PAST 1

EEXXCCAAVVAATTIINNGG AA BBRROONNZZEEAAGGEE TTIIMMBBEERR PPLLAATTFFOORRMMAATT MMUUSSTT FFAARRMM,,WWHHIITTTTLLEESSEEYY,, NNEEAARRPPEETTEERRBBOORROOUUGGHH

The Flag Fen Basin is one of those landscapes whereif you dig a big enough hole you will find aspectacular prehistoric site buried beneath the peat.Francis Pryor and the Fenland Archaeological Trustdid just that in the 1970s and 80s and found theFengate fieldsystems and the Flag Fen post-alignments. Since 1999, the CambridgeArchaeological Unit of the University of Cambridgehas been investigating some equally large holes onthe opposite side of the Flag Fen basin, and to datehas uncovered the Bradley Fen fieldsystems and theMust Farm post-alignments. In combination, theseprogrammes of excavation have generated a kind oflandscape-symmetry on both sides of the basin thathas accentuated patterns of prehistoric occupationand deposition. The symmetry is remarkable andsometimes it feels like we are revisiting the samelandscapes, which, in a sense, we are. At the sametime it also feels as though we are revisiting the sameinterpretive issues.

Francis Pryor’s original interpretation of the Flag Fenplatform was as a raised timber settlement, situatedroughly centrally within the Flag Fen embayment,and in a watery environment. His reconstructiondrawings even had rectangular buildings with smokebillowing out of their roofs. Later, a paucity ofmaterial culture, and in particular a lack of insectremains indicative of human inhabitation,encouraged a different interpretation that inevitably

switched from domestic to ritual. Here, abundantitems of metalwork, and rare pieces of human bone,were utilised to construct an interpretation of the siteas a platform for the dead.

The Must Farm investigations in 2006 revealedhundreds of uprights amongst a mass of fallentimbers. Unlike Flag Fen, the Must Farm posts werefound in association with a deep palaeo-channel thatwas situated along the south-eastern corner of theembayment. The earliest timbers were giant oak pilesover four metres in length and arranged in rowsresembling the principal Flag Fen alignments.Amazingly, these piles or uprights also shared thesame felling dates as the primary rows found at theFengate Power Station excavations of the Flag Fenpost-alignments. Felled between 1283 and 1246 BC,and presumably erected shortly after, the oak pilessaw little in the way of deposition beyond a fish-trap, a bone pin-beater and some burnt stones. Later,a major collapse episode brought parts of itssuperstructure, including massive crossbeams, downinto the channel.

NUMBER 63 November 2009

THE NEWSLETTER OF THE PREHISTORIC SOCIETY Registered Office University College London, Institute of Archaeology, 31–34 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PY

http://www.prehistoricsociety.org/

The copy date for PAST 64 is 1 March 2010. Contributions to Joanna Brück, School of Archaeology, NewmanBuilding, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland. Email: joanna.bruck@ucd.ie Contributions on disc oras e-mail attachments are preferred (either word 6 or rtf files) but hardcopy is also accepted. Illustrations can be sentas drawings, slides, prints, tif or jpeg files. The book reviews editor is Dr Mike Allen, Wessex Archaeology, PortwayHouse, Old Sarum Park, Salisbury, Wilts, SP4 6EB. Email: aea.escargots@gmail.com Queries over subscriptions and

membership should go to the Society administrator Tessa Machling at the London address above.

63

PAST2965_PAST 63:PAST 55 5/11/09 11:34 Page 3

A steady build-up of silts and thick bands of molluscshells pointed towards a channel that had been cut-off from the main confluence and reduced to a kindof linear lake. Periods of drying out were indicatedby the humification of some of the horizons whilsthundreds of footprints, left by people squelchingabout the uprights, confirmed that there were timesof very low water.

The ‘oak’ phase of construction was later replacedby an ‘ash’ phase which saw the building of an oval-shaped palisaded enclosure measuring about45x30m. Radiocarbon assays for the coppiced ashpoles that made up the enclosure repeatedlyproduced Late Bronze Age dates (c. 1000-800 BC).Larger diameter ash uprights were used to delineateinternal structures, and the construction level for thewhole configuration was made obvious by hundredsof preserved wood chips. Newer footprints encircledthe muddy perimeter of the enclosure, whilst itsinterior appeared to be kept relatively clean. Pollen,snail, insect and plant analysis suggest that this newstructure had been built over a linear lake that wasitself situated within a wet, reed swamp environmentaway from dry land.

As with any elevated wooden structure, fire can havedisastrous consequences, and shortly after itsconstruction the site suffered a catastrophicconflagration. The wood chips that had marked itsconstruction were inundated by charred timbers,including beams, planks and rafters, and in the midstof the burnt superstructure lay an array of blisteredand scorched objects. This context was anarchaeologist’s dream: carbonised fragments oftextiles that included clothing, cordage, baskethandles and even a bronze bobbin replete with twinewere preserved in charcoal-ridden mud. Sprays ofsmall green or blue glass beads were found alongsideburnt metalwork (including sickles, gouges, a spear,a razor, rings, punches, awls and a cauldron handle)and there were nearly thirty whole or semi completepots. Vessels of all shapes and sizes (from cups

through to storage jars) littered the interior, and all of the pottery had been affected by fire (therewere spalled surfaces, sooting, and sometimes therewas evidence of vitrification). To emphasise theimmediacy and devastating character of theconflagration, the pots still retained their contents.Carbonised grain (920-800 Cal BC at 95.4%probability), fish bone and congealed foods spilled out of the vessels, and in one case a smallspoon or spatula was found as if still stirring itscontents. More conventional later Bronze Agematerials such as saddle querns, spindle whorls,burnt stones, burnt flint and calcined animal bonewere also part of the assemblage.

Fire, water and the soft silts of the channel hadcombined to preserve a collection of Late Bronze Agematerial culture, the existence of which haspreviously only been inferred. To take the textiles asan example, where the fire had carbonised thematerial, the water had extinguished the flamesbefore they had turned to ash, and then the siltspresented the perfect resting place for preservation.Pots that might usually have become just sherds in arubbish pit were instead prematurely ‘lost’ to thebottom of the watercourse - what the fire hadcaptured the river had entombed. Strangely, evenwith all of these things, the insect record mirroredthat of Flag Fen: no synanthropic beetles. Ourevidence for occupation or inhabitation (possibly themost complete ‘household’ assemblage you couldever imagine) was contradicted by an absence ofinsects that are normally associated with people.

