Neolithic Settlement of the Thames Basin 9780860545637, 9781407318141

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Neolithic Settlement of the Thames Basin

Robin Holgate

BAR British Series 194 1988

B.A.R.

5, Centremead, Osney Mead, Oxford OX2 ODQ, England.

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

BAR 194, 1988: 'Neolithic Settlement of the Thames Basin' © Robin Holgate , 1988 The author’s 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 9780860545637 paperback ISBN 9781407318141 e-book DOI https://doi.org/10.30861/9780860545637 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library This book is available at www.barpublishing.com

C ontents A cknowledgements

i i

N ote o n t he u se o f r adiocarbon d ates L ist o f f igures

v i

L ist o f m aps

i x

L ist o f t ables

P ART I :

x ii

B ACKGROUND A ND M ETHODOLOGY

C hapter 1 .

I ntroduction

C hapter 2 .

B ackground

1 t o

t he e nquiry:

t he

c hronological

3

f ramework C hapter 3 .

P hysical b ackground a nd e nvironment o f t he T hames

1 5

b asin C hapter 4 .

L andscape

c hange a nd t he c haracter o f

n eolithic

2 8

d omestic s ites C hapter 5 .

P ART I I:

THE E VIDENCE F OR S ETTLEMENT A ND E CONOMY

C hapter 6 .

S ettlement o f t he T hames b asin,

C hapter 7 .

P ART I II: C hapter

3 5

T he s tudy o f f lint a ssemblages

S ubsistence,

r esource

T hames b asin,

5 000 - 2 000 b .c.

u se

5 000 - 2 000 b .c.

a nd e conomy

o f

7 1

t he

1 20

R econstructing s ettlement p atterns a nd e conomy o f

1 29

D ISCUSSION 8 .

t he T hames b asin,

5 000 - 2 000 b .c.

C hapter 9 .

C omparative p erspectives: s ettlement p atterns i n a djacent c ontinental E urope, 5 000 - 2 000 b .c.

1 37

C hapter 1 0.

S ummary a nd C onclusions

1 50

B ibliography

1 58

M aps a nd G azetteer

2 00

( i)

A cknowledgements T his s tudy i s a n a mended v ersion o f m y D .Phil. t o

t he

U niversity o f O xford i n 1 987.

t hesis,

s ubmitted

T he r esearch w as c arried

o ut

w hilst i n r eceipt o f a D epartment o f E ducation a nd S cience M ajor S tate S tudentship.

I

s upervisor,

w ould

D r.

p articularly

A ndrew S herratt,

l ike

t o

t hank

m y

t hroughout t he p roduction o f t he t hesis a nd m y e xaminers, B arfield a nd M r.

D ennis B ritton,

r esearch

f or h is h elp a nd c onstant s upport D r.

L awrence

f or t heir c omments.

I a m a lso i ndebted t o t he m any p eople w ho h ave s hown m e f lintwork i n t heir c are o r p rovided i nformation o n c ertain s ites; f ollows:

t hey a re a s

M useum C urators: A bingdon M useum : P itts; P ike;

N .

S tebbing;

A lexander K eiller M useum, A vebury :

B uckinghamshire C ounty M useum, B anbury

M useum :

J .

V ale;

W illis

( Hampshire C ounty M useum S ervice), M useum a nd A rt G allery: S .

F eather;

J .

U niversity

C ambridge:

M .

P eirson J ones; o f

E ast

C helmsford

L arkin;

C orinium

B aker;

S ociety M useum,

P .

D evizes: G rays:

H arlow M useum :

R .

P . R .

S ealey;

B ingley;

M useum :

A .

G .

G allery,

I lkley:

S .

K erry;

o f S ussex A rchaeology,

D avison;

D avies;

M useum :

J .

D r.

A .

J .

A shmolean

M useum,

O xford:

I nskeep;

R .

F .

M useum :

C . L .

S .

F arnham M useum : M .

W atkins;

T he

F ield a nd G .

M acDonald; N .

W .

O xford :

A .

P rag; D r.

M ercer;

T hurrock L ocal J .

A rthur;

A .

J ewell; a nd

H inton;

B urleigh;

M useum

L ondon:

L ondon:

P .

K elly;

U niversity M useum,

O xford:

H .

J .

S .

M anchester

N ewbury D istrict M useum : S herratt;

G .

P hilo;

L uton M useum a nd A rt G allery:

A .

A rt

M .

B ritish M useum,

D .

P .

H istory

M anor H ouse M useum

M arsden;

P .

C lews;

D artford B orough M useum :

M useum a nd A rt G allery:

S aunders; W alrond;

a nd

G uildford M useum :

P .

L . B oyd;

C hertsey M useum :

V iner

G unnersbury P ark M useum,

M useum a nd A rt G allery: C . L . M oad; S affron W alden M useum : A lbans:

J ones a nd P .

K ingston-upon-Thames M useum :

L ewes:

D unlop;

M aidstone

A nthropology, C aterham :

H aslemere E ducational M useum :

L etchworth M useum a nd A rt G allery:

M useum o f L ondon:

a nd

D .

D .

R obinson;

B artlett;

H ertford

V arndell a nd D .

G allery

B irmingham

W iltshire A rchaeological a nd N atural

G loucester C ity M useum a nd A rt G allery: H istory M useum,

A rt

A llen;

M useum,

S aville;

C irencester:

C olchester a nd E ssex M useum : B oreham a nd C .

A .

M .

F arley a nd A .

B radford I ndustrial M useum :

a nd E ssex M useum :

M useum,

D .

A rchaeology S urrey

C heltenham A rt G allery a nd M useums:

M .

M useum a nd

B asingstoke:

M useum

C ra 'ster;

K etteringham ;

A ylesbury:

A .

H iggott;

P itt-Rivers

M useum,

P .

P owell;

R eading

C ram ; G uildhall M useum, R ochester: M . S . J ordain; V erulamium M useum, S t.

S tevenage M useum :

E .

P assmore E dwards M useum,

S t.

H ill D avies;

S tratford:

P .

S troud

W ilkinson;

S windon M useum a nd A rt G allery: S . J . W oodward; M unicipal M useum, T unbridge W ells: J . Vale; W atford M useum : H . P oole a nd D . S etford; W eybridge M useum : A . L ansdell; W indsor R oyal B orough C ollection: H unter; a nd O xfordshire C ounty M useum, W oodstock: J . R hodes. C ounty S .M.R. B edfordshire: E ssex: D . H ornbrook;

J .

O fficers: S .

C oleman;

B uckley; S urrey: D r.

B uckinghamshire:

M .

F arley a nd A .

P ike;

H ertfordshire: M . D aniels; O xfordshire: D . B ird; a nd W iltshire: R . C anham.

I

P rivate I ndividuals: R .

A inslie

C .

B arker

( Cumnor,

O xon.);

( Avebury a rea,

A .

C hambers ( Dorchester, O xon.); ( Waulud's B ank, B eds.); J . ( North S toke a rea, F arm,

B erks.);

O xon. F .

H enderson

J . G .

R .

( Dorney,

O xon.);

E .

V .

D r.

R .

( Rickmansworth J ones ( Mucking,

B ucks./Herts.);

M .

J . S .

G affney

B erks.);

H alpin

E ssex);

H ingley

R .

D yer F ord

( Maddle

C .

H ealey ( Mucking,

O xon.);

O xon.);

B ucks.);

L ondon); W ilts.);

B erks.);

F room ( Kennet V alley,

( Abingdon a rea,

V alley,

( Windrush V alley,

C arstairs

C otton ( West E vans ( Avebury,

a rea, O xon.); D r. R . J acobi m esolithic s ites i n g eneral); M . ( Colne

B roome P .

a nd T heale,

( Barrow H ills a nd B lewbury, a nd E .

J .

W ilts.);

R .

( Frilford

a rea, H erts. a nd E ssex); P . J ones

K eith-Lucas

( Kennet

V alley,

B erks.); G . L ambrick ( Mount F arm, G ravelly G uy a nd U pper T hames f loodplain s ites, O xon.); S . L obb ( Kennet V alley, B erks.); D . M iles ( Barton C ourt F arm, ( Runnymeade, ( Bagendon a rea, S mith

O xon.

B erks.);

a nd C laydon P ike, C .

G los.);

( Bagendon

W .

a rea,

B erks./Bucks.); ( Sussex W eald);

M . M .

O rton

D r.

L ondon);

D .

S tart

S tone ( Swindon a rea, T ingle ( Maddle F arm,

S .

W .

S kellington ( Abingdon a rea,

G los.);

( Waulud is B ank, B eds.); S . D . W eng ( Maidenhead a rea, B erks.). O f

G los.);

( Greater

N eedham S aunders

O xon.);

( Henley-on-Thames W ilts.); B erks.);

C . I .

T row ( Bagendon a rea,

F . J .

O xon.);

S .

a rea, T ebbutt T horpe a nd

t he m any p eople w ith w hom I h ave h ad f ruitful d iscussions,

R .

I

w ould p articularly l ike t o t hank t he f ollowing : B ritain: D r.

N .

B arton; H ingley;

P rof.

D r.

R .

M r.

D r. D r.

I . K innes; D r. N . J . S tarling;

J .

R .

B radley;

H odgson;

R . M ortimore; D r. G . W ait;

M r. D r.

J .

H .

J .

M .

C ase;

M r.

B .

C ranstone;

H owell;

D r.

R .

M .

M r. M . W . a nd D r. A .

P itts; D r. W hittle.

M .

J acobi;

R obinson;

F rance: A .

C hancerel a nd G . V erron.

T he N etherlands: D r.

J .

A .

B akker;

H .

F okkums;

M .

d e G rooth;

a nd P rof.

L .

P .

L ouwe

K ooijmans. W est G ermany: I .

C lausen;

D r.

J .

H oika;

a nd W .-D.

S teinmetz.

D enmark: N .

A ndersen;

H .

J uel J ensen;

T .

M adsen;

J .

S kaarup;

a nd D r.

H .

T hrane. I w ould a lso l ike t o t hank t hose p eople w ho h elped m e w ith s urvey w ork i n t he A vebury a nd A bingdon a reas:

J .

T homas;

R .

A inslie;

C .

H alpin;

J .

A rchaeological

W allis;

a nd n umerous m embers o f t he O xford

U niversity

S ociety a nd t he A bingdon A rchaeological a nd H istorical

S ociety. F inally, t ext,

I

w ould l ike t o t hank C hris C rickmore f or

t yping

t he

a nd m y p arents a nd V ivienne f or t heir u nfailing e ncouragement.

( iv)

N ote o n t he u se o f r adiocarbon d ates I t

h as

r ecently

b een s uggested t hat r adiocarbon

s hould b e e xpressed u sing t he n otation B .P., B .P.

a nd C al.

a ges

r espectively,

B .P.

s tudy

f ollowing t he l ate f or

( C-14)

B .P.,

B .C.

B .C.

a nd

A .D.

r efer

( Switsur 1 986,

t o

2 16).

h istorical

t he c onventions c ommonly u sed b y B ritish 1 970s a nd 1 980s

t his.

F irst, t hat

( e.g.

t he

R enfrew 1 974).

B ritish

y ears

p rehistorians

1 980-84

L aboratory ( numbers

b y

c alibration

l aboratories

b efore

t he

m id

1 980s

o f t hese d ates u sing t he n ewly a vailable

a nd

s econdly,

t here

a re

f ew s ites d iscussed f or w hich

s equence o f C -14 d ates h as b een p roduced ( cf. s ee C hapter 2 ). l argely

t he

h igh

c alibration c urves ( Pearson 1 987) h ave b een c arried c onsidered u nwise t o c alibrate t he d ates r eferred t o i n A nd

n ow e rror d ates

p roper

p recision

o ut, t his a

i t i s s tudy. r eliable

K innes a nd T horpe 1 986;

T he c hronological f ramework u sed t hroughout i s

b ased o n t he s equence o f n eolithic p ottery s tyles

1 974; s ee C hapter 2 ), t o C -14 d ates.

i n

b etween

a bout B M-1700 a nd B M-2315) a re i ncorrect, d ue t o a t echnical ( Tite e t a l. 1 987). U ntil a c ritical r eappraisal o f a ll C -14 p roduced

i n

b .c.,

T here a re t wo r easons

M useum R adiocarbon

C -14 d ates p roduced i n

o r

N evertheless,

a ll C -14 d ates a re e xpressed i n r adiocarbon

a cknowledges

d ates

a nd A .D.:

r epresent c onventional a nd c alibrated r adiocarbon w hile

c orrectly c alibrated C -14 d ates t his

C al.

( cf.

t hus S mith

o bviating t he n eed t o m ake f requent r eference

( v)

L ist o f F igures 2 .1

5 th

a nd

f rom

4 th

b asin

p lotted

a t

o ne

B ,

A , 2 ,

d ates

t he

T hames

d eviation.

( For

' plain

b owl'

p ottery:

H embury s tyle v essel;

D ecorated

' plain b owl'

5 ,

A bingdon s tyle v essel;

5

3 ,

9

p ottery;

W indmill H ill

s tyle

6 , Mildenhall s tyle v essel. C , P eterborough 7 , Ebbsfleet b owl; 8 , Mortlake b owl; 9 ,

v essel; W are;

F engate j ar. 2 .3

s tandard

u ndecorated v essel;

c arinated v essel.

4 ,

C -14

s ee T able 2 .1).

N eolithic p ottery s tyles. 1 ,

b .c.

a nd n eolithic s ites i n

f urther d etails, 2 .2

m illennia

m esolithic

D ,

G rooved W are v essel.

N eolithic a xes.

1 a nd 2 ,

t hick-butted g round a xes;

1 1

3 , ' Scandinavian' a xe. 2 .4

N eolithic a xes. a xe;

2 ,

1 ,

t hin-butted,

f laked

a nd g round

3 , thin-butted, edge-ground chisel;

s ides;

1 2

e longated t rapeze-shaped a xe w ith f acetted

4 , thin-

b utted c oncave-sided a xe. 3 .1

T he

a pproximate

T hames

p osition o f t he c oastline

e stuary:

A ,

a t

t he e nd o f t he

i n

t he

T hames

1 7

I I

t ransgression ( c. 3 500 b .c.); B , a t t he s tart o f t he T hames I II t ransgression ( c. 2 000 b .c.). After D evoy 1 980, 4 .1

1 36-7.

T he n ature a nd e ffect o f p ost- d epositional p rocesses

3 0

a cting o n t he l andscape: A , t he s ituation i n t he n eolithic p eriod; B , t he s ituation i n t he m id-20th c entury

b efore

a rchaeological

p loughing; r emains

C ,

b y

t he

d eep

t runcation

p loughing.

o f

A fter

T hrane 1 981. 5 .1

L ater

3 , 5 ,

m esolithic f lintwork:

1 -2,

b ladelet c ores;

t ranchet a xe-sharpening f lake; m icroburin; 7 -18, n arrow b lade

m icroliths. E arlier n eolithic d ebitage: 1 9-20, c ores; 2 1-22, c ore r ejuvenation f lakes. n eolithic d ebitage: 5 .2

N eolithic n otched

f lint

2 3-27,

6 -7

m icrodenticulates;

8 ,

1 1-12,

s crapers; o vate;

k nives;

1 3,

f abricator;

1 5,

g round-edged k nife;

a rrowhead;

1 7,

l ozenge-shaped a rrowhead;

o blique a rrowhead;

5 .3

1 -4,

p iercers;

a rrowhead;

T he

r ange

o f

1 9, 2 1,

b lade L ater

f lake c ores.

i mplements:

f lake;

t ranchet

3 9

4 ,

c ore t ablet; b urin; 6 ,

c hisel

1 6,

r od;

5 , 1 4,

l eaf-shaped 1 8,

p etit

a rrowhead;

2 0,

b arbed a nd t anged a rrowhead.

i mplements

i n

e arlier

a nd

n eolithic f lint a ssemblages i n s outhern B ritain.

l ater T he

y -axis r epresents t he n umber o f s ites a nd t he x -axis r epresents t he n umber o f d ifferent t ypes o f i mplement p resent a t e ach s ite.

4 0

9 -10,

T he n umbers i n t he b oxes r efer

t o s ites l isted i n T able 5 .1. ( vi)

4 9

6 .1

F ieldwork G roup

b y t he C otswold

A rchaeological

R esearch

7 2

a nd o ther w orkers i n t he n orth G loucestershire

C otswolds. 6 .2

F ieldwork i n s outh-east

G loucestershire,

i ncluding

7 3

t he a reas s urveyed b y C oombes a nd H ingley. 6 .3

F ieldwork

b y

B roome i n t he W indrush

w est o f W itney,

6 .4

t he

7 5

L ower H eyford,

7 6

v alley t o

O xon.

F ieldwork b y R eiss i n t he v icinity o f O xon.

6 .5

D istribution

o f a ll h umanly s truck f lint

f rom t he A bingdon a rea,

6 .6

D istribution

o f

O xon.

r ecovered

8 0

n eolithic

8 1

i n 1 982-83.

m esolithic a nd

e arlier

f lint r ecovered f rom t he A bingdon a rea, O xon. i n 1 982-83. G ravel t erraces a re o utlined w ith d ashed l ines a nd n umbered i n s equence. 6 .7

D istribution

o f f lint i mplements r ecovered f rom

A bingdon a rea,

6 .8

O xon.

t he

8 2

p roducing m ore t han

8 3

i n 1 982-83.

D istribution o f c ollection u nits

t he a verage n umber o f a ll h umanly s truck f lint i n t he A bingdon a rea, 6 .9

O xon.

L ocation o f m esolithic, a nd

e arlier

O xon.

A ,

H ills;

C orporation F arm ;

F ,

E state;

K ,

F ieldwork

D ,

B ,

B arton C ourt

S utton C ourtenay;

H ,

C ulham ;

e arlier a nd l ater

n eolithic

B ronze A ge s ites i n t he A bingdon

T hrupp S ite C ;

6 .10

i n 1 982-83.

T ithe

B arn

H urst H ill; b y

G ,

F ield; L ,

T hrupp S ite B ; F arm ;

E ,

8 4

a rea, C ,

B arrow

A shville T rading I ,

D rayton;

J ,

I ffley.

F ord i n t he v icinity o f

N orth

S toke,

8 5

a rea,

O xon.,

8 6

O xon. 6 .11

F ieldwork s howing o f

b y H ingley i n t he F rilford

t he e xtent a nd d ensity o f s urface

l ater

m esolithic,

e arlier n eolithic

f lintwork a nd

l ater

n eolithic d ate. 6 .12

F ieldwork

b y

t he

B uckinghamshire

C ounty

M useum

9 0

r ecovered

9 3

r ecovered f rom t he

9 4

A rchaeology G roup i n t he H addenham a rea, 6 .13

6 .14

6 .15

D istribution o f a ll h umanly-struck f lint f rom t he A vebury a rea, W ilts. i n 1 983. D istribution

o f f lint i mplements

A vebury a rea,

W ilts.

L ocation f lint w ith

B ucks.

i n 1 983.

o f t he m ajor f lint s catters

c ollectors i n t he e arly

2 0th

d iscovered c entury,

t he l ocation o f l ate m esolithic c amps a nd

e arlier

a nd

l ater

n eolithic

m onuments i n t he A vebury a rea,

d omestic W ilts.

s ites

b y

a long b oth a nd

9 5

6 .16

6 .17

F ieldwork b y t he B uckinghamshire C ounty M useum A rchaeology G roup i n t he v icinity o f G reat a nd L ittle M issenden,

B ucks.

F ieldwork

b y

V erulamium M useum i n t he

v icinity

1 00

o f

1 01

s ettlement a t

1 12

S t. A lbans. 6 .18

A lternative m odels o f l ater m esolithic W awcott I II,

6 .19

S tructural s urface

B erks. r emains r ecovered f rom t he

b eneath

t wo

G loucestershire C otswolds 6 .20

A ,

c hambered

b uried

c airns

( see G azetteer,

s ite;

B ,

a ccumulative

1 13

t he

T able 5 ).

t he p ossible d evelopment o f a n e arlier

d omestic

l and

i n

n eolithic

1 15

a rchaeological

r emains s urviving a fter e ach p hase o f s ettlement. 7 .1

U ngulate p opulation i n n eolithic s ites i n b asin, T he

n umbers

n umber

8 .1

t he T hames

1 22

e xpessed i n p ercentages o f d omestic u ngulates. i n t he r ight h and c olumn

o f b ones i dentified.

C ram 1 982;

M iles 1 986.

S ettlement

p atterns

i n

A fter

i ndicate G rigson

t he l ater

t he

1 982a;

m esolithic

n eolithic p eriods a cross a t ransect e xtending

a nd

1 30

n orth-

s outh f rom t he C otswolds t o t he K ennet v alley. 8 .2

S uggested

l ater

s ettlement

f orms

m esolithic

and

e arlier

a t t he h eadwaters o f

n eolithic

t he

1 33

K ennet,

W ilts. 9 .1

L ate

m esolithic a nd n eolithic c hronology

n orth-

1 41

s ettlement

1 48

o f

w est E urope. 9 .2

S ummary

o f l ate m esolithic a nd n eolithic

p atterns i n n orth-west E urope. 1 0.1

S ettlement

a nd e conomy i n t he T hames

b asin

i n

t he

1 52

d omestic

1 54

e arlier a nd l ater n eolithic p eriods. 1 0.2

S ketch s ites, t he

s howing

t he

n ature o f

n eolithic

w ith i ntensive h orticulture b eing p ractised i n

e arlier

n eolithic p eriod

a nd

i nfield-outfield

f arming i n t he l ater n eolithic p eriod. t he

T he f ields i n

l ater n eolithic p eriod w ould h ave b een

t o c ontrol t he m ovement o f a nimals.

e nclosed

L ist o f M aps 1

L ocation

m ap o f t he T hames b asin

n orth-west

E urope,

B ,

i n

A ,

r elation

i n r elation t o

t o

2 00

s outh-east

E ngland. 2

T he

T hames

b asin a nd m ajor t ributaries o f t he

L and o ver 1 22 m .

T hames.

2 01

i s s tippled.

3

L andscape r egions i n t he T hames b asin.

2 02

4

S implified s olid g eology.

2 03

5

M ain Q uaternary d eposits.

2 04

6

P alaeoenvironmental

s tudies

u ndertaken i n

b asin o n 5 th - 3 rd m illennia b .c.

t he

T hames

7

A rchaeological r econnaissance i n t he T hames b asin.

8

S ystematic s urface c ollection s urveys c oncerned w ith t he r ecovery

o f

2 06

d eposits.

p rehistoric f lintwork c arried o ut

2 07

i n

2 09

t he

T hames b asin.

9

L ater m esolithic s ites i n t he T hames b asin.

2 26

1 0

P ossible l ater m esolithic s ites i n t he T hames b asin.

2 29

1 1

E xcavated l ater

2 32

l ater

m esolithic s ites p roducing e vidence f or

n eolithic

t ask-specific a ctivity i n

t he

T hames

b asin. 1 2

D omestic

s ites

o f n eolithic d ate r epresented b y

f lint

2 44

D omestic s ites o f n eolithic d ate w ith s tructural r emains

2 46

s catters i n t he T hames b asin. 1 3

i n t he T hames b asin. 1 4

P ossible d omestic s ites o f n eolithic d ate i n t he

T hames

2 55

b asin. 1 5

P robable

t ask-specifib

s ites o f n eolithic d ate i n

t he

2 58

1 6

N eolithic p its a ssociated w ith t opsoil f lint s catters i n t he T hames b asin.

2 65

1 7

I solated p its o f n eolithic d ate i n t he T hames b asin.

2 76

1 8

I solated b asin.

2 80

1 9

N eolithic p ots

2 0

N eolithic b asin.

T hames b asin.

g roups

p ots

o f n eolithic m aterial

i n

t he

T hames

f rom t he T hames b asin. f rom

' watery'

c ontexts i n

2 82 t he

T hames

2 84

2 1

F lint a xe h oards i n t he T hames b asin.

2 86

2 2

T hick-butted g round a xes i n t he T hames b asin.

3 03

2 3

T hick-butted T hames b asin.

2 4

g round a xes f rom

L ater n eolithic,

' watery '

c ontexts i n

t he

3 11

t hin-butted a xes/chisels i n t he T hames

3 18

b asin. 2 5

L ater n eolithic, t hin-butted a xes/chisels f rom c ontexts i n t he T hames b asin.

2 6

F laked b asin.

f lint a xe p reforms a nd r oughouts i n

2 7

F laked

f lint

' watery'

3 22

T hames

3 25

' watery '

3 27

t he

a xe p reforms a nd r oughouts f rom

c ontexts i n t he T hames b asin.

