q uartz b e

a nd g rog

n aturally

w are r ing

o ccurring .

t radition

s imilarities d itch

i nclusions , b y

w ith a t

I t

v irtue t he

t he may

o f

b e

o bviously

r ash

a s ingle

g rooved

F atholme

l atter

w are

t o

a scribe

g rooved

f rom

( Losco-Bradley

a f iller t his

l ine ,

p ers .

s herd

b ut

s econdary

t he

a nd

t o

f ormer may t he

f abric

c ontexts

c omm .)

I t c ontains b oth

w hile t he

a t

t he

g rooved

d oes

d raw

t he

n eolithic

s herd

c ertainly

would n ot b e o ut o f p lace i n a g rooved w are a ssemblage . T he more

t hird

e asily

s outhern

s herd

i s

r ecognisable

t radition

o f

f rom a s

C larke

L anting a nd v an d er W aals o f

t he

( Clarke ,

v essel 1 970

c ontemporary ( Reaney ,

a nd

c arries

motif w ith

1 968),

t he

t he

3 2ii

t he

s ame

c omming ( 1970)

( 1972).

s tep

o pposed

3 6ii)

s econdary

v essel f rom

a nd

a s

a l ate

t he

l ast

B eaker ,

4 o r

d escribed

p robably

l ater

i n

t he

i n

a nd

t he

i s

l ate

s cheme

o f

T he s herd i s f rom t he a ccentuated n eck a ngle

i ncised o r

c ontext

f rom

( Fig .

B eaker

f illed

c hevron

3 :13 .1 1).

b urial

o r

T his

l ocated

b y

l ozenge

may

R eaney

b e a t

motif

b roadly A ston

w hich b ears a s imilar motif t hough e xecuted

1 i n

c omb a nd n ot i ncised . T he B eaker s herd i s q uite f resh a nd u nabraded s uggesting t hat i t w as q uickly i ncorporated i n t he u pper c ursus s ilts a nd h as n ot s uffered g reatly

f rom

movement w ithin t he s oils .

A s a r esult ,

i t may b e u sed t o g ive a

T erminus A nte Q uer n f or t he c ursus d itch h aving f ully s ilted b y c .1700-1600bc . 4 2

D ISCUSSION T he v ertical c ursus

e xcavation

i ndicated

c lear

e xample

m onuments , o f

b y

o f

t hat

a b eaker

1 966 ;

w as

s tratigraphy

s uccessful

t he

h orizontal

r espect

f irst

f or

i ts

p rimary

1 974 ;

t o

A ston

c ursus

P ryor ,

d itch , o n

o f

t he

T rent a s

T he

t he

o f

c onfirming

r ing

u nique

b y

d itch a nd t he

c ropmarks .

c urrently

c onstruction

1 982).

o bjective

b etween

s tratigraphy

a r ing

s uggested

c ontribution

B urgess ,

i n

t he a pparent r elationship

I t

w as

amongst

t his

c ursus

t he s ite where t he q uestion

m ight

b e

a dditional

b est

f act

t ested

t hat

( Dymond ,

t he

c ursus

monument 's c oncomitant r ing d itches w ere most u nusually c ontained a lmost e xclusively w ithin i ts i nterior i n a s patially d eliberate m anner , a nd t hat o ne o f

t hese

h ad

p roved

t o

c ontain

a b urial

w ith

a W /MR

b eaker

( Reaney ,

1 968)

f urther e ncouraged t he i dea t hat i t w as i ndeed l ate i n t he c ursus s eries . T he m ore f amiliar p attern o f a ssociation e xemplified b y t he W essex s ites - b ut a lso t o b e f ound

o n

s tructurally

i ncorporated

t he p eriphery

o f t he

l ong

r ound b arrows . T hus a n e arly o r t he e xcavated r ing d itch , A ston 4 . T here

i s

a n

a bundance

o f

c ursus 1 877).

h engiform ;

A shbee ,

s ites

m iddle

a t

w ith

D orchester e xcluded

b eaker

e vidence

w ith c ursus monuments : c emeteries w estern t erminal o f t he A mesbury p lantation

M idlands

mound

f or

d ate

a n

o n T hames

- i s o f

r andomly

d isposed

o r

a lso

s eemed

a ssociation

o f

p ossible

b eaker

f or

b urials

o f b eaker b arrows w ere l ocated n ear t he c ursus ( Amesbury 5 1,54 ,56 a nd t he F argo

1 978 ,

2 5-27).

a nd n ear

t he s outhern

t erminal

o f

A a t R udston ( Rudston 6 2 ,63 ,67 a nd w ithin t he t erminal b ank ; G reenwell , I ndividual b urials w ere a lso made a djacent t o t he O fferton ( Hasting

H ill), S corton , D rayton , P entridge , G ussage , c orpus N os . 2 21,34,183-4,735 a nd G riffith ,

a nd D orchester s ites ( Clarke , 1 970 , p ers c omm .). I n t he l atter t hree

c ases , h owever , i t i s n ow c lear t hat t he b urials l ong p ost-dated t heir r espective c ursus monuments a nd t he l ikelihood m ust b e t hat t he r elationships e lsewhere a re s imilar , m irroring t hat o bserved a round h enges . A gainst t his c ould

b e

s et

t he

l ate

b eaker

s herds

r ecorded

f rom

t he

l owest

l evels

o f

t he

d itch o f C ursus A a t R udston , a nd t he t wo a ccompanied b urials f rom i ts t erminal b ank

( Dymond

1 966).

H owever ,

t he

e xcavation

w as

o n

s uch

a small

s cale

t hat

t here c an b e n o c ertainty t hat t he p rimary s ilts w ere l ocated a nd t hat t he b urials w ere c ertainly s econdary ( Greenwell , 1 877 , 2 54-6). A t E tton t here a re o ther

r easons

s herds

i s

n ot

t o

d oubt

c ertainly

t he

b eaker

r elated

t o

e quation : t he

M axey

t rue a lso o f t he c laimed K empston c ursus

t he

d itch

c ursus

( Thamas ,

which

( Pryor

p roduced

1 982)

a nd

b eaker t his

i s

1 956 , 8 7)

R ecovery o f b eaker s herds f rom i nternal f eatures a t t he e astern e nd o f t he S pringfield

c ursus

( Hedges

p articularly a s f ragments e arliest b eakers w ere

&

B uckley ,

1 981,

5 )

a ppeared

o f a M ortlake b owl - b roadly f ound i n t he l ower s econdary

more

c onclusive

c ontemporary w ith t he s ilts o f t he a djacent

d itch . S ubsequently , h owever , f urther b eaker s herds w ere r ecovered f rom t he u pper f ill o f t he d itch a nd made i t c lear t hat t he monument w as o f a n e arlier d ate

( Buckley ,

g rooved c omm.)

w are

1 988). i n

t he

N evertheless , d itch

o f

t his e vidence s upports

t aken

i n c onjunction w ith t he d iscovery

a c omparable

monument

a t

L echlade

( Miles ,

o f

p ers .

t he i dea t hat t he p recisely r ectangular s eries o f

m onuments t o w hich A ston b elongs c an b e b roadly d ated t o t he l ater n eolithic , i n c ontrast t o t he m iddle n eolithic h orizons a ppropriate t o s uch major s ites a s t hose a t M axey a nd D orchester . A t A ston , t he p ossibility e xisted t herefore , t hat d espite t he r ather u nconvincing n ature o f t he e vidence e lsewhere , a c ursus o f l ate t ype w as b uilt a fter 2 000 i nterment i n t he r ing d itch - A ston 4

b c

c onceivably

A s a r esult o f t he e xcavations r eported h ere ,

a round

a n

e arly

b eaker

t his m ust n ow b e c onsidered

m ost u nlikely : T he f act t hat t he d itch d efining A ston 4 h ad f ully s ilted b y t he t ime

o f

t he

c ursus

c onstruction ,

a nd t hat 4 3

t he

c ursus

b uilders

n eeded

t o

r efurbish t he

t wo

t he

p utative

monuments

mound

t han

w as

e stablishes s uggested

a g reater

b y

t he

c hronological

c ropmarks .

T hus

g ulf

b etween

i f a b urial

w ith

b eaker o f e arly o r m iddle t ype a s d efined b y C ase w ere t o h ave b een p laced w ithin t he r ing d itch , t hen t he c onstruction o f t he c ursus c ould n ot h ave t aken p lace

b efore

s upports

c .1600bc .

N othing

a part

f rom

t he

q uestionable

R udston

s uch a n h ypothesis a nd t he r ecovery o f a l ate b eaker

u ppermost

c ursus

d itch

s ilts

a t

A ston

( Fig .

3 :13 .H)

e vidence

s herds f rom

t he

c onfirms t hat t he m onument

i ndeed b elongs t o a m uch e arlier p eriod . D ependant o n t he s peed o f s ilting i t i s n ot i mpossible t hat t he c ursus i tself w as c onstructed a t t he b eginning o f t he s econd

m illennium

b c

w hen

t he

f irst

b eakers

w ere

a ppearing

b ut t he r ing d itch

i tself i s c learly o f p re-beaker d ate . A g rowing

n umber

A nglian

g ravels

i n

( O 'Neil ,

1 981), G rendon

o f s uch

r ecent

s ites h ave b een

y ears :

A ldwinkle

( Gibson & M cCormick

l ocated o n t he M idland a nd E ast

( Jackson

1 976),

1 985), F atholme

c omm) a nd H olme P ierpoint ( Guilbert p ers . c omm). W hiteleaf f rom t he c halk ( Scott , 1 937). T he many

O rton

L ongueville

( Losco B radley p ers .

T o t hese m ust b e a dded h engiform s ites p reviously

c onsidered t o h ave b een o pen monuments a re a lso r elevant h ere a s a re t hose r ing d itches

w hich

h ave

p roduced

( Bradley & H olgate , t hough ,

b y

1 984

m ultiple

n eolithic

p ottery

i n

t he

T hames

1 18-123 ; G uilbert p ers c omm).

d itches

o r

l inked

p it

a nd

T rent v alleys

Most a re c haracterised ,

c onstruction

- n either

t echnique

e vident f rom t he small a reas o pened a t A ston n or f rom t he a erial p hotographs o f t he s ite .

U tilisation o f t he c ursus d itch f or q uarrying a dditional m aterial f or

t he p utative m ound m ay o f c ourse h ave r endered a n o uter c ircuit s uperfluous ; t he i nner

d itch

o f

p rovides

o ne

d iameter .

A n

D orchester - a j et

o f

t he

L ynch

t he

e qually

l arge

( Atkinson ,

b elt s lider

H ill

c losest

C orner

s ite

p arallels

b oth

r ing

1 951)

a nd

d itch i n

( Grimes i n

1 960 ,

t erms

d efined

t he

o f

1 54ff)

d itch

o uter

i nterestingly

s ize

c ircuit

a nd o verall

o f

s ite

b oth c ases a l ate n eolithic d ate

a nd a p olished e dge k nife d eriving

f rom

X I

a t

i s a ssured

t he c entral b urial

p it o f t he f ormer a nd E bbsfleet s herds f rom t he d itch o f t he l atter . T he

c onfiguration

o f

t he

c ursus

a nd

s ite

X I

a t

D orchester

a lso

t he c losest p arallel f or i ncorporaton o f t he r ing d itch a t A ston . X I

s tands

a t

D orchester

t he

e dge

c ursus

o f

d itch

a c auseway , ( 0 .6m)

i ts

w hich

p roximity

p roduced

t o

n o

t he

p rovides

A lthough s ite

b utt

e vidence

e nd

o f

o f

t he

c ollapse ,

s uggests t hat i t i s t he e arlier monument ( Atkinson e t a l 1 951, 6 2). S light b ut c lear r ealignment o f t he c ursus d itch o n e ither s ide c onfirms t his . A s a t A ston , o nly a c hord o f t he e arlier monument p rotruded f rom t he c ursus c onfines , a f act p robably s usceptible t o t he s ame e xplanation : t hat a lignment w as e ffected o nto

t he

o uter

e dge

o f

a

mound .

I t

i s

c onceivable

t hat

o riginally

t he

c orrelation w as c loser , w ith t he A ston r ing d itch l ikewise p laced o n a c auseway o nly l ater t o b e b ridged b y a l ength o f i rregular d itch . A gainst t his i dea , h owever , m ust b e s et t he c lose r esemblance i n s ize a nd p rofile o f t he c ursus d itch j ust R eaney

t wo m eters

7 00m

a way ,

f rom

a nd

t he

t he

i ncorporated r ing d itch w ith t he s ection c ut b y

c ontinued

i rregularity

r ing d itch a nd t owards t he SW t erminal . f or

a s econd

t erminal . r ing

c auseway

W hatever

d itch

m akes

s o c lose t o t he p rincipal

t he i t

c ase ,

m isalignment

v irtually

o f

t he

c ursus

d itch

p ast

t he

I n a ddition t here i s n o c lear p arallel

c ertain

o ne

l ocated c .70m

o f t he c ursus

t hat

a t

A ston ,

f rom

t he SW

o n e ither s ide o f t he a s

a t

D orchester ,

t he

c ircular s ite w as t he e arlier f eature . E conomy o ccupation A ston

I

o f

h ypothesis

h orizon ( Reaney ,

w ould

d ated

t o

1 968)

a nd

l ink

t he

2 750+/-150 t his

m ay

b c b e

r ing ( BM

d itch 2 71)

s upported

w ith

t he

G rimston

t hat

w as

l ocated

b y

t he

G rimston

w are

b eneath s herd

r ecovered f rom t he n atural g ravel s urface i n t rench 1 d uring t hese r ecent e xcavations . D erbyshire l ies o n t he p eriphery o f t he d istribution o f t he Y orkshire e arlier n eolithic r ound m ounds ( eg . C allis V old , A ldro 4 8 , T owthorpe 1 8 a nd L ong L ow ( N): K innes , 1 979) c haracterised b y b urial p latforms t hat n eed 4 4

h ave

p osessed

v alid ,

n o

c loser

e arthfast

d ating

o btained d ate

f rom

i ndistinguishable 2 416+1-64

b c

L landysilio f indings

o f

t imbers .

m ortuary

I f ,

s ite

t he D orchester c ursus f rom

[ Birm

t hose

7 ] ;

- 2 430+1-

f or

7 0

b c

c ognate

7 07]

a nd

D orchester

s eems b c

w ith

- 2 530+1-145

[ CAR

t he

c ursus

( 2560+1-100

s ites

L Landegai

h owever ,

a nd

b c

[ BM2443]) s ite

[ NFL

2 490+/-70

p arallel

p robable : X I

b c

[ CAR

i s v irtually ( Barford

2 24] ;

i s

a r ecently

F our

A

-

C rosses ,

6 70]).

B radley 's

o n C ranbourne C hase p oint s imilarly t o n ear c ontemporaneity

o f c ursus

a nd a djacent m onuments - i n t his c ase t he s hort l ong b arrows . A n

o rthodoxy

' fresh '

monuments

p lacing

o f

a rea

o f

which b ut

p ermitted

e xcluded

a m ultiditched

t he

N E

t he

h engiform

t erminal

a t

a nd

A ston

F ornham A ll S aints a nd M axey).

i ncorporation

i mmediately

o f

s ubsequent

t he

o nes

a p enanular d itch

- a p attern

c ommonly

c omparatively m ight

e xplain

b eside t he s upposed f ound

e lsewhere

( eg

W hy , t hough , t hese s hould b e t he o nly monuments

e xcluded i s n ot c ertain . P erhaps t he A ston c ursus i s n ot l ate i n t he s equence a s s upposed d itch

b ut

i n

f act

e ncroachment ,

c onstruction

o f

t he

B eaker

m iddle

A lternatively w ith

e arly

o r

b urial

l ate

a nd

t hus t here

monuments

i n

' package '

c learance

a c onsequent

s ufficiently

p erhaps

l ack

o f

w ere

t he

b eneath

o f

t he

s pace

- t he

o ne

t hese

o f

t errace/flood

t he

d ispersal

r ecovered d uring e xcavation h ave b een i dentified y oung a nd m ature o ak ( appendix 2 ) which , d erivation , w ith

n ew

p oints

g rowth

t o

a t

s elf

i ts

r egenerating

e dges

( GC

woodland

Morgan

p ers

t o

may

b e

p lain

may

r ing

p ermit o f

t he

i tems

o f

s ignificant . b e

b arrows .

a s b eing a ssuming

e videnced C harcoals

d erived f rom b oth i mmediately l ocal

p articularly

c omm).

p ermit

t o

d iscovery

o f

a nd

t o

r easons

i nterior

f irst f or

d istanced

c ompelling

d ense

C orroboratory

f orest

e vidence

f or s uch a c ursus s etting h as c ome f rom T hornborough i n t he f orm o f a s trongly h umic

l ayer c onsidered t o h ave d erived

E lsewhere ,

c ursus

d itches

h ave

o ften

f rom

l eaf

p roved

l itter

t o

b e

( Cornwall ,

r emarkably

1 955,

s tone

1 960).

f ree

i n

c ontrast t o t hose o f n eighbouring monuments , I f , f rom

b y

t he

i nference ,

c entral

r espectively r ing

c an

d itches

b e

t hen

t he

a rea

G rimston

o f

a ccepted t he

f resh

A ston a s

ware 4

a nd

a nd

p roviding

b eaker

s herd

t he

t he

G rimston

b uried

a T PQ f rom

f or t he

a ssociated C1 4

s oil

t he f inal

b eneath

c onstruction f ill

o f

d itch may b e t aken a s p roviding a T AQ f or t he d isuse o f t he s ite , r adiocarbon c hronology , t herefore , a bandonment ,

c omplete

a bandonment a nd n ear

s ilting

d ate

A ston

t he

o f

1

b oth

c ursus

I n t erms o f

t he w hole e pisode o f r ing-ditch c onstruction ,

o f

t he

d itch ,

a lignment

o f

t he

c ursus

a nd

o bliteration o f t he c ursus a s a v isible monument may h ave

t aken a l ittle l ess t han a m illennium . O nce r adiocarbon d ates b ecome a vailable t o c omplement BM271

a nd t he W IMP

B eaker f rom A ston 1 , t he d evelopmental s equence o f t he A ston r itual c omplex s hould b e c larified , T he n ow t hreatened b uried o ld l and s urface b eneath A ston 1 p rovides

a n

e xtremely

r are

o pportunity

t o

p lace

s uch

a M idland

s ite

i n

i ts

e volving e nvironmental s etting .

P OSTSCRIPT T he

e xcavation

s uccessful i n b y

t he

a erial

a t

t he

c ursus

monument

a t

A ston

o n

T rent

h as

b een

i ts a im o f d etermining t he r ing d itch - c ursus s equence s uggested p hotographs . d itch

a nd

I t

w as

l ess

t he r ecovery

s uccessful

h owever

i n

l ocating

o f a rtefactual d ating material .

t he

c entre

o f t he r ing

s evere

l eaching o f t he c ursus d itch d eposits a lso d enied d etailed e nvironmental

s ampling d ue t o p ercolation c ontamination o f m icro-fossils . T he small

T he

' key-hole '

n ature o f t he e xcavation i s a lso u nfortunate b ut w as a n u navoidable c onsequence o f a small

l abour f orce ,a d eep o verburden , a nd

l imited f inance .

T he d estruction

o f t he s ite b y medieval p loughing was s uspected f rom t he a erial p hotographs b ut 4 5

t he

v isibility

m ight

h ave

o f b anks a s r ecorded

b een

g ood .

u ndulations

r ecorded

b y

A ny

w ork

t he

f uture

m echanical d egradation .

a t

s ite I n

T his H art

b y

c ould

s ite

H art s uggested

p roved

o therwise ,

n ot

w ill

h ave

b enefit

b een

f rom

t hat s ubsurface s urvival

h owever , l arger

p reparation w ithout f ear o f a ddition e xamination a nd d etailed

t he b uried s oil b eneath t he r apidly e roding A ston

a nd

c onnected

t he

w ith

s cale

s urface

t he

c ursus .

e xcavation

a nd

a rchaeological s tructural e nvironmental s ampling o f

1 b arrow s hould b e s een a s a

p riority .

A CKNOWLEDGEMENTS T he w riters w ould l ike t o e xpress t heir g ratitude t o t he l andowners , M essrs C . & D .

B urnett

o f

G unthorpe

f or

p ermission

t o

e xcavate ,

t o

l ocal r esident ,

M r .

H .

B lount o f W eston G range f or a llowing t he u se o f a s table i n w hich t o s tore t he e xcavation e quipment a nd t o t he V acations A ward B oard o f L eicester U niversity f or

f inancial

b acking .

u se

o f

m inibus

t heir

c risis .

M r

g ravel

s ite

p rovided

S .

M ountsorrel

a most

L osco-Bradley

e xcavations

s pecific

s ection t hrough ( Fig .

T he a t

s ite

i n

V enture

f avourable

p rovided t he

T rent

i nformation .

a dvice

f rom a nd

R eaney

i t

g roup

a nd

V alley

M r

t he c ursus d itch a nd

S cout

r ate

h is M r

a lso

t hus D .

l oaned

s olved

e xtensive R eaney

u s

t he

a t ransport

e xperience

a nd

D r

D .

a lso s upplied t he d rawing

o f

R iley o f h is

i s r eproduced h ere w ith h is p ermission

3 :3), L eicestershire C ounty C ouncil E ducation A uthority g ranted D r . L oveday

l eave

t o

c o-direct

A rchaeology

t he

p rovided

e xcavation

m inor

a nd

f inancial

L eicester

b acking

U niversity 's

t hrough

t he

D epartment

g ood

o ffices

o f

o f

t he

t hen H ead , P rof . J .S .Wacher . M r . G .C . Morgan i dentified t he c harcoals .

F ig . 3 :2

r eproduced

f or

w ith

t he

p remission

o f

C ambridge

U niversity 's

C ommittee

i s

A erial

P hotography w ho r etain t he c opyright . F inally t he ' diggers ' M r R B owen , M r A B riggs , M iss H H ubbard , M iss S M ason „ M r C M oore , M r S R avnkilde & M iss S W atkins

m ust

a ll

b e

a pplauded

f or

c oping

c heerfully

l ittle r eward , a nd c opious a mounts o f h ard s log . T he P lough , W eston o n T rent f or r espite

w ith

a rduous

c onditions ,

T hanks a lso t o t he l andlord o f

!

R EFERENCES A tkinson , R .J .C . e t a l

1 951

E xcavations a t D orchester , O xfordshire A shmolean

M useum , O xford A shbee ,

P .

1 978

Amesbury

b arrow

5 1:

E xcavations

1 960 .

W iltshire

A rchaeological a nd N atural H ostory Magazine 7 0/71, 1 -60 B radley ,

R .

& H oigate ,

R

1 984

T he

n eolithic

s equence

i n

t he

u pper

V alley . i n B radley , R . & G ardiner , J . ( eds) N eolithic S tudies : a r eview C urrent R esearch B ritish A rchaeological R eports N o .133 , O xford , 1 07-134 C ase ,

H .J .

1 977

T he

b eaker

c ulture

i n

B ritain

a nd

I reland .

i n

T hames o f S ome

M ercer

( ed)

B eakers i n B ritafn a nd E urope B ritish A rchaeological R eports S 26 , O xford , C ase , H .J . & W hittle , A .W .R . 1 982 S ettlement p atterns i n C ouncil f or B ritish A rchaeology R esearch R eport N o .44 , L ondon C larke , D .L . C ornwall ,

1 970

I .V .

T hornborough 3 8 , 4 25-445 .

t he

B eaker p ottery o f G reat B ritain a nd I reland 1 955

C ircles

n ear

R eport R ipon ,

o n

N orth

t he

s oil

R iding . 4 6

s amples .

i n

O xford

r egion

C ambridge T homas ,

N .

T he

Y orkshire A rchaeological J ournal

C ornwall ,

I .V .

1 960

V atcher , F . d e M .

T hornborough c ursus d itch :

T he T hornborough C ursus .

r eport

o n t he s oil s amples .

i n

Y orkshire A rchaeological J ournal 4 0 ,

1 80-1 D ymond ,

D .P .

1 966

R itual

monuments

a t

R udston ,

E ast

Y orkshire ,

E ngland .

P roceedings o f t he P rehistoric S ociety 3 2 , 8 6-95 . G ibson ,

A .M .

&

McCormick ,

N orthamptonshire ,

P art

A .

1 985

1 :n eolithic

A rchaeology

a nd b ronze

a ge

a t

s ites

G rendon

e xcavated

q uarry ,

i n

1 974-5 .

N orthamptonshire A rchaeology 2 0, 2 3-66 G reenwell , W .

1 877

G rimes , V .F .

B ritish B arrows L ondon

1 960

E xcavation o n d efence s ites . 1 939-45 H3 12 .0" L ondon

H edges , J . & B uckley , D .

1 981

S pringfield C ursus a nd t he c ursus p roblem E ssex

C ounty C ouncil , O ccassional p aper 1 , C helmsford . J ackson ,

D .A .

1 976

G rendon , N orthants . ,

T he

e xcavation

o f

n eolithic

K innes , 'J . 1 979 R ound b arrows a nd r ing B ritish M useum O ccasional P aper , N o .7 , L ondon L anting ,

J .D .

a nd

b ronze

1 967-71. N orthamptonshire A rchaeology

& v an

d er

V aals ,

J .D .

1 972

d itches

B ritish

i n

a ge

s ites

a t

1 1, 1 2-70 . t he

b eakers

B ritish

n eolithic

a s

f rom

s een

t he

c ontinent . H elinium 1 2 , 2 0-46 M ay , J .

1 970

A n

i ron a ge s quare e nclosure a t A ston U pon T rent , D erbyshire : a

r eport o n e xcavations i n 1 967 .Derbyshire A rchaeological J ournal 9 0 ,

1 0-21.

O 'Brien ,

a nd

C .

D erbyshire :

1 978 A n

L and

a nd

A rchaeological

s ettlement

R eview .

E ast

i n

N ottinghamshire

M idlands

A rchaeological

L owland

B ulletin

1 2,

s upplement O 'Neil , F .E .

1 981

C ambridgeshire ,

A n eolithic a nd e arly b ronze a ge s ite a t O rton L ongueville,

a

p reliminary

n ote .

N ene

V alley

A rchaeological

R esearch

C ommittee P ryor ,

F .M .

A w aterlogged

1 982

c ausewayed

e nclosure

i n

t he

C ambridge

F ens

A ntiquity 5 6 , 1 24-6 R eaney , D .