The nearby Bradley Fen excavations havedemonstrated that later Bronze Age metalworkdeposition was not confined to the Flag Fen post-alignment and platform. Large amounts ofweaponry were found in direct relationship with thefen edge and in particular to later Bronze Age fieldboundaries. Disarticulated human bone was equallyubiquitous and located more often than not inaccepted ‘domestic’ contexts (postholes and wateringholes). Conversely, the later Bronze Age domesticstructures (round houses) situated on dry landcontexts were materially barren.

The material from Must Farm stands out in an areaof already very impressive Bronze Age archaeology.Its preservation was dependent on the circumstancesof its context both in the present and, moreimportantly, in the past. A combination of fire anddeep water helped to ensure that we got to seesomething new in what seemed to be a familiarprehistoric landscape. The challenge now is not todiminish its freshness, or reduce its relevance byreciting the same old hackneyed explanation thatbecause it is so ‘special’ it must therefore be ‘ritual’.Otherwise archaeological interpretation just stops atthe very moment when we have somethinginteresting to say.

2 PAST

2965_PAST 63:PAST 55 5/11/09 11:34 Page 4

PAST 3

2965_PAST 63:PAST 55 5/11/09 11:34 Page 5

The intactness of the materials and the freshness ofthe uprights (some of the timbers still had whatappeared to be green moss adhered to them) gave thecontext an ‘immediacy’ that none of us hadexperienced before on a British excavation. Therewere moments as we excavated the conflagrationhorizon at Must Farm when it almost seemedpossible that the original inhabitants might at anymoment return to enquire about what it was wewere doing. This immediacy was taken to be anindicator of what had been missing from the ‘dry’contexts that we were so used to excavating, andtherefore could be seen as a kind of gauge on levelsof preservation. Soon after, however, we realised wewere actually excavating a different kind of laterBronze Age, one that does not sit simply between ourarchaeological explanations for ‘domestic’ or ‘ritual’activities, but through the nature of the materialitself generates new ways of understanding thisperiod of time.

AcknowledgementsThe evaluation of the Must Farm site wasundertaken by the Cambridge Archaeological Uniton behalf of the Hanson Building Products (nowpart of the Heidelberg Cement Group) as part of aplanning application for gravel and clay extraction.At present the site is being scientifically monitored aspart of a preservation in situ programme set up byTim Malim of SLR Consulting Ltd and overseen byKasia Gdaniec of the Cambridgeshire ArchaeologyPlanning and Countryside Advice team (CAPCA).

Mark Knight

NNEEWW EEVVIIDDEENNCCEE FFOORR MMIIDD--LLAATTEE NNEEOOLLIITTHHIICC BBUURRIIAALLFFRROOMM TTHHEE CCOOLLNNEEVVAALLLLEEYY,, WWEESSTT LLOONNDDOONN

Human burials are generally scarce in southernEngland during the 1000 years between theabandonment of causewayed enclosures (around3400 BC) and the appearance of Beaker burials(2400 BC). This is particularly true of sites locatedon the middle Thames gravels where there is littlerecord of Neolithic human remains and few funerarymonuments. However, important new evidence hasbeen revealed during ongoing research at two sites inthe Colne valley - Imperial College Sports Groundand Kingsmead Quarry, Horton - both investigatedby Wessex Archaeology and funded by HenryStreeter Ltd and Cemex UK respectively.

At Imperial College Sports Ground, a pair ofadjacent circular monuments, one a double ring-ditch, the other a U-shaped or penannular ditch,

were found to be associated with a series of gravescontaining the remains of unurned burials ofuncertain prehistoric date. One grave was associatedwith pottery - fragments of an urn considered tobelong to the local Deverel-Rimbury tradition - butthe character of both monuments matched otherNeolithic ring-ditches in the area, most notably atManor Farm, Horton, excavated by Steve Ford(TVAS), and Phil Jones’s recently published site atStaines Road, Shepperton. Imperial College SportsGround also contained a long mortuary enclosure, asecond U-shaped enclosure and a spread of over 20pits containing Mortlake Ware; a further 60+ pitswith Mortlake Ware were recorded at the adjacentsite of RMC Land. Collectively, the monumentsform a small cluster or complex of a type wellrecognised in other parts of the Thames Valley andthe Midlands. In addition, the site is less than 4 kmfrom the Stanwell (Heathrow) cursus complex.

4 PAST

The two Neolithic ring ditches (© Wessex Archaeology)

2965_PAST 63:PAST 55 5/11/09 11:34 Page 6

PAST 5

The possibility that the cremation graves belonged tothe Neolithic was suggested by the recovery from themonuments’ ditches of a chisel arrowhead, scraps ofPeterborough Ware and, most significantly, a burntchisel or axe that could represent a pyre good whichhad been placed in the outer ring ditch. Deposits ofpossible pyre debris were recorded from the doublering-ditch, while all of the cremation graves onlycontained bone. In the absence of clearly associatedartefacts, a programme of radiocarbon dating wasundertaken by the Rafter Radiocarbon Laboratory,New Zealand, and dates were obtained on crematedbone from the two graves within the U-shaped ditchand from four graves from the interior of the double

ring-ditch, as well as from one of the deposits ofpossible pyre debris from the outer ring-ditch. Inaddition, a number of isolated cremation graveswere also dated from elsewhere on the site, one ofwhich returned a Neolithic result.

The eight results are shown in the plot and can beseen to fall within the last few centuries of the fourthmillennium BC, at a time when Mortlake Warewould have been current. With the exception of theoutlying grave, which consisted of cremated bonewithin redeposited pyre debris, the graves allcontained the intact remains of cremation burials.Most of the graves contained single individuals

Modelled data from ICSG

2965_PAST 63:PAST 55 5/11/09 11:34 Page 7

which comprised four immature individuals(between 3-16 years), one male c. 15-20 years andtwo adults; one of the adults, possibly female, hadbeen cremated with a young child.

These results go some way to filling a gap in thefunerary record and they confirm the long heldsuspicion that cremation represented the prevalentmortuary rite at this time. The site draws obviousparallels with the numerous cremation cemeteriesexcavated at Dorchester-on-Thames by Atkinsonand others which, from their associated grave andpyre goods, are likely to belong to the late fourth andearly third millennia BC, as well as with the slightlylater cemeteries at Duggleby Howe and Stonehenge.However, these sites are all notably monumental andall can be seen as regional centres, while the ringditches at Imperial College Sports Ground areperhaps more ordinary.