3 29

2 8

J adeite a nd n ephrite a xes i n t he T hames b asin.

2 9

J adeite a nd n ephrite a xes f rom T hames b asin.

3 0

S candinavian a xes i n t he T hames b asin.

3 1

S candinavian b asin.

3 2

F lint m ines i n t he T hames b asin.

38

3

C ausewayed e nclosures i n t he T hames b asin.

3 43

3 4

C hambered c airns i n t he T hames b asin.

3 49

3 5

C hambered l ong b arrows i n t he T hames b asin.

3 53

3 6

E arthen l ong b arrows i n t he T hames b asin.

3 57

3 7

' Short'

a xes

f rom

l ong b arrows,

' watery'

' watery'

c ontexts i n

3 31

33

c ontexts i n t he

l ong m ortuary

t he

T hames

e nclosures,

o val

35

3 62

b arrows a nd b ank b arrows i n t he T hames b asin. 3 8

R ound b arrows a nd r ing-ditches i n t he T hames b asin.

3 67

3 9

C ursus m onuments i n t he T hames b asin.

3 71

4 0

H enge m onuments i n t he T hames b asin.

3 75

4 1

L ater m esolithic s ettlement i n t he T hames b asin.

3 76

4 2

E arlier n eolithic d omestic a ctivity i n t he T hames b asin.

3 77

4 3

E arlier n eolithic m onuments i n t he T hames b asin.

3 78

4 4

L ater n eolithic d omestic a ctivity i n t he T hames b asin.

3 79

4 5

L ater n eolithic m onuments i n t he T hames b asin.

3 80

( x )

4 6

V otive d eposits i n t he T hames b asin.

3 81

4 7

E arlier n eolithic p ottery s tyles i n t he T hames b asin.

3 82

4 8

L ater

m esolithic

s ettlement

i n t he U pper

T hames

a nd

3 83

T hames

3 84

K ennet c atchments. 4 9

E arlier n eolithic d omestic a ctivity i n t he U pper a nd K ennet c atchments.

5 0

E arlier

n eolithic

m onuments

i n t he U pper

T hames

a nd

3 85

T hames

3 86

L ater n eolithic m onuments i n t he U pper T hames a nd K ennet

3 87

K ennet c atchments. 5 1

L ater

n eolithic d omestic a ctivity i n t he

U pper

a nd K ennet c atchments. 5 2

c atchments

5 3

L ater

m esolithic

s ettlement

i n t he M iddle

a nd

L ower

3 88

a nd

3 89

L ower

3 90

a nd

3 91

L ater n eolithic m onuments i n t he M iddle a nd L ower T hames

3 92

T hames c atchments. 5 4

E arlier

n eolithic d omestic a ctivity i n t he

M iddle

L ower T hames c atchments.

5 5

E arlier

n eolithic

m onuments

i n t he M iddle

a nd

T hames c atchments. 5 6

L ater

n eolithic

d omestic a ctivity i n

t he

M iddle

L ower Thames c atchments.

5 7

c atchments.

L ist o f T ables 2 .1

5 th-3rd

m illennia b .c.

n eolithic c ontext, 4 .1

s ites

i n

C -14 d ates

f rom m esolithic

t he T hames b asin

( for

a nd

d etails

6

o f

s ee G azetteer).

P ost-depositional p rocesses a ffecting t he

d istribution,

2 9

p reservation a nd v isibility o f p ast m aterial r emains. 5 .1

S ites i n s outhern B ritain u sed f or t he a nalysis o f l ater

4 4

m esolithic a nd n eolithic f lint a ssemblages. 5 .2

T he i mplements p resent i n l ater m esolithic a nd n eolithic

5 2

f lint a ssemblages i n s outhern B ritain. 5 .3

C losed c ontexts f rom t he U pper a nd M iddle T hames v alley u sed i n t he s tudy o f l ater m esolithic a nd n eolithic

5 5

f lint t echnology. 5 .4

T echnological c haracteristics o f t he d ebitage f rom s ites l isted i n T able 5 .3.

5 .5

C losed

c ontexts f rom t he C otswolds a nd t he

D owns

u sed

i n

t he

s tudy

o f

l ater

t he

5 6

Marlborough

5 7

m esolithic

a nd

c haracteristics o f t he d ebitage f rom

t he

5 8

t ypological

6 2

n eolithic f lint t echnology. 5 .6

T echnological

s ites l isted i n T able 5 .5. 5 .7

S ummary o f r aw m aterial,

t echnological a nd

c haracteristics o f l ater m esolithic, a nd l ater n eolithic f lint a ssemblages. 1 0.1

S ummary

o f

n eolithic

s ettlement a nd

e arlier n eolithic

e conomy

i n

t he

1 51

T hames B asin.

T ables i n G azetteer 1

L ater m esolithic s ites

2 10

2

P ossible l ater m esolithic s ites

2 27

3

E xcavated

l ater m esolithic s ites p roducing

e vidence

f or

2 30

l ater n eolithic t ask-specific a ctivity 4

D omestic s ites o f n eolithic d ate

2 33

5

D omestic s ites o f n eolithic d ate w ith s tructural r emains

2 45

6

P ossible d omestic s ites o f n eolithic d ate

2 47

7

P ossible t ask-specific s ites o f d omestic d ate

2 56

8

N eolithic p its a ssociated w ith t opsoil f lint s catters

2 59

9

I solated p its o f n eolithic d ate

2 66

( xii)

1 0

I solated g roups o f n eolithic m aterial

2 77

1 1

N eolithic p ots

2 81

1 2

N eolithic p ots

1 3

F lint a xe h oards

2 85

1 4

T hick-butted,

g round a xes

2 87

1 5

T hick-butted,

g round a xes f rom

1 6

L ater n eolithic,

t hin-butted a xes/chisels

3 12

1 7

L ater n eolithic,

t hin-butted a xes/chisels

3 19

1 8

F laked f lint a xe p reforms a nd r oughouts

1 9

F laked

f rom

f lint

a xe

' watery'

c ontexts

' watery '

2 83

c ontexts

3 04

3 23

p reforms a nd r oughouts

f rom

' watery'

3 26

c ontexts 2 0

J adeite a nd n ephrite a xes

3 28

2 1

J adeite a nd n ephrite a xes f rom

2 2

S candinavian a xes

2 3

S candinavian a xes f rom

2 4

F lint m ines

3 36

2 5

C ausewayed e nclosures

39

2 6

C hambered c airns

2 44

2 7

C hambered l ong b arrows

3 50

2 8

E arthen l ong b arrows

3 54

2 9

' Short' l ong b arrows, l ong b arrows a nd b ank b arrows.

3 0

R ound b arrows a nd r ing-ditches

3 63

3 1

C ursus m onuments

3 68

3 2

H enge m onuments

3 72

' watery '

c ontexts

3 30 3 32

' watery '

c ontexts

m ortuary

3 34

e nclosures,

o val

3 58

P ART I :

B ACKGROUND A ND M ETHODOLOGY C hapter 1 .

T he

n eolithic

e laborate w ith

f or

i ts

f ield m onuments a ssociated w ith t he b urial o f t he d ead,

a nd

p ortable

n eolithic o f

p eriod

I ntroduction.

i n

B ritain

o bjects s uch a s p olished

i s

l argely

s tone

k nown

a xes.

C onsequently,

s tudies h ave m ainly b een c oncerned e ither w ith t he s equence

m onument

c onstruction

o r w ith t he d istribution

a nd

c ontext

o f

a rtefact d eposition ( Bradley 1 984a, 5 -6). I n h is c lassic s tudy o f n eolithic B ritain, P iggott ( 1954, 3 66) s tated t hat, " in t he e xtremely i ncomplete s tate o f o ur k nowledge i t i s a lmost i mpossible t o a ny

s ettlement

c ommunities".

" settlement

e nclosures

N eolithic

A m ore r ecent i nvestigation o f t he e arly d evelopment o f

n eolithic c ommunities i n s outhern E ngland b y W hittle t hat,

e stimate

u nit l ikely t o h ave b een c ommon t o B ritish

a nd

w as

w idespread,

b arrows s erving a s f oci f or a

n umerous p opulation" o f s ettlement,

( ibid.

t hough,

2 38).

( 1977)

i n g enerally s mall w idely

c oncluded

u nits,

w ith

s cattered

b ut

W hittle's a ccount o f t he c haracter

w as f ounded o n l imited e vidence a nd a mounts t o

l ittle m ore t han g uesswork. T he m issing s ettlement d ata f rom t he n eolithic p eriod a nd t he e arlier B ronze A ge i s s till " the l argest a rea o f

' blindness'

i n

B ritish p rehistory a nd d emands

c oncentration o f e ffort" T he

l ack

d omestic

i nformation

a ctivity

s ubstitute ( 1978,

o f

o n t he

n ature

t he

m ost

u rgent

3 1). a nd

d istribution

o f

i s o ften s ide-stepped b y u sing t he m onuments a s

f or e vidence o f s ettlement

3 9)

u ncommon,

( Groube a nd B owden 1 982,

s tated:

" it

( Bradley 1 984b,

6 1).

a

A s W hittle

i s t rue t hat a ctual s ettlement

s ites

a re

b ut t his i s a p roblem w hich b y a nd l arge p ersists i nto l ater

p rehistory

t oo.

I n

N eolithic

m ay

i ntended

p ermanence

d istributed

c ontext

o f

t he

c ausewayed

A nd R enfrew ( 1981,

t ombs

m onuments

f or t he i ncreasing

o f

t he

e arlier

e vidence

e nclosures,

a s f ar a s t he M idlands,

p opulation." c hambered

t his

b e b rought i n,

n ow

f or

s een

a lso i mplies a w ell

t o

b e

e stablished

8 0) w ent a s f ar a s t o s ay t hat

" offer u s a s c omprehensive a p attern

t he

o f

t he

s ettlement

d ata a s w e c an e xpect t o o btain f rom p rehistoric t imes." T he g eneral c onsensus i s t hat,

f aut d e m ieux,

n eolithic s tudies

c an b est b e a dvanced " if t he r ole o f t he d ead i s a llowed t o r etain i ts c entral p osition"

( Bradley 1 984c,

6 ).

H owever,

i f m onuments a re t o

c ontinue a s t he f ocus o f d iscussion, t heir r elationship t o ' living a reas' m ust b e a scertained f irst. T his s tudy i s t hus c oncerned w ith t he

r econstruction

i mmediately

p receding

o f

t he

p atterns

o f

s ettlement

a nd

a nd d uring t he n eolithic p eriod i n a

a rea o f s outhern B ritain:

e conomy s elected

t he c atchment o f t he R iver T hames a nd

i ts

t ributaries. T he

T hames

b asin w as c hosen a s t he a rea o f s tudy f or

r easons.

F irst,

i t

n eolithic

m aterial r emains a vailable

f or e xamination;

i n c omparison w ith o ther p arts o f s outhern E ngland, ( Renfrew 1 973), p attern'

t wo

c ontains a v ariety o f l andscape a nd a r ange

i t h as r eceived l ess a ttention.

m ain o f

a nd s econdly,

f or e xample W essex

T he t erm

' settlement

w ill b e u sed t o m ean " the m anner i n which a p eople's c ultural

a ctivities a nd s ocial i nstitutions a re d istributed o ver t he l andscape" ( Rouse 1 972, 9 6). T hus n ot o nly d omestic s ites, b ut a lso t asks pecific n etwork

s ites a nd c eremonial m onuments w ill b e o f

l oci

d iscussed,

a nd t he r ecord o f i ts a ctivities

1

a nd

a s

" the

i nstitutions

c omprise t he s ettlement p attern" h oped

t o

r econstruct

m onuments. s ite

A

t aken

i n

s itu

( although b y i ts

d ebris o f t his d ate

a s

1 972,

9 6).

I n t his w ay, d omestic

i t i s

s ites

a nd

n eolithic d omestic s ite i s d efined p ragmatically a s

p roducing

d omestic

( Rouse

t he r elationship b etween

n ature

( see C hapter 4 ),

o ften

w ith

a

d isturbed)

d omestic

r epresenting t he m aterial r emains o f l ocalized

d ebris

r esidential

a nd o ccupational a ctivities. T his f or

s tudy b egins w ith a s ummary o f t he c hronological

n eolithic

B ritain

p hysical

b ackground

( Chapter

3 ).

d ebitage

f ramework

f ollowed b y a n o utline

a nd n eolithic e nvironment o f

t he

o f

T hames

I t

p rocesses

o n

t he

n ature

o f

n eolithic

a nd

d omestic

i s a rgued t hat d ense s urface f lint s catters c ontaining

a nd a v ariety o f i mplements r ecovered f rom d isturbed

r epresent

t he b asin

C hapter 4 i nvestigates t he e ffect o f d epositional

p ost-depositional e vidence.

( Chapter 2 ),

n eolithic

d omestic s ites.

C hapter

5e xplores

g round

h ow

f lint

s catters c an b e a nalysed t o r econstruct n eolithic s ettlement p atterns, a nd

a lso

d iscusses t he e vidence a vailable f or s tudy

i n

t he

T hames

b asin. P art I I c onsists o f t wo c hapters w hich d escribe t he l ater m esolithic a nd n eolithic s ettlement p atterns a nd s ubsistence, r esource u se

a nd

e conomy

o f

t he

T hames

b asin,

i nformation o utlined i n C hapters 1 t o

u sing

t he

f ramework

a nd

5 .

P art I II i ncludes a d iscussive c hapter o n s ettlement p atterns a nd e conomy

i n

t he c ase s tudy a rea f rom 5 000 - 2 000 b .c.,

c omparative ( Chapter g azetteer

s tudies

f rom n eighbouring r egions i n

9 ),

a nd

a c oncluding c hapter ( Chapter

o f

a ll

s ites a nd a rtefacts d iscussed i n

g rouped t ogether a t t he e nd.

2

a c hapter

n orth-west 1 0). t his

M aps

o n

E urope a nd

s tudy

a a re

C hapter 2 . T he

B ackground t o t he i nquiry:

t ime

t he c hronological f ramework .

s cale c overed b y t his s tudy,

t he 5 th - 3 rd

m illennia

b .c., i ncludes t he e nd o f t he m esolithic p eriod a nd t he w hole o f t he n eolithic p eriod. U ntil r ecently, t hese p eriods w ere t reated a s s eparate

e ntities:

t he f irst,

c haracterized b y b ladelet i ndustries

a nd m icroliths, r epresented e arly p ost-Glacial h unter-gathering g roups; t he s econd, i dentified b y g round s tone a xes, r ound-based p ottery

a nd m egalithic m onuments,

w as a ssociated w ith t he a rrival o f

t he f irst f armers f rom t he C ontinent . b y P rofessors J .

G .

D .

C lark a nd S .

T hus t he f irst m ajor

a ccounts

p roduced i n t he m id 2 0th c entury

o f m esolithic a nd n eolithic B ritain,

P iggott r espectively,

c oncentrated

m esolithic

( 1932)

o n e ach p eriod i n i solation. C lark's

p ioneer

s tudy

o f

B ritain

w as

e ssentially a n e xamination o f t he m icrolithic f lint i ndustries o f t his p eriod.

M ost

g round

a nd

o f

t hese i ndustries w ere f ound o n t he s urface o f

r arely i n a s tratigraphical c ontext, r econstructing a c hronological

t hus

s equence

t he

l imiting

o f

t he

s cope

f or

C lark

a voided t his p roblem b y u sing t he c ultural s equence o utlined b y

d evelopment.

c ontinental s cholars a s a b asis f or c lassifying t hese i ndustries.

I n

t erms

t o

o f

a bsolute

c hronology,

h e d ated t he

m esolithic

b etween t he l ate 7 th - l ate 3 rd m illennia b .c. c lassic

s tudy

d ivided

t he

o f t he a rtefacts a nd m onuments o f p eriod i nto t wo c omponents:

W indmill H ill C ulture, P eterborough o btained b .c.

P iggott

a nd

( 1954),

n eolithic

t he p rimary

i n h is

B ritain,

n eolithic

o r

a nd t he s econdary n eolithic a ssociated w ith t he

o ther c ultures.

b y t his t ime,

A lthough t wo C -14 d ates h ad

h e c hose t o d iscount t he d ate o f 3 014

b een +

3 00

( C-462)

f rom E henside T arn i n t he L ake D istrict a s b eing f ar t oo

a nd

f itted t he p rimary a nd s econdary n eolithic p eriods i nto a

e arly,

5 00 y ear t imespan, T he

b eginning a t 2 000 b .c.

p rovision

o f

a bsolute

( Piggott 1 954,

d ates

b y

m esolithic s ites

p eriod,

3 80).

r adiocarbon

r evolutionized t he s tudy o f p rehistory ( Renfrew 1 974,

d ating

3 0).

F or

t he

f urther s tudy o f t he m icrolithic i ndustries

f rom

w ith a ssociated C -14 d ates l ed t o t he d efinition o f t wo p hases:

t he e arlier m esolithic p eriod c . a

p eriod

r estricted

m esolithic p eriod,

C .

6 500 - c .

n arrow,

g eometric m iCroliths

p eriod,

t he

P iggott's

8 300 - c .

6 500 b .c.,

c haracterized b y

r ange o f b road-blade m icrö lith f orms;

a ccumulation

( 1954)

p eriod b ack t o c .

s tudy

o f

3 500 b .c.,

( Jacobi 1 973,

2 37-8).

C -14 d ates s ince

h as p ushed t he t imespan

3 200 - C .

2 000 b .c.

a nd

t he

l ater

r epresented b y a r ange o f F or t he n eolithic

t he

p ublication

f or

t he

( Clark 1 965).

o f

n eolithic

S mith's

( 1956)

e xhaustive s tudy o f n eolithic p ottery a nd t he s tratigraphic r elationship b etween d ifferent s tyles o f p ottery a nd t he s equence o f m onument

c onstruction

c onfirmed

P iggott's

t wo-fold

d ivision

o f

n eolithic m aterial r emains i n B ritain i nto a n e arlier a nd a l ater p hase, w ith t he s eparation o f t he t wo d ated t o a round t he s econd q uarter o f t he 3 rd m illennium b .c.

( Smith 1 974a,

1 00).

T he e arlier m esolithic f lint a nd b one a ssemblages i n B ritain h ave a ffinities w ith t heir e arly m esolithic c ounterparts,

p articularly t he

M aglemosian C ulture, i n o ther p arts o f n orth-west E urope ( Jacobi 1 973, 2 39). T he l ater m esolithic p eriod, t hough, r epresents a n i nsular d evelopment t he i nto

r esulting f rom t he s eparation o f t he B ritish

I sles

c ontinent a nd t he t ransformation o f t he B oreal b irch-pine t he A tlantic c limax d eciduous

f orest

3

( Jacobi 1 973,

2 46 ;

f rom f orest

1 976,

7 8-80). T here

T he a re

e nd o f t he m esolithic p eriod i s d ifficult

e arly

4 th

m illennium

b .c.

C -14

m esolithic d eposits i n s outhern B ritain, ( lab.

n o.

n ot q uoted)

d ates

f or e xample

f or t he W awcott X XIII s ite,

t o

d efine.

a vailable 3 910 + 1 13

B erks.

( R.

M .

f or b .c.

J acobi

c ard i ndex), 3 780 + 1 50 b .c. ( BM-91) a nd 3 710 + 1 50 b .c. ( BM-40) r ock s helter o ccupation a t H igh R ocks, E ast S ussex ( Burleigh e t

f or a l.

1 976, 1 6-17; M oney 1 960) a nd 3 700 + 1 49 b .c. ( BM-1257) a nd 3 475 + 1 50 b .c. ( BM-1258) f or a m idden d eposit a t 1B lashenwell, D orset ( Burleigh a nd M atthews

1 982,

1 54-5;

P reece

1 980),

b eyond t he m id 4 th m illennium b .c. a

b ut t hese

d o

n ot

e xtend

I t h as b een a rgued t hat t here w as

c essation i n t he d evelopment o f m icrolith t echnology b y

4 000

b .c.

( Jacobi a nd T ebbutt 1 981, 2 9), b ut t his c ould b e e xplained b y t he s hortage o f e arly 4 th m illennium b .c. f lint a ssemblages a vailable f or s tudy.

T he

l oss

o f s tretches o f t he

m esolithic

c oastline

a round

s outh-east

E ngland h as o ften b een c ited t o e xplain t he p aucity o f 4 th

m illennium

b .c.

m esolithic s ites i n c omparison w ith t hose

f rom t he Y orkshire P ennines a nd c oastal l ocations e astern I reland ( Bradley 1 984c, 9 -10).

i n

r ecovered

S cotland

a nd

A s w ith t he t erminal s tages o f t he m esolithic p eriod i n s outhern B ritain, t here a re d ifficulties i n d efining t he s tart o f t he n eolithic p eriod.

W hile

s ites,

f or

b arrow,

B erks.

t here a re s ingle p re-3200 b .c.

e xample 3 415 + 1 80 b .c. ( Wymer 1 970),

C -14 d ates f rom

( GX-1174)

s ome

f rom t he L ambourn l ong

t he e arliest s equence o f C -14 d ates f or a

d iscrete n eolithic c ontext,

t he S weet T rack i n2t he

S omerset

L evels,

c entre o n 3 200 b .c. ( Coles a nd C oles 1 975 , 5 4). T his l eaves a g ap o f C . 5 00 r adiocarbon y ears b etween t he l atest m esolithic s ites a nd t he e arliest n eolithic s ites p resently k nown i n s outhern E ngland, a lthough i n I reland t here a re p re-3500 b .c. C -14 d ates f rom e arlier n eolithic c ontexts,

f or e xample a t B allynagilly,

( 1969a ,

C ase

7 ;

1 969b ,

1 85)

C o.

T yrone

( ApSimon 1 976,

p roposed a n e arly n eolithic p hase

2 0). o f

' pioneer f arming' t o f ill t he g ap i n t he s outhern B ritish s equence, w hen t he i ndigenous m esolithic p opulation a dopted f arming f rom c ontinental i mmigrants. B y t he e arly 3 rd p ioneer f armers h ad r eached a p hase o f m anifested b y t he c onstruction p roduction o f p ottery ( Case 1 969b,

m illennium b .c., t hese ' stable a djustment', a s

o f c eremonial m onuments 1 83). C ase ( 1969a, 7 -8;

a nd 1 986,

t hus p roposed a t ripartite s cheme f or t he n eolithic p eriod: ( pioneer f arming s tarting i n t he e arly 4 th m illennium b .c.); ( the

s table

b .c.);

a djustment f rom t he s econd h alf o f

a nd l ate p hase

C ase's

9 -15),

( 1983)

a nd t o

f or e arly t o m id-4th m illennium b .c. F or t he p urposes o f t his s tudy,

T he

n eolithic o ccupation i s l acking.

c ontexts:

3

t he t wo-fold d ivision o f t he n eolithic ( 1974)

( 1980) w ill b e f ollowed.

e arlier

r epresented

n eolithic

p eriod,

b y m onuments c ontaining c ausewayed

( Smith 1 974, t radition

d ecorative t raits r egional

d irect a rchaeological e vidence

i nto a n e arlier a nd a l ater p hase a s o utlined b y S mith

a nd W hittle

p ottery

m illennium

b ut r egardless o f w hether i t i s n ecessary

p ostulate a p hase o f p ioneer f arming,

b arrows

4 th

a n e arly m iddle

( the l ate 3 rd m illennium b .c.).

s cheme h as r ecently b een q uestioned b y D ennell

B radley ( 1984c,

p eriod

t he

t he 1 9)

e nclosures, 1 07;

F ig.

c ontains ( Fig.

d istributions

a

2 .2: ( Smith

C .

3 200

- C .

' plain b owl'

2 700

p ottery

s eries o f n os. 1 974,

1 -6), 1 08;

s tyles,

T he s ome

w ith c learly W hittle

i s

p rimary

c hambered t ombs a nd e arthen

2 .1 a nd T able 2 .1).

-4

b .c., i n

l ong

' plain b owl' d efined

b y

d iscernible

1 977,

8 5-94).

c o i u A .

e

0

I i . z

S . , ? r

0 0 . I

e 0

e . 0

i v 2 ) r xA . e

DATE

( L c . )

4 500

g ie e z

L i /

e

x -

C )

,

. e 0

o i x , e

C S

i e

e c r

c s E ! n c -

0 e

r i v

/ .

o

. . ,

0

C I

e e

A: e i

C O

i v , . . 2e

i t e

4 . : : i

A s

0 0 i d ' e

e

c y , . A . i

0

0

e c -

e o

s . i k

r e o , c 1 )

c o e z

4 .

