The Maddle Farm Project: An integrated survey of Prehistoric and Roman landscapes on the Berkshire Downs 9780860546047, 9781407318226
184 61 154MB
English Pages [286] Year 1989
Polecaj historie
Table of contents :
Cover Page
Copyright Page
Acknowledgments
Dedication
List of Contents
List of Figures
List of Photographic Plates
Chapter One: The context and conceptual development of the Maddle Farm Survey
Chapter Two: The environment of the survey area
Chapter Three: Survey methodology and the quantification of the results
Chapter Four: Excavated prehistoric sites in the survey area
Chapter Five: Extensive survey: The Prehistoric period
Chapter Six: Intensive collection and excavation at Post Down Farm
Chapter Eight: The archaeological context of the Roman period on the Berkshire Downs
Chapter Nine: The results of intensive collections at the Maddle Farm Villa and the Knighton Bushes settlement
Chapter Ten: Excavation at the Knighton Bushes Roman settlement (MF1 and MF3)
Chapter Eleven: Excavations at the Maddle Farm Villa (MF2)
Chapter Twelve: The specialist reports
Chapter Thirteen: Extensive surface survey: The Roman period
Chapter Fourteen: Reconstructing the Maddle Farm Villa Economy
Chapter Fifteen: A discussion of results relating to the Roman period within the survey area
Chapter Sixteen: Later periods within the survey area
Chapter Seventeen: Summary
Bibliography
Citation preview
The Maddle Farm Project An integrated survey of Prehistoric and Roman landscapes on the Berkshire Downs
Vincent Gaffney and Martin Tingle
BAR British Series 200 1989
B.A.R.
122 Banbury Rd, Oxford, OX2 7BP, UK
GENERAL EDITORS A.R. Hands, B.Sc., M.A., D.Phil. D.R. Walker, M.A.
BAR 200, 1989 The f¡_addle Farrn Proj ect
©
Vincent Gaffney and :Ma.rtin Tingle, 1989
The authors’ moral rights under the 1988 UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act are hereby expressly asserted.
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be copied, reproduced, stored, sold, distributed, scanned, saved in any form of digital format or transmitted in any form digitally, without the written permission of the Publisher. ISBN 9780860546047 paperback ISBN 9781407318226 e-book DOI https://doi.org/10.30861/9780860546047 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library This book is available at www.barpublishing.com
I n t he e ight y ears f rom t he i nception t o t he p ublica tion o f t he M addle F arm s urvey , w e h ave i ncurred s o m any d ebts o f g ratitude t ha t i t w ould t ake a s eperate v olume t o p roperly a cknowledge t hem a ll . T he p ro ject w as e stablished w ith t he h elp o f D r A nn E llison o f t he T rust f or W essex A rchaeology w hich c ontinued t o a dminister t he s urvey u nder M r A ndrew L awson , t o W ham w e a re a lso g reatly i ndebted . T he f ieldwork c ould o nly h ave p roceeded w ith t he p erm ission o f s everal l and o wners a nd l and a gents s uch a s K night , F rank a nd R utley o f H ungerford . N umerous s ympathetic f armers a llowed u s a ccess t o t heir f ields ; w e w ould p articularly l ike t o t hank M r G ordon L egg o f K nighton F arm a nd M r N ick S pence o f M addle F arm f or a llowing u s t o e xcavate . W e a re g reatly i ndebted t o t he t wo f ieldwalking t eams f or t heir a ssiduity d espite t he d ismal w eather c onditions . T hey c omprised J ulie C arr , A ndy E llis a nd J ulian T emple i n t he f irst s eason a nd C hris G affney , B arry M ead a nd L orraine M epham i n t he s econd . M any f riends a nd c olleagues h elped u s w ith p rocessing a nd a nalysis o f t he f inds a nd t he p resentation o f t he r esults . T hese i ncluded , S teve F ord , R on Y orston , M ärk B owden , E leanor S cott , M ark C orney , C hristine O sbourne , R ick W alker , C aitlin B uck , W endy C arruthers , A veril C ulverhouse , J ohn H ammond , A ndy F orward , J ason C ook , D enyon R ay , R oy E htWhistle a nd F rances R aymond .W e w ould p articularly l ike t o t hank C hris G affney f or a ll h is w ork a nd J ulian R ichards W ho i ntroduced u s b o th t o M addle F arm a nd t he t echniques o f s ystematic f ieldwalking . J onathan W eeks w as k ind e nough t o s tore t he f inds f or u s u ntil T ony H iggo t o f N ewbury M u seum p rovided t hem w ith a p ermanent h ome . W e a lso r eceived a g reat d eal o f h elp a nd a dvice f rom n umerous a cademics a nd s pecialists s uch a s D r M artin M illet , D r R ory M brtimore , D r RS mithard , D r R . S hiel , D r K . G reene , A .J . C lipson a nd P rofessor R ichard B radley . W e w ould a lso p articularly l ike t o t hank P rofessor M ichael F Ulford w ho a cted a s t he p ro ject 's a cademic a dviso r a nd r eferee . F ina lly , w e m ust s pecially t hank D r E lizabeth M usgrave a nd M S L eigh T urner w hose t ransformation o f t he t ext a nd i ts i llustrations p rior t o p ublication , w as n othing s hor t o f m iraculous .
D EDICATION
T O L IZ A ND H ELEN
ERRATA Ch apter
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L IST O F C ONT EN TS
A cknowlegements L ist o f C on tents L ist o f F igures L is t o f P la tes C hap ter O ne .
T he c on text a nd c oncep tual d evelopmen t o f t he
1
M äddle F arm S urvey . C hap ter T wo .
T he e nvironmen t o f t he s urvey a rea .
1 2
S urvey m ethodology a nd t he q uantification o f t he r esults
1 5
' Chap ter F our .
E x cava ted P rehistoric s ites i n t he s urvey a rea .
2 8
-C hapter F ive .
E Xtensive s urvey : T he P rehistoric p eriod .
3 1
I n tensive c ollection a nd e xcava tion a t P ost D own F arm .
7 0
•C hap ter S even .
T he d istribution o f p rehistoric p ottery w ithin s urvey a rea .
8 7
Chap ter E ight .
T he a rchaeological c on tex t o f t he R oman p eriod t he
8 9
.C hap ter
T hree .
C hap ter S ix .
B erkshire D owns . -C hap ter N ine .
T he r esults o f i ntensive c ollections a t t he M äddle F arm
9 6
V illa a nd t he K nighton B ushes s ettlemen t .
C hapter T en
E Xcava tion a t t he K nigh ton B ushes R oman
12
s ettlemen t ( i r l a nd M F 3 ).
C hapter E leven .
C hap ter T welve
.
•C hap ter T hirteen .
E k cavations a t t he M äddle F arm V illa ( M F2 ).
1 45
T he s pecialist r eports
1 65
E k tensive s urface s urvey : T he R aman p eriod
2 09
C hap ter F ourteen .
R econstructing t h e M addle F arm V illa E conomy
24
C hap ter F ifteen .
Ad iscussion o f r esults r ela ting t o t he R oman
2 39
p eriod w ithin t he s urvey a rea .
C hapter S ix teen .
L a ter p eriods w ithin t he s urvey a rea .
2 45
C hapter S eventeen .
S ummary
2 49
B ibliography .
2 53
I V
L IST O F F IGURE S
C hap ter O ne F ig 1 .1
T he o riginal a nd f inal s ampling s chemes .
C hapter No F ig 2 .1
T he g eology o f t he s urvey a rea a nd i ts l oca tion i n s outhern E ngland .
C hap ter T hree F ig 3 .1
T he s urvey h ectare g rid u sed f or w idespaced f ieldwalking .
F ig 3 .2
T he m ethod o f e stablishing t he O .S . h ectare g rid i n t he f ield .
F ig 3 .3
T he r esults o f w idespaced r ewalking o n t hree c onsecutive y ears .
F ig 3 .4
W idespaced f ieldwalking r esults f rom a n a rea t o t he w est o f K nighton B ushes
F ig 3 .5
T he r esults o f w idespaced f ieldwalking a nd s ub-sur face s urvey o f h ectare A .
F ig 3 .6
T he r esults o f w idespaced f ieldwalking a nd s ub -surface s urvey o f h ectare B .
F ig 3 .7
T he r esults o f w idespaced f ieldwalking a nd s ub-sur face s urvey o f h ectare C .
F ig 3 .8
T he r esults o f w idespaced f ieldwalking a nd s ub-surface s urvey a t P ost D own
a nd t he l ocatio ns o f t he s ub-surface s urvey s amples .
F arm . C hap ter F our F ig 4 .1
P rehistoric s ites i n t he s urvey a rea .
C hap ter F ive F ig 5 .1
C ceparison o f m ean f lake w eigh ts w ith a s ection a cross t he g eology a nd
F ig 5 .2
D istributi o n o f a ll f lint f lakes i n t he s urvey a rea .
F ig 5 .3
T he l ocation o f t he s ampled a ssemblages
F ig 5 .4
T he d istribution o f r etouched t ools f rom w idespaced f ieldwalking
F ig 5 .5
T ypica l w ea r a nd b reakage p atterns o f s crapers .
F ig 5 .6 F ig 5 .7
T he d istribution o f w orn a nd b roken s crapers . T he d istribution o f A rrowheads , K n ives , F abricators a nd B orers .
F ig 5 .8
P olished a xe f ra gments f rom w idespaced f ieldwalk ing .
F ig 5 .9
T he r ange o f H ammerstone w eights
F ig 5 .10
T he d istribu tion o f b urnt f lin t
F ig 5 .12
T he d istribu tion o f e arly d iagnostic m ateria l
F ig 5 .13
T he d istribution o f l ater d iagnostic m ateria l
F ig 5 .14
F lint r ecovere d f ra i l t he i nten sive c ollection a t t he K n igh ton B ushes
t opo g raphy o f t he s urvey a rea .
s ettlemen t . F ig 5 .15
F lint r ecovered f rom t he i n tensive c ollection a t t he M add le F arm R a tan V illa .
F ig 5 .16
T he a ssemblage a t t he I dstone D own f lake s catter .
V
F ig 5 .17
T he a ssemblage a t A rea 8 o f t he P ark F arm f lake s ca tter
F ig 5 .18
T he a ssemblage a t A rea 9 o f t he P ark F arm f lake s catter .
C hap ter S ix F ig 6 .1
W idespaced f ieldwalking r esults i n t he a rea o f t he S even B arrows g roup .
F ig 6 .2
T he a ssemblage a t P ost D own F arm .
F ig 6 .3
D istribu tion o f w aste f lakes a nd s urface c ontours a t P ost D own F arm .
F ig 6 .4
D istribution o f a ll s crapers .
F ig 6 .5
D istribution o f w orn a nd b roken s crapers .
F ig 6 .6
D istribution o f e xcavated t renches w ithin t he i n tensive c ollection a rea .
F ig 6 .7
E xcavated f eatures a nd s ections o f t he P ost D own F arm e xcavation .
F ig 6 .8
S arsen o b jects f rom t he P ost D own F arm e xcavation .
F ig 6 .9
S tra tified f lint i mplements f rom t he P ost D own F arm e xcava tion .
C hapter S even F ig 7 .1
D istribution o f p rehistoric p o ttery w ithin t he s urvey a rea .
C hapter E igh t F ig 8 .1
P rincipal R aman s ettlements i n t he r egion .
F ig 8 .2
R oman s ites i n t he s urvey a rea .
C hap ter N ine F ig 9 .1
C on tour s urvey a t K nighton B ushes w ith t he d istribution o f P rehistoric a nd S ub-Roman p o ttery .
F ig 9 .2
D istribution o f a ll R oman P o ttery a t t he M äddle F arm V illa .
F ig 9 .4
S moothed c eramic b uilding m aterial d istribution a t t he M äddle F arm V illa .
F ig 9 .5
D istribution o f L imestone r oo fing m aterial a nd t esserae a t t he M äddle F arm V illa .
F ig 9 .6
D istribution o f a ll R oman p o ttery , e xcavation t renches a nd g eophysical s urvey a rea a t K nighton B ushes .
F ig 9 .7
S moothed d istribution o f R aman p o ttery a t K nighton B ushes .
F ig 9 .8
C hronological d istribution o f d iagnostic p o ttery t ypes f rom i ntensive
F ig 9 .9
D istribution o f e arly R oman p ottery a t t he M äddle F arm v illa .
F ig 9 .10
D istribution o f l ate R aman p ottery a t t h e M äddle F arm v illa
F ig 9 .11
D istribution o f e arly a nd l ate R oman p ottery a t t he K nighton B ushes
c ollection .
s ettlemen t .
C hapter T en F ig 1 0 .1
S urface a nd e xcavated p o ttery d ensities a nd e xcavated f eatures a t M F1
F ig 1 0 .2
H örizontal a nd v ertical d istribution o f R oman p ottery a t M F1 .
F ig 1 0 .3
P redicted a nd r ecovered p ottery d ensities a t M F1 .
V I
F ig 1 0 .4
T he m ean s herd w eigh t f rom t he s urface , t he t opsoil a nd e xcavated f ea tures .
F ig 1 0 .5
P lan o f e xcavated t rench M F3.
F ig 1 0 .6
S ur face p ottery d istribution o ver t he t renches a t M F3 .
F ig 1 0 .7
R aman p ottery r ecovered f rom t he e xcavation o f t he t opsoil a t M F 3
F ig 1 0 .8
T he t opsoil p ottery d istribution p redicted b y t he s ieving d ata .
F ig 1 0 .9
R aman p ottery d istribution p er s quare m etre a cross t he t renches a t M F 3 .
F ig 1 0 .10
V ertical p ottery d istribu tion a t M F3 u sing e xcavated p ottery d ata .
F ig 1 0 .11
V ertical p ottery d istribution a t M F 3 u sing p redicted p ottery d ata .
F ig 1 0 .12
M F3 A rchaeological f eatures , A rea 1 .
F ig 1 0 .13
M F3 A rchaeological f eatures , A rea 2 , P lan 1 .
F ig 1 0 .14
M F 3 A rchaeological f eatures , A rea 2 , P lan 2 .
F ig 1 0 .15
M F3 A rchaeological f eatures , A rea 3 , P lan 1 .
F ig 1 0 .16
M F3 A rchaeological f eatures , A rea 3 , P lan 2 .
F ig 1 0 .17
M F3 A rchaeological f eatures , A rea 3 , P lan 3 .
F ig 1 0 .18
M F3 A rchaeological s ections a nd t he p lan o f F 3012 .
F ig 1 0 .19
M F3 A rc ha e ol o g ical s ections a t M F3 .
C hapter E leven F ig 1.1
C ontour S urvey w ith M äddle F arm v illa s oilmark
F ig 1 1 .2
P lan o f t he t re nc hes a t M F2 .
F ig 1 1 .3
R oman p ottery d istributions a t M F2 . S urface p ottery d istribution . E xcavated t opsoil p ottery . P redicted t opsoil p ottery . S tratified p ottery . A ll e xcavated p ottery . S urface p ottery e xpressed a s ap ercentage o f a ll p ottery w ithin e ach 5 x5 m etre c ollection s quare .
F ig 1.4
D istribution o f C eramic B uilding M aterial ( C .B .M ) a t M F2 S urface C .B .M . d istribution . E xcavat e d t opsoil C .B .M . P redicted t opsoil C .B .M . S tratified C .B .M . A ll e xcavated C .B .M . S urface C .B .M . e xpressed a s ap ercentage o f a ll p ottery w ithin e ac h 5 x5 m etre s quare .
F ig 1.5
L imestone r oo fing m aterial ( L .R .M ) d ensities p er m etre s quare w ithin t he t opsoil a nd w ithin s tra tified c ontexts .
F ig 1.6
V ertical d istribution o f R oman p ottery a t M F2 .
F ig 1 1 .7
P lan o f t renähes a nd e xcavated f ea tures a t M F2 .
F ig 1.8
T rench 2 . P lans a nd s ections .
F ig 1.9
P lan o f T rench 9
F ig 1.10
T renches 1 a nd 1 7
F ig 1 1 .11
S ections o f T rench 9 .
V I I
C hap ter T welve F ig 1 2 .1
B ronze o b jects f rom t he e xcavations .
F ig 1 2 .2
I ron o b jects f rom t he e xcavations .
F ig 1 2 .3
B one O b jects f rom t he e x cavations .
F ig 1 2 .4
L ead , S hale , a nd S tone o b jects f rom t he e xcava tions .
F ig 1 2 .5
E xcavated Q uern a nd e iern f ragment f rom M F 3 .
F ig 1 2 .6
G eophysical s urvey a nd s ub-soil f ea tures a t M F 3 .
F ig 1 2 .7
P o ttery f rom t he e xcavation a t M F1
F ig 1 2 .8
P ottery f rom t he e xcava tion a t M F 3
F ig 1 2 .9
P ottery f rom t he e xcavation a t M F2
C hap ter T hirteen F ig 1 3 .1
D istribution o f a ll R oman p o ttery i n t he e xtensive s urvey a rea .
F ig 1 3 .2
I n terpretation o f e xtensive s urvey d ata .
F ig 1 3 .3
S moothed d istribution o f a ll R oman p ottery i n t he e xtensive s urvey a rea .
F ig 1 3 .4
C hronological d istribution o f d iagnostic p ottery t ypes f rom e xtensive s urvey .
F ig 1 3 .5
D istribution o f E arly R oman p o ttery .
F ig 1 3 .6
D istribution o f L a te R aman p o ttery .
F ig 1 3 .7
S moothed p o ttery d istribution w ithin t he c ore a rea s howing s ignificant p ottery d iscard a reas .
F ig 1 3 .8
H ypothetical m odel o f l and u se w ithin t he e state b oundaries .
F ig 1 3 .9
C omparison o f h ypothetical b oundaries d erived f rom s urface s urvey , T heisson p olygons a nd B ronze A ge L inear d itches .
C hapter F ourteen F ig 1 4 .1
F unctional i n terpreta tion o f t he s urface p o ttery d istribution w ithin t he e state o f t he M äddle F arm V illa .
C hap ter S ixteen F ig 1 6 .1
D istribution o f P ost-Medieval p ottery i n t he c ore a rea
V I I I
L IST O F P HC MGRAPEIC P LATES . P late 1 . F eature 7 43 a t t he P ost D own F arm e xcavation . F ully e xcavated . P late 2 . S oil m ark a t o f t he M addle F arm V illa a nd a ssociated f ield s ystem . P late 3 . M F2 . T rench 1 5 , F eature 1 505 . Aw all f ooting c omposed o f d ressed C halk b locks . P late 4 . M F2 . T rench 1 7 , F eature 1 704 . Aw all f ooting c omposed o f S arsen s tones P late 5 . T he e xcavation o f t he t opsoil a t M F3 .
I X
C HAPTER O NE
T HE C ONTEXT A ND C ONCEPTUAL D EVE I JOPMENT O F T HE M ADDLE F ARM P ROJECT .
I . I ntroduction . T he h istory o f B ritish a rchaeology c annot i gnore t he r ole o f f ield s urvey i n t he g rowth a nd d evelopment o f t h e d iscipline . T he
t opogra p h ical
w ork o f S tukely a nd C ampden i n t he
1 7th a nd 1 8th c en turies ; 0 .G .S C raw ford 's p ioneering w ork o n a erial p hotography ; t he w ork o f t he R oyal C ommissions a nd t he O rdnance S urvey t ogether w ith t he e mbryo n i c s urface c ollections c arried o u t s ince t he b eginning o f t his c entury , h ave h elped t o f orm a n a cademic t radition a nd a r egional a rchaeolog ical r ecord o f w hich w e c an b e p roud ( C rawford , O .G .S . 1 924 , L aidler , Ba nd Y oung W .E .V . 1 938 a nd D aniel , G1 975 ). I t i s t he r ecen t p ast , h owever , e ssentially t he d ecade b etween t he l ate 1 970s a nd 1 980s , w hich h as s een t he m ost e xiting a nd i nfluential d evelopments i n t he t heory a nd m ethodology o f a rchaeologica l s urvey . T hese y ears h ave w itnessed a f lowering o f b oth c onferences , w ith t heir a ttendant p ublications , a nd i ndividual p apers o n t his s ub ject , o n b oth s ides o f t he A tlan tic ( H azelgrove e t a l ., 1 985 ; M acready & T hompson , 1 985 ; S ch o field , f orthc . ) F ield s urvey a nd i ts r esults a re s ub ject t o i ncreasingly s ophisticated a nalyses ; t opics s uch a s s ampling , t aPhonomy , t he r elevance o f b ehavioural t heory a nd t he r elationship o f s urface t o s ubsurface a rchaeology n ow f ea ture i n m any i nterpretations o f s urvey d ata ( C herry , Ja nd S he rman , S . 1 978 ; W ood , W .R a nd J ohnson , D .L . 1 981 ; F oley , R . 1 981 ; B owden , M .C .B . e t a l . f orthc . ). I n t he p ast , t here w as a t endency t o u se f ield s urvey r esults s imply a s ag uide t o " the b est p lace t o d ig" ; t oday , i n c ontrast , i ncreased a wareness o f t he p otential o f s urvey h as t aken a rchaeology b eyond t h e c onfines o f ' t he s ite ', a nd m ore p articularly , t he e xcavation t re n ch , i nto t he l andscape a t l arge . N o t a ll a rchaeologists , n or e ven a ll f ield s urveyors , h ave e ndorsed s uc h v iews . W hile P hilip B arker , p ossibly t h e m ost i nfluen tial a uthor o n a rchaeologica l e xcava tion i n B ritain , s tressed t he u tility o f s urface s urvey , t he l ong d ebate b etween H ope-Simpson a nd C herry e xemplifies t he m istrust o f s ome f ieldworkers f or t he r ecen t m ethodologica l a nd t heoretical c hanges ( H ope-Simpson , 1 983 , 1 984 ; C herry , J . 1 983 , 1 984 ). T he g eneral a cceptance o f t he p otential o f f ield s urvey i n B ritish a rchaeolo gy c an , h owever , b e s een i n t he n umber o f p ro jects t hat h ave b een i nitiated o ver t he l ast t en y ears , t he f irst f ruits o f w hich a re r epresented b y t he p ublication o f S hennan 's w ork o n E ast H ampshire a nd F ord 's E ast B erkshire s urvey ( S he rman , S . 1 985 ; F ord , S . 1 987 ). T he w ork a t M addle F arm m ust b e s een a s a n i ntegral p art o f t his t rend . T he f ield s urveys c arried o u t t o d ate h ave n o t b een c onceptually o r m ethodolog ically u niform ( C herry , J . 1 983 ). A s s ta ted a bove , m odern f ield s urvey i s ar ela tively r ecen t p henomenon a nd m uch o f t he w ork c arried o u t s o f ar h as b een e xperimental - a p oin t s tressed b y S he rman i n t he t itle o f h is F ast H ampshire s urvey - a nd w e m ust t here fore e xpect f urther d ebate a nd r efinement o f t he s ub ject ( S hennan , S . 1 985 ).
C onsequen tly , t o
c larify t he p recepts w hich g uide m any r esearch d esigns , i t m ay b e u se ful t o d iscuss s ome
1
d evelopmen tal a spects o f i ndividual p ro jects a nd t o c onsider h ow f ar t heir a ims w ere f ulfilled b y t heir r esults . T he S e ttlemen t C risis O f T he E arly 1 980s . A ny a ttemp t t o c arry o u t s uch a n a naly sis o n t he M äddle F arm p ro ject m ust c onsider t h e t heoretical a nd p ragmatic b asis o f f ield a rchaeology i n t he e arly 1 980 's . M ercers c omment t hat , d espite d ecades o f w ork , p arts o f t he c ountry r emained " Terra I ncognita " w ould h ave b een p articularly r elevant t o t he B erkshire D owns i n 1 980 W hen t he p ro ject w as f ormula ted ( M ercer , R . 1 982 , 9 7 ). A lthough B radley c ommented t ha t " one o f t he a ttractions o f f ield s urvey i n t he B erkshire D owns i s t he s ecure b asis o f p ublished w ork f rom w hich t o b egin" ( B radley , Ra nd E llison , A . 1 975 , 1 73 ). D espite s uch a p romising d ata b ase , m any p eriods a nd d ifferen t t ypes o f m onuments r emained i nadequately r esearched o r p oorly u nderstood . T hree y ears a fter t he R am 's H ill r eport , i n 1 978 , t he a rchaeolog ical r ecord o f t he r egion s till c omprised l ittle m ore t han b arrows , u nda ted f ield s ystems a nd l inear d itches , w hile s ettlemen t p atterns a nd s ite h ierarchies o f p eriods p receding t he m iddle a ges r emained l argely u nknown ( R ichards , J .C . 1 978 ). E ven t he R oman p eriod , f requently t he m ost t horoughly d ocumen ted a s ar esult o f t he d urability o f i ts m aterial c ulture , h ad p roduced s o l ittle o ccupa tion e vidence t ha t R ichards s uggested s ettlemen t m obility w as t o b lame ( R ichards , 1 978 , 4 9 ). T his i s n o t H ill a nd
t o d enigra te e arlier a nd v alued w orks s ince B radley a nd E llison a t R am 's
J . R ichards w ere w orking w ithin e xplicitly s ta ted p arameters . B radley 's s urvey
w as o rien ta ted t owards t he L ambourn v alley a nd b ased o n t he a nalysis o f m useum c ollections a nd a erial p hotographs . A ctual f ield w ork w as l imited t o v isiting k ey s ites a nd g eneral o bservation r ather t han s y stematic s urvey . R ichards ' w ork w as e ssentially a n e valua tion e xercise d evoted t o a n a ssessmen t o f c ontemporary t hrea ts t o t he a rchaeology o f t he B erkshire D owns . T he f inal r eport w as b ased o n t he c oun ty S ites a nd M onumen ts r ecord a nd l ocal m useum c ollections r ather t han f ield w ork , wh ic h f ormed a r elatively s mall p art o f t he r esearch c arried o ut . T he s ituation w ith r egard t o t he B erkshire D owns w as n o t e xcep tional ; u p u ntil t h e 1 980s , i t w as t rue o f b oth t he s outhern B ritish D ownland a nd t he c ountry a s aw hole . T he r egional e valuation s urveys w hich w ere s o c ommon o in t h e 1 970s , i ndicated a lmost u niversally t hat t he a rchaeology o f m ost r eg ions w as d omina ted b y ' h ighly v isible ' s ites . I n p rehistory , t his m eant f unerary , r itual a nd d efended m onumen ts , w hile i n l a ter p eriods , t owns , v illas a nd m ilitary s ites p redomina ted ( G affney , Va nd T ingle , M . 1 984 ; M ills , N .1985 ). A t t he b eginning o f t he 1 980s , t he a rchaeological r ecord o f m any a reas w as h eavily b iased i n f avour o f m onumen ts , h ad f requently b een c ollected i n ah aphazard m anner a nd c ould p robably n o t b e r elied u pon a s as olid b asis f or m ost f orms o f r igorous a nalytical w ork ( H amond , F .W .1980 ; S he rman , S . 1 985 , 2 ) . I n t he w ords o f ar ecen t t ome o n f ield s urvey , d espite m ore t han o ne h undred y ears o f a rchaeological f ieldwork , " it w as s till a ll t o d o" ( H azelgrove , Ce t a l ., 1 985 , 1 ). T he r eaction t o t his c ha llenge a mong st s tudents o f t he s ou thern E nglish c ha lklands h as b een m ixed . S om e h ave i n terpreted s ettlem en t g aps a s at ru e r eflection o f t he a rchaeological r ecord , a rguing t hat a rea s s uch a s t he c ha lk w ere p eripheral t o m a jor
2
h abita tions a nd e conomic a ctiv ity i n t he l ater p rehistoric p eriod ( M ills , 1 985 , 4 2 ). A s econd s chool o f t hough t b elieved t hat a g rea t d eal o f s ettlemen t e vidence o n t he c halk h ad s imply b een d estroyed , b y a gricultural i ntensifica tion o r b y m echanical a nd C hemical C halk d ecay ( A tkinson , 1 957 ; H indhcliffe & S ähadl-Hall , 1 980 ). S ubsequent w ork , i ncluding t ha t o f t he M eddle F arm p ro ject , h as s hown t ha t t he c halk w as s ettled t hroughou t m ost a rchaeological p eriods a nd t hat t he s cale o f p ast c hemical d ecomposition h as b een c onsiderably l ess t han o riginally t hough t ( G roube & B owden , 1 982 , 1 6-18 ). A gricultural p rocesses , n otably p lough d amage , d o , h owever , r emain t he " bete n oir" o f B ritish a rchaeology . T he m ost s ignifican t o utcome o f t he s ettlement d ebates o u tlined a bove w as a g rowing a wareness t ha t t raditional a pproaches t o a rchaeological r esearch i n t his f ield w ere i nadequa te . T he e xcava tion o f t hreatened s ites m erely i creased t he e xisting b ody o f d ata f or p articular t ypes o f s tructures w ithout r eally f urthering o ur k nowledge o f t he p ast : w as t he r epea ted e xcavation o f r ing d it c h es a n a dequate r esponse t o t he p roblems o f s ettlemen t a rchaeology ? T he n eed f or a n a lterna tive r esearch m ethodology w as a pparen t , a s b oth E llison 's p olicy d ocumen t f or a rchaeologic a l i n v e s t ig a t i o n i n W essex a nd t he w ork o f G roube a nd B owden o n r ural D orset , s tated ( E llison , 1 980 ; G roube & B owden , 1 982 ). T he r esult w as a s eries o f s urveys r elated t o t he d iscovery a nd e xplanation o f m issing s ettlemen t t ypes , e pitomised b y t he t hema tic r egional p ro jects s et u p b y t he W essex u nit s uc h a s t he S tonehenge E nvirons p ro ject , t he K ennet V alley p ro ject a nd t hat c overing t he S outh D orset R idgeway ( R ichards , 1 984 , 1 985 ). T he M äddle F arm p ro ject w as c onceived a nd d esigned w ithin t h is i n tellectual f ramework . T he f inal r esults o f t hese p ro jects a re , h owever , h ard t o p redict , p articularly a s t he d eepening c risis i n a rchaeological f unding m ay r estrict t hem f rom a ch ieving t heir f ull p oten tial . I .