Seven kilometres southwest of Imperial CollegeSports Ground is the site of Kingsmead Quarry,located on a former gravel island within the ColneValley, adjacent to the Horton oval barrow and notfar from the Staines causewayed enclosure. Recentlydiscovered at the site were an Early Neolithic house,an adjacent cluster of Early Neolithic pits of slightlylater date (containing bowl pottery similar to thatfrom the Staines enclosure), a small number of pitswith Grooved Ware and a hengiform ring ditch. Alsorevealed was the remains of an unaccompaniedinhumation burial of a woman, whose closeproximity to the pit cluster and the house suggestedthat it could have been of a similar date - althoughanother possibility was that it belonged with theextensive coaxial field system of Middle Bronze Agedate that covered much of the immediate island. Toour surprise, radiocarbon dating indicates that theperson died during the Late Neolithic (NZA-328734066 ± 25BP 2840-2490 cal BC) and was thereforecontemporaneous with the henge and the scatter ofpits with Grooved Ware. Other human remains ofthis date are known from the River Thames, Eton,Goring, and Radley, as well as from the secondaryfills of the West Kennet long barrow - all within theThames Valley.

Alistair Barclay, Nancy Beavan, Pippa Bradley,Gareth Chaffey, Dana Challinor, Jacqueline I.McKinley, Andrew Powell and Peter Marshall

PPOOTTSS FFOORR TTHHEE AAFFTTEERRLLIIFFEE::OORRGGAANNIICC RREESSIIDDUUEEAANNAALLYYSSIISS OOFF BBRRIITTIISSHHBBRROONNZZEE AAGGEE PPOOTTTTEERRYYFFRROOMM FFUUNNEERRAARRYYCCOONNTTEEXXTTSS

In the absence of written accounts throughout theprehistoric period, archaeology faces this challengeby applying chemical analysis to preserved traces ofeveryday life in the form of numerous and diverseobjects recovered from either domestic or ritualcontexts. A significant proportion of archaeologicalmaterials from various archaeological sites isrepresented by pottery. Further information can nowbe gained by investigating the organic moleculespreserved either in visible or absorbed food residues,thereby affording new insights into the modes of useof individual vessels, the commodities processed inthem, and the wider economic and socialimplications. Since food has always played animportant role as an essential commodity andfacilitator of social relations, organic residue analysispresents an excellent opportunity to betterunderstand the functions of pottery in an activerather than passive role.

The Early Bronze Age was chosen as the focus forthis project because it was a period of significanttechnological, social and ideological changes. WithinBronze Age graves, ceramics occur both as gravegoods and funerary urns. A key question is whetherthese vessels, which are typologically andtechnologically similar, sometimes even identical,were being used differently to domestic wares orwere being produced specifically for funerals.Directly investigating their contents can help us tobetter understand both the social and ideologicalchanges which were occurring during this period,and will offer unique insights into the foodsconsumed at the grave-side or ‘in the afterlife’.During the second millennium BC, a change can beobserved in relation to burial practices: there is aslow shift from single inhumation towards multiplecremation graves that were accompanied by a varietyof grave goods, including pots, which acted ascontainers for ashes, food and beverages, as ritualofferings and as representations of the human body.

Lipids are ubiquitous in everyday life, allowing us toexplore past human activities through studying thelipid residues preserved within excavatedarchaeological artefacts. Porous archaeologicalmaterials such as ceramic vessels, soil, sediments,bones, teeth, plant remains and amorphous deposits(resin, tar, bitumen) absorb and preserve organicmolecules. By analysing remnant lipids andidentifying their structure and distribution, it is

6 PAST

2965_PAST 63:PAST 55 5/11/09 11:34 Page 8

possible to determine their original source byapplying the biomarker approach. Archaeologicalbiomarkers are preserved organic molecules ormixtures of compounds that undergo little or nochemical alteration through time and are specific toorganisms or commodities that were present orexploited in the past. By comparing them to thecomposition of modern reference materials, we canreliably identify their source. Previous lipid analysesof British Bronze Age pottery undertaken by theOrganic Geochemistry Unit, University of Bristol,have shown good preservation of lipids withapproximately 50-60% of potsherds containingappreciable lipid concentrations. However, the vastmajority of Bronze Age potsherds (71%) analysed inprevious studies originated from domestic contexts,with only a handful (2%) from funerary sites. Herewe present some preliminary results from Beakersand Collared Urns alone.

Mythic BeakersBeakers are one the most intriguing LateNeolithic/Early Bronze Age pottery types and areoften considered to be prestige or high-status itemsdue to their elaborate decoration and innovative finefabric. Andrew Sherrat’s interpretation of Beakers asdrinking cups, used to consume alcoholic beveragesor narcotic substances at ritual gatherings, wasresponsible for these vessels gaining an almostlegendary status that has still not been scientificallydemonstrated till this day (lipids have been foundinside Beakers but evidence for narcotic substancesand alcoholic beverages has yet to be identified). Allthese interpretations of Beakers’ functionality havemainly been due to their greater abundance withinburial contexts. In recent years, Beakers haveobtained a more earthly and mundane character,since they have been frequently found withinsettlements as well.

Lipid extracts from Bronze Age Beakers have beenanalysed as part of research projects carried out byMukherjee and Dudd under Prof. Evershed’ssupervision at the University of Bristol. These studieshave shown not only good preservation of organiccompounds, but also a potential new connection tothe foodstuff that was processed within. A total of82 Beakers were analysed by Mukherjee and Duddwith a 67% recovery rate of lipids. Fourteenpotsherd extracts were submitted for carbon isotoperatio measurement and 86% could be attributed toruminant dairy fats, indicating that Beakers wereperhaps used for drinking or storing dairy beverages(fermented or unfermented). The presence ofbeeswax and plant waxes, that might haveconfirmed Sherratt’s mead drinking story, wereconfirmed only in the case of a cist grave from UdnyGreen. A pilot study by Brettell on funerary Beakersfrom the Czech Republic came to similar conclusions- lipids of animal and plant origin were detected in

five vessels and beeswax in one (published in PASTin 2007). A further 39 Beaker vessels have beenanalysed for our own research project andpreliminary results concur with previous studiesdisplaying predominantly ruminant dairy andadipose fats absorbed in vessel walls.