Z A . • : , c u eL i j Z i e z z e zc r o ek u i

0 ' 2'• • 1 Z i l l

c r

0 DATE c t "ez ( b. . 3 c . ) 0 2 0 4 500

o

C

4 000

4 000 _

3 500

3 500

3 000

3 000 _

2 500 _

2 500 _

2 000 _

I1 _ 20 00

P ETERBOROUGH WARE

' PLA IN BO WL ' POTTERY

F igure 2 .1

GROOVED WARE

5 th a nd 4 th m illennia b .c. C -14 d ates f rom m esolithic a nd n eolithic s ites i n t he T hames b asin p lotted a t o ne s tandard 2 .1).

d eviation.

( For f urther d etails,

1 -5 -

s ee T able

T able

2 .1

5 th - 3 rd m illennia b .c.

n eolithic

s ites

i n t he T hames b asin

C -14 d ates ( for

f rom m esolithic a nd

d etails

o f

c ontext,

s ee

G azetteer). M esolithic s ites T olpits L ane S ite B ,

M oor P ark,

H erts.

W awcott I II, B erks. W awcott X XIII, B erks.

4 380 + 8 0 b .c. ( Q-1099) 4 170 7134 b .c. ( BM-767) 3 910 ± 1 13 b .c. ( Lab.

n o.

n ot q uoted)

C ausewayed e nclosures A bingdon,

O xon.

W indmill H ill,

E ton W ick,

W ilts.

B erks.

4 070 + 1 10 b .c.

( BM-349)

3 110 7 130 b .c.

( BM-351)

3 020

( BM-353) ( BM-350)

2 780

b .c.

( BM-348)

2 760 7135 b .c.

( BM-352)

2 510 7 140 b .c.

( BM-355)

2 500 7 145 b .c.

( BM-354)

O rsett,

71 35

* 2960 + 1 50 b .c. 2 580 + 1 50 b .c.

( BM-73) ( BM-74)

2 800 + 8 0 b .c.

( BM-2533)

2 730 7110 b .c. 2 730

K nap H ill,

1 30 b .c.

2 960 7 110 b .c.

W ilts.

5 0 b .c.

2 760 + 1 15 b .c.

( BM-2434) ( BM-2435) ( BM-205)

2 791 + 1 13 b .c. ( BM-1213) 2 776 7 -7 4 b .c. ( BM-1378)

E ssex

2 635 2 583

7 - 82 b .c. ( BM-1215) 71 12 b .c. ( BM-1214)

C hambered c airns H azleton I I,

G los.

-6

3 150 + 7 0 b .c.

( OxA-910)

* 3020 + 8 0 b .c.

( OxA-738)

3 020 + 7 0 b .c.

( OxA-914)

3 020 + 6 0 b .c. 3 010 + 7 0 b .c.

( OxA-907) ( OxA-913)

3 000 + 7 0 b .c.

( OxA-905)

* 2965 + 8 0 b .c.

( OxA-739)

2 930 + 7 0 b .c.

( OxA-906)

2 910 + 7 0 b .c.

( OxA-904)

2 890 + 8 0 b .c.

( OxA-644)

2 890 + 7 0 b .c.

( OxA-915)

2 890 + 6 0 b .c.

( OxA-903)

2 880 + 8 0 b .c.

( OxA-911)

2 880 + 6 0 b .c.

( OxA-908)

2 860 + 7 0 b .c.

( OxA-916)

2 830 + 8 0 b .c.

( OxA-645)

* 2825 + 8 0 b .c.

( OxA-646)

2 810 + 6 0 b .c.

( OxA-643/902)

2 606 + 6 0 b .c.

( OxA-1177/383)

C hambered c airns

( contd.) 3 248 3 070 2 992 2 943 * 2785

A scott-under-Wychwood, O xon.

+ + + + +

2 25 b .c. 9 2 b .c. 7 4 b .c. 7 0 b .c. 7 0 b .c.

( BM-835) ( BM-833) ( BM-832) ( BM-491b) ( BM-492)

2 764 + 1 66 b .c. ( BM-837) 2 495 + 6 1 b .c. ( BM-836) C hambered l ong b arrows W est K ennet,

W ilts

W ayland's S mithy,

2 875 + 8 0 b .c.

( OxA-449)

2 830 7• 90 b .c. 2 830 7• 90 b .c. 2 750 7• 80 b .c.

( OxA-451) ( OxA-563) ( OxA-450)

* 2820 + 1 30 b .c.

B erks.

( 1-1468)

E arthen l ong b arrows L ambourn,

3 415 + 1 80 b .c.

B erks.

( Gx-1178)

O ther e arlier n eolithic s ites C annon H ill,

M aidenhead,

R unnymede,

B erks.

E bbsfleet,

K ent

3 320 + 1 10 b .c.

B erks.

2 980 2 970 2 880 2 740 2 680

2 710 + 1 15 b .c. 2 630 + 8 0 b .c.

H emp K noll, W ilts. ' Short' H orslip,

l ong b arrows,

+ 7 0 b .c. 7 80 b .c. 7 70 b .c. 7• 11 0 b .c. 7- 7 0 b .c.

( HAR-1198) ( HAR-6131) ( HAR-6128) ( HAR-6130) ( HAR-6133) ( HAR-6132) ( BM-113) ( HAR-2997)

b ank b arrows a nd o val b arrows

W ilts.

3 240 + 1 50 b .c.

( BM-180)

B eckhampton R oad, W ilts.

* 3250 + 1 60 b .c. ( NPL-138) 2 517 •90 b .c. ( BM-506b) 2 307 •90 b .c. ( BM-506a)

S outh S treet, W ilts.

* 2810 + 1 30 b .c.

( BM-356)

2 750 71 • 3 5 b .c.

( BM-357)

2 670 + 1 40 b .c. 2 580 71 • 1 0 b .c.

( BM-358a) ( BM-358b)

N orth S toke, B arrow H ills,

O xon. R adley,

O xon.

2 722 + 4 9 b .c.

( BM-1405)

2 550 + 6 0 b .c.

( BM-2392)

2 470 7 70 b .c. ( BM-2393) 2 380 •80 b .c. ( BM-2391) 2 370 7• 13 0 b .c. ( BM-2390)

7

R ing d itches a nd r ound b arrows M ount F arm,

B erinsfield,

S ilbury H ill,

2 500 + 1 00 b .c.

O xon.

W ilts.

2 725 + 1 10 b .c.

( SI-910-A)

2 620 + 1 20 b .c.

( 5I-910-C)

2 580 + 1 10 b .c.

( SI-910-D)

2 515 + 1 30 b .c.

( SI-910-C-H)

2 365 + 1 10 b .c. 2 145 + 9 5 b .c. D orchester X I,

O xon.

( HAR-4673)

( SI-910-B) ( 1-4136)

2 370 + 9 0 b .c.

( BM-2440)

2 370 + 5 0 b .c.

( BM-24 ) 42)

C ursus m onuments D orchester,

2 560 + 1 00 b .c.

O xon.

( BM-2443)

H enge m onuments T he D evil's Q uoits,

S tanton H arcourt,

2 060 + 1 20 b .c.

( HAR-1887)

O xon. O ther l ater n eolithic s ites

B arton C ourt F arm,

A bingdon,

* indicates

o btained f rom material a ssociated w ith b uried

d ates

O xon.

2 080 + 7 0 b .c. 1 960 ; 70 b .c.

( HAR 2387) ( HAR 2388)

l and

s urfaces B ritish M useum C -14 d ates

f alling w ithin l ab.

2 315 h ave n ot b een i ncluded ( see T ite e t a l.

-8

n umbers B M-1700 a nd B M1 987).

0

0

0

0

0

W eV 4 W 1‘%%‘‘‘O.M

O . eCecccoo CC C GC cc CCC OCe 000 0000 • occoce CC O C OC CO

› .)

r

e

i\ \ , b

o p - „g t

0 ö : O o

o t

6 0 0 ,0 0 o o b o b

0

4 1 0

6 0 , 0i n

# o

1

0

0.

a t 0 , o 0 d z

0, 1 0 0 "

0 0 o t

" 4

AA

e #

b

o b

0

5 cm

EI = ECZ IM I

F igure 2 .2

N eolithic p ottery s tyles.

A ,

' plain b owl'

p ottery:

1 ,

u ndecorated v essel; 2 , H embury s tyle v essel; 3 , carinated v essel. B , D ecorated ' plain b owl' p ottery: 4 , Abingdon s tyle v essel; 5 , W indmill H ill s tyle v essel; 6 , M ildenhall s tyle v essel. C , P eterborough W are: 7 , E bbsfleet b owl; 8 , M ortlake b owl; 9 , F engate j ar. D , G rooved W are v essel.

9

A ssociated

C -14 d ates s how t hat t hese s tyles o verlap c hronologically,

a nd l ast f rom c .

3 000 - c . o f

2 600 b .c.

( Smith

1 974,

n eolithic

p ottery

s econdary

c ontexts a t e arlier n eolithic m onuments,

K ennet l ong b arrow ( Piggott 1 962, 1 1),

b oth i n W iltshire, a

1 06-8).

t he P eterborough W are t radition c an 2 8-9)

L ater

o ccur

f or e xample

a nd W indmill H ill

i n W est

( Smith 1 965,

d emonstrating t hat s ome f orm o f a ctivity t ook

p lace

a t

F lint

a nd o ther s tone a xes f ound i n e arlier n eolithic c losed c ontexts

f ew o f t hese m onuments i n t he

l ater

n eolithic

p eriod.

a re g round a ll o ver a nd h ave t hick b utts ( M. W . P itts p ers. c omm.; F ig. 2 .3: n os. 1 a nd 2 ). L eaf-shaped a rrowheads a nd b lade-dominant f lint

i ndustries c haracterize t his p eriod ( Smith 1 974,

1 05);

t hese

a re d iscussed f urther i n C hapter 5 . T he l ater n eolithic p eriod, t he

d evelopment

c onstruction b arrows, d ating

o f

o f

c .

P eterborough

2 700 - c . W are

b arrows

a ssociated a rtefacts,

a nd

b etween c .

1 974,

a n ew r ange o f m onuments i ncluding

c ursus m onuments a nd h enges. a nd

2 000 b .c.,

( Smith

o ther

f orms o f

2 700 - C .

o val

' short'

b arrows/ring-ditches

2 300 b .c . . ( Fig.

a nd a nd

t he r ound

O n t he e vidence o f r adiocarbon

a n umber o f

w ith e arlier n eolithic m onuments,

i s d efined b y 1 11)

e arthen

l ong

w ere

c onstructed

2 .1 a nd T able 2 .1).

I n c ontrast

t hese b arrows w ere e ither d evoid o f

h uman b urials, f or e xample B eckhampton R oad a nd S outh S treet ' short' l ong b arrows, b oth i n W iltshire ( Ashbee e t a l. 1 979) a nd t he N orth S toke B ank b arrow,

O xon.

a dult i nhumations, ( Bradley e t a l. b e

( Case 1 982c,

1 984).

T horpe

a ppropriate t o u se t he t erm

l ate

b arrows,

7 2-4),

a lthough

( 1984,

5 7)

c ursus

m onuments

c ontexts,

' middle n eolithic'

h enge

m onuments

f or t hese a nd o ther f or

t his

O xon.

W are

f rom

( Thomas a nd W allis

h ave p roduced P eterborough W are,

W ilts.

( Smith

1 965a,

2 24-6).

G rooved

w hile

W are

a nd

f or e xample

I n a t l east t wo i nstances,

h enge

m onuments w ere s uperimposed o n c ursus

M axey,

C ambs.

( Pryor a nd F rench 1 985,

p rimary

1 982),

B eaker p ottery f rom e ither p rimary o r s econdary c ontexts, A vebury,

r est

R ecent e xcavations a t a n umber

h ave p roduced P eterborough

f or e xample D rayton,

R adley, O xon.

h as s uggested t hat i t m ight

h is c hronological a rguments

r ather t enuously o n C -14 d ates a lone. o f

o r c ontained a rticulated

f or e xample B arrow H ills o val b arrow,

m onuments,

2 38);

f or

e xample

t hus i n s ome c ases c ursus

m onuments d efinitely p re-date h enges. T he e arliest o f t he P eterborough W are c eramic W are

( Fig.

p ottery H ill,

2 .2:

a t

7 ),

( Smith

i 965a,

5 7).

o f

b een

t he

e arlier n eolithic p eriod

d eveloping b efore t he

t hroughout

( Smith 1 974,

s eries

a re M ortlake b owls a nd F engate j ars

m illennium

b .c.

P eterborough o f

1 12).

8 and 9 ).

n os.

p eriod

( Fig.

c entral

i s

d ramatic

( Smith

1 974,

2 .2:

D ),

o verlapping

i n

W are a nd e arly B eaker p ottery ( Smith

f ound i n l ater n eolithic c ontexts,

3 a nd

4 ).

c hange i

1 12;

G rooved W are a ppears a t t he e nd o f d ate 1 974, e arlier

F ig.

t he

3 rd

w ith

b oth

1 20).

T he

n eolithic

a s a re a r ange o f t hin-

t he m ajority o f w hich a re f laked a ll o ver b ut

o nly g round a t t he c utting e dge 1 ,

s outhern,

P eterborough

T he t wo o ther s tyles i n t he P eterborough

f lint a xe w ith a t hick b utt f ound i n t he

b utted a xes a nd c hisels, n os.

t hat

W are f irst a ppeared i n t he L ower T hames v alley a s a v ariant

s eries

f orm

W indmill

s uggested

s outh-east a nd e astern B ritain a s a c eramic s tyle i n t he

2 .2:

E bbsfleet

' plain b owl'

f or e xample

I t h as

o f t he e arlier n eolithic r egional s tyle s eries, e nd

s tyles,

i s f ound i n a ssociation w ith

a n umber o f c ausewayed e nclosures,

W iltshire

E bbsfleet

n o.

( M.

W .

P itts,

p ers.

T he l ater n eolithic p eriod

f lint t echnology,

c omm.; a lso

F ig.

r esulting i n t he p roduction

- 1 0 -

2 .4:

w itnessed

a o f

2

5 cm

F igure 2 .3

N eolithic

a xes.

' Scandinavian'

1 a nd 2 , a xe.

t hick-butted g round a xes;

3 ,

CD

' C.

0 F igure

2 .4

N eolithic a xes. 2 ,

1 ,

o

5 cm

1 --4

t hin-butted,

1 --1 1

I --4

f laked a nd g round a xe;

e longated t rapeze-shaped a xe w ith f acetted s ides;

t hin-butted,

e dge-ground

c oncave-sided a xe.

- 1 2

-

c hisel;

4 ,

3 ,

t hin-butted.

f lake-dominant

a ssemblages

l eaf-shaped a rrowheads T he

t wo-fold

a nd

t he s ubstitution o f

( Smith 1 974,

c hronological

1 20;

t ransverse

f or

s ee C hapter 5 ).

d ivision o f

t he

n eolithic

p eriod

o utlined a bove, w hich i s b ased l argely o n t he s equence o f p ottery s tyles a nd m onument c onstruction, a ccords w ell w ith t he c hronological s cheme f or f lintwork w ill t he

b e

( see C hapter 5 ).

T he c hronological s equence t hat

u sed a s t he b asis f or t his s tudy c onsists o f

l ater m esolithic p eriod,

c .

n eolithic p eriod, c . 3 200 - c . p eriod, c . 2 700 - C . 2 000 b .c.

5 000 - c .

t hree

3 200 b .c.;

2 700 b .c.;

p hases:

t he e arlier

a nd t he l ater n eolithic

F ootnotes 1 .

d ate o f 3 310 + 1 30 b .c.

T he

( BM-449)

l ayers o f a l arge, — c ircular f eature

f or a h earth i n t he

u pper

( which c ould b e a t ree h ole)

c ontaining a l ater m esolithic f lint i ndustry a t W awcott I , ( Froom 1 972b, 4 2) h as b een d iscredited ( Jacobi 1 982, 2 1). 2 .

B erks.

C -14 d ates o btained f rom w ood s amples t aken f rom t he S weet T rack, a

w ooden

' catwalk'

a ssociation

w ith

s tructure p reserved i n p eat

e arlier

n eolithic

' plain

a nd

b owl'

i n

d irect

p ottery

a nd

f lintwork, a re 3 274 + 7 5 b .c. ( Q-968), 3 268 + 7 5 b .c. ( Q-963), 3 209 + 7 0 b .c. ( Q-966), 3 200 + 6 5 b .c. ( Q-962) , — 3 190 + 1 00 b .c. ( Q-113. 2 ),

3 158 + 6 5 b .c.

2 937 + 9 0 b .c. C -14

S ingle

(7 4 i -991)

( Q19 67),

3 153 + 1 00 b .c.

( Coles a nd C oles

( Q7 1 103)

d ates c annot b e u sed o n t heir o wn t o d ate a

p hase o f a ctivity: n eolithic p eriod

a nd

5 4).

1 97 5,

s ingle

' one d ate i s n o d ate'. T hus t he s tart o f t he c annot b e d efined r eliably u sing s ites w ith

s ingle d eterminations.

H owever,

e ven s ites w hich h ave p roduced a

s eries o f d ates c annot b e c redited a utomatically: t he d ated m aterial, c ontext a nd w hat t his r epresents i n t erms o f a ctivity o n

t he

s ite m ust b e e xamined c ritically

v alidity o f a ny s equence o f C -14 d ates. c ausewayed e nclosure, u pper

d itch

O xon.

b efore

a ccepting

F or e xample,

t he

a t A bingdon

o ne l ayer t owards t he b ottom o f t he

f ills i n a rea C p roduced a c harcoal s ample

a nd

a n

a nimal b one s ample t hat g ave C -14 d ates o f 3 110 + 1 30 b .c. ( BM3 51) a nd 2 760 + 1 35 b .c. ( BM-352) r espectively. I n a ddition, i n a rea

B

a d ate o f 2 780 + 1 35 b .c.

c harcoal d ate

( BM-348)

w as

o btained

f rom

f rom t he b ottom l ayer i n t he u pper d itch l evels,

o f 4 070 + 1 10 b .c.

( BM-349)

a nd a

c ame f rom c harcoal f ound i n

a

l ayer

s tratified s everal l ayers a bove t he c ontext f rom w hich t he

f irst

d ate w as o btained ( Avery 1 982,

w as

s ome

t he d ate o f 4 070 _ + 1 10 c ould r elate t o t his p hase o f a ctivity.

b .c.

m esolithic ( BM-349) C learly,

f lintwork

4 9).

A s t here

o n t he s ite,

d ates o btained f rom s mall f ragments o f c harcoal m ust b e

t reated w ith c aution,

a s c harcoal c ould h ave s urvived o n a

s ite

f or s everal c enturies b efore i t f inally b ecame i ncorporated i n a n a rchaeological

c ontext.

d ates f rom B riar H ill, c omminuted

c harcoal,

H ence

t he e arly 4 th

N orthants., c annot

c onstruction o f t he e nclosure:

b e

m illennium

a ccepted

a s

d ating

t hey d erive f rom f eatures

a lso p roduced 3 rd m illennium b .c.

d ates

( Kinnes a nd T horpe

S ome l ater m esolithic f lintwork w as f ound a t t he s ite, r elate t o a ctivity h ere i n t he e arly 4 th m illennium b .c.

- 1 3 -

b .c.

w hich w ere a ll o btained f rom t he w hich 1 986).

a nd c ould

3 .

I t

c ould

b e

a rgued

t hat

c hanges

i n

s ubsistence

a ssociated

w ith

a

l ikely

h ave

r esulted i n t he p roduction

t o

d isplay

g reater

a ssemblages

t han

h ypothetical p hase o f a ffinities

r emaining f rom a p re-3200 b .c. b e

c onflated

m aterial.

w ith

l ater m esolithic

p ioneer

e arlier

o f

p ractices

f arming

t oolkits n eolithic

a ssemblages.

A ny

a re w hich f lint

m aterial

p hase o f f arming i s t hus l ikely t o

w ith e arlier n eolithic

( i.e.

3 200

- 2 700

b .c.)

C hapter 3 .

P hysical b ackground a nd e nvironment o f t he T hames b asin.

T he t he

r egion i n s outhern B ritain s elected a s a c ase s tudy a rea

T hames b asin

t ributaries t ypes, a nd

( Map

2 ).

t he c atchment a rea o f t he T hames a nd

T his u nit e ncompasses a v ariety o f

i s i ts

l andscape

s tretching f rom t he o olite l imestone d ipslope o f t he C otswolds

c halk

d ownland a t t he h eadwaters o f t he K ennet

b rickearth M ost

( Map 1 ):

p lains

t o

t he

o f s outh-west E ssex a nd n orth-west K ent

c oastal ( Map

3 ).

p arts o f t he T hames b asin p rovide s uitable l and f or a griculture:

r easonably w ell-drained s oils c ontaining a g ood s upply o f n utrients i n a

r egion

w here

t he

c limate i s

f avourable

t o

a rable

f arming

a nd

l ivestock p roduction.

3 .1 3 .1

P hysical b ackground ( i)

R elief a nd d rainage

T he

m ain

s trike o f t he r ock f ormations i n t he T hames ( Map 4 ).

n orth-east t o s outh-west t he C otswolds e scarpment, D owns,

a t a l ittle o ver 3 00 m .,

t he

d irection

i mmediately

o f

w est

L imestone R idge; i n

t he

i ts o f

w hich r ise

( Map 3 ).

a bove s ea l evel

T he s ource o f t he T hames i s 5k m. t he h eart o f t he C otswolds.

s outh-west o f C irencester,

c ourse

O xford

c hanging

a s

i t

s harply

p asses

a t

t hrough

t wo

p laces:

t he

C orallian

a nd a t t he G oring G ap w here i t f lows t hrough a

T he

n orth-west

b y

f irst

i n

F rom h ere t he r iver f lows e astwards w ith

c halk e scarpment a nd s o d ivides t he B erkshire D owns

C hilterns.

i s

a nd t he B erkshire

t he C hiltern H ills a nd t he N orth D owns e scarpments,

i n p laces t o j ust o ver 2 50 m .

b asin

T he h ighest p arts o f t he b asin a re

s tretch o f t he r iver v alley,

t he C otswolds e scarpment,

a nd

d efined t o

t o t he s outh b y

t he

g ap t he t he

s carp

s lope o f t he M arlborough a nd B erkshire D owns a nd t o t he e ast b y C hilterns e scarpment i s k nown a s t he U pper T hames v alley.

t he T he

d rainage s ystem i ncludes t he T hames a nd s everal m ajor t ributaries,

f or

e xample

t he C herwell a nd t he E venlode

( Map 2 ).

D owns a nd t he C hilterns t o t he n orth a nd w est, s outh

a nd

C entral L ondon t o t he e ast,

M iddle T hames r egion

( Gibbard 1 985,

t he K ennet,

C olne,

L odden,

W ith

B erkshire

t he N orth D owns t o t he

t he T hames

1 -3).

t he

f lows t hrough

t he

M ajor t ributary r ivers a re

W ey a nd t he M ole

( Map 2 ).

T he a rea o f t he

T hames v alley d ownstream o f C entral L ondon, a nd i ncluding t he L ea a nd D arent t ributaries ( Map 2 ) ' , i s k nown a s t he L ower T hames v alley. T he T hames h as F landrian m ain

p eriod.

r iver,

f or

f ollowed i ts p resent c ourse t hroughout m ost o f t he T he d iscovery o f s mall c hannels a djacent e xample a t F armoor,

1 979), F awley, B ucks. ( Needham a nd L angley p attern

o f

O xon.

( Lambrick a nd

( Farley 1 983, 1 69) a nd R unnymede, 1 980), s hows t hat t here w as a m ore

c hannels i n e arly p ost-glacial t imes t han i s i n

t o

t he

R obinson S urrey c omplex e vidence

t oday; o therwise t he c hannel s ystem h as r emained r elatively s table ( Robinson a nd L ambrick 1 984, 8 10; D evoy 1 980, 1 39). R unning p arallel w ith a nd a djacent t o t he T hames t hroughout i ts c ourse a re a s eries g ravel

t erraces

( Map 5 ).