A B eaker b urial a t A ston O n T rent . D erbyshire

1 966

J ournal

8 6, 1 03 .

R eaney ,

D .

1 968

B eaker

A rchaeological J ournal S cott ,

V .L .

1 937

b urials

i n

s outh

A rchaeological

D erbyshire .

D erbyshire

8 8 , 6 8-81

W hiteleaf

b arrow ,

M onk 's

R isborough ,

B ucks .

P roceedings

o f

t he P rehistoric S ociety 3 , 4 37-441 S t . J oseph , J .K . T homas , N .

1 964

1 966

A ir r econnaisance : r ecent r esults , 6 . A ntiquity 4 0 , 5 8-59

M aterials

t he n eolithic a nd b ronze a ge .

f or

t he s tudy

o f t he p rehistory

o f B edfordshire .

B edfordshire A rchaeologist 1 , 6 7-92 .

4 7

I

A PPENDIX 1 A IR P HOTOGRAPHIC C OVER O F R ING D ITCH 4 , A STON U PON T RENT . NKR

S K 4 128/17

C ambridge K 17 U 2 00, 2 01, 2 02 C ambridge B TL 0 47 C ambridge B CL 2 0, 2 1, 2 4 C ambridge B JU 2 1, 2 2

A PPENDIX 2 C HARCOALS F ROM A STON O N T RENT R ING D ITCH 4 ( by G .C . M organ) S ample c ontext

s pecies

1

T rench1 c ursus d itch l ayer 4

Q uercus s p .

2

t renchl c ursus d itch l ayer 5 b

o ak

3

t rench1 c ursus

4 5

t rench 1 l ayer

6

t rench1 c ursus

7

t rench1 c ursus d itch l ayer 5 a

c l iam(mm) 6 0+

1 0

8 0+

1 2

d itch l ayer S c o ak t rench 1 c ursus

f rags .

-

d itch l ayer 4

o ak

8 0+

1 6

o ak

f rags

o ak

8 0+

o ak o ak

3 s ubsoil d itch l ayer 5

s low

1 0

2 5

f ast

5 0+ 8 0+

5 1 0

1 5 2 5

f ast f ast

o ak

5 0+

5

1 0

f ast

o ak

f rags

t rench1 c ursus d itch l ayer 5

h azel

1 0

t rench1 F 3

b ark u nidentifiable

1 1

t renchl c ursus d itch l ayer 4

o ak

1 2

t rench 1 c ursus d itch l ayer 5 a o ak

1 3

t rench 1 c ursus d itch l ayer 5 o ak f rags

1 4

t rench 1 c ursus d itch l ayer 4 t rench 1 c ursus

1 6

t rench 1 c ursus

1 7

t rench 1 c ursus

d itch l ayer 4

2 0

4 0

9

1 5

g rowth r ate

f ast

t rench1 c ursus d itch l ayer 4

a ge

2 0

8

o ak k not

o ak f rags

1 5

-

5

5

6 0+

7

2 0

6 0+

1 0

2 0

4 0+

-

-

-

o ak

6 0+

1 0

3 0

o ak

8 0

3 0

4 5

s low

d itch l ayer 5

o ak

5 0+

4

1 5

f ast

t rench1 F 6 t op

o ak

2 0

3

5

f ast

d itch l ayer 4

1 8

r ings

4 8

Sample c ontext 1 9

s pecies

d iam(mm)

r ings

a ge

g rowth r ate

t rench2 c ursus d itch l ayer 4

o ak

4 0

h azel 2 0

C orylus a v

3 0

h azel f rags

6 0+

f ragments

t rench 2 c ursus d itch l ayer 4

s low g rowing a nd w orm e aten s uggesting d ead w ood .

2 1

t rench2 c ursus d itch l ayer 4

o ak f rags h azel

2 2

t rench2 c ursus

2 3

t rench2 c ursus

2 4

d itch b elow b ase t rench 2 c ursus

2 5

t rench 2 r ing

d itch l ayer 5

h azel

d itch l ayer 4 d itch t op

3 0 u nidentifiable b ark

o ak

4 0+

4

o ak

5 0+ f rags

-

1 5

s low s low

u nusual g rowth p atterns i n t his s ample F ast

g rowth

e nvironment

r ates a nd

i n

s low

s ome

r ates

o f

t hese

s uggest

d ry

s amples

s uggest

c onditions

o r

a bsence o f s mall s amples , r e-growth c annot b e p roven

o pen

d ense

a nd/or

w oodland .

( fast g rowth

d amp I n

t he

i n t he f irst

s ix o r s o y ears).

A PPENDIX 3 P OTTERY F ROM A STON O N T RENT R ING D ITCH 4 1

T rench

1 / m edieval

p loughsoil

/ s ingle

g rog-filled

s herd

w ith

t he

o uter

s urface m issing , a p ink i nner s urface a nd a g rey c ore / U ndiagnostic 2

T rench

1 /

c entral

a rea

G rimston ware / i llustrated 3

T rench

1 / t op

o f

o n

n atural

g ravel

/ s ingle

s herd

o f

c arinated

( Fig . 3 :13.D)

c ursus

d itch

/ t wo

v ery

small

u ndiagnostic

a nd

a braded

s herds 4

T rench 1 / t op o f c ursus d itch / s ingle small a braded s herd / u ndiagnostic

5

T rench

1 / m edieval p lough

s oil

/ s ingle s herd

i n q uartz f illed f abric w ith

i nclusions b reaking b oth s urfaces . g rey-brown o uter r eddish b rown i nterior / u ndiagnostic / s ee 8 b elow 6

T rench

o uter

1 / m edieval p lough s oil

s urface ,

b lack

c ore

a nd

s urface ,

g rey

c ore

a nd

/ s oft f abric w ith q uartz i nclusions , a p ink

l ight

b rown

i nner

s urface

/ p ossibly

G rimston

w are / s ee 9 b elow 7

T rench 1 / m edieval p loughsoil / b urnt c lay

8

T rench 2 / o n n atural g ravel i nside c ursus / s ame f abric a s 5 a bove

9

T rench

2 / o n

n atural

g ravel

i nside

p ossibly G rimston w are 4 9

c ursus

/ s ame

f abric

a s

6 a bove

/

1 0

T rench

r ed-brown

2 / c ursus o uter

d itch

s urface ,

l ayer

4 / s herd

b lack c ore a nd

f rom

g rey-brown

n eck

a ngle

i nterior

o f

l ate

b eaker

/ i llustrated

/

( Fig .

3 :13 .H) 1 1

T rench

b lack

c ore .

2 / c ursus q uartz

w are/ i llustrated 1 2

T rench

a nd

d itch

l ayer

g rog

4 / l ight

i nclusions ,

b rown

s ingle

e xterior ,

i ncised

l ine

b lack

i nterior a nd

/ p ossibly g rooved

( Fig . 3 :13 .J)

2 / c ursus

d itch

l ayer

4 / b lack

f abric

t houghout ,

g rog

f illed

/

p ossibly G rimston w are 1 3

T rench 2 / t opsoil

/ f abric a s

1 2 a bove b ut w ith p itted s urfaces / p ossibly

G rimston w are

5 0

4:

T H E

F U R T H E R

B A R F O R D

R I T U A L

E X C A V A TI O N S

R E GI O N A L

C O M P L E X:

(1 9 7 2 )

A N D

A

P E R S P E C T I V E.

R oy L oveday S UMMARY T he

e xcavations

i n

1 972

o f a c ursus monument ,

r ing

o f a l ate n eolithic r itual d itch ,

s hort

o blong

d itch

c omplex c onsisting

a nd p it

c omplex a re

r eported h ere . D irect d ating e vidence f rom t he e xcavations w as poor , b ut u s ing t he a vailable s tra ggraphy a nd n ational a nd r egional p arallels a s equence

o f

e vents

c onsideration

o f

c an

s uch

b e

r itual

r econstructed . c omplexes

i n

T he

t he

r eport

M idlands

e nds

a nd

w ith

t he

a

r egional

r ole o f c ursus monuments a s a gainst t he h enges o f e lsewhere i n t he c ountry . I NTRODUCTION T he

e xcavations

t hreatened ( site

8 3)

v ariously

t hat

u ntouched d irected

S anders .

T he

u nfortunately T hose

o f

b y

t he

a nd

a nd

e arlier

w as

h ave

w ishing

a rchive

n ow

h ad

t o

h eld

t o

a ssess

i n

t he

1 972

o f

b y

S .

n ot

O swald B all ,

M .Card ,

w ell

' U '-ditch

g ravel

o ver

a t

T he

A .

t he

s ite

e xtraction

c omplex

( 1969).

d uring

f ared

s eems

w hen

c ropmark

p resent

o f s ufficient v alue

R eaders

w ork

a ppended

s ituation

i n

H obley 's

n ot

h ave

a nd

t he

u ndertaken

s upervised

r ecords

c ursus

i nformation i s

w ere

W ebster

a nd

t he

r eservations

o f

a uthor

t he

f ragmentary

h ere

p art

B arford

work

H unt ,

w as

a nd

e xcavations

t he a re

i rretrievable .

e nsuing n ow

P . a nd

y ears .

r egrettably

N evertheless ,

t he

t o w arrant r ecording a lthough i nevitable

b e

e xpressed

t he

m aterial

Warwick

a t

v arious

f or

C ounty

p oints

t hemselves

M useum

( SMR

i n

s hould N o .

t he

t ext .

c onsult

7 19),

t he

F or

t he

p urposes o f t his r eport a n umerical d esignation o f t he s ites h as b een s ubstituted f or t he a lphabetical o ne a dopted b y t he e xcavators i n o rder t o a void c onfusion w ith t he s ites o f B arford S outh W est ( Oswald e t a l . 1 969).

L OCATION T he c ropmarks o f B arford NE a re s ituated s outh o f W arwick a t S P288623 . T hey

l ie

o n

A von

a s

t hose

W arwick a long t he j ust

s ame

o f

b y-pass ,

t he

h as

C astle

n orth

l evel

B arford T he

t errace

a djoining 2 km

t he

b een

o f

t he

t own

t he

f ifteen t wo

c ropmarks

p revented b ut

t he

t errace

a lthough

e xtension

P ark ,

w ithin

g ravel SW

b y

t he

d iscovery

o f

W arwick

m etres

a re t o

t he

v ery o f

n ow

a bove

n orth

a nd

c onsiderable

e arlier

h eightens

t he

s eparated

t he

t he w est

a creage

n eolithic t he

R iver

b y

l ikelihood

f urther n eolithic f eatures i n t he v icinity ( Thomas , 1 974). I mmediately t he w est ( 1 .8km) o n t he o pposite b ank o f t he R iver A von l ies a c ursus s imilar

s ize

t o

t hat

a t

B arford

f lanked

H obley , 1 964 , s ite 8 1). T hese monuments , p lain , n ot o n a h igh g ravel t errace .

b y

a r ing

h owever ,

d itch

( Webster

T he f ollowing s ites w ere i nvestigated :A s traight-sided r ectangular e nclosure 1 85m b y 3 5/50m - a c ursus . A ' U '-shaped e nclosure

2 5m b y 2 0m

e nclosure o r l ong b arrow . II

A r ing d itch 2 4-27m i n d iameter

5 1

-

o f t o o f a nd

l ie j ust a bove t he f lood

T HE E XCAVATIONS

I

o f

p ottery

a p robable

l ong

mortuary

I V

P its r evealed i n a s trip 9 0m b y 1 2m r unning f rom s ite II

V

A p it a lignment

V I

A h ut s ite

V II

A h ut s ite

V III A h ut s ite S ites V -VIII w hich d ate t o t he f irst m illennium b c w ill b e t he s ubject o f a s eparate r eport .

F ig . 4 :1

B arford :

l o cation m ap

5 2

S ITE I S ite I w as d efined b y a s traight d itch ( F1), l m-1 .5m w ide f or m ost o f i ts l ength b ut o f v ery v ariable d epth . A t t he s outhern t erminal w here i t l ay j uxtaposed t o s ite I I,it w as f lat b ottomed a nd 0 .8m - 1 m d eep .

F ig .

T his p rofile

4 :2

a ppears t o h ave c ontinued f or a s hort d istance f rom

B arford N E , p lan o f 1 972 c uttings

5 3

BARFORD N E 1 972 S ITE I i o

Me tres

C :k )

:

1 973

0

2 F 20

F ig . 4 :3

B a rford N E , s ite I

5 4

F 20

FI

0

F 20 FI

_ 1 .4% t e:

2 .

\ A /

BARFORD

NE

1 972

S ITE I L igh t D ark L igh t D ark

g rey

s and

S andy g rave l

\ A /

D ark s t

I . .

Y e l low

b rown s i l t

s i lt

C layey s i l ts

I

Coarse g rave l

5 .

K ey f or a l l s ect ions

F ig 4 :4

L ight

b rown s and

B a rfo rd , s i te I , s e ct ions ,

5 5

B rown e arth

w ith s and

t he ' U '

c orners t o

a long

' V '-shaped

p laces

o f

o nly

e ach i n

s ide

s ection

0 .62m).

A bout

b een r emoved i n a dvance h ave b een g reater . A c auseway 4 5m

f rom

t he

1 0m

b efore

b y

w ide

s outhern

t he

d itch

b ecame

a nd a lso s lighter a m eter t he

w as

o f

g ravel

l ocated

t erminal

a nd

v aried

s o

d epths

t he e astern

a s econd

j ust

g ravel

may

a long

i n h ad

o riginally

s ide-ditch

1 8m

f rom

w ith a w idth

t opsoil a nd d isturbed c ompany

i n

markedly

( 0 .3-0 .25m ,

a t

t he

a p oint o pposing

d itch l ine . A lthough o nly 3 )5m w ide a nd o bscured b y a t ree h ole ( possibly b ut n ot c ertainly p re-dating t he c ursus), t he l atter c auseway l ies i n t he c lassic c auseway p osition w as s ome e vidence

f or

( cf . A ston o n T rent , t his v olume F ig . 3 :1).

a w idening

o f t he d itch

c auseway , a nd more m arked e vidence o f t his a t t he e astern g ap t he

d itch

h ad

o nly

b een

d eepened

b y

0 .15m

T here

t o o ne s ide o f t his w estern

( Fig .

4 :4.3).

t hough h ere

A small

c ircular

f eature i n t he c entre o f t he e astern c auseway m ay r epresent a p ost-hole b ut w as o nly 0 .10m d eep . T he e xcavators a lso c onsidered t here t o b e a t hird c auseway r epresented b y a m arked r eduction i n t he d epth o f t he s outhern d itch t o t he e ast o f s ite I . A t

t he

s outhern

t erminal ,

t he

S E

c orner

f ormed

a n

a pproximate

r ight

a ngle b ut t he s outh w est o ne t urned i nwards a t a n a ngle o f a bout 7 8 .) . T his c ontrasts w ith t he r ight a ngled p lan o f t he n orthern t erminal r evealed b y a erial

p hotography ,

i f p resent , a nd i n

i s

a nd t hat o f a ll

o utwards a nd n ot

o ther c ursus t erminals where c urvature ,

i nwards .

T he r eason a ppears c lear i n p lan

a s eries o f f ine a erial p hotographs : t he t erminal c urves a round t he

d itch

o f

s ite

I

g reater a djustment .

( F20),

F 1 b y F 20 i s c onfirmed s ections 1 a nd 2 ( Fig . a lways

t he

c loser

p roximity

o f

t he

S W

c orner

f orcing

T hat t his i s n ot a n i llusion c reated b y t he c rossing o f b y t he p osition o f t heir d istinctive p rofiles i n 4 :4) w hich s how t he d eeper , f lat-bottomed d itch

l ying t o t he n orth .

T his h orizontal s tratigraphy , h owever , c onflicts

w ith t he v ertical s tratigraphy r eported b y t he e xcavators . S ection p eagrit s andy

a t

a reas ,

s ection . t he

1 r eveals p rimary

a p rogression

a nd

b rowner

s econdary

o ver

t he

f rom

l evels .

c ursus

l ight G rey

d itch

g rey s ilt

b ase ,

s and w ith

f illed

A n e xception t o t his p attern i s a n o bviously

t opmost

l evel

f illed

w ith

d ark

g rey

s and .

T he

t o

d ark

s ome t he

b rown

s tones r est

a nd

o f

t he

i ntrusive f eature a t

d istinction

b etween

F 1

a nd F 20 c ould n ot b e e stablished w ith c ertainty . T he s uggestion t hat t he l atter w as r epresented b y t he i ntrusive f eature i s d ifficult t o c redit s ince t his w as o nly 0 .6m w ide a nd 0 .4m d eep i n c ontrast t o t he f ull d itch p rofile ( 2m b y 0 .7m) r evealed j ust 1 0m a way i n s ection 2 . S ection

2 r ecords

a s imilar

p attern

w ith

b rown

s ilts

o f

v arying

h ues

a t t he b ase o f t he p rofile , a nd a s trong g ravel c ontent j ust a bove t he d itch f loor .

T his

i n

t urn g ives

w ay

t o r eddish t o d ark b rown

l ayers o f s and a t

u pper s econdary a nd t ertiary l evels . T he a djacent s ection o f F 20 - t he d itch d efining s ite I - r evealed a s imilar s ilting p attern p rogressing t o a t ertiary

l ayer

a lmost

i ndistinguishable

f rom

t hat

o f

t he

j uxtaposed

F l .

O nly a p ocket o f b rown s and w ith a s trong p ebble c ontent b y t he n orthern l ip o f F 20 i s d istinctive a nd may r eveal s omething o f t he s equence o f c onstruction . S ections 3 , y ellow b ase

o f

h ue

a t

s ection

g rey-brown

4 , a nd 5 a re d ominated b y

t he 5 .

s andy

b ase T he s ilt

o f

s ection

u pper w ith

3 a nd

l evels

c harcoal

o f

l ight b rown , s andy s ilt h aving a a s tronger s ections

f lecks

g ravel

4 a nd

w hich

a lso

o ccured

s ubstantial c oncentrations a t t he b ase o f s ection 3 . O ther i llustrated h ere) r ecord a s imilar p attern o f u ninterrupted

5 6

c ontent a t

5 w ere

o f

t he

s ticky

i n

s ections s ilting .

more ( not T he

o nly

f inds

l ocation

w ere

a nd

a s ingle

a s herd

w orked

f rom

t he

f lint

( Appendix

u ppermost

a nd o n t he l ip o f t he s outhern d itch

l evels

2 :1)

n ear

f rom

t he

a n

u nspecified

s outh-east c orner

( appendix 1 ).

I nternal F eatures O nly o ne a rea o f t he c ursus i nterior w as c arefully c leared b y M r A H unt a s a n e xploratory 1 973 ( Fig . 4 :3). c learly

i nvestigation o f a s urviving s ection o f A n umber o f i rregular f eatures w ere

t ree-holes ,

a nimal

b urrows .

o thers

O ne

o r

n atural

t wo

p atches

r ecorded

a s

o f

marl

h aving

m ay p ossibly b e o f p rehistoric d ate a lthough w ith t he monument ( A .Hunt , p ers . c omm).

S ITE I

I

c omprised

a erial

l ength a nd

o f

a d itch

p hotographs

d itch

H obley ,

a ttached

1 964 ,

-

h ad

p l

t o

o f

t he

l a)

' U '-plan

s uggested

n ot

t he

r emains

c harcoal

n ecessarily

s outhern

b ut

l ater

d efining

t hat

2 862/11).

t his

a n

w as

t erminal

o f

p hotographs

c onditions p ointed t o t he l ikelihood t hat i t a nd

a nd

c ontained

o f

f lecks

a ssociated

( Fig . 4 :5)

S ite E arly

t he m onument i n u ncovered , m any

a rea

1 8m

m erely t he

b y

2 4m .

a h ook-like

c ursus

( Webster

u nder

o ptimum

t aken

w as a s eperate e ntity

at e S P

I ts s ides p roved t o b e p arallel , d iverging b y n o more t han 0 .75m ,

t he

w estern

e nd

w as

c onvex .

O nly

a n

i nturn

o f

t he

l ast

7 m

o f

t he

n orthern a rm d estroyed i ts s ymmetry . T he

d itch

r ounded l ip , t o

a nd

w as

a veraging 0 .6m .

l atter

c ontinuous

s hallow

i n

1 .47m .

T he

a nd

c ollared

( Fig .

I t

f ill

i rregular t hough

r anged

c omprised

b eing p resent

I t w as c ompletely s terile . t extured l ight b rown s andy s tone f ree

r ather

i n

w idth

i t

f rom

w as

1 t o

u niformly 2m

a t

T he d epth b elow t he n atural g ravel r anged f rom

p rimary

d ominating

b ut

p rofile .

4 :6 ,6 ,7 ,8).

u rn - A ppendix

b rown

s andy

s ilt

i n c ompacted f orm

i n

a nd

t he 0 .3m

g ravel ,

t he

c ertain s ections .

A bove t his , t he s econdary f ill s ilt w hich w as l argely t hough

c omprised f ine n ot c ompletely

A s herd o f f abric 1 , p ossibly b ut n ot c ertainly

1 )

l ay

j ust

a bove

t his

l evel

i n s ection 7 .

S ince ,

h owever , o ther s herds o f t his t ype l ay a t o r n ear t he t op o f t he t ertiary s ilts , d oubts m ust e xist a bout i ts o riginal p osition i n t he p rofile . I n 0 .03m

s ection w ide

8

a nd

( Fig ,

0 .12m

4 :6 .8) d eep

a d istinctive

c ut

t he

p ipe

s econdary

o f

s ilts

d arker

material

v ertically .

j ust

F ailure

t o

l ocate t his w ith a ny a ssurance i n t he o bviously r ecut u pper s ilts p oints t o i ts p rehistoric d ate . T he e xcavators c onsidered i t t o r epresent a r oot h ole . T he

u pper

i nclusion

o f

s ilts

a f ew

i n a ll s mall

s ections

s tones

i n

w ere c omprised o f s andy s oil w ith t he s ections

7 a nd 8 .

C olour

r anged

f rom

d ark b rown i n s ection 7 t o g rey-brown i n s ections 6 a nd 8 . A r un o f l ight b rown s andy material e nding i n a small g roup o f s tones a t t his l evel i n s ection 6 c an b e p resumed t o r ecord a m easure o f i nternal c ollapse , p erhaps f rom a b ank . E vidence o f r ecutting i s r estricted t o s ection 1 o f F l ( Fig . 4 :5 .1) a nd s ection 8 o f F 20 ( Fig . 4 :6 .8) where a l ense o f c rumbly b rown s and a t t he t opmost l evel o f t he a ssymetric s everal s hherds o f f abric 1 . R ecutting c reating t he c onfusion b etween v ertical o ther t hat

p oints t he

w here

v ery

F l

s imilar

a nd

F 20

i mpinge

v ariably

s ized

r ecut i s r ecorded a s p roducing m ight , h owever , b e s uspected o f a nd h orizontal s tratigraphy a t

o n e ach r ecuts

o ther . a t

I t

N orth

i s

w orth

S toke

n oting

w ere

a lso

d iscontinuous a nd m ight h ave b een more d ifficult t o d etect h ad t hey n ot b een c ut i nto a l ayer o f r edeposited g ravel ( layer 2 b , C ase 1 982 , f ig .37).

5 7

R ecovery

o f

s herds

makes

i t v irtually

l ower

l evel

o f

c ertain

e lsewhere

h ad

f abric

1 f rom

t hat t hose b een

f ew

c arried

s oil o r l ay w ithin a n u nrecognised r ecut ,

f r ig . 4 :5

B arford N E , p lan o f s ite I

5 8

t he o f

d own

t opmost

l evel

o f

t he

r ecut

t he s ame

f abric

f ound a t t he

b y

a ction

i n

worm

t he

l ight

BARFORD

NE

1 972

S ITE I • P o ttery • f l int

0

F 28

F ig . 4 :6

B edard N E : S i te I s e ct ions

M

I nternal f eatures W ithin

t he

r evealed ,

i nterior

s everal

r epresented

t ree

o f

o f

s ite

w hich

h oles

o r

I ,

w ere

a n umber v isible

p eriglacial

o f

a s

f eatures .

s ubsoil

f eatures

c ropmarks

a nd

w ere

p robably

N o d istinctive p attern c an

b e d iscerned b ut a n umber o f s mall c ircular h oles r anging f rom 0 .35 t o 0 .5m i n d iameter , a nd i n p laces o ccuring i n p airs , a re s uggestive o f p ost h oles . A ll

h ad

a b rown

s andy

f ill ,

a f ew

w ith

t he

i nclusion

o f

p ebbles .

T he

d epths o f t hese f eatures w ere f airly c onsistent b ut s hallow - 0 .09 t o 0 .17m . - a veraging g ravel

0 .12m .

c ompany

T runcation b y p lough a ction a nd h eavy s tripping b y t he

m ay

i n

p art

a ccount

f or

t his

b ut

t he

d iscovery

o f

w ell-

p reserved i ron a ge h ouse s ites J ust 2 0m a way a nd i n a n u nprotected l ocation m akes t his u nlikely . O stensibly c omparable p ostholes a t t wice a s d eep a nd o nly a bout h alf a s w ide ( Jackson , 1 976 , v irtually

c ertain ,

t herefore ,

t hat

t he

f eatures

w ere

A ldwincle w ere 2 0). I t s eems

n ot

man-made

o r

a t

l east w ere n ot s tructural . F 22 O n

t he

w as

a s ubstantial

w estern

s ide

i t

p it

m easuring

s loped

g ently

2 .2m

d own

b elow t he s urface o f t he n atural g ravel .

i n

t o

l ength

a nd

a c entral

T he f ill

l m

i n

w idth .

d epression

b rown s ilt b ut i n t ransverse s ection < Fig . 4 :6 .9) l ayers o f l ight s lip a ppear o n e ither s ide w ith a d ense l ayer o f s tones a bove . h orizontal f rom

n ature

a c entral

o bstacle v ertical

o f

o ne

a rea

o f t hese

Ulm

w ide

s andy

m ust

05m

w as p rincipally o f g reys andy T he

l ayers a nd t heir v ertical d ivision

i ndicate

- p resumably a p ost . F ailure t o a rea f rom t hat o f t he r est o f

t he

f ormer

p resence

o f

a n

d istinguish t he f ill o f t his t he p it p robably p oints t o

e xtraction o f t he p ost b efore i t h ad r otted ; t he s loping s ide w hich r evealed n o

s uch

o ther

v ertical

h and ,

b reak

l ack

o f

p erhaps

c ollapse

i ndicate t hat t he p ost r otted

r epresents

f rom i n

t he

s itu .

t he

e xtraction

h orizontal

h ole .

p acking

N o f inds w ere made

O n

l ayers

i n t his

t he

w ould f eature

b ut i t i s u ndoubtedly m an-made . F 27

p roduced a small q uantity

o f b urnt s oil a nd p ebbles .

o f b urnt b one a nd p ottery f rom a m atrix

T he e xcavators c onsidered t his t o b e t he r esult

o f

i n s itu b urning .