Collared Urns between domestic and funeraryworldsAlthough Collared Urns received their name fromtheir occurrence in funerary contexts, they have beendiscovered in domestic contexts as well. Collaredurns were manufactured in a wide array of sizes andwere not solely created for funerary use. Their widerange of volumes together with the frequentoccurrence of visible, charred organic remainsadhering to pot surfaces suggest their most likelydomestic use as cooking and storing pots. CollaredUrns found in funerary contexts served as containersand accessory vessels and are associated with a rangeof funerary practices (inhumation, urned cremationand un-urned cremation), although cremation waspredominant.

67 sherds of Collared Urns from 13 different sites(domestic and funerary) have been analysed so farfor this project and they have shown appreciablelipid preservation in 39% of cases. Comparison ofresults from domestic Collared Urns and funeraryurns shows a higher mean lipid concentration and ahigher concentration span in the latter vessels. Thismight indicate re-use of domestic pottery forfunerary purposes since long-term use of potterycauses the accumulation of lipids. By measuringδ13C values (stable carbon isotopic ratio) of majorfatty acids (palmitic and stearic acid), it was possibleto determine the broad commodity group (see piechart). Ruminant dairy fats were predominantlypresent in 53%, followed by a mixture withruminant adipose fat (17%) and porcine fat (17%).

PAST 7

Chart showing the different commodities processed within CollaredUrns according to stable carbon isotope measurements

2965_PAST 63:PAST 55 5/11/09 11:34 Page 9

Although the lipid preservation was good, it was notpossible to detect any plant leaf waxes or beeswax.Collared Urns were obviously heavily used foreveryday cooking and later in their life history theirfunction extended into the realm of the dead byparticipating in funerary rituals.

Conclusions so far . . .Early Bronze Age pottery shows well-preservedtraces of ruminant fats (cattle, sheep and goat),indicating dairying activities. A similar trend hasbeen observed in the faunal assemblages of analysedsites, with ruminants dominating, although pigs arealso represented. In contrast, the presence of porcineadipose lipids is rarely attested in Early Bronze Agepottery. This can perhaps be explained byalternative ways of porcine meat preparation thatdid not necessarily involve pottery - spit roasting isone obvious possibility, as suggested by Mukherjee etal. in Antiquity 81. Reassessment of the diversefunctions attributed to Early Bronze Age pots willhave to be made in order to better understand theirlife histories and their roles within funerary ritualsand contexts.

Lucija Šoberl, Organic Geochemistry Unit, Schoolof Chemistry & Department of Archaeology andAnthropology, University of BristolJoshua Pollard, Department of Archaeology andAnthropology, University of Bristol Eichard Evershed, Organic Geochemistry Unit,School of Chemistry, University of Bristol

SSUUCCCCEESSSSFFUULL RREESSEEAARRCCHHPPAAPPEERRSS SSEERRIIEESS LLAAUUNNCCHHEEDD

The Society has a raft of new initiatives, one ofwhich is a whole new publication series, thePrehistoric Society Research Papers, which waslaunched this year. So far, two volumes have beenpublished, a third is in press and a fourth is inproduction. The series with its pleasing cut-downA4 hardback format has been warmly welcomed,and individual papers are already being cited ascutting edge and new advances in prehistory. Ourpublishing partners, Oxbow Books, have dedicated awhole page of their catalogue to the series and youmay have seen notes about it in Antiquity, BritishArchaeology and Salon as well as various otherspecialist group websites.

It is perhaps not the cleverest way to launch a newseries with a festschrift that has to be kept secret, butFrom Bann Flakes to Bushmills was just that - acollection of papers in honour of Professor PeterWoodman, edited by Nyree Finlay, SinéadMcCartan, Nicky Milner and Caroline WickhamJones. It was one of the worst kept secrets in that

100s of people knew of its production, but it waskept secret from Peter, probably helped by his ownmodesty in that he did not expect to receive such anhonour. It was handed to him in May at oursuccessful Europa conference in York.

Only four months after that, our second volumeedited by Mike Allen, Niall Sharples and TerryO’Connor, Land and People: Papers in Memory ofJohn G. Evans (in conjunction with theConchological Society of Great Britain and Ireland),was launched at the Association of EnvironmentalArchaeology’s 30th anniversary conference. Thiscontains 20 papers covering aspects of prehistoriclandscape, environment and social archaeology. As acollection, the papers in this volume provide adiverse and cohesive picture of how archaeologicallandscapes are viewed within current researchframeworks, and a holistic approach to landscapeinterpretation.

The third volume, Materialitas: Working Stone,Carving Identity, edited by Blaze O’Connor, GabrielCooney and John Chapman, is in the final stages ofproduction and will be published shortly after thisedition of PAST. This exciting volume published inconjunction with University College DublinHumanities Institute of Ireland includes somefantastic images by Aaron Watson, many reproducedin full colour, and a range of thought-provoking andstimulating papers on the subject area. Theproduction of this volume is marred by thepremature death of the principal editor, BlazeO’Connor, who was heavily involved in the

8 PAST

2965_PAST 63:PAST 55 5/11/09 11:35 Page 10

PAST 9

organisation of the conference from which thisvolume is derived, and who worked enthusiasticallyand meticulously with us on the book. That workwas something that kept Blaze going while she washaving medical treatment and she was delighted tosee it at final proof stage; the volume is dedicated toher memory.

A fourth volume, The British Chalcolithic: People,Place and Polity in the Later 3rd Millennium isalready underway for publication next year. Detailsof the volumes, and order forms, can be found on thePrehistoric Society website and the Oxbow Bookcatalogue and website. Members of the Society areentitled to a 25% discount on the cover price of each.

Mike Allen, Series Editor

TTHHEE PPRREEHHIISSTTOORRIICCSSOOCCIIEETTYY’’SS 7755TTHHAANNNNIIVVEERRSSAARRYY

Next year marks the 75th anniversary of the Societyin its present form, when the Prehistoric Society ofEast Anglia was renamed to reflect its national role.To celebrate the occasion, we are planning a series ofevents over the summer and autumn of 2010,including site visits and talks that reflect the Society’shistory. Full details and booking forms will be postedon the website and included in the next issue ofPAST, which will also have an anniversary theme.