T h e L ocal A nd N a tional C ontex t C I R omano-British R ural S ettlemen t A nd L and U se O n
T he B erkshire D owns . T he c hoice o f t he m ain t heme f or t he M addle F arm p ro ject w as c arried o ut w ith r eference t o t he n eeds o f t he l ocal , r egional a nd n a tional a rchaeologic a l r ecord . A t al ocal l evel , t here w as a d earth o f i nformation o n t he n a ture o f R oman s ettlemen t h ierarchy . T he s ettlement t ypes k nown t o b e p resen t c omprised s everal n uclea ted ' v illages ' i ncluding t ha t a t M äddle F arm i tself a nd p erhaps a t E ling i n t he P ang v alley , t ogether w ith " substantial b uildings o f u nknown a ssocia tion ( R ichards , 1 978 , 4 7 ). T he ' l ower ' e schelons o f t his h ierarchy w ere a pparen tly a bsen t f rom t he D owns . I n s uc h as ituation , a ny w ork o n t he n a ture o f s ettlemen t p a tterning w ould b e o f v alue . S econdly , f urther a cademic j ustifica tion f or t he p ro ject c ame f ram a d esire t o p lace t he p ossible v illa b uilding a t M äddle w ithin i ts " landscape c ontex t ." I n t he w ceds o f M alcolm T odd , " . .for t oo l ong , a tten tion h as b een f ocussed u pon t he e asily r ecognised c entre o f t he v illa e state t o t he v irtual e xclusion o f a ll e lse" ( T odd , 1 979 , 9 ) . T his w as p artly a r esult o f t he " h igh v isibility " a nd m aterial p roductivity o f v illa s tructures b u t w as a lso a r eflection o f t he p ast p riorities o f R omano-B ritish s tud ies , w here d iscussion a nd f ieldwork a imed a t d efining t he s ta tus o f v illas w as d esigned t o f it t he B ritish a rc h aeolog ical r ecord i nto t h e o u tlin e p rovided b y c lassical l iterary s ources , r egardless o f w hether s uch a nalogies w ere v alid o r n o t . G reene h as r ecently s uggested t ha t t he r eal r esult o f t his w ork h as b een t o o bscure t he t ru e s ignificance o f s u ch s tructures , w h ich l ies i n t heir p ivo tal r ole w ithin t h e r ural R oman e conomy ( G reene , K . 1 986 , 8 9 ). I n a ddition , a
3
d isproportiona te a moun t o f a rchaeological r esources h ave b een d irected i n to t h e s tudy o f as pecific a nd r ather s mall p art o f t he o verall R oman s e ttlemen t h ierarchy . D espite a n umber o f e x cellen t s tud ies o f R oman s ettlemen t p a tterns b y c ontinental a uthors , l ittle w ork o f t his t ype h as b een c arried o u t i n B ritain ( s ee K eller & R upp , 1 983 , f or a r ev iew o f c urren t s urvey p ro jects i n t he M editerranean a nd G reen , 1 986 , f or a d iscussion o f t heir i mpact o n t he s tudy o f t he R oman e conomy ). E ven l ess f ieldwork h as a ttemp ted d irectly t o c onfron t t he p roblems o f d e fining e state b oundaries o r t h e s pacial a nalysis o f r ural l and u se ( S co tt , Ea nd G affney , V . 1 987 ). E Xamination o f t he s ocial a nd t enurial a ssocia tions o f p articular s ettlemen ts h ave t ended t o b e
s ub jective a ttemp ts t o
c ombine m a jor a nd m inor v illa s ites w ithin s ingle t enurial s ystems o r t he a nalysis o f p arish b oundaries f or e vidence o f c ontinuity ( P ercival , S . 1 976 , 1 24-6 ). T here h as b een a t endency t o c ompare d ifferen t v illas a nd a lso t o d ivo rce v illa s tructures f rom o ther e lemen ts o f t he s ettlemen t h ierarchy , p articularly ' n a tive ' h abita tions , d espi te t heir l ikely i mportance i n t he l ocal s ocial a nd e conomic s ystem . T he i nvestiga tion o f a gricultural l and u se a ssocia ted w ith R aman s ettlemen t h as a lso b een n eglected . I n t he p ast , c ontemporary l iterary e vidence h as b een u sed i n p re ference t o t he a rchaeological r ecord i n r econstructions o f t he e conomy . W hile s uch s ources m ay b e o f r elevance t o s ome a reas o f t he M editeranean , t he e xtension o f g eographically-specific a gricultural d a ta t o o ther p arts o f E urope m ust b e o f l imited v alue ( S purr , M .S . 1 986 ). T he l ack o f w ritten s ources f or R omano-British a gricultural p ractices h as i n p art b een r emedied b y t h e i ncreasing a vailability o f e nvironmen tal , f loral a nd f aunal d a ta f rom e xcavations a nd e xperimental f arms s uch a s B utser H ill a re a dding f urther i nsigh ts i nto t he p robab le n ature a nd p o ten tial o f p ast a gricultural s ystems ( R eynolds , P .J . 1 979 ). E xtant s tudies o f s patial l and u se h ave f requently u sed t opographical o bserva tions , b ehaviourally-based s ite c a tchmen t s tudies o r h ave f ollowed t he a nalysis o f e nvironmental s amples f rom e xcavations ( B ranigan , K . 1 977 ; E llison , Aa nd H arris , J . 1 972 ). S uc h s tudies a re v aluable b u t t he e xtrapola tion o f s pa tia l l and u se f rom s uch e vidence i s n o t w ithout r isk . I t h as , o n o ccasion , b een p ossible t o l ink s pecific a gricultural f eatures w ith v illas ; s uch s tudies a re r are i n B ritain , b u t t he a ssocia tion o f l azy b eds w ith a v illa a t G o dmanchester p rovides o ne e xample o f t his ( G reen , H .J .M . 1 978 ). T he e x cavation o f a gricultural f ea tures a ssociated w ith v illas i s e ven r arer , a lthough o pportunities f o r s uch w ork d o e xist . T he s tudy o f c olluvial d eposits b y B ell i n S ussex t ogether w ith F ord 's e xcavations o f ' C eltic ' f ield s ystems o n t he w estern B erkshire D owns w ill n o d oub t b ecome s eminal w orks i n t his f ield ( B ell , M . 1 981 ; F ord , Se t a l , f orthc .). As mall n umber o f r ecen t p ublica tions h ave e xamined t he w ider R oman l andscape ( W illiamson , T .J . 1 984 ; H ayfield , C . 1 987 ). H owever , i n 1 980 , w he n t he M äddle F arm p ro ject w as i nitia ted , o ne c ould o nly v oice P ercival 's p essimistic o bserva tion t ha t t here w as " clearly a l ong w ay t o g o ... b efore w e c an s peak w ith a ny a ssurance o n s ocial a nd t enurial p a tterns a s f ar a s B ritain a nd t he B ritish v illas a re c oncerned " ( P ercival , 1 981 , 1 44 ). W hen t his a cademic c ontext i s c onsidered , i t m ust c ome a s n o s urprise t o f ind t ha t i n t h e p riority r anking t able o f t h e W essex p lanning d ocument , t he e x cava tion o f a t hreatened R oman v illa s cored o nly 5 .8 o u t o f 1 3 ( r anked 2 0th ) W hile a s tudy o f r ural l and u se a nd e conomy w as r anked 1th s coring
9 .2 ( E llison , 1 980 , 1 ).
4
II .
T he D efin ition O f R esearch G oa ls A nd T heir R elationsh ip T o S urvey D esign .
T he s econd h al f o f t h e 1 970 s w itnessed a n umber o f p ublica tions w hich h ad a g rea t i mpact u pon t he t heory a nd p ractise o f s urvey d esign w ithin B ritish a rchaeology . T he m ost s ignifican t o f t hese w ere C herry 's " Sampling I n C on temporary B ritish A rchaeology " a nd F oley 's " O ff-Site A rchaeology " ( C herry , Je t a l ., 1 978 ; F oley , R . 1 981 ). T he r oots o f t his l itera ture a nd i ts e mph asis o n f ield s urvey c an b e f ound i n t he " New A rchae ology " e manating f rom t he U nited S tates a t t his t ime . E ver s ince B inford 's " A C onsideration O f A rchaeological R esearch D esign ," A merican j ourna ls h ave o verflowed w ith w orks r ela ting t o t he a cademic p urpose o f s urvey , i ts m ethodological i mplications a nd d esign s trategies ( B in ford , 1 964 ; P log e t a l ., 1 978 ). P rehaps t he m ost n o table f ea ture o f t his w ork h as b een i ts c oncern w ith s ampling p rocedure a nd t he d e finition o f t he s ampling u niverse . I n m os t c ases t his p rocess h as i nvolved t he a cceptance b y a rchaeologists o f t he t erm " region " i n i ts g eographical s ense . I n a rcha e o logical a pplications , e specially i n A merica , t h e r egion h as b ecam e a ssocia ted w ith t he s tudy o f l arge h itherto u nexamined a reas a nd c ultural s ystems t ha t o pera te a t v ery l arge s cales . ( H azelgrove , Ce t a l ., 1 985 ). B ritish a cademic a rchaeology w as q uick t o a dop t as imilar a pproach a nd a n umber o f p apers h ave b een p ublished o n t he v alues o f r egional s ampling M ills , N . 1 985 T he a dop tion o f r egional s ampling t heory b y B ritish a rchaeologists w as c ertainly d esirab le , b u t n o t w ithou t i ts n egative e ffects . T he m ost i mportant o f t hese h as b een a cademic c riticism o f s maller-scale s urveys , s uch a s t hose b ased o n p arishes a nd a lterna tive s mall s cale a nalytical f orms s uch a s
s ite c atchment a nalyses ( G affney ,V e t
a l . , 1 985 ). SC EE o f t his i s j ustified : p arish s tudies a re a g eographically c onvenient g rab s ample a nd t heir r esults t end t o r eflect h istoric l and d ivisions r ather t han e arlier l and u se . A rchaeological s ite c atchmen t a nalysis g enerally r arely i ncluded a ny i mprical i nput a nd c onsequently l acked c redibility . H owever , s upport f or t he s tudy o f h uman p opula tions o n l arge g eographical s cales s hould n ot a u toma tically r esult i n t h e b elittlemen t o f s maller s cale s urveys . T he p ersistent e mph asis o n p roblem s olving t hrough r egional s ampling t ha t h as e merged i n r ecen t y ears h as t ended t o i gnore t he f act t ha t a n umber o f s ignifican t a rchaeological p rocesses o pera te b elow s uch g eo graphic a l s cales . W hile m any a rchaeologists n ow a cknowledge t ha t b o th t ypes o f s tudy h ave c on tribu tions t o m ake t o f ield s urvey , f ew r ecent w orks h ave s uccesfully c oMbined b o th a pproaches ( F oley , R . 1 981 , 1 98 ; S he rman , S . 1 985 , 13 ). T he d anger o f r elying o n o ne f ieldwork s trategy w hen t rying t o s tudy l and u se i n t he a rchaeological r ecord c an b e s hown b y t he f ollowing m odel . F ou r p rincipal a ims o f t he M addle F arm p ro ject w ith r egard t o t he R omano-British p eriod w ere : 1 ) T o d etermine d ifferen tial f unctions o f a reas w ithin s ettlemen t c omplexes . 2 ) T o d e termine t he n ature o f l and u se a ssociated w ith c on temporary s ettlemen ts . 3 ) T o e stablish a nd i n terpret a ny e xisting s ettlemen t h ierarchy , i ncluding t h e d efinition o f s ocial/tenurial r elationship s . 4 ) T o l oca te c on temporary s ettlemen t d istribu tion .
5
I t w as i nconceivab le t ha t t he t hemes o utlined h ere c ould b e s atisfied b y as ingle s urvey s tra tegy . T h e a ims l aid o u t i n c a tegory ( 1 ) c ould o nly b e r ealised a t s ite l evel .
T he
o b jectives o f a im ( 2 ) c an o nly b e a chieved i f t he i mmedia te e nvirons o f t he s ite a re s ub ject t o d etailed a nalysis , w hile
t he i nterpreta tion o f s ettlement h ierarchies ,
( 3 ),
c an b e v iewed f rom s everal p erspectives , e ither a s p art o f al arge-scale s urvey o r a s a n i n tensive e xamination o f ar ela tively s mall a rea c ombining a n umber o f t erritories . F inally , w ith r espect t o a im ( 4 ), t he d etermination o f t he c ontemporary s ettlemen t p a ttern c an o nly b e e nvisaged a s ar egional o peration , p robably u sing l arge-scale s ampling s trategies . T he r esearch a ims o u tlined a bove a re b y n o m eans s pecific t o R omano-British a rchaeo logy ; t hey c ould e qually a pply t o m ost h istoric o r l a ter p rehistoric p eriods . T he d iscussion o f t hese o b jectives d oes , h ow ever , i llustra te s ome o f t he p roblems a ssociated w ith u ncritical a cceptance o f t he u niversal v alidity o f r egional p robabalistic s ampling s trategies . A t a n e arly s tage o f t he M addle F arm p ro ject i t a ppeared t ha t i n o rder t o p roceed u pon a f ormal b asis ,some a ttemp t t o f ormalise t he r ela tionship b etween s urvey p roceedure a nd p ast h uman a ctivity w ould b e d esirable . A ny s uch r efinemen t c ould n o t s imply b e a q uestion o f s cale s ince a rchaeological s urvey i s a n a ttemp t t o a naly se h uman b ehaviour p atterns w hich o pera te a t v arying g eographical s cales . F o ley , h as a ttemp ted t o f ormalise r ela tionship s b etween l and u se a nd h uman a ctivity f or
P aleolithic a nd N eolithic
s ocieties w ith r espect t o e cologically-based b ehavioural t heories ( F oley . R , 1 978 , 1 981 ). H e d efined t hree p rincipal u nits o f l and u se : 1 ) C ore A rea : t he c entral a rea o f d istribution o f ab and o r g roup . 2 ) H om e R ange : t h e a rea h abitually e xploited b y ab and o r s ociety f or i ts s ubsistence r equirements . 3 ) T otal R ange : t he a rea e xplo ited a nnually b y t he g roup , i ncluding t he e n tire r ange c overed , h owever f requen tly a nd f or w ha tever p urpose e .g . a quisition o f r aw m aterials , e xchange o f g oods , m a tes e tc . A lthough t he s ocieties s tudied b y F oley w ere h ighly m ob ile a nd t he g eographic a rea a nalysed , l arge - t he K enyan A mboseli h ad a h om e r ange o f 6 00 s q . k m . -t he b asic b ehavioura l t enets e xhibit e d h ere a re a pplicable t o m ost f orms o f h uman s ociety . T he a bsolu te s cale a t w hich i ndividual s ocieties o pera te i s c ulturally a nd t echnologically d ependan t , h owever F oley 's o riginal s cheme w as a dapted t o c onform w ith t he M add le p ro ject a ims l isted a bove a nd t hus p rov ided t he f ollowing d efinitions : 1 ) T he S ite : t he c en tral p oin t o f s ettlemen t ( a im 1 ) . 2 ) T he M icro-Reg ion : t he a rea e xploited f or s ubsistence p urposes o r e conomic r equiremen ts ( a im 2 ) . 3 ) T he R egion : t he s ystem w ithin w hich s ites a nd m icro-regions i n terlink t o f orm a n i nterpretable c ultural o r e conomic u nit ( a ims 3 & 4 ) .
6
4) The Hacro-Region: the extended area incorporating the region and that within which long distance exchange may occur. No absolute geographical scale of activity is implied in this nooel. The hane range of the inhabitants of a villa will probably be considerably smaller than Foley's late Stone Age or pastoralist Neolithic populations while the macro-region of a Ranan villa may be considerably larger than that associated with less canplex societies. Although the liaddle Fann villa was neither rich nor sited in a particularly prosperous area, the presence of Samian and Rhenish wares indicate that it operated within a macro-region which included a large section of continental Europe. A roore affluent establishment might exhibit even wider trading links. Thus, studies of short-distance and long-distance behavioural activities require different survey methodologies. Projects concerned with 'regions' and 'macro-regions' demand the use of probabilistic sampling strategies while canplete coverage and in-depth eXamination of a behaivioural writ necessitates smaller scale, intensive methodologies. With respect to the Maddle Fann survey, while a project to examine the overall Ranan settlement pattern an the 1xMiis would have been useful, there was a greater academic need for a study of the landscape and settlement context of a specific villa. 'Ibis would involve the examination of land use associated with a villa and an investigation of social and tenurial links between it and nearby settlements. The site was chosen with reference to Richards' general survey of the Ik>wns (Richards, J.C. 1978). This indicated that the IOOSt archaeologically 'visible' and highest elements in the Ranan settlement hierarchy appeared at several sites which could perhaps be called 'agricultural villages'. Cne such site, at Haddle Farm, was associated with a substantial building - a villa - and for this reason was chosen for study. The decision to investigate land use rather than settlement meant that work was carried out over the 'hane range' or 'micro-region' of the villa and settlement. The determination of the 'har.oe range' of a villa was difficult as little was known about the geographic and behavioural areas relating to these establishments. To resolve this problem, an area of land between the Maddle villa and several of its neigbours, the villas of Stancanbe Down and Starveall Farm, lying 4-5 kilanetres to its east and west repectively, was chosen for examination {Rhodes, P.P. 1950; Phillips, B. 1981}. It was assumed that sane form of tenurial or behavioural boundary lay between these sites. The survey area chosen canprised a circle of land 6 kilanetres in diameter, centred on the Maddle Fann villa; an inner 'core' 2 kilanetres wide was surveyed intensively while the outer area of land was sampled (Fig 1.1). It was thought that the former might conform to the territory predicted through traditional site catchment analyses (Higgs, E and Vita Finzi, C. 1972, 31). Fran the outset, the survey was designed as a multi-stage project camnencing with the intensive examination of the "core" area and then proceeding to the sampling of a larger area (Cf. Sheiman, S. 1985, 113) The decision not to camrience with a large scale sampling exercise resulted fran an ignorance of basic field evidence. It was felt that the infonnation collected within "core" area could be used to design a rrore efficient sampling strategy for use in the second stage of the projeet. 7
1 .1
T he o riginal a nd f inal s ampling s chemes .
5 ) . T he A rchaeology O f L and U se . T he d e tection o f l and u se i n t he a rchaeological r ecord w as t he m ost d ifficult p rob lem f aced b y t he M addle t eam . U ntil r ecen tly ,m ost B ritish s urveys c oncentrated o n t he s tudy o f s e ttlement r ather t han l and-use . A lthough s ettlemen t p atterns h ad b een u sed i n c onjunction w ith s oil a nd t opographical d ata t o p rovide i nformation o n t he p re feren tial s iting o f s ettlements a nd t heir c hange o ver t ime , w hile e xcavated e nvironmen ta l s amples i llucidated t he n ature o f s ubsistence , n o m ethodology e xisted f or t he e mpirical t esting o f t hese h ypotheses ( H awkes S mith , 1 979 ). T heoretically b ased b ehavioural m icro-regional s tra tegies , t he m ost s ignificant o f w hich w as s ite c atchmen t a nalysis r emained i nheren tly u ntestable w hile a rchaeological m ethodology w as g eared s olely t o t he l ocation a nd e xcavation o f s ettlemen t s ites ( G affney ,C e t a l . 1 985 ).
8
T his s ituation w as r adically c hanged w ith t he d evelopmen t o f ab ehavioura list a pproach t o t h e a rchaeological r ecord a nd w ith t he a doption o f o ff-site m ethodologies f or f ield s urvey ( T homas , D .H . 1 975 ; B e ttinger , 1 977 ; F oley , R . 1 981 ). H uman a ctivities a re n ow s een a s t aking p lace w ithin t he e n tire l andscape , m erely p eaking w ithin t hose a reas d e fined b y a rchaeologists a s s ites . T hus , t he s ite h as b een r e jected a s t he m ain u nit o f a nalysis a nd r eplaced b y t he a rte fact a s t he p rime p ointer t o h uman b ehaviour . An umber o f r ecent s tudies h ave m easured t he i ntensity o f h uman a ctivity w ithin a l andscape w ith r espect t o t he s pa tial d istribu tion o f a rtefact d ensities , as ch ema w hich h as r eceived e mpirical s uppor t f rom a n umber o f e thnographic s tudies o f m odern h un ter-gatherer s ocieties ( S ee w ork o n t he N bnamuit e skimos b y B inford , 1 976 ; Y ellen 's w ork w ith t he ! K ung b ushmen , 1 977 a nd t ha t b y G ould o n A ustralian A boriginal s ocieties , 1 980 ). I n r esponse t o t hese s tudies , m ost o ff-site w o rk h as c oncentra ted o n t he a nalysis o f p rehistoric s ocieties i n w hich t raditional s ettlemen t m ay b e l argely i nvisible o r e n tirely a bsen t . W hile t his h as b een a u seful e xcercise , i t h as n o t b een w ithou t i ts n ega tive e ffects . T he h ighly m obile n ature o f t he s ocieties s tudied , t he g eographical s cale o f t he b ehavioural u nits a nalysed a nd t he e xtensive s ampling s tra tegies a dopted f or w ork o f t his k ind h ave m ean t t hat t he d a ta f rom s urvey h as b een p resented a s i f d ivorced f rom s ite- b ased i n forma tion a nd f rom s ocieties w hich a re t raditionally s edentary . R ecen t l iterature h as
e mp h as i sed
t ha t o ff-site a rchaeological t echniques a re r elevant t o
h istoric a nd s edentary c ommunities a s w ell a s p rehistoric a nd m obile s ocieties ( G affney , Va nd T ingle , M . 1 984 ). E thnographic s tudies h ave i dentified a r ange o f o ff-site a ctivities , t ogether w ith t heir a rtefacts , a ssociated w ith s edentary s ocieties a nd p ermanen t s ettlements , f rom s heep f olds t o m oonshine s tills ( M urray , Pa nd C hang , C . 1 981 ; H ouse , J .H . 1 977 ). R ecen t a rchaeological w ork h as l ikewise c onfirmed t hat h istoric s e ttlements a re s urrounded b y s ca tters o f m aterials a ssociated w ith n on-settlement s ubsistence a ctivity ( W ilkinson , T . 1 982 ; C rowther , D . 1 984 ; B intliffe , J . 1 985 ). T he e xistence o f s uch i n formation a llows u s t o t est m icro-regional l and-use m odels i ncluding t hose d iscussed a bove ( G affney , C . e t a l ., 1 985 ). T he M addle F arm p ro ject a dop ted a n e xtensive s urvey m ethodology d esigned t o p rovide i nformation a bou t b oth o ff-site a ctivities a nd t heir a ssociations w ith b ehav ioura lly-interpretable l and u se . Ac ontinuous g rid c ollection s ystem w as d evised , a dapted f rom t ha t u sed b y P e ter W oodward t o s tudy l ithic s ca tters i n t he G rea t O use v alley ( W oodward , 1 978 ; S ee s ection o n f ield m ethodology ). E qual a ttention w as p aid t o a ll c omponents o f t he l andscape , a llowing t he s urveyor t o m ake q uantitative a ssessments a bou t t he n a ture o f a rchaeological d iscard a cross a n a rea , r egardless o f w hether i t o ccured o n o r o ff a ' s ite '. 6 ) . D evelopments W ithin T he E Xtensive S urvey . R esults f rom t he c ore a rea s urvey , c arried o u t i n 1 981 , i ndicated t ha t R aman l and u se w as l argely d etermined b y t opography . T hus , i t w as a pparen t t hat t he s urvey m ethodology f or t he s econd p hase o f t he p ro ject , t he s ampling o f aw ide a rea a round t he c ore , s hould t ak e v ariations i n t he l ocal t errain i nto a ccount .
9
T o t his e nd , ac ruciform s ampling u nit w as a dop ted i n p reference t o t he o riginal c ircular d esign ( F ig 1 .1 ). T he n orth-south a rms o f t he c ross r eflected t he v alley v aria tion w hile t he e ast-west a rms c overed c hanges i n s lopes a nd t he i n teraction o f a d jacen t v illa e states . 5 0% o f a vailable a rable l and w as s ampled , b ased o n t he s ystematic e xamina tion o f 5 00m w ide t ransects . T h e p osition o f t he t own o f L ambourn m ean t t ha t t he s ou thern p art o f t he s urvey a rea h ad t o b e s hifted s lightly t o i ncrease t he a moun t o f l and a vailable f or s tudy w hile a s eries o f e xtensions w ere m ade o n t he e astern e dge o f t h e s ampling a rea t o g ather f urther i nforma tion o n l and u se a ssociated w ith t he S tancombe D own v illa a nd t he S even B arrows v alley .
7 ) . O n-Site S urvey A nd E x cava tion . W hile t he p rincipal f unction o f t he M addle F arm p ro jec t w as t o g ather d ata f or o ff-site l and u se , o n-site d a ta w as a lso c ollected . T he a im o f t his w as t o d efine f unctionally a nd h ierarchically d ifferent z ones w ithin t he c ore o f t he R oman e sta te - t he K nighton B ushes s ettlemen t a nd t he M addle v illa - a nd t o p rovide a c hronology f or t he s ite . W ith t hese e nds i n m ind , as eries o f s mall-scale e xcavations w ere c arried o u t a t
K nighton B ushes i n
1 981 a nd 1 982 , as ample e xcava tion o f t he M addle v illa t ook p lace i n 1 982 a nd a l ithic s catter o verlooking t he S even B arrows c emetery w as l ikewise i nvestigated i n 1 983 . 8 ) . O n a nd O ff S ite T aphonamy . S chiffer 's w ork o n t he b ehavioural b asis o f t he a rchaeological r ecord , w hich u rged a c ritical a nalysis o f a ll va riation s w ithin m aterial e vidence a nd t o i sola te p ost-depositional p rocesses w hich m ay i mpose m isleading s tructures o n r ecovered d a ta , h as b een f urthered a nd r efined o ver t he l ast t en y ears b y an umber o f a u thors ( S chiffer , M . 1 976 ; W ood , W .R . a nd J ohnson , D .L . 1 978 ; M dmanamon , 1 984 ; H odder & M alone , 1 984 ). C onsidera tions o f t hese p rocesses a re p articularly i mportan t w hen d ealing w ith s urface s urvey d ata , w hich i s u sually c omposed o f r esidual m aterial r emoved f rom i ts o riginal c on text b y s ubsequen t a gricultural a ctivity . I n t he c halklands o f s ou thern E ngland , r ecen t a rable i ntensification h as r esulted i n am a jor m cd ification o f b oth t he r ural e nvironmen t a nd t he a rchaeological r ecord b uilt u p o ver t h e l ast 5 ,000 y ears ( R ichards , J .C . 1 978 ; H inähcliffe , Ja nd S dhadla H all , R .T . 1 980 ). L ess t han 1 % o f B erkshire 's d ownland r emains a s o ld g rassland a nd E llison h as m ade t he g loomy p rediction t hat t h e 2 1st c en tury w ill s ee a d ownscape i n W hich " most c lasses o f l andscape m onument w ill h ave b een a lmost t o tally d estroyed " ( T ubbs , C .R a nd B lackwood , J .R . 1 970 ; E llison , A . 1 981 ). T hus i t i s i mportant t hat w e n o t o nly g ather i nformation o n t he p ast , b ut t hat w e n ote h ow m odern p rocesses a re a ltering t he a rchaeological r ecord , f or t he s ake o f f u ture f ield w orkers , w ho m ay n eed o ur d ata a s ab asis f or f urther i n terpretation o f d rastically a ltered a rchaeological c on tex ts . G iven t he p redominance o f p rairie-style a rable c ultivation o n t he D owns , i t i s i mportan t t o c onsider t he e ffects o f p loughing o n
b oth s ite-based a nd o ff s ite c ultural d eposits .