U nfortunately t he b one a nd p ottery h ave b een m isplaced

a s

h ave

d rawings

t he

s ection

a nd

r ecorded

d imensions .

T herefore

n othing

c an b e s aid w ith c onfidence a bout t his f eature . F 28 o f

w as a p it w ith a f igure o f e ight p lan w hich a lso p roduced e vidence

b urning .

T wo

d ifferentiated g rey-brown

l arge

f ill

e arthy

c harcoal

( Fig . s ilt

4 :6 .11). b ut

o ne

i mpregnated T hey

l ay

i ntruded

p atches l argely

i nto

t he

w ere

i n

n oted

t he

y ellow

a rea

s andy

i n

t he

o f

d ark

f ill

t hat

o ccupied o ne s ide o f t he p it . A b asal l ayer o f r eddish-brown g ravelly s and i ndicated n atural s ilting , a t l east i nitially . T hree s herds o f f abric 1 w ere r ecovered f rom t his p it b ut t heir p recise f ind s pots a re n ot r ecorded . F 29

a lso

p roduced

s herds

o f

p ottery

c ollared u rn a nd p ossible G rimston w are) s andy F 28

s oil

t he

J ust

b asal

a bove l ayer

a s tone c omprised

r e

c orded

o f

f abrics

1 a nd

2

( possible

m idpoint i n t he f ill o f g rey-brown a s

o range-brown

b eing

b adly

g ravel ,

c hipped .

b ut

t he

A s

u pper

w ith

l evels

w ere h omogenous . T he f inal p its o f i nterest - F 25 a nd F 26 a t t he c entre o f t he s ite p roduced n othing b ut a s ingle u ndiagnostic f lake f rom h igh i n t he d ark b rown f ill o f F 25 .

T his 0 .6m d eep p it i s r ecorded a s c utting F 26 w hich w as

a p it o f c omparable d epth . L ack o f a b asal l ayer o f w eathered g ravel m ight s uggest t hat F 25 w as a b urial p it s uperceding F 26 f rom b oth o f w hich b one h ad

b een

e tched

b y

t he

a cid

s oil .

6 0

A lthough

t hese

t wo

p its

w ere

o f

c onsiderably

g reater

t he o pen s ide

S ITE

II

d epth

t han

t he

o ther

i nternal

f eatures

t hose

f lanking

( F34 , F 35 a nd F 28) w ere o f c omparable s ize .

( Fig . 4 :7)

T his w as a r ing d itch a pproximately 2 4m i n d iameter f rom s outh-west t o n orth-east a nd 2 7 .5m i n d iameter f rom s outh-east t o n orth-west . I n p lan i t f ormed a p ear-shape r ather t han a c ircle w ith a d istinct a pex a t t he n orthe ast

w here

w as

t wo

' V '-shaped

r elatively i n p rofile

s traight

s ections

o f

t he

d itch

f or m ost o f i ts l ength t hough d eeper a nd n arrower i n A p attern

o f

u ninterrupted

s ilting

s andy s ilts i n t he p rimary a nd

r ed-brown

g ravel

t o

met .

T he

d itch

b ut w ith a r ounded b ase a nd w as s ome 0 .75m d eep w as

r ecorded

i ts s outh-eastern a rc .

p rogressing

f rom

b rown ,

l evels t hrough s ubsequent l ayers o f y ellow-brown

a n

u pper

f ill

o f b eige-coloured s ilt .

G ravel r uns

o riginated f rom b oth t he i nner a nd o uter e dges o f t he d itch a nd s o g ave n o i ndication o f t he f orm o f t he o riginal e arthwork . w ere

t wo

f lint

f lakes

( appendix

2 :7

a nd

8 )

T he o nly f inds r ecovered

f rom

t he

u pper

s ilts

i n

t he

n orthern s ection o f t he d itch . I n t he i hterior o f t he monument , w as a s ub-circular a rrangement o f p its s ome 8 m

i n d iameter .

T he d imensions a re o nly r ecorded o f t hat p it n earest

t he c entre o f t he r ing d itch which measured 0 .92m i n d iameter b y 0 .51m d eep a nd

w as

c onical

i n

s ection .

k nife-like

p roportions

T his ,

t he

p lus

n ear

was

c entral

A l arge

f lint

b lade

w ithout

r ecovered

f rom

t his

f eature

p osition

o f

t he

p it ,

r e-touch

b ut

( appendix

p rompted

t he

o f

2 :9).

c onclusion

t hat i t r epresented t he p rimary b urial p it , h owever t he p it i s small f or a n i nhumation a nd a nd n o t races o f c remated b one w ere e ncountered A :

O swald

e t

d istinguished

a l . i n

1 969 ,

p lan

7 ,

f rom

6 0).

t he

o ther

F urthermore

t his

f eature

p its

g roup

w hich

i n

t o h ave b een f ortuitous i n t heir a rrangement . o ne p it b ut t he s tratigraphical a rrangement g ravel e xtending

t o

t he

( cf B arford c annot a re

b e

u nlikely

A l arge t ree-hole i ntersected i s n ot r ecorded . A n a rea o f

t he w est o f t his a nd i nto t he c entre o f t he r ing d itch

i s l ikely t o r epresent t he l ast v estiges o f a mound which p erhaps o nly e ver o ccupied t he c entral a rea a nd t he w ith t he c olonisation o f t he b erm .

S ITE I V

o f

t he

t ree-hole

w ould

a ccord

( Fig . 4 :8)

S ite t he

p osition

I V w as a c leared

B 4622

f rom

s ite

s trip 9 0m

II .

A

l ong a nd

n umber

o f

1 2m w ide r unning p arallel t o

p its

o f

i rregular

s hape

w ere

d iscovered b ut a re most p robably o f n atural o rigin . e xcavators , t he c luster c losest t o t he r ing d itch

I n t he o pinion o f t he w as c omprised o f t ree

h oles

i rregular

( Fig .

4 :2 .1),

b ut

c luster

i i

i ncluded

a l arge

p it

( F25

I V)

2 ,7m b y 1 .9m b y 0 .48m d eep . C harcoal w as c oncentrated a long o ne s ide a nd t he a djacent n atural g ravel h ad b een b urnt r ed . I ts c harcoal f ill a ppeared i n p it

p laces ( F36

t o I V)

b e

s eparated

a lso

l arge p it i n c luster i

t o

b y

c ontained ( F36

v ery

t hin

c harcoal

l ayers

a lthough

o f i n

s and . small

A small f lecks .

a djacent T he

o ther

I V) p ossessed l arge p ebbles a long o ne s ide .

C luster i ii c omprised a l arge i rregular p it ( F29 I V) o f c omparable s ize F 25 I V . A f ew c harcoal f lecks w ere s cattered t hrough i ts b rown s andy

f ill a long w ith a l arge b oulder . A l inear f eature ( F31 I V) t raced f or 2 ,4m a nd w ith a w idth o f 0 .54m r an b eside t his . I t was v ery r egular , 0 .15m d eep a nd p ossessed a r ounded b ase . B etween t hese t wo f eatures w as a r egular b ut s terile p it o f o val s hape .

6 1

o m a

m e i r e

s c a le f o r s e ct ions

F ig . 4 :7

B a r ford N E , p l an o f s i te I I

6 2

i

4 0

3 6

2 8

C , 8 c

0

3 7

'c harcoa l

a nd b urn ing

i v

S ITE I V 0 2 9

5 7 P 22:i i l

F ig . 48

e !!

B arford N E , s ite 4

C luster i rregular f illed

i

i v

l inear

w ith

f abrics

p ossessed f eature

l ight

1 , 4

g rey

a nd 5

t he

o nly

p roductive

3 .5m

l ong

b y

s ilt

a nd

p atches

1 .5m

w ide

o f

d arker

I V

( F57

F 62 a nd

I V

was

0 .24m

s andy

a r ather

d eep .

s ilt .

I t

w as

S herds

o f

( possible c ollared u rn , P eterborough w are a nd p ossible

G rimston w are) w ere s cattered t hrough t he a nd t wo f lint f lakes w ere a lso r ecovered . t o F 62

p it .

f ill . A f ragment o f b urnt c lay A n i rregular p it l ying a djacent

I V) p roduced p atches o f c harcoal b ut w as o therwise s terile .

D ISCUSSION S ITE

I ,

d efined

b y

a

c onsistently

s traight ,

f airly

e ven

d itch

a nd

p ossessing r ight a ngled c orners i s morphologically i dentical t o a s eries o f c ursus

s ites

1 934)

a nd

A nglia . m ore

f irst

s ince

T hey

r ecognised i dentified

h ave

i rregularly

b een

b y

M ajor

a cross

t ermed

a ll

t he

B i

A llen t ype

v alley

M idlands

d istinguish

t hem

t he

a nd t hose

m onuments

C ompared t o o ther c ursus t ypes , B i s ites t end t o b e o f modest s ize . i s

2 70m

p articularly

o f

i n

t he

t rue

o f

W arwickshire

l ength .

t hose

A von

s ites

where

c onvex

E ast

f rom

( sites B ii a nd B ill) b y

( Leeds

a nd

1 985). v alley

c haracterised

T hames

t he

c ursus T his

A )

t he

o f

t o

l aid o ut s quare-ended s ites ( type

i n

p arts

l ike

t hey

t erminals

B arford

r ange

( Loveday ,

i dentified

f rom

j ust

1 85m

i n t o

t he o ver

C omparable e xamples a re t o b e f ound

i n t he v alleys o f t he

S tour , C helmer , W elland , G reat o use , T hame a nd T hames .

T he s hortest c laimed

s ite o f t his t ype a t ( Phillips , j ust

5 0m

1 935) b y

A lthough

2 5m

y et a t

1 18m l ong i s t o b e f ound a t B arnack i n C ambridgeshire i t

d iffers

C harlton

u nexcavated

t he

o nly

n ear

p rehistoric

a ssured b y v irtue o f i ts s ymetrical e xistance

o f

a n

e xact

l ate b eaker s herds i mplies a kin

t o

t hat

t he

l ong

O ther s ites

i n

p arallel

d egree

E vesham

a t

d ate

f rom

a c ropmark

( Webster o f

t he

a nd

l atter

B arford

o f t he

e nclosure

e nclosures

B i t ype

s uch

m easuring 1 964,

monument

i ntersection w ith a r ing d itch F engate

g iven

a T erminus

i n t he t opmost l evels o f i ts d itch

m ortuary

H obley ,

h as t han a s

6 3

m ore

i n

w ithfull A ston

i n

( Mahany ,

A nte

b y

T his

small

s ites

w ith

s cale

c ursus T rent

a nd t he Q ue r n

1 969).

c ommon t he

1 5). s eems

monuments . v alley

( this v ol p ages 0 00-000) h owever , g ap

b etween

c ursus

e xtend t he s ize r ange t o m ajor c ursus d imensions ,

w ith e qual morphological t hese

a long

t wo

w ith

c lasses

o ther

v erity .

o f

s ites

B arford

monument .

r anging

I , t herefore , b ridges t he

I t

f rom

i s

1 50m

b est

t o

t ermed

l km

i n

a m inor

l ength .

O f

t hese , t he b est k nown i s t he t ype A W interbourne S toke o r L esser S tonehenge c ursus . I n a ny a ttempt t o r esolve t he c ursus p roblem s ites o f t his l inking t ype m ust c learly b e p ivotal . I t i s a p ity t o h ave t o r ecord , t herefore , t hat e xtensive e xcavation o f t his s ite r evealed n othing t hat materially a dvances o ur

k nowledge o f t he d ate o r p urpose o f t hese monuments .

s outhern

t erminal

d imensions 1 963) a nd

w as

s hown

h ave

b een

t o

s uggest

I

t he

T he d itch a t t he

o f c onsiderably m ore s ubstantial

t han e lsewhere , a f eature a lso S pringfield ( Buckley 1 988), b ut

j uxtapositioning o f s ite f ailed

t o

n oted a t Amesbury ( Christie , h ere p ossibly r elated t o t he

( See A ston o n T rent , t his v ol).

l ocation

o f

t he

b ank

S ilting p atterns

a lthough

p ossible

a nimal

d isturbance i n t he a rea e xcavated b y A H unt a long t he i nner e dge o f t he w estern d itch may r elate t o t he a ttraction e xercised b y a b ank ( Hunt , p ers . c omm .) i ts

a lthoughn

l ocalised

r epresent

i nsufficient

n ature .

t ree

h oles

O ther o r

' control '

a rea

f eatures

n oted

p eriglacial

w as

f eatures ,

c leared

t o

i n

t his

t he

p robable

b e

a rea

c ertain

o f

l ikely

t o

a re

e xplanation

f or

t he m any s imilar m arks t o b e n oted f rom t he a ir s cattered u niformly a cross B arford N E . T ree t hrow-holes h ave b een f ound i n p rofusion b oth w ithin a nd w ithout

c ursus

B a t

D rayton

i n

O xfordshire ,

s ome

i ncorporating p rehistoric

f lint d ebitage ( Lambrick , p ers . c omm .). A s imilar h ole , o f p robable p remound d ate , h as b een l ocated w ithin r ing d itch 4 a ttached t o t he c ursus a t A ston

( Gibson a nd L oveday ,

t his v ol ,

F ig .

3 :6).

N one o f t hose e xcavated a t

B arford c ould b e s tratigraphically r elated t o t he c ursus b ut t he f act t hat o ne l ay i n t he c entre o f t he w estern e ntrance , e ffectively b locking i t , s uggests

t hat t hey w ere n ot c ontemporary f eatures .

e ntrance

l ies

i n

t he

c lassic

p osition

a nd

A s a lready s tated , t his

s o a voidance

o f

a n

o bstacle c an

b e e xcluded . T he

small

s herd

o f

f abric

3 f ound

i n

a s trictly

u nstratified p osition

b y t he o uter e dge o f t he d itch a t t he t erminal p rovides o nly a most t enuous T erminus A nte Q uer n .

I t

i ncluded

d eposits

a mongst

t he

i s

w orth

( Buckley , 1 988), a c ursus c losely d ate s eems c ertain f or s ites o f monuments

i n

t he

A von

v alley

n oting

p laced

n onetheless

o ver

t he

t hat

f illed

u rn

d itch

f abrics

a t

c omparable t o B arford . A l ater t his t ype b ut t he small s ize

m ight

s uggest

t hat

t hey

w ere

w ere

S pringfield n eolithic o f t hese

c omparatively

e arly i n t he B i s eries . S ITE

I

r esembles

w ith

t he

i ts

s outhern

more

i rregular

e nclosure

a t

d itch N orth

l ine

a nd

S toke

c onvex

( Fig .

4 :9).

e nd

s trikingly

I t

a lso

f inds

p arallels i n p hase 2 o f t he R adley l ong b arrow , t he l ong mortuary e nclosure o n N ormanton D own a nd a n umber o f s ites k nown o nly a s c ropmarks . T he f act

t hat

m onument

t wo - a n

o f

t hese

s ites

d efined

c ontrasting

f orms

o f

n eolithic

o pen e nclosure a nd a l ong b arrow - a nd t hat t o t hem c an b e

a dded a d istinctive t ype o f e arly b ronze a ge o val b arrow t hat a t M icheldever W ood ( Fasham , 1 975) e mphasises t he

e xemplified b y d anger o f t oo

r eadily

l abels

a pplying

c hronological

a nd

s tructurally

s pecific

t o

t wo

d imensional s ites . T he t erminus A nte Q ue r n f urnished b y f abric 1 s herds i n t he u pper d itch s ilts p ermits a ny o f t hese i nterpretations . A n eutral d escriptive t erm a kin t o ' ring d itch ' i s t herefore f avoured . F ollowing t he s imple p rinciples s et o ut e lsewhere b e

t ermed

a s hort

o blong

d itch

s ides u nlike t he c urved f lanks o f

( Loveday a nd P etchey ,

s ince

i t

p ossesses

' ovate d itches ' .

6 4

1 982)

s ite I c an

s ubstantially

p arallel

E xcept f or i ts o pen e nd ,

i t

r esembles

t he

o ther

o blong

d itches

o f

t he

A von

v alley

g roup a ttested a s n eolithic b y t he e xcavations a t C harlecote

B arford

North

( fig .

8 :1-3)

( Ford ,

1 969>.

S toke

0

R ad ley

A ldw inc le

Or ton

Norman ton Down

G rendon

M iche ldeyer

T h Ickthorn Down 0

F ig . 4 :9

L onguey i l le

O utline p lans o f B arford I a nd c omparative s ites

6 5

2 0

a

T he

r esemblance

b etween

s ite

I

a nd

t he

s hort

o blong

d itch

( southern

e nclosure) a t N orth S toke ( case , 1 969, f ig .34) e xtends b eyond d itch p lan t o i ts l atteral a lignment r elative t o a monument o f l ong mound d erivation ( Fig . 4 :9), t o i ts r ecut d itch a nd p ossession o f o ff-centre r amped p osthole T he

l atter

a t

B arford

a mongs t he m any s omewhat smaller S toke

( 2 .2m

b y

s ectioned ,

w as

t he

o nly

u nequivocally

s tructural

( F22). f eature

t hat p epper t he i nterior o f t he o blong d itch . I t i s o f d imensions t han t he c omparable p ost h ole ( pit 1 ) a t N orth 1 m

i dentical d epth . l eaves n o d oubt

r epresents

a s

a gainst

2 .4m

b y

1 .5m)

T he v ertically d ivided t hat F 22 o riginally h eld

a bout 3 0cm .

w ide t hough

i t

b ut

a t

0 .5m

i s

o f

a lmost

n ature o f t he f ill ( Fig . 4 :6 .9) a s ubstantial p ost which , w here i s

p ossible t hat o nly a c hord o f

t he p ostpipe w as s ectioned . C ase

i nterpreted

t he a ppended a t B arford .

t he

e xample

a t

N orth

S toke

a s

a s ighting

d evice

f or

l inear m onument b ut t he c ursus d itch f ails t o a lign w ith t hat I t m ight b e c onsidered a s imple e xternal c ursus f eature ( cf

S corton , T opping , 1 978 , 1 2) b ut o ddly l acks a b alancing e lement o n e astern s ide . F 32 a nd F 33 s tand i n t he a ppropriate p osition b ut a re

t he t oo

s hallow a nd u ndistinguished f or t his r ole . A s a f eature p osts

t hat

o f t he o blong

b racket

m any

d itch ,

e arlier

p arallels m ay b e s ought

n eolithic

b urial

i n t he l arge

d eposits .

M ost

w ere

c onsiderably d eeper s et t han F 22 a lthough t hose d efining t he b urial s tructures a t A ldwincle w ere n ot d issimilar , n or w ere p its 1 a nd 2 w hich c omprised K enward ,

t he

c remation l atter

c entral

1 983).

f eature a t N ew

A lthough

c emeteries ,

f inds

i n

o riginally

B radley

b urial

h as

s tructures

W intles F arm , c onsidered

p ointed

t o

s uch

p hase

a s

E ynsham

i n

t he

t erms c loser

1 a t

( Jackson ,

1 979 ;

o f t he D orchester p arallel

N utbane

t hat

t he

( Bradley ,

e t

a l , 1 984a , 1 16). P it 2 1 a t B arford , t hen , m ight b e t entatively a dvanced a s t he o pposing e lement , a lbeit a s a t E ynsham o f d iffering p lan . A 3m s eparation f rom p it F 22 a ccords w ith t hat o f o ther e arly n eolithic mortuary s tructures

e lsewhere

a nd ,

d espite

t he

major

r eservations

t hat

m ust

b e

r eiterated r egarding t he e xcavation r ecord h ere , i ts s tated f ill o f b urnt b one a nd p ebbles w ith a s mall q uantity o f b urnt b one i s r eminiscent o f t he f indings

a t

E ynsham .

b urning ,

t he

s loping

I f

t his

s ides

o f

i s

F 22

r egarded m ight

b e

a s

e vidence

t aken

t o

o f

h ave

i n

s itu

r esulted

a n

f rom

a ttempts t o e xtract r ather t han b urn t he l arger p ost s et t here . I t m ust b e r emembered t hat t he v ertical d ivision o f t he f ill w as n ot e vident l ongitudinally S uch

a n

f avour,

( Fig . 4 :6 .10).

i nterpretation

m ust b e r egarded a s h ighly

s peculative .

I n

i ts

h eavy s craping o f t he i nterior w ould h ave r emoved a ny s urface l aid

d eposits r emaining i n t he a cid s ubsoil whilst t he a lignment o f p its 2 2 a nd p it 2 7 a ccords w ith s ite I a lthough a ssymetrically p ositioned . W ithin t he b etter p rotected o blong d itch a t n earby C harlecote w e s hould h owever n ote t hat t he p resumed mortuary a rea w as c entrally p laced . I t c omprised a c lay f loored f eature e dged w ith t urf a nd l acking a ny e arthfast t imbers ( Ford , 1 969). I n

a ddition

s tructure S toke

t o o f

u nexplained .

s maller d itch

w ould

s ize

s ide

w as b ut

I t

i s

s uch

l ay

t wo ,

p ossibly

d ifficulty , t he

p erhaps

o bscured

a nd a nd

l ocal l eave b y

f ree-standing

O ne

p laced

t his c ourse

a n

t owards

M cCormick ,

t he

b ack

1 985 ,

n ot o f

f ig .9 ,

u nexcavated

p osts

p resent

e nclosure

c ertainly

a n ot F 60

s ingle

6 6

F 63).

o r

a more t o

w eathered

a n

e nclosure I n

a

a ddition ,

N orth p it

o ut

i n t he

p hase ,

G rendon t he

o f

a lternative .

( Kendrick ,

e arlier a t

mortuary a t

o pposing

c redible

a t D ouglasmuir

r elated

d issimilar a nd

b aulk

o f

p osthole

j ust c onceivable t hat a n

w ithin t he n orthern t hough

e xplanation

c omparable

1 981) w ere

( Gibson

t wo

l arge

p ostholes

s et

o utside

t he

o pen

e nd

a nd may i n s ome s ense b e r elated A s eries p aired

a nd

s imilar m an

s mall

f eatures

b ut

f or

m ade .

n atural ,

t he

c ircular

t he m ost p art

p aired

A ldwincle , n ot

o f

f or

o f

t he

p hase

( Bradley ,

d epressions0 .09m

l ying

w ithin

a t t he

t he

r ear

O ther

f eatures

d isturbance e vident

d itch

t o

d eep ,

w ithin

r epresenting

s ite

a llied

a t

R adley

I

a re

f requently

d itch ,

p hase

l ikelihood

a f ocussed

f rom a erial p hotographs .

0 .17m

o f t he o blong

morphologically

r easons a lready s et o ut t he

e xcavation

2 o blong

1 984a).

r ecall

1 d itch

i s t hat t hey

a lso

l ikely

p icture

o f

t o

h ave

t he

a t

w ere b een

b ackground

R ecovery o f s herds o f f abrics

1 a nd 2 f rom F 28 a nd F 29 , t entatively a scribed b y D r G ibson t o t he c ollared u rn

a nd

G rimston

c ontemporary o pen c ut i s

e nd b y

o f

t he

t he

t raditions

f eatures t he

o blong

o uter

H owever ,

g iven

u ncertainty

d itch

d itch

f act t hat

r espectively

d oubtless a t

s everal

e xisted

r ecalls

R adley

s herds

( appendix

a nd

t he

( Bradley ,

w ere

t he

e xcavation

1 984a).

a lso

r ecord ,

I )

c onfirms

p robable

p it c ontain9ing

n o

t hat

p osition p ottery

A lso

f ound f rom

t he s elective n ature o f t he

o f

t heir

s ome

a t

t he

t hat

was

s imilar t o

R adley

t he d itch a t B arford .

i nvestigation a t B arford a nd t he

r eliance c an

b e p laced

o n t his

a s

m atter

o f

a n i ndication o f t he s patial p atterning o f a rtefacts i n t he d itch . P recisely

what

d ate

c an

c onsiderable u ncertainty a s r egarded

a s

r ecut

F 20

i n

c ollared

u rn

( fig .6 :3)

t o

h ave

a ccumulated 1 969 ,

i n

7 ).

t hen

i ts

l evels

b een

A t

s ite

s ites

s imilarly

h as

p riority

t o

p roduced

( Radley

i s

a

i n

t he

I f f abric

u ppermost

1 i s

l evels

o f

a

1 750-1300bc , b ut

A o f

B arford

o f

t he

a c omparatively

a

d ate

SW

c ursus

l ate

0 .30m

o f

( Oswald ,

r eported

d ate .

T his

s ilt

e t a l . b y

t he

w ould

n ot

l ong b arrow w hich i n c ommon w ith

l ater

t han

c ertain

c ursus

monuments

;W or B arrow , 2 490+/-70bc - BM 2 284; G ussage c ursus ,

2 620+/-

1 20bc

2 560+/-100bc

-

-

O xA

BM

G ibson ( Appendix o f c ertainty t he f ound

I

i n a s ingle w inter

c onflict w ith a c orrelation o f t he R adley a llied

s ite

i n t he u pper s ilts e lsewhere , a nd s ilting i s

p rolonged .

s tratigraphic

p oints

o n

p resence

a m echanically c ut t rench

T he

e xcavators

p laced

p rovides a T erminus A nte Q uer n o f c .

i t a lso o ccurs a t l ower u nlikely

b e

i s i ts o riginal s tructural f orm .

6 24,

s cattered a s

H owever ,

-

O xA

n either

6 26 ;

l ine

D orchester

o f

e vidence

c ursus ,

i s

s ecure .

1 ) s tresses t he d ifficulty o f i dentifying w ith a ny d egree u ndiagnostic b ody s herds , a nd t he f act t hat f abric 1 w as w ith

f abric

( possible G rimston w are) p roblem

2 820+/-120bc

2 443).

d oes

i ts

4

( certain

i n a v ery

i nclusion

P eterborough

s hallow

w ith

f eature

f abric

2

w are)

( F62

I V)

( probable

a nd

f abric

5

emphasises t he

c ollared

u rn)

i n

F 29 . T he

s tratigraphic

p roblematical .