CCOONNFFEERREENNCCEE NNEEWWSS

Wessex Culture: ‘Revolution’ or Late Beaker‘Evolution’? Defining changes in the early SecondMillennium BCPrehistoric Society conference, BournemouthUniversity, 17-18 April 2010

Our conference next April will address a problemthat archaeologists of the Early Bronze Age havefaced since William Cunnington and Sir RichardColt Hoare first dug into the barrows of SalisburyPlain. What happened to Beaker burial practice insouthern Britain between the late third and earlysecond millennium BC? In cemeteries acrossWessex, burial practices changed from inhumationto cremation burial in a relatively short time. Thisgeneral change was also accompanied by changes inbarrow form, mound use, agricultural patterns,ceremonial monuments and artefacts.

Archaeologists, however, have found it difficult to characterise the difference between practicesbecause at the specific level, several barrows at the interface of this change share traits from bothpractices. Recently, researchers have also shed doubton the appearance of new artefacts as an indicator of change. This has led some to see this as a periodof evolution of the Beaker phenomenon. Yetchanges across the board were so pronounced thatothers have seen it as more of a revolution - thepossible result of an influx of ideas and artefactsfrom the Continent.

This conference aims to pool knowledge fromarchaeologists working with artefacts, burials and other evidence from southern Britain and the Continent to better understand the dynamics of this change. Speakers include: Stuart Needham,Tim Darvill, Paul Garwood, John Barrett, JohnHunter, Ann Woodward, Jonathan Last, John Gale,Mike Allen, Sabine Gerloff, Anthony Harding andWessex Archaeology.

Further details and booking will be made availableon our website www.prehistoricsociety.org and thewebsite of School of Conservation Sciences,Bournemouth University.

Andrew Martin & Mike Allen

EEAARRLLYY NNEEOOLLIITTHHIICCPPOOTTTTEERRYY FFRROOMMDDAARRTTFFOORRDD,, KKEENNTT

During excavations on the line of the A2-A282Improvement Scheme carried out by OxfordArchaeology near Dartford, Kent, a long sequence ofarchaeological deposits were revealed spanning thePalaeolithic to the post-medieval periods. This notefocuses on the Neolithic deposits but the site will bepublished as an Oxford Archaeology Monograph inthe near future.

The Early Neolithic was represented by a series ofpits containing pottery and worked flint. Pit 10187contained a small number of sherds weighing 29g ofa fine walled, flint tempered pot. This was highlyfragmented and no feature sherds were present. Aradiocarbon date of 5095 ± 35 BP (3970-3790 BC;SUERC-23713) was obtained from the fill of this pit.A further pit contained a small number of sherdsfrom at least two other pots in a flint tempered fabricwhich appear to be large s-profile vessels, althoughonly carinations and wall sherds were present,making firm identification difficult. It is likely,however, that these sherds belong to carinatedbowls. This pit contained no material suitable for

2965_PAST 63:PAST 55 5/11/09 11:35 Page 11

radiocarbon dating. A further 60 sherds of finewalled, flint tempered pottery were recovered frompit 20082, alongside a number of sherds in a fabriccontaining grog and burnt-out organic material.Feature sherds in both fabrics comprised a singlesmall fragment of a rolled rim and a fragment of apossible carination. Two sherds were decorated, onewith a fingernail impression and another with apossible bone impression, although the latter was atiny sherd and the surface was eroded, makingidentification difficult. A flint axe and a radiocarbondate of 4820 ± 35 BP (3700-3680 cal BC; SUERC-23719) were also recovered from this context.

A total of 405 sherds weighing 2427 g wererecovered from the fill of pit 20076. This materialcomprised fragments of a number of thicker-walledvessels in at least three fabrics. The majority of the material was flint tempered and comprisedfragments of at least 17 vessels. These included 25rim sherds, most of which were expanded orexternally enlarged and at least three of which wereof ‘thumb groove’ style. At least two vessels of asandy fabric were also present and this included 15 sherds (94 g) of a sand/flint/organic temperedvessel with fingernail decoration along the outeredge of an externally enlarged rim. Similar sandysherds were also recovered in small numbers fromother fills within the pit. The vessels with survivingrims were dominated by bowls (defined as havingdiameters larger than 120 mm), with a single cup(diameter of less than 120 mm) represented,although this data should be treated with somecaution as no complete vessels were present and rimswere fragmentary. A radiocarbon date of 4755 ± 35BP (3640-3500 cal BC; SUERC-23720) wasobtained from context 20097.

The pottery from the pits at Dartford comprises bothfine walled, relatively well-made vessels and larger,heavier vessels. The earliest date came from acontext containing fine walled pottery, but it was notpossible to ascertain if this material belonged to thecarinated bowl tradition. The material with a slightlylater date from pit 20082 included decorated andcarinated sherds, although in a highly fragmentedstate. The majority of the pottery recovered from thesite were plain bowls from a single pit, althoughdecorated bowls also occurred in the same context.The radiocarbon dates appear to confirm the earlyoccurrence of fine carinated bowls, with plain anddecorated bowls occurring slightly later in thesequence in this part of southern England. Thenumber of vessels is also notable, as previously onlysmall numbers of vessels have been recovered fromNeolithic contexts in this region, Dunning’s paper onthe Neolithic of Kent in the Antiquaries Journal for1966 recording five Neolithic bowls from a pit atMill Road, Deal, and another five from CretewayDown, Folkstone.

David Mullin, Oxford Archaeology

RRUUNN OOFF PPPPSS

Free to a good home: PPS vols 50 (1984) to 55(1989) inclusive; vols 57 (1991) to 67 (2001)inclusive; and vols 69 (2003) and 70 (2004).Interested parties must be willing to collect or to payfor postage. For further information, please contactMrs. Pat Atherton, 102 Preston Road, Chorley,Lancashire PR7 1PT (or emailpat.atherton@bdp.com)

PPRREEHHIISSTTOORRIICC SSOOCCIIEETTYYSSTTUUDDYY TTOOUURR TTOOSSAARRDDIINNIIAA

Between the 11th and 19th of September 2009, thirtymembers of the Prehistoric Society toured Sardinia ina three-centre tour led by Colin Burgess and ablyabetted by Caroline Lynch, who acted as translatorand general factotum.

Departing from Gatwick (very) early, we left Olbiaairport mid-morning, heading for our first Nuraghe(La Pisciona), where Prof Angela Antona showed usthe central tower and her excavation of thesurrounding circular huts. Overall, we visitedfourteen nuragic complexes. Each had a centralmonumental tower, with subsidiary towers. Theywere often surrounded by small circular huts which,on excavation, appear to have been used for craftactivities. The towers are massive, built of huge stoneblocks, with corbelled roofs. The central, ground-

10 PAST

Sherds from pit 20076

2965_PAST 63:PAST 55 5/11/09 11:35 Page 12

floor chamber rises to great height. Leading off fromthe entry, there is usually a stone staircase windingclockwise to one or more rooms above or to abalcony supported by large ‘bracket’ stones.