B ell 's w ork o n c olluvial d eposits w ithin c ha lk v alleys i n S ussex c learly s hows t ha t b oth
1 0
a ncien t a nd r ecen t a griculture c ause d ownhill s oil m ovemen t , d estroying o r m asking a rchaeological p a tterning w ithin t he l andscape ( B ell , M . 1 981 ). A ttemp ts w ere m ade b y t he M addle s urvey t eam t o a ssess t h e i nfluence o f c olluvial d eposits o n t heir r esults b y m eans o f as mall s ub-surface s urvey d esigned t o v alidate p ositive a nd n ega tive s urface a rte fact v ariation . T he f ield c on taining t he M addle v illa w as a lso r ewalked u nder a v ariety o f c onditions t o p rovide i nformation o n t he c onsistency o r v ariation i n f ield s urvey r esults u nder d ifferen t c ircumstances . An umber o f s tudies h ave e xamined t he e ffects o f p loughing o n s ite-based a rtefact d istribu tions . S uch w orks h ave t aken t wo f orms . T he f irst h as i nvolved l ong-term o bserva tion o f t he e ffects o f c ultiva tion u pon r eal a nd s imula ted a rtefacts i n t he f ield ( Y orston , Re t a l ., i n p rep . ). T he s econd a pproach , t ha t a dop ted b y t he M addle t eam , i s t o e xcava te s ites i n s uch a w ay a s t o t o c on trast t he r ela tionship o f t he s urface a rchaeology w ith t ha t o f t he s ub s urface . 9 ) . T he S ystemic C on text O f T h e M addle F arm P ro jec t . W hile t he e mphasis o f t his d iscussion h as b een o n R omano-British a rchaeology , i t w ould b e m istaken t o a nalyse t h e r esults f or a ny p eriod o utside t he c on text o f e arlier a nd l a ter l and u se . A lthough a rchaeologists t end t o c ategorise a nd o ccassionally a nalyse d ata i n a rtificially d escrete c hronologic a l o r c ultural g roups , h uman s ettlemen t i s m ore c orrectly v iewed a s ac on tinuum . D espite o ccasional b reaks i n c on tinuity , d evelopments w ithin g iven p eriods o ften h ave t heir r oots i n t he p ast w hile t h e c on temporary l andscape w ill a lmost c ertainly c onstrain f uture d evelopmen ts . C onsequen tly t he a nalysis o f s ythen tic d a ta , i ncluding t ha t f rom l andscape s urvey o ften r equires a t ime s cale t ha t m ay t ransend a rchaeologic a l p eriods . T hus i t w as p ro ject p olicy t o c ollect d ata f rom a ll p eriods e ither f or a nalysis w ithin t his r eport o r t o b e h eld w ithin t he a rchive f or f uture r esearch . A s t he p ro ject d eveloped , t he i mportance o f p rehistoric m aterial b ecame i ncreasingly a pparent , a nd l ed t o t he e x cavation o f af lin t s ca tter a t S even B arrows a s w ell a s t he t he s urvey a nd e xcavation b y t he B erkshire F ield R esearch G roup o f al ate B ronze A ge p o ttery a nd l ithic s catter a t W eathercock H ill ( B owden , M . e t a l f orthc ). 1 0 ). C onstraints O n T he S urvey . T he M addle F arm s urvey d id n o t a lways d evelop a s t he t eam w ished . F irstly , t here w ere f inan cial c onstraints o n b o th t he f ield w ork a nd t h e p ost-survey a nalysis . S econdly , w hile i t w ould h ave b een d esirable t o t reat a ll p oten tial s ites t o s imilar i ntensive s urface , g eophysical a nd g eochemical s urveys , t h e u navailability o f e quiptment m ade t his i mpossible a nd t hird ly , t he g reatest c onstrain t w as t he i nitial l ack o f a ccess t o a c ompu ter s ystem c apable o f a nalysing t he q uan tity o f f inds r ecovered . D espite a ll t hese p roblems , i t i s h oped t ha t t he f ollowing d iscussion i s a n a dequate p roduct o f t he l abours o f t he m any p eople i nvolved w ith t he s urvey .
1
C HAPTER T WO
T HE E NVIRONMENT O F T HE S URVEY A REA 1 ) . R elief . T he s urvey w as c onducted i n a n a rea o f d ip s lope i mmediately t o t he s outh o f t he s carp o f t h e L ambourn D owns w hich r ises a pproxima tely 10 m etres f rom t h e V ale o f t he W hite H orse ( F ig 2 .1 ). I t
v aries i n h eigh t f rom 2 50 m etres a bove s ea l evel i n t he n orth n ear
U ffington C astle t o 1 37 m etres a bove s ea l evel i n t he L ambourn v alley a t E ästbury . A s eries o f d ry v alley s , r edundan t t ributaries o f t he m odern r iver L ambourn , c ut a cross t he a rea c rea ting a n u ndula ting t opography i n t he w estern h alf o f t h e s urvey a rea t ha t c on trasts w ith h igher h ill t ops a nd m ore s teeply c u t v alleys t o t he E ast . 2 ) . D rainage . T he a lmost c omplete a bsence o f s urface d rainage r esulting f rom t he p ermeability o f c ha lk , i s o n e o f t he m ost s triking f ea tures o f t he s urvey a rea . T he r iver L ambourn w hich r ises j ust t o t he n orth o f t he t own , i s as easonal c halk s tream t ha t i s o ften s aid t o f low i n s ummer a nd d ry u p i n w in ter ( B radley , R .J . a nd E llison , A . 1 975 ). I t i s am a tter o f c on jecture h ow f ar t he m odern m anagement o f t he T hames b asin o r c limatic c hanges h ave a ltered t he w a ter t able o f t he r egion s ince t he p rehistoric o r R oman p eriods . T he t endency o f t he L ambourn b arrows t o a void t he l owest p art o f t he d ry v alley f loor i n w hich t hey a re s itua ted , h as b een s uggested a s e vidence f or t h e e xistence o f as tream b ed i n p rehistory ( C ase , H . 1 956 ). T he c omplete a bsence o f m edieval o r l ater s ettlement a bove t he l evel o f i ndividual f armhouses m ay w ell r esult i n p art f rom t h e l ack o f s ur face w a ter . T here i s i n c omparison a n a lmost u nbroken b and o f m edieval s ettlemen t a long t he s pring l ine a t t he f oo t o f t he c halk s carp a s w ell t he s ettlemen ts t ha t r un a long t he L ambourn V alley . T h e i n tensity o f R oman s ettlemen t o f t he D owns s uggests t hat e conomic r easons m ight h ave b een e qually i mportan t . 3 ) . G eology a nd S oils T he G eology o f t he B erkshire D owns i s d omina ted b y a ccumulations o f U pper C halk c apped b y C lay w ith F lin ts , c u t t hrough b y t ribu taries o f t he r ivers L ambourn a nd t he P ang t ha t n ow c ontain P leistocene d eposits . A pproxima tely o ne t hird o f t he s urvey a rea i s i n t his z one w hile t he r est i s s itua ted w here e xtensive a reas o f l ower s tra ta h ave b een e xposed . T his r anges f rom L ower C halk i n t he W est o n B ishopstone D own t hrough M elbourn R ock t o M iddle C halk i n t he c en tral s urvey a rea . T he v alley b o ttoms o n L ower a nd M iddle C halk
a re p artially o verlaid b y C ombe D eposits o r
H ead a nd Y ounger C ombe D eposits w hile t here a re s ubstancial d eposits o f C lay w ith F lints c overing t he u pper C halk o u tcrops p articularly i n t he e ast . S oil d epth w as e xamined a s p art o f at est p it s urvey a cross t wo o f t he d ry v alley s . W hile t opsoil c ould b e v ery
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T he g eology o f t he s urvey a rea a nd i ts l ocation i n s outhern E ngland .
1 3
UPPER CHALK
t hin , i ndeed a t t imes a lmost n on e xistan t o n p loughed h ill s lopes , n o s ignifican t b uild u p o f d eep c olluvium w as l oca ted i n t h e v alley b o ttoms o f s urvey a rea . 4 ) . L and U se . A lthough c halk u plands s uch a s t he L ambourn D owns h ave t raditionally b een t hought o f a s a reas o f p ermanen t s heep p asture u n til t he r ecen t p ast , s ome e vidence o f m edieval p loughing s urvives i n t he f orm o f r idge a nd f urrow w ithin U ffington C astle a nd o ccasional b locks o f l ynchets t erraced i n to t he C halk s carp s uch a s t hose t o t he n orth o f B ishopstone . S ince t he s urvival o f t hese t wo e xamples m ay r esult f rom t heir u nusual l oca tions , i t i s p ossible t ha t o ther e vidence h as b een r emoved b y l a ter l anduse . L arge s cale a rable e xploitation o f t he s urvey a rea s eems t o h ave b egun i n t he l a te e ighteenth c en tury w ith t h e i n troduction o f f odder c rops s uch a s t urnips a nd o a ts ( O rr 1 918 ). S ome s mall a reas o f a ncien t g rassland s urvived u ntil q uite r ecently s ince i n 1 935 t he a rea a round K nighton B ushes w as d escribed a s ; " A d ense t hicke t o f g narled t horns f looded w ith n ettles a nd w illow h erb a nd b rambles . A t remulous f inger o f p lough r eaches d own t o i t f rom t he n orth , a nd o n t he o pposite s ide h uge s arsens l ie t umbled a bout t he h illside ." ( H ock lin , J .R .H . 1 935 ). A ir p ho tographs t aken i n l ate 1 965
s how e x tan t R oman f ield b oundaries a t M addle F arm
w ith a h ollow w ay " D eep e nough t o h ide a L and R over i n " ( R ichards , J .C . 1 978 . P la te 5 ; S pence . N
P ers C omm ). T he 1 968 O rdnance S urvey 1 :2500 m ap s hows t he e nclosure a t
K nigh ton B ushes a s a n u pstanding e arthwork . A t p resen t a lmost t he e ntire a rea i s g iven o ver t o a rable a griculture s o t ha t w hen a ll t he a vailable l and w ithin a 2 km r adius o f t h e M addle F arm v illa w as f ieldwalked i t w as p ossible t o e xamine 6 8% o f t he t o tal . T his f igure w ould h ave b een n ea rer 8 0% i f t he s urvey a rea h ad n o t i ncluded o ne o f t he f ew s urviving d airy f arms , b u t i n e ither c ase t his c ompares f avourably w ith t he c overage o f 1 7 .5% b y as urvey i n t he m ore a griculturally m ixed V ale o f t h e W hite H orse (T ingle , J .M . I n P rep (a ) ) .
1 4
m::HNI� OF FIELDWAIKING AND THE (OANTIFICATIOO OF RF,SULTS. 1) • Widespaced Fieldwalking '!be technique of widespaced fieldwalking employed in the Maddle Fann survey involved gridding each field into the hectare squares that appear on the Ordnance SUrvey 1: 2500 map. '!he hectare grid was first utilised for surface collection in the valley of the Great CXlse and has since beccme the basis for all fieldwalking projects undertaken by the Trust for Wessex Archaeology {Woodward, P.J. 1978).
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Fig 3.1. '!he SUrvey hectare grid used for widespaced fieldwalking. Within each of these squares, eight 50 metre runs aligned fran north to south were spaced 25 metres apart {Fig 3.1). In adopting this ioothodology it was intended not ooly that the distribution of material could be accurately plotted, but also that a collection unit of a standard length would facilitate quantative as well as qualitative canparisons. 'lbe utilisation of non standard collection units based on the size of the fields examined, though undoubtedly less time coosuming, would have been particularly inappropriate on the Lambourn Downs where fields several hundred metres wide are camoon (cf. Hayfield, C. 1987). 15
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T he d ifficulties o f q uickly b ut a ccurately e stablishing a g rid i n t he f ield w ere o vercome a fter s everal m ethods w ere t ried a nd r e jected , i ncluding t he u se o f v arious p ieces o f o p tica l s urveying e quipment . T he m ost e ffective m ethod u sed a n umber o f h ighly v isible s urvey m arkers ( b amboo c anes o n t o w hich h ad b een t ied l arge p ieces o f w hite a nd f luorescent o range p lastic ) w hich w ere p laced a t t he p oints a t w hich t he O rdnance S urvey g rid l ines i ntersected w ith t he f ield e dges ( F ig 3 .2 ). T hese p oints w ere l ocated b y m ea suring t he d istance o n t he 1 :2500 m ap b etween t he g rid i ntersection a nd s ame f eature t ha t c ou ld b e i den tified b o th i n t he f ield a nd o n t he m ap ( e .g a f ield c orner o r t he e dge o f a n a d jacent w ood ) a nd t hen p acing o ut t he d istance a long t he f ield e dge . I t w as e ssential t hat a s m any d ifferen t p oints o f r eference w ere u sed i n e ac h f ield a s p ossible t o p reven t a ccumu la tive e rrors . T he g rid l ines w ere t hen p aced o ut a cross t he f ield b etween t hese i n tersection p oints a nd t he b egining s a nd e nds o f t he f ieldwalking r uns w ere m arked w ith m ore h ighly v isible b amboo c anes . T hese w ere c olour c oded t o p revent t he f ieldwalkers f rom s traying f rom t heir a llotted r un . A nother b rightly c oloured m arker w as p laced a t t he 5 0 m etre p oint t o m ark t he e nd o f t he f irst c ollection u nit a nd t he b eginning o f t he s econd . Ap roblem a rose w hen f ields w ere s ituated o n s teep s lopes , s ince t he d istance b etween t wo p oin ts o n t he g round d iffers f rom t ha t i ndicated b etween t he s ame t wo p oints o n am ap . W hile i t w ould h ave b een p ossible t o c alculate a c orrecting f actor b ased o n t he d egree o f t he s lope a nd i nclude i t w ithin t he m easuremen ts t ha t e stablished t he g rid , am ore p ragmatic s olution N MS p referable . I t w as f ound t hat a s l ong a s t he p acing m easurements w ere m ade f rom h igher t o l ower
g round , t he t endancy t o t ake l onger s trides w hen w alking
d ownhill a bsorbed t he e rror . T he g rid w as a ccurate t o w ithin 9 5 %W hen t he t eam b ecame a ccustomed t o t he w ork , a nd e ven a t t he s cale o f 1 :2500 , as urvey e rror o f 2m etres i n t he f ield r epresents a d istance o f l ess t han 1 m illimetre o n t he m ap . O n o nly t wo o ccassions w ere f ields e ncountered w here t heir s hape m ade s urvey b ased o n a h ectare g rid i mpossible . T hese w ere t wo d isused r acing g allops a lmost c ompletely s urrounded b y p asture w hich w ere a pproximately 4 0 m etres w ide a nd o ver 5 00 m etres l ong . A lthough i t w ould h ave b een t empting t o s imply i gnore t hem s ince t hey d id n ot f it i n w ith t he c hosen m ethod o f s urvey t hey w ere f ieldwalked a s as eries o f r uns 2 5 m etres a part , s et a t r igh t a ngles t o t he f ield e dge . O ne o f t hese f ields p roduced t he o nly s ubstantial s catter o f L a te B ronze A ge p o ttery l ocated b y t he s urvey ( S ee C hap ter 7 a nd B owden , M .C .B . e t a l , F orthc ). E stimates a s t o t he a rea o f t he f ield s urface t hat i s l ooked a t b y t he i ndiv idua l f ieldwalker v ary f rom a n a rea 1 m etre w ide t o o ne 2 .5 m etres w ide ( C .f . F ord , S . 1 987 ,11 ; R ichards , J .C . 1 984 , 3 1 ). B oth f igures r esult l argely f rom e stimations b ased o n p ersonal e xperiences b ut t hey s uggest u pper a nd l ower l imits o f c overage f or t he W essex U nit f ieldwalking m ethod o f b etween 4 % a nd 1 0% o f t he t o tal s urface a rea o f af ield . A rtefacts c ollected i n e ac h r un w ere p laced i n r esealable p lastic f reezer b ags o n w hich h ad b een w ritten t he s ix f igure h ectare g rid n umber a nd a l etter t o i dentify t he r un . I n t he m ethodology o u tlined a bove t here a re e igh t c ollection u nits i n e ach h ectare . R ecen t s urveys h ave r educed t he l ength o f e ach r un t o 2 5 m etres , d oubling t his n umber ( R ichards , J .C . 1 985 ; T ingle , J .M , I n p rep . b) . I n a n a ttempt t o c urtail t he i ncidence o f
1 7
u nclear o r i ncorrectly n umbered b ags , al arge s ix f igure r ubber s tamp w as f ound t o b e m ost e ffective , p rovided i t c ould b e u sed u nder c over . I t i s p referable t o u se t he l argest b ags a vailable , s ince t here i s an oticeable l ink b etween b ag s ize a nd t he q uantity a nd i ndividual s ize v ariety o f a rtefacts t hat a re c ollected . I t i s a lso u nwise t o s pecify g eneral c lasses o f m a terial t hat o ugh t n ot t o b e c ollected s ince t his l evel o f a nalysis s hould b e c onducted i ndoors w ith g ood l ighting o n c lean a rtefacts . A n i n junction a gainst t he c ollection o f b urnt f lint f or i nstance , w ill a lmost i nevitably l ead t o t he n on c ollection o f w aste f lakes a nd t ools t ha t h ad a lso b een b urnt . W hen a h ectare h as b een c ompleted i t i s i mportant t hat a ll t he b ags f rom t he s quare a re a ccoun ted f or a nd s ecured t ogether , i ncluding t hose w ith n o f inds , s o t hat m isplaced b ags a re n ot r ecorded a s r uns d evoid o f a rtefacts . T his e nsures t hat a ll t he m a terial g oes t hrough t he s tages o f f inds p rocessing a s as eries o f u nits r ather t han a s ad isorganised
W hile t he g rid w as s till i n p lace i t w as p ossible t o m ark o nto a c opy o f t he 1 :2500 a ny f ea tures i n t he f ield s uch a s e arthwork r emains o r e vidence o f s ubsoil d istubance w hich m ight b e c onsidered r elevant t o s ubsequent a nalysis o f t he m aterial c ollected . I n a ddition t he i den tity a nd c overage o f t he i ndividual f ieldwa lkers w as n oted a nd a d aily r ecord o f w ea ther a nd f ield c onditions w as k ept . I t i s o ne t hing t o r ecord v ariations i n f ield c onditions b u t q uite a no ther t o i n tegra te n umerous s ub jective o bserva tions ( e .g l ighting c onditions o r t he m oistness o f t he s oil ) w ith t he n umerical d ata o f t he c ollected a ssemblage . V aria tions i n t he c ollection r ates o f i ndividuals a re s imilarly p roblema tic u nless t he i ndividual c oncerned i s d isplaying m arked u nfam iliarity w ith c ertain c lasses o f f inds S hennans a nalysis o f f ield c onditions i n t he E a st H ampshire S urvey s ta tes t hat , o f t he e igh t s ources o f p o ten tial d istortion h e i dentified , o nly t he l ighting c onditions h ad a s ignificant e ffect o n t he r esults ( S he rman , S . 1 985 , 3 9 ). H e c alculated t hat a n e ven l igh t r educed t he a moun t o f R omano -British p o ttery r ecovered w hile s unligh t a nd s hadow i ncreased i t , t he r ecovery o f M edieval p o ttery b eing l argely u naffected b y l ighting . T he s uggestion t hat t he c olour o f t he p o ttery i s s ignifican t r equires c larifica tion s ince s unlight a nd s hadow a re g enerally r egarded a s t he w orst l ighting c onditions f or s urface c ollection . I t w ould b e i nteresting t o k now w hether a h igh p ercen tage o f t he R oman s herds r ecovered w ere o f r ed f abrics a nd w hether r ed fa b rics w ere u ncommon i n t he M edieval a ssemblage . W ith a t eam o f f ive , o ver 2 5 h ectares c ould b e c overed i n a n a verage d ay . I n t he f irst s eason , t he f ieldwalking t eam c omprised t he t wo p ro ject d irectors a ssisted b y p art t ime a rchaeology g raduate v olunteers o ver a s even m onth p eriod a nd s urveyed 8 60 h ectares . T he s econd s eason , d uring t he f ollowing w inter a nd s pring , l asted f or s ix m onthes u sing a f ull t ime t eam o f t hree p rofessional a rchaeologists , p lus t he t wo d irectors , a nd c overed 9 32 h ectares . T he t otal c overage w as t herefore 1 ,792 h ectares m ade u p o f 1 4 ,336 c ollection u nits .
1 8
2 ) . I n tensive C ollection . I ntensive c ollection i s s ome times r ather e rroneously c alled " tota l" c ollection , d espite t he f act t ha t m a terial i s a lways m issed , n o m atter h ow e ffective t he p ersonnel i nvolved a re . T he M äddle S urvey , i n c ommon w ith m any o thers , b ased i ntensive c ollection o n 5 x5 m etre s quares . T he g rid w as e stablished f rom a n O rdnance S urvey 1 :2500 m ap u sing t apes a nd a l evel . I t h ad t o b e a ccurately p laced s o t hat t he m aterial c ollected c ould b e r eferenced t o a ny s oi lmark o r e arthwork i n t he c ollection a rea a nd b ecause i t w ould h ave t o b e r e-established i f e xcavations w ere c onducted b ased o n t he r esults . A s w ell a s b eing a b asis f or a rtefact c ollection t he 5 m etre g rid w as u sed f or a c ontour s urvey o f e ach s ite t o d etermine i f t he a rtefact d istribu tions w ere e ffected b y l ocal t opography . I t c ould a lso a ssist g eo-chemical a nalysis w hich a lthough d esirable
w as
b eyond t he r esources o f t he p ro ject ( E htwhistle , R . a nd R ichards , J .C . 1 987 ). F ive m etre i ntervals w ere c onsidered t oo l arge f or a n e ffective g eophysical s urvey , t hough a M agnetometer t ransect w as s urveyed t hrough t he c entre o f t he i ntensive c ollection a t K nigh ton B ushes T he d ecision t o e xclude l imestone r oo fing m a trial f rom t he i ntensive c ollection a t t he M äddle F arm V illa w as r ecognised a fterwards t o b e am istake . I n s ubsequent w ork , t he c ollection o f l arge q uantities o f as ingle t ype o f m aterial w as f acilitated b y p rocessing i t i n t he c ourse o f t he c ollection . T his i nvolved c ounting t he m aterial a s i t w as p ut i n to p lastic b uckets w hich w ere t hen w eighed w ith a s pring b alance . T he f act t ha t t he m a terial w as u nwashed w as i rrelevan t s ince i t w as r elative r ather t han a bsolu te w eigh t t hat w as i mportant . As ingle s quare t ook o n a verage b etween 1 0 a nd 1 5 m inutes t o c ollect , a fter w hich t he f inds b ag w as l eft i n t he c entre o f t he s quare t o i ndicate i ts c ompletion . A s s uch t hey a cted a s l abels f or t he s quares t o a ssist c ontour o r g eoähemical s urvey a nd w ere o nly c ollected a t t he e nd o f e ac h d ay . I n a ll , t he t hree i ntensive c ollections , a t K nighton B ushes ( 2 .5 h ectares ), M äddle F arm R aman V illa ( 2 .2 h ectares ) a nd t he P ostdown F arm f lint s ca tter ( 2 .9 h eca tres ), t otalled 3 040 s quares ( 7 .6 h ectares ). 3 ) .Discussion . W hilst i t w ould b e w rong t o a dvocate r igid a pproaches t o f ieldwork , as tandardised m ethodology f or f ield w alking s uch a s t he o ne o u tlined a bove h as m any a dvantages o ver m ore l oosely b ased s trategies . T he e stablishment w ithin a f ield o f a n a ccurate c ollection g rid i s at ime c onsuming o peration b u t i t i s a s e ssential i n f ieldwalking a s i t i s i n e xcavation , i f t he r esu lts a re t o b e a nything m ore t han a n u nstructured a rtefact c ollection . Ag rid n ot o nly a llows f or d etailed c omparison b etween d ifferent p arts o f t he s urvey a rea b ut a lso b etween d ifferent s urvey a reas . T his i s p articularly i mportant w hen t he s urvey i s r estricted i n s ize . 4 ) .Experiments t o q uanti fy t he r esults f rom w idespaced f ieldwalking . R ichards h as s ta ted t ha t " surface c ollection i s , b y i ts v ery n ature , n o t s ub ject t o 1 9
.
2 0
r eplica tion . Af act t ha t d enies u s t he o pportunity t o t est f or b iases i n t he r ecord" ( R ichards , J .C . 1 985 , 3 0 ). W hile a ccep ting t ha t s urface c ollection w ill d eplete t he p o tential a rchaeological r esources o f a n a rea , i t i s u nlikely t o b e as ignifican t f actor , g iven t he e stimate b elow o f t he p ercentage o f t he t o tal p opulation o f t he p loughsoil t hat i s s ub ject t o w idespaced c ollection . A t t he v ery l east , r ewalking a f ield s hould b e a ble t o p rove t hat i f b roadly s imilar p atterns a re r epeated , t he o riginal s urface c ollection w as n ot t he p roduct o f c hance . I t s hould a lso p rovide s ome i dea o f w ha t i n formation
c an
r eliably b e d rawn f rom t he r esults o f w idespaced s urface c ollections . S ince r ewalking a s ample o f f ields f rom t he f irst s eason w ould h ave s eriously c ompromised t he p rogramme f or t he s econd , as ingle e xample w as c onsidered . A2 4 h ectare f ield , k nown t o c on tain t he p loughed r emains o f av illa s ite w as r e-walked b y t he s ame p ersonel a t a c omparable s ta te o f w eathering d uring t hree c onsecutive y ears . T he i mportance o f r eproducing t he o riginal c ollection c onditions a s f ar a s p ossible i s d emonstrated b y t he f ailure o f S hennan 's r ewalking e xperiment t o y ield m eaningful r esults ( S he rman , S . 1 985 , 4 ) . T he o nly f actor o bserved t o c hange w as t he a gricultural r egime , w hich i n t he f irst t wo y ears ( 1 982 a nd 1 983 ), w as a p rogramme o f m inimal a griculture ( a t echnique t ha t i nvolves o nly t he c ultivating o f t he f ield a nd d irect d rilling o f t he c rop ), f ollowed b y n ormal p loughing i n t he f inal y ear . 5 ) . R ecovery o f w orked f lin t f rom t he s ame f ield d uring t hree c onsecu tive y ears . T he s patial d istribution o f p rehistoric f lin t r emains c onsistent t hroughout , w ith m ost o f t he m aterial b eing r ecovered f rom t he s outhern h alf o f t he f ield w hile t he l east o ccured i n t he n orth e ast .In p urely n umerical t erms , t he f irst t wo y ears w ere a lmost i den tical w hile n early f ive t imes m ore l ithic m aterial w as b rought t o t he s urface o f t he f ield w hen i t w as p loughed f or t he f irst t ime a fter s everal y ears o f m inimal c ultiva tion ( F ig 3 .3 ). I f t he a moun t o f m a terial v aried , i ts c haracter d id n ot . T here w as a m arked c onsistency b etween 1 982 a nd 1 983 w hen t he a ssemblages t otalled 4 7 a nd 4 8 f lakes w eighing 5 04 g rammes a nd 5 82 g rammes . A fter t he p loughing i n 1 984 , 1 82 f lakes w ere c ollected , t hough t he m ean f lake w eights f or t he t hree y ears w ere 1 0 .72 g rammes ,1 2 .12 g rammes a nd 1 .14 g rammes r espectively . C omparison b etween t he 1 984 a nd t he 1 982 c ollections s howed t he p ercentages o f t ools a nd c ores i n t he a ssemb lage t o b e s imilar (7 % a nd 1 0% i n 1 982 c ompared w ith 5 % a nd 1 2% i n 1 984 ) a nd e ven t he m ean w eigh t o f t he c ores a re c omparable a t 6 1 g rammes a nd 5 7 g rammes . A n i ntensive s tudy o f am uch s maller a rea c arried o u t o n al ithic s catter a t t he C laud 1 s ite i n L ivingston C oun ty , N ew Y ork
c onfirms t hese f indings ( T rubowitz , N .L . 1 978 ). I n
t his c ase , a rtefacts w ere c ollected o n t hree o ccassions i n a s m any y ears a s w ell a s t hree p artial c ollections f acilita ted b y t he s ite b eing p loughed t wice a y ear . A lthough s ome v aria tion w as n oted i n t he e ight d ifferent f lin t a nd s tone t ypes t ha t w ere p resent t he a u thor c oncluded t ha t t here w as , " no s ignifican t v aria tion i n t he p rehistoric s urface d ebris o n t he s ite o ver t hree y ears o f c ultivation " ( T rubaw itz , N .L . 1 978 , 6 4 ).
2 1
6 ) . T he r ecovery o f R om an p ottery f rom t he s ame f ield d uring t hree c on secutive y ears I n 1 982 , t he 2 .25 h ectares s urrounding t he M äddle F arm V illa w ere i ntensively c ollected . A s a n i ndication o f h ow q uickly t he f ield s urface c ould b e r epopulated w ith f inds , w idespaced
f ieldwalking r ecovered 5 10g o f p o ttery f ro m t his a rea i n 1 983 f ollowed b y
1 325g i n 1 984 . S ince t he i ntensively c ollected a rea c ould n o t b e c ompared w ith t he w idespaced c ollection r esults o f s ubsequen t y ears , i t w as e xcluded f rom t he c alcula tions b elow . T he a nnual c hanges o f t he
R omano-British p ottery a nd b uilding m aterial d istribu tions
a ppear m ore c omplex t han t ha t o f t he l ithics . T his p robably h ighlights a d ifference b etween t he b ehaviour o f t he l ow d ensities o f w orked f lint , d erived f rom o f a nd t he R oman p ottery
d iscard
w hich w as i n s ome p arts r esultant f rom p lough d amage t o s ealed
a rchaeological d eposits ( c .f . T he e xcavation a t M F1 ) . T he s patial d istribution o f R omano-British m aterial r emained l argely
u nchang e d e ach
y ear . T his a pplied n o t o nly t o p ottery i n g eneral b ut a lso t o t he d istribution o f f ine w ares a nd s torage j ars a s w ell a s l imestone r oo fing m a terial . U nlike t he f lin t , t he m ean n umber o f s herds p er h ectare .i n t he f ield a s aw hole s eemed t o r emain r elatively c onstant ( 1 982-14 .08 , 1 983-15 .82 , 1 984-13 .36 ) a lthough t he t o tal s herd w eigh t d eclined f rom t he 1 982 t otal a nd w as l argely u neffected b y t he 1 984 p loughing ( 1 982-5252g , 1 983-4478g , 1 984-4701g ). A c loser a nalysis o f t his d ata r evealed t ha t i n e ac h y ear a s ubstantial p roportion o f t he p ottery w as b eing r ecovered f rom t he s ame f our c ollection u n its s ituated a cross t he t op o f as hallow r ise 2 00 m etres t o t he n orth o f t he V illa ( 1 982-1705g , 1 983-1450g , 1 984-310g ). E Xamination o f a erial p hotographs f rom t his a rea r evealed s everal f ea tures i ncluding a s ub-rectangular s tructure a pproxima tely 1 5 t o 2 0 m etres l ong . I f t hese f our r uns a re r emoved (f rom t he t o tal o f 1 78 i n t he r est o f t he f ield ) t he s herd w eight t otals d isplay
s imilar c hanges t o t hat o f t he l ithics ( 1 982
2 797g , 1 983-2253 , 1 984-3636g ) a lthough w ith a l ess p ronounced i ncrease i n 1 984 . T he e ffect o f p lough d amage t o s tra tified c ontexts w ill o bviously d epend o n t he t ype o f d eposit a nd t he w ay i t i s e ffected b y v arious c ultivation t echniques . M uch m ust r emain s pecula tive u n til m ore i s k nown o f t he e ffects o f c ultiva tion m ethods u pon s urface a ssemblages ( Y orston , R . e t a l f orthc ; C lark , R .H . a nd Sc hofield , A .J . f orthc ). 7 ) . T he e ffects o n r ecovery r a tes o f t he g rowth o f d ifferent c rops . A s t he a moun t o f m a terial a vailable f or c ollection f rom t he f ield s urface a ppears t o i ncrease w ith t he a moun t o f w eathering b etween c ultivation a nd s urface c ollection , t he g rowth o f av ariety o f d ifferent c rops i n a d jacent f ields w ill i nevitably c reate v aria tions i n t he f ieldwalking r ecord a cross a s urvey a rea . A rable l and o n t he L ambourn D owns i s a lmost e xclusively u sed f or c ereal c ultivation . As ingle e xception , af ield o f O ilseed R ape , w as w alked a nd e xhibited l ower s urface d ensities o f w aste f lakes t han d id n eighbouring c ereal f ields . As urvey i n t he V ale o f t he W hite H orse o bserved t ha t t here w as a g reater d egree o f t opsoil w eathering i n f ields f rom w hich M aize h ad b een h arvested w hich r esulted i n e nhanced n umbers o f f inds , e specially s mall p ieces o f w orked f lint ( T ingle , J .M . f orthc . a ) .