While

i ndefinite c utting f rom

t he

n atural

g ravel

i n

s ection

a ppears

r epresent

p oint b een c ut T he

d itch

o n

2 ,

t he

t he

j ust

s uch

h ere

w ould

f illed

d itch

d isproved

o f

s ince

F 1 t he

n atural

h owever ,

t he

a s d oes

i dentity

o f F l,

a

r eached

c ollapse

a t

t he t his

l ip

g ravel

i t

t he

s econdary p oint

i s

i n

p ossible

n eeds

t he

y et

t o

b e e xplained .

n orthern

h ad

e ntirely

u pper

c ut F 20

s tage

f rom

s ilts

t he

a nd

t he

6 7

o f

b oth

F l

i ts

p ocket

b etween

F 20 t his

o rigin . s andy

s et o ver t he

which

c annot

b e

A bsence

o f

1 a rgues a gainst t his , i n o ther s ections a nd

when t he s ilting t he

o f a t

u pper

a re d isturbed .

i n s ection

t hat

b aulk

l ip

t he d itch

o f

e xplanation

s ection

o f F 1

r ecord

F 20 o n

i s d ifficult t o e xplain

c omposed

a ddition

c onsidere ,

t he a bsence o f s ilting

l ack o f o uter d irectional s ilting o f

I

F 20 ,

c ollapse ,

o f t he

f ill

a lternative e xplanation : t hat F l o nly

b een

l evels

o verlying t he

T he

o f

o f

a nd

C ollapse f rom a n o uter b ank t o F 20

a t runcated b ank F 20 .

I

e xcavators

n orthern

p resents u pper

t he

b y

h ave

s ilts o f t he c ursus d itch .

s ites

a s

l ayers o f F l

p ocket

t hough t he f ill

s ide

o f

1 may ,

o f t he u pper

C onversely t o

r elationship s ction

o f

t hem .

F 20 i n

s uggests

o f a n

t he

l atter h ad

g ravel

r epresents

S ubsequently

t he

t ertiary s ilts d eveloped c oncurrently .

T his r elationship w hich m irrors t hat

r ecorded a t D orchester b y r ecutting

c omm .)

T his

u ncertainty

s tratigraphy .

S ite

t erminal

o f

s traight ,

w estern

l ayout

t he

o ffsets

w hich

( Atkinson ,

i s I

c ompounded

a ppears

c ursus

b ut

d itch

w hile

f rom

p ers

t o

t o

t his .

b y

h ave

h ave

t he I t

t he

b een

d ifficult

v olume)

a nd

o blong s ize

i deally s uited

t o

d etermine

d itch .

where

b etter

T he

n oted

a t

f act

j uxtaposed

e xplained A ston

i n

t o t he

t he

t o

t erms

o n

t he

s ite o f

T rent

o f

t he

c ursus

I

b ut

t he

t han

o f

h orizontal

p oint

e astern

d itch

c redit

s uch

a n

a s

t erminal

i s

f urther o f

o f

t he i ts

s uggests

a lignment ,

a n

w orking

c urved

d itch

s hallower

e vidence

b y f or

( see A ston o n T rent , t his

i rregularly

r efurbishment

o bscured

r espected

l ayout o f a s traight monument ,

p osition

t hat

t o

l ater

s ighting

t he

i s a h allmark o f c ursus monuments e lsewhere

r everse

o nly

t he

o f

b een

p roblems

n ot

f ormed

c urvature

i s

m ay h ave

e nd

o f

a more

i n t he

s ubstantial

e ast ,

e arlier

o f

i s

p erhaps

monument

monumental

a s

t erminal

w ith i ncipient c auseway . T hree p ossibilities t herefore e xist : 1

t ha

s ite

I

w as

p laced

a cross

t he

e nd

o f

t he

c ursus

c utting

i ts

f ully

s ilted d itch a s t he e xcavators b elieved . 2

t hat s ite a nd ,

b y

Iw as

l aid o ut a round s ite

c onstruction

o f

a l arge

I s lighting i ts f ully s ilted d itch

t erminal

b ank ,

p robably

o bscuring

i t

f rom v iew f rom w ithin t he c ursus . 3

t hat s ite o pen ,

Iw as

l aid o ut w hile t he d itch o f s ite

s lighting

i t

i n

p laces

b ut

r especting

I w as s till p artially

a nd

p erhaps

r efurbishing

t he i nterior s tructure . L ike R adley , mound . n ature

o f

t he

e lsewhere

c onstruction

s ingle

p oints

H addenham , t his

i t i s p ossible t hat t he B arford s ite o riginally c ontained a

S imilar

H odder

v olume).

t he

a nd

T his

p resumed

t o

m edieval

p lough

e xcavated

t o

d itch

h ave

f rom

a nd

c ommon

S hand ,

would

n o

a ttests

o blong

I n

o f

t he

a t

t urf

mound

i s

t his

c ontext ,

mortuary

i ts

t emptation

t o

r egard

p erhaps

f eature

l ay

( Piggott , w hether

i f

b e

a t

a nd

t he

F 27

t hey

o pen

r esisted

t he

1 972)

F 22

which

e xisted

n ot

e nd

a re

a nd I t

c an

b e i n

t he

( Ford ,

o nly

1 969).

a s

a

o ther

H owever ,

1 0m i s e ntertained . p arallel

a t o f

t o

b e

c onsidered

o blong

d itch

' U '-plan

p re-existing

s tructure

e lements

o f

N evertheless , a s

t he d itch

a bout

A n

C otton ,

1 937).

p laced .

H oldenhurst t he

( West

t he

p roximal

p robable a nd

a t

which

t he

a

t he e nd

mortuary D alladies

t he mortuary s tructure w as s trangely a ssymetrically

v iewed

1 940 ;

W indell

i nterruptions

w ithin

w ithout

o ddly

o f t he

s ince

c losed

H ogg ,

1 987

g athering .

mound

C harlecote

a re

e nd

b ut e vidence

t hat t he d itch o f s ite I w ould h ave s uch a m ound i n t he W est R udham o r

n evertheless

s tructure ,

a rea ,

R udham ,

S elkirk ,

1 987 , W idell t his v olume ; H oldenhurst , P iggott ,

p ossible s hould

o f

w est

f ashion e ven i f a m inimum mound w idth o f

u nbellished S elkirk ,

t race

d itch ,

i nternal

( cf

C otton ,

f ormerly

d itch v olume c alculations i ndicate f urnished i nsufficient c apping f or H addenham

t urf

W est

b asis

b e e xcluded g iven t he s hallow

l arger

o f

1 988 ;

t he

s coring

m uch

u se

l eave

f ormed

W arwickshire

g ravel c an

t he

l ocated

mound

w as

p lanned o r a s a b arrow f eature a pproached o nly b y c rossing a d itch . A lternatively , D own

( Vatcher ,

e nclosure . a pply

t he

i nternal

T he o nly

b anks

h ave e xisted ,

l ike

1 961), d itch

D orchester s ite s ilts

s tructural m ust

t hese

b e

I

may

model

a ssumed .

s hould

b e

V III

may

( Atkinson ,

h ave

r emained

f urnish

s ome

1 951a) a n

o pen

e vidence

a nd l ong

h ere

N ormanton mortuary

s ince

i f

w e

w e h ave - N ormanton D own - t hen c lose s et U nlike

r ecorded

6 8

a mound i n

where a b erm

t he d itch

s ilts .

i s

l ikely t o

O nly

s ection 6

( Fig .

4 :6 .6)

e qually s ilts

p rovides

r esult

f rom

f urnish

a ny

a ny

t he

i ndication

s upport

f or

t he

p rovide t he s tructural d ifficulty t he

c ursus

e vident b egin

i s

o f

r egarded

s uch

t o

A lternatively ,

a s

a b ank

d iverge i f

m ight b e p redicted

o r

r especting a n

o f

i ts

e xternal

A n

i nternal b e

s tructural

b ank

t he

s upport

S toke ,

i t

i s

m akes

t enable

s tructure .

s et

t o

t he

d ifficult t he

I t

w ell

f avoured

b ank ,

p ost

t o

f inal

s et

f ind

t he

i n

F 22

b ut f or

o f

F 22

I f b e

t he

monuments

t wo

4 :4)

g aps

o r

r eveal

i n

i ts

a t urf

f ormer

w ith

i nto t he

o ne

p ractice e lement

p osts

mound

w ould

b y

t he

m ust

h ave

o f

g iven

o f N orth

w hich

h ardly

a mortuary

o n t he b erms o f b arrows

1 966; T hickthorn D own , D rew a nd P iggott ,

p ermitted

t his .

d itches

t he e xception

t his

a s

t o p arallel e xternal

p ossibility

w ould

l ine ,

h eavy s lumping

d itch

T he

a p arallel

i nterpretation

i s e asier

f rom

d itch

w hich

s hould

( Fig .

o r

m ight

t he

A gain , n either i s e vident .

r econstructions .

( cf . F ussell 's L odge , A shbee , A

b ack

d o

d umping

w here

3

monument ,

d itch w here t he b ank h ad b een s liced t hrough .

t herefore

p attern

b anks

g ravel

f ill

o r

l ater

a N or

o n t he c ursus d itch

d itch 2

s uch s ide .

e xternal

f eature ,

s ection t he

b ut

d itch

i ntruding

o ver w ere

t his

t he

e arlier

n either

c ursus

o f

n otion

o f

t he

i n

b ut t he

o f

u ndercutting

u ncertain

T erminus

1 936).

A nte

Q uer n

p rovided b y -t he f abric 1 s herds i s t hat s ite I r epresents a b ronze a ge o val o r m ultiple r ound b arrow o f M icheldever W ood t ype ( Fasham , 1 975). S uch s ite

s ites a re o ften a parent a s c ropmarks ( eg N orth S toke , t he w esternmost i n C ase , 1 983 , f ig .33) a nd a r ecently l ocated s ite a t S tadhampton

a ppears t o i ntersect a c ursus i n t he s ame manner a s s ite V III a t D orchester ( R .

Whimster ,

h ave

b een

p ers .

o f

s trikingly

c omm .).

t his

e ven

t ype

d itch

w here t he c onvex e nd c losely D own

e choed

l ong

b y

A n umber o f s hort o blong d itches a re

b ut

l ines .

u sually

T his

t o

o f

p hase

i solated

b e

s aid

i n

o f

s ite

I

mortuary

A ldwincle

a nd

s ites w ith

f rom

t he

p recise

e arly

A s

t he

a ge

d ate .

s econdary

i nhumed

b one

a

p osition

h as

p ossible

y et

t heir

B arford

F 25

c remation

a s

d issolved a ppears

d eposit ,

a p ossible t oo

e xpected b eneath o val o r c onjoined mounds .

b urial

c entral

f or

T hickthorn

p arallels

N or d oes t he b urial r ecord s upport t he

b ronze

o f

a t

N orth S tome a nd R adley . d ecidedly

l ikely t o

v irtue

f orm a nd d etails o f i ts p lan a re most

n eolithic

1 a t

b e

c annot

h as a f lattened

a r ange

b arrow

c an

F 27 p it

t he

a t

i dea o f a n i s

i n

f rom

p aired

a

which

p attern

C ollared u rn i s a lso u nlikely t o

b e e ncountered a t t he t opmost d itch l evels o f a c ontemporary b arrow . O n

b alance ,

s outhern d escribed b arrow

t herefore ,

e nclosure a s

a

( layer

a t

mound

2 b)

w e

m ust

N orth

r eturn

S toke .

r efurbished

p rovides

u s

T he d uring

w ith

t he

t o

p hase

l atter , t he

I

a t

w hich

R adley i s

p arallel

t he b est

o f

b ank

c onstruction

c losest

a nd

p erhaps

f or

t he

t he

f eatures

o bserved a t B arford I a nd f ollows t he p attern o f u sage ; b ronze a ge i nterest a ttested b y t he f abric 1 s herds b eing p aralleled a t N orth S toke b y a c remation i n a m iniature c ollared u rn d ated t o 1 424+/-83bc , ( IK 1 406). T he mortuary s tructure i nterpretation o f F 22 a nd F 27 i s h ighly s peculative . A fter

t he e vidence o f r adley , F 25

p it .

H owever ,

f indings

a t

p erhaps h as b est c laims t o b eing a b urial

C harlecote

i ndicate

t hat

n either

n eed

b e

t he

b urial a rea . A l ate d ate c omparable w ith R adley N orth

S toke

e vidence o f

t he

( prior

while

c ursus

t he

l esser

d egree

T rent)

b ut

t he

2 722+/-49bc

p ossibility

c onstruction

h elp t o e xplain b y r ecutting .

t o

( cf

o f

( 2550+/-50bc - BM 2 392)

- BM

1 405)

a s till

D orchester

i s

i ndicated

p artially V III ,

o pen

A tkinson ,

r ather t han

b y

d itch

t he a t

1 951a ,

c eramic t he

6 2)

t ime would

t he s tratigraphic u ncertainties , p erhaps f urther c omplicated

R espect b y t he c ursus b uilders f or a n e arlier mound , b ut t o a i ts

d itch

p resence

i s o f

d etailed r idge

a nd

6 9

e lsewhere f urrow

i n

t his

s coring

v olume

a cross

t he

( Aston

o n

c entre

o f

s ite

I c oupled

w ith

t he

e xcellent

s tate

o f

p reservation

o f

i ron a ge h ouse

s ites j ust 2 0m a way m ust f avour i ts i nterpretation a s a n o pen l ong mortuary e nclosure . S ITE d espite

II

c ould

t he

d escribing

b e

p aucity

a c lose

s ubcircular

c onfidently

o f

f inds

a scribed

w ere

a pproximation

i t

t o

t o

n ot

t he

f or

a t rue

s econd

i ts

c ircle

m illennium

f orm .

R ather

was

p ear-shaped

i t

b c

t han o r

w ith a marked e lbow a t t he N E where t wo s traight s ections m et .

T here a re s uggestions o f o ther s traight s ections a long i ts c ircumference . I t t hus c losely r esembles t he i nner d itch o f B arford A ( Oswald e t a l" 1 969 , f ig .3)

a nd

d itch

I

a n umber

( Bradley

e t a l"

p its .

L ike

t he

W allingford

t hey

d issimilar w ithin t he

d iameter . r ing d itch , c ircuit ,

w ere

t he

t he

v ariably

s uch a s D orchester X I

( Moorey ,

1 982)

a nd H andley 2 7

o f t he s ub-circular a rrangement

i nner

s ized

c ircuits

a nd

a t

B arford

d elineated

a n

a rea

A

a nd

o f

n ot

U nlike t hem , t hey w ere a ssymetrically p ositioned w ere f ar more w idely s paced a nd d escribed a v ery

a lthough

w ithin

i mportance

c omprising

X I

i rregular

n eolithic r ing d itches .

6 1-2),

p otential

t hose

D orchester

d epression

o ther

1 951a ,

1 984a , 9 7).

T his e nhances o f

o f

( Atkinson ,

a n

a dditional

s outh-west

c orner

p it

may

t he

t ree-hole .

o f

b e

r epresented I n

b y

a

t he a bsence

o f c orroborating e vidence , a nd w ith a l ack o f c lear p arallels t he t emptation t o d ate t he s ite b y s uch morphological r esemblances m ust n aturally b e r esisted p articularly a s many b ronze a ge s ites , more t ypically o f t his s ize , s imilarly d iverge f rom a t ruly c ircular f orm ( Gibson a nd M cCormick , 1 985 , 6 4). T he p it-setting

m ay b e w holly u nrelated t o t he r ing d itch o r r epresent

r euse o f t he s ite a fter a c onsiderable i nterval . I t i s n oteworthy t hat i t c losely r esembles i n s ize t he i ron a ge h ut s ites , t wo o f w hich ( sites V II a nd

V III)

w ere

s imilarly

i rregular

i n

p lan .

T his

m ust

m eet

t he

o bjection

t hat a mound may h ave o riginally h ave o ccupied t he c entre o f t he s ite .

T he

t ree-hole , h owever , i f i n r eality a s ubsequent f eature , g ives r eason t o b elieve t hat t his was n ever l arge a nd m ight i ndeed p oint t o a n a lternative r econstruction t he

d itch

a s

w ith

( Houlder ,

a r ing-nbank :

o nly

r oot

1 968, 2 20)

a l ater o bstacle

t he

h ole 's

l ines a pproaching

o uter

l imits

more

c losely .

l ay

s ome

A s

2 m

f rom

a t L Landegai

a r ing b ank may h ave p roved a n a ttractive l ocation f or

h ouse s ince t hat d itch a t t his s tage w ould h ave p revented n o t o a ccess . T his m ust , o f c ourse , r epresent p ure c onjecture s ince

t he n ature a nd d ate o f t he p it a rrangement i s w holly u nknown . T he b alance o f p robability m ust b e t hat s ite II d ates t o t he e arly b ronze a ge b ut i t i s n oteworthy t hat t he o ther e xcavated r ing d itch a t B arford

- s ite D - h as

s herds f ound

i n

a n

e arly

T erminus A nte Q uer n e stablished

a d eposit o f c harcoal

i n t he t opmost d itch

f ill

b y b eaker ( Oswald

e t

a l" 1 969 , 3 1). S ITE

I V h ints

t hat a d omestic c omponent a s

h ave e xisted a t B arford . e vidence o f h uman a ctivity c an

b e

t he

o ther

n o

d oubting h and

t reeholes ; f rom

t he

f lint t he

l atter

i s

a r itual o ne m ight

i ntentional

markedly

u se

o f

i rregular

F 62

a nd

I V . a s

F 25 s uch

p roducing a nd t here

I V a nd F 29

a re

I V o n

r eminiscent

o f

h eavy b urning o n o ne s ide o f t he f ormer m ight w ell h ave r esulted d estruction

f rom

f ill

t he

a re

w ell a s

T he c lustered n ature o f t hose p its w ould n ot c onflict w ith s uch a n i dea

o f

s ite

I V

w ith

o f F 62

I V

w ould

t herefore

a l arge t he

a lso

p erhaps

t hrown

e xception

t ree

o f

t wo

r oot .

T he

v ery

a rgue a gainst a d omestic

b est

c ompared

7 0

t o

t he

a bsence

s mall

w orked

o f

w orked

f lakes

i nterpretation .

p roductive

p its

n oted

i n T he i n

t he v icinity o f c ursus monuments e lsewhere , a n e xplanation t hat h elps t o e xplain i ts m ixed c eramic a ssemblage

( Bradley ,

1 984c ,

i n a ddition

1 01).

T HE R ITUAL C OMPLEX I N I TS W IDER S ETTING A lthough B arford N E a nd S W s tretch o ver a d istance i n e xcess o f 8 00m t hey c learly f orm a s ingle r itual c omplex o f b roadly n eolithic d ate . F our d istinctive

t ypes

h engiform s ite D a nd

II),

p ossibly d itch

o f

3 rd

o r

2 nd

m illennium

b c

monumen

a re

r epresented :

( site A , d ated t o 2 416+/-64bc - B irm 7 ), r ing d itches

a m inor

r epresenting

c ursus

( site

I )

a nd

a l ong mortuary

i s r epresented b y

a s hort

e nclosure .

o blong

d itch

a

( sites

( siteII)

F urthermore a nother r ing

a c ropmark a nd a r ectangular e nclosure

1 0m b y

1 2m

( site C ) w as l ocated a t B arford S W b ut l acks c laer a ntecedents ( Oswald , e t a l" 1 969 , 1 9-27). R ecovery o f P eterborough w are f rom t hree p oints i n i ts d itch s eems t o l eave l ittle d oubt o f i ts n eolithic d ate b ut i ts c larity a s a c ropmark h ouse

a nd

s ite .

s ubstantial S imilarity

f orm t o

m ake

i ron

i t

a ge

a n

u nlikely

e nclosures

c andidate

s uch

a s

a s

a lte

a n ormal

E i s

marked .

P erhaps t he most u seful p arallel l ies i n a c onsiderably l arger e nclosure o f p resumed r itual p urpose a djacent t o a m inor c ursus a t S onning ( Slade , 1 964).

A nother

s outhern

p eriphery

a rrangement o f t imber u prights

e nigmatic o f

s ite

B arford

o f

p ossible

SW .

S ite

n eolithic

F

w as

d ate

c omposed

l ay o f

o n

t he

a h airpin

p its 1 .5m-2m i n i n d iameter which h ad o riginally h eld ( Oswald e t a l" 1 969 , 4 8-9). A lthough t he 7 6m l ong b y 1 5m

o r 3 0m w ide s ite f inds n o p arallels a mongst t he A von v alley p it a lignments , a n a lmost i dentical s ite l ies w ithin a r ing d itch c emetery a t K ings B romley ,

S taffordshire

( CUC

B TO

8 8)

a nd

o thers

o f

p roven

n eolithic

d ate

e xist i n l owland S cotland . A n

a dditional

m inor

c ursus ,

r ing

d itch

a nd

p ossible

small

p it

c ircle

c an b e a dded i f t he c omplex 's p erameters a re e xtended 1 800m t o t he o pposing b ank o f t he R iver A von w here t he L ongbridge c ursus l ies ( Fig . 4 :1). S imilar

g roupings

a c ursus L eonard

a re

o f r itual

t o

b e

m onuments d ivided

f ound

a t

b y a r iver a nd d ominated b y

L echlade/Buscot

i n t he T hames a nd T hame V alleys .

a nd

S tadhampton/Drayton

M ilfield c omplexes w hich e xtend o ver d istances o f 3 km . 1 981) o f

S t

F arther a field t he S tonehenge a nd ( RCHM 1 981; H arding ,

m ight s uggest t hat t hese a re u nified g roupings b ut t he p ossible r ole

a m ajor

r iver

a s

a t erritorial

marker

s hould

n ot

b e

u nderestimated

-

c omplexes o n o pposing b anks m ay r epresebt c entres f or q uite s eparate s ocial g roups

j uxtaposed

f or

r easons

o f

c ompetition

o r

t he

s anctioning

o f

s ocial

i nteraction . E lsewhere i n t he M idlands a nd E ast A nglia . more c ompact g roupings a kin t o

B arford

e lements S everal a nd

N E/SW

o f

a re

c ursus ,

e xhibit

o rientation

f requently o blong

a s triking ( Fig .

4 :10

e ncountered

d itch ,

s imilarity B arford ,

c omprising

h engiform b oth

t he

monument ,

s ame r ecurring

a nd

r ing

d itch .

i n t erms o f s patial a rrangement

B arnack

a nd

W est C otton).

I t would

b e

s tretching c redibility t o c onsider t hem a r esult o f a ccidental a ssociation , p articularly a s a t B arford , t he most d ispersed e xample , e xcavation h as d emonstrated

w ith

r easonable

c omponent monuments .

a ssurance

t he

b road

c ontemporaneity

o f

t he

T his s ite c an t herefor b e u sed t o e stablish a working

u pper l imit f or t he d esignation o f a s cattering o f monuments a s e lements o f a c omplex o r g rouping b eyond w hich a d egree o f a ssociation w ould n eed t o b e

d emonstrated .

l east

t hree

s epulchro-ritual more t han a lignment

B arford like

d istinct

f orms

monuments

a re

g roupings o f t o

t hird b e

a re o r

f ound

t aken e arly w ith

t o

i ntersite

2 50m . O nly t he o blong d itch s tanding i n w ith t he S pringfield c ursus e xceeds t his

7 1

b e

s econd

t hose

where

a t

m illennium

b c

s pacing

n o

c lear a nd d istance .

o f

d irect S uch

p arameters

a re t ighter t han

L ee

4 3)

( 1987 ,

b ut

t hose

e ssential

f or

u sed f or t he

h enge g roupings b y H arding a nd

c onsideration

o f

d isparate monuments

i f a f alse i mpression o f i ntentional c lustering i s t o b e a voided .

T hus t he

C hrlecote/Hampton

m ust

L ucy

g roupings

s eparated

b y

t he

R iver

A von

b e

e xcluded a nd l ikewise t he L ongbridge s ite b oth a s a n e lement o f t he B arford c omplex a nd a s a c omparable i ndependant e ntity .

a 0

0

0

)

0

0

0

0

0

0

F ig 4 :10 B arnack,

3 00

0

_

N I

C omparative p lans o f B arford like c omplexes : d ) S tratford S t M ary ,

e ) L echlade ,

S pringfield ,

7 2

a ) W est C otton ,

f )Cardington ,

b ) B arford ,

c )

g ) D rayton S t L eonard ,

h )

R ITUAL/FUNERARY CENTRES I N

THE MIDLANDS

AND

d

EAST ANGLIA

( Middle T rent t o U pper T hames;Middle S evern

S tone c ircle

t o N orth S ea)

BARFORD TYPE •

•

•

•

Aston

•

•

•

Fir idern

•

•

•?

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•?

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

Barford

•

West Cotton

• •

Cardington Barnack Fornham All

Saints

Springfield Stratford St.

Mary

Lechlade •

Buscot Drayton St.