T hese w ere f ormed a s t he T hames

a nd

o f i ts

f loodplain r esponded t o a s eries o f f alls i n s ea-level d uring t he P leistocene p eriod: a t e ach f all i n s ea-level t he r iver c ut t hrough i ts p revious f loodplain, l eaving t he r emains o f t his s tranded a s a t errace a djacent t o t he n ew f loodplain. T he w ide a lluvial f loodplain

- 1 5 -

i n

t he p resent s tretch o f t he U pper T hames i s a

b .c.

f eature;

w oodland

p ost-2nd

m illennium

i t h as b een s uggested t hat t his r esulted f rom i ncreased

c learance

a nd

a gricultural a ctivity

( Robinson a nd L ambrick 1 984,

8 13).

i n

l ater

p rehistory

I n t he T hames e stuary,

s ea l evels

h ave f luctuated s ince t he e nd o f t he P leistocene p eriod a nd t he c oastline i n t he o uter e stuary w ould h ave b een u p t o 2 k m. f urther o ut t o s ea d uring t he l ate 4 th a nd 3 rd m illennia s ection 3 .2(iii) b elow).

3 .1

( ii)

b .c.

( Fig.

3 .1:

s ee

L andscape r egions i n t he T hames b asin

T he T hames b asin,

o n t he b asis o f r elief,

d rainage a nd g eology,

i nto a n umber o f l andscape r egions

a nd 5 ).

T he n orth-western p art o f t he U pper T hames v alley c onsists o f

t he C otswold H ills:

( Map 3 :

s ee a lso M aps

4

d ivides

a n u ndulating o olite l imestone d ipslope d issected

b y a t rellised d rainage p attern f lowing i n a s outherly d irection. t he

s outhern e dge o f t he C otswolds,

t he T hames

t he

O xford

p erpendicular

C lay a nd K ellaway B eds,

A t

f lows e astwards a long t o

t he

C otswold

t ributaries t hat e nter t he r iver a t f requent i ntervals. H ere, t he T hames i s f lanked b y a s eries o f g ravel t erraces o verlying t he O xford C lay.

T o

t he

L imestone

s outh,

R idge

a

s eries o f h ills m aking

K immeridge a nd G ault C lay V ale. e nds

u p

T his f lat,

g ently

D owns,

a nd t he C hilterns.

u ndulating

d ownland c apped

C orallian

c halk

d ipslope,

b y s outh-flowing r ivers.

f rom

t he

r elatively l ow-lying a rea

d ramatically w ith t he c halk s carp s lope o f t he

B erkshire

t he

s eparates t he O xford C lay/gravel t erraces

M arlborough

a nd

B ehind t he s carp s lope i s

t he

s plit

i nto

b locks

o f

r olling

T he h igher b locks o f d ownland a re

b y C lay-with-flints a nd o ther s uperficial d eposits,

a nd

s ome

d ry v alleys c ontain C ombe D eposits. S outh C lays

o f

o f t he G oring G ap,

t he T hames f lows a cross

t he

T ertiary

t he M iddle T hames r egion a nd n orth-west p art o f t he

b asin s yncline.

A s eries o f g ravel t erraces,

L ondon

w ider a nd u nrelated t o

t hose i n t he U pper T hames b asin, l ies a djacent t o t he T hames i n t his s tretch. F rom C entral L ondon o nwards, t he T hames b ecomes t idal a nd i s f lanked

b y

t erraces.

t he E ssex a nd K ent b rickearth c oastal p lains T he

a nd

g ravel

l ower s tretches o f m ost t ributary v alleys j oining t he

M iddle a nd L ower T hames c ontain F landrian p eat o r t ufa d eposits. T he N orth D owns d ipslope l ies t o t he s outh o f t he L ondon C lay a nd K ent

b rickearths,

n orth-flowing

a nd

r ivers.

i s d ivided i nto b locks o f c halk T he

m ore p rominent p arts o f

d ownland

t he

D owns

b y a re

c overed w ith s uperficial d eposits, m ainly C lay-with-flints a nd P lateau D rift,

a nd d ry v alleys

f requently c ontain C ombe D eposits.

T he r ivers

d issecting t he D owns o riginate s outh o f t he N orth D owns e scarpment, t he W eald. c lays, W eald.

s ands a nd s andstones, T he

i mmediately

i n

T his i s a n a rea o f a lternating e ast-west r unning b ands o f L ow s outh

d ivided i nto t he L ow W eald a nd t he H igh

W eald i ncludes t he G ault C lay a nd o f

t he D owns;

L ower

t he l andscape t hen r ises

W ealden S ands a nd C lays o f t he H igh W eald.

-1 6-

G reensand t o

t he

•

-----n

,

2 0k m , -1

F igure 3 .1

T he a pproximate p osition o f t he c oastline i n t he e stuary:

A ,

T hames

a t t he e nd o f t he T hames I I t ransgression

( c . 3 500 b .c.); _ t ransgression ( c.

B ,

a t

t he s tart o f t he T hames

2 000 b .c.).

- 1 7 -

A fter D evoy 1 980,

I II

1 36-7.

3 .2

C limate,

s oils a nd v egetation i n t he 5 th - 3 rd m illennia b .c.

C limatic p eriod s tudies f loor

c hanges

h ave

b een

a nd,

i n

s outhern B ritain

m ore g enerally,

c ores

d uring

r econstructed f rom p ollen

1 975;

( Evans

a nd

p rehistoric m acrofossil

f rom o xygen i sotope a nalyses o f S immons a nd

T ooley

D evensian G laciation t emperatures r ose s teadily, O ptimum '

t he p lant

d uring t he A tlantic p eriod

( c.

1 981).

5 500- c .

3 200 b .c.),

t han t hose p revailing t oday ( Godwin 1 940:

W est 1 970: c .

C hronozone F II).

3 200 - c .

6 00 b .c.

t he

r eaching a ' Climatic

r elatively d ry c ontinental c limate a nd m ean t emperatures c . h igher

o cean

A fter

w ith a

2° 3°

P ollen Z one

C .

V IIa;

F ollowing t his i s t he S ub-Boreal p eriod,

( Godwin 1 940:

P ollen Z one V IIb;

W est 1 980:

C hronozone F III),

f or w hich i t h as b een s uggested t hat t he c limate w as

s till

d rier t han i n t he

w arm

b ut

e vidence f or t his i s d isputable I n s ome c ases, a nd

S ub-Boreal

( Smith 1 981, l ast

5 000

w ere d ifferent f rom

y ears h ave l ed t o d egradation b y

m illennia b .c. 1 974)

p eat

p resent-day

v arious

( Evans 1 971;

o r m arine t ransgressions m olluscan d eposits

e nvironmental c ontinuous

t he

s oils

p rocesses,

d ate h ave b een f ound i n a n umber o f l ocalities,

a nd

i n

v alleys

r econstruction.

p ollen

d iagrams

f or

( Devoy

1 972;

1 980;

e ither

D imbleby a nd M urphy

1 984).

p alaeobotanical a nalyses c arried o ut

s amples c ollected f rom t hese p rofiles, a nd

t he

B uried s oil p rofiles o f 5 th - 3 rd

p reserved u nder n eolithic e arthworks P edological,

h owever,

H arding 1 982).

c hanges i n v egetation c over a nd l and u se o ver t he

e xample l eaching a nd p odsolization.

E vans

p eriod; 1 33;

i t c an b e d emonstrated t hat s oils i n t he A tlantic

p eriods

1 45);

A tlantic

( Smith 1 981,

a s w ell a s a lluvial,

6 ),

( Map H owever,

p rovide

f or t he T hames b asin,

w ere o btained f rom t he i nner e stuary.

e vidence

t here a re

f ew

o n

c olluvial f or

s ubstantial

a nd m ost o f

t hese

I t i s t hus v irtually i mpossible

t o r ecord t he e xtent a nd c omposition o f f orest c over a nd t he l ongevity o f

c learance

p hases f or t he e ntire s tudy a rea.

n eolithic B ritain,

W ith

r eference

S mith h as s tated t hat i t i s " still v ery

t o

d ifficult

t o m ake a n i nformed e nvironmental r econstruction f or a ny p articular l ocality" ( 1981, 2 00). T he a ccount p resented h ere w ill d escribe r ecent p alaeoenvironmental a nalyses c onducted a t r easonably w ell-dated s ites,

a nd

u se

t his

i nformation t o p rovide a

c hanges i n v egetation c over,

g eneral

p icture

o f

s oils a nd g round-water c onditions i n t he

5 th - 3 rd c onsidered

m illennia b .c. T he e vidence o f f aunal h ere; t he d eposition o f a nimals o ften

a ctivities

p ractised a t t he s ite i n q uestion a nd d oes n ot n ecessarily

r eflect t he s urrounding e nvironment 1 984).

3 .2

( i)

( Grigson 1 982,

T he l imestone u plands a nd c lay v ales o f

r emains r elates 3 06;

t he

i s t o

n ot t he

c ontra S mith

U pper

T hames

b asin O ne

p ollen

s equence h as b een p roduced f or t his r egion,

o nly c overs t he p re-Boreal t o A tlantic p eriods.

b ut

T he s amples f or

i t t he

a nalysis w ere t aken f rom a c alcareous f en f illing a v alley c ut i nto t he C orallian L imestone a t C othill, n ear O xford ( Map 6 : C lapham a nd C lapham s equence

1 939). p robably

G iven

t he n arrow w idth o f t he

r eflects

t he v egetation c over

v alley o n

f loor, t he

t his

C orallian

R idge, a nd t hus g ives a n i ndication o f w oodland c over o n l imestone i n t he U pper T hames b asin.

-1 8-

T he u ppermost s ample c overs t he e nd o f Z one V IIa ( i.e.

c .

4 000 -

c . 3 200 b .c.), a nd p roduced a p re-clearance c limax o ak/elm w oodland s pectrum. C orylus h ad f allen b elow i ts e arlier l evels, w hile T ilia a nd

A lnus h ad a ppeared.

t ype

a t

3 8%,

C orylus,

t hen

Q uercus w as t he m ost a bundant a t 3 5% ,

A lnus

T ilia a t 1 7% a nd

a lthough n ot i ncluded i n t he t ree p ollen s um,

t otal a rboreal p ollen.

T he h igh v alue o f T ilia,

r ate o f p ollen d ispersal,

t ree

p ollen

U lmus

8 % .

a t

w as 4 0% o f t he

c oupled w ith i ts p oor

s uggests t hat l ime w as p robably t he d ominant

t ree s pecies i n t he d eciduous w oodland c anopy o n l imestone s oils. A lthough s ome c harcoal w as p resent t owards t he b ottom o f t he p rofile, t here a re n o 1i ndications o f m esolithic w oodland c learance r eflected i n t he d iagram. M olluscan w ith

a nalysis

n eolithic

e vidence

f or

o f b uried s oils a nd d itch

m onuments t he

U pper

p rovides t he T hames

b ulk

i n t he

f ills

o f

5 th

t he

- 3 rd

a ssociated

e nvironmental m illennia

A lthough m olluscan a nalysis c annot r eveal t he c omposition o f c over,

i t

p rovides

a

g ood

i ndication

o f

t he

l ocal

b .c.

w oodland

e nvironment

( Dimbleby a nd E vans 1 974). T he e arlier n eolithic c hambered c airn a t A scott-under-Wychwood i n t he O xfordshire C otswolds ( Map 6 ) overlay p receding 1 971, a

p hases

4 0).

o f b oth m esolithic a nd

t urfline

t his l evel.

b ase

( Evans

( Evans

1 971,

3 1).

h orizon N eolithic

w ere r ecovered f rom t he t urfline a nd f rom s everal p its

t hrough t his h orizon; b elow

a ctivity

a nd r elatively s tone-free z one o verlying a s tony

d eveloped o n a l ime-rich p arent m aterial a rtefacts

n eolithic

T he p re-cairn s oil p rofile w as c lassed a s a r endsina w ith

o therwise,

N umerous s ubsoil h ollows w ere l ocated

o f t he r endsina s oil,

c ut

n othing o f n eolithic d ate o ccurred b elow

t he

t he u pper f ills o f w hich c ontained t he B -

h orizon o f a b rown-earth s oil. M esolithic f lintwork, c harred h azelnut s hells a nd f ragments o f b urnt b one w ere f ound s ealed b elow t he a rtefactually s terile b rown-earth s oil i n o ne o f t hese h ollows 1 971, w as

3 8). f ound

f ill

o f

i n a ssociation w ith t he m esolithic m aterial i n t he s ubsoil h ollow ( Evans

1 971,

3 5),

s mall-scale

w oodland c learance a t t his t ime.

o f t he h ollow y ielded a f auna w hich i ndicated

f ill

o ver o f t he a rboreal c anopy, d evelopment

o f

s ampled f or p ollen a nalysis, t ree

T he

S oil s amples f rom a

1 971,

3 6-40).

t urfline

o f

w as t he

c onsisted s ealed

b y

T ilia,

t he b uried r endsina s oil

f ragments,

t he

f lintwork

a n

w hile t he l ater p hase

f rom b .c.

( BM-492)

T hus t he p lace p hase

u nderlying

s ubsoil

c omprised

p ottery

b .c.

1 971,

4 0).

t he

d isturbed C harcoal

( BM-491b),

t he s urface o f t he t urfline g ave a d ate o f 2 785 ( Evans

o pen-

a nd f ragments o f a nimal b one o n a nd w ithin

p it 7 p roduced a C -14 d ate o f 2 943 + 7 0 f rom

a nd

s preads o f

a ctivity t ook T he e arlier

t urfline. T he l and s urface d id n ot a ppear t o h ave b een d rastically, f or e xample b y p loughing ( Evans 1 971, 3 9-40). c harcoal

c ould

( Dimbleby

f lints,

p its d ug i nto t he s oil p rofile a nd t urf-line,

T he

w hich

c ontained

F ragments o f p ottery,

c leared a nd t wo p hases o f d omestic c hambered c airn w as c onstructed. o f

w as

b ut p ollen p reservation w as p oor.

o f t he r egenerated w oodland c over

m olluscan f auna.

t he

T he b rown-earth s p

c harcoal a nd s everal p its w ere a ssociated w ith t his h orizon. f orest b efore

t he

c losing

s uggesting w oodland r egeneration a nd t he

s pecies r epresented w ere C orylus a nd

r eflect c omponents E vans 1 974, 1 21).

c ountry

l ower

i ndicating

a b rown-earth s oil w hen m esolithic o ccupation o f

c ame t o a n e nd ( Evans

m ain

t he

p ossibly

u pper

s ite

( Evans

A m olluscan f auna r eflecting a n o pen w oodland e nvironment

w hile +

7 0

T he b uried s oil p rofile b elow t he

- 1 9 -

H azleton I I c hambered c airn i n t he G loucestershire C otswolds p roduced d omestic d ebris o f b oth l ater m esolithic a nd e arlier n eolithic d ate, i ncluding t he r emains o f a n eolithic s tructure a nd c ontemporary m idden ( Map 6 : S aville 1 984a, 1 9). P reliminary p edological a nalysis s uggests

t he p ossibility o f p re-cairn c ultivation,

b ut

c onfirmation

a nd f urther d etails o f t he e nvironmental s equence a t t he a wait t he r esults o f w ork i n p rogress. S oil

s amples

f or m olluscan a nalysis w ere t aken f rom

s ite

t he

m ust

d itch

f ills o f t he C ondicote h enge i n t he G loucestershire C otswolds ( Map 6 : B ell 1 983a). B eaker-related p ottery w as r ecovered f rom t he l ower, b ut n ot p rimary, f ill o f t he d itch; i n a ssociation w as c harcoal f rom w hich t wo C -14 d ates w ere o btained : 1 770 + 8 0 b .c. ( HAR 3064) a nd 1 720 + 1 00 b .c. ( HAR 3067) ( Saville 1 983, 4 6). T he m olluscan f auna i ncluded s pecies w hich i ndicated t hat t he m onument h ad b een c onstructed 4 4).

i n

o pen w oodland c onditions a nd t all g rass

( Bell

1 983a,

L imited e nvironmental e vidence f or t he 5 th - 3 rd m illennia b .c. i s a vailable f rom t he U pper T hames g ravel t erraces. S ilted u p r iver c hannels c ontaining p eaty d eposits w ere i nvestigated a t M ingies D itch, F armoor a nd B uscot L ock, a ll i n O xfordshire ( Map 6 : R obinson a nd W ilson 1 987). M ingies D itch a nd F armoor p roduced w oodland p lant r emains o f p robable B oreal d ate ( c. 7 000 - c . 5 500 b .c.), w hile A lnus g lutinosa l ogs f rom t he b ottom o f t he p eat a t B uscot L ock p roduced a d ate o f 2 060 + 9 0 b .c. ( HAR 4491). T he p lant r emains a nd p ollen a nalysis s uggested a w oodland e nvironment o n t he b ank o f t he r iver a nd p erhaps e xtending o nto t he f irst t errace a s w ell. A lnus s p. w as t he m ain t ree s pecies p resent, f ollowed b y Q uercus s p. a nd T ilia s p. I t i s s uggested t hat l ime w as p erhaps d ominant o n t he l imestone h ills n orth o f B uscot, w hile o ak a nd p erhaps a lder w ere m ore i mportant i n t he m ixed w oodland o n t he c lay s lopes. A T hrupp

m id 3 rd m illennium b .c. s ite B , n ear A bingdon,

r ing-ditch o n t he f irst t errace a t O xon. ( Map 6 ), w hich p roduced b oth

A bingdon a nd M ortlake W ares a nd a f lake-dominated f lint a ssemblage, y ielded a n o pen-country m olluscan f auna ( Robinson a nd W ilson, 1 987). T he a lluvial h orizon o f a t runcated s ol l essivg w as d iscovered b eneath t he b ank o f t he D evil's Q uoits h enge o n t he s econd t errace a t S tanton H arcourt, O xon. ( Map 6 : L imbrey 1 975, 1 90). A C -14 d ate o f 2 060 + 1 20 b .c. ( HAR 1887) w as o btained f rom t he p rimary s ilting o f t he d itch, w hile a nimal b one f rom t he s econdary s ilts g ave a d ate o f 1 640 +7 0 b .c. ( HAR 1888) ( Case 1 986, 3 2). A t o ne t ime s ols l essivgs w ere c onsidered t o r esult f rom w oodland c learance a nd c ultivation ( Limbrey 1 975, 1 85), b ut r ecently i t h as b een s hown t hat t hese s oils d evelop u nder w oodland c onditions ( Limbrey 1 978, 2 1; F isher 1 982). F isher ( 1982, 3 03) s uggests t hat s ols l essivgs w ould a lready h ave b een w ell d eveloped p eriod,

i n a nd

p arts o f s outhern E ngland b y t he e nd

o f

t he

A tlantic

t hat i t i s t he r emains o f t hese s oils t hat a re p reserved

b y s ome n eolithic m onuments. U ntil

t he

e nd o f t he 4 th m illennium b .c.,

m uch

o f

t he

U pper

T hames w as c overed b y m ixed d eciduous w oodland; l ime w as p robably t he d ominant t ree s pecies o n t he l imestone s oils, w ith o ak a nd a lder d ominant i n t he r iver v alleys. W oodland c learings c ertainly a ppeared d uring t he e arly 3 rd m illennium b .c., b ut t he e xtent a nd d uration o f f orest c learance i s d ifficult t o e stimate. P arts o f t he C otswolds

- 2 0 -

certainly remained under woodland until the end of the 3rd millennium b.c., for example Condicote, Glos., while there were areas of the Thames gravel terraces which had been cleared by the mid 3rd millennium b.c., for example Thrupp, Oxon. 3.2

(ii)

The Marlborough and Berkshire Downs, the Chilterns and the North Downs chalklands

As in the Cotswolds, most palaeoenvironmental evidence for the chalk Downs is derived from molluscan analysis of buried soil profiles. However, some pollen analysis of peat deposits on or adjacent to the chalk and investigation of colluvial deposits in dry valleys has been carried out. Pollen analysis of peats in a valley mire situated on superficial deposits overlying chalk at Snelsmore Common, Berks. (Map 6) showed that there was minimal disturbance of peat associated with the the forest cover until the early Iron Age: first clearance of the area around the mire produced a C-14 date of 620.::.. 90 b.c. (HAR-4241) (Waton 1982, 83). Excavations at a North Downs scarp slope dry valley overlooking the River Darent at Otford, Kent (Map 6) revealed an extensive build­ up of colluvial deposits, with loess present in the deeper layers. Analysis of the molluscan fauna extracted from these deposits indicated a forested environment succeeded by a clearance horizon; this horizon was associated with flintwork and sherds of Beaker and Peterborough Wares (Pyke 1980, 328-9). A C-14 date of 2280 + 80 b.c. (HAR-3690) has been obtained from charcoal which is considered to be associated with the clearance horizon in the combe (Pyke 1981, 295). A dry valley on the Chilterns escarpment at Pitstone, Bucks. has also been investigated for palaeoenvironmental information (Map 6: Evans and Valentine 1974). A thin layer of Clay-with-flints and loess was found to overlie Coombe Deposits. This layer had developed into a typical brown calcareous earth on the valley slopes and a similar but wetter soil in the valley bottom. Molluscs in the soil demonstrated a woodland environment, but overlying this soil was a calcareous silt loam which contained molluscs indicating open-country conditions, the silt loam layer probably resulting from the ploughing of the drier soils on the slopes after the vegetation cover had been cleared. Charcoal fragments recovered from the drier slope soils gave a C-14 date of 1960 .::_ 220 b.c. (HAR-327) (Evans and Valentine 1974, 350-1). Examination of peaty deposits close to the chalk and colluvial deposits in dry valleys indicates considerable local variation in vegetation cover and land use on the chalklands in the 3rd millennium b.c. In certain localities woodland was cleared by the end of the 3rd millennium b.c., while other areas remained under woodland cover until after the mid 2nd millennium b.c. It has been suggested that this uneven spread of woodland clearance might reflect the distribution of loess overlying Clay-with-flints (Bell 1982; Waton 1982, 87). High nutrient status, water-retentive loess-based soils are ubiquitous on the chalk Downs in southern England (Catt 1978, 14), but in some areas have suffered erosion and redeposition as colluvial deposits in dry valleys since the 3rd millennium b.c., in particular on the South Downs (Bell 1983b, 147). For places where there is minimal evidence for woodland disturbance before the end of the Bronze Age, for example Snelsmore Common, Berks., it has been argued that significant loess - 21 -

removal occurred before the 4th millennium b.c., leaving base­ deficient and clay soils which would have been less attractive for agriculture (Waton 1982, 87). the Further information on the variation in land use on chalklands after initial woodland clearance derives from the study of buried soil profiles. Seven neolithic monuments on the Downs at the headwaters of the River Kennet, Wilts. have been investigated by Evans (1971; 1972; in Ashbee et al. 1979). The barrows, Beckhampton Road, South Street, Horslip and West Kennet (Map 6), were all built in an open-country environment (1971, 65-66). The buried soil profile below Beckhampton Road varied according to the nature of the underlying parent material from a rendsina to a brown earth of sol lessiv� type. The molluscan faunas from the rendsina suggest an initial woodland cover which was later cleared giving rise to a grassland environment; charcoal from the base of the turfline produced a C-14 date of 3250.:. 160 b.c. (NPL-138), while an antler on the buried surface gave a date of 2517 .:_ 90 b.c. (BM-506b). There was no evidence from the soil profile of tillage and it is suggested that the grassland environment was maintained by animal grazing (Ashbee et al. 1979, 281). The South Street pre-barrow soil was a rendsina (Ashbee et al. 1979, 282). Soil samples were taken through the buried soil for both molluscan and pollen analysis. A dry woodland molluscan fauna and a woodland pollen spectrum with Corylus as the dominant species, supported by Quercus, Betula, Ulmus, Alnus and Pinus, were derived from the bottom of the soil profile (Ashbee et al. 1979, 288). The molluscan fauna indicates that gradual woodland clearance followed, the pollen record suggesting that clearance was of a fairly local nature with areas of scrub woodland remaining around the site. At this stage, the soil profile was truncated by plough marks resulting from cross-ploughing with an ard. Finally, a phase of grassland became established before the barrow mound was constructed (Ashbee et al • .1979, 296). Charcoal from the surface of the buried soil gave a C-14 date of 2810 + 180 b.c. (BM-356). Soil samples for molluscan analysis were also taken through the south ditch fills. The primary fill contained an open-country fauna; two C-14 dates of 2750 + 135 b.c. (BM-357) and 2670 .:_ 140b.c. (BM-358b) were obtained from animal bone and antler respectively from the bottom of the north ditch. The secondary fill produced shade-loving species indicative of woodland regeneration (Ashbee et al. 1979, 293). Sherds from at least six vessels of Ebbsfleet/Mortlake type Ware, animal bone and a fire­ fractured fragment of a flaked and partly ground thin-butted axe were The top of the secondary fill was recovered from the upper layer. truncated by cross-ploughing with an ard, this time associated with Beaker pottery and a molluscan fauna reflecting woodland clearance and the establishment of a grassland environment (Ashbee et al. 1979, 298). Two barrows constructed elsewhere on the chalk Downs within the Thames catchment have been sampled for molluscan analysis. Wayland's Smithy II (Map 6), a chambered tomb on the Berkshire Downs yielded an open-country fauna from the buried soil, which was thought to have been disturbed by cultivation. Charcoal from the surface of the buried soil gave a C-14 date of 2820 + 130 b.c. (I-2328) (Evans 1971, 65: 1912, 262 and 265). However, the soil profile under the kidney­ shaped barrow of the Chilterns at Whiteleaf Hill, Bucks. (Map 6) - 22 -

p roduced

a w oodland f auna ( Kennard i n C hilde a nd

S mith

1 954,

2 30).