2 2
8 ) . T he S ub-Surface ( T est P it ) S urvey .
2 99833
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P ositive A nd N egative S urface S ca tters T o T he W est O f K nighton B ushes
I n c on junction w ith t he e xcavation o f t he S even B arrows f lint s catter i n 1 983 , t he p ro ject t eam c arried o u t as ub s urface s urvey a round t he M addle p ro ject a rea . T he a ims o f t he s urvey w ere t wo fold ; i ) T o v erify t he r eality o f p atterning d iscerned f rom t he r esults o f t he w ide-spaced f ield w alking . i ) T o a scertain w he ther a ny e x ten sive c olluvia l d eposits e xisted w ithin t he s urvey a rea w hich c ould h ave d istorted s urface r esu lts . A ny s uch d epo sits c ould a lso b e e xcavated f or e nvironmenta l e v idence . ( a ) M ethodo logy . T he s ub s urface s urvey w as c arried o ut w ithin t he s ame h ectare g rid u sed d uring t he w ide s paced f ield w alking w hich f acilitated d irect c omparison o f s urface a nd s ubsurface d ata . E ach h ectare w as d ivided i nto t he s ame
e igh t 5 0 m etre t raverses , a s d uring t he w ide
s paced f ield w alking . O ne t rench m easuring 1 x 0 .5 m etres w as e x cavated e very 2 5 m etres a long e ach o f t he 5 0 m etre t raverses , s o t hat 1 6 t ren c hes i n a ll w ere e xcava ted w ithin e ach h ectare u nit . E ach t rench w as a ligned e ast-west , a ll s oil d own t o b edrock w as 2 3
r emoved a nd s ieved a nd t he s ection o f e ach t rench w as m easured a nd d rawn . I nitially , a l arge n umber o f a reas w ere c hosen f o r e xamination b ut l imita tions o f t ime a nd p oor w ea ther r educed t his t o t wo ; a n a rea t o t he w est o f K nigh ton B ushes a nd a t ransec t r unning f rom t he h illtop s ite o f t he S even B arrows f lint s catter d own i nto t he S even B arrows v alley . 40 -
A verage s o i l d ep th H ec tare No 296831 ( A)
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F ig 3 .5 S ub-Surface S urvey o f H ectare ( A ). S ee F ig 3 .4 T hree h ectare u nits w ere s ampled i n t his a rea . H ectare A l ay a d jacen t t o t he K nighton B ushes s ettlement w ithin a n a rea o f h igh p ottery d ensity a nd p ossibly w ithin t he s ettlemen t i tself . H ectare B l ay w ithin a n a rea o f l ow s herd d ensity a nd s ample C l ay f urther t o t he w est o f t his , w ithin a n a rea o f m oderate s herd d ensity . T he r esults o f t he s urvey a re i llustra ted b y f igures 3 .5-7 . T here i s ac lose r ela tionship b etween s urface a nd s ubsur face d ata . I n a reas w here h igh d ensities o f p o ttery l ay o n t he s urface , t here w as u sually a c orresponding c oncen tration i n t he s ub s urface s trata . C onversely , w here l ittle p o ttery w as r ecovered , t he s ame w as t rue o f s ub s urface m a terial . R egression a nalyses c arried o n t he r esults g ave a c oefficient c orrela tion o f 0 .56 . T his r ela tively p oor r esult o ccured b ecause l arge a mounts o f m aterial w ere r etrieved f rom t raverses G a nd H i n s ample 1 w hereas o nly s mall a mounts o f p ottery l ay o n t he s urface . O bserva tions i n t he f ield i ndicated t hat s tra tigraphy w as s till e xtan t w ithin t hese t wo t est p its a nd t ha t t he l ow s urface p o ttery d ensities a t t hese p oints w ould a ppear t o r elate t o t he l ow d egree o f p lough d amage t o u nderlying l ayers .
2 4
Hec ta re N o 294830(B )
A verage s o i l d ep th
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F ig 3 .6 . S ub-Surface S urvey o f H ectare ( B ). S ee F ig 3 .4
H ec ta re N o 294826 (C) 60 —
, a 2
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F ig 3 .7 . S ub-Surface S urvey i n H ectare ( C ). S ee F ig 3 .4 . 2 5
A ve rage s o i l d ep th
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1 38 1 34
1 33
E x tens ive S ur face C o l lec t ion 13
S ub—Sur face S urvey
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5 5
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1 0 6 3 23824
3 24824
3 25824
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3 26824
3 27824
NU MBERS
F ig . 3 .8 T he r esults o f kdespaced f ieldwalking a nd s ub-surface s urvey a t P ost D own F arm .
2 6
T he d ep th o f p lough s oil , v arying b e tween 2 0 a nd 3 4 c en timetres , w as r ela tively c onsisten t i n H ectares A a nd C . T he o nly s ignifican t v ariations i n d epth c ame f rom t raverses E , F , Ga nd H o f H ectare B w here o ne t est p it w as a s m uch a s 7 0 c en timetres d eep ( F ig 3 .6 ). S urface i ndications a nd t he r esults f rom t raverses A , B , Ca nd D o f t he s ame s ample u nit i ndicated , h owever , t ha t t his w as a r elativlely r estricted d eposit a nd u nlikely t o p resent m a jor p roblems i n t he i nterpretation o f s urface d ata . T he a lmo st c omplete l ack o f p o ttery w ithin t he t opsoil o f e ven t he d eepest s ondages f rom s ample B s uggest t ha t t he l ow s urface d ensities f ound i n t hese a rea a ppear t o b e at rue r eflection o f t he t opsoil a rtefact c on tent . 9 ) . T he S even B arrow s V alley E xploration o f t he a rea a round S even B arrow s t ook p lace w ithin a f ive h ectare t ransect w hich s tretched f rom t he h igh d ensity f lin t s ca tter f ound a bove t he S even B arrows c emetery t o t he l ow d ensity a reas a ssociated w ith t he S even B arrows v alley ( F ig 6 .1 ). F igure 3 .8 s hows t hat t here i s ac lear p ositive c orrela tion b etween s urface a nd s ub s urface a rte fact d ensities . S ondages w ithin t wo o f t he h ectare g rid u nits , n umbers 3 25824 a nd 3 27824 , p roduced e vidence f or s oil a ccumulation ; 9 6 a n o f s oil d epth w as r ecorded i n t est p it 9 o f 3 25824 a nd 6 0 c m f rom t est p it 5 o f 3 27824 . T hese d epo sits w ere , a s f ar a s w e c ould a scertain , l ocalised a nd d o n ot a ppear t o h ave a ffected t he o verall p a tterning o f s urface a rtefact d ensities . 1 0 ). C onclusions . A lthough t he l imited e xten t o f t he s ub s urface s urvey c arried o u t b y t he M äddle p ro ject t eam p recludes t he f orma tion o f a ny fa r-reaching c onclusions , an umber o f g eneral p oin t m ay b e m ade . i ) A lthough s ome a reas d id p rove t o h ave d eeper s oil d eposits t han o thers , s uc h a reas w ere l imited a nd d id n o t s eem t o b e e ither a m a jor e nvironmental a sse t o r a h indrance t o s urface p atterning . i ) I t w ould a ppear o n t he w hole t hat t he p attern e xhibit e d b y s urface a rtefacts w as m aintained b y d ata r ecovered f rom t he s ub s urface s urvey . T hus , w e m ay a ssume t ha t i nterpretation b ased u pon s urface p a tterns i s l ikely t o b e r eliable . ii ) S ub s urface s urvey , a lthough s low , w ould a ppear t o b e au seful e xercise , e specially i n t hose a reas w here t raditional s urface c ollection i s n o t p ossible , s uch a s p asture a nd w oodland ( P ercy 1 976 ). I n t he p ast t his s trategy h as b een l imited t o o n- s ite s urveys n otably b y S outh a nd W idmer ( 1 976 ) a nd W illiams ( 1 986 ). W hilst t here h as b een s ome d ebate a bout t he s tatistical p arameters o f s ub s urface s tra tegies , t he e xperience a t M a dd le F arm a nd s urvey c arried o u t a t R oystone G range , D erbyshire , i ndica tes t hat s ub s urface s urvey h as a r eal r ole t o p lay i n l andscape a rchaeology ( L ynch 1 980 ; S tone 1 981 ; R obin T orrence p ers . c omm ). 2 7
C HAPT ER F OUR
E XCAVATED P REH ISTORIC S ITES I N T HE S URVEY A REA N ine p rehistoric s ites w ithin t he i mmedia te v icinity o f t he s urvey a rea h ave b een e xcvated d uring t he l ast f orty y ears ( F ig 4 .1 ). F unerary m onumen ts c omprise t wo L ong B arrows , W ay lands S mithy a nd t he L ambourn L ong B arrow , al ater N eolithic p ossible " short" L ong B arrow a t P ark F arm , U pper L ambourn
a nd L amb ourn 1 9 , aB ell b arrow o n t he e dge o f
t he m ain S even B arrows g roup ( A tkinson , R .J .C . 1 965 ; W ymer , J .J . 1 966 ; R ichards , J .C . f orthc ). F ive n on-funerary s ites h ave a lso b een e xcava ted ; t he B ronze A ge e nclosure a t R ams H ill , al ate B ronze A ge a rtefact s catter a t W eathercock H ill a nd
s ections t hrough
t hree l inear d itches , E ast D itch , R usslgy D own D itch a nd t he E ast G arston D own D itch ( B radley , R . a nd E llison , A . 1 975 ; B owden , M .C .B . e t a l , F orthc ; F ord , S .J . 1 981 ). T he S even B arrows g roup w as s ub ject t o e igh t y ears o f i ndiscrimina te i nvestiga tion i n t he m iddle o f t he n ineteen th c entury b y W ilson a nd M artin A tkins W ho c arried o u t h asty a nd p oorly r ecorded e xcavations o f a pproxima tely 2 5 o f t he b arrows . S ubsequen t w ork t o s alvage i nformation h as p rovided s ame i dea o f t he p rovenance o f t he m ore u nusual f inds ( C ase , H . 1 956 ). O ne f eature o f t he l andscape m uch b eloved o f a rchaeologists a nd r omantics , b ut m ore t he p reserve o f t he l atter t han t he f ormer , i s t he R idgeway . T he m ention o f ar idgeway i n l a te A nglo-Saxon c harters h as b een t aken a s aT erminus P ost Q uem f or t he e ntire 4 4 m iles o f t rackway . I t a ppears t o h ave b een m uch d iver ted w ithin t he l ast 2 00 y ears a nd i t r emains u ndated b y c onventional a rchaeological i nvestiga tion ( S teane , J . 1 983 ). C laims t ha t i t i s E urope 's o ldest r oad d a ting t o t he N eolthic i f n o t t he U pper P aleolithic h ave r egularly a ppeared i n p opular w riting , a lthough t he c onsensus a mongst a rchaeologists s eems t o b e t ha t i t i s o f B ronze A ge o rigin ( S teane , J . 1 983 ). I n ar ecen t e xamination o f t he e vidence , i ts r ole i s s een l ess a s at rade r oute a nd m ore a s aB ronze A ge c eremonial w ay , a lthough t his i s b ased o nly o n a nalogy w ith t he i nterpretation o f aD anish b arrow d istribution ( S teane , J . 1 983 ). H aving d ismissed t he J urasssic W ay a s ap roduct o f i ncomple te d istribution m aps , T aylor c ontinues t o s upport t he a n tiquity o f t he R idgeway b ecause o f i ts p roximity t o " Celtic " f ield s ystems . ( T aylor , C .C . 1 979 ). No n etheless h e o bserves t he l ink b etween r idgeways a nd t he o utmoded i dea o f p rehistoric s ettlement c lustering o n c halk u plands , t ogether w ith t he i nadm issability o f d ating a t rackway b y a ssociation w ith n earby e arthworks . T he r esults f ram s urvey w ork i n f ields a long s ide t wo k ilome tres o f t he R idgeway c an a dd l ittle t o a ny d ebate o f i ts p ossible a ge o r f unction . I t h ad n o n o ticab le e ffect o n t he d iscard p a tterns o f f lint o r , a s f ar a s c an b e o bserved , o n t he m anuring s catters o f R oman p o ttery . E NVIRONMENTAL A ND D ATING E VZ TENCE F ROM P REVIOU S E XCAVATI ON S I N T HE S URVEY A RE A C arbon d ates f or t he t wo l ong b arrows i n t he s urvey a rea r ange f rom 3 415+ 1 30 b c f or t he L ambourn L ong B arrow , t o 2 820 + 130 b e f or t he i nterval b etween t he e arthen m ound a nd t he m egalithic c onstruction a t W aylands S mithy ( T e lmer , J .J . 1 966 ; A tkinson , R .J .C . 1 965 ). B oth b arrows i ncluded t urves i n t heir c onstruction w hich h as b een t aken a s e vidence f or a c ontemporary o pen g rassland e nvironment i n t heir i mmediate v icinity ( R ichards 1 978 , 3 1 ).
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Fig 5.10 The distribution of burnt flint in the survey area.
I n a n a ttemp t t o d etermine w hether t here w ere a ny c hronological c hanges i n t he d iscard p a tterns o f i mplements ,a g roup o f a rtefacts a ssociated w ith t he M esolithic/Early N eolithic ( F ig 5 .13 ) w as c ompared w ith o ne a ssocia ted w ith t he L a te N eolithic/Early B ronze A ge ( F ig 5 .14 ). T he e arly d iagnostic m aterial w as c omposed o f s even p olished a xe f ragmen ts , t wo l ea f s haped a rrowheads , e igh t f inely m ade b lades s ome o f w hich h ad a lso b een r etouched a nd a p rismatic b lade c o re . T he l ater m aterial i s c omposed o f e ight b arbed a nd t anged a rr o wh ead s , f ifteen ' B eaker ' s crapers a nd f our p ia n o-convex k nives . F igure 5 .11 s how s t he e arly m a terial c lustering a round t he t wo v alley b ottoms i n t he c en tre a nd n orth o f t he s urvey a rea . F igure 1 5 .12 s hows t ha t t he l a ter m aterial i s a lso f ound i n t his a rea a s w ell a s t hroughout t he W est o f t he s urvey a rea . W hile i t i s i mpossible t o c on tinu e t his s equen ce i n to l a ter p rehistory u sing f lin t t ools , t h e d istribu tion o f p rehistoric p ottery i s p erhaps a u seful i ndication , s ince a lmost a ll o f i t d a tes f rom t his p eriod o r l a ter ( F ig 7 .1 ). E ven t hough t his i s av ery s mall s ample , i t a gain h ighlights d iffering p atterns o f d iscard b etween t he e astern a nd w estern z ones o f t he s urvey a rea .
K IL OMETRES
F ig 5 .12 L a te N eolithic/Early B ronze A ge m a terial f rom e x tensive s urvey . 5 5
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9 ) . W orked f lin t f rom t he i ntensive c ollections f rom K nighton B ushes a nd t he M addle F arm V illa . W hen i n tensive c ollections w ere c onducted a t t he M addle F arm V illa a nd t he K nighton B ushes s ettlemen t , i t w as e mphasised t han t h e t eam s hould r ecover w o rked f lin t a s w ell a s R oman p o ttery . T he r esults f rom w ide s paced f ieldwalking i ndicated t ha t t here w as l ittle p rehistoric m ateria l a t e ither o f t he t wo s ites , b u t i t w as h oped t ha t t he r esults o f i n tensive c ollection w ould d etermine w hether s uch b lank a reas w ere r eally d evoid o f a ny f orm o f o ff-site a ctivity . F urther d a ta c ould a lso b e o b tained f rom t h e m a terial r ecovered f rom t he s ieved t opsoil s amples t ha t w ere t aken d uring s ubsequent e xcava tions . U K nighton B ushes . T he a ssemb lage f rom t his i n tensive s urface c ollection w as c omposed o f 1 36 f lakes , 7c ores a nd 1 8 t ools . T h e p roportion o f i n ta ct b lad es t o i n tact s qua t f lakes o f 1 0% p robably u nderstates t he t rue r elationship s ince t here w ere a lmost a s m any b roken b lades a s t here w ere i ntact e xamples ( F ord , S . 1 987b , 6 9 ). I f o ne c ompares a ll s qua t f lakes ( i ntact a nd b roken ) w ith b lades a nd b lade s egments t he p roportion i s a lmost 1 5% . A s F ig 5 .15 s how s , t here a ppears t o b e ad istinct , i f v ery l ow d ensity c oncentra tion o f f lakes a nd t ools c overing a n a rea m easuring a pproxima tely 4 0 m etres b y 6 0 m etres a t t he s ou th e ast c orner o f t h e c ollection a rea . A lthough l ess t han 1 0% o f t he a rea o f t h e i n tensive c ollection , i t i ncludes 4 6% o f a ll f lakes a nd 5% o f a ll t he t ools ( 4 n o tched f lakes , 3S crapers , 2r etou ched f lak es a nd a L ea f s haped a rrowhead ). T h e p roportion o f i ntact b lades t o i ntact s quat f lakes w as a gain 1 0% , t hough w hen b roken a nd i ntact e xamples w ere a malgamated t h e f igure w as o ver 1 7% . T he e xcavated f lin t f rom t he n earby
M F 1 e xcavation c onfirms t he t endangy o f i ntact
b lades t o b e u nder r epresen ted o n t h e s urface . T h e M F1 f lint
a ssemblage w as d erived
m ostly f rom t he p lough s oil , 2 0% o f w hich w as d ry s ieved t hrough a 5 mm m esh , a s w ell a s aR omano-British m idden a nd d itch s ilts . T h e p roportion o f i n ta ct b lades t o i n tact s quat f lakes w as 1 4% w hile t he a malgamated b roken a nd i n tact r atio w as a lmost 2 0% . T he t op soil e x cava tion a t M F 3 p roduced o ne o f o nly t wo p risma tic b lade c ores t ha t w ere f ound d uring t he e n tire s urvey . I t i s i mpossible t o d etermine t he e x ten t t o w hich R oman a ctivity o n t he s ite h as e ffected t his m a terial , b u t i t i s p erhaps n ot u nreasonable t o r egard t his c luster o f b lades t ogether n otched f lakes , s crapers a nd a l eaf s haped a rrowhead a s e viden ce o f t he o nly d iscreet e arly N eolithic " site" l ocated b y t he s urvey . T his i llustrates t he d ifficulties o f i sola ting d iscreet , l ow d ensity s ites f rom a mong st a p alimplest o f l ithic r eduction , u tilisa tion a nd d iscard . I n t he y ear f ollowing t he i n tensive c ollection , t he s ame 2 .5 h ectares w ere w alked a cross a t 2 5 m etre i ntervals a nd t h e p rehistoric f inds a mounted t o as craper a nd t wo s qua t f lakes . I sola ted f inds o f i ndiv idual b lades w ere r ecovered e lsewhere i n t he s urvey b u t as eries o f s pecula tiv e i n tensive c ollections a round s uch s can ty e viden ce w ere n ot f easible ( F ig 5 .13 ).
5 6
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F ig 5 .15 F lint a nd p rehisto ric p o ttery f rom t he i ntensive c o llection o f t he M addle F arm v illa .
5 8
T he e xcava ted m aterial a t M F1 s ugggests t hat e ven w hen a n e arly a sse mblage i s n o t m ixed w ith l a ter m aterial , i ntact b lade w ill b e u nder r epresented o n t he s urface t hrough a c of i bination o f p lough d amage a nd d ifferen tial s urface e xposure ( F ord , S . 1 987b , 6 9 ; T ainter , J .A . 1 979 , 4 66 ). A malgama ting d a ta f or b roken a nd i ntact m aterial a llows t he r esults f rom t he s urface a ssemblage t o m ore c losely m atch t hose f rom t he M F1 e xcavation , b u t h ighlights t he p roblems i nheren t i n t rying t o c ompare s tra tified a nd s urface f lin t a ssemblages . U nlike t he s tra tified c on texts o f a n e xcavation , i t i s am atter o f e xtreme s ub jectivity t o d efine t he l imits o f t he s urface s catter a nd t hus t he a ssemblage f rom w h ich t he m etrical a nalysis i s m ade . I f f or i nstance , o nly t he e astern h alf o f t he K nigh ton B ushes i n tensive c ollec tion , i ncluding t he d ensest p art o f t he s ca tter , w as t reated a s t he " site" t he p roportion o f i n tact b lades t o i ntact s quat f lakes w ould b e 7 % r ising t o j ust o ver 8 % i f b roken e xamples w ere i n cluded . i ). T he M äddle F arm v illa . I nitially , i t w as i mportan t t o c onsider t he p ossibility t ha t s ome o r a ll o f t he w orked f lin t a ssemblage m igh t h ave d erived f rom t he f acing o f f lin t w alls f or t he v illa
o r
o ne
o f i ts o utbuildings . T his w as d iscoun ted w hen e x cavation s ho w ed t hat a lthough f lint w as u sed a s ab uilding s tone f or.t he v illa i t w as o nly f ound i n t h e f orm o f u nmodified n odules . T he a ssemblage w as c omposed o f 5c ores , 7i mplemen ts a nd 1 50 f lakes , o f w hich t he b lade c omponen t w as n egligible . At o tal o f 6 0 s herds o f P rehistoric p o ttery w ere a lso r ecovered ( c ompared w ith o nly 1 8 r andomly d istribu ted s herds f rom t he K nighton B ushes i ntensive c ollection ). W hen p ottery a nd f lin t d istributions a re c ompared , t here a ppears t o b e a d istinct c lustering o f m aterial ( F ig 5 .16 ). W hen c ompared t o k nown s ettlemen ts t his s mall s ca tter d oes n o t p rovide c onvincing e vidence f or f ormal h abitation . A t t he n earby l ate B ronze A ge s ettlement a t W eathercock H ill , 1 ,660 s herds w ere r ecovered f rom a s urface c ollection c overing o nly 0 .7 h ectares ( B owden , M .C .B e t a l . f ortho ). A lthough t he s ca tter a ppears d iscreet , i t i s i mpossible t o g uage t he a mount o f p ost d epositional a ctivity t hat i s l ikely t o h ave o ccured o n t he s ite . T he p ost R oman q uarrying f or i nstance , h as c learly e ffected t he e astern e dge o f t he s ca tter . F IVE O N-SIT E A SSEMBLAGE S . F ive a reas w hich e xhibit e d u nusually d ense c oncentrations o f m a terial w ere s elected f or f urther a nalysis u sing t he s ame c riteria a s t he o ff-site s ample . A reas 7 , 8a nd 9 ( F ig 5 .3 ) c ontained c oncentrations o f f lakes a nd c ores r e ferred t o e lse w h ere a s " quarry " s ites . A rea 1 ( F ig 5 .3 ) i s c lose t o t he L ambourn l ong b arrow a nd p roduced a h igh n umber r et o uc he d t ools , h ammerstones a nd c ores i n c on junction w ith a l ow d ensity o f f lakes . T he c oncentration o f f lakes a nd t ools a t P ost D own F arm ( F ig 5 .2 : A rea 1 0 ) w as s ub ject t o i ntensive c ollection f ollowed b y e xcava tion . T his i s e xamined i n m ore d etail i n t he n ext c hapter .
5 9
1 ). T he I dstone D own S ite T ABLE 5 .11 : T he f lint a ssemblage f rom A rea 7 ; T he I dstone D own " quarry " s ite . F LAKES T OTAL
M EAN N O P ER
%O F T OTAL
M EAN
N UMBER :H ECTARE
:A SSEMBLAGE :W EIGHT
P RIMARY F LAKES
4 35
:2 5 .217
:3 2%
:2 0 .59g
S ECONDARY F LAKE S
6 82
:3 9 .536
:5 1%
:1 4 .65g
T ERTIARY F LAKES
2 23
:1 2 .927
:1 7%
:6 .84g
T OTAL N UMBER O F H ECTARES W ALKED
=1 7 .25
T OTAL N UMBER O F F LAKES R ECOVERED
=1 340
M EAN N UMBER O F F LAKES P ER H ECTARE = 7.68 M EAN N UMBER O F F LAKES P ER 5 0m R UN = 9 .71 C ORE S T OTAL N UMBER O F C ORES R ECOVERED
=2 8
M EAN N UMBER O F C ORES P ER H ECTARE
=1 .623
M EAN W EIGHT O F C ORES
= 9.96g
R E TOUCHE D ' P OOLS %O F T OTAL N UMBER :A SSEMBLAGE: S CRAPERS
9
:3 7 .5%
R ETOUCHED F LAKES
4
:1 6 .7%
K NIVES
9
:3 7 .5%
B ORERS
2
:8 .3%
T OTAL N UMBER O F T OOLS R ECOVERED
=2 4
M EAN N UMBER O F T OOLS P ER H ECTARE
=1 .39
T he I dstone D own q uarry s ite ( F ig 5 .16 ) i s s ituated o n a n s pur b etween t wo d ry v alleys , 2 14 m etres a bove s ea l evel . T he s pur i s f ormed b y a n o utcrop o f U pper C halk c overing 3 .125 s quare k ilometres t hat i s p robably c apped b y C lay w ith F lints ( since t he a rea f alls a t t he j unction b etween m aps o f t he 1 947 a nd 1 971 O rdnance S urvey G eological s eries , i t i s i mpossible t o b e c ertain ). T he R ussley D own l inear d itch r uns f rom e ast t o w est a cross t he s pur o n w hich t here a re a lso t he r emains o f a t l east f our r ound b arrows T he h ighest d ensity o f w aste f lakes w as f ound o ver a c a nparatively s mall a rea ( 2 .5 h ectares ) a t t he n orthern e nd o f t he f ield . U nsystematically w orked c ores w ere f ound t hroughout t he f ield t hough t here w as a d istinct c oncentration i n t he s outh e astern c orner . W hile m ost p rimary f lakes w ere f ound i n t he n orthern f lake s ca tter , t hey f ormed t he g reatest p roportion o f t he t otal n umber o f f lakes p er r un , w ith t he u nsystematic c ore c luster . T his w ould b e c onsisten t w ith n odules b eing p artially w orked o r e ven j ust t ested i n o ne l ocation w hile m ore i ntensive w orking t ook p lace e lsewhere . I mplements , p redominantly s crapers a nd u nusually l arge n umbers o f s imple f lake k nives c lustered i n
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t he a rea o f t he h ighest f lake d ensity , a s d id h ammerstones a nd h ammerstone f ragments . T he l arge n umber o f b acked f lake k nives r ecovered i s o ne o f t he f ew e xamples e ncountered o f ac oncentration o f o ne p articular t ype o f a rtefact a t a" quarry " s ite o r a ny o ther s pecific l ocation . S ince t he " quarry " i s t he o nly o ne i n t he s urvey a rea f ound t o b e e xploiting t he l arger t han n ormal n odules o f U pper C halk f lint , a n u nusual c ompostion o f t he t ool a ssemblage i s p erhaps t o b e e xpected . I t c an h ardly b e d escribed a s e vidence o f ' c raft s pecialisation ' s ince t echnologically , t he k nives a re l ittle m ore t han o ver-sized s ide s crapers . 2 ). P ark F arm . T he f lake s catter a t P ark F arm i s s ituated o n as outhfacing s lope o f M iddle C halk a nd c overs a n a rea o f a pproximately 5 0 h ectares ( F ig 5 .2 ). T o t he w est a nd e ast o f t he f arm b uilding , t here a re t wo d istinct c oncentrations o f w aste f lakes a nd c ores , A reas 8 a nd 9 ( F ig 5 .3 ), t hat o ccupy 1 4 .5 a nd 1 5 .1 h ectares r espectively . T ABLE 5 .12 : T he F lint a ssemblage f rom A rea 8 ; P ark F arm . F LAK ES T OTAL
M EAN N O P E R
%O F T OTAL
M EAN
N UMBER :H ECTARE
:A SSEMBLAG E :W EIGHT :
4 60
:3 1 .72
:3 5 .06%
:1 7 .98g
SWONDARY F LAKES
6 29
:4 3 .37
:4 7 .94%
:1 4 .45g
T ERTIARY F LAKES
2 23
:1 5 .57
:1 7%
:7 .92g
P RIMARY F LAKES
T OTAL N UMBER O F H ECTARES W ALKED
=1 4 .5
T OTAL N UMBER O F F LAKES R ECOVERED
=1 312
M EAN N UMBER O F F LAKES P ER H ECTARE = 9 0 .48 M EAN N UMBER O F F LAKES P ER 5 0m R UN = 1.3 C ORES T OTAL N UMBER O F C ORES R ECOVERED
=3 7
M EAN N UMBER O F C ORES P ER H ECTARE
=2 .55
M EAN W EIGHT O F C ORES
=7 9 .48g
R E TOUCHE D T OOLS %O F T OTAL N UMBER :A SSEMBLAGE: S CRAPERS
9
:4 5%
R ETOUCHED F LAKES
4
:2 0%
B ORERS
4
:2 0%
K NIVES
2
:1 0%
A RROWHEADS
1
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T OTAL N UMBER O F T OOLS R ECOVERED
=2 0
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=1 .379
T here a re f ew s ignifican t d ifferences b etween t he c omposition o f t he t wo c oncentrations . T here i s ag reater d ensity o f c ores ( 2 .55 p er h ectare , c ompared w ith 1 .98 ) a nd f lakes ( 9 0 .48 p er h ectare , c ompared w ith 5 7 .94 ) i n A rea 8 , b u t t here i s l ittle v ariation i n t he c omposition o f t he t wo f lake a ssemblages e xcep t t ha t A rea 9 e xhibits a l ower p roportion o f t ertiary f lakes t han A rea 8
T ABLE 5 .13 : T he F lint a ssemblage f rom A rea 9 ; P ark F arm . F LAKES T OTAL
M EAN N O P ER
%O F T OTAL
M EAN
N UMBER: H ECTARE
:A SSEMBLAGE: W EIGHT :
P RIMARY F LAKES
2 90
: 3.14%
S ECONDARY F LAKES
4 73
:3 1 .32
:5 4%
:1 4 .38g
T ERTIARY F LAKES
12
:7 .41
:1 2 .86%
:8 .375g
:1 9 .2
T OTAL N UMBER O F H ECTARES W ALKED
=1 5 .1
T OTAL N UMBER O F F LAKES R ECOVERED
=8 75
:1 8 .27g
M EAN N UMBER O F F LAKES P ER H ECTARE = 5 7 .94 M EAN N UMBER O F F LAKES P ER 5 0m R UN = 7 .23 C ORE S T OTAL N UMBER O F C ORES R ECOVERED
=3 0
M EAN N UMBER O F C ORES P ER H ECTARE
=1 .98
M EAN W EIGHT O F C ORES
=8 2 .26g
R E TOUCHED ' I ' OOLS %O F T OTAL N UMBER :A SSEMBLAGE: S CRAPERS
1
:5 8%
R ETOUCHED F LAKES
2
:1 0 .5%
B ORER
4
:2 1%
A RROWHEADS
:
1 0 .5%
T OTAL N UMBER O F T OOLS R ECOVERED
=1 9
M EAN N UMBE R O F T OOLS P ER H ECTARE
=1 .258
G iven t he p roblems o f s uggesting a d ate r ange f or l ithic s catters ( s ee a bove ) i t i s n ot p ossible t o d etermine w hether t he t wo s ites w ere c ontemporary o r n ot . T here i s a pparen tly n o d istinct n arrow f lake e lement i n e ither a ssemblage a nd t he r ange o f r etouched t ools a re b roadly s imilar i n b oth a reas . A rea 8 s eems t o h ave b een t he l ocation o f g reater f lintworking a ctivity , w aste f lakes a nd c ores b eing 3 5% a nd 2 2% m ore c ommon . H ammerstone f ragments w ere f ound t hroughou t t he a rea b u t t ended t o c luster a round A rea 8 r ather t han A rea 9 . S ince t he m ean f lake n umbers a nd 6 4
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w eights a re v irtually i dentical , i t a ppears t ha t t he f lin t s ource a nd i ts r eduction s trategy i s l ikely t o b e v ery s imilar i f n ot i dentical .