Leonard

•

Stadhampton

•

Dorchester Overy

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

North Stoke

•

HENGE TYPE Maxey

•

•

•

•

•

Dorchester

•

•

•

•

•

Stanton Harcourt

•

Condicote

•

•

•

•

•

•

Westwell •

Arminghall •

Rollright

7 3

0

• •

T hose

a ccepted

l ocalised

( table

t endencies

m onuments

t han

i s

t o

t he

1 )

m ay

a c loser n orm

o f

c ourse

n ucleation

e lsewhere ,

o f

r ecord

l ittle

s uccessive

a p rocess

m ore

t han

s epulchro-ritual

r epresented

o n

t he

c halk

b y s uch c ontrasting c emeteries a s t hose o n A vebury D own a nd O verton H ill . N evertheless , t he c ommon i nclusion o f a c ursus o r a n o blong d itch o f g reater

t han

n ormal

g eographical p urposeful

l ength ,

i solation

a ssociation

i s

a s

i ndicative

w ith

h owever

o f e nhanced

h enge

w idely

i mportance a nd t heir

c omplexes

s eparated

i s

t heir

c onfirmation

monuments

m ay

o f

p rove

t o b e i n d ate . W ith s o f ew o f t he l atter e xcavated , c lassificaion h as h ad t o b e e ffected b y m orphological s imilarity a lone ; a d angerous p rocedure p articularly f or t he c onsideration o f h engiform s ites a s i llustrated b y t he c lose s imilarity o f t he l ate n eolithic s ite A a t B arford a nd t he b eaker t riple r ing d itch a t W est C otton , S imple t axonomic d ivision c an , h owever , b e

j ustified

a s

i t m ay r eveal

p atterns more r eadily e xplicable

i n t erns

o f

c onserving t raditions a nd c hronological d eepening t han r andom j uxtapositioning . T he a ppearance o f d istinctive B arford like c omplexes i n E ast

A nglia

a s

w ell

a s

t he

morphological u niformity o f 5 ) a nd c ursus monuments i ndicates

t hat

t hese

M idlands ,

b oth ( the

r egions

s een

i n

c onjunction

w ith

t he

c ausewayed e nclosures ( Bradley , 1 984 , 3 4p recisely s quared B i s eries) s trongly

m ust

b e

c onsidered

c o-extensive

f or

t he

p urposes o f t his d iscussion . O blong d itches o r t he a llied t rapeziform a nd o vate d itches a re t he most v ariable

e lements

i solation . c ursus

o f

S ince ,

monuments

t hese

h owever ,

c omplexes ,

t hey

- a d imensional

b oth t he A ( convex e nded)

b eing

m ore

a re morphologically c ontinuum

a nd B s eries

f requently

f ound

i ndistinguishable

b eing e vident

( square e nded)

i n

f rom

i n t he r egion

i n

- i t s eems p robable

t hat s ites s uch a s t he F ornham A ll S aints c ursus w ere s imply e xaggerations o f t he c ommon

p rototype .

A s

s uch ,

smaller

o blong

d itches w ould h ave b een

r endered s uperfluous a nd w hen a lready p resent a t a c omplex f requently i ncorporated i n t he s ucceeding s tructure a s a t N orth S toke , D orchester , a nd a lmost c ertainly a t B arford . A more o bvious o mmision i s t hat o f h enge m onuments w hich r epresent t he d ominant

f orm

L landegai). o f

t his

a t

c omplexes

c lass

b ut

w ith

w ith t he r ing d itches . b een a s

p laced

d efined

e lsewhere

( eg

P enrith ,

M ilfield ,

T hornborough ,

B arford A h as r eceived a g ood d eal o f a ttention a s

i n

a d iameter

o nly

2 0m

i ts

o bvious

a n e xample

a ffinities

T hus , a long w ith t he s mall D orchester s ites ,

t he h engiform

b y

o f

W ainwright ,

c ategory

1 969).

( ie b eing

H owever ,

t he

l ess

t han 3 5m

a ssumption

l ie

i t h as

i n d iameter

i mplicit

i n

t he

t erminology t hat s uch a s ite r epresents a m iniature h enge m ay b e m isplaced . R ecent m ay

work

a b arrow b y

a t

s imply

( Fasham ,

m ultiple

t rait

R adley

a nd

W innal

1 982 ;

i rregular

B radley ,

d itches

( cf B arnack , D onaldson ,

D orchester ,

t his

w ith

s uggests

t he

d itches a t s ite X I) A ,

i t

s eems

o uter

d emonstrated

t hat

p it

d itches

t hat

l eaves

w as

6 -7)

a nd t he d effinition

f or

o f a s ite

b een d emonstrated a s a p otentially e arly

1 986). o f

d itches

s poil

1 987 ; F our C rosses ,

A pplied t o t he h engiform monuments a t

s ites

I ,

t urf

( cf

I ,

a nd

t he

X I

f ill

a t o f

l east t he

w ere

i nner

mounded ,

a nd

o uter

a nd g iven t he c lose s imilarity o f t he l atter t o B arford

r edefined .

c ertainly

1 984a ,

h as

t hat

a ddition

p robable

s ubsequently f ig .4)

h as

1 977 ; W est C otton , S elkirk ,

L landysilio , M arrilow , e t a l" p ossibly

D own

r epresent a d istinctive n eolithic m ethod o f o btaining

f rom

h ere

t oo

w e

a re

d ealing

S ection

A -B

o f

t he

r eport

l ittle

d oubt

t hat

a s ubstantial

t he

w ith

s ilting

i nternal

a n

( Oswald i nto

s tructure

e arly e t

t he

a nd

a l"

b arrow 1 969 ,

m iddle

t he

a nd

e xcavator

r efers t o t he d umping o f t opsoil a nd t urf i n t he i nterior d uring p hase 1 . P erhaps most t elling , h owever , a re t he r eferences b oth t o a n a bsence o f m edieval a cross

p lough-scoring

t he

c entre

o f

t he

a nd

t he

s ite ,

w eakness

f acts

which

7 4

o f l ed

r idge t o

a nd

t he

f urrow

c onclusion

c ropmarks t hat

t he

g round

l evel

w as

r aised

a t

t hat

t ime

( Oswald

e t

a l ,

1 969 ,

1 3).

A s pread

r ing b ank i s most u nlikely t o h ave p roduced t his e ffect . T he a bsence

o f h enges

f rom B arford a nd o ther M idland a nd E ast A nglian

c omplexes

i s

t herefore

p erhaps

m erely

t o

b e

a m atter

o f

c ourse , c ursus

r eflect n o m ore t han t he g reater e ase w ith c ropmark c an b e o bscured b y c urrent

u nsympathetic s ubsoil . a djoining

w ood

o r

more

s cale ,

n oteworthy

b ut

p ositive

-

i t

w ould

e xclusion .

which h enge l anduse o r

A t B arford , f or e xample , a h enge may w ithin

t he

c onsiderable

a ppear

T his

a creage

n ot

m ay ,

o f

a s a gainst a reas o f

l ie b eneath

o f

C astle

t he

P ark .

N evertheless a ll t he m issing ' c lassic ' h enges c annot b e h iding ( Harding a nd L ee , 1 987 ,32) a nd r ecurrence o f t he p attern e ven i n a reas s uch a s c ardington t hat

t his

w hich i s

a re

f ree

a r egional

o f

o bstacles

p attern .

I t

t o

i s

c ropmark

p roduction

i ndicates

t he

s urprising

s ince

a ll

m ore

M idlands a nd E ast A nglia r epresent o bvious h enge t erritory 8 ).

P ost c ircles

p resent

a n

l ike t hat r ecently e xcavated a t O akham

a lternative

f orm

o f

c ircular

r itual

( Burl ,

t he

1 976 , 2 4-

( Clay , t his v olume)

monument

b ut

r emain

s trikingly r are a s c ropmarks ( East S toke , N otts . ; C atholme , S taffs . ; R earsby , L eics .) d espite i ntensive a erial r econnaisance a nd t he f act t hat l arge p osts , a s a t A rminghall , m ust b e p redicted i f s uch s ites a re t o b e a ccorded c omparable c ommunal s tatus t o h enges . T wo

e xplanations

s uggest

t hemselves :

t hat

t he

c omplexes

p re-date

t he

a dvent o f h enge c onstruction a nd w ere s uperceded b y t he l ater monuments , o r t hat

d istinct

b eing

r itual/cultural

e xercised

i n

t he

p references ,

r egion .

A t

l argely

D orchester

e xcluding

a nd

M axey

h enges ,

i t

i s

w ere

c lear

t hat

h enges w ere f inal a ditions a nd t hat i n a ll o ther r espects s ave t he s ize a nd t ype o f t heir c ursus monuments t hese c omplexes r esemble t hose u nder d iscussion l ike B arford 1 984b). t he

( Atkinson ,

1 951b ; P ryor

e t a l" 1 985 ; B radley ,

e t a l"

T o d ifferentiate t he l atter a s s imple c emetery s ites h as t o e xplain

g reater

c oncentration

o f

o vertly

f unerary

r ing

d itches

a t

t he

f ormer

w here i n a ddition material c ulture i ndicates c ommon c onstruction a nd u se o f h engiform , o blong d itch a nd c ursus e lements b y m iddle t o l ate n eolithic b owl u sing c ommunities .

G rooved w are f inds o nly a t oken p resence a nd t here

i s a v irtual a bsence o f b eaker . A vailable r adiocarbon d ates c onfirm h e c ontemporaneity o f t he t hree t ypes o f monument ( Barford A - 2 416+/-64bc , B irm 7 ; 6 70 ,

L landegai - 2 530+/-145bc , N FL 2 24;

2 430+/-70bc ,

C AR

7 07;

D orchester

L landisilio - 2 490+/-70bc , C AR

c ursus

- 2 560+/-100bc ,

B M

2 443;

N ormanton D own - 2 560+/-103bc , BM 5 05 ; W ar B arrow - 2 490+/-70bc , BM 2 284) w hich c an b e p resumed t o h ave f ulfilled c omplementary f unctions . T he s election o f c ertain c omplexes f or t he i mposition o f a l ater h enge ( established s herds a t

b y

t he

t he

s tratigraphy

l owest

l evels

o f

a t

t he

M axey

B ig

a nd

R ings

t he

d itch

p resence

a t

o f

D orchester)

b eaker a ppears

t o r elate t o n o more t han t he p resence o f a n e arlier t ype A c ursus o f major s ize - a r egister o f r egional i mportance . E lsewhere , C ondicote ,

h enges

s uch

a s

t hose

a t

S tanton

A rminghall a nd p erhaps T hornhaugh

c omplexes .

T hey

m anner

p oints

t hat

a re

t he p ossible h enge f arthermost t races

t o

f ound t he

i n

a ssociation

e stablishment

a t t he R ound e xtremity o f

o f

w ere

s imply n ew

w ith

2 060+7-120 ,

H AR

C ondicote

W estwell ,

A n

d itches

i n

e xception

a i s

H il , T wyford , l ying j ust 1 250m f rom t he t he F indern ( Potlock) c ursus w hich may E xcept f or A rminghall

1 29) a vailable d ates f or t hese h enges 1 887 ;

r ing

c entres .

r epeat t he p attern o bserved a t D orchester a nd M axey . ( 2490+/-150bc , B M

H arcourt ,

i solated f rom s uch e arly

T AQ

1 770+/-80bc ,

H AR

( Stanton H arcourt 3 064)

a ccord

w ell

w ith t hose f rom g rooved w are s ites i n t he r egion ( Cleal , 1 984, 1 52). D ates i n t he c enturies i mmediately p receeding , a nd p erhaps j ust f ollowing , t he t urn o f t he t hird m illennium b c a lso s een a ppropriate f or t he B i s eries o f

7 5

B arford l i ke g roup ings • H enges

A C lass B i c ursus • C lass l h enge

oC lass

h a h enge

H eng iform s i tes a nd Wessex e nc losure s om itted

F ig .

4 :11a

D i stribut ion o f B a rford l ike c o mp lexes a n d h e nges i n t h e M id lands a n d E ast

A n g lia F ig . 4 :11b D i stribut ion o f c l ass I h enges a n d B i c u rsus m onuments s upe rimposed o n B u rl 's c i rcu lar r i tual m o nument z o nes ,

7 6

p recisely A nglia

r ectangular

a nd

t he s econd

w hose

c ursus

m onuments

c oncomitant

m illennium .

T heir

r ing

c entred

d itches

a ccomplished

i n

t he

a ttest

M idlands

c ontinued

a nd

E ast

s anctity

i nto

l ayout a nd d ominance o f a n a rea

c losely c orrelating w ith B urrs a lmost e mpty c eremonial c ircle r egion f ig .10)

w ithin

p erhaps a t r itual

w hich

v irtually

n o

c lass

I

c omplexes

p oint

p ossibly

h ave b een

( 1976 ,

l ocated ,

h ints

r ather m ore t han a s imple s uccession o f r itual a rchitecture a nd ( Fig .

4 :11b).

L ike

t he

o verlap

H owe t ype c airn c onstruction i n t he O rkney m ay

h enges

t o

e ntrenched

a ntagonistic

c ontinued c omplexes .

a ctivity

c ommunities

p atterns

a t

t he

b etween

I slands

m aintaining

o f

c eremonial

o blong

s talled

( Hedges ,

d istinctive , o bservance

d itch/cursus

a nd

M aes

1 983 , 2 91-9) a nd

a t

w hich

c entred

i t

t imes

e nsured

B arford like

A CKNOWLEDGEMENTS T he

w riter

p reparing M useum

t he

f or

would

l ike

p ottery

h elping

t o

r eport

t o

t race

e xpress a nd

t he

t o S tephen B all , M elvyn C ard , r egarding t he e xcavations .

t o

h is

B arford

A lan

t hanks

H elen

a rchive .

H unt

a nd

t o

M cClagan

A lex o f

T hanks

P eter

a re

S anders

G ibson

W arwick

f or

C ounty

a lso e xtended

f or

i nformation

A PPENDIX 1 T HE P REHISTORIC P OTTERY F ROM BARFORD

( Fig . 4 :12) A lex G ibson

F ABRIC 1 F 20

f inal f ill

F 20

s econdary s ilts

2 s herds 2 s herds

F 29

1 s herd

F 28

3 s herds

F 20

T ertiary s ilt

7 c onjoining s herds

F 62

t o

2 s herds T his f abric i s w ell made w ith a n o utersurface r anging f rom l ight b rown o range-brown a nd w ith a b lack c ore a nd i nner s urface . T he s herds a re

c .6-10mm b reak

t hick

t he

a nd

s urfaces

s herds

f rom

s herds

a re

F 20

c ontain o f

t he

s econdary

f resh

a nd

a bundant p ot

q uartz

a nd

s ilts

c an

a nd

u nweathered .

F 29

r im

f ormal

f eatures

t he

f orm

w hich

s herd

o f

h as

t wo

i ncised

i n

f abric

t his

b een

r epresent

T he

i n

t he

( Fig . f rom

c aused l ine

a ll

t he

b ut

n o

i mpressions

a ccidentally ( Fig .

a s ingle

o r u rn

o f t he

m uch

w hich

4 mm

o ther o ne

s herd

o n

t he

i s

l ikely

o ther

a t

t wo v essels

f abric s uggests

h ave b een small .

7 7

t he

e xhibit

s herds

I t

most

b ut

T he o ther

c oil

o r

T here i s a small

4 :12 .3).

t radition

o cassionally l ength .

e xhibit

a ny

o f s urface t reatment

o n

a nd

i n

a braded s herds

h ave e vidence

c ollared

t hickness

t o

( tertiary s ilts).

4 :12 .1) F 28

f ingernail

h orizontal

c ertainly

m illennium .

F 62

f aint

p robably

l ightly n ot

f rom

Two s herds

u p

a re

N early

r ing b reaks , p articularly t hose f rom F 20 s imple

i nclusions

r each

o f

t he

( Fig . s herd

t hat

t he

i n

4 :12 .2) i s

a

s herds

p ossibly ,

t hough

e arlier

s econd

t hat t he v essel(s)

w ould

F ABRIC 2 F 29 T his q uite f ine

q uartz

t here T his b e

f abric i s r epresented b y a s ingle s herd .

f resh . a re

T he

i nclusions t races

f eature a

c olouration o f

a nd

i s

b lack

I nsufficient

o f o f

c .6mm

t hick .

T he

a s light

r idge

o n

( ?)upper

s urface

t his

t he

smoothing

v essel

s urvives

d ate

t hough

t he

f abric

would

n ot

t he

t o

a llow

b e

t he

s herd

f abric

i s

t hird

o ut

f inishing t he

c ontains

u ndecorated o f

t he

f or a c arination a nd i s

a nd

c eramic t radition t o which t his s herd b elongs o f

i s w ell made , h ard a nd

a nd

i s

i s t oo s light t o b e e vidence

r esult

I t

t hroughout

o f

b ut

s herd .

l ikely t o

t he

i dentification

v essel . o f

t he

o r t o a llow a n a pproximation o f

p lace

i n

a G rimston

w are

a ssemblage .

I -

2 .

3 .

4

0 6

F ig . 4 :12

5 cm

7 .

P ottery f rom B arford N E

F ABRIC 3 F l T his

f abric

g roup

i s

r epresented

b y

a s ingle

s herd .

T he

f abric

c .12mm t hick , b lack t hroughout b ut w ith s ome l ighter g rey p atches o n e xterior a nd c ontains l arge g rog i nclusions which o cassionally b reak s urface g ood

a nd

a nd

s urface

c an

w ell

w hich

m easure

f inished may

b e

u p

t o

w ith t he

1 0mm

f aint

r emains

i n

l ength .

t races o f

o f

a l ow

i s t he t he

T he s urfaces a re g enerally a s light c arination

r idge ( Fig .

o n

t he

o uter

4 :12 .4).

T he

s herd i s t oo small t o b e a signed w ith c onfidence t o a c eramic t radition b ut may p ossibly b e c ollared u rn o f t he s econd m illennium b c ,

' 7 8

F ABRIC 4 F 62 F our d ecorated s herds i n a h ard , w ell f inished f abric w ith a b lack c ore a nd

p redominantly

b lack

s urfaces

t hough

w ith

s ome

b rown

b lotches .

T he

f abric c ontains s ome q uartz i nclusions b ut a lso c alcined f lint i n p ieces u p t o 4 mm l ong . M ost o f t he b reaks a re q uite f resh a nd t he f abric v aries d ramatically

b etween

5 mm

a nd

1 0mm

t hick

s uggesting

t hat

t wo

v essels

may

b e r epresented . T he

s trongly

t echniques ,

s plit

i nturned q uill

r im

s herds

i mpressions a nd

h ave

b een

d ecorated

b ird b one i mpressions

w ith

t wo

( Fig . 4 :12 .5).

T he f ormer s eems t o h ave b een e xecuted u sing a s plit q uill o r p ossibly a s plit s traw o r r eed - t hough t hese l atter may b e t oo w eak t o s tand b eing r epeatedly

i mpressed

s urface

t he

o f

p ot

i nto

a t

t he e nd o f a p aper o utside o f t he r im

a n

t he

c lay

a ngle

s o

a s

w hich

h as

t o p roduce

b een a n

i mpressed

i mpression

i nto

t he

r esembling

c lip . T here a re t wo r ows o f t hese i mpressions o n t he a rranged w ith t heir r ounded e nds t owards t he r im a nd

t heir o pen e nds s loping d ownwards a nd l eftwards . A fter t he s houlder t here i s a n o pposed r ow o f t hese i mpressions w hich m erge w ith t he u pper r ow o f m ultiple

h orizontal

i mpressed

l ines

d ecoration ,

o f

b ird

b one

i mpressions .

t he f abric a nd t he

a s mall g lobular b owl o f t he P eterborough e arlier s econd m illennium b c . A nother

w all

s herd

i n

i dentical

T he

p rofusion

o f

t he

i nturned r im s uggest t hat t his

b ut

t radition

m uch

o f t he

t hinner

c arrying b ird b one i mpressions p robably r epresents p erhaps a c up - i n t he s ame t radition ( Fig . 4 :12 .6).

l ater t hird

f abric

a

f iner

a nd

i s a nd

a lso

v essel

F 62 A s mall

s imple r im s herd

i s d ecorated

o n

t op

o f t he

i n t he s ame f abric a nd f rom t he s ame f eature

r im

w ith

f ine

( ' ? )fingernail

i mpressions

a nd

o n

t he i nner s urface w ith a s eries o f f ine i ncisions f anning o ut f rom a r oughly c ommon c entre ( Fig . 4 :12 .7). I nsufficient o f t his v essel s urvives t o a llow r econstruction o f t he motif o f w hich t hese i ncisions a re a c omponent .

F ABRIC 5 F 62 T his

f abric

i s

r epresented

b y

a s ingle a braded

s herd .

I t

i s

s oft

w ith

c racked s urfaces a nd c ontains a bundant q uartz i nclusions u p t o 3mm l ong . T he s herd i tself i s 5 mm t hick h as a l ight g rey-brown e xterior a nd c ore a nd a b lack

i nner

s urvives t he

t o

s herd

s urface .

a llow

w ould

T here

a d ate

n ot

b e

o r

o ut

i s

n o

d ecoration .

t radition o f

p lace

i n

t o

b e

I nsufficient a ssigned

a G rimston

w ith

w are

o f

t his

s herd

c onfidence

b ut

a ssemblage b ut

m ust b e s tressed t hat t his i dentification i s t entative . B URNT C LAY F 62 O ne s mall f ragment o f b urnt c lay w ith a maximum m easurement o f l Omm .

7 9

i t

D ISCUSSION T he

a ssemblage

f rom

r epresenting

a m inimum

d ated t o t he

l ater

B arford

o f

i s

e ight

t hird o r

small

v essels ,

a nd

t wo

g enerally

o f

w hich

u ninformative

c an

b e

c ertainly

e arlier s econd m illennium b c a nd a re c learly

i n

t he t wo

l ater n eolithic i mpressed - o r P eterborough - ware t radition . T hese v essels a re i dentified b y t heir f abric a nd d ecoration which i s p rofuse

a nd

t ypical

t hose

o f

f rom

( Smith ,

t he

P eterborough

B arford

1 965 ;

B arton

a nd

B riar

H ill

P iggott ,

E cton

i n

i n

t he

B oddington , i mpressions

1 962)

a s

s ame

c ounty

1 975 ; B amford , t o d ecorate

u sers

t hat

o f

o f

t ype

o f

B arford

i mpressions q uill

w ildfowling

t his

p osition

o n

p ressed

t he

s ites

p layed

a s

o n

a nd

h ave

w are

t he

c ausewayed

1 984 ;

Moore ,

( Smith

c up

o r

c lay

b een

made

r ole

1 974). t he

i n

T his

t he

s a

a nd

h aving

i ndeed

u sing

f rom

E arl 's

e nclosure a t W illiams

a nd

a c ut

o f

b een

t he

l ead Smith

e conomy

t heory

i dentification

b owl

l ike

i n W iltshire

f requent u se o f b ird b one t he f requent f inding o f

i mportant

t he

i nto

i mpressions

- e xcellent f or g ame - h as

p lausible

g lobular

b one

P eterborough

f rom

( Jackson ,

a n

c eramic

a lso

B ird

H ill a nd w est K ennet

1 985). I ndeed t he t he p ottery a nd

makes

o bliquely

i mpressions ' may

w ell

N orthamptonshire

P eterborough w are o n v alley s uggest

r epertoire .

a re f ound a t W indmill

b een r ather more r obust t han a h ollow r eed o r s traw .

t o t he

a nd

t he

t he

' paperclip '

made

b y

f requently

q uill

o f

w hich

v alley a s plit

c ited

r eed

w ould

h ave

T he a ngle o f t he r im

a nd t he a bsence o f a ny c arinated s herds s uggest t hat t he v essel r epresented i s a c up o r b owl w ith a n i nturned r im . A ll

o f

e nough f rom

t o

t he

o ther

a llow

t hem

t o

may

b e

f abric

t ripartite f abric

w hich c an

s herds t his

1

c ollared

w ith

f abrics b e

r ather

u rn

i mpressed

a nd

y et

i t

l acking o r

t his

v ariable

e ssential t o

c onfidently p rehistoric

d ecoration ,

f eatures

a ssigned i s

t o

p ottery .

s uch

T he s herds a

e ntirely

h owever ,

b e a dmitted t hat

d iagnostic

a t radition .

i dentification i n

i ncised m ust

i n

a ssigned

more

t hough

b e h ighly

i dentification

a re

d ated

small ,

b ased

o n

T he t wo small

d o

n ot

c ontradict

s imple d ecoration

i s

i s b oth c ommon t o more t han o ne t radition a nd , b y n ature o f i ts s implicity , i s l ong l ived . O f

t he

o ther

f abrics ,

t oo

l ittle

s urvives

t o

a llow

c onfident

i dentification .

A PPENDIX 2 WORKED F LINT F ROM B ARFORD N E A s

a t

B arford

SW

u ndistinguished .

I n

s tripping

s ite

p art

t o

o f

t he

t he

( Smith ,

l arge o f

g enerally

1 969 ,

3 3-7)

m easure ,

t opsoil

t his

b y

u nproductive

t he

( Fig . 4 :13)

w orked c an

b e

g ravel

n ature

o f

f lint

w as

r elated

s carce

t o

t he

e xtraction c ompany , t he

t ype

o f

a nd

s ites

a nd

p rior i n

u nder

i nvestigation . T he a ccidental a nd h omogenous n ature o f t he a ssemblage i s e mphasised w ith t he i nclusion w ithin i t o f a n arrow b lade s truck f rom a small c ore o f m esolithic

t ype .

most

t he

o f

p art ,

u tilisation

N one

t en b ut

c an

p ieces t hree

b e

c onsidered

c omprise p ieces

( 1 ,

t o

w aste 2 ,

a nd

W ith t he p robable e xception o f t he s craper t hick

white

c ortex ,

a nd

p ossibly

t he

b e

p laced

f lakes

w ith

7 )

d isplay

( 2)

which

m icrolith

a rtefacts . l ittle o r e vidence

t he

o f

' f inish ' .

i s o f b lack f lint w ith

b lade

( 3)

a ll

s eem t o h ave b een p roduced f rom l ocally a vailable p ebble f lint .

8 0

F or

n o e vidence

t he

p ieces

5 c m

F ig . 4 :13 1

F lints f rom B arford N E

A f lake

w hich

i s

w ith

a s lightly

d erived

f rom

a n

c urved

s outhern d itch o f t he c ursus . w ith

s ection

d rawings ,

i t

p oint

u nspecified

o n

o ne

e nd

l ocation

o f

a h inge

w ithin

t he

f racture

f ill

o f

t he

S ince i t i s n ot r ecorded i n t he s ite n otebook

w as

p robably

r ecovered

f rom

t he

u ppermost

f ill

d uring t he i nitial s craping d own o f t he s ite . R etouch i s r estricted t o t he d orsal f ace e xcept f or s light a dditional t rimming o f t he p oint o n t he b ulbar s ide t o p ermit i ts u se a s a r otating a wl .