T he b uried s oil c ontained e arlier n eolithic p ottery a nd f lintwork t hat p robably

r epresents

d omestic

c onstruction o f t he b arrow. t o

e ither

a

r egeneration

a ctivity

o n t he

p re-settlement/monument

b etween

s ite

p rior

t o

t he

T he w oodland f auna c ould t herefore r elate

t he

p hase

o f

e nvironment

d omestic

o r

w oodland

a ctivity

a nd

t he

c onstruction o f t he b arrow. I n c halk a nd

c ontrast D owns,

K nap

H ill

h eadwaters s pecies

t o t he e nvironmental e vidence f rom b arrows c ausewayed e nclosures s ituated o n t he

o f

t he

( Evans

( Map 6 ) w ere b oth

K ennet

6 6 ;

1 971,

S parks i n C onnah 1 965,

D imbleby a nd E vans

1 9-20),

t he

w oodland

1 26

a nd

1 28;

E arlier n eolithic

a nd f lintwork w as r ecovered f rom b oth s ites:

C -14 d ates

b .c.

f rom c harcoal i n t he p rimary d itch f ill

( BM-74)

a t

b y

1 974,

( BM-73)

-

t he

s uggesting t hat t hese e nclosures w ere

2 960 + 1 56b.c. f rom H ill

D owns

d ominated

b oth c onstructed i n r estricted w oodland c learings. p ottery

o n

m olluscan f aunas f rom b uried s oils a t t he W indmill H ill

w ere

o btained

W indmill H ill, w hile a ntler f rom t he p rimary d itch f ill a t K nap p roduced a d ate o f 2 760 + 1 15 b .c. ( BM-105). T he e arlier

n eolithic e nclosures o n t he S outh D owns e scarpment w ere a lso b uilt s mall-scale w oodland c learings

l ater

n eolithic

s uggesting

d ate,

i n

( Thomas 1 982).

T he A vebury h enge m onument a nd S ilbury H ill, o f

o f

f rom c harcoal i n t he b uried s oil a nd 2 580 + 1 50

y ielded

( Map 6 ),

W ilts.

o pen-country

m olluscan

b oth

f aunas

6 5-

a g rassland e nvironment o f l ong d uration ( Evans 1 971,

6 ).

I n t he s oil p rofile u nder t he b ank a t A vebury,

w ere

f ound i n a ssociation w ith m olluscs s uggesting f orest

c learance.

A bove t his l ay a t urfline c ontaining a n o pen-country f auna

i ndicative

o f

g rassland

M olluscan i n

1 982

( Evans

1 972,

2 74;

c ross-ploughmarks

D imbleby a nd E vans

1 974,

1 22-3).

a nalysis o f t his t urfline e xposed d uring c onstruction s uggested

t hat t he g rassland w as

u ndergrazed o r l ightly g razed ( Evans e t a l.

i mpoverished 1 985,

a nd

3 10).

w ork e ither

P eterborough

W are h as b een l ocated e lsewhere u nder t he b ank a t A vebury ( Piggott G ray 1 935, w as

1 40).

d evoid o f m olluscs.

t urves t urves

i n

S ilbury H ill w as c onstructed o n a b rown-earth w hich T he c entral p art o f t he m ound w as b uilt

o f

c ut f rom a r endsina s oil. V egetation f rom t he s urface o f t he w as e xceptionally w ell-preserved a nd i ncluded m osses a nd

g rasses i ndicative o f a c halk g rassland t hat m ay h ave o riginated f rom a n orth-facing s lope; t he s urface h ad b een m oderately g razed ( Williams

1 976,

2 69).

s pecies o f m olluscs m ound i tself w as

T he

t urf s tack a lso

( Evans ' 1 972, 2 66-7). p robably e xtensive

p roduced

g rassland a nd h azel s crub p redominating ( Evans 1 972, o f b .c.

2 69).

A s ample

t he s urface v egetation o f t he t urves g ave a C-1 4 d ate o f 2 145 + 9 5 ( 1-4136)

( Atkinson

1 969,

2 16).

F ive m ore

o btained f rom o rganic m atter i n t he t urf s tack: 9 10-A),

2 620 + 1 20 b .c.

1 30 b .c. 2 65).

( ST -910-C-H)

( SI-910-C),

a nd 2 365 + 1 10 b .c.

e ncountered

c halk D owns.

( SI 19 10-D),

( SI-910-B)

1 -, er i n

( SI-

2 515 +

t ufa, d rain

1 9727

h ave t he

C olne a nd L ea

N ewbury a nd T hatcham i n 3 67; P eake 1 935; K eith-

, ulne v alley,

2 3

w ere

( Evans

a nd b ands o f

P eat d eposits a ccumulated i n t he K ennet,

( nnm.;

d ates

i n t ributary v alleys o f t he T hames t hat

v alleys d uring t he A tlantic p eriod ( Map 6 : t he K ennet v alley, B erks.: C hurchill 1 962, L uc s p ers.

C-1 4

2 725 + 1 10 b .c.

2 580 + 1 10 b .c.

E xtensive t racts o f a lluvium a nd p eat, b een

o pen-country

C learance o n t he s ite o f t he w ith n on-calcareous w eedy

B ucks.:

L acaille 1 963,

2 06;

B roxbourne i n t he L ea v alley,

r esponse

( the T hames I I t ransgression : l ed

H erts.:

W arren e t a l.

1 934)

i n

t o t he r ise i n w ater t able a ssociated w ith s ea-level c hanges D evoy 1 980,

1 37;

G odwin 1 941).

t o t he b urial o f e arlier m esolithic s ites i n t he l ower

T his

s tretches

o f t hese v alleys a nd, i n t he c ase o f t he K ennet v alley, t o t he e stablishment o f l ater m esolithic s ites f arther u pstream ( Jacobi 1 973 , 2 41).

M any

d eposits: m esolithic

o f

t he

s mall v alleys i n

t he

C hilterns

c ontain

t ufa

a t G errards C ross i n t he M isbourne v alley, B ucks, a l ater f lint a ssemblage a nd a nimal b ones h ave b een f ound w ithin ( Map 6 :

a nd b elow t ufa d eposits

F arley 1 983,

1 69).

T hese d eposits

f orm i n s wampy p ools i n l ow-lying a reas s urrounded b y w oodland

( Evans

1 975 , 2 99). T he e nvironmental s equence f or t he c halk D owns i s s imilar t o t hat d escribed

f or t he U pper T hames c atchment.

M ixed d eciduous

c overed t he D owns i n t he 4 th m illennium b .c., b y

t he

e arly

a ssociated

3 rd

w ith

m illennium b .c.

S ome o f

a gricultural a ctivity,

w oodland

w ith c learings a ppearing t hese

f or

c learings

e xample

S outh

w ere

S treet,

W ilts., w hile o thers m ay h ave b een u sed f or t he s ole p urpose o f c onstructing m onuments, f or e xample W indmill H ill a nd K nap H ill c ausewayed l ate

e nclosures,

3 rd

W ilts.

m illennium b .c.

t hese m onuments,

W oodland r egeneration i n t he m id

t o

i s r ecorded i n t he d itch f ills o f s ome

o f

f or e xample S outh S treet,

W ilts.

T his l ed B radley

( 1978) a nd W hittle ( 1978) t o p ostulate c hanges i n f arming p ractice a t t he e nd o f t he e arlier n eolithic p eriod i n r esponse t o d iminishing a gricultural

r esources

d eclining f ertility, ( Bradley 1 978, o f

e arthen

r esulting

s oil e rosion,

9 8).

H owever,

b arrows o f

A vebury

m onument,

m illenium b .c., w hich

v arious

f actors

s uch

a s

f amines o r d isease

t he l ocal e nvironments i n t he v icinity

c onstructed b y 2 500

r epresentative h enge

f rom

a dverse h arvest, b .c.

a re

t he l andscape a s a w hole:

n ot

n ecessarily

S ilbury H ill

a nd

t he

b oth d ating t o t he s econd h alf o f

t he

3 rd

w ere b uilt i n w ell-established g rassland e nvironments

w ere p robably m aintained b y g razing.

I n c ertain a reas,

t hen,

a gricultural a ctivity w as s till v ery m uch i n e vidence i n t he l ate

3 rd

m illennium b .c.

3 .2

( iii)

t he

T he L ower T hames v alley

T he

s ea-level a round t he B ritish c oastline h as f luctuated

e nd

o f

i sostatic

t he

D evensian

r ecovery.

T he

G laciation d ue m elting

t o

e ustatic

o f t he i ce

s heets

s ince

r ises

a nd

a nd

g laciers

t hroughout t he n orthern h emisphere r esulted i n r ises i n s ea-level, w hile t he u pward a nd d ownward t ilting o f l and m asses a fter t he w eight o f

i ce

o n

t hem

s ubmergence

o f

d ownwarping s ea-level m agnitude b iogenic

d ue

h ad

b een r eleased h as l ed

c oastlines.

I n t he

t o

T hames

t he

e stuary,

e mergence t he

t o i sostatic r ecovery a nd t he i ntermittent

h as

r esulted

i n

a

n umber

o f

m arine

a nd

d uration

o f

t hese i ncursions

a re

t he T hames e stuary ( Devoy 1 980,

1 34-6).

r ise

i ncursions. r ecorded

a nd i norganic s ediments d eposited i n l ow-lying a reas

a nd

t ectonic i n T he

i n

t he

a round

C -14 d ating h as b een u sed t o

d ate t he d eposits r elating t o e ach i ncursion a nd i n c ertain l ocalities t hese

s ediments

( Devoy 1 980;

h ave b een s hown t o o verlie n eolithic

M urphy 1 984).

- 2 4 -

s oil

p rofiles

D evoy h as r ecognised f ive m ain m arine t ransgressions o n t he n orth K ent s ide o f t he T hames e stuary f or t he 7 ).

l ast 1 0,000 y ears

T he T hames I I t ransgression i s d ated b etween c .

b .c.,

( 1980,

1 36-

4 500 a nd c .

3 450

w hile t he T hames I II t ransgression i s d ated t o b etween c .

a nd c .

8 50 b .c.

c oastline

( Devoy 1 980,

1 37).

a t t he e nd o f t he T hames I I t ransgression a nd a t t he

o f t he T hames I II t ransgression i s s hown i n F ig. A b een

n umber

s equence

f or

t he

r ecorded

t he

i nfluence l eaving

T hames

e stuary;

t he

I t ransgression,

t here w as a

f rom t he i nner e stuary b etween c . r ecently

D evoy

r emoval p lant

( 1980).

o f

5 000 a nd c .

s ubmerged a reas a vailable f or

m arine

4 600

b .c.,

c olonization.

t he v egetation w as d ominated b y a lder c arr,

a lder-oak f en w oodland.

h ave

p alaeoenvironmental

b y t hese d iagrams i s s ummarized b y

T hames

I nitially,

s tart

3 .1.

o f p ollen d iagrams c overing t he F landrian p eriod

c ompiled

A fter

1 900

T he a pproximate p osition o f t he

a nd l ater

b y

F ollowing t he T hames I I t ransgression a p hase

o f m arine r egression o ccurred b etween c .

3 500 a nd c .

2 000 b .c.,

w ith

d iffering e nvironmental c onditions b ecoming e stablished i n t he e stuary a t

t his t ime.

s wamp

I n t he T ilbury a rea i n E ssex

a nd s altmarsh p eats d eveloped,

M arsh,

K ent

( Map 6 )

a ccumulation

( Map 6 ) P hragmites

b ut u pstream w est o f

a n i nitial p hase o f P hragmites a nd s altmarsh p eat

g ave w ay t o a n a lder-oak f enwood p eat,

b efore t he

r eturn

o f

P hragmites r eedswamp a nd s altmarsh d eposits

1 41).

I n s ome p laces a d rier o ak-hazel f en w oodland

t he p rominence o f G ramineae, t hat

t his

e nvironment

T here

d eveloped,

s easonally

w et,

d ecline n o.

M arsh,

a llowing

( Devoy 1 980, w et

m erely t he o ccasional c learance a nd i solated b urning o f 1 41-2).

i n U lmus p ollen v alues a ppears

p ollen s pectra f or t he T hames e stuary. ( Lab.

b ut

C yperaceae a nd n on-arboreal p ollen s hows

p robably r emained

t he f en w ood ( Devoy 1 980,

S tone

1 980,

i s l ittle e vidence f or h uman e xploitation o f t hese

l owland a reas,

A

f inal

( Devoy

l ight-demanding h erb-dominated p lants t o c ontinue g rowing 1 41).

r eed

B roadness

n ot

q uoted) K ent

( Map

c onsistently

i n

a ll

A C -14 d ate o f 2 980 + 1 10 b .c.

w as o btained f or t he e lm d ecline h orizon 6 ),

a d ate w hich i s

c onsistent

w ith

a t t he

p osition o f t his h orizon i n o ther d ated T hames e stuary p ollen s pectra, f or

e xample

T ilbury

( Devoy

1 980,

1 42).

T he

f irst

a ppearance o f P lantago l anceolata c oincides w ith t he e lm d oes t he r ise i n t he p ollen o f r uderal p lants. u niform

f or

e ach

g round w ater l evel. C orylus t hat

s ite,

h umanly-worked,

o r

( Devoy 1 980,

p roduced

variations s ame

i n

h orizon

b ut i t i s u ncertain w hether t hese b y

a s

t his i s n ot

c ut a nd s haped b ranches o f A lnus,

a nd Q uercus w ere f ound i n p eat d eposits a t t he

t he e lm d ecline o ccurs,

p rocess

H owever,

a nd p robably r eflects l ocal

A t L ittlebrook,

s ignificant d ecline,

a nimals o r b y

s ome

o ther

w ere

n atural

1 44).

A p ollen s equence s panning t he l ate A tlantic a nd e arly S ub-Boreal p eriods h as b een o btained f rom w aterlogged d eposits c lose t o a l ater m esolithic s ite o n H ampstead H eath,

1 977;

1 985).

v alues

o ccur,

l ocally. a nd

I n

( Girling a nd G reig

v ery h igh t ree

p ollen

s uggesting t hat t here w as a t hick f orest c over g rowing

T ilia w as d ominant,

B etula,

G reater L ondon

t he l ate A tlantic p eriod,

a long

w ith s hrubs

f ollowed b y Q uercus a nd U lmus; s uch a s H edera,

w ere

a lso

P inus p resent.

A lnus w as p robably g rowing e xtensively i n t he w et a rea b y t he s ite a nd C orylus m ay h ave f ormed a f orest u nderstorey. f orest i s s hown b y t he p resence o f t races ( Girling a nd G reig 1 977,

4 7;

1 985, 3 48).

-25 -

S ome d isturbance o f t he o f P lantago l anceolata A bove t his h orizon,

t here

a re

s ignificantly

l ower

U lmus p ollen

i nclude f alls i n t he l evels o f Q uercus,

v alues.

A ssociated

T ilia a nd C orylus,

b y t he a ppearance o f C erealia a nd a r ise i n r uderals s uch a s l anceolata ( Girling a nd G reig 1 977, o f

t his

p ollen

s colytus

1 985,

3 49).

s equence i s t he a ssociation o f t he

( F.),

P lantago

T he i mportance b eetle

S colytus

w hich i s t he m ain c arrier o f t he f ungus w hich

D utch E lm D isease, a nd G reig 1 985,

c auses

i mmediately b elow t he e lm d ecline h orizon ( Girling

3 49).

T he e lm d ecline, i s

4 7;

c hanges

a ccompanied

o ccurring a t t he s tart o f t he S ub-Boreal p eriod,

a w idespread p henomenon a nd i s t he s ubject o f a c onsiderable

o f a rchaeological a nd b otanical l iterature w as

f irst

n oted

i n

t hroughout B ritain, t he L ake D istrict 1 ).

( Smith 1 981,

1 52-7)

a nd

i s

f or e xample i n I reland ( Smith 1 975;

( Pennington 1 975)

b ody

1 52-66).

b etween 3 300 a nd 3 100 b .c.

d ecline

a ttack,

L ynch 1 981),

a nd E ast A nglia ( Murphy 1 984,

i nduced

b y h uman a ction,

( Groenman-van W aateringe 1 983),

2 0m ean

I t i s s till u ncertain w hether t he

w as t he r esult o f n atural

o r

I t

r ecorded

C -14 d ates f or t he b eginning o f t he e lm d ecline h ave t heir

v alues e lm

D enmark

( Smith 1 981,

c auses,

f or

f or e xample

e xample

f ungal

w oodland

g razing

a lthough a s R owley-Conwy ( 1982,

2 06)

s tates " theories o f a n a nthropogenic c ause f or t he e lm d ecline a re v irtually r uled o ut b y t he s cale o f t he o perations t hey d emand." H owever, w ith t he d iscovery o f S colytus s colytus a t H ampstead, G irling a nd

G reig

( 1985,

3 51)

f avour a c ombination o f h uman a ctivities

d isease a s a m ore l ikely p ossibility f or t he c ause o f t he e lm t han a ny p reviously a dvanced h ypothesis. T ilia v alues r emain h igh, b .c.

i n t he 3 rd m illennium

a nd l ime m ay h ave f ormed a n i mportant c onstituent o f t he w oodland

c over a t t his t ime, t he

t hough s poradic,

a nd

d ecline

g rowing l ocally i n t he e stuary 's f en w oods a nd o n

n earby c halk d ownland.

t here i s a d ecline i n T ilia, c ereal t ype p ollen. T his e xpansion

o f

f arming

S ometime i n t he m id 3 rd m illennium

b .c.

a ccompanied b y t he f irst a ppearance o f i s p robably a ssociated w ith a m ajor

a ctivities o riginating f rom t he

c halk

D owns.

F rom c . 2 000 b .c., t he T hames I II m arine i nundation b rought a n i ncreasingly w aterlogged e nvironment t o e stuarine a reas, r esulting i n t he g eneration o f s edge f en, ( Devoy 1 980, 1 43). T he

p ollen

s equence

r eedswamp

a nd

s altmarsh

c ommunities

s pectra f rom t he L ower T hames v alley t hus p rovide

o f v egetational c hange a nd g round w ater c onditions

f or

a t he

5 th-3rd m illennia b .c. T his a rea, t hough, d oes n ot a ppear t o h ave b een a s i ntensively e xploited a s o ther p arts o f t he T hames c atchment, f or e xample t he c halk d ownland a t t he h eadwaters o f t he K ennet. I t i s p erhaps r easonable t o i nfer t hat T ilia w as a m ajor c omponent i n t he m ixed

d eciduous

1 983),

a nd

r ecorded n eolithic

t hat

b y

w oodland c over i n t he t he

e arly 3 rd

m olluscan

m onuments

a nalysis

4 th

m illennium

m illennium o f s oil

b .c.

p rofiles

i n t he T hames b asin c ould h ave

b .c.

( Grieg

c learance

p hases

p reserved b een

u nder

a ssociated

w ith t he e lm d ecline p henomenon p revalent i n o ther p arts o f B ritain a t t his t ime.

- 2 6 -

F ootnotes 1 .

P ollen

a nalysis a t t his t ime w as f airly u nsophisticated :

s mall

s amples w ere t aken f or a nalysis a t w ide s ampling i ntervals. w ould b e i nappropriate t o a ttempt a d etailed r econstruction t he v egetational h istory o f a r egion u sing p ollen d iagrams

I t o f o f

t his n ature. 2 .

P ollen c an s urvive i n s oils o f h igh p H v alue, f or e xample c alcareous s oils, p roviding t he s oil p rofile i s n ot b adly d isturbed a nd o xidised ( Dimbleby a nd E vans 1 974, 1 19-20). D ifferential p reservation o f p ollen b y s pecies i s a p ossibility, t hough, a s i s t he t ransfer o f c ertain t ypes o f p ollen g rain d own t he s oil p rofile. M olluscs a re a g ood i ndicator o f l ocal v egetation c onditions, p ollen a nalysis f rom

b ut t he r esults o f c ombined m olluscan a nd t he s ame s oil p rofile c an s ometimes b e

c onflicting. T his i s n ot s urprising, g iven t hat t here d ifferent f actors a ffecting t he i ncorporation o f m olluscs p ollen

i nto t he s oil.

T he i nterpretation o f t he

a re a nd

e nvironmental

s equence a t a p articular s ite m ust t herefore b e c arried i ts o wn m erits ( Dimbleby a nd E vans 1 974, 1 32).

o ut

o n

C hapter 4 .

L andscape c hange a nd t he c haracter o f n eolithic d omestic

T here

a re

t hree

s ites.

m ain

r easons

b ehind

t he

p aucity

k nown

d omestic s ites i n s outhern B ritain.

l andscape

h as b een s ubjected t o d enudational p rocesses o ver t he

5 000

o r m ore y ears.

p lace,

I n c ertain a reas,

F irst,

o f

n eolithic

t he n eolithic l ast

e xtensive e rosion h as

t aken

e ffectively d estroying m ost t races o f n eolithic a ctivity;

o thers,

c onsiderable

a ccumulated,

t hus

d eposits

m asking

o f

a lluvium

t he n eolithic

g round

n eolithic d omestic s ites w ere i nsubstantial i n l argely

o f

a nd

i n

c olluvium s urface.

c haracter,

h ave S econd,

c onsisting

w ooden s tructures w ith s hallow f oundations s urrounded

w orking a reas s ubsoil r emains.

b y

1a nd

o ther f acilities w hich w ould h ave l eft m odest T hird, m ost a rchaeological p rospection m ethods, f or

e xample a erial p hotography a nd g eophysical s urvey,

a re b iased t owards

t he r ecovery o f s ites w ith s ubstantial f eatures c ut i nto t he s ubsoil, o r e lse w ith s tone-built w alls. G iven t hese r estraints, i t c omes a s n o s urprise t hat t he m ajority o f n eolithic s ites p resently r ecorded i n s outhern B ritain a re e nclosures a nd b arrows

4 .1

( Whittle 1 977,

T he n eolithic l andscape a nd i ts t ransformation P ost-depositional

p reservation 1 66),

a nd

a nd c an

p rocesses

v isibility b e

d ivided

h ave

a ffected

t he

o f p ast m aterial r emains i nto

b iological,

d egree

o f

s lope,

i nfluencing

t he

S ites

a nd e ffect ( Fig.

4 .1).

O n

c halk

b edrocks,

1 981,

4 .1).

p ost-depositional

a nd

R elief, f actors p rocesses

4 .1). s usceptible

d ispersed o r c ompletely d estroyed i t

h as

b een

s uggested

t hat

e xtent,

r esulting

s olution

i n

( Atkinson 1 957,

2 29).

P loughing a nd,

s oil c reep a re t he m ain a gents o f e rosion o n p ositive l ynchet a ccumulations a gainst

t o

( 1983b,

1 47)

v alleys

o n

a nd

1 8

t he

S outh D owns i n S ussex a nd

s ince

e ast

H ampshire

a nd,

t he c ross-sectional a rea o f c olluvium b y t he l ength c m.

B ell

e xcavated f our t renches t hrough c olluvial d eposits i n d ry

c ontributing s lope, a nd

a

s lopes,

f encelines

c olluvial d eposits o n l ower v alley s lopes a nd i n v alley b ottoms.

d ividing

t o

( Fig.

h as l owered t he s urface o f t he g round b y a s m uch a s 5 0 c m.

t he l ast 4 000 y ears

l esser

o f

s ituated o n u pper s lopes a re p articularly

a nd c an b e d amaged,

w eathering

( Foley

a spect a nd d rainage a re p robably t he m ain n ature

a cting o n t he l andscape

e rosion

d istribution,

g eomorphological

p rocesses i nvolving h uman a gency ( summarized i n T able

i n

3 3).

o f

b y t he

h as a rrived a t m inimum f igures o f b etween 2 .5 c m.

f or t he d epth o f e roded s oil o n t he u pper v alley

t he n eolithic p eriod.

I t c ould b e a rgued t hat

t hese

s lopes f igures

u nderestimate t he d egree o f s oil d epletion, a s t hey i gnore t he l oss o f m aterial b y s olution a nd t he m ovement o f s ediment d own t he v alley a xis ( Bell 1 983b, m odern

1 47).

p loughing,

l oss o f 3 0-40 c m.