T ABLE 5 .14 . T he a ma lgamated t otals f rom t he t hree " quarry " s ites . F LAKES T OTAL
M EAN N O P ER
%O F T OTAL
M EAN
N UMBER :H ECTARE
:A SSEMBLAGE :W EIGHT
P RIMARY F LAKES
185
:2 4 .25
: 3.47%
:1 8 .93g
S ECONDARY F LAKES
1 797
:3 6 .78
:5 0 .76%
:1 4 .49g
T ERTIARY F LAKES
58
: 1.42
:1 5 .76%
: 7 .71g
T OTAL N UMBER O F H ECTARES W ALKED
=4 8 .85
T OTAL N UMBER O F F LAKES R ECOVERED
=3 540
M EAN N UMBER O F F LAKES P ER H ECTARE = 7 2 .46 M EAN N UMBER O F F LAKES P ER 5 0m R UN = 9 .05 C ORES T OTAL N UMBER O F C ORES R ECOVERED
=9 5
M EAN N UMBER O F C ORES P ER H ECTARE
=1 .94
M EAN W EIGHT O F C ORES
=8 7 .23g
R ETOUCHED T OOLS %O F T OTAL N UMBER :A SSEMBLAGE S CRAPERS
3 9
:5 3 .0%
R ETOUCHED F LAKES
1 0
:1 3 .6%
B ORERS
1 0
:1 3 .6%
K NIVES
1
:1 5 .0%
A RROWHEADS
3
: 4 .1%
T OTAL N UMB E R O F T OOL S R ECOVERED
=7 3
M EAN N UMBER O F T OOLS P ER H ECTARE
=1 .49
E ach o f t he t hree " quarry " s ites s hare f eatures i n c ommon s uch a s t heir l ocation o n t he u pper h ill s lopes p resumably w here f lint h as b ecome e xposed .A s w ell a s l arge q uantities o f f lakes ( F ig 5 .2 ) t hey a lso e xhibit a bove a verage d ensities o f r etouched t ools ( F ig 5 .4 ). E xcept i n t he c ase o f t he b acked k nives f rom t he I dstone D own s ite , i t i s i mpossible t o d etermine w hether t hese r epresent t he o utpu t o f r etouched t ools f rom t he " quarries" . T here i s n o e vidence a t I dstone D own o r P ark F arm , A rea 8 o f a ny n otable i mbalance i n t he c omposition o f t he f lake a ssemblage t ha t w ould s uggest t he r emoval o f s pecific t ypes o f f lakes f rom t he s ites .
I n c ontrast , t he d ensity o f T ertiary f lakes a t
P ark F arm , A rea 9 i s u nusually l ow .
6 6
3 ) . T he W ellbottom D own I mplemen t s catter . T ABLE 5 .15 : F lin t a ssemblage f rom A rea 1 1 ; T he W ellbottom D own I mplement s catter .
F LAKE S T OTAL
M EAN N O P ER
%O F T OTAL
M EAN
N UMBER :H ECTARE
:A SSEMBLAGE :W EIGHT
P RIMARY F LAKES
1 70
:8 .095
:3 4 .6%
:1 6 .49g
S ECONDARY F LAKES
2 28
:1 0 .857
:4 6 .43%
:1 2 .58g
T ERTIARY F LAKES
9 3
:4 .428
:1 8 .9%
:6 .82g
T OTAL N UMBER O F H ECTARES W ALKED
=2 1
T OTAL N UMBER O F F LAKES R ECOVE RED
=4 91
M EAN N UMBER O F F LAKES P ER H ECTARE = 2 3 .38 M EAN N UMBER O F F LAKES P ER 5 0m R UN = 2 .92 C ORES T OTAL N UMBER O F C ORES R ECOVERED
=5 4
M EAN N UMBER O F C ORES P ER H ECTARE
=2 .57
M EAN W EIGHT O F C ORES
=7 1 .31g
R E TOUCHED T OOL S %O F T OTAL N UMBER :A SSEMBLAGE S CRAPERS
3 0
:6 8%
R ETOUCHED F LAKES
7
:1 6%
B ORERS
4
:9 %
F ABRICATORS
3
:7 %
T OTAL N UMBER O F T O OLS R ECOVERED
=4 4
M EAN N UMBER O F T OC1S P ER H ECTARE
=2 .1
T his a rea i s s itua ted i n af lat v alley b ottom 1 50 m etres a bove s ea l evel a nd 2 00 m etres t o t he w est o f t he L ambourn l ong b arrow . At otal o f 2 .1 r etouched t ools p er h ectare r epresen ts t he h ighest d ensity i n t he s ampled a ssemblages , c ompared w ith 0 .452 t ools p er h ectare f or t he o ff-site a malgama ted t otals ( T able 5 .7 ) a nd 1 .49 p er h ectare f or t he " quarry " s ite a malgamated t otals ( T able 5 .14 ). T he o nly c omparable h igh d ensity o f i mplements i s t he 2 .06 t ools p er h ectare , f ound o ne k ilom etre t o t h e s outh e ast a t P ost D own F arm . 6 8% o f t he t ools a re s crapers , o f w hich a lmost h alf a re e ither w orn o r b roken . D espite t here b eing 6 h ammerstones i n t he a ssemblage a nd a d ensity o f c ores t ha t i s c omparable w ith t hose f rom o ther " quarry" s ites , t he f lake d ensities o f t he a rea a re u nusually l ow . T here i s n o o bvious e xplanation f or a c ombination o f w orn a nd b roken s crapers w ith
6 7
h ammerstones a nd c ores , a nd w hen t he p aucity o f f lakes i s a dded t o t his , t he a ssemblage i s e ven l ess e xplicable w ithout f urther , m ore d etailed f ieldwork . S imilar p roblems o f i n terpreta tion w ere e ncountered w ith p art o f t he a ssemblage f rom t he L ambourn l ong b arrow w here n umerous u nsy stematically w orked c ores f ormed p art o f t he m ake-up o f t he m ound . (emer , J .J . 1 964 ). 4 ) . C onclusion I t h as b een e stimated t hat t he a rea o f f ield s urface e xamined b y w idespaced f ieldwalking a t 2 5 m etre i ntervals i s b etween 4 % a nd 1 0% , w hile t he p roportion o f t he t opsoil a ssemblage v isible a t a ny o ne t ime i s l ess t han 5 % ( S ee C hapters 3 a nd 6 ) . A t t he s ame t ime i t s eems , i n t he c ase o f a rtefacts t ha t a re c irculating f reely i n t he p loughsoil , t hat t he s urface m a terial i s b roadly r epresentative o f t he w hole a ssemblage ( S ee C hapters 3a nd 6 ) . T hus , i t i s p ossible t o e stablish g eneral t rends c oncerning t he m ethods a nd i ntensity o f e xploita tion , a nd t he c hanges o f p a tterns o f d eposition a cross t ime . T h e p ervasiveness o f t he l a ter f lin t a ssemblages m akes i t
d ifficult t o d etermin e h ow t he
f lint r esources w ere e xploited d uring e arlier p eriods . E x amples o f t rue b lades a nd p risma tic b lade c o res r educed t o l ess t han 5 0 g rammes s uggests t ha t f lin t r esources w ere n o t i ntensively e gploitated b u t s uc h r easoning i s d angerously c ircular . T he p lo t o uts o f d iagnostically e arly a rtefacts ( F igs 5 .13 ) i ndica te e arly m aterial c lustering i n a nd a round t he v alley b o ttoms o f t he M iddle C halk , ap reference w hich a lso a ppears t o b e r eflected i n t he s itings o f l cag b arrows . T here i s n o o bvious e xplanation f or t his , a lthough i t h as a lready b een s uggested
t hat t he v alleys m igh t h ave c ontained s tream
b eds , a s t hey d o t oday i n p articularly w et w in ters ( s ee C hap ter T wo ). T he l ate N eolithic a nd E arly B ronze A ge i s a ssociated w ith a w idespread p rocuremen t o f f lint f rom u pper h ill s ide e xposures a s w ell a s w ith i n tensive e xploitation a t " quarry " s ites . T here i s l ittle i n t hese a ssemblages , e ven f rom t he l atter s ites , t o s uggest s pecialised f lin t w orking a nd i t i s d ifficult t o i magine a f orm o f d emarca tion t o r estrict a ccess t o t he r esource t ha t w ould s urvive t o t he p resent d ay ( T orrence , R . 1 986 ). R ecen t w ork o n p rehistoric s tone e xploitation h as s ought t o c ategorise m echanisms o f l ithic r eduction p articularly w hen e vidence o f p roduction s tra tegies c an b e c ompared w ith t he f inished p roducts . T orrence h as o bserved t hat , "S ince t ools a re m ade b y a s ubtractive t echnology i n wh ich p ieces a re r emoved u n til t he d esired f orm i s a ch ieved , i t i s ar elatively s traightforward t ask t o r econstruct t he m anufacturing s equence f rom s tudying t he b y-products a nd t o e valua te t he e fficiency o f p roduction " ( T orrence , R . 1 986 , 9 0 ). W hile t his i s t rue o f m any t ypes o f p roduction , p articularly t hose i nvolving d istinctive a nd o ften i sola ted r esources , i t
p resupposes t ha t t here i s a n o rdered s equence i n w hich
w aste a nd t ools c an b e d istinguished f rom o ne a no ther . I t h as a lready b een
n o ted t hat
t he 3 8 ,000 " waste" f lakes r ecovered f rom e xtensive f ieldwalking , s eem t o f ar e x ceed t he n umber o ne w ould e xpect t o r esult f rom t he p roduction o f 1 084 i mplements , 9 4% o f w hich a re s imply f lakes w ith r etouched e dges . T here i s n o e vidence o f a ny l arge s cale m ovemen t o f f inished t ools i nto t he n eighbouring V ale o f t he W hite H orse t ha t c ould a ccount f o r 6 8
t his ( T ingle , M . F orth c . a ) . E xcava tions i n t h e s urvey a rea h ave n o t p rodu ced e vidence o f l arge n umbers o f t ools d isappearing f rce t h e s urface a sse m b lage t hrough i ncorpora tion i n to s tra tified c on tex ts . Am odel f or t he e xploitation o f f lin t i n t h is a rea w ould i nvisage t he p rocurmen t o f f lin t f rom h ill side e xposures e ither a t s pecific l oca tions s uch a s t he " quarries" o r i n l owe r d ensity a d h oc e xploitation s uch a s A rea 3 , t h e W hit C ombe . T he p resence o f s ubstantially r educed c ores i n l ocations s uch a s A reas 1 a nd 2 i ndicates t ha t s ome f lint w as r emoved i n n odular f orm , w hile t he r est w as k napped i nto f lakes . M ost o f t hese f lake e n ter t h e s urface a ssemblage w ithou t b eing r etouched , b ut t his i s n ot t o s ay t hat t hey w ere u nused . Ap roportion o f t he f lakes a re r etouched t o f orm r ecognisable t ools , t he m a jority o f w hich a re d iscarded w ithou t a ny i ndication o f w ear o r b reakage . O nly a v ery s mall n umber o f ' s pecialised ' i mplemen ts a re d iscarded s howing s igns o f w ear o r b reakage ( S ee T able 5 .10 a nd F ig 5 .5 ). M a terial f rom t he l ater N eolithic t o E arly B ronze A ge i s f ound a cross t he e ntire l andscape t o t he w est o f t h e S even B arrows . I t a ppears t o b e c oupled w ith t he i n tensive e xplo itation o f t he f lint b earing o utcrops o f U pper C halk a nd C lay w ith F lints . I n c on tra st , t here a re n o s uc h d iagnostic i mplemen ts f rom t he d eposits o f U pper C halk a nd C lay w ith f lints i n t he E astern Z one o f t he s urvey a rea , w here t he r ange o f i mplemen t t ypes i s m ad e u p a lmost e x clusively o f s crapers a nd r etouched f lakes . T he d ivision b etween t he t wo z ones i s e mphasised b y t he S even B arrows G roup t ha t o ccupies a lmost s ix k ilometres o f t he d ry v alley t ha t s epara tes t hem . A lthough i t i s e vident t hat p atterns o f l ithic r eduction ,u tilisa tion a nd d iscard a re d ifferen t i n t he t wo z ones , i t i s l ess o bvious w hy , o r f or h ow l ong t his w as t he c ase . T he t raditional v iew o f a n e a rly p reference f or t he l ighter , m ore e asily c leared c halk s oils m ay h ave b een o ne f actor . I n c on trast , f ieldwork u ndertaken a s p art o f as urvey o f C ranbourne C hase , f ound M esolithic s ites a lmost e xclusively o n t he C lay w ith F lints , w hich w as i n terpreted a s ap reference t owards a n a rea o f h igher q uality f lin t r esources ( B arret , Je t A l . 1 981 ). I t i s o nly w ith m aterial t hat d ates f rom a fter t he M id t o L ate B ronze A ge t ha t t his d ivision c eases t o b e n oticeable . W hile c ontinuity c anno t r easonably b e i mplied , i t i s w orth n oting t hat t he e dge o f t he C lay w ith F lin ts i s a lso c oin cident w ith p art o f t he L a te B ronze A ge , E ast D itch . I n e xamining t he b oundaries o f t he i ntensively m anured a reas a round t he R aman v illas , t he S even B arrows v alley w as f ound t o b e i n a n ap eripheral a rea b etween t he M addle F arm a nd S tancombe D own v illas .
6 9
C HAPTER S IX
I NTEN SIVE C OLLECTION A T A ND E XCAVATICN A T P OST D OWN F ARM .
S ub-Su r face S u rvey A rea 0
1 25 M ETRES
S even B arrows
I n tens ive S ur face Co l lec t ion A rea
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F ig . 6 .1 W idespaced f ieldwalking r esults i n t he a rea o f t he S even B arrows G roup . A lthough t he p ro ject w as c ommitted t o t he e xcavation o f o nly o ne p rehistoric s ite , t he f irst s eason o f f ieldwalking l ocated t hree d istinct c oncentra tions o f m aterial t ha t j ustified f urther i nvestigation . T hese w ere ; as catter o f l ate B ronze A ge p ottery f ound w ithin a r ecen tly p loughed r acing g allop a t W eathercock H ill , ad ense b ut w idespread c oncentration , p redominan tly o f w aste f lakes a t P ark F arm a nd a r ela tively s mall ( 3 h ectares ) s catter o f f lakes a nd t ools n ear t o t he S even B arrows g roup . T he d ense s catter o f l a te B ron ze A ge p o ttery a t W eathercock H ill w as r e jected a fter t he B erkshire F ield R esearch g roup o ffered t o c onduct f urther f ieldwork a nd a n e xcavation o f t he a rea . T he e x tensive f lake s catter a t P ark F arm w as r uled o ut b ecause i ts s ize m ade i t p rohibitively 7 0
o
F LAKES P r imary
S econda ry
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F ig 6 .2 T he f lint a ssemblage f rom P ost D own F a rm .
7 1
e xpensive t o c arry o ut a ny m eaningful i ntensive c ollection , l et a lone e xcavation . T he r emaining s ite w a s as catter o f f lakes a nd t ools , 5 00 m etres t o t he s outh w est o f t he m ain S even B arrows g roup , w hich a t i ts d ensest , o ccupied a n a rea t hat c ould b e i ntensively c ollected i n t he t ime a vailable ( F ig 6 .1 ). 1 ) W idespaced F ieldwalking . T he f ield i n w hich t he s catter w as l ocated i s r ectangular a nd s tretches w estward f rom t he e dge o f t he m ain b arrow g roup t o t he h illtop 4 0 m etres a bove . T he m aterial r ecovered f rom w idespaced c ollection r evealed a c luster o f w aste f lakes a nd t ools c overing a n a rea o f a pproximately t hree h ectares o n t he f lat t op o f t he h ill . T he s catter o bviously e xtended i nto t he f ield t o t he n orth b ut s ince t his w as a r acing g allop , f urther i nvestigation w as i mpossible . A ssuming t hat t he s catter c ontinued t o b e r estricted t o t he f lat h ill t op , a pproximately t wo t hirds o f t he s ite w as a vailable f or i ntensive c ollection . F or t he p urposes o f c omparison , t he m aterial f rom t he w idespaced c ollection o f t he w hole f ield i s a nalysed i n t he t able b elow . T ABLE 6 .1 : W idespaced f ieldwalking r esu lts f rom P ost t own F arm . F LAKES T OTAL
M EAN N O P ER
%O F T OTAL
N UMBER : H ECTARE
M EAN
:A SSEMBLAGE: W EIGHT :
P RIMARY F LAKES
2 73
:1 4 .861
:2 3 .23%
:1 4 .79g
S ECCNDARY F LAKES
5 78
:3 1 .46
:4 9 .19%
: 1.38g
T ERTIARY F LAKES
3 24
:1 7 .637
:2 7 .57%
:5 .6g
T OTAL N UMBER O F H ECTARES W ALKED
=1 8 .37
T OTAL N UMBER O F F LARES R ECOVERED
= 175
M EAN N UMBER O F F LAKES P ER H ECTARE = 6 3 .96 M EAN N UMBER O F F LAKES P ER 5 0m R UN = 7 .96 C ORE S T OTAL N UMBER O F C ORE S R ECOVERED
=4 4
M EAN N UMBER O F C ORES P ER H ECTARE
=2 .395
M EAN W EIGHT O F C ORES
=6 3 .4g
R E TOUCHED T OOLS %O F T OTAL N UMBER :A SSEMBLAGE: S CRAPERS
2 9
:7 6 .3%
R ETOUCHED F LAKES
4
:1 0 .5%
F ABRICATORS
3
:7 .9%
K NIFE
1
:2 .6%
A RROWHEAD
1
:2 .6%
T OTAL N UMBER O F T OOLS R ECOV E RE D
=3 8
M EAN N UMBER O F T OOLS P ER HWTARE
=2 .06
7 2
A lthough s ituated n ear t o t he j unction o f M iddle C halk a nd U pper C halk c apped b y C lay w ith F lints , t he s ite d iffered f rom t he " quarry" s ites i n t he s urvey a rea . T here w ere n o m arked c oncentrations o f c ores o r h ammerstone f ragments a nd n o a reas o f p redominantly p rimary f lakes . A lthough t wo o f t he f ieldwalking r uns r ecovered i n e xcess o f 3 0 f lakes , t he h ighest m ean n umber o f f lakes p er h ectare w as 1 8 .37 ( c .f. 3 0 .25 a t t he I dstone D own s ite ). T he d ensest p art o f t he s catter , w hich w as s ubsequently i ntensively c ollected , p roduced 1 9 r etouched t ools c onsisting o f 1 7 s crapers , af abricator a nd a b arbed a nd t anged a rrowhead . T here w ere a lso t wo s herds o f p ottery ( p robably p rehistoric b ut n o t s pecifically d ateable ) a nd a s mall q uantity o f b urnt f lint. F ig 6 .1 s hows l ithic d ensities d eclining f rom t he h ill t op t o t he b arrow c emetery b elow . T his p ossibly r eflects a s egration o f t he b arrows f rom c ontemporary a ctivities t hat p roduced f lint w aste , a s e arlier f ieldwork i n t he a rea h ad s uggested ( R ichards , J .C . P ers C omm ). A rchaeological e xcavations a nd o bservations o f b uilding w ork i n t he i mmediate v icinity i ndicate t hat t here i s n o s ignificant b uild u p o f c olluvium t hat c ould h ave c reated s uch a d istribution ( S ee a lso C h . 3 ) . T he a pparent s egregation s eems f ar l ess p lausible w hen o ne n otes a s imilar d ecline i n l ithic d ensities i n t he n eighbouring v alley b ottom w hich i s f ree b oth o f C olluvium a nd r ound b arrows . T his s uggests t hat t he p rincipal f actor l imiting t he d istribution o f m aterial i s t he d istance f rom t he e xpoited f lint s ource r ather t han r itual a voidence . 2 ) . I ntensive C ollection . T he r econstruction o f p ast b ehaviour f rom s tratified d eposits u sing t echniques s uch a s m icrowear a nd r efitting i s n ow w ell e stablished b ut t he t ype o f d iscard p atterns t hat c ould b e e xpected t o s urvive o n ap loughed p rehistoric s ite i s m ore a m atter o f s peculation . Ac omputer s imulation e xtrapolating t he m ovement o f r eplica s herds w ithin t he p loughsoil a t B utser H ill , s uggests t hat d iscreet p atterns o f m aterial w ill b ec ome i rretreviably m ixed a fter r egular p loughing f or o nly a f ew y ears .
( Yorston , R . e t a l
f orthc ). I t i s n ot k nown h ow o ften t his p articular f ield h as b een p loughed o r h ow c losely u nder t hese c onditions , t he m ovement o f l ithics r esembles t hat o f r eplica s herds .
T ABLE 6 .2 : I ntensive c ollection r esults f rom P ost D own F arm . F LAKE S i m iAL
M EAN N O P ER
%O F T OTAL
M EAN
N UMBER : 5 m S QUARE
:A SSEMBLAGE :W EIGHT
1 578
:1 .24
:2 4 .6%
S ECONDARY F LAKES
3 079
:2 .42
:4 8 .1%
:7 .34g
T ERTIARY F LAKES
1 736
:1 .36
:2 7 .2%
: 4 .25g
P RIMARY F LAKES
T OTAL N UMBER O F 5 m S QUARES W ALKED
=1 272
T OTAL N UMBER O F F LAKES R ECOVERED
=6 393
M EAN N UMBER O F F LAKES P ER 5 m S QUARE = 5 .025
7 3
:1 2 .07g
F ig 6 .3 T he d istribution o f w aste f lakes a nd s urface c ontours a t P ost D own F arm . C ORES T OTAL N UMBER O F C ORES R ECOVERED
=2 10
M EAN N UM BER O F C ORES P ER 5 m S QUARE = 0 .165 M EAN W EIGHT O F C ORE S
=6 0g
7 4
R ETOUCHED ' I ' OOL S %O F T OTAL N UMBER :A SSEMBLAGE : S CRAPERS R ETOUCHED F LAKES
1 02
:7 1 .3%
2 1
:1 4 .7%
B ORERS
9
:6 .3%
A RROWHEADS
8
:5 .6%
K NIFE
1
:0 .7%
F ABRICATOR
1
:0 .7%
P OLISHED A XE F RAGMENT
1
:0 .7%
T OTAL N UMBER O F T OOLS R ECOVERED
=1 43
M EAN N UMBER O F T OOLS P ER 5 m S QUARE
=0 .11
I f t he r esults f rom T ables 6 .1 a nd 6 .2 a re c ompared , i t a ppears t hat t he a ssemblages f rom t he i ntensive a nd e xtensive c ollections a re b roadly s imilar , t he o nly s ignificant d ifference o ccuring w ith t he m ean w eights o f t he f lake t ypes . T he r ecovery o f s maller f lakes p robably r esults f rom t he m ore p rolonged a nd c oncentrated s crutiny o f t he f ield s urface d uring i ntensive c ollection . T he i nitial p lot o ut o f w aste f lake d istribution ( F ig 6 .2 ) s howed f ew o bvious t rends o ther t han a v aguely l inear c oncentration o f f lakes r unning f rom n orth t o s outh . W hile t he t otal c ollection g rid w as i n p lace , a c ontour s urvey a t 5m etre i ntervals r evealed a s light r idge r unning a cross t he a rea . A s F ig 6 .2 s hows , t he g reatest c oncentration o f w aste f lakes o ccurs t o t he e ast o f t his f eature . I t i s u nlikely t hat m aterial i s b eing d isplaced d ownslope b y p loughing s ince t he s lope a way f rom t he r idge i s v ery s hallow , d ropping o nly 1 50 c entimetres o ver 1 10 m etres . E vidence f or f lint w orking w as f ound o n t he s ite i n t he f orm o f 1 1 h ammerstones a nd 3 2 h ammerstone f ragments . T he w eight r ange o f t he h ammerstones w as b etween 3g a nd 2 62g ( m ean w eight 9 6g ). T he d istribution o f t he h ammerstones a nd f ragments , c lustered i n t he c entre o f t he c ollection a rea a way t he d ensest c oncentrations o f w aste f lakes . T here w ere n o c oncentrations o f p rimary f lakes t o c ompare w ith t hose a t R ussley D own o r P ark F arm , i ndeed b oth w idespaced a nd i ntensive c ollections s how t ertiary f lakes t o b e m ore c ommon i n t he a ssemblage t han t he p rimary f lakes ( Tables 6 .1 a nd 6 .2 ). S crapers m ade u p 7 2% o f t he t ools f rom t he i ntensive c ollection ( c ompared w ith 7 6% o f t he w idespaced w alking a ssemblage ). T he r emainder c omprised r etouched f lakes ( 1 5% ), B orers ( 6 % ),
A rrowheads ( 4 % ) a nd i ndividual e xamples o f aK nife , Fa bricator a nd P olished A xe
f lake ( F ig 6 .3 ). A n a ttempt w as m ade t o d ivide t he s crapers i nto g roupings b ased o n f actors s uch a s a ngle o f r etouch , w eight a nd g eneral t ype (S ide , E nd , H ollow o r " Beaker" e ct ) . I t w as h oped i n t his w ay t o i solate a ny a reas o f f unctionally s pecific d iscard . A lthough t he m embers o f t wo s mall g roups o f u nsystematically r etou c he d s crapers w ere f ound i n c on junction w ith t he d ensest c oncentration o f w aste f lakes , t he a ssemblage w as d ominated b y E nd s crapers w hich w ere e venly d istributed t hroughout ( F ig 6 .4 ).
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F ig 6 .4 . T he d istribu tion o f a ll s crapers f rom i n tensive c ollection . E vidence f or d istinctive p atterns o f w ear o r b reakage w ere o bserved i n E nd s crapers o nly . B oth w ear a nd b reakage o ccured i n t he m iddle o f t he r etouched e dges o r o n o ne o r b o th s ides . T he t ypes o f w ear a nd b reakage w ere s imilar t o t hose i dentified i n t he w idespaced c ollection a ssemb lage w hich i s d iscussed i n C hapter F ive . T heir d istribution a ppears t o a void c ertain p arts o f t he c ollection a rea , o ne o f w hich w as f ound o n e xcavation t o i nclude a g roup o f n egative f eatures b u t t oo f ew e xamples w ere r ecovered f o r a ny f irm c onclusions t o b e d rawn f rom t his ( F ig 6 .5 ).