At Santu Antine, the tower has two superimposedcorbelled chambers, with the footings for a thirdchamber above and may have been more than 85 feethigh. At Su Nuraxi Barumini, the ascent of the towerled to a series of passageways, culminating in a nerve-wracking descent to the central courtyard,emphasising its domestic unsuitability. Otherbuildings often clustered outside the towercomplexes. Larger circular structures are interpretedas meeting halls. They have benches around theirinternal wall and a central altar, which in formresembles a sliced cake. An original altar fromNuraghe Palmavera was preserved at the NationalMuseum at Sassari. There are also ‘bench and basin’buildings, smaller circular structures with benches onthe internal wall surrounding a central stone basin.These often have a cistern and possible means ofheating water attached to them. In the usually lockedsite of Sant’Imbenia we saw two of these bench andbasin buildings. Could these be ancient saunas? Thelittle bronze models of boats found in some of themwould have made excellent dippers for pouring water.

On an island where there are few rivers, fresh waterwas an important feature of ‘well temples’ which are- almost uniquely - built of the finest ashlarstonework. Colin noted that Sardinia has moreashlar than in the whole of the Mediterraneantogether. We visited two examples of well templesutilising high altitude springs; our walk to the templeof Su Tempiesu, high in the mountains of easternSardinia, was a highlight of the trip, and our climbuphill in search of the temple above the Gremanucomplex was also memorable. More often, thesetemples are in lower positions in the landscape, forexample at Predio Canopoli, Santa Vittoria de Serriand Santa Cristina. They are built in the shape of akeyhole, with a benched entrance area narrowingback to a set of steps which descend to a well at the far end of the building. From the well, it ispossible to look up past the ashlar-lined, corbelledroof to the sky above.

Santa Cristina is a site of particular interest, as itincludes a modern festival village (a muristena orcambassia) which is still used for annual religiousfestivals. People congregate in the area around thechurch, living in small cottages. Is it possible thatsuch pilgrimage sites predate Christianity and were afeature of prehistoric life, in which the variousnuragic complexes also played a part? At SuRomanzesu (see photo) we saw another nuragic sitefeaturing an assembly area and ‘temples’, with alarge elongated pool area, surrounded by stepssuitable for seating a large audience and fed by a wellat one end.

Model nuraghi in stone and terracotta have beenfound on nuragic sites, sometimes within the centraltower and sometimes on the altar in the meetinghouses. This monumental phase of nuragic cultureseems to have begun immediately after the CopperAge (i.e. around the beginning of the secondmillennium BC). Colin believes that this monumentalphase, with the nuraghe as an important cult symbol,ended towards 1000 BC and did not extend into thefirst millennium. From the twelfth century BC, therewas a strong east Mediterranean influence inSardinia, with examples of Late Bronze Age Cypriotcauldron pieces in Nuoro Museum. Early in the firstmillennium BC, the Phoenicians arrived. As theirartefacts are often found on nuragic sites, this begsthe question, ‘what was their relationship with thenative Sardinian cultures?’

Yet another Sardinian ‘speciality’ is the tomba digiganti or giants’ tombs. Similar to the alléescouvertes of Atlantic Europe, these Neolithic tombscontinued in use into the Early Bronze Age, but were‘enhanced’ with semi-circular courtyards and amonumental frontage culminating in a massivecarved portal stone over the usually small entrance.We visited Coddu Vecchu and also the Madautombs, where two well-preserved tombs and twotomb remnants are grouped along a low u-shapedridge around a possible assembly area. We were alsoable to visit other Neolithic sites: the domus di janus(fairy houses) were rock cut tombs, often sealed atthe end of the Copper Age, which incorporatedelements of house structures including architravesaround doorways, roof thatching, and sometimeshorn decorations into their structures; the strangestsite was Monti D’Accodi, whose unique multi-period‘ziggurat’ was accessed by a ramp running up oneside. In the museums, we were impressed by thebronzetti, bronze figures of men in armour, motherswith babies, cattle, boats, model nuraghi and rapiers.At Barumini, the museum was built over a nuraghe,visible below a glass floor, while the museum atLaconi featured 40 carved statue-menhirs.

PAST 11

Exploring the ceremonial water complex at Su Romanzesu

2965_PAST 63:PAST 55 5/11/09 11:35 Page 13

12 PAST

The standard of the hotels during the trip wasexcellent. At lunchtimes, we alternated betweenpicnics in the open air and sampling local pasta.Apart from one spectacular thunderstorm, theweather was warm and sunny. Our packed scheduleenabled us to see examples of every type of Sardinianmonument. Transportation through the interiorinvolved winding roads and congested villages, butour driver Tonino rose to the challenge. On behalf ofeveryone on the trip, I would like to thank Colin forall his hard work in planning and delivering thisfantastic tour (including his invaluable 32 pagepersonal briefing on the island’s prehistory alongwith a comprehensive 88 page booklet of plans andillustrations) and Caroline for her sustained effortsto keep us on schedule and for providing help,guidance and friendship.

Veronica Edwards

NNEEWW FFEEAATTUURREESS AATTAAVVEEBBUURRYY FFRROOMM HHAANNDD CCOORRIINNGG::GGEEOOAARRCCHHAAEEOOLLOOGGYY IINN AACCTTIIOONN!!

A small programme of geoarchaeological work wasconducted in May 2009 in the field south of RoughLeaze (outside the southeast sector of Avebury).Excavations conducted previously in Rough Leazeby Josh Pollard, Dave Robinson, Nick Snashall andRos Cleal in 2007 as part of the Between theMonuments project recovered important evidence ofMesolithic and Neolithic activity preserved in treehollows and also ephemeral stakehole features. Tocomplement this and explore other aspects of thislandscape, geoarchaeological work this yearcomprised a series of hand-cored auger holesconducted immediately southeast of, and c. 10mfrom, the bank and south of Rough Leaze in an areaunder long-term pasture. Access for our study waskindly granted by the National Trust and theirtenant farmer, Mr Tony Farthing.