M ercer

( 1980,

2 3),

f or e xample,

o f t he o riginal n eolithic l and s urface a t t he

c ausewayed e nclosure a t H ambledon H ill, b e

h as e stimated t hat

h illslope e rosion a nd s olution h as r esulted i n t he D orset.

C onversely,

m ain

i t s hould

p ointed o ut t hat s oil p its d ug i n t he v alley b ottoms e lsewhere

s outhern E ngland,

a round S tonehenge i n W iltshire, c olluvium ( Bell 1 983b, 1 47). s ignificantly g reater s olution v alley

i n

f or e xample i n t he L ambourn v alley i n B erkshire a nd h ave y ielded i nsignificant d eposits o f A s t here i s n o r eason t o s uppose a a nd m ovement o f m aterial d own t he

a xis t han i n t he c ases c ited a bove,

-28 -

t his s uggests t hat

o ther

c d

•

O

•H

• H

7 1 4 ) •

•

• r I

c a 0

a ) a )

l ) rd

c d

3 r z i

c d

• c t i f a ) • • H 0 • H " 4 -)

c d cd

O 4 3 4 ) •

c d c d ' c d

0 Q U )

c d

c d

P

a ) 3 r c c d r —I

c d O bO

Hc d c o 4 1

c d f I C e O • H

E

c d O

4 )

W

C I )

0

O

H

4 )

r I 0 W

O C f )

W

c d r 1 H

B IOLOGICAL

G EOMORPHOLOGICAL

c r i

C c )

- 2 9

4 -)

c d 3

c d

P ROCESSES

• r I f i O C f , X ( 1 . )

; 4 W

-

c onstruction

c d cd

c d H

m ineral e xtraction

0 • H t e 4 -)

s lope c reep a nd

a )c d

rd

r oot d isturbance

o sitional r ocesses p reservation a nd v isibilit

a nimal a nd e arthworm d isturbance

• C I ) O f 1 C I )

d isplacement

d estruction

d isplacement c d

EROS I ON

COLLUV IAT I ON

ALLUV IAT ION

K ey :

b u i ld ing p i t/pos t-ho le a r tefac ts

F igure 4 .1 T he n ature a nd e ffect o f p ost-depositional p rocesses a cting o n t he l andscape:

A ,

t he s ituation i n t he n eolithic p eriod;

B ,

t he

s ituation i n t he m id-20th c entury b efore p loughing; C , t he t runcation o f a rchaeological r emains b y d eep p loughing. A fter T hrane 1 981.

- 3 0 -

d ownland

a reas h ave n ot s uffered t he s ame i ntensity o f e rosion a s t he

c halklands a long t he s outh c oast. H owever, i n p laces w here t here a re s ubstantial d eposits o f c olluvium a nd a lluvium, n eolithic s ites c an b ecome b uried a nd t hus p rotected f rom e rosion, f or e xample t he l ater n eolithic s ite a t O tford,

o n

K ent

( Pyke 1 980;

1 981).

E rosion h as b een s evere n ot o nly o n c alcareous b edrocks, b ut a lso a djacent p lateaux a nd c lay v ales. I n t he W eald, s ubstantial

v olumes o f s ediments o ccur i n s ome o f t he r iver v alleys d raining t his a rea o f c lay a nd s andstone l ithography, f or e xample t he O use a nd C uckmere, E ast S ussex ( Scaife a nd B urrin 1 983; 1 985). A lthough t he d ating e vidence f or t he a ccumulation o f t hese a lluvial d eposits i s, a t p resent, b ased s olely o n p ollen d ata, i t i s s uggested t hat a lluviation h ad b egun b y t he B oreal p eriod a nd w as p articularly e xtensive i n t he n eolithic p eriod a nd B ronze A ge w hen h uman a ctivity l ed t o v alley s ide s oil e rosion ( Scaife a nd B urrin 1 985,

3 2-3).

A lthough p loughing t runcates i n s itu a rchaeological d eposits a nd s ubsoil f eatures ( Fig. 4 .1C), i t c an e nhance t he v isibility o f a rchaeological s ites b y d ispersing t he a rtefacts a ssociated w ith t hese c ontexts t hroughout t he p loughsoil o r b y c onflating t he a rtefacts o f s everal l ayers ( Haselgrove e t a l. 1 985). I n c ases o f d rastic h illslope 2 e rosion, s ome d egree o f d isplacement d ownslope c an b e e xpected; c e tainly, a rtefacts a re e ncountered i n c olluvial d eposits ( Bell 1 983b). J H owever, t his i s o nly l ikely t o t ake p lace o n s lopes w here t here i s s ignificant s oil c reep ( Haselgrove 1 985, 8 ). R ecent f ieldwork i n W est S ussex s hows t hat e ven o n w est-, s outh- a nd e astf acing s lopes o f g radients u p t o 1 :6, t here h as b een l imited l ateral a nd d ownhill d isplacement o f f lintwork a ssociated w ith w orking f loors a t t he n eolithic f lint-mining c entres a t H arrow H ill, L ong D own a nd C hurch H ill, f orthcoming

F indon, d espite a nnual p loughing i n r ecent y ears ( Holgate a ). T hus a rtefacts b rought t o t he s urface o f c ultivated

l and a re u nlikely, b y p loughing a nd s oil c reep a lone, 4 t o t ravel f ar f rom t he p lace w here t hey w ere o riginally d eposited; i n f act m ost o f t he a rtefacts p loughed u p f rom n eolithic s ites o n h ill t ops a nd u pper v alley s lopes o scillate i n t he p loughsoil i n t he v icinity p lace o f d eposition.

4 .2

o f

t heir

T he c haracter o f n eolithic d omestic s ites

T he l andscape i n t he l owland z one i n B ritain h as c hanged s ince t he n eolithic p eriod w ith t he e ffect t hat o nly m onuments a nd a f ew w ell-protected d omestic s tructures h ave s urvived i n a r ecognizable f orm. I n t he h ighland z one, r ectangular t imber h ouses w ith i nternal h earths h ave s urvived o n d omestic s ites w hich h ave n ot b een s ubjected t o i ntensive m echanized p loughing ( Piggott 1 954, 3 2-5; S mith 1 974, 1 04; W hittle 1 977, 4 6-8; M egaw a nd S impson 1 979, 8 5-6). I n s ome c ases, s tone f ootings a long t he l ine o f t he o uter w alls h ave h elped t o p reserve t races o f p ost h oles, f or e xample a t H alden H ill, D evon ( Willock 1 936). T imber b uildings h ave b een l ocated i n t he l owland z one, p reserved e ither u nder c hambered c airns a nd l ong b arrows, f or e xample H azelton I I, G los. ( Saville 1 984a, 1 9), o r i n a reas t hat h ave n ever b een s ubjected t o p loughing o r h illslope e rosion, f or e xample C rickley H ill, G los. ( Dixon 1 981, 1 45) a nd F engate, C ambs. ( Pryor 1 974;

1 978,

7 -10).

' mortuary h ouses',

I t i s c lear t hat s ome o f t hese s tructures

f or e xample N uthane,

-31 -

H ants.

( Morgan 1 959,

a re

2 0-2),

a nd t he r ectangular b uilding a t p reted a s a f orm o f ' cult h ouse'. A part f rom h ouses, a nd

5F engate,

d eposition.

3 15).

p its

W hittle

u ndulations

d omestic

f ormation p rocesses

E xcept w here a rtefacts a re b rought t o

t he s urface t hrough d isturbance, s urface

1 04-5;

I norganic m aterials a re s oon c ompacted o n t he o ld g round

a nd g radually b ecome c overed t hrough s oil

( Clark a nd K washina 1 981,

w here

( Smith 1 974,

M egaw a nd S impson 1 979 , 8 5-7). U nless a naerobic c onditions m ost o f t he o rganic r emains s tart t o d ecompose s oon a fter

p revail, s urface

i s a lso b est i nter-

d omestic s ites c onsist o f w orking a reas,

m iddens c ontaining d omestic r efuse

1 977, 4 6 ;

C ambs.

t here w ill n ever b e a ny

d istinctive

o r s oil m arks t o s uggest t he p resence

f eatures.

T hus i n t he l owland z one,

o f

t he g round h as b een d isturbed a nd t he b ase o f p its o r

s catters

a re

e xposed,

f or

d isturbance o r p loughing, b e d iscovered.

e xample b y

t hese

i t i s o nly i n

m ineral

p laces a rtefact

e xtraction,

a nimal

t hat n eolithic d omestic s ites a re l ikely t o

I n a ddition,

n eolithic p ottery w as o riginally f ired a t

l ow t emperatures a nd i n B ritain i t b egins t o d istintegrate o n e xposure t o n atural w eathering a gencies. t herefore a ctivity.

o ften

E xcavations f eatures

C oncentrations o f s tone a rtefacts a re

t he o nly s urface i ndications o f

n eolithic

o f s urface a rtefact s catters s eldom p roduce

o ther t han t he r emains o f p its a nd p ossibly t he

p ostholes.

T he

s ite

a t H urst F en,

d omestic

s ubsoil

d eepest

S uffolk w as r ecognised

b y

o f t he

p resence o f e arlier n eolithic p ottery a nd f lintwork i n t he u pcast f rom r abbit

h oles

e xcavated

( Clark

( c.

e t a l.,

1 9 0

1 5,000 m .

) ,

w as

t hen

b ut t he o nly s ubsoil c ontexts t hat

2 03).

w ere

l ocated c onsisted o f a s eries o f p it-bases, a nd

a

s hort l ength o f d itch.

c oncluded:

A s C lark

A l arge

a rea

a f ew p ossible p ost h oles

( Clark

e t

a l.

1 960 ,

" the H urst F en s ite e vidently r epresents a s ettlement,

l ittle d efinite i nformation i s a vailable e ither a bout t he s ize o f

2 41) b ut t he

c ommunity o r a bout t he c haracter o f t he s tructures i n w hich t he p eople l ived".

S outh

o f

R obin H ood's B all c ausewayed

e nclosure,

W ilts.,

e xcavations o f a n e arlier n eolithic a rtefact s catter c ollected a fter a f ield

p rotected a s a S ite o f S pecial S cientific I nterest w as p loughed

b y a ccident y ielded s everal s mall p its,

b ut t hese w ere n ot l ocated i n

p laces 6 w here t here w ere d ense a rtefact c oncentrations i n t he s oil.

T his i s t o b e e xpected;

p lough-

t he d iscussion i n C hapter 5 o f

t he

w ay i n w hich p resent-day s tone-using s ocieties m aintain t heir d omestic s ites

s uggests t hat l iving a nd w orking a reas w ere k ept c lean a nd m ost

r ubbish a round

w as t hrown o nto m iddens o r d umped i nto d isused t he p eriphery o f l iving a nd w orking a reas.

s torage

p its

A lthough a rtefact

s catters c an b e r elated t o l iving a reas, t here i s n o s imple c orrelation b etween t opsoil a rtefact s catters a nd i ndividual h ouses o r p its

( Binford e t a l. A rtefact

a re

l ikely

7 0-1).

s catters b rought t o t he s urface b y

g round

d isturbance

t o b e t he o nly r ecognisable t races o f n eolithic

d omestic

s ites, o ther t han d eeply-buried s ites, t o s urvive t he p ostd epositional p rocesses t hat h ave b een a cting o n t he l andscape i n t he l owland z one i n B ritain.

O nce t hese a rtefact s catters b ecome e xposed

t o

f lintwork i s l ikely t o r emain a s

w eathering

a gencies,

t he

o nly

r eadily i dentifiable c omponent. S urface c ollection s urveys t o l ocate a nd r ecover f lint s catters p rovide t he b est m ethod f or r ecording t he p resence o f d omestic a ctivity. t he

I t i s p erhaps i ronic t hat p loughing o n

o ne h and s hould d estroy n eolithic d omestic s ites a nd o n t he o ther

-3 2 -

e nhance t heir v isibility. T his h as b ecome p articularly a cute i n t he s econd h alf o f t he 2 0th c entury w ith i ncreased m echanization a nd d eep p loughing,

f ollowed b y t he l ate 1 960s e xpansion i n t he a creage

c ultivation

( Lambrick

1 977).

T hus t he s tudy o f n eolithic

a ctivity i n s outhern B ritain i s e ssentially t he s tudy r ecovered l argely f rom t he p loughsoil.

u nder

d omestic

o f

f lintwork

F ootnotes 1 .

E arly

n eolithic

c entral

( Bandkeramik)

t wo m ain r easons: t he

l ong h ouses o n t he l oess s oils

a nd n orth-west E urope a re a rchaeologically

h ouses

f irst,

o f

v isible

f or

t he s ubstantial p osts u sed t o c onstruct

r equired l arge p ost h oles;

a nd s econd,

p its

w ere

o ften d ug a longside t hese h ouses t o p rovide d aub f or s mearing t he

h ouse

w alls.

T hese s ites c an t hus b e d etected

e asily b y a erial p hotography, f or e xample t he s ite a t S tadt R egensburg i n W est G ermany ( Braasch 1 984, 1 34). 2 .

o n

r elatively H arting,

P aper d elivered b y P eter C lack a t t he s ession o n ' Theory a nd m ethod i n f ield s urvey d esign' a t t he f ourth a nnual c onference o f t he

T heoretical

A rchaeology

G roup a t

D urham,

D ecember

1 982,

e ntitled " The s cum r ises t o t he s urface a nd w anders".

3 .

T he

m ajority

p ositive f ragments

o f

a rtefacts

f ound

i n

c olluvial

l ynchet a ccumulations c onsist o f p ottery ( Bell 1 983b, 1 21;

d eposits

o f s mall, C lark 1 982,

a nd

a braded 1 7-18;

M ercer q uoted i n C rowther e t a l. 1 985, 6 5-7). A s w ith t he l oad o f a r iver, i t i s l ikely t hat s maller a nd l ighter a rtefacts, f or e xample

p otsherds

d eposited a s a r esult o f

m anuring

o n

u pper

s lopes f rom t he l ate I ron A ge o nwards, w ill h ave a g reater c hance o f

m oving d ownslope w ith h illwash a nd t hus b ecoming i ncorporated

w ithin c olluvium i n v alley b ottoms. O ne o f B ell's v alley b ottom t renches, a t K iln C ombe n ear E astbourne i n E ast S ussex, w as 1 .5 k m. D own

w est o f a n e xtensive l ater n eolithic d omestic s ite s ite

2 0)

( Bullock

s ituated a long a r idge w ith a 1 :20 s lope

4 -6).

h ead o f t he d ry v alley ( Drewett 1 982,

a t

t he

A lthough t he l ater

n eolithic s ite h as b een p loughed i ntermittently s ince t he N apoleonic W ar, s ample e xcavations h ave l ocated P eterborough W are o n

t he

( Drewett m icrowear

s urface

o f t he C lay-with-flints

1 982,

4 9;

H olgate

u nder

f orthcoming

t he

b ).

p loughsoil F urthermore,

a nalysis o f f lint i mplements f rom t he s urface

o f

t he

C lay-with-flints a nd t he m odern p loughsoil r evealed f ew t races o f p ost-depositional s urface m odification, n ot

s howing t hat t hese f lint

a rtefacts

h ave

m oved f ar f rom t he p lace

d eposited

i n t he n eolithic p eriod ( Grace i n H olgate

w here

t hey

w ere

f orthcoming

b ). 4 .

A n e xperiment t o t est t he m ovement o f a rtefacts i n t he p loughsoil w as

c onducted

b y

A lison

B etts a s

p art

o f

a n

u ndergraduate

d issertation s ubmitted t o t he U niversity o f L ondon ( 1977). P art o f a f ield a t B ullock D own, E ast S ussex w as s eeded w ith a n umber o f f lints w hich h ad b een p ainted g reen. a ctivity I t u p

A fter a y ear o f f arming

t he f lints w ere r ecovered a nd t heir f indspots r ecorded.

w as s hown t hat a n umber o f f lints h ad t ravelled d istances t o 5 0 m . f rom w here t hey h ad b een p lanted. H owever, I

i nformed

( Greg W oolf p ers.

c omm.)

-3 -

t hat o ne o f t he

r easons

o f a m f or

t his i s t hat v olunteers o n a n a rchaeological e xcavation t hat t ook p lace o n

c lose t o t he f ield u sed t o p ick u p a nd t hrow t hese

t heir

r eturn f rom t he p ub a t l unchtimes,

t hus

f lints

( partially!)

i nvalidating t he e xperiment.

5 .

T he

s tructure

t rench

8 .5

s tructures,

a t

i t

a

l imited

i mplements s tructure; b .c. B y

a nalogy

r ange

s hallow

n eolithic h earth.

o f i mplement t ypes a nd

d ebitage

t wo

a

o ther

n ot h ave a n i nternal

w as

c harcoal

f ound

i n

a

F inely-made

( Ga K -41967)

( Kjaerum 1 966),

i n

D enmark,

a nd t he

' cult h ouse'

A rchaeology

a t t he s ixth a nnual c onference o f G roup

a t C ambridge,

h olding-pattern-plough

o f t his

z one

i t

t he

D ecember 1 984,

i nvestigation i n

S tonehenge".

-3 4 -

6 4

t he

f or

r estricted

a s o pposed t o a

P aper d elivered b y J ulian R ichards a t t he s ession o n a rchaeology '

r atio w ith

( Pryor 1 9787 7).

o f o bjects a ssociated w ith t hese s tructures, a f orm o f

c onsisting

h igh

a ssociation

w ith t he s imilar-sized s tructures

a s

b edding d omestic

s amples g ave 0 -14 d ates o f 3 010 +

a nd 2 445 + 5 0 b .c.

T ustrup a nd F erslev

i nterpreted h ouse.

6 .

t o

u nlike

a j et b ead a nd a f lint a ssemblage

r ange

( Ga K -4196)

e xample

i n s ize;

d id

c arinated p ottery, o f

F engate w as p reserved a s

x 7m .

i s

b est

d omestic

' Plough-zone T heoretical

e ntitled e nvirons

" The o f

5 .

C hapter

F lint

a rtefacts

T he s tudy o f f lint a ssemblages.

a re t he m ost r esilient a nd e asily

r ecognisable

c omponent r esulting f rom d omestic a ctivity i n t he 5 th - 3 rd b .c.

T his

m illennia

c hapter i s c oncerned w ith t he i dentification a nd s tudy o f

d omestic f lint a ssemblages.

5 .1

T he u se o f s tone a rtefacts b y c ontemporary s tone-using s ocieties A nthropological

w ith a nd

a nd e thnographic l iterature i s r arely

d escribing t he r ole w hich s tone t echnology p lays s ubsistence p ractices

h owever,

( B.

C ranstone p ers.

s ettlement

c omm.).

T here

a re,

e thnoarchaeological s tudies o f h ow p resent-day s ocieties u se

a nd d ispose o f s tone a rtefacts s tudies

( e.g.

B inford 1 978;

a re o f h unter-gathering s ocieties,

r elate

c oncerned

i n

t o

f ormation

f arming

s ocieties.

p rocesses

t hat

G ould 1 980).

b ut t here a re s ome

T hese p rovide a n i nsight

i s

o f

r elevance

t o

t he

M ost w hich

i nto

s ite

d efinition

o f

m esolithic a nd n eolithic d omestic s ites.

5 .1(i)

T he c omposition o f s tone a rtefact a ssemblages

G ould u sed

b y

( 1980)

f ound t hat o ver

9 9% of t he t otal

t he g roup o f A ustralian A borigines h e

s tone

s tudied

m aterials

o ccurred

i n

t ask-specific l ocalities t hat w ere e phemeral a nd w idely d ispersed o ver t he l andscape. H owever, w hile l ess t han 1 % o f t otal s tone m aterials w ere

u sed

t ypes

o n a h abitation b ase c amp,

w ithin

t his c ontext

t he w idest r ange

o f

a rtefact

t he t otal s tone a ssemblage w as u sed a nd d isposed o f ( Gould 1 980,

1 32).

H itchcock's s tudy ( 1980,

B otswana B ushmen s howed t hat a s a g roup b ecame m ore s edentary, g reater

i n

3 02) o f t he

r ange o f a ctivities a nd a n i ncrease i n s pecialized

b oth a

i mplement

t ypes w ere i n e vidence a t d omestic s ites. F arming s ettlements a re t hus l ikely t o y ield a s imilar v ariety o f s pecialized i mplement t ypes; a nd

t he m ore s edentary t he g roup,

t he g reater t he q uantity o f

t otal

s tone m aterial t o b e f ound i n d omestic s ites.

5 .1(ii)

R ubbish d isposal

E xcept i n t he c ase o f a c atastrophe,

f ew s erviceable o bjects a re

l eft b ehind w hen a d omestic s ite i s a bandoned ( Hodder 1 982, t he

r ubbish

d isposal,

r emains. t wo

p ermanently

c onclusions

o ccupied

5 6):

I n M urray's g eneral s urvey ( 1980) o f f or

w ere

r eached.

m ore t han o ne

O n

s eason,

s ites t he

o nly

r ubbish

t hat r ubbish

w ere t hat

a ccumulated w hile c arrying o ut v arious t asks w as n ot a bandoned a t t he p lace w here t hese t asks w ere p erformed. O n t he o ther h and, h owever, r ubbish s eason

w as

l eft w here i t f ell o n s ites o ccupied f or l ess

( Murray 1 980,

4 97).

T hus a lthough d iscrete

t han

a ctivity

c ould b e d iscerned o n h unter-gatherer o r s hort-stay s ites,

o ne a reas

t hey c ould

n ot b e d etected o n s edentary s ites w here h ouses a nd w ork a reas w ere k ept c lean a nd r ubbish w as d eposited e lsewhere ( Murray 1 980, 4 97). T his e vidence t hus s uggests t hat a r ange o f a ctivities i s p ractised a t p ermanently o ccupied d omestic s ites, b ut t he d ebris f rom t hese t asks i s d umped a way f rom w ork a reas:

-3 5 -

e ither a t s pecific p laces

w ithin C annon a nd

t he d omestic s ite o r o ff t he s ite a ltogether. ( 1983, 1 19) c oncluded t hat i n t he M aya H ighlands,

H ayden a nd e ffort, v alue

h indrance w ere t he t hree m ain f actors d etermining h ow r ubbish

s orted a nd w here i t i s d umped. m aterials d ebris)

( e.g. f rom

g lass: a reas

i s

S pecial e ffort i s m ade t o r emove s harp

p erhaps r elevant t o a c onsideration o f f lint

f requently u sed

( Hayden a nd

C annon

1 983,

1 59),

t hough n ot n ecessarily t o d eposit i t c lose t o t he s urfaces w here t hese m aterials

w ere u sed ( ibid.,

1 53-4).

U ltimately,

e ither i n a reas s urrounding s tructures o r

i n

d isused s torage p its

c onclude t he

t hat

( ibid.,

1 40).

O n

t his

1 983,

1 26)

s ubject,

t hey

" refuse i n n on u rban c ommunities i s l ikely t o r emain i n

i mmediate n eighbourhood,

o rigin"

r ubbish i s d umped

( Hayden a nd C annon

i .e.

( Haydon a nd C annon 1 983,

w ithin a t wo-minute w alk

1 59).

a nd K washina 1 981,

s howing

t he

3 16-17)

a nd t he L ozi

( Hodder 1 982,

w ork

f or e xample t he F ulani

1 21),

4 11 a nd 4 13;

a nd e xamination o f s ettlement p lans

l ocation o f r ubbish d isposal a reas a nd

f arming s ocieties i n A frica,

i ts

T his c onclusion i s s upported

b y s tudies o f s kin d ressers i n E thiopia ( Gallagher 1 977, C lark

o f

a reas

f or

( David 1 971,

1 13)

w here a ll r ubbish i s d umped e ither o n

m iddens o r i n p its l ocated o n t he p eriphery o f l iving a nd w ork a reas. I f a round

r ubbish t he

i s d umped i n d iscrete a reas w ithin t he

e dge

o f

d omestic s ites,

t hen

t hese

r ecognizable b y c oncentrations o f d iscarded m aterial. n ot

b e

H owever,

i t i s f rom

H atchery W est,

c ollection

I llinois

s urvey

w as

a s e xemplified b y B inford's f ieldwork

( Binford e t a l.

s howed

m aterial a nd h ouse s tructures

t here

a ppearing A lthough s ite,

H ere a a nd

s urface d iscrete

S ubsequent e xcavation,

t hat t here w as l ittle c orrespondence b etween a reas o f

d ensity T hus

1 970).

c onducted o ver a d omestic s ite

a rtefact c oncentrations w ere r ecorded.