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Fig 6.5. The distribution of worn, broken and burnt scrapers fran intensive collection. 3). The chronology of the scatter. Attempting to date a surface scatter using only the diagnostic material recovered is notoriously problematic when it is feasible at all. While the eight arrc:Mheads fran the intensive collection (two leafshaped, two Barbed and Tanged, two Triangular, one Hollow based and one Tanged), are suggestive of a late Neolithic to early Bronze Age date, the 4 datable sherds of the 37 recovered were fran the late Bronze Age (Rayioond, F. pers camn). Ford is one of the latest researchers to dem:mstrate a declining blade canponent in assemblages frar. the Mesolithic (more than 20%) to the Early Neolithic (15-20%) and the 77
B ronze A ge ( l ess t han 1 0% )
( F ord , S . 1 987a , 6 9 ). H e a lso p oin ts o ut t he d anger o f
a ssuming t hat a ny a ssemblage d evoid o f as ignificant n arrow f lake c omponent m ust d ate f rom a fter t he l a te N eo lithic ( F ord , S . 1 987 . 4 1 ). M etrical a nalysis o f t he s urface a ssemblage a t P ost D own F arm s howed i t t o b e p redominan tly c omposed o f s quat f lakes ( 9 8% ). T he a bsence o f as ignifican t b lade c omponen t c ould h ave b een e ffected b y t he p oor s urvival o f c omplete b lades w ithin a p loughed s oil a nd t he t endancy f or s maller f lakes ( e .g b lades a nd p articularly b lade s egments )
t o b e u nder r epresented o n t he s urface
( T ain ter , J .A . 1 979 , 4 66 ). W hen m etrically a na ly sing a s urface a ssemblage , o ne i s f orced t o t rea t a ll t he m a terial a s i f i t w ere c am temporary . I f b lades m ake u p b etween 1 5% a nd 2 0% o f t he a ssemblage a s t hey d o a t K nigh ton B ushes o r 2 % a s a t T he P o st D own F arm s ite , t his c ould a s e asily r eflect a c on tinuity o f a ctivity a t t he l atter s ite r a ther t han p recedency o f t he f ormer . I t i s q uite p ossible t hat a ny b lade c omponen t o f t he s ca tter w ould b ecome s ubsumed i n to t he m uch m ore p ro lific a ssemblage o f t he l ate N eolithic a nd B ronze A ge . I t w as h oped t ha t t he e xamination o f t he s tratified a ssemblages o f t he L ambourn l ong b arrow a nd t he L ambourn 1 9 b ell b arrow w ould p rovide a u seful f ramework f or d ating ( W ymer , J .J . 1 966 ; R ichards , J .C . F orthc ). U nfortunately , i n t he b o th c ases v ery l ittle s tra tified f lin twork w as r ecovered . A t t he L ambourn l ong b a rrow , o nly 3 5 f lakes w ere r ecovered f rom t he m ound m ake-up , t he b uried l and s urface a nd e arly q uarry d itch f ills . A lmost a ll o f t he r est o f t he m aterial d erived f rom a p loughsoil o verlying t he q uarry d itches a nd w as c omposed o f as mall a ssortment o f t ools w ith n umerous u nsystematic c ores a nd c rude f lakes (emer , J .J . 1 964 ). 4 ) . D iscussion T he t wo p rincipal a ims o f t he I ntensive c ollection w ere f irstly t o t est h ow c losely t he m aterial r ecovered f rom w idespaced c ollection r esembled t ha t f rom e x tensive c ollection a nd s econdly t o o btain s u fficient m aterial t o p rovide t he b asis o f a n e xcava tion s trategy . I n t he f ormer c ase , t he t wo a ssemblages w ere f ound t o b ear a s triking s imilarity t o o ne a nother e ven t hough t hey w ere c onducted i n s uceeding y ears ( S ee a lso C hap ter T hree ). D eveloping a n e xcava tion s tra tegy f rom t he r esults w a s m ore p roblema tic s ince n o o bviou s a rea s o f s pecific d iscard w ere l oca ted . T he c oncentra tion o f f lakes i n t he s outh e astern c orner o f t he c ollection a rea f ormed o ne a rea f or i nvestigation . T here w ere n o s ignifican t c lusterings o f r etou c he d t ools e xcept p ossibly t he d istribution o f w orn , b urn t a nd b roken s crapers , h owever t hese w ere d isregarded w hen t he e x cava tion s tra tegy w as p lanned . 5 ) T he s amp le e xcava tion o f af lint s catter a t P ost D own F arm . T he a ims o f t his e xcava tion w ere t o e stablish t he d egree o f c ontinuity t ha t e xisted b etween t he
a rtefacts f rom t he i nten sive s urface c ollection a nd t hose f rom t he
p loughsoil , s pecifically t o d etermine i f a ny e lemen t o f t he p loughsoil w as u nder o r o ver r epresented o n t he s urface . I t w as a lso h oped t o l oca te a rchaeologica l f eatures c ut i nto n a tural c halk t hat c ould b e r ela ted t o t he d istribu tion o f m aterial i n t he p loughsoil . T he i ntensive c ollection c overed a n a rea o f n early 3 00 ,000 s quare m etres , s o t hat i t w as
7 8
i mpossible t o h and e xcavate a s ignificant a moun t w ithin t he t hree w eeks a vailable b etween h arvest a nd p loughing . I nstead , t hree t ransects w ere s elected f rom w ithin t he i ntensive c ollection a rea w hich c overed b oth h igh a nd l ow d ensities o f s urface a rtefacts . T wo o f t hese w ere 7 5 m etres b y 2 5 m etres i n a rea , r unning n orth t o s outh a nd i ncluding t he d ensest a rea o f w aste f lakes w hile t he t hird w as 5 0 m etres b y
2 0 m etres r unning e ast t o
w est ( S ee F ig 6 . 6 ). 5 % o f e ach t ransect w a s e xcavated i n r andomly s elected 2m etres b y 2 m etres s ample t renches . T hree s quare m etres o f e ach t rench w as h and e xcavated w hile t he r emaining m etre s quare w as c ompletely s ieved .
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6 ) .Topsoil s ieving . I n e ach o f t he 5 6 s amp le t renches a m etre s quare w as d ry s eived t h rough a 5 mm m esh a nd t he r esidues s orted b y t he a u thor . T he s orted r esidues w ere t hen co mpared w ith t h e m aterial t hat h ad b een h and e xcava ted f rcm t he r emainder o f t he s ample t rench a nd i n m ore g eneral t erm s , w ith t he m a terial t ha t h ad b een i ntensively c ollected f rom t h e f ield s urface . I n d etermining t he r elationship b e tween m aterial o n t he s urface a nd t ha t w ithin t he t opsoil , i t w ould h ave b een p referable t o i ntensively c ollec t t he s urface o f s everal 5 m etre s quare a nd t hen c ompletely s ieve t he u nderlying p loughsoil . I n t he c on text o f t his e xcava tion s uch a p lan w ould h ave r educed t he t otal a rea t ha t c ould b e e xamined f or s ubsoil f ea tures t o am eaningless f raction . T he s ieved m etre s quares w ere t hererfore a ssumed t o b e r epresentative o f t h e t opsoil p opula tion i n t he i mmedia te v icinity a nd w ere c ompared w ith t he s urface p opula tion o f t he f ive m etre i n tensive c ollection s quares i n w hich t hey w ere s itua ted . T he r esults f rom 5 3 o f t he 5 6 s ieve s amples s howed a c onsisten t c lustering b elow 5 % , t he m ean b eing 2 .79% . T his f igure s hould o nly b e r egarded a s ag eneral g uideline s ince i t h as a lready b een d emonstrated t hat t he a moun t o f m aterial a vailable o n t he s urface f o r c ollection c an v ary , d epending o n t he w ay i n w hich t he f ield h ad b een p repared f or c ultivation ( s ee C hapter t hree ). I n o ne r espect i t i s c ertainly a n u nderestimate s ince t he s ieve r esidues i ncluded a n umber o f v ery s mall f lakes a nd c ore f ragmA i . ts o f at ype e ither o verlooked i n t he t otal c ollection o r t oo s mall t o h ave f ully w ea thered t o t he s urface o f t he p loughsoil . T his i s i llustra ted i f o n e c ompares t he m ean w eigh t o f t h e f lin t r ecovered f rom t he s ieving ( 6 .46 g rammes ) w ith t hat f rom t he c orresponding i n tensive c ollection s quares ( 1 1 .86 g rammes ) A ssuming t ha t t he a rtefacts w ithin t he t opsoil o f t he s ample t re nc hes w ere e venly d istributed , t he s ieved a nd h and e xcavated a ssemblages w ere c ompared t o d etermine h ow m uc h m a terial w as o verlooked i n t he c ourse o f e xcavation . T he d igging t eam h ad a m ixed l evel o f e xperience , a nd w ere w orking o n a n e xposed h ill t op f or t hree w eeks i n t he v ery w e t S ep tember o f 1 983 . O n a verage , a s m uc h a s 7 5% o f t he m aterial w ithin t he t opsoil a ppeared t o b e m issed , a lthough m ost o f t his w as p robably m ade u p o f v ery s mall f lakes . T here w as a lso c onsiderable i nterpersonal v ariation w ith o ne v olun teer r ecovered o n a verage o nly 1 3% o f t he p redicted a mount w hile a nother r ecovered 8 6% . 7 ) F inds f rom t he t opsoil . i ) . F lin t M etrical a nalysis w as c arried o ut o n b o th s ieved a nd u nsieved t opsoil a ssemblages . I t r evealed n o s igni fican t d ifferences b etween t h e t wo a ssemblages , o ther t han a g reater c oncentration o f s maller f lakes i n t he s ieved s amples . W hile t he p roblems a sssodiated w ith a ssessing t h e b lad e c omponen t o f as urface a ss e m b lage h ave a lready b een d iscussed o f t hese r eservations d o n o t a pply t o t he s ieved t opsoil a ssemblage a lthough i t r epresen ts t he m a terial o f o nly 0 .0186% o f t he i n tensive c ollection a rea ( S ee C hap ter F ive ). T he l atter i ncluded a b lade c omponen t ( f lakes w ith a l eng th b read th r a tio g reater
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w
c n
t han 5 :2 ) o f 4 .3% , w hich i n creased t o 1 .53% i f n arrow f lakes w ere i ncluded (t hose w ith a l ength b readth r atio o f m ore t han 2 :1 ). T his i s g enerally v iewed a s b eing t ypical o f t h e L a te N eolithic/ e arly B ronze A ge ( F ord , S . 1 987 ). i ). P rehistoric p ottery . S ix teen s herds o f p rehistoric p o ttery w ere r ecovered f rom t he e xcava tion o f t he p loughsoil o f w hich 1 2 w ere f rom t he s ieved s quares . T his i s n o t s urprising s ince w ith o ne e xcep tion , a ll t he w ere h eavily a braded b ody s herds o f ad ark b rown f abric l ess t han 1 cm i n w idth . A part f rom b eing t ypical o f p rehistoric p o ttery f rom t he a rea , n on e o f t he s herds c ould b e p ositively i dentified f or d ating p urposes ii ). S arsen . T he o nly e lement o f t he l ithic a ssemblage a bsent f rom t he i ntensive c ollection w h ich a ppeared d uring e xcava tion w ere 2 s arsen f lakes . 8 ) . D escrip tion o f t he n egative f ea tures . A lthough p articular a ttention w as g iven t o t he i nvestiga tion o f p ossible s take h oles , o nly o ne t rench c on tained f eatures c u t i nto n atural a nd t his w as e x tended t o a llow f urther i nvestiga tion ( R eid , M . 1 987 ). T h e f ea tures c omprised a p it f rom w hich p ro truded t he t op o f aS addle Q uern ,a l inear f ea tu re t hat t ermina ted c lose t o t he p it a nd a n a morph ou s a pproxima tely c ircu lar f ea ture ( F ig 6 .7 ). 7 52 . T he P it . T his f eature w as i dentifiable a s ac ircular p atch o f d ark b rown s oil a pproximately 9 0 c m i n d iameter p rotruding f rom w hich w as p art o f as ubstan tial S addle Q uern . W hen t he f eature w as s ectioned t wo f ills w ere i dentified . T he u pper f ill ( 7 53 ) w as a d ark b rown s oil c ontaining s ome s mall p ieces o f n a tural f lin t a nd c halk c losely r esembling t h e s urrounding p loughsoil a nd t he f ill o f t he l inear f ea ture ( 7 43 ). A ll t he f inds f rom t he f ea ture w ere r ecovered f rom t his c ontex t , w ith t h e b ase o f t h e S addle q uern r es ting a t t he j unction o f ( 7 52 ) a nd ( 7 58 ). T he l ower f ill ( 7 58 ) w as a c ompact , l igh t b rown , r ela tively s ton e f ree s oil , p robably r epresen ting t opsoil t ha t h ad a ccumula ted i n t h e f eature b efore i t w as b ack filled . B o th f ills w ere s ieved t hrough a 5 mm m esh w ith t he e xception o f 5l itre s amples t ha t w ere r etained f or f ro th f lota tion . i ) . F inds . N o 1 .S arsen r ubbing s tone , w eigh t 0 .9kg . F ig 6 .8 , 3 N o 2 .W orked S arsen ? r ubbing s tone , w eigh t 6 kg . F ig 6 .8 , 2 N o 3 .S arsen S addle Q uern , w eight 3 0kg . F ig 6 .8 , 1 N o 4 .B roken f lin t s craper . F ig 6 .9 .3 N o 5 .F lint k nife/sickle . F ig 6 .9 .1 N o 6 .A nimal t ooth ( s ee b elow ).
8 2
2 0 cms
F ig 6 .8 . S arsen f inds f rom f ea ture 7 52 .
8 3
P LATE 1 . F ea ture 7 43 a fter e xcavation . 7 43 . T he L inea r F e a tu re . T his f eature w as a g ully a pproxima tely 3 .6 m etres i n l ength a nd v arying i n w idth f rom 5 0cm t o 1 0cm a nd i n d ep th f rom 3 0cm t o 1 2cm . T h e s outh e asternmost s ection o f t he f eature w as m ade u p o f t wo f ills , t he l ower b eing d istinguishable b y i ts l igh ter c olouring . T h is d istinction d issappeared a s t he t he f ea ture b ecame s hallower . M ost o f t he w orked f lin t a nd b oth s herds o f p o ttery w ere r ecovered f rom t he l ower f ill . i ) .F ind s N O 8 . As herd (P rehistoric b u t o therwise u nidentifiable ) . N o 9 . As herd , a s a bove . 9w aste f lakes . Ib urn t s arsen f ragmen t 8 4
0
1 0 cms
F ig 6 .9 . S tratified f lin t i mplements f rom t he P ost D own F arm e xcava tion . 7 45 . T he S ub-Circular F ea ture . T his s hallow , a morPhous f eature s itua ted a d jacen t t o t he t erminal o f 7 43 w as f illed w ith al igh t b rown s tony s oil w ith i ndistinct e dges . i ) . F inds N o 1 0 . AB roken f lin t k nife . F ig 6 .9 .2 N O 1 . As herd , p rehistoric b u t o therwise u nidentifiable
9 ) . T he c arbonised p lan t r emains a nd t he f aunal r emains . ( B y W endy C arruthers a nd S ue B rown ). T h e 5l itre s oil s amples w ere p rocessed u sing a f ro th f lota tion m achine w ith a 0 .6mm s ieve m esh , t he r esidues o f w hich w ere d ried , s orted a nd s en t w ith o ther s amples f or i den tifica tion . T h e c arbonised p lan t r emains p resen t w ere o f e mmer w hea t a nd b arley . C on text 7 50 , p art o f t he u pper f ill o f t he l inear f ea ture 7 43 , c ontained 1 e xample o f T riticum c f ,dicoccum S chubl ( e mmer W heat ), 2 e xamples o f H ordeum s p ,
( b arley ) a nd 4
e xamp les o f i ndetermina te c ereals . C on text 7 53 , t h e u pper f ill o f t he p it , c on tained a s ingle e xample o f a n i ndetermina te c ereal a nd t he f ragmen tary r emains o f aB os i ncisor .
8 5
10). Discussion. The excavation of lithic scatters in Britain is a canparatively recent phenanenon, rotivated to a large extent by the thought that concentrations of flint on the surface must overlie hitherto undiscovered Neolithic and Bronze Age settlements. Viewed in these terms, the results of early excavations appear disappointingly negative. Al.though the excavation that led to the discovery of a rectangular Neolithic 'house' at Haldon was pranpted by the proliferation of implements appearing on the surface, rost excavations of flint scatter have failed to locate any subsoil features { Willock. E.H. 1935 ;Drewett, P. 1982; Ford, S. Pers Ccmn). others have revealed negative features which substantially predate the material found on the surface and in the topsoil {Healy, F. 1987). The scale of the proposed excavation was a central problem in determining the strategy at Post Down Fann. An investigation of the topsoil involving hand excavation and sieving, with onsite residue sorting, '\tK>Uld result in the examination of a very small area, while an attempt to locate subsoil features required the examination of a very large area. The inevitable canpranise tended to favour the fonner aims rather than the latter because it was quite possible that no subsoil features eX.isted to be found. It is difficult to ascribe a function to any of the features cut into the Chalk, although the finds fran the pit suggests a cache of danestic equipnent rather than the disposal of rubbish. Since the only securely stratified sherd, fran the linear feature, was unidentifiable, the precise dating of the features remains problematic. The artefacts fran the pit would not be out of place in a Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age context. The backed flake knife is very similar to eXamples foWld in grave groups at the Seven Barrows such as Barrow 31, which is only 450 metres fran the site (Case, H. 1956. Fig 5). Inevitably, such a small excavation leaves many questions unanswered. Considering that the flake scatter at Park Fann, {See Chapter Three) covered an area of c.50 hectares it is possible that the area examined at Post Down Farm is only part of a much larger "site" that could includes the Wellbottan town Implement scatter. In retrospect, it is possible that a dual stage excavation strategy might have been rore effective, in which samples of the topsoil were sieved prior to an examination of larger area.
86
C HAPTER S EV E / Z D ISTR IBUT ION S O F P REH IS TOR IC P O TTERY W hile p rehistoric f lintwork i s g enerally u ndamaged b y r epeated p loughing a nd f rost a ction , t he s am e c anno t b e s aid f or t he p ottery o f t he p eriod . W hen t wo h ectares o f a ncien t g rassland n ext t o t he C ausewayed E nclosure a t R obin H oods B all w ere p loughed u p i n 1 983 , o ver 3 000 s herds o f e arly N eolithic a nd B eak er p o ttery w ere b rough t t o t he s urface , m uch o f w hich i mmediately b egan t o d isin tigrate ( R ichards , J .C . 1 985 , 3 8 ).
Sherd Nu mber < t o 1
2
K ILOMETRES
, •• /
s e f -
s _ .
F ig 7 .1 T he d istribu tion o f p reh istoric p ottery w ithin t he s urvey a rea . W hile l arge q uantities o f p o ttery m ay h ave b een d iscarded t hroughou t t he N eolithic a nd e arly B ronze A ge i t i s u nlik ely t o s urvive o utsid e s ealed c on texts . F ield s urvey s e lse w here h ave f ailed t o r ecover p rehistoric p o ttery i n a ny q uan tity e ven a llowing f or t h e a malgama tion o f l a te B ronze A ge a nd I ron A ge m aterial . T h e E ast H ampshire S urvey r ecovered 8 9 e xamples , 6 4 o f w h ich w ere c lassed a s I ron A ge a nd f ound i n t he s ame f ield 8 7
( S hennan , S . 1 985 . ) w hile T h e E ast B erkshire S urvey r ecorded o nly s ix p rehistoric s herds ( F ord , S . 1 987 ). T he M addn F arm s urvey p ottery o f w hich
r ecovered a t otal o f 3 76 S herds o f p rehistoric
3 2% w ere f rom a s ingle s ite a t W eathercock H ill ( B owden , M .C .B . e t a l ,
F orthc ). I n F igure 7 .1 , n o d ifferencia tion h as b een m ade b etween L ate B ronze A ge a nd I ron A ge p o ttery s ince s o m u ch o f w ha t w as f ound c ould f it i n to e ither c ategory . O f t h e r emaining 2 56 s herds , o nly o ne c ould b e p ositively d ated t o t he m iddle I ron A ge , t wo w ere i d en tified a s D everil R imbury w hile a s ingle c ord i mpressed r im w as c lassified a s P eterborough W are ( F R aymond p ers c omm ). B oth t he f ind s po t o f t he P eterborough W are s h erd a nd t he s urface s ca tter a t W ea thercock H ill a re l oca ted i n r ecen tly p loughed u p r acing g allops , a lmost c ertainly a ccounting f or t heir s urvival I n tensive c ollection f ollowed b y as ample e xcava tion o f t he W eathercock H ill p o ttery s ca tter , b y t he B erkshire F ield R esearch G roup p roduced a f urther 2 ,760 s herds o f w hich 3 42 w ere f rom s tra tified d eposits . A lthough f ragmen ts o f c ollared u rn w ere f ound i n t he t opsoil , t he m a jority o f t he p o ttery w as i dentified a s as eries o f l ate B ronze A ge p lain b owls a nd j ars ( B owden , M .C .B e t a l , F orthc ) T he o verall p o ttery d istribution d iffers f rom e very o ther c lassifica tion o f p rehistoric a rtefact i n t ha t i t i s f ound t hroughou t t he s urvey a rea . W ith s ome e xcep tions , i t p robably a ll d a tes f rom t he l ate B ronze a ge o r e arly I ron A ge w ith m ost o f t he p ottery f abrics r anged f rom m id t o d ark b rown w ith b urn t f lin t g ritting . O nly o ne m a jo r c oncentration c oincided w ith a f lake s catter s ite o n R ussley D own a lthough a s ubstancial a moun t o f p o ttery w as r ecovered f rom a f ield i mmedia tely t o t h e w est i n w hich n o c oncentrations o f f lin t w ere l oca ted . I mmediatly t o t he n orth o f b oth o f t hese p o ttery c oncen trations i s t he R ussley D own l inear d itch , e xcava tions o f w hich
h ad p rodu ced a
v ery s imilar a ssemblage ( F ord , S . 1 981 , 7 ). I n t he E ast o f t he s urvey a rea , s maller c on centrations w ere l oca ted i n c lose p roximity t o E ast D itch a nd E ast G arston D own D itch h owever t he t hree o ther c oncentra tions i ncluding W eathercock H ill h ad n o s uch a ssocia tion .
8 8
C H APTER E IG HT
T HE A RCHAEOL OGICAL C ONTEXT O F T HE R OMAN P ER IOD O N T HE B ERKSHIRE D OWNS . T he n a ture a nd e xten t o f R omano B ritish a ctivity o n t he
B erkshire D owns i s l ittle k nown
a s t he r elatively u nimpressive r emains o f t his p eriod h ave a ttracted s can t a rchaeolog ical a tten tion . T his i s i n c ontrast w ith o ur k nowledge o f t he p rehistory o f t he D owns , w hose i mpressive a nd n ationally r enowned m onuments h ave s timulated a g rea t d eal o f a cademic a tten tion a nd p ublished w o rks .
P eake , i n h is a uthoritative w ork o n B erkshire a rchaeology
i n 1 931 , c ommented t ha t " the [ Ru m ] r emains f ound o n t he r idge o f t he D owns a re f or t he m ost p art u nimportan t" , w hilst R ichards b oth n oted t he g aps w ithin t he s ettlemen t e vidence a nd e xpressed d oub ts a s t o t he u tility o f t he a vailable i nformation i n a ny a ssessmen t o f R aman a ctivity o n t he D owns ( P eake , H .J .E . 1 931 , 1 05 ; R ichards , J .C . 1 978 ). T he p re v ious l ack o f f ieldwork t hus h inders a ny d etailed d iscussion o f t he a rchaeological a nd h istorical c on text o f t he M add 3e F arm s ettlemen t a nd v illa . D espite t he p resence o f al arge n umber o f h illforts
s urrounding t he s urvey a rea , m any o f
w hich h ave y ielded e vidence f or l a te I ron A ge o ccupa tion , t he i mmedia te p re-Roman p olitical a nd s ocial a llegiances o f t he a rea r emain u nclear . T he e quivocal g eographical p osition o f t h e r egion b etween t he o ppida o f B agendon a nd S ildhester d enies a ny a ttempt t o p opulate i t w ith p eople o f e ither t he D obunni o r t he A trebates . A lthough o ur k nowledge o f t h e p olitical g eography o f t h e c onquest p eriod i s i ncomplete , i t i s c ertain t ha t t he B erkshire D owns , i ncluding t he a rea c ontained w ithin t he M addle F arm s urvey p ro ject , m ust h ave b een r apidly a bsorbed w ithin t he C laudian p rovince o f B ritannia . R ecen t e xcava tions a t C irencester h ave p rovided u seful i n formation o n t he n ature o f t he e arly m ilitary o ccupation o f t he r egion ; h ere , am ilitary g arrison a nd a f ort w ere f ound t o h ave b een p resen t b etween c .49 a nd 7 0-80 A .D . S ome e vidence m ay a lso e xist f or e ven e arlier m ilitary s ites a t b o th C irencester a nd W a n :borough ( W acher , J . a nd M CWhirr , A . 1 982 ). T he b rief p eriod o f o ccupa tion s eems t o h ave e nded w hen t he m ilitary f rontier m oved f urther n orth ; t he D owns a nd s urrounding a reas w ere l eft t o d evelop g radually a s p art o f t he c ivilian p rovince w ith l ittle e vidence o f d rama tic c h ange b etween t he l a te I ron A ge a nd R oman p eriods . N O s ignifican t c oncen trations o f c ivilian p opulations h ave b een f ound o n t he B erkshire D owns . W ithin t he w ider r egion , C irencester ( C orinium D obunnorum ) a nd S ilchester ( C alleva A treba tum ) d eveloped a s C ivitas c apitals s erving t he D obunni a nd A trebatic t ribal a reas r espectively . Sma ller , l ocal c entres h ave b een l oca ted a t W anborough , t he s mall R oman t own o f D urocornovium , a nd a f ew , a s y et p oorly d efined , c en tres o f p opula tion a re k nown t o h ave e xisted a t T hatdham a nd W ickham ( R ichards , J .C . 1 978 ). A ll o f t he s maller s ites a bove w ere c onnected b y E rmin e S treet , w hich a lso p assed a s hort d istance t o t he w est o f M addle F arm ( s ee f ig . 8 .1 ).