A n otch

p recisely

h as

b een

p arallels

u pper

l ayers

1 980 ,

1 57

i n

a nd

t wo

t he

f ig .

worked a wls

d itch

o f

1 6 :F52 ,F53).

o n

o r

t he

o pposing

p iercers

H emp

K noll

T hese

e dge

r ecovered r ound

w ere

i n

f rom

b arrow

c onsidered

a manner t he

t hat

m iddle

a nd

( Robertson-Mackay , t o

f orm

p art

o f

a n

e arly t o m iddle b ronze a ge a ssemblage . 2

A s craper f rom t he u pper s ilts o f s ite

I f ashioned o n a f lake o f d ark

f lint l eaving i ts b ulbar e nd a nd 8 0% o f i ts c ortex i ntact . 7

A small c oarse

f lake

f rom

d enticulation ,

t he

u pper

t wo

f ill

l arge

o f

s ite

n otches

II

h aving

d isplaying b een

e vidence

w orked

i nto

o f o ne

e nd . 1 2 3 -5

-

U nspecified l evel i n t he s outhern d itch o f s ite I U pper s ilts o f s ite I ( section 6 ) U pper t o m id s ilts o f s ite I n ear t he b utt e nd a rm

6

-

P it

F 25, s ite I

7 -8 -

U pper s ilts , s ite II

9

-

P it 1 , s ite

1 0

-

F 62 , s ite I V

II

8 1

o f

t he

n orthern

R EFERENCES A shbee ,

P"

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L ong

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A tkinson , R . ,

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E xcavations a t D orchester , O xon A shmolean M useum

A tkinson , R . ,

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E xcavations a t D orchester , O xfordshire ,

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C orporation M onograph N o .3 B radley , R . ,

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B radley , R . , e t a l . A n

i nterim

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r eport

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B radley ,

R .

C hambers ,

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B radley

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R . ,

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B url , HA M"

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c urrent

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o f

C hase .

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I n

c urrent

1 0 , p p 6 -11

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E xcavations

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t he

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S ettlement C ausewayed

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E nclosure

i n

a nd

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O xford

O ther

S ites .

p p 6 0-75 , C ouncil f or B ritish A rchaeology , L ondon C leal ,

R . ,

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l ater

N eolithic

n eolithic

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i n

e astern

A r eview

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E ngland . s ome

i n

c urrent

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1 35-158 , B ritish A rchaeological R eports N o .133 , O xford C hristie ,

P .M"

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S tonehenge

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M agazine 5 8 , p p 3 70-382 D onaldson , P . ,

1 977

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1 974-6 . A ntiquaries J ournal 5 7 , p p 1 97-231

D rew ,

C .D .

T hickthorn

a nd

T he e xcavation o f a m ultiple r ound b arrow a t B arnack ,

P iggott ,

D own ,

S . ,

D orset .

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P roceedings

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t he

o f

l ong

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S ociety

2 ,

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o n 7 7-

9 6 . F asham , P .J . ,

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R 4, M icheldever W ood , S U525365 . 1 . 3 A rchaeology , 1 974 p p

8 -10 F asham ,

P .J . ,

H ampshire .

1 982

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T he o f

e xcavation t he

o f

H ampshire

S ociety 3 8, p p19-56

89

f our F ield

r ing C lub

d itches a nd

i n

c entral

A rchaeological

F ord ,

W .J"

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C harlecote

s ite

N o .104;

t he

r ectilinear

e nclosure .

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a nd S evern V alleys R esearch P roject , F ifth A nnual R eport f or 1 967-1968 G ibson ,

A .M .

a nd

N orthamptonshire . 5 .

IcCormick , P art

A . ,

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a t

G rendon

Q uarry ,

1 : n eolithic a nd b ronze a ge s ites e xcavated i n

1 974-

N orthamptonshire A rchaeology 2 0 , p p 2 3-66

H arding ,

AT"

M ilfield ,

N orthumberland .

1 981

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i n

P roceedings

t he

p rehistoric

o f t he

r itual

c omplex

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n ear

p p

8 7-

1 36 H arding , G reat

A .F .

a nd

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L ee , A ir

G JE"

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P hotographic

M onuments

E vidence

a nd

a nd

R elated

S ites

C atalogue

o f

B ritish

A rchaeological R eports N o .175 , O xford H edges , J " H odder ,

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a nd

s tatement . H ogg ,

I sbister

S hand ,

P"

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H addenham

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b arrow :

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i nterim

r eport .

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b arrow

a t

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D .A . ,

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A ldwincle , N orthants . J ackson , D .A .

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J "

e xcavation

o f

n eolithic

a nd

N orthamptonshire A rchaeology

b ronze

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s ites

a t

T he e xcavation o f a b ronze a ge b arrow a t E arl 's B arton , N orthamptonshire A rchaeolozv D ouglasmuir :

T he

1 9 , p p 3 -30

E xcavation

o f

a n

E arly

S ettlement a nd N eolithic E nclosure . 1 979-1980 . P reliminary D evelopment D epartment ( Ancient M onuments) E dinburgh . K enward ,

a ge

1 1, p p 1 2-70

1 982

A n eolithic

b urial

e nclosure

a t

I ron

R eport

N ew

A ge

S cottish

W urtles

F arm ,

E ynsham . i n C ase a nd W hittle ( eds) S ettlement P atterns i n t he O xford R egion p p 5 1-54 , C ouncil f or B ritish A rchaeology , L ondon L eeds ,

E .T . ,

1 934

O xfordshire . L oveday ,

R ecent

b ronze

A ntiquaries J ournal

R JE"

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a ge

d iscoveries

i n

B erkshire

a nd

1 4, p p 2 64-276

C ursuses

a nd

R elated

M onuments

o f

t he

B ritish

N eolithic U npublished P hD t hesis , U niversity o f L eicester L oveday ,

R .E .

a nd P etchey , X .

n ew e vidence K ahany , C . ,

1 982

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d itches :

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K artin , E .A"

F engate . C urrent A rchaeology 1 7 , p p 1 56-7

1 982

W hen i s a h enge n ot a h enge? P roceedings o f t he S uffolk

I nstitute o f A rchaeology 1 4, p p

1 -3

b ore , V JR .G" V illiams , J .H . a nd Boddington , A . a t E cton , N orthamptonshire Korey ,

a d iscussion a nd s ome

A erial A rchaeology 8 , p p 1 7-24

P .R .S .,

N ewnham

M urren

P atterns L ondon

i n

1 982 n ear

1 975

A l ater n eolithic s ite

N orthamptonshire A rchaeology

A n eolithic W allingford .

t he O xford R egion

r ing i n

d itch C ase

p p 5 5-59 ,

8 3

a nd

a nd

C ouncil

i ron

W hittle

1 0 , p p 3 -30 a ge

e nclosure

( eds)

f or B ritish

a t

S ettlement A rchaeology ,

O swald , A" e t a l . a t

B arford ,

1 969

E xcavations f or t he A von/Severn R esearch C ommittee

W arwickshire .

B irmingham

A rchaeological

S ociety

T ransactions

a nd P roceedings 8 3 P iggott , S . P ryor ,

1 962

F"

e t

T he W est K ennet L ong B arrow H MSO , L ondon

a l

1 985

T he

F enland

E nvironment i n t he L ower W elland V alley .

p roject

N o .1:

A rchaeology

P hillips , CA T" 1 935 A n ote o n a ir p hotographs o f f ields a t N orthants . P roceedings o f t he P rehistoric S ociety 1 , p p 1 56-157 .

M AL ICE"

1 979

S elkirk , A . , S lade ,

S tonehenge a nd i ts E nvirons

1 987

CT"

W est C otton

1 964

A l ate

a nd

E ast A nglian A rchaeology 2 7 B arnack ,

L ondon

C urrent A rchaeology 9 , p p 3 37-9

n eolithic

s ite

a t

S onning ,

B erks .

B erkshire

A rchaeological J ournal 6 1, p p 4 -19 Smith , I .F . ' 1 965 W indmill H ill K eiller O xford U niversity P ress Smith ,

I .F"

1 969

O swald , e t a l" Smith ,

I .F .

P ottery

a nd

a nd

f lints

A vebury :

f rom

e xcavations

s ites

A ,

B ,

C ,

b y

D ,

A lexander

a nd

M .

i n

1 969 , p p33-7

1 974

T he n eolithic

i n B ritish P rehistory : a n ew

o utline e d C .

R enfrew , D uckworth T homas ,

N"

T ransactions

1 974 a nd

A n

A rchaeological S ociety 9 0 , T opping , 1 978.

P . ,

1 982

o f

t he

g azeteer B irmingham

f or

W arwickshire .

a nd

W arwickshire

p p 1 6-48

E xcavation

a t

t he

c ursus

a t

S corton ,

N orth

Y orkshire ,

Y orkshire A rchaeological J ourna1 5 4, p p 7 -21

W ainwright , G .J . , r esearch .

1 969

A r eview o f h enge monuments i n t he l ight o f r ecent

P roceedings o f t he P rehistoric S ociety 3 5 , p p 1 12-133

W arrilow , V . , e t a l . P owys ,

a rchaeological

P roceedings

1 986

E ight r ing d itches a t F our C rosses , L landysilio ,

1 981-1985 . P roceedings o f t he P rehistoric S ociety 5 2 , p p 5 3-87

Webster ,

G .

a nd

W arwickshire A von ,

R obley ,

B"

1 964

A rchaeological J ournal

8 4

A erial

r econnaissance

7 1, p p 1 -22

o ver

t he

5:

A A T

L A T E

W E S T

N E O LI T HI C

C O T T O N,

' RI T U A L

F O C U S'

N O R T H A M P T O N S H I R E. D .

W indell

S UMMARY T his r eport ,

w ritten i n J uly ,

1 988 , c onsists o f a n i nterim s tatement o n

t he e xcavations i n progress o n a r itual c omplex o f t he l ate t hird a nd e arly s econd m illennia b c b e low t he d eserted medieval h amlet o f W est C otton i n t he R ene V alley . E ach monument s o f ar d iscovered i s d escribed , t he r elationships b etween t he monuments a re d iscussed a nd t he c urrent e nvironmental i nvestigations a re o utlined .

I NTRODUCTION T he

s ite

a t

W est C otton

w as

r ecognised

a s

a d eserted

m edieval

h amlet

l ying i n t he - valley o f t he R iver N ene a nd i n t he P arish o f R aunds ( SP 9 76 7 25). E xcavation s ince 1 985 h as s hown t hat t he m edieval r emains o verlie a r emarkable ' r itual f ocus ' o f monuments d ating t o t he l ater t hird a nd e arly s econd m illennium b c . T he e xcavation , i n a dvance o f r oad c onstruction a nd g ravel e xtraction , h as b een f unded j ointly b y t he N orthamptonshire C ounty C ouncil , t he M anpower S ervices C ommission , a nd E nglish H eritage f orms a n i ntegral p art o f t he R aunds A rea P roject

( F IRMC)

a nd

( Fig . 5 :1),

27 5

B u ry s tead

Wes t C o t ton •

R AUNDS

r "-‚ S t anw ick v i la

7

I r t h l ingbo rough b a r row s

•

•

/ //

H ARGRAVE

S TANW ICK

M N.

1k m N a t iona l G r id 1 1

F ig . 5 :1

50 5

1

S ites i n t he R aunds a rea .

8 5

/

1

F ig . 5 :2

M o numents a r ound W est C o tton ,

8 6

B y

J une ,

C otton , w ith T he

1 988 ,

b ut

a n

o f

c .7 ,000m '2 h ad

b y

D ecember ,

1 988 ,

i t

i ntensive

watching

b rief

a nd

C ounty

a ctivity

C ouncil

a nd

d itched s mall

t eam

l ater

e nclosure ,

S imultaneously , s cale

C laire H alpin

d itch

( B118)

h ave

W est

C otton

s outh

w est

i s

t hree

o ther

t urf

t he C entral

i nvestigated .

f ocus

c urrently

( Fig .

b eing

b arrows

a nd

c .12,000m 2

m iddle

a

l ong

a nd

t wo

a rea .

n eolithic

e nclosure , l ong

a

b arrows .

U nit h as u ndertaken

a rea-stripping

( B100)

W est

s urrounding

o f

E xcavation

a t

t o

t he

a nd a c ausewayed r ing

T hese t wo monuments a ppear t o r elate

5 :2).

A f urther ,

e valuated .

i n

c ompleted

a rea

mound

t renching

e xcavated

t he

c omprising

o val

t rial

h ave

a n

i n w hich a r ound b arrow

b een

r ound

a n

o f

t o

f ully

c overing

r evealed

m onuments

b y

b een

i ntended

s alvage

f ar

mound ,

r econnaisance

i s

s o

n eolithic

o f W est C otton

t he

h as

a l ong

s outh t o

a rea

a more

u ndated

r ing

d itch

t o

t he

T he C EU t eam h ave a lso e xcavated

d ispersed

p attern

a t

I rthlingborough

s ome 2 km t o t he s outh . N one t he

o f

t he

c overing

monuments

o f

l ater

a t

W est C otton

a lluvium

w ere p reviously k nown b ecause o f

t hroughout

t he

v alley

b ut

c rop

marks

d o

r eveal t wo o r t hree f urther r ing d itches c .150m t o t he n orth a nd a p ossible h engiform monument s ome 5 00m t o t he e ast . T he monuments e xcavated b y t he C ounty C ouncil t eam u nder t he d irection o f

t he

p resent

w riter

a re

s ummarised

b elow ,

b ut

a s

t he

e xcavation

y et c omplete , t his p aper i s v ery m uch a n i nterim s tatement . h as b een u ndertaken a nd r adiocarbon

i s

n ot

L ittle a nalysis

d ates h ave n ot b een e stablished s o t he

o verall i nterpretation o f t he l andscape i s a t p resent d ifficult .

M IDDLE NEOLITHIC A CTIVITY A small mound

( Fig .

b e

l east

a t

h ollows ' f lint

a re

f eatures

s hallow

a t

a nd

h as

l east

o void

5m

b een

d ebris .

p artly

b eside

l ength

a nd

w ares

t he

u nder

l ong

d epressions

c ontaining

i n

t he

mound

o r

d ecorated

a ssociation

n ature a nd e xtent

b y

a nd

l ong

j ust c ommenced , b ut t here a ppears

s ub-rectangular

t ype

T heir

s ealed

r evealed

o nly

t o

i n

P eterborough

a nd b urnt

t hey

o f

E xcavation h as

f our

e ach

M ildenhall a s

a rea 5 :3).

w ith

s herds

m uch

s eems

t o

b e

o f

w orked

i s n ot y et u nderstood , t here

t o

' working

b ut

a h igh

p otential f or i ntact d eposits a nd u seful r adiocarbon d ates . T HE L ONG MOUND I n

t he

c onstructed m easured b een

( Fig . 5 :3)

w estern

p art

o f

a nd

1 35m

r ecorded

t urf

o n

t he

s ite

a

l ong

a ligned

i n

w atching

b rief

i n

t he

t he

m edieval

s tream .

c omposed

e ntirely

c entral T he o f

p ortion

mound

t urf

a nd

b een

e xcept

i tself

b een

e ast

r evealed ;

t o

w est ,

while t he e asternmost f ully e xcavated .

w here

h as

t opsoil

h as

i t

S o f ar t he w esternmost 2 5m h as

q uarry

s tood t o 0 .8m h igh - h as

mound

a pproximately

l ong a nd a veragesd 8m w ide .

where t he mound c ontinues

o f

t opsoil ,

i t

l ittle

b ut

i t

h as

b een

o bvious

h as

4 5m

e roded

b y

s tructure

p roduced

-

E xcavation

c .4,000

a

b eing w orked

f lints . U nder

a l ength

o f c .25m

o f t he

l ong

mound

a s eries

o f

s takeholes

h ave

b een r evealed . S hort l ines o f f our o r f ive u pright s takes s eem t o h ave d efined t ransverse b ays f rom t he e dge o f t he mound u p t o t he l ongitudinal c entre .

T he

a t 2m-4m

a nd

m arked

b y

T hough

t he

b ays

r evealed

l arge

o nly

a t

a f ew

s ubsoil

s o

7m-9m s takes

b elow

t he

f ar i n a nd

a re

o f v arying s izes

l ength . b y

mound

T he

b reaks w as

i n

r anging

l ingitudinal t he

d isturbed

s hort

b y

f rom

c entre

t ransverse

n atural

small

i tself

i s

l ines .

' features '

t he

s takeholes w ere c learly d efined b y a d ark c entral f ill o f c .5cms t o 8 cms i n

8 7

F ig . 5 :3

E x cavated m onuments a t W est C otton ,

8 8

d iameter

s urrounded

s ubsoil .

b y

a

B ox-sectioning

v ery

h as

c ompact

r ing

d emonstrated

t he

d enuded

s urface

o f

t he

l ong

s lightly

c onvincing

n atural ' f eatures ' . I t i s h oped t hat f urther w ill r eveal a more c omplete s ystem o f b ays . O n

o f

w ork

m ound

m ineralised

s ections

o n

t he

u nlike

w estern

a s hallow

g ully

t he

p ortion

w as

f ound

w hich f ollowed t he m ound 's o utline f orming t wo p arallel s ides c .10m a part a nd e nclosed a t t he e astern e nd . T hough t raced f or o ver 1 00m t he w estern e nds

w ere

l ost

p reserved v isible

i n

i n

t he

( Fig .

g ravel

q uarry

5 :4).

q uarrying f ace

T he

b ut

s hows

f ills

t hat

c ontained

t he

s ection

t hrough

t he

g ullies

w ere

i ntermittent

b urnt

e vidence o f u pright s takes p articularly a t t he e astern e nd .

t he

s till

m ound c learly

d ebris

a nd

D ating e vidence

f or t he g ully i s p oor , a n umber o f u ndiagnostic f lints a nd a f ew v ery small p rehistoric s herds . T he v ery u permost s ubsidence f ilings y ielded a f ew e arly S axon s herds . c urrent

C onclusive d ating m ust a wait r adiocarbon a ssay b ut t he

i nterpretation

i s

t hat

t he

g ully

a nd

i ts

s takes

r epresent

a

r efurbishment o f t he monument i n t he l ater N eolithic o r e arlier B ronze A ge a nd i s s imilar t o t he g ullies o n t op o f t he t urf mound ( see b elow).

T HE L ONG E NCLOSURE

( Fig . 5 :3)

T he n orth e astern t erminal o f t his f eature l ay w ithin t he a rea o f t otal e xcavation a nd t he r emainder w as d efined b y t rial t renching b eneath a 2m a lluvial o verburden .

A s ingle d itch 2 .5m w ide b y 0 .1 1 m

e nclosure

b y

1 20m

l ong

2 0m

w ide

a ligned

n orth-east

( max) t o

d eep f ormed a n

s outh-west .

T here

w ere n o i nternal f eatures e xcept t ree-throw h ollows . B ecause l ater s treams h ad s coured a way a ll p rehistoric s oil l evels , t here w ere n o s tanding r emains a long

b ut

t he

d itches

t he

d itch

s ections

s ides

b ut

l onger

f orming

t he

s horter

n o

s uggested e vidence

s ides .

t he

o f

F inds

p resence

t his w ere

n ature f ew ;

o f w as

c .50

i nternal l ocated

p ieces

o f

b anks i n

t he

w orked

f lint , a r ed d eer a ntler p ick o r r ake a nd t wo p ieces o f a nimal b one s uitable f or r adiocarbon d ating .

T HE D ITCHED E NCLOSURE S ome

4 5m

n orth

( Fig . 5 :3)

e ast

o f

t he

l ong e nclosure was a n a rc o f d itch w ith

' V '-shaped p rofile b etween 1 .2m a nd

a

1 . 15m w ide a nd u p t o 0 . 15m d eep a nd w hich

p redated t he t he l ast , o utermost , d itch o f B arrow 1 , I f i t w as s ymmetrical , t his f eature s eems t o h ave p robably f ormed a n e nclosure o f c .3m b y c .2 .0m . N o

i nternal f eatures w ere f ound i n

t he s mall a rea o f t he

i nterior a valiable

f or e xcavation a nd n o d iagnostic d ating e vidence w as r etrieved . H owever , t he i nterruption o f t he o utermost d itch o f B arrow 1 w ould s uggest t he p resence o f b anks i nside t he e nclosure a nd i ts c o-alignment w ith t he l ong e nclosure w ould s uggest a n a ssociation o f t he t wo .

T HE T URF M OUND

( Fig . 5 :3)

A t s ome 4 0m s outh w est o f t he l ong e nclosure w as a n u nditched mound o f t urf

a nd

b elow)

t opsoil .

b ut

i t

I t

s eems

h ad

b een

o riginally

c ut t o

a way

h ave

t o

t he

b een

s outh

o void

o r

b y

B arrow

2

( see

s ub-rectangular

i n

p lan , c .25m l ong a nd 1 8m w ide . T hough e roded b y r idge a nd f urrow p loughing , a nd

l ater

c entre . w hich

c overed T he

w as

b y

w estern

f ollowed

b y

a lluvium , h alf f ull

w as

i t

s till

s tood

r ecorded

e xcavation

o f

b y

t o

a h eight

watching

t he

e astern

b rief h alf .

o f

05m

i n

t he

T here

i n

t he

q uarry w as

e vidence o f a b urial o r g rave p it a nd i ndeed t here w ere n o f eatures f ound

8 9

n o

n atura l c onvo lut ions n atura l f ea ture

n a tura l f eature

f r ig . 5 :4 S e ct ion o f t h e l o ng m o und a s r e vea led i n t h e q uarry f a ce ,

9 0

F ig . 5 :5

P lan o f b arrow 1 ,

9 1

b eneath

t he

p arallel

t o

T hese

w ere

mound

a ll .

o ther ,

t raced

f or

a nd e vidence

o f

o n

H owever ,

c .10m a bout

t he

mound ,

t he

i s

mound

e vident

a nd

t op

w ere

a ligned

t heir

t wo

s outh

f ills

l engths

w est

s howed

T he

t o

m uch

o f

g ully ,

n orth b urnt

e ast .

d ebris

f inds w ere e ntirely l ater

A pparently t he g ullies f ormed a n e nclosure o r

o pen

a ligned w ith

o n

a nd

u pright s takes .

b ronze a ge .

s outh e ast a nd l ong

a part 1 5m

i ntermittent

n eolithic/earlier s tructure

a t

e ach

t o

t he

t he

b ut

n orth

e ast

a nd

l ong e nclosure .

t he

p ossibly

a lso

t o

t he

A p arallel t o t he g ully o n

i nterpretation

o f

t he

f unction

o f t hese

f eatures i s d ifficult . B ARROW 1 ( Fig , 5 :3 & 5 :5) B edide

t he

d itched

e nclosure

o ver a p rimary d isarticulated

was

a m ulti-phase

d itched

b urial a nd a s econdary b eaker

r ound

b arrow

i nterment

( Fig .

5 :5). T he w ide b y

f irst 0 .8m

n oticably

p hase d eep

f lattened

a pparently t his a rea

h ere

t owards

t he

d itch

w as a g rave-pit

t he

d isatriculated

p it

2 .5m

b urial

c onsisted

l ong

o f

a n

o rientated

b y

o f

a ' T-profiled

f orming a n ear c ircle

b ones 1 .15m

a dult

m ale

s outh-west

t o

t he

w est

f inished

0 .87m

l ong b y

o f i n

a n

0 .20m

a f lexed

n orth-east

t he

r ather

s lot

A t

o ver

l ying

5 : 15).

s lot

1 .3 .m

w as t he

s maller , c entre

o f

0 .15m d eep c ontaining t his

c ontaining

p osition ( Fig .

o r

T he c ircle w as

i tself

p oorly .

L ying

d eep

d itch

d iameter .

05m w ide b y

i ndividual .

a nd

small

1 4 5m

where

w as

w ide

o f

o n

B eside

t he h is h is

w as

a s hallow

w ell-preserved l eft

s ide

h ands

a nd

w as

small f lint k nife a nd i n a g roup b y t he f eet w ere a l ong n ecked b eaker , a

p i t c onta in ing d i sart icu lated b ur ia l

zz z

z

b eaker c ha lk o b ject f l int d agger 10-f l int f lake t -j et b utton 0

F ig . 5 :6

1 . 0m

C entral i nhumation i n b arrow 1 ,

9 2

z

a

c onical

' V '-perforated

f lint d agger a s ingle

i ncised

c ovcered n odule

b y

i n

j et

b utton

4 8mm

i n

d iameter ,

a n otched

a nd

t anged

1 70mm l ong , a l arge f lint f lake a nd a small l ump o f c halk w ith l ine .

t he

A lso

w ithin

t urf

mound

p rimary

a s hallow

p it ,

a s mall

p it c ontaining c harcoal .

t he

a rea

w as

g roup

d efined

a l arge ,

o f

i ron

b y

t he

p artially

s tone

d itch

w orked

n odules

a nd

a nd f lint

a s mall

T he p rimary mound e xtended t o t he v ery l ip o f t he

d itch a nd s urvived t o a h eight o f 02m . E rosion

o f

t he

' U '-profiled d itch

t urf w as

m ound

c ut ,

i n

r apidly p hase

f illed

I ,

t he

o riginal

t o a d iameter

d itch

o f

1 8m

a nd

a nd

a n ew

w ith t he

r esulting g ravel c ast u p o nto t he t urf mound . P ossibly a ssociated w ith t his p hase

w ere

s herds

o f

a p ot

o f

f ood

v essel

t ype

w ithin

t he

f ills

o f

t he

o riginal d itch b ut u nfortunately d isturbed b y a m edieval w ell . F ollowing t o

t he s ilting

a d iameter

T he

O f

r esulting

b etween w as

t he

g ravel

o f t he p hase

b ut

i nterrupted

w as

m ound

a nd

i nto

t he

i nserted

c remation

3 0m

a ccompanied

a gain

t he b y

u pcast

d itch .

f ills

I d itch , a n ew i nside t he

o f

o nto

t he

A c remation t his

a s mall

d itch

c eramic

o uter d itch w as d ug

e arlier m ound

d itched b ut

c overed

a nd

b y

i n

a b erm

a m iniature

p robably

' button '

e nclosure .

l eaving a t

t his

a c ollared

u rn

t ime u rn

a

w as

i nserted i n a s hallow d epression i n t he b erm .

B ARROW 2 ( Fig . 5 :3) S ome e arlier t he

7 0m

t urf

g ravel

s urrounded 2 1m

i n

w hich

t o

t he s outh

mound ,

e xtraction . b y

w est

a s econd I t

o f

r ound

d iameter .

U nder a

p oorly

t he

l ong

b arrow

c onsisted

a s ingle d itch 2m

p roduced

t he

o f

mound

w as

a nd

r evealed

a s imple

w ide a nd

p reserved

e nclosure

w as

t urf

s alvage

a nd

t opsoil

t he

d uring mound

12 .5m d eep which f ormed a c ircle a c oncentrically

r ed

c ut t hrough

i n

d eer

a ntler

p laced

o ver

a

h as

b een

g rave

d ark

p it

s tain

t entatively i nterpreted a s a b ody s tain .