The augering programme was conducted as part ofthe University of Reading School of ContinuingEducation archaeology course (Geoarchaeology inAction) led by Mike Allen. The aims were modestand fieldwork was limited to one day with 17 keenstudents. In addition to providing an ideal learningopportunity, the archaeological aims were simple: tocharacterise the soils in the field south of RoughLeaze; establish the depth of former ploughsoil;attempt to locate any further tree-throw hollowswhich might be of archaeological significance(though this would be a little bit of a needle-in-a-haystack job); and examine if any of the Aveburybank had eroded some 5-10m from the extant

bank into the field and potentially preserved anyburied soils.

Set with 17 keen, enthusiastic and primed students,we set off on a May morning to conduct this simpleresearch exercise. Two augering programmes wereconducted: i) a small 20m long transect runningperpendicular to, and 10m from, the base of the bankinto the field; and ii) a probabilistic auger survey inthe field immediately south of the boundary to RoughLeaze. A total of 13 hand auger holes to depths of upto 80cm were recorded and mapped.

Our probabilistic survey clearly demonstrated thepresence of a long term, but formerly ploughed, soilwhich survived to depths of 22cm on the slope andcrest as a brown rendzina, but downslope as aslightly thicker brown earth or colluvial brownearth. Although no tree hollows or archaeologicalfeatures were found, the thickness of soil indicatesthat any features that did survive would be subject toplough damage. In one location, an odd chalkdeposit was recovered - more about that below.

Our short 20m long transect perpendicular to thebank cored six holes at 5m intervals and showed thatthere was no evidence of chalk eroding from thebank to the northwest, but did record shallowcolluvium to depths of 65cm at the base of the slopeand edge of the field eroding from the southeast.Here, therefore, was a narrow zone not much morethan 15m wide of potentially better preservation. Atone point along this transect, a layer of compactedchalk marl cementing many fine chalk pieces andcontaining a very small fleck of possible pottery at adepth of 29-40cm was identified. This overlayanother 5cm of colluvium (hillwash) before reachingthe chalk. Indeed, during our probabilistic survey,another almost identical layer was encountered at20cm below the surface and directly overlying thechalk. Both of these were clearly not ‘natural’deposits, nor were they in archaeological features;one lay on the chalk and the other within hillwash.Further judicious augering also indicated that thedeposit within the colluvium was highly localised,ended abruptly, and did not extend very far.

What have we found?The chalky cemented deposits are difficult to fullyassess from a 4cm diameter hand auger - neverthelessthey seemed to be clearly cultural layers of cementedchalky marl with a number of fine chalky pieces, andcontained submicroscopic pieces of what looked likepottery. They are akin to a chalky made surface thathas been preserved because of the depth of protectinghillwash. Although this could be a chalky trackwayor even date to the 1940s, the similarities in thematrix of the material and its location just outside thehenge is strongly reminiscent of the Neolithic hutfloors found by Prof. Parker Pearson’s team at

2965_PAST 63:PAST 55 5/11/09 11:35 Page 14

Durrington Walls! Clearly it is unlikely that theDurrington ‘houses’ are alone; they have survived bybeing protected by hillwash and bank material, justas at Avebury our layers survive due to the localisedthicker colluvial soils. Houses such as those found atDurrington produced few features cut into the chalk,and thus one ploughing would destroy and removethem in other more normal contexts.

What are the implications?Without getting too excited about the evidence fromjust two 4cm diameter auger holes, the possibilitythat Neolithic houses lie within the vicinity of someof the great monuments is not just likely, butprobably the norm. The survival of buildings such asthose at Durrington Walls is largely dependent uponaccretion of soil deposits or archaeological material- a rarity in chalk landscapes where long attrition bythe plough is normal.

What next?Although optimistically we might believe that wehave potential evidence for Neolithic buildings, wehave no date nor any context for the slim butintriguing evidence we have. Clearly some furtherfield intervention is needed to establish the natureand extent of these features. Where our fragile layeroccurs on the slope, it lies at the base of the shallowsoil and if allowed to be ploughed would bedestroyed just as ploughing may have done forfeatures elsewhere in the Stonehenge area. Further, ifwe can establish that these are indeed houses, then

what is the extent of them here? Are they presentelsewhere round the Avebury monument, do theysurvive or are they present around Silbury, Marden,Mount Pleasant or other major Neolithic sites?

Mike Allen, Allen Environmental Archaeology &Bournemouth UniversityNichola Snashall, Alexander Keiller Museum, TheNational Trust, Avebury

RREECCEENNTT ((AANNDD NNOOTT SSOORREECCEENNTT)) EEXXCCAAVVAATTIIOONNSS IINNTTHHEE VVAALLEE OOFF PPIICCKKEERRIINNGG

Since 2008, a programme of archaeological andpalaeoenvironmental fieldwork has been carried outin the eastern Vale of Pickering (North Yorkshire) tostudy the relationship between Mesolithic hunter-gatherers and their environment. As part of this project, two seasons of fieldwork have beencarried out at a Mesolithic site at Flixton SchoolHouse Farm. The site lies on the southern shore ofpalaeo-lake Flixton, a late glacial lake that wasgradually succeeded by wetland environments ofreedswamp, fen and carr during the early Holocene.The development of the wetlands led to theformation of peat deposits that built up across the Mesolithic landscape as the lake became infilled, preserving a detailed archaeological andpalaeoenvironmental record.

PAST 13

Aerial photograph sowing location of Rough Leaze, our area of augering and the approximate location of the auger transect

2965_PAST 63:PAST 55 5/11/09 11:35 Page 15

The Flixton School House Farm site is just one of anumber of Mesolithic sites that have been recordedaround the shores of the lake. The site of Star Carr,excavated by Graham Clark in the late 1940s andcurrently the focus of new investigations (PAST 56),lies less than 3kn away on the northwest shore, whilefieldwork carried out by the Seamer Carr Project(1975-85) and the Vale of Pickering Research Trust(1985-present) have recorded a further seventeenareas of Mesolithic occupation.

The Flixton site was first discovered in November1998 by a small group of cold, wet and slightlymiserable students (including myself) and wasinvestigated in more detail the following summer by the Vale of Pickering Research Trust. The currentproject has drawn together the results of these earlierphases of work and undertaken two further seasonsof archaeological and palaeoenvironmentalinvestigations. This has included detailed augersurveys of the buried Mesolithic landscape,palaeoenvironmental analyses of samples taken from the peat, and test pitting and open areaexcavation in both the ‘wetland’ and ‘dryland’ partsof the site. Work is still ongoing but the results of therecent fieldwork have already provided someexciting new discoveries.