8 9
20
G lenu m
K ILO METRES
Durocornov iu m
Cunef io Aquae Su l is CaHeva
F ig 8 .1 T he p rincipal R oman s ettlements i n t he r egion . T he m a jority o f t he a vailable s ettlemen t e vidence f or t he B erkshire D owns i ndicates a p r imarily r ural p opula tion . W ith t he e xception o f af ew s ites t en ta tively d escribed a s v illages , s uch a s t hose a t E lling a nd M äddle F arm i tself , t he a rchaeologica l r ecord h as h owever y ielded l ittle e vidence o f s ettlemen t h ierarchy a mongst t his p opula tion o n t h e D owns ( R ic h ards , J .C . 1 978 ). T he e vidence f or D ownland v illas , f or i nstance , i s p oor , i n c on trast t o s urrounding a reas . T h e r egion t o t he n orth o f t he D owns , n ow i n S outh O xfordshire , h as y ielded a n umber o f v illas w hich a ppear t o h ave d eveloped a long t he b ase o f t he c halk s carp i n t he V ale o f t he W hite H orse . O ne s uch v illa w as r ecorded a t W oolstone , o nly 5 k ilometres t o t he n orth o f t he M äddle v illa , w here e xcavations r evealed as ubstan tial b uilding h ousing m osaics a nd p ain ted w all p laster ( P eake , H .J .E . 1 931 ; H am ilton , A . 1 959 ). T he p alatial r esidences k nown f rom N orth W iltshire s uc h a s t he v illas o f L ittlecote a nd G rea t B edwyn c ertainly h ave n o p arallels o n t he D owns a nd i n 1 950 R hodes w ent s o f ar a s t o w rite t hat " upon t he D owns p roper w e h ave n o a uthentic ' v illa ', n or u pon t he e viden ce o f S alisbury P lain a nd C ranbourn e C hase n eed w e e xpect t o f ind o ne" ( F tere ,S . 1 985 ; R hodes , P .P . 1 950 , 1 6 ). A lthough w e m ay a ccep t t h e f act t ha t t h e B erkshire D owns d id n ot w itness b uildings o f a n e quivalen t s ta ture t o t hose f ound e lsewhere i n t he r egion , w e s hould b e c autious a bout d enying t h e e xisten ce o f s om e d egree o f s ocial d ifferentia tion i n t he a rea . W ith r espect t o t he e arlier q uote b y R hodes f or i nstance , h e a lso e xpressed t he o pinion t hat a b uilding f ound a t S tan cowbe D own , a bou t 5k m t o t h e e ast o f t h e M addle v illa , w hich h ad 9 0
s tone r oo fing t iles , t esserae a nd ' s tencilled w all p laster ' w as n o t av illa ( R hodes , p .p . 1 950 , 1 6 ). T he b uildin g m ay n o t h ave h ad t his s ta tus , b u t i t c ertainly i ndica tes t ha t a t t he v ery l east , t he o ccupan t h arboured s ome a rchitectural p retensions a nd w e s hould e xpect s ome d egree o f s ocial o r e conomic d ifferen tia tion t o f ollow . An umber o f s imilar s ites ( F ig 8 .2 ) l abelled " substantial b uildings" w ere r ecorded a fter t he a bove d iscovery i n 1 882 a nd h ave b een d iscussed b y R ichards i n h is e valua tion o f t he a rea ( R ichards , J .C . 1 978 ). F ew o f t hese b uildings h ave r eceived a ny r ecent a rchaeological a ttention ; t he m a jority , l ike t ha t o f S tancombe D own , w ere r ecorded a s c hance f inds d uring a gricultural a ctivity a nd w ere n o t s ub ject t o r igorous a rchaeological i nvestigation . O ne s uch s ite , a t S tarveall F arm , 5k m t o t he w est o f M äddle F arm a nd w ithin t he s urvey a rea , w as p artially e x cava ted a nd p rovided e vidence o f m osaic f looring a nd u nderfloor h eating . T he b uilding a ppears t o h ave b een c onstru cted d uring t he t hird c en tury a nd m ay h ave h ad a r ela tively s hort l ife ( P hilips , B . 1 981 ). T he a rchaeological e vidence a vailable b efore t he o nset o f t he M addle F arm s urvey i ndica ted t ha t t h e m a jority o f t h e n a tive d ownland R omano B ritish p opula tion l ived o n t hose s ites w hich h ave b een c alled ' s ettlements '. M any o f t hese s ites s urvived a s e arthworks u n til t he r ecen t o nset o f a rable a griculture . Ac ombina tion o f t h e a vailab ility o f g ood a erial p ho tographs a nd t he o nset o f i ntensive p loughing h as c reated as itua tion c on c lusive t o t he d iscovery o f t his t ype o f s ite a nd w e n ow h ave a b etter k now ledge o f t heir d istribu tion i n t he a rea t han a t a ny t ime i n t he p ast . An umber o f i nvestiga tions o f s uch ' s ettlemen t ' s ites h as g iven g rea ter i nsight i n to t h ei r f unctions . E Xcava tion o f a n e nclosure a t .Botley C opse , w hich c on tained " T s haped c orn d riers" a nd q uernstones , p rovided e viden ce f or t he a gricultural b asis o f t hese t ypes o f s ettlements a nd w ork b y R hodes o n as imilar s ite a t
. d stone D own p rovided a R omano B ritish d a ta
a lthough l ittle i n formation o n t he n a ture o f t h e s ite ( C unnington , W . 1 866 ; R hodes , P .P . 1 954 ). A n i m portan t f ea ture o f m any o f t hese ' s ettlements ' i s t heir f requent a ssociation w ith d itched e nclosures . T hese f ea tures h ave o ften p reviously b een a ssigned a p rehistoric d a te b ut a n i ncreasing a mount o f e vidence i ndica tes t ha t m any o f t hem h ave d irect a ssocia tions w ith R omano B ritish s ettlemen t a ctivity ( B radley , Ra nd E llison , A . 1 975 , d i . 5 ) . T his t ype o f d itch e d e nclosure h ad a v ariety o f f unctions . S ome o f t hem , i ncluding B otley C opse , O .ston e D own , t he U ffington D own e nclosure a nd t ha t a d ja cen t t o t h e h illfort a t R am 's H ill , a ppear t o h ave h oused s ettlements ( P iggott ,C . a nd P iggott , S . 1 940 ; R hodes , P .P . 1 950 , 1 954 ; B radley , Ra nd E llison , A . 1 976 ). T h e e nclosure e xcava ted a t L owbury m ay h ave h ad a r eligious f unction a nd t hose a t K nigh ton B ushes a nd B ee c h , s pecialist a gricu ltu ral u ses , a lthough t h e e xample a t B eech p roved n ot t o h ave a n e nclosing d itch a nd m ay p re-da te s imilar R oman e nclosures ( A tkinson , D . 1 916 ; R ic ha rds , J .C . 1 978 ; B owden , M .C .B a t a l . f orth c . ). T h e l arge , a nomalous a nd i rregular e nclosure a t H arley B ushes m ay p ost d ate t he R oman p eriod b ut a s t he s ite h as n o t b een e xcava ted , t his h ypo thesis m ust r emain c on jectural ( R hodes , P .P . 1 950 ). T he m ost s ignifican t l andscape a rchaeological f eatures a ssociated w ith t he R aman s ettlemen ts o f t h e B erkshire D owns a re t h e e x tensive r elic a gricultura l s y stems k nown a s ' C eltic f ields '. M uch o f o ur k now ledge o f t he e x tent o f t hese s ystems , a nd i ndeed o f a ssocia ted s ettlemen ts , r esults f rom t h e w ork o f P .P . R hodes , w ho c arried o u t a n e x tensive s urvey u sing anal p ho tographs i n t he 1 940s ( R hodes , P .P . 1 950 ). T his w ork h as 9 1
N
0
1
2
Challow •:
A Woolstone
KILOMETRES
♦
I
I
Town Villa
0 Enclosure/ Settlemen t
i I
/
i
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Fig 8.2 Ranan sites in the survey area.
b een f urthered b y s ubsequen t s urveys b y R ichards a nd B radley i n t he 1 970s a nd h as l ed t o t he i nclusion o f t he B erkshire e vidence i n an umber o f d ebates o n t he n a ture o f e arly l and u se ( B radley , Ra nd
R ichards , J .C . 1 978 ; R ichards , J .C . 1 978 ; F ord , Se t a l .
f orthc . ). T he d a ting e vidence f or t he o rigin o f t hese f ield g roups i s u n fortunately r a ther t enuou s ; R ichards a p tly a ssessed t h e s itua tion w hen h e w rote " th e c hronology f o r t he f ield s ystems i s f or t he m ost p art v ague a nd a lmost t otally r elative
( R ichards
1 978 , 3 8 ). E viden ce w ithin B erkshire i s c on fined t o t he e x cava tion o f t hree l ynchets , a t S trea tley W arren , W ayland 's S mithy a nd R am 's H ill a nd t he a ppa ren t a ssocia tion o f b locks o f f ields w ith o ther , m ore p recisely d a table , a rchaeological f ea tures , p articularly B ronze A ge l inear d itches ( M ills , A . 1 948 ; A tkinson , R . 1 965 ; B radley , Ra nd E llison , A . 1 975 ).
D espite t h e l ack o f f irm d a ta , o pinion h as t ended i n t h e p ast t o f avour a
p rehistoric , o ften l ate B ronze a ge , o rigin f or s uc h f ield s ystems , a lthough R ichards d id n ote t ha t s ome g roups o f f ields d id d emonstra te m orphological c hara cteristics t ha t m igh t i ndica te a R oman o rigin o r m odifica tion f o r t hem ( B radley , Ra nd R ic ha rds , J .C . 1 978 ; R ichards , J .C . 1 978 ). R ecen t w ork w ould a ppear t o c ontradict t he t raditiona lly h eld v iew o f ap rehistoric d ate f or t h e ' C eltic ' f ield s ystems . Ar eappraisal o f t h e a erial p ho tographic e vidence b y S . F ord s uggests t ha t " the i ncidence o f f ield s ystems p hy sically p redating l inear e arthworks i s v ery r are a nd c ou ld e ven b e l imited t o as ingle b lock o f f ields f or w hich v agu e a erial p ho tographs p rovide t he o nly e vidence" ( F ord , S . 1 982 ). A nalysis o f m olluscan s amples f rom e x cava tions a cross l in ear f ea tures a lso i ndica tes t ha t a rable a griculture , t h e p rincipa l v ehicle f or l ynchet f orma tion , " seem s t o b e aR oman f ea ture o n t hese s ites" ( F ord , S . 1 982 , 1 7 ). T he i mpa ct o f R oman c ultiva tion o n t h e B erkshire D owns h as b een e mphasised b y r ecen t r ese a rc h o n C eltic f ield s y stem s b y t he B erkshire A rchaeological S ociety F ield R esearch G roup , w hose e x cava tions a cross C eltic f ield l ynchets c learly i ndicated t he i mportance o f R oman a gricultural p ractices i n l ynchet f orma tion ( F ord , Se t a l . f orthc . ). W hile n ot d enying t h e e xistence o f p rehistoric f ield s y stems w ithin t he a rea , e xcava ted e vidence s eems t o p oin t t o t he i ntensification o f a gricultural a ctivity , p erhaps i n cluding l and c learan ce , d urin g t h e e arly R oman p eriod , i n c on trast t o t he l a te I ron A ge , w hen e nvironmental e vidence s uggests t ha t t he B erkshire D owns w ere n ot i n tensively u sed f or a rable a griculture . T h e a ccumula ting e viden ce f or a gricultural i ntensifica tion w ithin t he a rea d uring t he R aman p eriod i ndica tes t he p ro found , i f s ubtle , e ffect t ha t i ncorpo ra tion w ithin t h e E mpire h ad u pon a n a rea w hich , b y v irtu e o f i ts u n impressive a rchitectural r emains , m ay a ppear t o h old l ittle o f i nterest f or t he a rchaeologist . T his i s a n i mportan t c on clusion t o d raw a nd w ill b e d iscussed f urth er i n t he l igh t o f r esu lts p rovided b y t he M addle F a rm p ro ject . T he s ite a t M addle F arm i n corpora ted m ost o f t he a rchaeological f ea tures d escribed a bove . I n terpreted a s a' v illage ' b y R idhards , t he s ite c omprises t wo p arts ( R ic ha rds , J .C . 1 978 ). F irstly , t he ' s ettlemen t ' a t K nigh ton B ushes , c onsisting o f ar ectangular e nclo sure a nd s emi-circular c ropmark , w hich w as f irst r ecorded i n d etail b y R hodes i n 1 950 ( R hod es , P .P . 1 950 ). A lthough o ccasionally i n terpreted a s ap rehistoric f ea ture , t h e e nclosure l ies w ithin a l arge s ca tter o f R oman p o ttery e stimated b y R ichards i n 1 978 t o c over o ver 3 0 h ectares ( H ocklin , J .R .A . 1 934 ; R ichards , J .C . 1 978 ). A l imited s urvey b y R ic ha rds i ndica ted a s econd f eature o f t he s ite , ab uilding w ith a s tone t iled r oo f a nd t essela ted p avemen ts , s i tua ted i n t h e p addock o f M addle F arm , c .700 m etres f rom t h e K nighton B ushes e nclosure . T he i mplied a gricultural b asis o f t he c omplex h as b een 9 3
e mphasised b y r ecent s tudies o f B erkshire C eltic f ield s ystems ; t he W hole K nigh ton B ushes/Maddle F arm c omplex l ies w ithin a n e xtensive s ystem , p art o f w hich i s c omposed o f l ong , n arrow f ield t ypes w hich m ay b e a ssociated w ith R oman a griculture ( F ord , Se t a l . f orthc . ).
A lthough n o p art o f t he s ettlemen t c omplex h ad b een e xcavated b efore 1 981 , s omething w as k nown o f i ts l ayou t a nd f unction . F irstly , r ecen t s tudies o f a erial p ho tographs o f t he a rea ( P late 2 ) t hat t he s ubstantia l b uilding a t M addle F arm l ay w ithin a w alled e nclosure a nd a s s uch w as i nterpreted a s t he p rincipal b uilding o f t he s ettlement . S econdly , a gricultural w ork o n t he s ite b y M r . N ick S pence , t he p resent o wner o f M addle F arm , u n earthed a s eries o f f ea tures i n terpreted a s c orn d riers i n t he s ame f ield a s t he s ubstan tial b uilding . D espite t he s emantic p roblems a ssocia ted w ith t he d efinition o f t he n a ture o f s uch b uildings , t he a gricultural b asis o f t he s ite a nd t he m odest a ttemp ts a t " Romanisation" d isplayed b y t he M add le b uilding w ould a ppear t o j ustify t he a pplica tion o f t h e t erm ' v illa ' t o t he b uilding a nd t he i n terpretation o f t he c omplex a s t he c entre o f a n a gricultural e state . T he d irect a ssociation o f s ettl ement a nd ' v illa ' a t M addle F arm i s m ost i nteresting . T he d istinction b etween v illage , s ettlemen t a nd s ubstan tial b uilding m ade b y e arlier a u thors m ay b e i llusory i f t he p rincipal d ifference b etween s ettlemen t t ypes t urns o u t t o b e t he g eographical d istance b etween a v illa a nd a ssocia ted s ettlemen t . I f t his p roves t o b e t he c ase , a rguments f or s ite h ier a rc hy w ithin t hese c ategories m ay b e m isdirected ; t he f irst s tep t owards e stablishing s uch a h ierarchy s hould p erhaps b e a n a ttemp t t o d efin e s ocial a nd t enurial l inks b etween v illa a nd s ettlemen t s ites r ather t han m aking d iscriminations b etween t hem . W ith r espect t o s ite d ensity , R ichards c ommented t hat t he o verall s ettlemen t p attern o n t he D owns a s i llustrated b y t h e a rchaeological r ecord i s s parse c ompared t o o ther w ell d ocumented a reas e lse w he re i n B ritain a nd s uggested t ha t u nassocia ted b urials m ight p rovide a c lu e t o t he p osition o f s ettlements . T his i s a n i n teresting s uggestion a s b urials a re c ertainly a ssociated w ith t he v illas a t S tancombe D own a nd M addle F arm ( R hodes , P .P . 1 950 ). T he d iscovery o f t hree R oman b urials a t U pper L ambourn , j ust o ver 2 k ilometres t o t he s outh o f M addle F arm , m ay t herefore i ndicate t he p resence o f u nlocated s ettlemen ts ( R ichards , J .C . 1 976 ). I t m ust b e s aid , h owever , t ha t t he l ack o f e viden ce f or t he p osition , n ature a nd h ier a rc hy o f s ettlemen ts o n t he D owns w ill o nly b e m ade g ood b y f urther f ieldwork . 2 ) . F ield w ork f or t he R oman p eriod . I nvestiga tion o f t he R oman p eriod i n t he s urvey a rea n ecessita ted f our t ypes o f s urvey t echniques . 1 ) E x tensive S urvey . I nitially a 2 km r adius o f t he M addle F arm V illa , t he c ore a rea , w as e xamined , c orresponding t o t h e v illas h ypothetical c a tchmen t a rea ( H iggs , E .S a nd V ita-Finzi , C . 1 972 ). I t w as h oped t ha t t his a rea w ould c ontain e vidence f or l and u se a nd s ettlemen ts a ssociated w ith t h e v illa e sta te . S ubsequen tly a s eries o f 5 00 m etre w ide 9 4
t ransects e xpanded t h e s urvey t o t he n eighbouring v illas h opefully t o p rovide e vidence f or s ite h ierarchy a nd e state b oundaries ( F ig 1 .1 ). 2 ) I n tensive S urvey . T wo i ntensive s urveys w ere c arried o ut , a t t he K nighton B ushes S ettlemen t a nd t he M äddle F arm V illa , t o p rovide e vidence f or i ntra s ite p a tterning a nd s ocial d ifferencia tion b etween t he s ites a s w ell a s d etermining a s ta tegy f or e x cavation . 3 ) S ub-Surface S urvey . AT est P it s urvey w as c arried o ut t o h elp t est t he r eliability o f t h e e xtensive s urvey d a ta . 4 ) E Xcavation . E kcavation t ook p lace a t t he K nighton B ushes a nd M äddle F arm s ites t o p rovide i nfoma tion o n t heir c hronology , s tatus a nd e conomic b asis a s w ell a s t o t est t h e r esults o f t he i ntensive s urface s urvey . T he m a jority o f t h e R oman f inds w ere c eramic s herds o f w hich 4 3 ,097 w ere r ecovered a nd a nalysed d uring t he c ourse o f t he p ro ject . T able 8 .1 s how s t he a mount r ecovered f rom e ach o f t he f our s urvey t echniques . O ther R oman a rtefacts f ormed a t iny p ercen tage o f a ll f inds a nd a re c ommen ted o n w here n ecessary e lsewhere i n t he t ext . T ABLE 8 .1 : T he d istribution o f r ecovered p ottery . E Xtensive
I ntensive
S urvey
S urvey
S urvey
T tansects 4 241 T otal
C ore 3 546
S ettlement 4 403
S ub-Surface
V illa
E X cavation
S ettlam t . V illa
3 150
2 0877
787
7 553
2 33
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%o f T o tal S herd D ensity
p er s q M etre . * - A ssuming a 1 m etre w ide c o llection s trip ( F ord , S . 1 987 ).
9 5
623
C HAP TER N INE
AC OM PARATIVE A NALYSIS O F I NTENSIVE S URFACE C OLLDZ I TIONS C ARRIED O UT O VE R T HE M ADDLE F ARM V ILLA A ND K NIGHTON B USHE S S ET TL E/21 M I . I ntroduction . B efore w ork b y t he M addle F arm p ro ject b egan , i n 1 981 , t he a rea a round t he s ite h ad a lready b een n oted f or i ts d ense c oncentration o f R oman a rtefacts . D espite t he l ack o f e vidence f or r emaining s tructures , s uggestions w ere m ade a s t o t he p ossibility o f t he e xistence o f a" village" o r v illa o n t he s ite ( R ichards , J .C . 1 978 , 4 7 ). A n i nitial a ssessment o f t he a rchaeological p otential o f t he M addle F arm v illa a nd t he s ettlemen t a t K nigh ton B ushes w as m ade b y t he p ro ject t eam i n 1 981 . T he a rea i n a nd a round t he s ites w as s ub ject t o w ide s paced f ield w alking a nd a n e xamination o f r elevant a erial p hotographs t ook p lace . W ork o n t he a erial p hotographic r ecord r evealed t he e xistence o f ar ectangular b uilding w ith a t l east t wo m a jor i nternal d ivisions a nd a c ourtyard a rea o f a pproximately 0 .5 h a . e nclosed b y aw all . Al arge , a morphous f ea ture w hich a ppears i n t he w estern h alf o f t he e nclosed c ourtyard a ppears o n e arly O rdnance S urvey m aps a s ac halk p it a nd i s a ssumed t o p ostdate t he v illa b uilding . T he v illa l ay o n ag entle s outh-facing s lope w ithin a s eries o f d egraded ' C eltic ' f ields a nd c oincided w ith t he d ensest a rea o f s ettlement d ebris n oted b y R ichards ( 1 978 , f ig . 2 6 ). A t K nighton B ushes , an umber o f f eatures w ere e vident f rom a erial p hotographs a nd e arlier f ield o bservations ( see a bove . R hodes , P .P . 1 950 , 1 8 ). T he m ost n otable o f t hese w as a t hree s ided r ectangular e nclosure , e xtant u ntil t he o nset o f m odern p loughing . I mmediately t o t he w est o f t his l ay a s emi-circular s oilmark w hich R ichards h ad p ostulated t o b e a s ettlemen t ( R ichards , J .C . 1 978 , f ig . 2 6 ). B oth f eatures l ay o n s lightly u ndulating g round s loping g ently t o t he n orth ( F ig . 9 .1 ). O nce t he v illa a nd t he s ettlement a t K nighton B us hes h ad b een s tudied i n t his w ay , i t w as d ecided t o s ub ject t hem t o a n i ntensive s urface c ollection b efore a ny e xcavations s hould t ake p lace . A ll s urface c ollection w as c arried o u t w ithin a 5 x5 m etre g rid l aid o u t t o c orrespond w ith t he O rdnance S urvey h ectare g rid . T his s ame c ollection g rid w as s ubsequently u sed a s as ampling g rid d uring e xcavations s o t hat r esults g ained f rom t he s urface s urvey c ould b e c ompared q uantitively w ith t hose o btained f rom t he e xcavations . A t t he v illa s ite , a n a rea o f 2 .35 h ectares w as e xamined b y i ntensive s urface c ollection , c overing t he w hole o f t he a ssumed v illa s tructure , i ts a ssociated e nclosure a nd a c onsiderable a rea a round t he c omplex . A ll p ottery a nd c eramic r oof t ile w as c ollected . T he s urvey t eam w as a lso a ware t ha t s ubstan tial a mounts o f l imestone r oo fing t iles w ere p resent o n t he v illa s ite . T hese w ere n ot c ollected , a s r esources t o q uantify t his m aterial w ere n ot a vailable , b u t t he p resence o r a bsence o f t his m aterial i n e ac h c ollection u nit w as n oted .
A t t he K nighton B ushes s ite , a n a rea o f 2 .5 h ectares w as
w alked , c overing t he a rea o f t he d itched e nclosure a nd t he p utative s emi-circular f eature . D uring t he s urvey , i t w as n oted t hat s arsen r ubble t ended t o c oncentrate i n t he l atter a rea a nd i t w as p ostulated t hat t his m igh t b e b uilding d ebris - i ndeed o ne b lock w as n oted a s h aving a c hamfered e dge . O nce a gain , r esources w ere n ot a vailable t o a llow
9 6
•H r s i
9 7
t his m aterial t o b e t reated q uan titavely a nd t he p resence/absence a lone o f s tone w as m apped . Ac ontour s urvey w as a lso c arried o ut o ver t he a rea w alked . I I . T he D istribution O f A rtefacts O ver T he V illa A nd S ettlement . 1 ) R oman M aterial . a ) T he M addle F arm V illa . ( i ) P ottery ( s ee f ig . 9 .2 ) -at otal o f 3 ,150 s herds w eighing 3 2 .98kg w as r ecovered f rom t he i n tensive c ollection o ver t he M addle F arm v illa . T he d istribution o f t he p ottery c losely c oincided w ith t he r ectangular b uilding a s d etermined b y a erial p hotographs . S herd n umbers t ended t o c oncentrate i n t he m iddle a nd w estern h alf o f t he b uilding , w ith f urther s ignificant c oncentrations i n t he e astern h alf o f t he c ourtyard a way f rom t he a rea o f t he p ostula ted q uarry . O nly s mall a mounts o f p ottery w ere p icked u p f rom t he e nclosed c omplex . T his p attern i s c onfirmed w hen t he d ata i s s moothed , a s s hown b y f ig 9 .3 . ( i i ) C eramic B uilding M aterial ( F ig 9 .4 ) -at otal o f 8 61 f ragments o f c eramic b uilding m aterial
-e ssentially b rick a nd t ile - w eighing 3 4 .33kg w as c ollected d uring
t he i ntensive c ollection . T he d istribution o f t ile f ragments w as c losely l inked t o t he v illa e nclosure s oilmark w ith f ew p ieces b eing f ound a way f rom t he v illa c omplex . W ithin t he s tructure i tself , C .B .M . t ended t o c oncentrate i n t he c entral a rea o f t he b uilding a nd , i n c ontrast w ith t he p o ttery , i t f avoured t he w estern h alf o f t he e nclosure , o ver t he a rea m arked d own a s ap ossible q uarry . ( i ii ) L imestone R oofing T iles ( F ig . 9 .5 ). L imestone r oofing t iles w ere n ot c ollected a nd q uantified b ut t heir p resence i n o r a bsence f rom e ach c ollection u nit w as r ecorded . S tone r oo fing m aterial w as n oted i n 1 15 c ollection u nits a nd i ts d istribution o ver t he s ite i s c omparable t o t hat o f c eramic b uilding m aterial . A gain , i t t ends t o o ccur i n t he w estern a nd c entral a reas o f t he v illa b uilding a nd i n t he w estern h alf o f t he e nclosure . ( iv ) T esserae ( F ig 9 .5 ). T welve i ndividual c eramic a nd l imestone t essera w ere f ound d uring t he s urvey . O nly o ne o f t hese c ame f rom a bove t he v illa b uilding i tself. T he m a jority o f t he m aterial w as a ssociated w ith t he d ense s catter o f c eramic b uilding m aterial i n t he w estern h alf o f t he v illa e nclosure . C omments o n A rtefact D istributions A t T he M addle F arm V illa . T here w as a s trong a ssociation b etween a ll t ypes o f a rtefacts a nd t he v illa c omplex , w ith l ittle m aterial b eing f ound b eyond t he c onfines o f t he e nclosure . B oth t he p o ttery a nd t he c eramic b uilding m a terial s how s ignifican t d ensities i n t he c entral a nd w estern p art o f t he b uilding r ather t han i n t he e astern h alf . E xcavation s eems t o i ndicate t hat t his r eflects t he g rea ter d egree o f d amage d one t o a rchaeological d eposits i n t he w estern h alf o f t he b uilding . T he m ost i nteresting f eature o f t he a rtefact d istributions i s t he m arked d issimilarity b etween p o ttery a nd C .B .M d ensities w ithin t he v illa c ourtyard . T he p o ttery t ends t o c oncentrate i n t he e astern h alf o f t he e nclosure , a lthough t his m ay r eflect d isturbance
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o f aw ider s ca tter b y t he q uarry-like f ea ture i n t he w estern h alf o f t he c ourtyard ( F ig .9 .2 ; P late 2 ) . D espite t his , d ensities o f C .B .M . a re g reater i n t he w estern h alf o f t he e nclosure a nd i ndeed a re g reater h ere t han w ithin t he a rea o f t he b uilding i tself ( s ee f ig . 9 .4 ). A erial p hotographic e vidence f or a p ost-Roman q uarry i n t he w estern h alf o f t he e nclosure t ogether w ith e xcavated p roo f o f p ost-Roman d amage t o t he w estern h alf o f t he v illa b uilding s uggests t ha t t his d istribution m ust r esult , i n p art a t l east , f rom t he d amage a nd m odifica tion o f a rchaeological d eposits ; t he f act t ha t t he d ensest c oncentra tion o f c eramic m aterial l ies d ownhill f rom t he v illa m ay b e s ignifican t , a r esult o f p loughing a nd o f t he m achine c learance o f s arsens f rom t he f ield . I t i s d ifficult t o e xplain , h owever , h ow t he a rchaeological r ecord w as m odified i n s uch a w ay a s t o a llow o nly c eramic b uilding m a terial t o b e r epresented i n t he s urface r ecord a t t he e xpense o f p o ttery . O ne a lterna tive t heory i s t hat a nother , u ndetected , b uilding e xisted i n t he w estern h alf o f t he c ourtyard a nd t ha t i ts d amaged u pper s tra tigraPhy i s r epresented b y t he s pread o f b uilding m a terial . I t h as b een s uggested t hat i ts f unction m ay h ave b een s uch t ha t C .B .M b u t n o t p o ttery w as a ssocia ted w ith t he s tructure ; t he p aucity o f p o ttery w ithin s ome p restigious b uildings , p ossibly a s ar esult o f c leaning , c ould r esult i n t he t ype o f a rte fact d istribu tion d escribed a bove . I n t he a bsence o f e xcava ted e vidence , h owever , a ll s uch t heories m ust r emain h ypothetical . 2 ) T he K nighton B ushes S ettlemen t . ( i ) P o ttery ( F igs . 9 .6 , 9 .7 ) -at otal o f 4 ,403 s herds o f p ottery w eighing 5 0 .05kg w as c ollected f rom t he s urface o f t he K nigh ton B ushes s ettlemen t . I t w as a pparen t t hat t he p ottery t ended t o a void t he r ectangular e nclosure a nd t hat i t c oncentrated i n t he a rea t o t he s outh w est o f t his f ea ture . M bst o f t he r ecovered p ottery c ame f rom w ithin t he s emi-circular e nclosure n oted o n a erial p ho tographs , w ith t hree f urther p o ttery c oncentra tions o ccuring t o t he w est o f t his . A ll t he d iscrete g roups d escribed a bove w ere l ater i nvestigated b y e xcava tion . ( i i ) C eramic B uilding M aterial ( i p t I llustrated ) -o nly 1 6 f ragments o f t ile w eighing 1 .18kg w ere r ecovered f rom t he K nighton B ushes s ettlement . L ittle c ould b e d iscerned f rom s uc h as mall d atabase . ( i ii ) O ther M aterials et I llustrated ) -n o e vidence f or s tone r oo fing w as f orthcoming a nd o nly o ne t essera w as r ecovered d uring t he s urvey . C omments O n T he A rte fact D istribution A t K nigh ton B ushes . I n c ontrast t o t he v illa s ite , t he s ettlemen t a t K nigh ton B ushes c on tained n o o bvious s tructural e lemen ts w ith w hich t he s urface a rtefact d istributions c ould b e c ompared ; o nly f ield a nd e nclosure b oundaries c ould b e d iscerned f rom a erial p hotographs . D espite t his , an umber o f i n teresting p oints a bout t he p o ttery d istribu tions a t K nighton B ushes c an b e m ade . i ) T here i s as trong n ega tive c orrela tion b etween s urface p o ttery c oncen trations a nd t he r ectangular e nclosure a t K nigh ton B ushes . A lthough i t i s s ometimes t emp ting t o e qua te c oncentra tions w ith h abitation , i t w ould n o t b e s afe t o a ssume t ha t s ettlemen t w as a bsen t
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fran the enclosure on the basis of negative evidence alone. Subsequent excavations at Knighton Bushes revealed two things. Firstly, the nnst prominent surface pottery concentrations were linked with non-structural farmyard deix>sits rather than buildings. Secondly, sarsen spreads which may be linked with structural features did exist between dense p:,ttery scatters. As with the p:,ttery, the sarsen spreads seemed to avoid the rectangular enclosure and if indeed the stone represented here was used for building, We can infer that the south western part of the survey area was that nost likely to have been associated with habitation. The results of the surface collection and excavations appear to be confirmed by the magnetaneter survey carried out at Knighton Bushes. Given the lack of evidence for danestic activity fran within the enclosure we have tentatively suggested a non-habitational function for this feature. lt>rphologically, the enclosure is not dissimilar fran a 'Celtic' field and such may have been its origin; excavation indicated however that it had a ditch, unlike excavated fields elsewhere on the Downs (Bowden, M.C.B et al. forthc.). Thus the suggestion that the enclosure was perhaps a stockade was made. ii) The dense concentrations of pottery to the south west of the enclosure seemed to coincide with the semi-circular crOJlMI'k noted fran aerial photographs. nris was suggested to represent the habitation area of the settlement. iii) The dearth of roofing materials at Knighton Bushes seems to suggest that any buildings were probably thatched. 3). The Nature And Chronology Of Ranan Surf ace Pottery Assemblages Fran The Naddle Fann Villa And Knighton Bushes Settlement. The majority of the p:,ttery recovered fran the surf ace collection consisted of highly abraided body sherds which defied any refinement of dating other than the broad title of Rcrnan. A small number of sherds proved to be nore diagnostic; 237 sherds fran the villa site and 405 sherds fran the settlaoont were nore closely datable. 'Ihese represented 7.5% and 9.1% respectively of the total assemblages. Even f or these sherds, it was not usually p:,ssible to refine their chronology beyond their confinement to the early Ranan period (lst-!Pid 3rd century) or the late Ranan period (mid 3rd - early 5th century). Most of the local p:,ttery industries were conservative in tenns of the form.5 and fabrics in use and thus provide us with only broad chronological information. Hence Savernake fabrics and the carm:>n bead ri.u1 form.5 cannot usefully be ascribed to any period other than that of the early Ranan and similar carments apply to the canron later Ranan f onns and fabrics. Although sane sherds were relatively closely dateable, their small number argues against their use as significant determinants of chronology. i) Chronology. Th2 hist(XJrams in figure 9. 8 show the breakdown of thE databk sherds frar. bott the ·::.::.la and the settlement sites. There 1s a great deal of simil arity betwef:n the twc assemblages. Early Roma.rj JXJtt2ry constitutes 43% of all datable shc:rd.5 or the ·. -111.a s:.tc and 45% of those fran the settl ement sitf:. It is im}Xlssiblc to know if on.=: d thl site:$
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p redated t he o ther a s t he p resence o f b ead r immed v essels , S avernake w ares a nd o ther f abrics w ould s eem t o i ndica te i st o r e arly 2 nd c entury a ctivity o n b o th s ites . S econd a nd e arly 3 rd c entury f orms r epresen t 1 5% a nd 1 3% o f t he d ata r espectively . T he d ominan t w ares i n t he l a ter R aman a ssemblages c ame f rom t he O xfordshire k ilns . A lthough t he p recise d a te f or t he d isappearance o f t he O xfordshire p o tteries i s u n certain , t he p resence o f o n e s herd o f r o sette s tamped w are a t K nighton B ush es i ndica tes t hat t he s ite c on tinued t o c .370 A .D . a t l east . T he c ommon o ccurence o f s hell t empered f ab rics m ay a lso i ndica te l a te R oman a ctivity o n b o th t he v illa a nd s ettlemen t s ites .