E NVIRONMENTAL WORK A ND F INDS T hroughout e nvironmental t he r ecovery l ater

t he

e xcavation

p otential .

a c onsiderable

U nfortunately

o f c arbonised s eeds

l evels .

w ithin

e mphasis t he

s ite ,

t his

o n

l imited t o

a nd t hat i s s ubject t o c ontamination f rom

H owever , a s ystem o f p alaeochanels o f t he R iver N ene h as b een

r evealed i n t he q uarrying a nd b y d eliberate t rial t renching . h ave

p laced

i s

y ielded

w ell-preserved

o rganics

a nd

p ollen

T hese c hannels

s equences .

A lso

m icromorphology s amples h ave b een t aken f rom u nder t he m onuments t o s tudy p revious l and u se . A s y et n o a nalytical r esults h ave b een o btained b ut t he c onjunction

o f

t he

monuments

a nd

t he

e nvironmental

m aterials

f rom

t he

p alaeochannels s eems v ery p romising . A s

w ell

a s

t he

p articular

f inds

n oted

a bove ,

a ll

t he

p rehistoric

d eposits h ave y ielded f lint w ork - o ver 7 ,000 p ieces t o d ate - a nd a s catter o f p rehistoric s herds . E ach monument h as a lso p roduced a r ange o f m aterial f or r adiocarbon d ating b ut n o d ates h ave a s y et b een e stablished .

9 3

T HE L ANDSCAPE I nsufficient a nalysis h as b een d one t o d ate t o a dvance c lear s tatements o n t he n ature o f t he p rehistoric l andscapes . I t s eems t hat t he l ong mound , t he

l ong

t ightly

e nclosure ,

g rouped

t he

d itched

f ocus .

T o

b oth

e nclosure t he

n orth

d itches a nd r ound b arrows c ontinue t he e nclosure b ut b ecome more d ispersed a way

a nd

t he

t urf

e ast

a nd

t he

mound s outh

f ormed w est ,

g eneral a lignment o f f rom t he f ocus . T his

a

r ing

t he l ong a lignment

m ay l argely r eflect t he t opography ; l ying a long t he g ravel t errace a bove t he f lood-plain , i t i s i nteresting t o n ote , h owever , t hat t he a lignment o f t he

l ong

mound c an b e e xtrapolated t o p ass

t hrough t he h engiform c ropmark

5 00m t o t he e ast . T he s ite l ies

b eside a n

o riginal c ourse o f t he R iver N ene a nd c lose t o

a c onfluence o f a m inor t ributory

( the W illow B rook)

w ith t he main c hannel .

G ibson h as p ointed t o t he p ossible s ignificance o f s uch c onfluences f or t he l ocation

o f f oci

o f r itual

a ctivity i n t he N ene v alley i n d iscussion o f t he

s imilarly l ocated s ite a t G rendon , N orthants I t t han

i s

o n

a lso

n otable

h igher

l and

t hat

a nd

i t

( Gibson & M cCormick , 1 985).

t he

monuments

l ie

d own

i s

s uggested

t hat

t he

i n

t he

g ravel

v alley

r ather

t arraces

w ere

c leared , p asture l and w hereas t he b oulder c lay o f t he h igher a reas may h ave s till b een f orested . I f i ntervisibility w as a m ajor c oncern i n t he l ocation o f t he monuments ,

t hen t he l argely t reeless l andscape o f t he g ravel t errace

a nd t he i mmediate v alley s ides w ould b e p referred . I n

t he

a dvanced . w ork

i n

p resent

s tate

H owever ,

w ith

o f

a nalysis

c ontinued

n o

f irm

e xcavation ,

a nd a round W est C otton , a nd

o verall

s tatements

s ampling

f ieldwalking

a nd

c an

b e

e nvironmental

r ecovering c oncentrations

o f f lint w ork o n t he v alley s ides t he R aunds A rea P roject a s a whole h olds g reat

p otential

f or

i lluminating

t he l ate t hird a nd e arly s econd m illenium

r itual l andscape i n t his p art o f t he N ene V alley .

R EFERENCE G ibson ,

A .X .

&

XcCorn rick ,

A . ,

1 985

A rchaeology

a t

G rendon

Q uarry ,

N orthamptonshire , p art 1 : n eolithic a nd b ronze a ge s ites e xcavated i n 1 9745 ,

N orthamptonshire A rchaeology 2 0, p p 2 3-66

9 4

:

A E RI AL .

A R C H A E O L O G Y

L E I

I N

IR E

R . P . H artley S UMMARY T his p aper s ummarises t he

p rehistoric

v isibility

t he n ature

monuments

o f c ropmarks

o f

a re

o f t he a erial

p hotographic r ecord

L eicestershire .

d iscussed

a s

p rincipal c rop mark t ypes f ound w ithin

a re

F actors

t he

f orms

of

e ffecting

t he

d ating

t he

a nd

of

t he c ounty .

T HE S CALE O F T HE E VIDENCE A erial

s tudy

c oncerned

w ith

o f

t he

t he

p rehistoric

r ecording

o f

p eriod

i n

L eicestershire

marks

i n

c ereal

c rop

p rehistoric e arthworks a re

f ew

o f s ome

o f C harnwood

u ncultivated a reas

a nd

g enerally

i s

f ields .

w ell-known

c hiefly

S urviving

w ith t he e xception

w here t here

i s s light e vidence f or

c arried

s ince

s ome a ncient f ield s ystems . C rop

m ark

r econnaisance

h as

b een

a mateur a rchaeologist , J ames P ickering p resent

w riter h as

a s urvey

a ccompanied h in

p rogramme

C ambridge

o f

U niversity

h is

h as

o wn

a lso

o ut

t he

w ar

b y

a n

( see c hapter 7 , t his v olume), a nd t he

o n many

f unded

b y

r ecorded

f lights

b ut

R CHME .

a n umber

h as

r ecently

P rofessor o f

c rop

S t

b egun

J oseph

marks

o f

w ithin

t he

t here

a re

o n

t he

c ounty . W hilst n ow

i t

a bout

i s

L eicestershire a reas 1 960

a n

h ave

a ppeared

a nd

d efine

monuments

o f

f eatures .

o f

t en

n ew

f requently ,

o r

t wice

T he

n umber

a nd

s ubsoil .

d iscovery t o a dd

o f

i ncluding i s

v ery

s ites

( the

s howing

i n

c hosen ,

H owever ,

t here

i s

l ittle ,

t here

while

i s

n o

o f

h ave

y ear ,

b een

a nd

o f

c over

l arge

r ecorded

s ince

a lthough

n ormal

a mount

t hem

f or

e vidence

s ome

c rop

s ites

t o

u p

1 984

t o

h ave i s

1 985).

c rops a nd

a ' site ' , c ropmarks

s ome

more

t otal

b y

o f

a ll

p er

i s

t he

d eclining

m eant

a nd

N early s ites

i t

d etailed i n P ickering a nd H artley ,

v ariables

i s

r ecord

d ozens

o nce

w hat

c oncentrations

a verage

a ppeared

o nly

t o

i dentifiable

s ites

i ncluding g iving

m arks

d ifficult

2 80

n o t he

a

g iven

t he

i ndication p resent

r eason

s ummer

w eather ,

w hy

a nd

t hat

w et

t he

s ummer

c oming

d epends

y ears

o n

v ariations g eneral o f

1 988

s hould

many

i n

s oil

r ate

o f

i s

l ikely

f ail

t o d o

so.

T otal i s

a bout

c rop 1 0-20

mark

r econnaisance

h ours

e ach

s ummer

p resently

c arried

a t

o f

a c ost

o ut

i n

t 500-f1000

L eicestershire f unded

e qually

f rom p ublic a nd p rivate s ources .

T HE P ATTERN O F T HE L ANDSCAPE T he

s urvival

s ubsequent g aining

o f

l and u se .

g eneral

c ounty

l ike

n ature

o f

p rehistoric

a cceptance .

L eicestershire

t he

s oils

f eatures

i s

p rimarily

d ictated

b y

T his r ealisation s eems s o o bvious n ow b ut w as s low i n

f or

T he w as

a bsence a scribed

c ultivation .

o f t o T he

e vidence t he

i n

l arge

r elatively

w eakness

o f

a reas

o f

t his

a rgument ,

h owever , s hould h ave s uggested i tself a t a n e arly s tage g iven t he e normous

9 5

a

u nfavourable

MED IEVAL L AND U SE

c . 1000 -c . 1800 A .D .

A pp rox ima te m ax imum e x ten t o f a r ab le c u l t iva t ion

Uta mwood

Le icester

F ig . 6 :1

L e li thr ie ld L o res t

Fores t

A reas o f m ed ieval l anduse i n L eicestershire ,

a reas o f m edieval c ultivation s till e vident a s u pstanding o r v estigial r idge a nd f urrow ( Fig ,

( Fig .

6 :2)

6 :1).

s hows

F urther c omparison w ith t he r elief a nd d rainage nap

t hat

t he

o nly

major

a reas

u nsuitable

f or

c ultivation

a re

t he C harnwood H ills a nd t he f lood p lains o f t he S oar v alley . S ome

o f

t he

w ere

a lso

s et

w ere

s ome

small

s hows

t hat

r equired

l imestone

a side

a reas

n o

a lso

a s

p arish

a reas

o f

a nd

i ron

g razing o f

h eath

was

s tone r idges

l and

t hrough

a nd

marsh .

e ntirely

u nder

meadow ,

p asture

t he

i n

t he

A s tudy

o f

c ultivation

a nd

e ast

medieval

managed

o f t he c ounty

p eriod

a nd t here

p re-enclosure a s

maps

s elf-sufficiency

woodland .

T hese

a reas

w ere u sually l ocated i n t he a reas l east s uitable f or a rable f arming . T he

f ascinating

o bliterated

i n

c ultivation .

t he A s

b ecome

a lmost

p eriod

r ecorded

t he

k ey

l andscape

t o

d etail

o f

l ast h alf

a h istorical

m eaningless , o n

a erial

u nderstanding

w hich

w as

t he

m edieval

c entury

b y

d ocument ,

b ut

t he

w hat

b eing

a nd

m ight

w orked

many

a bundant

p hotographs

9 6

a reas

h as

b een

d rainage a nd o f

e vidence

t he

o n

m aps a nd h appened

i n

m any

t he

o f

a lmost

m echanical

l andscape

f rom

h ave

w ithin

c onstraints .

l andscape

w idespread

t he

h ave

m edieval

i n d ocuments c an b e t he

p rehistoric

s ame

p hysical

REL IEF

& DRA INAGE

L and o ver 6 00f t . ( 1 83 m . )

F ig . 62

U p land a reas a nd m ain r iver s ystems i n L eicestersh ire

F ACTORS A FFECTING T HE D ISTRIBUTION O F C ROPMARKS T he

p roblems

a re e normously f actors . 1

o f

e valuating

c omplex

b ut

w e

t he m ay

d istribution n ote

h ere

o f

s ome

c rop o f

m ark

t he

i nformation

m ore

i mportant

M odern A gricultural P ractices C ropmarks c an b e most r eadily o bserved i n l arge f ields o f c rops w hose g rowth i s o therwise u niform . I n L eicestershire , most c rop marks h ave b een r ecorded i n w heat a nd b arley f ields . A reas o f p asture s eldom p roduce a rchaeological c ropmarks w hile s mall f ields w ith l arge h edgerows t end t o o bscure a ny marks t hat d o a ppear . T he p ercentage o f t he l andscape u nder f avourable c rops i s p robably n ot more t han 2 5% . B uildings , R oads a nd G ardens I n a ny p art o f E ngland , q uite a l ot o f p otential s ites m ust u nder m odern s ettlements , r oads , a irfields a nd t he l ike .

3

b e h idden

A reas o f R estricted F lying O pportunities f or r econnaisance i n n orth w est L eicestershire a re i nhibited b y t he e stablishment o f a C ontrol Z one a round E ast M idlands

9 7

A irport .

F lying

s imilarly

r estricted a t

a round

t he

m ilitary a irport

m any

t imes

a nd

o f R AF

t here

a re

C ottesmore c an b e

a ctive

g liding

c lubs

i ncluding

e ven

a t S altby a nd H usbands B osworth . 4

G eology W hile

c rop

b oulder

m arks

c lay ,

c an

t hey

o ccur

d o

o n

t end

m any

t o

k inds

s how

o f

m ost

g eology ,

r eadily

o n

f ree-draining

s ubsoils a nd i n p articular o n g ravels , i ron s tone a nd l imestones . 5

T ime C rop marks

a re t emporary p henomena a nd w hile s ome may s how f rom J une

i nto A ugust , l ess

t han

o thers p roduced b y more s ubtle e ffects m ay a

d ay .

L eicestershire ,

many

E ven c rop

i n

a

marks

l imited m ust

a nd

h ave

b e v isible f or

w ell-surveyed

b een

p assed

a rea

l ike

u nnoticed

o ver

t he y ears p erhaps n ever t o b e s een a gain .

F ig . s ites

6 :3

s hows

h ave

b een

t he

d istribution

r ecorded

a nd

p attern

o f

t he

f ields

s hows t hat a lthough

i n

w hich

c rop

i n s ome a reas , c rop marks a re q uite w ell d istributed a cross t he c ounty .

F ig . 6 :3

A reas o f r e corded c ropmarks i n L eicestershire ,

9 8

mark

t here a re c oncentrations

T YPES O F C ROP MARK M ost c ropmarks r esult f rom t he d igging o f f eatures i nto t he s ubsoil . H edged f ields a nd u ndefended s ettlements n eed n ot h ave i nvolved t he d igging o f

d eep

f eatures

a nd

h ence

t he

a pparent

l ack

o f

n eolithic

a nd

b ronze

a ge

s ettlements i n t he a ir p hotographic r ecord . E nclosed S ettlements

( Fig . 6 :4)

D uring t he l atter p art o f t he i ron a ge many s ettlements w ere s urrounded b y s ubstantial b anks a nd d itches a nd t hese d itches , t hey h ave o n modern c ereal c rops a re n ow o ne

i n t he e ffect t hat o f o ur p rincipal

i ndicators o f p rehistoric s ettlement .

N early a h undred s uch s ites h ave

b een

t he

r ecorded

a vailable

a s

T hurlaston)

a s

c rop

d ating

marks

a nd

e vidence

i n

( Ryhall ,

f our

c ases

C roxton

i t d ates f rom t he l ater I ron A ge

where

K errial ,

p ottery

E nderby

i s a nd

( Clay , 1 984-5 , 8 7).

P REH ISTOR IC ENCLOSED S ETTLE MENTS (Mos t p robab ly d a t ing f r om t he I r on A ge aS urv iv ing a s e a r thwo rks

c . 600 BC -c . 43 AD)

(0 H i l lfor ts)

•R ecorded a s c rop marks b y a er ia l s urvey

F ig . ( SA

D istribution o f p rehistoric e nclosed s ettlements i n L eicestersh ire ,

F ig . 6 :5 s hows t he d istribution o f t hese s ites a nd F ig . 6 :6

i s a r ésumé

o f t he s hapes o f t hese e nclosures a s r ecorded i n t he c rop mark . o f

t he

smallest

e nclosures

i n

F ig .

f unction .

9 9

6 :6

p robably

h ad

a

S ome

d ifferent

1 0 7

1

(

1 8

>

Li }

1 9

1 8




1 987

1 987 , p p39-48

L ithic A nalysis a nd L ater B ritish

P rehistory , S ome p roblems a nd A pproaches . R eading N o . 2 , B ritish A rchaeological R eports N o .162 , O xford C lamp , H . M ellor , C lare ,

1 985

T he

l ate

S tudies

i n

A rchaeology

i ron a ge a nd R omano-British p ottery .

i n C lay a nd

1 985 , p p41-58 T .

1 986

T owards

a r eappraisal

o f

h enge

monuments .

P roceedings

o f

t he P rehistoric S ociety 5 2 , 2 81-236 C lay , P . E aton ,

1 981

T he E xcavation o f T wo M ulti-Phased B arrows a t S proxton a nd

L eicestershire ,

L eicestershire

M useums ,

A rts

a nd

R ecords

S ervice

A rchaeological R eport N o .2 C lay ,

P .

F orthcoming

a

E xcavations

i n

t he

w est

B ridge

A rea,

L eicester ,

1 962-71 C lay , P .

F orthcoming b

E xcavations a t t he

I ron A ge F armstead a t E nderby .

L eicestershire C lay , P . a nd M ellor , J .E . 1 985 L eicestershire M useums , A rts a nd

E xcavations i n R ecords S ervice

B ath L ane , L eicester A rchaeological R eport

N o .10 C ollis , J .

1 985

F ord , S .

1 987a

I ron a ge ' coin moulds ' . B ritannia 1 6 , p p 2 37-238 C hronological a nd f unctional a spects o f f lint a ssemblages .

i n B rown a nd E dmonds F ord ,

S .

1 987b

( eds)

F lint

1 987 , p p 6 7-86

s catters

a nd

p rehistoric

s outh O xon a nd e ast B erks . i n B rown a nd E dmonds F rere , S .S .

1 941

A C laudian s ite a t N eedham ,

s ettlement

( eds)

p atterns

i n

1 987 , p p101-136

N orfolk .

A ntiquaries J ournal

2 1, p p 4 0-55 H arding ,

A .F .

w ith

L ee ,

G .E .

1 987

H enge

M onuments

a nd

R elated

S ites

o f

G reat B ritain B ritish A rchaeological R eports N o .175 , O xford H enson ,

D .

1 985

T he

f lint

r esources

o f Y orkshire a nd

t he

E ast M idlands .

L ithics 6 , p p 2 -9 J arvis ,

P .

1 986

T he

e arly

p its

o f

t he

J ewry

W all

s ite ,

L eicester .

T ransactions o f t he L eicestershire A rchaeologica l , a nd H istorical S ociety 6 0 , p p 7 -15 K innes ,

I .

1 979

R ound

B arrows a nd

R ing

B ritish M useum O ccasional P aper N o7.

1 20

D itches

o f

t he B ritish N eolithic

L iddle ,

P .

1 982

K nowledge.

L eicestershire

A rchaeology

A rts a nd R ecords S ervice A rchaeological R eport L iddle ,

-

P .

1 985

O rganisation

a nd

C ommunitj z T echniques

S ervice A rchaeological N cWhirr ,

A .D .

R .

o f

A rchaeology .

A F ieldworker 's

L eicestershire

M useums ,

H andbook

A rts

a nd

o f

R ecords

R eport

1 976

1 986

O 'Brien ,

C .F .

M cWhirr ,

1 976

P itts , s tone

A rchaeology

X .V .

P ollard , C lay ,

S oil

i n

L eicestershire

i s v ulnerable t oo .

1 976

and

i ndustries

J ournal

E xcavations

J acobi, o f

R .N .

t he

a t

1 976

m esolithic

a nd

R utland .

a nd H istorical

S ociety

R .J.

Forthcoming

T he

A cid M agazine 4

C osington ,

S ome a nd

o f A rchaeological S cience 6 ,

a spects

n eolithic

a n

o f i n

i nterim

c hange

n ote .

i n

s outhern

I n

f laked

B ritain .

p p 1 63-177

i ron

a ge

a nd

R omano-British

p ottery .

I n

f orthcoming a

P osnansky ,

N .

L ockington

1 955

T he

T ransactions

H istorical S ociety _ 3 1, S aville, A . L eicestershire .

T ournaire,

e xcavation o f

t he

o f

a b ronze

L eicestershire

a ge

r ound

b arrow

A rchaeological

a t a nd

p p 1 7-29

1 976 E xcavations a t B eadle Q uarry , E ast G oscote, T ransactions o f t he L eicestershire A rchaeological a nd

f l istorisa L3QQ _L e _ty _ . 5 1, J .,

p p29-39

B uchenschutz,

O .,

I ron a ge c oin m oulds f rom F rance .

H enderson ,

J .,

a nd

C ollis ,

R .

1 982

E roceedings o f t he P rehistoric S ociety

p p 4 17-437

W acher ,

J .S .

1 977

T ransactions o f 5 2 ,

S tate

p p56-63

N ilsson ,

4 8 ,

P resent

N o .4

T ransactions o f t he L eicestPrshire A rchaeological 5 1,

T he

V ol. J T o t he E nd o f t he R oman P eriod L eicestershire M useum ,

E xcavations

a t

B reedon-on-the-Hill,

L eicestershire .

t he L eicestershire A rchaeological a nd H istorical S ociety

p p 1 -35

W hittle , N eolithic.

A .V .R .

1 978

A ntiquity 5 2 ,

R esources p p34-42

1 21

a nd

P opulation

i n

t he

B ritish

9: I N

I R O N A G E S E T T L E ME N T C E N T R A L A N D S O U T H E R N

A N D S O CI E T Y W A R WI C K S H I R E R ichard H ingley

S UMMARY T n t his p aper , t he a vailable e vidence f or i ron a ge s ettlement a nd s ociety i n s outhern a nd c entral W arwickshire i s d iscussed a nd i t i s a rgued t hat

a gricultural

c ommunities

w ith

a m ixed f arming

e conomy

e xisted i n

t he

r egion . Some political c ontrol w as e xercised o ver t hese c ommunities b y a s ystem o f c hieftains b ased i n h illforts b ut i t i s more u ncertain a s t o how a nd

w hat

c hanges

political

i n

t he

c entralisation

o f r esearch

i s

a rchaeological

i n

o utlined

t he l ate i ron

t hrough

w hich

r ecord a ge .

i t

may

i ndicate

i ncreased

F inally ,a p lanned programme

i s h oped

t hat

o ver

t he n ext f ive

years f urther i nsight s hould b e g ained i nto i ron a ge s ociety .

I NTRODUCTION T he

i ntention

P rehistory e vidence a re

i s

f or

f irstly

p roduction i ron

o f

t o i ron

a ge

s ocial

a mongst

a ge

t his

e xamine

c ontribution t wo

s ettlement

i n

o rganisation t he

W arwickshire

t he

t he

o f

s econdly

p resent

t hemes

w est o f

a nd

c ommunities a nd

t o

p articular

i ts

t he r egion .

c entral

a nd

e xamination

o f

t o

r elationship

t he

t he

t heme

r elating

l imited

T hese t hemes

t o

a gricultural

s outhern

o f

M idlands

t he

t he

a reas

e vidence

o f f or

p ower r elationships w ithin i ron a ge s ociety . W ith a nalysis o n

t he

r egard

t o

t he

f irst

o f t he o ccupation

e vidence

f or

o f

t heme ,

s ettlement a nd

1 988).

I t

w ould

b e

a pproach

i n

W arwickshire

i nteresting b ut

t he

a uthor

h as

a ttempted

a s ocial

t he u pper T hames V alley o f O xfordshire b ased

t here

t erritorial

o rganisation

t o

t o

a ttempt

i s

t oo

l ittle

( Hingley ,

r eplicate e vidence

t his

f rom

1 984,

t ype

o f

t he c ounty

t o a llow t his t ype o f d etailed a nalysis , p artly a s a c onsequence o f t he l imited n ature o f a rchaeological a ctivity i n t he r egion . I t i s , n evertheless , p ossible

t o

s uggest

s ome

t erritorial o rganisation ' a nd

t entative

h ypotheses

a bout

s ettlement

a nd

i t w ill b e p ossible t o a ssess t hese h ypotheses

t hrough f uture p lanned a nd s pecific r esearch . T he s econd t heme o f t he p aper i nvolves t he s tudy o f t he o rganisation o f a n e lite c lass w ithin a s ociety a nd t he m ethods b y which t hey a chieved a nd m aintained t heir p osition o f s ocial a nd e conomic d ominance . T his s tudy i s b ased

o n

w ithin

e xisting

t he

i ron

t heories a ge

r egarding

c ommunities

t he

o f

o rganisation

B ritain

( eg .

o f

p ower

C unliffe

o r

s tatus

1 978 ,

1 983 ;

H aselgrove 1 984) a nd a gainst w hich t he r estricted e vidence f or W arwickshire c an b e s et a nd s ome t entative s uggestions r egarding t he l ocal s ocial r ankings c an b e made . T HE E VIDENCE P AST W ORK T he

I ron

p articular ,

A ge

h as

o f

t he

r eceived

W est

M idlands

l ittle

i n

a ttention

g eneral , a nd

i s

a nd

o f

p oorly

W arwickshire u nderstood

i n

' .

A

c ertain a mount o f w ork h as b een c arried o ut o n t he h illforts o f S hropshire , H ereford h ave

a nd

b een

W orcester

e xcavated ,

a nd

a l imited

n evertheless ,

n umber i t

i s

o f n ot

o ther

i ron

s urprising

a ge s ettlements t hat

w ith

t he

e xception o f h illforts t he W est M idlands c onstitutes a b lank o n m ost o f t he

1 22

d istribution H arding

maps

1 974

i n

a nd

g eneral

C unliffe

s ummaries

1 978).

o f

O ne

o f

t he t he

i ron main

a ge

o f

p oints

B ritain

t o

b e

( see

m ade

i n

t his s tudy i s , h owever , t hat t he a pparent p overty o f i nformation i s a ctually t he

r esult

o f a l ack

u ndertaken

t o

o f r esearch

d ate

r ather

t han

a nd

t he

t he

a ctual

l imited

p erspectives

n ature

o f

t he

o f t he

w ork

a rchaeological

r ecord . V ery l ittle r esearch h as b eenconducted - a nd e ven l ess o f i t - i n s outhern a nd c entral W arwickshire e arlier

t his

c entury

1 950 's

w ere

t he

e xcavations

a nd

a t

T iddington

e arliest

w ere

c arried

a nd B randon G round .