5 .1

o r

s hould

e asy w ithin t his t o i dentify s pecific l iving a nd w ork a reas

s urface a rtefact s preads a lone, a t

c onfines

s ites

a re

' reservoirs'

( Binford e t

o f a rchaeological

a l.

1 970,

m aterial

d o n ot r elate t o t he l ocation o f

7 0-1).

p otentially

o n t he s urface o f d omestic s ites w hen t hese a re t hese

t hough, h ighest

d isturbed.

s tructures

o n

t he

t hey a t l east e nable d omestic s ites t o b e d iscovered.

( iii)

T he u se a nd d isposal o f s tone a rtefacts

T wo

s tudies

i nformative

o f

E thiopian

( Gallagher 1 977;

s kin

d ressers

u sed a s t he r aw m aterial f or m aking s crapers, h ides.

a re

p articularly

C lark a nd K washina 1 981).

O bsidian i s

w hich a re u sed t o c lean

T he o bsidian i s e xtracted a t q uarry s ites;

c ore r eduction a nd

t rimming o f f lakes t akes p lace a t t he q uarry t o m inimise t he w eight t o b e

c arried,

l eaving

( Gallagher 1 977, s ites,

w here

b asket

o r p ot,

e ither

s pecially-dug

o bsidian

o f

d ebitage

p its

4 10-11;

o r

o n

a nd d isposed o f

p iles

s ection

c lose

C lark a nd K washina 1 981,

i s l eft i n l iving o r w ork a reas,

K washina 1 977, 5 .1(ii)

t hese

l ocalities

A ll d ebitage i s d ropped i nto

n ever o nto t he f loor,

f ooted a nd w ould r isk c utting t heir f eet a nd

a t

S crapers a re t hen m anufactured a t t he d omestic

t he s kins a re w orked.

( Gallagher 1 977, n o

q uantities

4 08).

3 14;

a bove).

c f.

t o

c arefully t he

w ork

3 08).

a rea

P ractically

a s e veryone

( Gallagher 1 977,

i s

b are-

4 11;

C lark

t he r emarks o n t he M aya H ighlands

S crapers

a re

t he o nly

a i n

i mplement

t o

i n b e

m anufactured, t hough f resh f lakes a re u sed f or s having a nd n ail c utting ( Gallagher 1 977, 4 12). D uring u se, s crapers a re c ontinuously r esharpened h our:

( the s craping e dge i s r educed a t a r ate o f o ver 1 c m.

G allagher

1 977,

4 11)

a nd a re d isposed o f w hen

-3 6 -

t hey

p er

b ecome

i nconvenient t o u se. s crapers, i s d umped ( Gallagher 1 977,

A ll o bsidian d ebris, a round t he e dge o f

4 13 ;

( 1977,

4 08 a nd 4 12)

b elong

t o

t hree

b oth d ebitage a nd u sed l iving a nd w ork a reas

C lark a nd K washina 1 981,

3 16-17).

G allagher

m akes t he p oint t hat t he s kin d ressers h e s tudied

e thnic g roups:

i n a ll c ases,

t he s ame

t ypes

i mplement a re m anufactured u sing t he s ame t echniques a nd

s tyle;

a ll

a nd

s kin

d ressers

d isposal. b y

a dopt

t he s ame p attern o f

w orking

D omestic s ites c an t herefore b e d etected

a lso

i ndicate t hat t hey a re f unctionally-specific

( Gallagher 1 977,

4 14).

H owever,

s crapers, s ettlements

t here a re n o s tylistic v ariations i n

t he w orking o f o bsidian t hat a ct a s s ymbolic e xpressions g roup i dentity. E thiopian

r ubbish

a rchaeologically

t he p resence o f c oncentrations o f o bsidian d ebitage a nd

w hich

o f

e thnic

s kin-dressers p roduce a l imited r ange o f d ebitage

i mplement t ypes;

o f a nd

a nd

t hese a rtefacts a re u ltimately d eposited w ithin t he

c onfines o f t he d omestic s ite. D ebitage a nd i mplements w ere d isposed o f t ogether a t t he L angweiler 8 B andkeramik s ettlement i n t he A ldenhovener P latte, a nd

c ore

f ound

H owever,

w hen

i mplements, d egree

t o

s carcity

( de

G rooth

d isposal

2 42).

A s cale o f

' value'

r aw

1 17).

r ange

o f i ndividual i tems i s i nfluenced

b y

o f t he

( "curated":

c an b e a ssigned t o a n a rtefact

t he a mount o f e nergy e xpended

o f

s craper

1 981,

w hich s pecific i mplements a re r etained i n u se

B inford 1 973, r elated

a s s hown b y t he r efitted

i n t he s ame p it

d ealing w ith t ool k its c ontaining a g reater

t he

t o

W est G ermany,

t ogether

i n

materials i nvolved a nd a ny

i mportance t hat m ight b e a ssociated w ith i t

i ts

m anufacture,

s ymbolic

( Moore

o r

1 982,

t he

r eligious

7 6).

C ertain

i mplements, f or o ne o r o ther o f t hese r easons, a re c arried a round i n a nticipation o f u se. T hese i mplements t herefore h ave a r elatively l ong

l ife

a nd

t he

p lace

o f

t heir

u ltimate

d isposal

w ill

n ecessarily r eflect t he r ange o f a ctivities f or w hich t hey w ere T hus

a

k ind

o f f iltering p rocess t akes p lace b efore

d iscarded

( cf.

a bove).

T here

d eposition

i s

t hus

i mpossible t o i dentify t he a rtefacts e arly

m aterials

t he r emarks o n t he M aya H ighlands i n s ection n o

a nd a ctivity a reas

s imple ( Moore

r elationship 1 982,

7 5)

b etween

r ubbish b e

f ull r ange o f a ctivities p ractised f rom t he

t hat h ave b een a bandoned o n a s ite. J utland,

a re

5 .1(ii)

a nd i t w ill o ften F or e xample,

n eolithic d omestic s ite p reserved u nder a n e arthen l ong

a t M osegärden,

n ot u sed.

a t

t he

b arrow

D enmark a n umber o f p ossible w ork a reas a nd a

d ump w ere l ocated ( Madsen a nd J uel J ensen 1 982;

M adsen a nd

P etersen

1 983).

M icroscopic e xamination o f t he u se-wear p atterns o n t he e dges

o f

i mplements

a ll

w as c arried o ut.

N o s ignificant t rends

d istribution o f d ifferent u se-wear t ypes w ere r evealed, f act

t hat

d ump,

m ost

t he

o f t he u nused i mplements o ccurred i n o r

a round

t he

m aking i t h ard t o g ive a ny s atisfying a ccount o f t he a ctivities

p erformed o n d ifferent p arts o f t he s ite 7 6).

5 .1(iv)

I t

i n

o ther t han t he

( Madsen a nd J uel J ensen 1 982,

D iscussion

T he e xamples q uoted a bove c ome f rom a r ange o f s ocial c ontexts. c ould b e a rgued t hat i t i s i mpossible t o s eek g eneral r ules

r egarding t he m anufacture, u se a nd d isposal o f s tone a rtefacts, a nd t hat t hese c oncerns a re c onditioned b y s ocial c ontext ( Hodder 1 982, 2 15-16). H owever, G allagher ( 1977, 4 12) h as s hown t hat i n t he c ase o f E thiopian

s kin-dressers,

s tone t echnology i s r elated t o

-3 7 -

s ubsistence

p ractices a nd n ot m embership o f a n e thnic g roup. a lso

O ther s tudies

s hown t hat s tone t echnology r eflects s ettlement a nd

p atterns

( e.g.

B rose 1 978),

a nd t hat s tylistic v ariations i n

i mplements a re c omplementary t o f unction ( Sackett T he s hows

h ave

s ubsistence s tone

1 982).

s tudy o f t he r esidues o f c ontemporary s tone-using

s ocieties

t hat d iscarded m aterials a re c ommonly d umped a djacent t o l iving

a reas.

S harp m aterials,

d omestic s ites,

f or e xample o bsidian,

g lass a nd f lint u sed o n

a re u sually d isposed o f c arefully w ithin t he c onfines

o f t hese s ite. T his p ractice h as b een r ecorded a t n eolithic s ites e xcavated r ecently i n t he n orth w est p art o f t he C ambridgeshire F ens; h ere,

f lint d ebris h ad b een d isposed o f o n-site,

o ther m aterials w ere r edeposited o ff-site s urface e ven

f lint s catters c an i ndicate t he p resence o f

i f

t here

i s

n o s imple c orrelation

s catters a nd i ndividual h ouses o r p its F urthermore, a ctivities t hus

i t

i s

t hat

d ifficult

t o

b etween

t opsoil

( see C hapter 4 ,

r econstruct

6 5).

T hus

d omestic

s ites, a rtefact

s ection

t he

f ull

4 .2).

r ange

o f

t ook p lace o n a s ite f rom s tone a rtefacts a lone

a nd

i dentify b oth i ntra- a nd i nter-site d ifferences i n f unction

a nd

s tatus.

N evertheless s tone a rtefact m anufacture,

r elated

t o

r ecognise

s ubsistence b oth

p ractices,

a nd i t

T he

a bove

a rtefacts, t he

s ection

w ill

s ection

b y

t he

r ange

a ssemblages b y

b e

p ossible s ites,

t o f or

s uggests

f lint a ssemblages t hat

f arming

s ettlements

p resence o f c onsiderable q uantities

o f

a re s tone

i ncluding a h igh p roportion a nd v ariety o f i mplements t hat

r eflect

r ecord

s hould

f rom s tone a ssemblages.

T he c haracterization o f d omestic

c haracterized

u se a nd d isposal i s

d omestic s ites a nd c ertain t ask-specific

e xample q uarries,

5 .2

w hereas p ottery a nd

( Crowther 1 985,

o f a ctivities p erformed

i nvestigate a nd

t he d egree o f

o n

t hese

a ssociation

s ite f unction a s o bservable

i n

t he

s ites.

T his

b etween

f lint

a rchaeological

s tudying f lint a ssemblages r ecovered f rom a

s election

o f

e xcavated n eolithic s ites i n s outhern B ritain.

5 .2(i)

D efinitions o f f lint a rtefact c ategories

A s

a

p reliminary

t o

a n a nalysis

o f

f lint

a ssemblages

f rom

n eolithic s ites i n s outhern B ritain, i t i s n ecessary t o d efine f lint a rtefact c ategories u sed i n t he s tudy ( Figs. 5 .1 a nd 5 .2). 1 )

D ebitage. r emovals o f

D ebris ( flakes,

r esulting b lades,

f rom 2

b ladelets

f laking

r aw m aterial f rom w hich r emovals h ave b een

5 .1: p ieces

n os.

1 ,

2 ,

1 9,

f lint,

a nd c hips),

2 0 a nd 2 3-27)

c ores

i ncluding ( the b lock

d etached :

a nd r ough w aste

it he

F ig.

( shattered

w hich d o n ot d isplay t he d istinctive c haracteristics o f a

c onchoidal f lint).

f racture,

b ut

n onetheless

r esulting

f rom

f laking

2 )

I mplement o r t ool. R emoval o r c ore w hich h as s ubsequently r etouched o r u tilized.

3 )

C ore

t ablet.

D isc-shaped

c onsists o f a n e ntire,

f lake,

t he d orsal s urface o f

p reviously w orked s triking p latform,

- 3 8 -

b een

w hich w hich

LATER

MESOL ITH IC

FL INTVVORK

3

5 cm

0 1-

7

6

8( i l

9

1 0

1

-, 1

1 2

1 3

1 4

1 5

1 6

1 8

5 cm

EARL IER

NEOL ITH IC

DEB ITAGE

5 cm

LATER

NE OL ITH IC

DEB ITAGE

0

5 cm

F igure 5 .1 L ater m esolithic f lintwork: t ablet; 7 -18, b lade

4 ,

1 -2,

t ranchet a xe-sharpening f lake;

b ladelet c ores;

5 , burin;

3 ,

c ore

6 , m icroburin;

n arrow b lade m icroliths. E arlier n eolithic d ebitage: 1 9-20, c ores; 2 1-22, c ore r ejuvenation f lakes. L ater n eolithic

d ebitage:

2 3-?7,

f lake c ores.

-3 9 -

NE OL ITH IC

FL INT

I MPLE MENTS

n o tched

s crapers o

I - I

I I

f l ake

5c m I 1

(

I

Z Z Z2

o va te

m icrodent icu la tes

k n ives

-

f abr icator r od

1 5

2 1

2 0

g round-edged

a rrowheads F igure 5 .2 N eolithic

f lint i mplements:

f lake;

6 -7 p iercers;

k nives;

1 3,

r od;

s haped a rrowhead; a rrowhead;

1 9,

1 4,

8 ,

-

o vate;

f abricator;

_

k n i fe

1 -4, s crapers; 5 , n otched 0, m icrodenticulates; 1 1-12, 9 -1

1 5,

g round-edged k nife;

1 6,

l eaf-

rrowhead; 1 8, p etit t ranchet l ozenge-shaped a blique a rrowhead; 2 1, b arbed c hisel a rrowhead; 2 0, o 1 7,

a nd t anged a rrowhead.

-4 0 -

h as

b een

d etached

p latform ( Fig.

4 )

f rom

5 .1:

n o.

t he c ore t o

p repare

a

n ew

s triking

F lake w ith t he

n egative

3 ).

C ore r ejuvenation f lake/crested p iece.

i mpressions o f r emovals o n o ne s ide o f t he d orsal s urface w hich e ither c onstitute p art o f a p reviously w orked s triking p latform ( Fig.

5 .1:

n os.

2 1-22),

o r r esult f rom t he p reparation o f t he

f laked s urface o n a c ore b efore d etaching f lakes/blades. 5 )

6 )

B urin.

I mplement

s pall

( or s palls)

1 980,

6 5)

( Fig.

M icrolith. s napping

w ith a c hisel-like e nd c reated b y d etaching a f rom t he d istal e nd o f t he p iece

5 .1:

n o.

P ointed d istal e nd o f a b lade o r b ladelet p roduced b y3 o ff t he p roximal e nd u sing t he

M icroliths

c rescentic,

a s g eometric m icroliths

t echnique.

M icroburin.

t rapezoidal a nd r od s hapes a re k nown

( Fig.

5 .1:

n os.

7 -18).

D istal e nd o f a b lade o r b ladelet w ith t races o f t he

r etouched

n otch

t echnique

o n o ne s urface a nd a f racture f acet r esulting f rom t he

r esulting

f rom

m icroburin b low o n t he o ther

8 )

m icroburin

p roduced o n n arrow b lades a nd r etouched i nto a s eries

o f t riangular,

7 )

( Tixier e t a l.

5 ).

T ranchet

a xe.

H eavy

t he

( Fig.

f laked

u se

5 .1:

o f

t he

m icroburin

6 ).

n o.

c ore-implement

w ith

a

s harp

t ransverse c utting e dge c reated b y t he r emoval o f a s ingle r unning

p erpendicular t o t he c utting e dge;

t ranchet a xe-sharpening f lake n o. 4 ). 9 )

S craper.

a long

s urface

i n

o ne

t he

o r m ore e dges,

P iercer.

K nife. n os.

6 5)

I mplement

( Fig.

( Fig.

a

5 .1:

5 .2:

n os.

5 .2:

n os.

t his

e dge

i s

( the l atter i s

1 -4). b e

t he

6 -7).

i nvasive r etouched e dge o r e dges,

e dge i s a ssumed t o f unction f or

1 1-12).

w ith

r etouched

w ith a p oint w hich i s p resumed t o

( Fig.

I mplement w ith a s harp, t he

T he

b ut s ometimes s traight o r c oncave

f unctional f eature

w here

1 980,

f orming a n a ngle

2 0-90 d egrees r ange.

k nown a s a h ollow s craper)

1 1)

( Tixier e t a l.

I mplement w ith a brupt r etouch e ffected f rom t he v entral

s urface

u sually c onvex,

1 0)

f lake

t his i s k nown a s

c utting

( Fig.

5 .2:

S ome k nives h ave a brupt r etouch a long t he o pposite

e dge t o f acilitate h olding ( Fig.

5 .2:

n o.

1 1);

t hese a re k nown

a s b acked k nives. 1 2)

M icrodenticulate r etouch

t oothed s aw e dge 1 3)

O vate

o r

e ffected

o r

s errated f lake.

I mplement

f rom t he v entral s urface, ( Fig.

l aurel

5 .2:

l eaf.

n os.

N otched s urface

1 5)

R od.

f lake. ( Fig.

5 .2:

O val-shaped

i mplement

I mplement

( Fig.

w ith 5 .2:

I mplement w ith a n otch f laked f rom t he n o.

d elicate a

f ine-

9 -10).

r etouch o n b oth s urfaces a nd a long b oth e dges 1 4)

w ith

p roducing

i nvasive n o.

8 ).

v entral

5 ).

w ith a r od-like s hape f ormed b y a brupt r etouch.

T hey c an b e t riangular,

r ectangular,

-4 1 -

l ozenge-shaped o r c ircular

i n c ross-section ( Fig. 1 6)

F abricator. c rushed

5 .2:

n o.

1 3).

I mplement a braded a t o ne o r b oth e nds,

o r

s mooth a ppearance,

r esult o f c ontinued s triking o r r ubbing 1 7)

U tilised

f lake.

I mplement

p roducing a

w hich i s c onsidered ( Fig.

5 .2:

t o n o.

w ith s ome t races o f

b e

t he

1 4).

e dge

t rimming

A rtefact w ith r etouch,

b ut w hich

w hich a re p resumed t o r esult f rom u se. 1 8)

M iscellaneous r etouched f lake.

d oes n ot f all i nto a ny o f t he a bove c ategories. 1 9)

P ick.

H eavy

c ore-implement

f laked a t t he w orking e nd

i nto

a

p oint. 2 0)

G round a xe.

H eavy c ore-implement

f lakes) w ith a t ransverse c utting e dge

( Figs.

A n

e longated

u sually

n odule o f f lint i s f laked,

h ard

u ntil b oth s ides a nd e dges a re r easonably s mooth a nd e ven

T he r oughout i s t hen f laked w ith a s oft

a nd i s f inally s haped b y g rinding o n a l arge

c oarse-grained s tone ( Fig.

( a h one o r p olissoir). 2 .4:

G round-edged i mplement. o r

n o.

3 ).

I mplement o ther t han a f abricator,

m ost c ommon t ype o f i mplement e ncountered i n

( Fig.

5 .2:

n o.

L eaf-shaped t he

t his

c ategory

P rojectile p oint b ifacially w orked i nto

5 .2:

n o.

p oint ( Fig.

a rrowhead.

P rojectile p oint 5 .2:

n o.

o r p etit t ranchet d erivative

5 .2:

n os.

c hisel

a rrowheads f orm

( Fig.

b ifacially

w orked

1 7).

a rrowhead.

P rojectile

w orked i nto a v ariety o f t riangular o r t rapezoidal 1 8-20).

t ransverse a rrowhead : 1 8),

p ressure

1 6).

i nto t he s hape o f a l ozenge T ransverse

a b arb ( Fig.. 5 .2:

T here

a re

t hree

p etit t ranchet a rrowheads

a rrowheads

( triangular,

f requently

a re

1 5).

a rrowhead.

L ozenge-shaped

a xe

K nives

s hape o f a l eaf a nd o f l enticular c ross s ection b y

f laking ( Fig.

b lock

A n arrow a xe i s

c hisel w ith e dges t hat h ave b een g round s mooth.

t he

2 4)

2 .4). a

h ammer

k nown a s a c hisel

2 3)

w ith

i nto a r oughout.

o f

2 2)

2 .3 a nd

h ammer,

( a p reform),

2 1)

( though s ometimes m anufactured

o n

( Fig.

5 .2:

n o.

s hapes

m ain

f orms

( Fig.

5 .2:

1 9).

a nd

o blique

w ith o ne c orner u sually a ccentuated n o.

2 0).

e xecuted o n a " Levallois"

T he

4c hisel

f lake

o f n o. t o

a rrowheads a re

r emoved f rom a d isc-

s haped c ore. 2 5)

B arbed

a nd t anged a rrowhead.

s hape,

w ith

s ymmetrical 5 .2:

5 .2(ii)

n o.

b arbs a rranged e ither s ide o f a c entral

t ang

i n t wo

( Fig.

2 1).

c riteria w ere u sed i n s electing f lint a ssemblages s uitable

t he a nalysis.

c ontexts,

t riangular

S election o f a ssemblages f or t he a nalysis.

T hree f or

P rojectile p oint,

o ne e dge w orked b y p ressure f laking t o p roduce

f or

F irst o nly s ites i n s outhern B ritain w ith

e xampie s ealed o ccupation l ayers,

- 4 2 -

p its

a nd

c losed d itches,

c ontaining

a ssemblages

w hich

p rovide i nformation o n

f unction o f t he s ite w ere c hosen b ias o r

( Table 5 .1).

S econd,

t he

d ate

a nd

t o m inimise t he

f rom s elective r ecovery o f s pecific t ypes o f a rtefact o n a

s ite

f rom s mall s ample s ize o f t he t otal f lint p opulation p resent a t

s ite,

o nly

a ssemblages c ontaining 1 00 o r m ore h umanly-struck

w ere i ncluded. a nd b oth l ong i nstance,

a nalysis.

I n

f lintwork

f lints

A n e xception w as m ade f or c ursus a nd h enge m onuments, a nd r ound b arrows, a s v ery f ew f lint a ssemblages

r ecovered f rom t hese t ypes o f s ite c ontain m ore t han 1 00 t his

a

f lints.

I n

a ll r eliably-excavated s ites w ere c onsidered f or

t he

t he c ase o f b arrows,

i t i s d ifficult t o s eparate

t he

a ssociated w ith s ite c onstruction f rom t hat a ssociated w ith

s ite m aintenance a nd u se.

I n a ll c ases,

t he f lints a ssociated

w ith

t he b urial d eposits a nd p rimary s ilts i n t he d itches h ave b een u sed i n t he

a nalysis.

h and

T hird,

l imited t ime a nd r esources p recluded a

s tudy o f t he f lintwork i tself.

t o b e u sed, d esigned

f rom

t ext

b ut a s tandardized c lassification o f f lint a rtefacts

w as

w hich c ould a ccommodate a ll t he a rtefact c ategories u sed

e ach r eport c lear

f irst

P ublished r eports t herefore h ad

( see s ection 5 .2(1)

a bove).

I n s everal i nstances,

c omparing t he i llustrations w ith t he n d escriptions i n

t hat s ome a rtefacts h ad b een m isidentified /

i n

i t w as t he

R eports t hat

w ere

c onsidered u nreliable o r a mbiguous w ere t herefore d iscounted.

5 .2(111)

The a nalysis.

T able

5 .1

l ists

t he

n eolithic s ites

a ccording t o t heir c haracter a nd d ate,

u sed

i n

t his

a nalysis

a nd g ives d etails o f t he

f lint

a ssemblages f rom e ach s ite. I t p roved i mpractical t o p lot f requency g raphs d isplaying t he v ariation i n i ndividual t ypes o f i mplement, a s a n umber

o f

r eports c ontain i nadequate r ecords o f t he t otals

o f

e ach

c lass o f a rtefact r ecovered: f or e xample H urst F en, S uffolk ( Clark e t a l. 1 960). I nstead, h istograms s howing t he n umber o f s ites a nd t he n umber S ites s ites;

o f

d ifferent

t ypes o f i mplement w ere

c ompiled

( Fig.

5 .3).

6h ave

o val

b een g rouped i nto t he f ollowing c ategories: d omestic l ong b arrows a nd c airns ( both c hambered a nd u nchambered);

a nd

r ound

b arrows

a nd

r ing-ditches;

c ursus

c ausewayed a nd o ther e arlier n eolithic e nclosures;

h enge

m onuments; m onuments;

a nd f lint m ines.

5 .2(iv)

R esults

I t i s a pparent t hat f lint w as w orked a t a ll c ategories o f s ite, a lthough s ome o f t he c hambered c airns, o val a nd r ound b arrows l ocated o ff

t he

c halk

o nly c ontain

e xplained b y e ither c ontext, o f

f lint.

f inished

i mplements.

T his

c ould

b e

r ecovery b ias o r r estricted a vailability

T he p roduction o f c ore-implements i s l argely c onfined

t o

m ining s ites, w hereas t he f lint a ssemblages f rom a ll o ther s ites a re d ominated b y f lake-implements. E arlier n eolithic m ines w ere l argely o rientated t owards t he p roduction o f a xe r oughouts a nd p reforms. 7 T hese

w ere

a lso

p roduced,

n eolithic f lint m ines, i mplements, i ncluding

a lso m anufactured ( Saville a ssemblages

t hough t o

a

l esser

e xtent,

a t

l ater

w here a v ariety o f d iscoidal k nives a nd o ther a s mall p roportion o f f lake-implements, w ere 1 981a).