During the Mesolithic, the site occupied a small hilladjacent to the shores of Lake Flixton. From about9600 cal BC, a thin fringe of willow (Salix) and aspen(Populus) trees would have grown on the wet soilsnear the base of the hill and dense beds of reeds(Phragmites) would have formed in the shallowwaters of the lake margins. Beyond the wetland edge,birch (Betula) and pine (Pinus) woodland grew withan understory of male fern (Dryopteris) and behindthe hill was a small pond, hydrologically separatefrom the main body of the lake. During the time thatthe site was occupied, however, these environmentsgradually changed. As peat began to form in the

shallow waters of the lake, a wooded fen carr ofwillow, aspen and sedge (Carex) developed, flankingthe sides of the hill and encroaching across the formerlake margins. On the higher ground, hazel trees(Corylus) became more established and the smallpond slowly silted up and was colonised by willowcarr. By the start of the late Mesolithic (c.7500-8000cal BC), hazel woodland dominated the terrestrialenvironment while a thick band of wooded, boggyfen carr separated the hill from the lake. Thisgradually built up across the low ground on eitherside of the hill and by about 4000 cal BC the hill hadalmost become an island within the wetlands.

Evidence for Mesolithic activity occurs across thewhole of the hill but the main concentration ofarchaeological material is focused on its northernedge. Here, a dense scatter of worked flint, over 6000from c. 75m², including both early and lateMesolithic material was recorded as well as a smallassemblage of other worked stone tools. A moreunusual find was a small fragment of a red mineralthat had been worn and then incised, possibly toextract material for use as a pigment.

What was more unexpected, however, was thediscovery of a relatively large number of Mesolithicfeatures, mostly pits and stakeholes, in this area. Theearliest of these was a large pit, almost a metre deepand over two metres wide, which had been dug intothe surface of the hill and partially filled with sand,charcoal and burnt hazelnuts. The rest of the pitremained open for some time, allowing the top andsides to become weathered, and continued to act as afocus for activity on the site. On at least twooccasions, small pits or postholes were cut into its

14 PAST

The southern part of the trench during excavation, with the formerLake Flixton in the background

Red mineral with incisions across one face

2965_PAST 63:PAST 55 5/11/09 11:35 Page 16

fills and subsequently sealed by later deposits; inaddition, a short line of stake holes was cut throughits northern edge. One of the smaller pits was alsounusual in that it contained a very high proportion ofcharcoal and was partly covered with a layer of burntstones. Immediately to the north of the pit was asequence of three, much smaller, inter-cutting pitstwo of which contained small assemblages of lithicswhich, on site, appeared to refit. This entire sequencewas then sealed beneath a layer of charcoal-rich sand,containing large quantities of Mesolithic flint, that

extended across a large area of the trench forming theuppermost layer of the main pit. A second group offeatures consisting of 17 small pits or postholes and ahearth made up of a scatter of burnt stones wasrecorded in the south of the trench. These formed aroughly linear arrangement and ran parallel to aslight bank in the Mesolithic land surface. Thechronological relationship between these two groupsof features could not be established stratigraphicallybut should be resolved through a programme ofradiocarbon dating.

PAST 15

The distribution of Mesolithic features recorded during the 2009 excavations

2965_PAST 63:PAST 55 5/11/09 11:35 Page 17

16 PAST

The area was subsequently sealed by a thick depositof sand, tentatively interpreted as a wind-blownsand, which formed a large bank or dune across thesouthern part of the trench burying the southerlygroup of features. Similar deposits have beenrecorded on the nearby site of Flixton Island wherethey were dated to the very late Mesolithic.It is hoped that analysis of samples taken in 2009will establish both the character and date ofthese deposits. A mixed artefact assemblageincluding Mesolithic and later prehistoric flintswere recovered from the sand and the overlyingtopsoil attesting to further phases of activity atthe site. The character of the later prehistoricoccupation requires further investigation and will bethe focus of future fieldwork.

Elsewhere, much smaller assemblages of Mesolithicmaterial, from single finds to discrete scatters of fiftyor so lithics, were also recorded on the hilltop as wellas within the wetland deposits at the former lakeedge. These also yielded small quantities of animalbone, teeth and a fragment of worked antler. Activityalso took place in the pond to the south of the sitewhere the articulated vertebrae and ribs of anaurochs (Bos primigenius) were recorded during the1999 excavations. Further excavations in this areawere carried out in 2009 but these failed to recoverany other faunal material and the finds appear torepresent a single episode of activity.

Looking ahead, more fieldwork is planned in order toestablish the spatial extents and temporal range of

occupation and, in particular, to identify furtherMesolithic features. A geophysical survey of thehilltop has already been carried out and this hasidentified a number of circular anomalies of a similarsize to the large pit. As well as investigating these, aprogramme of test pitting and open area excavationwill be undertaken to sample the remaining areas ofthe hilltop. A further aim is to characterise the natureof the later prehistoric occupation activity and itsrelationship to the Mesolithic occupation of the site.Radiocarbon dates on samples taken from theenvironmental sequence and several of the featuresshould be available in 2010. These will begin toestablish the relationship between the humanoccupation of the area, the changing character of theenvironment at the site itself, and broader changes inthe wetland landscape of the Vale of Pickering. Afurther programme of dating is also planned that willestablish a firmer chronology for the occupation ofthe site and its relationship to the Mesolithicinhabitation in the surrounding landscape.

The discovery of features such as pits, post holes andstakeholes on Mesolithic sites is not a new occurrenceand in recent years the range of recorded features,including possible structures, has grown rapidly. Thishas challenged some of the more traditional views ofthe period as being characterised by small, highlymobile ‘bands’ of hunter-gatherers and allows us toconsider aspects of Mesolithic life such asarchitecture and the use and construction of space. Itis hoped that future work at Flixton School HouseFarm will contribute to these debates and develop aricher understanding of Mesolithic society.

AcknowledgementsI would like to thank Carole and George Macduffwho very kindly gave us permission to work ontheir land and to the Vale of Pickering Research Trustand the University of Manchester who fundedthe work. The fieldwork forms part of my doctoralresearch which is funded by the AHRC. I’mindebted to everyone who helped with the fieldworkand in particular to Amy Gray Jones who jointlydirected the excavations and Chris Evans, MatthewFowler, John Hirst, Andy Needham and NickOverton who supervised.

Barry Taylor, University of Manchester

63

Section through the main pit. The northern edge (left of the photo)has been truncated by later pits

2965_PAST 63:PAST 55 5/11/09 11:34 Page 2