( table 1 ).

a ttempts

o ut

i n

a nd

t o

t he

Wappenbury

s tudy

1 960's

A lso a t t his t ime a nd

t he

a t

p ublished

E xcavations a t N eon H ill i n

t he

1 920 's

e vidence ,

a nd

a nd

l arger

R yton-on-Dunsmore ,

B arford

i n t he s ucceeding d ecade a erial

p hotography b ecame a p opular a ctivity a nd p roduced a g reat d eal o f e vidence f or

t he

T his

o rganisation o f t he

r econnaisance

l ocation

o f

i ron

i ron a ge s ettlement

t echnique

a ge s ites

h as

c ontinued

p articularly

( Webster a nd H obley

t o

i n t he

p rovide

e vidence

1 964).

f or

t he

p roductive d rought y ears

o f

t he 1 970's . T HE P RESENT S ITUATION I n t he

1 982 , H unt s uggested a p rogramme o f r esearch

W est

M idlands

i ncorporate

t o

c over

a erial

t he

n ext

p hotography ,

m anagement a nd s ynthesis o f d ata

t wo d ecades . f ield

( Hunt

i nto t he p rehistory o f T his

s urvey ,

p rogramme

e xcavation ,

1 982 , 1 6-17).

i n

W arwickshire

W asperton

a nd

h as

T iddington

i ncreased a nd

i n

w ith

major

a ddition

t he

t o

R ecently , a nd t owards

t he r ealisation o f H unt 's p lan , t he s cale o f a rchaeological w ork o n s ites

w as

r esource

D oE

f unded

a erial

I ron A ge

e xcavations

p hotographic

a t

e vidence

h as b een p lotted a s p art o f a p roject u ndertaken w ithin W arwick M useum a nd f unded a nd

b y

t he R CHME

a n umber

q uantity

o f

o f

a nd t he MSC .

i ron

a ge

F ield s urvey w ork r egion

i s

s ites

i n

t he

h ave

i nformation c ontinues

t o

i ncrease a nd t his

n ow

b een

a lso u nderway e xamined .

p aper

T he

r epresents a n

a ttempt a t t he s ynthesis o f e xisting e vidence i ncluding n ew a nd u npublished i nformation r esulting f rom t he r esearch u ndertaken o ver t he p ast f ew y ears .

T HE S OURCES O F I NFORMATION F ive

m ain

t ypes

W arwickshire : c hance f inds

o f

i nformation

e xcavation ,

a erial

e xist

f or

p hotography ,

i ron

a ge

e arthworks ,

s ettlement f ield

i n

w ork

a nd

( Fig . 9 :1),

O nly a v ery small g roup o f s ites h ave b een e xamined b y e xcavation a nd t he

s ites

e xcavated i nvolved i t w ill i t

i s

a t o n

W asperton a l arge

a nd

s cale

o nly a small a rea b e

i mportant

h oped ,

T iddington ( table

t he

T he

majority

o nly

o f a s ingle s ettlement a nd

t o e xcavate

p rovide

a re

1 ).

g reater

l arger a reas d etail

o f

h ave

b een

e xcavations

t o

h ave

i n f uture r esearches

a nd e ntire s ites w hich w ill ,

t he

material c ulture a nd s ettlement o rganisation

s ites o f

c hronological

d evelopment ,

o f e ach s ite a nd u ltimately o f

t he r egion a s a w hole . A l arge n umber t hrough

a erial

d iscussed

i n

t his a rticle .

a nd d istribution c hronological

o f s ettlements

p hotography

a nd

a nd

t hose

A erial

l andscape f eatures h ave b een o f

p ossible

p hotography

o f t he s ites b ut t he p roblem

d epth

i n t hat

t he

d ating

p rovides

a ge d etail

d ate

l ocated w ill

o f t he

b e

f orm

w ith t he t echnique i s o ne o f

o f s ites

e stablished w ithout f ield s urvey o r e xcavation .

i ron

w ill

n ever

b e c onclusively

A f urther p roblem w ith t he

i nterpretation o f a erial p hotographic e vidence i s t hat t he d istribution maps

1 23

F ig . 91

t hat

c an

a lone

a re

T he n ature o f t he e v idence f or i ron a ge s ettlement ,

b e

p roduced

s ubject

t o

f rom

t he

s erious

d ata

r ecovered

d istortion

a s

f rom

t his

a r esult

s urvey

t echnique

o f v ariations

i n

s oil

t ype , v egetation c over a nd moisture c ontent . E arthwork

s urvey

i s u seful

f or s ites t hat s urvive

i n r elief .

A n umber

o f h illforts a nd p arts o f a m ajor t erritorial d yke s ystem i n t he w est o f t he c ounty a re s till i n e arthwork f orm a nd s urvey w ork h as p rovided s ome u nderstanding o f t hese s tructures . F ield

s urvey

i nvolves

t he

s tudy

o f

s ites

t hat

a re

u nder

a rable

c ultivation . D ating material c an o ften b e f ound i n p loughed t op-soil a bove i ron a ge s ites t hat a re s ubject t o p resent-day p loughing ( Fig . 9 :3) a nd t his

1 24

T able 9 :1

T he c hronology o f e xcavations o n i ron a ge s ites ,

t echnique

p rovides

u seful

e vidence

f or

t he

c hronology ,

d istribution

a nd

e xtent o f t hese o therwise h idden s ites w ith o nly a l imited o utlay o f e ffort . A r ange o f c rop-mark s ites i n t he s outh o f t he c ounty h ave p roduced s urface s catters o f p ottery d uring i nvestigations u ndertaken o ver t he p ast t hree y ears

( Hingley 1 986b).

F inally , d istribution

c hance o f

f inds

a re

p articularly

i ron a ge c oinage

i mportant

f or

t he

s tudy

o f

t he

w hile o ther a rtefactual e vidence f rom t he

p eriod i s r arely f ound a way f rom t he main a rea o f s ettlement o r o ccupation .

1 25

R EGIONAL A NALYSIS I n t his s ettlement

s tudy , a n a ttempt w ill b e made t o c onsider t he s ignificance o f e vidence

r egional a nd

F ig . 9 :2

a nd

i n

c hronological

o rder

t o

d o

f ramework .

S ites m entioned i n t he t ext ,

1 26

t his T o

i t

i s

n ecessary

t o

a dopt

t his e nd , f our r egions c an b e

a

d efined a nd t he d ate f or i ron a ge s ettlement e vidence c an b e s tudied w ithin t hese a reas

( Fig . 9 :4) .

D ense P o t S ca t te r S ing le P o t S he rd •

F ig . 9 :3

0

Que rn

1 00

3 00m

T he r e lationsh ip o f c ropmark e n closures t o s urface m aterial .

I n t he A von V alley t here a re e xtensive g ravel t erraces w hich a re f airly f ertile a nd w ell-drained , a nd w hich w ere e vidently f avoured f or s ettlement t hroughout l ater p rehistory ( Webster a nd H obley 1 964 ; S later 1 981). S ites d ating f rom t he t hird m illennium B C a re k nown i n s ome n umbers p artly a s a c onsequence o f t he f act t hat t he g ravels a re s usceptible t o a erial p hotography . I t d oes a ppear , h owever , t hat i ron a ge s ettlement w as r elatively d ense i n t his a rea a nd e xcavations h ave b een c onducted o n a n umber o f s ites i n t hreats ( Fig . 9 :1). T he

D unsmore

a dvance

H eath

r egion

o f

i s

g ravel

a lso

e xtraction

o ne

w hich

i s

o r

o ther

d evelopment

t ypified b y

l ight a nd

w ell-drained s oils w hich s eem t o h ave b een t oo p oor o ver m uch o f t his a rea t o s upport d ense m edieval s ettlement d espite c ommon a nd f requent i ron a ge a nd R oman s ettlement . A f ew s mall-scale e xcavations h ave b een m ounted i n t his a rea ( Fig . 9 :1) .

1 27

40

R EG IONS 8 0

DUNSMORE

7 0

. 6 0

5 0

\P 7

40

L and a bo ve 9 1m ( 300 f 1 )

L and a bove 1 68m ( 550 f t )

5

2 0km

5

1 5m

e l F ig . 9 :4

s o !

R eg ions o f s outh a nd c entral W arwickshire ,

T he F eldon r egion was

e xtremely d ensely s ettled i n t he medieval p eriod

a nd h as o ne o f t he h ighest c oncentrations o f d eserted medieval s ettlements i n

t he

c ountry

( Hooke

1 985).

T he

s oils

i n

t his

r egion

a re

m ainly

h eavy

c lays t hough t here a re a lso l ighter s oils i n t he s tream v alleys a nd o n E dge H ill a nd t he n orthern C otswold e scarpment . s ites

a ppeared

t o

b e

s carce

b ut

a n umber

U ntil f airly r ecently , o f

h illforts

a re

i ron a ge

k nown

a nd

t he

m ajor s ites a t N eon H ill a nd N adbury h ave b een t ested b y e xcavation a lthough t he i nformation r ecovered f rom t hese e xcavations w as l imited . F urthermore , w hich ,

a erial

p hotography

h as

d iscovered

a n umber

o f

e nclosed

s ites

o n t he b asis o f morphology , w ould a ppear t o b e o f i ron a ge d ate a nd

a f ield

s urvey

p roject

i n

t he

S tour

d ebris f rom a n umber o f t hese s ites

V alley

h as

p roduced

( Fig . 9 :1 & 9 :4)

i ron

a ge

c ultural

( Hingley 1 986b).

T he f inal r egion i s A rden , a n a rea w hich a ppears t o h ave b een s parsely s ettled i n t he e arly m edieval p eriod a nd w here h eath a nd woodland w ere

1 28

F ig . 9 -5 P o ttery a n d c u rren cy b a r , 1- M eon H i ll , 1 6 10 - W a sperton , 2 1 -22 - T i dd ington ,

1 29

2-B a rford ,

3 15 - W h itchurch

c ommon t hat

( Slater

t his

1 981,

1 5 ;

H ooke

1 985).

a rea was a lso s parsely

T raditionally

s ettled

i t

h as

i n p rehistory

b een

s upposed

b ut a lthough

k nown

s ites a re r are i n t his r egion i t i s most l ikely a r esult o f l ack o f r esearch a nd r ecent d iscoveries may f orce a r eassessment o f t he i ron a ge o f A rden . C HRONOLOGY A ND MATERIAL C ULTURE T he l imited

e vidence a nd

f or

c onsists

t he

c hronology

p rimarily

o f

o f

i ron

a rtefactual

a ge

W arwickshire

material

f rom

i s

v ery

s tratified

a nd

u nstratified c ontexts . V ery f ew d ates h ave b een g ained u sing i ndependent a bsolute d ating t echniques s uch a s r adiocarbon o r t hermoluminescence . 2

A s

i n

a ny

o ther

p art

o f

t he

c ountry ,

t he

p rimary

e vidence

f or

t he

c hronology o f t he i ron a ge i s p rovided b y p ottery . A small g roup o f s ites h ave b een e xcavated a nd a l arger n umber f ield w alked e ach p roducing i ron a ge p ottery o f e arly , m iddle a nd s ites

i n

t he

F eldon

a rea

l ate

h ave

i ron a ge d ate

p rocuced

p ottery

( Fig . 9 :5).

b roadly

A n umber

c omparable

o f

w ith

e arly i ron a ge material f rom t he G loucestershire C otswolds , N ene V alley a nd U pper

T hames

V alley

a nd

m iddle

i ron

a ge

m aterial

h as

a lso

b een

f ound

i n

t he r egion . I n

t he

A von

V alley

a nd

D unsmore

f ew

s ites

h ave

b een

e xcavated

o n

a

l arge s cale a nd t he p ottery a ssemblages r ecovered a re mostly o f m iddle i ron a ge

d ate .

I t would ,

h owever ,

a ppear

t hat

s ome s ites

i n t he f inal p hases o f t he b ronze a ge a nd e arlier M Iddle i ron m aterial o f

b owls

w ork

s uperficial

l east w ere

o ccupied

( eg . Wasperton).

a ge p ottery f rom t he A von V alley i s b roadly c omparable t o a s imilar d ate f rom N orthamptonshire a nd O xfordshire w ith

r ound-bodied f ield

a t

i ron a ge

o n

p redominating .

t hree

s ites

e xamination

t o

t o

b e

L imited t he

q uantities

w est

s imilar

t o

o f

t he

p ottery

o f

r egion

f rom

p ottery a ppears

e xcavated

f rom a fter

s ites

i n

W orcestershire . I n

r egional

t erms

F eldon

i s

a rea

a

v ery

a nd

t hose

c lear o f

d istinction

t he A von

b etween

V alley a nd

t he

o f

( Fig .

I n F eldon , t he m ajority o f t he p ots c ontained s hell f illers a nd

9 :6).

t he

t here

a ssemblages

D unsmore

b oth t hese f abrics a nd t he f orms o f t he p ots make t hem c omparable t o e arly i ron

a ge

p ottery

f rom

.t he

U pper

T hames

V alley

C otswolds . T here i s a lso s ome e vidence - a lbeit s uch f abrics c ontinued t o b e u sed i n t he F eldon

a nd

t he

G loucestershire

l imited - t o s uggest a rea i nto t he m iddle

t hat i ron

a ge . I n v ariety

c ontrast , o f

S hell-filled t he t his

q uartz

t he

f abrics f abrics f abrics

p attern

i s

d ifferences i n c hronology o r

p ottery

o ne

o f

f rom

t he

D unsmore

most

c ommon

a re

a lmost

t otally

s eem

a bsent

f rom

v ery

c learly

i t

f rom

F eldon i s

t he

A von

c ontaining

a bsent

t he

d efined ,

a nd

t he

a rea

s till

V alley

q uartz A von

( Fig .

i s

i n

a

i nclusions . V alley

9 :6).

u ncertain

while

A lthough

whether

t he

f abrics u sed i n d istinct a reas i mply a d ifference i n c ulture , s ource material . T wo a lternative , e asily a vailable f illers

c ould h ave b een u sed f or t he s ame p urposes i n t wo d istinct a reas .

I t a lso

a ppears ,

d iffers

b etween

h owever , t he

t hat

t he

t wo r egions a nd

b asic i t

i s

r ange

o f

c eramic

f orms

t herefore p ossible t hat t he d istinctions

o f f abric a nd f orms c ould b e c ultural

( Hingley i n p rep).

L ate i ron a ge w heel-made o r ' Belgic ' p ottery h as W asperton , T iddington a nd W appenbury ( Fig . 9 :7) b ut i t i s w hether

t hese c eramic

f orms

R oman p hases o f o ccupation

a lso

a re f rom

t rue

i ron a ge c ontexts o r

( P . B ooth , p ers c omm).

1 30

b een f ound u ncertain a s f rom

a t t o

e arly

T r ig . 9 :6

D istribution o f i ron a ge p ottery i n W arwickshire

I n t he A rden a rea t here h ave b een n o e xcavations a nd s ites h ave y et t o b e

l ocated

t hrough

i nformation

o n

a erial

t he

p hotography

c hronology

a nd

a nd

n ature

o f

f ieldwork .

I n

c onsequence ,

s ettlement

i s

a lmost

n on-

e xistant . O ther e xception

d atable o f

t ypes

c oins

g enerally

c onsidered

f ound

a t

t he

o ther

s etlements

a nd

t o b e

h illforts i n

o f

f inds

c urrency o f

m iddle N eon

t he c ounty .

a re

b ars i ron

H ill A n

s carce ( Fig .

A ge

a nd

i n

9 :7). i n

d ate

N adbury

e xample

f rom

t he

c ounty

w ith

t he

T he

l atter ,

which

a re

( Allen b ut

t he

a re

1 967) n ot

h ave

b een

k nown

f rom

l arge h oard

f ound a t

N eon H ill i n t he n ineteenth c entury i s i llustrated i n F ig . 9 :5 . W arwickshire a rea

i s

s ituated

o n

t he

p eriphery

o f

t he

i ron

a ge

c oin-using

( Cunliffe 1 981) b ut a n umber o f c oins o f t he D obunni a nd C oritani h ave

1 31

F ig . 9 :7

b een

D istribution o f i ron a ge c o ins a nd c urrency b ars i n W arwicksh ire ,

f ound w ith

A lcester

a nd

p articularly i s

p ossible

c oncentrations

T iddington .

o f d istribution a t t he R oman s ettlements

C oins

o f

t he

D obunni

i n t he s outh e ast o f t he c ounty t hat

t his

w as

D obunnic

a re

( Cunliffe

t erritory .

T he

t he

1 981 ,

most

o f

c ommon a nd

i t

o ccurrence o f c oins

f ig .20)

o f

t he C oritani m ight s uggest t hat t he t ribal b oundary b etween t he D obunni a nd C oritani

l ay

s omewhere

i n

c entral

o r

e astern

W arwickshire .

T he

i ron

a ge

c oins f rom e xcavated s ites t end t o b e f ound i n t he e arly R oman l evels w hich m ust i ndicate t hat t hey c ontinued t o b e u sed a fter t he C laudian i nvasion o f A D 4 3 . S ETTLEMENT E VIDENCE

( Fig . 9 :8)

O ne o f t he main a nd r ecurring e lements w ithin e xcavated s ettlements t he i ron a ge i n t he A von V alley a nd t he D unsmore a rea i s t he r ound h ouse A n umber

o f

t hese

s tructures

o f

t he

e arly ,

m iddle

a nd

l ate

i ron

a ge

b een e xcavated a t W asperton , R yton-on-Dunsmnre , T iddington , B arford a nd

1 32

o f 3

.

h ave

F ig . 9 : 1 8

D istribution o f i ron a ge s ettlements i n W arwickshire ,

S tretton-on-Fosse , p enannular

g ully

wa nd

s ome

p resumably

h ouse .

A lternatively

s upport

t he u prights

s ome

o f

t hese

p roviding

o f

t hese

w ere

g ullies

o f t he main w alls

s urrounded

d rainage may

f or h ave

t he

b y a rea

b een

a

d itched

a round

t he

r ing-grooves

t o

o f t he h ouses while o thers s eem

t o

h ave b een o f i ndividual p osthole c onstruction

l ike t hose f ound c lose t o t he

c ursus

1 982 ,

t erminal

a nd/or

a t

B arford

r ing-groove

h ouses

i n

1 972-3 a re

( Hunt

most

1 2).

c ommonly

D rainage

l ocated

f rom

g ullies a erial

p hotographs . T he

t imber

a nd

f amily u nit t hough b e

d wellings .

w hether o ther

t hese

r ound

e nclosures

I t

d aub

r ound

i s

a t

p resent

s ingle r ound h uts

h ouse

p robably

f ormed

t he

h ome

o f

a small

i t w ould b e u nwise t o c onsider a ll c ircular b uildings t o

w hile

h uts

o thers

u nclear

w ere

f rom

g rouped

c ertainly

( see b elow).

1 33

t he

i nto

o ccur

Warwickshire

e vidence

m ultiple c ompounds

s ingly

w ithin

w ith

s ettlement

F ig . 9 :9

I r on a ge s ett lement e n closures f r om W arw icksh ire ,

1 34

E XCAVATED L ATER P REH ISTOR IC E NCLOSURES

B a r fo rd

R y ton Wood ,R y ton o nD unsmo re

B ou r ton G rounds ,B ou r ton a nd D rayco te

Waspe r ton ( l a te I r on A ge )

Waspe r ton ( l a te I r on A ge )

Waspe r ton ( I ron A ge )

0

1 0 3

0

F ig . 9 :10

1 00 kW . -1m 1J1

E x cavated s ett lement e n closures ,

1 35

1• 1

-

_ 4 00 f t

T he most d istinctive e lement o f i ron a ge s ettlement k nown f rom t he A von V alley , D unsmore a nd F eldon a reas i s t he s ettlement e nclosure w hich i s f ound i n a f orm i n

t he

i ron

W arwickshire s haped

b ut

( Cunliffe

a f ew t he

( Fig . 9 :9). i t w ould a ge f orm

t ypical o ver m uch

a ge

o f

most

a ppear t hat ( Fig . 9 :9).

i ndicates

H unt

e xamples

a re

1 1-15 ;

r oughly

a re

K night

c ircular ,

r ectangular

o r

1 984).

o val

I n

o r

' D '

s ub-rectangular

o f e nclosures h ave p roduced d ating e vidence a nd

t he s ettlement

o f a bout 7 0

t hat

1 982 ,

e nclosures

c ommon

A ccurate p lotting d ate

t hese

A s mall n umber

o f t he M idlands a nd t he n orth o f B ritain

1 978 ;

t hey

v ary

e nclosure

i s

a f airly d istinctive

c ropmark e nclosures o f p robable f rom

l ess

t han

0 .0001

t o

i ron

I ron A ge

0 .67

h ectares

i nternally ( table 2 ). N ormally e nclosures w ith a n i nternal a rea o f 0 .002 h ectares o r more c ontain r ound h ouses a nd t herefore p robably r epresent s ettlement

e nclosures .

T able

2 d emonstrates

t hat

t he

s ize d istribution

o f

e nclosures v aries b etween t he F eldon , A von V alley a nd D unsmore r egions a lthough t he s ignificance o f t his o bservation i s u ncertain . E xcavation o r p artial

e xcavation

B randon 9 :10)

h as

G rounds ,

a nd

b een

R ollright

u ndertaken S tones ,

i n a ddition a n umber

a t

s ites

o f

t his

R yton-on-Dunsmore

t ype

a nd

a t

B arford ,

W asperton

( Fig .

o f s imilar s ites h ave b een f ield-walked a nd

h ave p roduced s catters o f p ottery w hich s uggest i nternal s ettlement o f i ron a ge d ate . T he

e nclosure

o ccupation a rea .

A t

d itch

a nd s ome

p resumably k eep

s ites

a cted

l ivestock

( eg

t o

e ither

B randon

t he

d efine

t he

o utside

G round ,

i s n arrow a nd s hallow ; e lsewhere

a nd R ollright) i n

t o

o r

d omestic

w ithin

R yton-on-Dunsmore)

a rea

o f

e nclosures

o f

s ettlement

t he e nclosure

( eg t he l arge e nclosure a t W asperton

t he e nclosure d itch i s o f a d efensible n ature .

i nternal

a rea

t he

i s

o f

u ncertain

T he v ariation

s ignificance ,

b ut

i t

i s

p ossible t hat i t m ay b e r elated t o t he r espective s izes o f t he f amily g roups o r c ommunities r esident o n t he s ettlement ( Hingley 1 984 , 8 2). I f t his

i s

t he c ase ,

t hen

l arger e nclosures c ommunities i n t he

l arger

g roups

t hose o f t he A von V alley a nd F eldon . t o

i ndicate

v alid

o f r ound h uts

s hould o ccur w ithin t he

t han w ithin t he smaller o nes D unsmore r egion w ere p resumably

whether

t he

a ttempt

t o

a nd t herefore t he l arger i n s ize t han

I t w ill , h owever , t ake f urther r esarch l ink

p opulation

t o

e nclosure

s ize

i s

( see b elow).

O ccasionally

a

s imple

r ectangular

e nclosure

P ark

B randon

F arm ,

s ettlement

a ppears G rounds ,

t o

b e

o f

r ound

i ndicated

Whitchurch ,

h uts

b y

a nd

w ithin

e xisting

R ollright).

a

s ingle

e vidence O n

( eg

o ther

a t

s ites ,

h owever , t he s ituation i s c onsiderably more c omplex a nd a t t he e xtensively e xcavated s ite o f W asperton , a nd a lso o n a n umber o f o ther s ites k nown f rom a erial p hotography , m ultiple r ectangular e nclosures a re e ncountered ( Fig . 9 :11). I n s ome o f t hese e xtensive s ites t he s ituation may r esult f rom a m ultiplication o f t he b asic u nit w ith t wo o r more s imple e nclosed s ettlements

o ccurring

o ccupations

4

.

A t

s ide

o ther

b y

s ide ,

s ites ,

e ither

h owever ,

a s

t he

c ontemporary p icture

i s

o r

n ot

s uccessive t his

e asily

r esolved . T he u nenclosed r ound h ouse i s a f airly c ommon o ccurrence i n t he B ritish i ron

a ge

s ettlement

c haracterise V alley

a nd

t he i t

h as

p opulation

e xpansion

H aselgrove

a nd

i nside

e nclosure

t he

r ecord .

g ravel b een

A llon

a nd

o f

many

s uggested d ense ,

1 982). a nd

S o-called

s oils

i t

A t i s

t hat

s table

' open '

r egions t his

c ould

s ettlement

W asperton , p ossible

s ettlements

s uch

h uts

t hat

t he

b e

a c onsequence

s ite

m ay

a s

h ave

t o

T hames

1 984,

o utside

s imple s ingle s ettlements - p erhaps i n t he l ater B ronze A ge -

1 36

U pper

( Hingley ,

o ccur

t his

a ppear

a s

o f

1 988 ;

w ell

a s

b egun

a s

a nd h ave

1 0

• -00 00 00 • 00 • • •• ••• 000 0000 000000 0 0000000 000 00000 5

A LL • 00 00 0000

00 00

00

00

•

•

1 0-

DUNSMORE

5-

••

0

••

000

•

•

••

•

•

•

1 0 -

•

A VON V ALLEY

5-•

•

0

00 00 •• 00000000

•

00 ••• • 0000 0

00 000

••

1 0-

F ELDON

5-

•

••• I

•

•

•O

• 2

• A rea i nh ec ta res :

T able 9 :2

0

A reas o f s ett lement e n closures ,

1 37

• 7

L ANDSCAPE P ATTERNS

•

•

• •

at

/

• e l

• a

( •

S ETTLEMENT P IT

E NCLOSURE

AL IGNMENT 0

L INEAR

F ig . 9 :11

5 00

F EATURE

C omp le- s ites i n t h e ir s u rrounding l a nds capes ,

1 38

1 500 m

COMPLEX S ITES

_

// 0

F ig . 9 :12

P l ans o f c o mp lex s i tes ,

1 39

1 500 m

5 00 _

---

----

g rown

i n

s ize

a nd

c omplexity

u ntil

t he

o riginal

f orm

o f

t he

s ettlement

b ecomes d ifficult t o r ecognise . A n umber

o f e xtensive a nd c omplex i ron a ge s ites a re k nown i n a ddition

t o W asperton .

F or e xample a t B arford s everal s mall e nclosures a re p art o f

a l arger

s pread

o f p its ,

p ostholes a nd g ullies w hich a re s ituated w ithin a

l arge e nclosed a rea f ormed b y t he A von , a t ributary s tream a nd a l arge d ouble p it a lignment . A n umber o f o ther c omplex s ites o f t he p eriod a re i llustrated i n F ig . 9 :12, w hile F ig . 9 :13 s hows t he d istribution o f s imple s ettlements ( single s ettlement e nclosures) a s a gainst c omplex s ettlements ( multiple e vident t he

s ettlement

f rom

F eldon

t he

a rea

e nclosures

i llustrations a nd

t he

A von

r egion . T he e xplanation i nvestigation ( see b elow).

F ig . 9 :13

a nd t hat

o pen t he

V alley

f or

t his

o r

b ut

s ites

r elatively

d istribution

D istribution o f s imple a nd c omplex s ites ,

1 40

u nenclosed

c omplex

a re

s ites). more

I t

c ommon

r are

i n

w ill

r equire

t he

i s i n

D unsmore f urther

F ig . 9 :14

H i llfort p lans ,

1 41

-

•S e t t lemen t e nc losu re

co

-c o

-

C D