N ot s urprisingly,

t hen,

t he

f lint

f rom s ites r ! oncerned w ith l arge-scale q uarrying a nd f lint-

w orking c an h e

i splated f rom o ther L ategories o f s ite.

- 4 3 -

T able 5 .1

S ites i n s outhern B ritain u sed f or t he a nalysis o f l ater m esolithic a nd n eolithic

f lint a ssemblages.

L ater m esolithic s ites 1 .

W awcott I II,

2 .

W awcott X XIII, B erks. T olpits L ane S ite B , H erts.

3 . 4 .

H igh R ocks,

B erks.

E ast S ussex

s ee G azetteer,

T able 1

s ee G azetteer,

T able 1

s ee G azetteer, M oney 1 960

T able 1

E arlier n eolithic d omestic s ites

5 . 6 . 7 . 8 .

B roome H eath, H urst F en,

N orfolk*

W ainwright 1 972

S uffolk*

C lark e t a l.

B ishopstone,

E ast S ussex

B ell 1 977

H azard H ill,

D evon

H oulder 1 963

1 960

L ater n eolithic d omestic s ites

9 .

C assington,

1 0.

B arton C ourt F arm,

O xon.

1 1.

B arrow H ills,

1 2.

T hrupp S ite C .,

O xon.

R adley, O xon. O xon. O xon.

s ee G azetteer,

T ables 4 a nd 8

s ee G azetteer,

Tables 4 a nd 8

s ee G azetteer,

T ables 4 a nd 8

s ee G azetteer,

T ables 4 a nd 8

s ee G azetteer,

T ables 4 a nd 8

s ee G azetteer,

T ables 4 a nd 8

1 3.

S utton C ourtenay,

1 4.

M ount F arm,

1 5.

W est K ennet A venue,

1 6.

A vebury G 55,

1 7.

S torey's B ar R oad,

1 8.

E cton,

1 9.

B ullock D own,

E ast S ussex

D rewett

2 0.

A rreton D own,

I sle o f W ight

A lexander e t a l.

B erinsfield,

O xon.

W ilts.

s ee G azetteer,

T ables 4 a nd 8 T ables 4 a nd 8

F engate,

s ee G azetteer, P ryor 1 978

W ilts. C ambs.

N orthants.

M oore a nd W illiams 1 982,

1 975

H olgate

f /c

( b)

1 960

E arlier n eolithic c hambered a nd u nchambered l ong b arrows a nd c airns 2 1.

W est K ennet,

2 2.

W ayland's S mithy,

W ilts.

2 3.

L ambourn,

2 4.

F ussell's L odge,

2 5. 2 6.

H old f tlhurst, H ampnett I I,

H ants. G los.

P iggott 1 937 s ee G azetteer,

6 Table 2

2 7.

H azleton I I,

G los.

s ee G azetteer,

T able 2 6

2 8.

N otgrove I ,

s ee G azetteer,

6 Table 2

2 9.

S well I ,

s ee G azetteer,

6 T able 2

3 0.

W ithington I I,

s ee G azetteer,

T able 2 6

3 1. 3 2.

A scott-under-Wychwood, N ympsfield, G los.

s ee G azetteer,

T able 2 6

B erks.

B erks. H ants.

s ee G azetteer,

T able 2 7

s ee G azetteer,

T able 2 7

s ee G azetteer,

T able 2 8

A shbee 1 966

G los.

G los. G los. O xon.

C lifford 1 938;

S aville 1 979b

E arlier n eolithic e nclosures

3 3 .

A bingdon,

3 4.

W indmill H ill,

3 5 .

R ybury H ill,

3 6.

K nap H ill,

3 7. 3 8.

S taines, S urrey* O rsett, E ssex*

O xon. W ilts. *

W ilts.

W ilts.

- 4 4 -

s ee G azetteer,

T able 2 5

azetteer, s ee G

T able 2 5

s ee G azetteer,

T able 2 5

s ee G azetteer,

T able 2 5

s ee G azetteer,

T able 2 5

azetteer, s ee G

T able 2 5

3 9.

T he T rundle,

W est S ussex

4 0.

B arkhale,

4 1. 4 2.

B ury H ill, W est S ussex W hitehawk, E ast S ussex*

4 3.

O ffham,

4 4.

C ombe H ill,

4 5.

C am nB rea,

C urwen 1 929; 1 931; a nd A ldworth 1 981 L each 1 983 B edwin 1 981

W est S ussex

W illiamson 1 930; 1 936

E ast S ussex

B edwin

C urwen 1 934;

D rewett 1 977 M usson 1 950 M ercer 1 981a

E ast S ussex C ornwall

E arlier n eolithic f lint m ines 4 6.

H arrow H ill, W est S ussex

C urwen a nd C urwen 1 926;

4 7.

B lackpatch,

4 8. 4 9.

C hurch H ill, F indon, W . C issbury, W est S ussex*

H olleyman 1 936; H olgate f orthcoming a G oodman e t a l. 1 924; P ye 1 968 P ye 1 968

5 0.

L ong D own,

W est S ussex* S ussex*

L ane F ox 1 869; W illett 1 880; P ye 1 968 S alisbury 1 961; H olgate f orthcoming a

W est S ussex*

L ater n eolithic f lint m ines 5 1.

G rimes G raves,

N orfolk**

S aville 1 981a

L ater n eolithic b arrows a nd r ing-ditches 5 2.

5 3 . 5 4.

5. 5 6.

5 7 .

B arrow H ills, R adley, O xon. D orchester s ite V III, O xon. N orth S toke l inear d itches, O xon. B eckhampton R oad, W ilts. S outh S treet, W ilts.

6 0.

S onning, B erks. A lfriston, E ast S ussex T hrupp S ite B , O xon. C orporation F arm, A bingdon, O xon.

6 1. 6 2. 6 3.

D orchester I , O xon. D orchester I I, O xon. D orchester I V, O xon.

6 4 .

D orchester V , O xon. D orchester V I, O xon. D orchester X I, O xon. M ount F arm, B erinsfield, O xon. E nglefield, B erks.

5 8.

5 9 .

6 5.

6 6 . 6 7.

6 8 .

s ee G azetteer, T able s ee G azetteer, T able s ee G azetteer, T able s ee G azetteer, T able s ee G azetteer, T able s ee G azetteer, T able D rewett, 1 975 s ee G azetteer, s ee G azetteer, s ee G azetteer, s ee G azetteer,

2 9 2 9 2 9 2 9 2 9 2 9

T able 3 0 T able 3 0 T able 3 0

T able 3 0 s ee G azetteer, T able 3 0 s ee G azetteer, T able s ee G azetteer, T able s ee G azetteer, T able s ee G azetteer, T able s ee G azetteer, T able

3 0 3 0 3 0 3 0 3 0

L ater n eolithic c ursus m onuments 6 9.

D rayton,

7 0. 7 1.

D orchester, O xon. M axey, C ambs.

O xon.

7 2.

S tonehenge G reater C ursus,

s ee G azetteer, T able 3 1

W ilts.

s ee G azetteer, T able 3 1 P ryor a nd F rench 1 985 S tone 1 947; C hristie 1 963; S aville 1 980c.

- 4 5 -

L ater n eolithic h enge m onuments

7 3.

C ondicote,

7 4.

D evil's Q uoits,

7 5.

B ig R ings,

G los.

s ee G azetteer, T able 3 2 O xon.

s ee G azetteer,

O xon.

7 6.

T he S anctuary,

7 7.

A vebury,

7 8.

W aulud's B ank,

7 9 .

M axey,

8 0.

A rminghall,

T able 3 2

s ee G azetteer, T able 3 2

W ilts.

s ee G azetteer, T able 3 2

W ilts.

s ee G azetteer, T able 3 2 B eds.

s ee G azetteer,

C ambs.

T able 3 2

P ryor a nd F rench 1 985; S impson 1 985 C larke 1 936a

N orfolk

8 1.

D urrington W alls,

8 2.

M arden,

8 3.

M ount P leasant,

D orset

W ainwright 1 979

8 4 .

M aumbury R ings,

D orset

B radley 1 976

d enotes

W ilts.

W ainwright a nd L ongworth 1 971

W ilts.

W ainwright 1 971

e arlier

n eolithic

s ite

w hich

a lso

p roduced

l ater

n eolithic m aterial **

d enotes n eolithic s ite w hich a lso p roduced B ronze A ge m aterial

-4 6 -

M

T ab le 5 . 1

g

T ab le 5 . 1

g

1

I l i

1 " i

2

M

a

8

e

t j 3 8 1

g

5

i

M

_ >

e

.

S ite a nd N .G .R . L AT ER M ESOLI TH IC S EE 4 .

H igh R o cks

1 0 00.

§

1

2

2 8

M

s r , g

5 3

1 0 53.

g

a )

gs

9

e. ;

AMA2

T atle 5 . 1 ( c ontd .)

S ite a nd N .G .R . E A RLIER N EOLITHIC D O4ESTIC b l IIS 5 .

B i

, eH e ath

6 .

H i rst F e n

7 .

B i shop stcne

8 .

H azard H i ll

8 9 31

1 4 0

1

2 54

1 4 500.

5 00 .

3 4

7 36

4 5 62

1 4 0

8 3

9 8

1 0 25

3 4

2 1 97

7 0

4 1 8 3

6 8

4

1

1

4 2

5 6 7

3 4

6 0

6

1 8

2

15 40 .356.

1

1

1 7 2 1 6 3

1

2 19

7

2

6 2 1

5 8

1

7 .

1

9 440

4 1

1

1 6 851+ 1 5 366

1 2

3 5 98

L ATER N E OLITHIC D OM ESTIC S l itS 1 7 . S torey 's B ar R d .

23.

1 8 . E c t cn

63

2

541

3

1 9 . h i l lo ck D o wn 2 0 . A rr etcn D o wn

1 66 7

6 3 +

4 +

2 5

2 3 .

1 + 1

1 0 1

6

3 7

7 6 "

2 5

1 + 1 0 3

*

1 +

2 1 4

? 2

1

2 1

211

1

13+

7 +

9 4

2

3 2

1

*

1 0

4 9

6

5

3

1 +

4 3 7. 1

2

8 0 9

5

2 5 793 1 7 39

E A RLIER N EOLITHIC C H AMBE RED A ND U NCH AMBE RED L ONG B ARROWS A ND C AIRNS 2 4 . F u ssel l 's L e dg e 2 5 . H o lden hur st 2 6 . N ympsf ield

3 8 0 •

4

1

2

4

2

3 1

5

4 36 5 +

3 1

1

1

3

2

3 9

E A RL I ER N EOL I TH IC E NUOSUR ES 3 9 . T he T rundle

3

1

*

2 1 16.

8 7 .

4 0 . B a r kha le

4 0 4

1 7

1 2

1 3

4 1 . B u ry H i ll

3 5 23

3 6

1 2 3

8 1 8

4 2 . k a t iteha . i , 4 3 . O ffham 4 . C omte H i ll 4 5 . C a in B r ae

2 1 . 4 5 23

8 +

3 .

2

8 1

1

2

2 2 0

2

6 1

1

6

1 0

3

2 3

6

2 8

2

4 2 2 77

2

1

1

4

4 1

3 8 34

1 3 1

1 1

4

3 7 42 1

4 5 8

4

4 5 8 1

1

1 8 6

1 2 3 28 + 4 7 4

2

5 2

4 1 9 2 0311

1 4

8 7

1 8

4 2 1

6 33 4 20 7 5 1

3 1

4 2

2 6368

E A RLIER N E OLITHIC F LINT M INES 4 +

4 6 . H ar m .,Hi l l 4 7 . B l ackpat ch

•

4 8 . C hu rch H i ll

2

1

1 2

1

1

2 0

1

2

8

1 2 +

1 3

4

4 5

4 9 . C i ssturY

•

5 4 .

6 +

2 3 +

1 4 +

5 0 . L ang D o wn

*

1 8 .

3 .

5 8

2 1

4 9 0

1 0 04

1

1 0 3 .

1 2 8+

1 5 8 +

22+

6

7 0+

1 6 8+

1 7 +

5 4 .

1 5 8.

5 1 +

4 38 +

9 1

7

1 + 1

2 86

L A TER N E ELITHIC F L INT M I NES 5 1 . C ü ime s C raves

1 0 4+

4 ? 3 26

7

3

-4 7 -

2

2 79

3 5 1 2 457

1

1

3 6 5 0 6 8

T a t t le 5 .1 ( c cntd .)

§

§

L s!a

m Arr e ng

S ite a nd N .G .R .

I

1 41;

L ATER N EOL ITHIC B AR ID AS A ND R ING -DT T CT IE S 5 8 . A lr ristcn

7 998

4 7

1 51

2 4

1 6

1

1 0

8 4

1

8 354

L ATER N B CL ITHIC C OR MS m a me ns 7 1 . M axey 7 2 . S toneheng e

1 253

2

l o

2 0

1 285

L AT ER N EO LIIHIC H EN CE M ONUM ENES 7 9 . M axey 8 0 . A r T n inghall

1 1 07

8 1 . C urring tcn W aL ls 1082 8 2 . M arden 8 3 . M ount P leasant 8 4 . M auntury R ing s

34 9 475 6 0+

1

e o

9 5 7

2 0 7

1 1 05 1 +

1 7 6

4

1 0

1 8

1

1 61

6

3 +

1 7

1

5

2 1 5

7

3

2 +

5

2 1

1

1

2

2 4 7+

—4 8 —

5 8 3 1 0

2

2

1467 3 61 9 796 1 23+

EARL IER DO MEST IC

NE OL ITH IC

S ITES

LATER

S ITES

NEOL ITH IC

DOMEST IC

6

6

4

4

S ITES

S ITES

1 8 1 4

2

2 0

1

1 7

1 0

1 2

9

2

5 2

4

LONG

6

6

7

8

1 0

0

1 2

2

BARRO WS

1 3

1 5

6

4

BARR O WS

6

1 6

AND

1 9 1 0

1 2

R ING-D ITCHES

6

68

4

4

6 1

2 8

3 0

2 5

2 9

22

2 7

3 2

2 1

2 6

3 1

2

2

2

4

6

8

1 0

6 7

6 6

5 7

6 2

s o

6 4

5 3

5 8

5 5

63

5 2

5 6

0

1 2

2

4

6

CURSUS

8

1 0

1 2

1 0

1 2

MONUMENTS

4

2 7 2 69 2

ENCLOSURES

1

HENGE

4

6

MONU MENTS

6

4 4 4 4 3

45

4 0

4 2

2

3 6 2

F L INT

39

4 1 6

4

38

8 2

3 7 3 4 8

7 8

3 3 1 0

8 4

M INES

4

F L INT

8 31 8 1

7 7

7 6

2

1 2

6

8

6

8

1 0

1 2

1 0

1 2

M INES

6

6

4

4 49 4 8

2

2 4 7 46 2

F r i

50

4

6

8

1 0

2

1 2

4

F igure 5 .3 The range of i mplements i n e arlier a nd l ater n eolithic f lint a ssemblages i n s outhern B ritain. T he y -axis r epresents t he n umber t ypes

o f

s ites

a nd t he x -axis r epresents t he n umber

o f i mplement p resent a t e ach s ite.

r efer t o s ites l isted i n T able 5 .1.

- 4 9 -

o f

T he n umbers i n

d ifferent t he

b oxes

T he

d itches,

b anks a nd m ounds a ssociated w ith a ll

b arrows

a nd

c ursus

m onuments c ontain s mall q uantities o f f lintwork a nd a

l imited

n umber

o f

e arlier

d ifferent

t ypes o f i mplement.

B urials m ade

i n

n eolithic l ong b arrows a nd c hambered c airns w ere r arely a ccompanied b y f lint a rtefacts. t hese

O f t he f ew i mplements t hat h ave b een r ecovered f rom

c ontexts,

o ccasionally,

l eaf-shaped a rrowheads f orm t he l argest

e xample a t W est K ennet,

W ilts.

b urials,

s ometimes

g oods,

t hough,

h ave

( Piggott 1 962,

F arm,

O xon.:

G rimes 1 960,

B erinsfield,

O xon.:

2 3).

b een f ound

w hich i nclude g round-edged k nives

H arcourt,

p roportion;

t he a rrowhead i tself w as t he i nstrument o f

1 56-7),

d eath,

a ssociated w ith

( e.g.

L inch

H ill,

r etouched b lades

G eorge L ambrick p ers.

f or

L ater n eolithic

c omm.)

g rave S tanton

( e.g.

M ount

a nd l ozenge-

s haped a rrowheads ( e.g. B arrow H ills, R adley, O xon.: B radley e t a l. 1 984). T he d eposition o f f lintwork w ith n eolithic b urials t herefore a ppears t o h ave b een d eliberately s elective. T he i n

f lint a ssemblages r etrieved f rom c ausewayed e nclosures

t he q uantity a nd d iversity o f i mplements t hat t hey

g roups a re d iscernible: f ew i mplements,

T wo

t hose p roducing f lint a ssemblages w ith

v ery

f or e xample O ffham,

w ith a v ariety o f i mplements, 1 965a).

T his

u ndoubtedly

f ollowed t he s ame s equence o f u se.

f lint

h ave

S ussex

( Drewett 1 977),

f or e xample W indmill H ill,

a nd t hose

W ilts.

s hows t hat n ot a ll c ausewayed

h ave b een p urely c eremonial, n ecessarily

v ary

c ontain.

( Smith

e nclosures

A lthough s ome o f t hese s ites c ould

t he c eremonies t hat t ook p lace n eed

n ot

a ll i nvolved t he d eposition o f a s tandard r ange

a rtefacts.

F urthermore,

s ome

s ites

c ould

h ave

o f

w itnessed

d omestic a ctivity, a t l east a t s ome s tage w hile t hey w ere i n u se. O f t he f our c ausewayed e nclosures w ith a l ow i mplement d iversity, a ll a re l ocated o n t he c rest o f d ownland s carp s lopes a nd w ere c onstructed w oodland 2 26)

c learings

( Thomas 1 982;

6 6);

E vans 1 971,

D rewett

i n

( 1977,

h as s uggested t hat t he S ussex s ites o n t he n orthern e dge o f

t he

D owns w ere u sed a s c eremonial s ites. T he o ther c ausewayed e nclosures, j udging f rom t he q uantity o f d omestic d ebris f ound i n t he d itches, c ould

h ave s een s ome f orm o f d omestic a ctivity,

n ature

o f t his a ctivity a re u nclear.

h ave b een c eremonial s ites,

t hough t he d ate

a nd

A ll e nclosures c ould i nitially

l ater b ecoming d omestic i n

f unction,

a s

r ecently s uggested f or t he e nclosures i n D enmark ( Madsen 1 982; p ers. c omm.). T he c hronology o f n eolithic p ottery s tyles i n B ritain, i n c ontrast

t o

h ypothesis.

D enmark,

i s

F urthermore,

n ot

s ufficiently

m any

r efined

t o

t est

c ausewayed e nclosure d itch

t his

s ections

w ere r epeatedly r ecut, t hus d isturbing a ny s tratigraphic r elationships t hat m ight h elp r esolve t his i ssue. H owever, i t h as r ecently b een s hown t hat C rickley H ill, n eolithic p eriod ( Dixon

G los. 1 981),

i nvolved a c hange i n t he s ite's

u nderwent a s eries o f c hanges i n t he s ome o r a ll o f w hich c ould h ave

f unction.

H enge m onuments h ave a lso p roduced f lint a ssemblages w hich v ary i n t he r ange o f i mplements t hey c ontain. E xcavations a t E ast A nglian a nd U pper T hames v alley h enges d id n ot p roduce a ny i mplements, m ost

o f

t he l arge W essex h enges p roduced a

T his p robably m onuments.

b oth

i ndicates

r egional

v ariety

v ariations i n t he

o f

w hilst

i mplements.

u se

o f

t hese

D omestic s ites c onsistently y ield f lint a ssemblages t hat c ontain a h igh r atio o f i mplements t o d ebitage, a nd a lso a v ariety o f

i mplements.

L i

a ddition,

r ecur o n t hese s ites:

a n umbe- o f s pecific t ypes

s crapers,

p iercers,

- 5 0 -

k nives,

o f

i mplement

m icrodenticulates,

o vates, a xe

f abricators,

f lakes

c ores.

a nd

n otched f lakes,

a rrowheads a nd g round f lint b een

r eworked

A t l east f ive o f t hese i mplement-types - s crapers,

c utting t ools o r

r ods,

f ragments t hat h ave s ubsequently

( knives o r m icrodenticulates),

f ragments

n eolithic

a s

p iercers,

a rrowheads a nd a xe

f lakes

- a re r epresented i n a ll d omestic f lint a ssemblages

d ate.

I t

i s

t herefore

p ossible

t o

d efine

o f

d omestic

a ssemblages

o n t he q uantity a nd r ange o f i mplements p resent,

d istinguish

t hem

a nd

t o

f rom t he a ssemblages d erived f rom f lint m ining

a nd

b urial s ites.

5 .3

D ating f lint a ssemblages T he

s ites u sed i n t he p revious a nalysis a lso p rovided t he

b asis

f or a s tudy o f t he t ypology a nd t echnology o f f lintwork d ating t o t his p eriod.

5 .3(i)

T ypology

T he r ecognition o f c onsistently o ccurring t ypes o f a rtefacts

w as

f undamental t o t he s ystematic d evelopment o f a rchaeology ( Daniel 1 962,

7 3).

A t ypological a nalysis o f e arlier n eolithic f lint i ndustries i n

s outhern

B ritain,

w hich i ncluded e nclosures a nd d omestic s ites,

b een c arried o ut b y H ealey ( in H ealey a nd R obertson-Mackay 2 1).

T his

l ater

m esolithic,

h as

1 983,

1 3-

s ection w ill e xamine t he f lint a rtefact t ypes p resent e arlier

n eolithic

a nd l ater n eolithic

s outhern B ritain u sing a s orted c ombination t able.

e xample s ome c ertain

t he S ussex f lint m ine s ites. 7

w ith

i ntrusive m aterial,

t he

i s t o p roduce a t abulated s equence w hich s hows i f t here

a re

t ypes a nd f orms o f i mplements t hat a re c haracteristic o f

t he

l ater m esolithic, T he

T he

o bject

f or

o f

e xercise

o f

i n

T he s ame s ites a nd

c ategories o f i mplements a s t hose l isted i n T able 5 .1 w ere u sed, t he o mission o f d isturbed s ites o r s ites w ith

i n

s ites

e arlier n eolithic a nd l ater n eolithic p eriods.

t abulated s equence

( Table 5 .2)

s hows t hat t here a re

c ertain

i mplements c ommon t o b oth l ater m esolithic a nd n eolithic s ites, f or e xample s crapers. T here a re c hanges, h owever, i n t he u se o f c ertain i mplements d uring t hese p eriods, 1 )

T he

a s s ummarized b elow.

l ater m esolithic p eriod.

f lint

a ssemblages

c ontaining

T his p eriod i s b urins,

c haracterized

g eometric

b y

m icroliths,

m icroburins a nd t ranchet a xe-sharpening f lakes. 2 )

T he e arlier n eolithic p eriod. d ated

t o

t his

i mplement, p roduced;

p eriod

T he f lint a ssemblages f rom

c ontain a b road r ange o f

n ew

s ites

t ypes

o f

f or e xample k nives a nd o vates. B urins a re n o l onger l eaf-shaped a rrowheads r eplace m icroliths a s

p rojectile p oints a nd g round f lint a xes r eplace t ranchet a xes. 3 )

T he

l ater n eolithic p eriod.

p eriod e arlier

i nclude

t o

t his

a m ore r estricted r ange o f i mplement-types

t han

n eolithic

F lint a ssemblages d ating

a ssemblages

a nd

a re

c haracterized

b y

t he

p resence o f c ombination t ools, g round-edged k nives a nd c hisels; l ozenge-shaped a nd t ransverse a rrowheads r eplace l eaf-shaped a rrowheads.

-51 -

T ransverse a rrowhead

L ozenge a rrowhead

a ) 4 , • H

c d cd . Z a ) u ) a ) I 3 4 ) C t , 0 C O c d

e dged k nife

i z i

C ombination t ool

r x

s harpening f lake

li 0

M icroburin

. H P 0 A r 1 W E L ,

c d

T ranchet

• P , 0