F ig 9 .8 . T he C hronological d istribu tion o f d iagnostic p o ttery t ypes i den tified f rom i n tensive c ollection . T he t ypes o f p o ttery p resen t o n t he t wo s ites a re a lso s imilar . T he v olume o f S amian a nd S avernak e w ares f rom t he e arly R oman a ssemblages i s b roadly t he s ame o n b o th s ites a lthough t he v illa d id y ield t wo s herds o f R henish w are , t he o nly i mported p o ttery , a part f rom S amian , f ound a mongst t he s urface a ssemblage . F or t h e l a te R oman a ssemblages , s lightly m ore O xfordshire p o ttery w as f ound o n t he s ettlement s ite t han o n t he v illa w hereas m ore N ew F orest C olour C oa ted f abrics c ame f rom t h e l a tter . S patial d istribu tions o f p o ttery a re p lo tted i n F igures 9 .9 , 1 0 a nd 1 . A t t he v illa s i te , t here w as a d istinct c oncentra tion o f e arly R oman p o ttery i n t h e w estern h a l f o f t he v illa b uilding w hereas l ater R oman p o ttery s howed a m ore g eneral d istribu tion ( F ig s 9 .9 a nd 9 .10 ). O n t he s ettlemen t s ite , t h ere a re n o d iscrete c lusters o f e a rly Ro m an p o ttery ; t here i s so m e d iscrete c oncen tra tion o f l a ter m aterial , n o tably a round t h e a rea
1 06
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F ig . 9 .9 T he d istribution o f e arly RO I T I a l l p ottery a t t he M addie F arm v illa .
1 07
F ig . 9 .10 T he d istribution o f l ater R oman p ottery a t t he M addle F arm v illa .
1 08
o f t he s ubsequen t e x cava tion M F1 , b u t g en erally t h e s pread o f l a ter p o ttery w as c oinciden t w ith t he o verall s pread o f c eramics o n t he s ite ( F ig . 9 .6 ). I t i s t emp ting t o u se t he i n forma tion a bove a s e vidence o f ab roadly s imilar c hronology f or b oth s ites . T he d ata d oes h ave s evere l imita tions h ow ever . F irstly , t he c oincidence o f p o ttery d ensities i den tified d uring f ield s urvey a nd a erial p hotographic e vidence l eads t o t he c onclusion t ha t t he v illa a nd i ts c ourtyard f orm a d iscrete a rchaeolog ica l u nit ; w e m igh t t herefore c on clud e t ha t t he s urvey r epresen ts a u seful s ample o f t h e p loughed s urface o f t he s ite ( H ayfield , C . 1 987 ). W e c anno t m ake s uc h a n a ssump tion a bou t t h e s ettlement a t K nigh ton B ushes W here t he a rea e xamined b y f ield s urvey p robab ly r epresen ts o nly a p art o f al arger h abitation . W e d o n ot k now i f t his s ample i s s pa tially o r c hronologically s ignifican t ; i f , f or e xample , s ettlemen t d rift o ccured b efore o r d uring t he R oman p eriod o ur s urvey s ample m ay n o t b e v alid a nd b iased a gainst a s pecific p eriod . I f w e b elieve t ha t t he s patial s ample o f t he s ettlemen t s tudied d uring t he f ield s urvey r eflects a rchaeological a ctivity t here , w e s till c anno t a ssume t ha t t h e s urfa ce e vidence r eveals t he f ull r ange o f a ctivities t ha t t ook p lace a t t he s ite . C onsideration o f t he r ela tive d istribu tions o f d ifferen t t ypes o f p o ttery o n t h e M addle F arm v illa e mphasises t his p roblem . T he c oncentra tions o f p rehistoric p ottery o n t he w estern p art o f t he s ite ( s ee C hap ter 5 ) w ere s uch t ha t t hey g ave r easonable g rounds f or c oncern o ver t he u se o f s urface p o ttery c oncentra tions i n d etermining a reas o f a ctivity a nd c hronology .
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s imilar v ein , as tudy o f t h e r ela tive d istribu tions o f e arly a nd l ate p o ttery a t t h e v illa s hows h ow p ost d epositiona l f actors c an a ffect t he s urface r ecord . W hilst l ater R oman p ottery w as d istribu ted t hroughou t t he s ite , e arly p ottery w as c oncen tra ted o n t he w estern h alf o f t he s ite . I t c an b e n o c oincidence t ha t l ater e xcavation i ndicated t hat t his p art o f t h e c omplex w as t h e m ost b adly d amaged . T hus t he d istribu tion o f d atable R oman p ottery o n t he M addle v illa w as p rimarily t he r esult o f d ifferen tial d amage t o a rchaeological s trata r a th er t han a r eflection o f t h e o riginal c omposition o f t he d a table p o ttery o n t he s ite . ( b ) D iscussion . 1 . R oman M a terial . T he d istributions o f R aman m a terial a t t he M äddle F arm v illa a nd K nigh ton B ushes s ettlemen t c on trasted w ith e a ch o ther i n an umber o f w ays . i ) S urface c o llections c arried o u t a t b o th s ites h ave i solated a s eries o f a rtefact c lusters . A t t h e v illa s ite , p ottery c oin cided w ith t he b uilding a s o bserved o n a erial p ho tographs , ar elationship t ha t w as c onfirmed b y e xcavation ( s ee C hap ter 1 ) . T he d istibu tion o f c eram ic b uilding m a terial w as r a th er d ifferen t f rom t ha t o f t h e p ottery a nd m igh t h int a t t he p ossibility o f a nother b uilding w ithin t he v illa c omplex w hich w as s ubsequen tly q uarried a way i n t h e p o st R oman p eriod . A t t h e K nigh ton B ushes s ettlem en t i t a ppears t ha t p ottery a gain c oincides w ith h abitation a reas , f ound o utside o f t he a rea o f t he r ectangular e n closure . E x cava tion h as s hown t ha t s urface c oncen tra tions h ere m ay r elate t o f armyard r ubbish r a ther t han t o b uildings , i n c ontrast t o t he v illa s ite . T he o rigins a nd i n terpreta tions o f p a tterns r ecorded a t t h e t wo s ites a re t h erefore d ifferen t ; w e t hus s urnise t ha t t he r ela tionship b etween s urface a rtefac t d ensities a nd s ub s urface a rchaeology i s ac omplex o n e a nd t ha t s imilar s urface p a tterns m ay r esu l t
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F ig . 9 .11 T he d istribution o f e arly a nd l ater R oman p ottery a t t he K nighton B ushes .
10
f rom d issimilar p rocesses . i ) T he a lmost t o ta l a bsence o f r oo fing m a terials f rom t he K nigh ton B ushes s ite c on trasts w ith t h e c onsid erable q uan tities r ecorded a t t he v illa . T his c on tra st w as c on firmed d uring e xcava tion a nd l eads t o t he s uggestion t hat o rganic r oo fing m aterial w as u sed a t t h e f ormer s ite . I f t his i s s o , t he p resence o f d urable r oo fing m a terials m ay b e l inked t o t he e xistence o f s ubstan tial , p restigious s tructures - i n t his c ase , av illa b uilding . I t i s p ossible t ha t t he p resen ce o f c ertain t ypes o f a rtefacts i n s urface a ssemblages , c eramic b uilding m aterials , s tone r oo fing t iles a nd t esserae f or e xample , m ay b e u sed a s a n i ndican t o f h igh s ocial a nd e conomic s ta tus , f or t he a rea o f t he w estern B erkshire D owns a t l east . C onversely , t he u se o f s arsen , ar eadily a va ilable s ource o f b uilding m a terial i n t his a rea , m ay w ell b e a n i ndican t o f l ower s ta tus s ettlements . O ther d ownland s ites i n W iltshire h ave a lso y ielded e vidence o f t his p articular r ela tionship b etween s tone a nd s ta tus ( F owler , P . 1 967 ). ii ) T he p ottery a ssemblages f rom t he t wo s ites d id n ot c ontrast g reatly w ith e ach o th er . T he o nly r eal d ifferen ce b etween t hem l ay i n t he r ela tively s mall a moun t o f ' e xo tic ' p o ttery f ound a t t he v illa i n t he f orm o f t wo s herds o f R henish w are r epresen ting t he e arly R oman p eriod a nd a s ligh tly l arger a moun t o f N ew F orest w are f rom t he l ater R oman p eriod . T hus , t here m ust b e s ome d oubt a s t o w hether w e c an d iscern s ocial s ta tus f rom p ottery a ssemblages a lone . S ome c are m ust a lso b e t aken w hen u sing s urface a ssemblages t o d etermine c hronology . S uperficially , t h e t wo p o ttery a ssemblages a bove a re s imilar ; i t w ould h owever b e a m istake t o i nfer a s imilar d ate r ange f or b o th s ites o n t he b asis o f t his e vidence a lone . F or e xample , t he p ottery f rom t he v illa r ela tes t o t he u se o f t h e s ite o f t h e v illa a nd n o t j ust t o t he o ccupa tion o f t he v illa b uilding . W e h ave n o e vidence t hat t he v illa s tru cture p re d a tes c .180-240 A .D . y et e arly p o ttery w as r ecovered f rom b oth t he s urface c ollection a nd f rom e xcava tion . T his s eems t o i ndicate t ha t s ome f orm o f a ctivity w as o ccurring a t t h e s ite b efore t h e b uilding o f t he v illa . W e d o n ot k now w ha t s o rt o f a ctivities t hese w ere s o w e m ust c onfine o urself t o t he o bservation t hat t he v illa s ite w as p robably i n u se t hroughou t t he R oman p eriod . T he c hronologies o f b oth s ites r ely o n a s mall n umber o f d iagnostic t ype s herds , t hough f uture r esearch i nto t he d a ting o f l ocal f abric t ypes m ay s ignifican tly a lter s urface c hronologies . 2 . S ub R oman P o ttery ( F igure 9 .1 ). T he n ature o f l ate a nd s ub R oman s ettlement a nd t he r elationship b etween t he t wo h as b een t h e s ub ject o f m uch d eba te , p articularly a s e vidence f or t his p eriod i s h ard t o l oca te t hrough f ield s urvey ( F oard , G , 1 978 ; H ayfield ,C . 1 987 & R ähtz , Pe t a l . 1 987 ). F our b ody s herds o f o rganic t empered f abric a nd p ossibly s ub R aman d ate w ere f ound a t t h e s e ttlemen t a t K nighton B ushes . E xcavation h ere p roduced a s imilar s herd , a n o rganic t empered b ase , w hich a gain m ay b e o f s ub R oman d a te ( F ig . 9 .1 ). G rea t c au tion m ust b e e xercised w hen i nterpreting t his e vidence . F irst , i t s hould b e n o ted t hat o rganic t empering o f p ottery o ccured a t t h e l a te B ronze A ge s ite o f n earby R am 's H ill ( B radley , R a nd E llison , E . 1 975 , 9 4 ). S econdly , w hile t he e xistence o f t hese p articular s herds i s t ak en t o i ndica te t h e p ossibility o f s ub R oman a ctivity a t K nighton B ush es , i t c an h ardly b e r egarded a s c onclusive e v idence o f t his f act.
1 1
C HAPTER T EN
M ADDLE F ARM O NE A N D T HRE E : S AMPLE E XCAVATION S C ARRIED C UT A T K NIG HTON B USHE S R OMAN S E ITL EME NT .
I ) . T HE S ITE . T he R oman s e ttlemen t a t K nigh ton B ushes h ad g enerated l ittle r ecorded i nforma tion b efore 1 981 , w hen w ork b egan o n t he s ite b y t he M äddle S urvey P ro ject t eam . I n 1 934 , J .R .A . H ocklin , t ravelling o n f oot t hrough B erkshire , n o ted t he e xistence o f t he s ite a nd c oncluded t hat t he p icturesque l ocation , a part f ram b eing o f t he m inor m ysteries o f t he D owns ,"
" the m ost r emote a nd a wesome
m igh t h ave b een a ' Neolithic v illage .., o r m ay
h ave s ome c onnection w ith t he B ronze A ge c emetery a t S even B arrows"
( Hacklin , J .R .A
1 934 , 1 58 ). Am ore r ealistic a nd l ess r omantic a ssessment o f t he s ite w as p rovided b y P .P . R hodes d uring t he c ourse o f as urvey o f t he B erkshire ' c eltic ' f ield s ystems , i n 1 950 . R hodes o bserved a s ub r ectangular e nclosure a ssociated w ith f inds o f p ottery a nd c oinage . T he e vidence l ed h im t o b elieve t ha t t he s ite w as a R oman s ettlemen t c omprising t he a bove e nclosure a nd a n u nspecified s urrounding a rea ( R hodes , P .P . 1 950 , 1 8 ). I n t he p eriod b etween t he v isits o f H ocklin a nd R hodes , t he s ite w as i ncopora ted w ithin a n R AF b ombing r ange a nd b adly d amaged . D uring t he 1 960 's t he f ield c on taining t he s ettlemen t w as p loughed f or a rable c rops . D uring t he f irst s eason o f t he M äddle p ro ject , i n 1 981 , a n i ntensive c ollection c overing a n a rea o f 2 .5 h ectares w as c arried o u t o ver t he s ettlemen t a t K nighton B ushes . P o ttery d istribution m aps r esulting f rom t his d etailed e xamination r evealed a n umber o f c oncentra tions a round t he t hree s ided e nclosure o bserved b y R hodes i n 1 950 ( F ig 9 .6 ). I n o rder t o c on firm t he v alidity o f t he f ieldwalking a nd t ha t o f p revious a erial p hotographic s urveys , i t w as d ecided t o d ig a s mall t re n ch a cross o ne o f t he d iscrete p o ttery c oncentrations , p ositioned t o i nclude t he s ca tter a nd t o c u t as ection a cross t he d itch o f t he e nclosure . C onsequen tly , at rench 5 x30 m etres i n s ize w as e xcavated o n a S W-NE a lignmen t , s omewhat a t a n a ngle t o t he o riginal g rid o f t he i n tensive c ollection . T he f irst s eason 's e xcavations a t K nigh ton B ushes y ielded i n teresting r esults b ut l eft a n umber o f p roblems u nanswered .
I t w as t herefore d ecided t o c arry o u t as econd s eason o f
w ork i n 1 982 . i ) A lthough t he t rench M F1 w as s mall , t he r esults f rom t he e x cavation i ndicated t ha t i n s ome c ases a t l east , f ield s urvey d a ta m igh t c arry a n i nverse r ela tionship w ith t ha t r ecovered f rom s ub s urface c ontexts . D ensities o f a rtefacts i n t he f ield s urvey r ecord m igh t r ela te m ore t o p lough d amage o f s uperficial d eposits s uc h a s m idden a reas t han t o t hat o f n egative f eatures , w hich m igh t b e p rotected f rom s imilar d isturbance . I t w as f elt t ha t al arger e xcava tion m igh t p rovide f urther i nforma tion o n t his t opic .
12
i ) A lthough t he e x cavation M F1 p rovided u seful i nforma tion a bou t f ield s urvey d ata , i t g enera ted l ittle a bou t t he n a ture o f t he R oman s ettlemen t i tself . A s n o s ignifican t e vidence f or s tructures o f a ny k ind w as f ound , t he a ssociation o f t he l arge a rtefact s ca tter a t K nigh ton B ushes w ith s ettlemen t r emained c on jectural . I t w as t herefore d ecided t ha t al arger e x cavation s hould b e a ttemp ted t o p lace t he f ield s urvey r esults w ithin a w ider c hronological a nd c ultural c on tex t .
2 ) . M ADDLE F ARM O NE : T HE S AM PLING S TRATEGY A ND S IEV ING P ROGRAMME . T he a im o f t his 5 x30 m etre t rial t rench w as t o i nvestiga te t he r ela tionship o f t he f ield s urvey r esults w ith t hose f rom e xcavated c on texts ; i t w as t herefore e ssential t o a ssemble d etailed i n forma tion o n t h e v ertical a nd h orizontal d istribu tions o f p ottery t hrough b oth t he t opsoil a nd s ubsurface f eatures . T o f acilitate t he c ollection o f p recise s pa tial i n forma tion , t h e t re nc h w as l aid o ut o n a 1m etre g rid .
E ach m etre s quare w as r egarded
a s a n i ndividual c ollection u nit a nd r ecorded a s s uch . T he e ntire t re nc h , i ncluding t he t opsoil a nd u nderlying d eposits , w as t o b e e xcava ted w ith r egard t o t his g rid . I deally , e ach s quare s hould h ave b een s ieved t o p rovide p recise q uantita tive d ata b ut g iven t he a vailable t ime a nd w ork f orce ( 3w eeks a nd 7 i nd iv iduals ) a n a lterna tive s ieving s trategy w as u ndertaken t o p rovide s uitable e stimates o f a rtefact d ensities . F or t he t opsoil c ontext o f t he t rench ( c ontext 1 51 ), 2 8 m etre s quares , r epresen ting 1 8 .6% o f i ts s urface a rea ,
w ere c hosen a t r andom a nd t otally s ieved . A fter t he r emoval o f t he
t opsoil , t hree f urther c on texts w ere l ikewise i nvestigated , a lthough a gricultural d amage t o t he s urviving s tra tigraphy d iminished t he a rea a vailable f or a nalysis . I n t he s ub p lough s oil ( c on text 1 71/9 ) o nly t h e s ou thernmost 1 5 m etres o f t he t re nc h w ere s ampled ; o f t his , 1 9 m etre s quares w ere t o tally s ieved , a2 5 .3% s ample o f t he t otal . I n t he a rea t o t he n orth o f t his , o nly n ega tive f eatures s urvived ( F ig 1 0 .1 ). B elow c on text 1 71/9 , t he c ombined s urviving s tratigraphic d eposits f rom t he s outhernmost 1 0 m etres o f t he t rench ( c on texts 1 72/424 ) w ere a nalysed . N ine m etre s quares w ere s ieved , r epresen ting 2.5% o f t he u nit e xamined , a lthough t he p ressure o f t ime w as s uch t hat t he e xcava tion o f t he u nsieved a rea w as n ot c ompleted . F or t he p urposes o f t he a nalysis o f s urface a nd e xcava ted d a ta , t he M F1 t rial t re nc h w as d ivided i n to s ix c ollection u nits o f 5 x5 m etres . T he o riginal d ecision t o p osition t rench M F1 s o a s t o l ocate t he e nclosure d itch o f t he K nighton B ushes s ettlement m eant t hat t he t ren c h d id n ot c oincide w ith t he g rid o f t he s urface c ollection b u t r an a t 4 5 d egrees t o i t . I n o rder t ha t t he t wo s ets o f r esults b e d irectly c ogparable , i t w as n ecessary t o c orrect t he f igures o btained f rom t he s urface c ollection i n t he f ollowing w ay . F irstly , t he s urface d ata w as a ssumed t o b e e venly d ispersed . S econdly , t he p o ttery c onten t o f e ach s ur face
c ollection u nit w as d ivided p roportionate t o t he a rea o f t he e xcava tion
u nit t o w hich i t c orresponded . T he s um o f t he c orresponding p arts o f i ntensive c ollection u nits w as t hen h eld t o b e t he s urface e quivalen t o f t he e xcava ted u nit .The h orizontal p ottery d istribu tions o b tained f rom t his e xercise w ere c ompared w ith t he p o ttery d ensities o btained f rom t he e xcava tion o f t rend ' M F1 . A s t his p rocedure n ecessita ted t he r etrospective s tra tification o f ar andom s ampling s cheme , t he u nbiased m ean o f a ll v alues w as c alculated . 13
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14
1 x =Ex i i =1 w here
n i N
1= T he n umber o f s tratified s ample a reas x i =T he m ean o f t he i ndividual s ample a rea . n i =T he n umber o f s amples w ithin t he i ndividual a rea N =T he t otal n umber o f s amples i ) T he U pper P lough S oil ( C on text 1 51 ).
T he f irst c ontext t o b e d efined a nd s ampled d uring e xcava tion w as t ha t o f t he u pper p lough s oil , c ontext 1 51 . T his l ayer w as d irectly m odified b y m odern a gricultural p ractices a nd t hus t he c ontext f rom w hich o ne w ould e xpect m ost s urface p ottery t o b e d erived ( H äselgrove , C . 1 985 , F ig . 1 .3 ). T able 1 0 .1 s hows t he a ctual p ottery d ensities r ecovered d uring e xcava tion a nd t hose p redicted f or t he t otal t opsoil u sing d ata o btained b y s ieving . T ABLE 1 0 .1 : R oman P o ttery R ecovered F rom C on text 1 51 . U nsieved
S ieved
P redicted
E Xcava tion
A verage
D ensity .
R ecovery
o f
R ate .
R ecovery R ate .
W eigh t
6 .428kg
3 .303kg 1 7 .694kg
5 4 .9kg
N umbers
8 61
5 68
4 6 .2
M ean S herd
7 .4g
5 .81g
3 042
5 0 .55kg
w eight Ad isparity b etween n umbers a nd w eigh ts o f p o ttery o btained f rom s ieved a nd
u nsieved
s quares i s i mmediately a pparen t ; t he r elatively l ow r ecovery r ate f rom t he l atter i n i tself j ustified t he s ieving p rogramme . T ABLE 1 0 .2 : F ield S urvey R esults
X pressed A s A %O f T he C ombined A ssemblage F rom T h e
F ield S urvey A nd C on tex t 1 51 . A ctual D ensity .
S urvey A gainst
S urvey A gainst
A ctual D ensity .
P redicted D ensity .
W eight
0 .875kg
8 .9%
4 .9%
N umber
9
6 .9%
3 .2%
M ean S herd
8 .8g
w eigh t . T he o verall q uantita tive r ela tionship b etween t he d ata c ollected f ram t he s urface t he e xcava tion o f c ontex t 1 51 c an b e s een i n T able 1 0 .2 , w here t he n umbers a nd w eights o f
15
1 5
S urface 1 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
300
200
P red icted
1 00
1 51
C Y
1
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2
-0 .
3
2 00
5
800
6
\ 1721424
1 7119
1 00 _
400 _
1
F ig 1 0 .2
2
3
1
H orizon tal a nd v ertica l d istribution o f R am an p ottery a t M F1 .
T ABLE 1 0 .3 : P o ttery D ensities F rom C ontext 1 71/9 . U nsieved
S ieved
P redicted
P ercentage
A verage
D ensity .
R ecovered
R ecovered 6 1 .8%
W eigh t
2 .999kg
1 .289kg 5 .445kg
7 8 .7%
N umbers
4 82
53
4 .9%
M ean S herd
6 .2g
2 . 33g
2 ,304
W t . O ne e xplanation o f t his p henomenon m ay b e t he r elatively g rea ter c are w ith w hich t his l ayer w as r emoved . T he u se o f at rowel a s o pposed t o am a ttock e nsured a m ore e fficien t r etrieval o f l arge f ragmen ts o f p ottery w hich , a s n oted a bove , i n fluence a ssemblage w eigh ts . S mall f ragmen ts o f p ottery a re n ot d etectable e x cept b y s ieving a nd t heir n umerical s ignificant i s r arely m atched b y t heir w eigh ts . I n t his c ontext , f or e xample , 5 2 .7% o f t he p redicted p ottery n umbers p rovided o nly 1 5 .9% o f t he w eigh t . ii ) A nalysis O f P ottery D ensities W ithin C ontext 1 72/424 . C ontexts 1 72/424 w ere n o t n ecessarily c ontemporary b ut t hey f ormed a c oncise s pa tial u nit i n t he a rchaeological r ecord a nd t hus w ere c ombined f or a nalytical p urposes . A s e xplained a bove , t hese t wo c ontexts w ere n o t t otally e xcavated . At otal o f 4 0 m etre s quares w ere r emoved o f w hich n ine w ere s ieved . T he n umerical r elationship b etween r ecovered a nd p redicted p ottery c an b e s een i n T able 1 0 .4 . T ABLE 1 0 .4 : P ottery D ensities W ithin C ontexts 1 72/424 . U nsieved
S ieved
P redicte d
P ercen tage
A verage
R ecovered .
R ecovered 6 3 .0%
W eigh t
9 .277kg
3 .289kg 1 7 .850kg
7 0 .3%
N umber
1 240
4 70
5 .84%
M ean S herd
7 .84g
6 .99g
3 ,061
T he i ncrease i n r ecovery r a tes o f p o ttery w as n ot a s g reat b etween c ontext 1 72/424 a nd t he o verlying l ayer , 1 71/9 , a s i t w as b etween t he l atter a nd c on text 1 51 . A lso , t h e p o ttery r ecovery r ates f rom c ontext 1 72/424 d o n ot s how t he s urprising d isparity b etween n umbers a nd w eigh t d emonstra ted i n t he o verlying l ayer . T he r ecovery r a tes d o , h owever , s till r epresen t ar ise o f o ver 1 0% o n t hat o f t he u pper p lough s oil , c ontext 1 51 , w hich w as r emoved w ith l ess c are . ( a ) T he V ertical D istribution O f P o ttery W ithin T rench M F1 . Av ertical p o ttery d istribu tion w as c onstructed f or t rench M F1 u sing i n forma tion d erived f rom t he e phemeral s urface s catters w hich c ould n ot b e s ieved , f rom t he c on tex ts d escribed a bove a nd f rom e xcava ted n ega tive f ea tures . W here a f ea ture o r s tra tum w as n o t c ompletely e xcavated , t he d a ta w as c orrected . F or t his p urpose , t he d istribution o f p o ttery w as a ssumed t o b e c onstan t a nd a f igure p roportional t o t he u nexcava ted a rea w as 17
p ottery s herds f rom t he s urface a re e xpressed a s ap ercentage o f a ll t hose f ound f rom b oth e xcavation a nd i ntensive c ollection . I t i s a lso p ossible t o d etermine ' h orizontal ' d istribu tions o f p ottery w ithin t he e xcavation b y c omparing t he p ottery d ata o b tained f rom e ach s ieved 5 x5 m etre s quare w ithin t he t rench ( F ig . 3 ) . S everal p oin ts b ecome i mmediately a pparent w hen b oth a nalyses a re c onsidered . i ) t otal n umber a nd w eight o f p ottery s herds f rom t he s ur face c ollection u nits a re h ighest i n t he p enultimate s outhern s quare o f t he e xcavated t rench . T his d iffers f rom t he e xcava ted d a ta , h owever , w hich a ppears t o s how a p ottery c oncentration i n t he m iddle o f t he t rench . i ) T he p o ttery d ensities a bove a ppear t o r elate t o p lough d amage o f u nderlying s tratigraPhy . T he d ensities o f p o ttery i n t he t opsoil i ncrease a s c ontexts 1 71/9 a nd 1 72/424 d ecline ( s ee f ig . 6 ) . ii ) T he p aucity o f p ottery f rom t he s urface a bove t he t wo m ost n ortherly e xcava tion u nits i n t he t rench i s m atched b y l ow d ensities f rom t he e xcavated t opsoil . P resumably t he d earth o f f inds f rom t he n orthernmost 1 0 m etres o f t he t rench i ndica tes t ha t s uperficial s tratigraPhy w as a lways a bsen t f rom t his a rea . T he t wo s ets o f d ata c an b e c ompared f urther b y u sing t he r esults o f ar egression a nalysis b etween s urface c ollection d ata a nd t hat o f a ctual a nd p redicted n umbers a nd w eights o f p o ttery o btained f rom e xcavation . W eight o f p ottery a ppears t o g ive b e tter c orrelation r esults f or b oth a ctual a nd p redicted d ensities t han d o n umbers o f s herds f ound . T he c oefficients o f c orrelation o f 0 .79 a nd 0 .68 f or p redicted a nd a ctual w eights r espectively a re g ood r esults f or a rchaeolog ical d ata . T he c oefficients o f c orrelation f or n umbers o f p o ttery a re s urprisingly p oor a t 0 .38 a nd 0 .48 f or p redicted a nd a ctual d ata r espectively . I t i s i mportan t t o r emember t ha t t he d a ta t hus a nalysed i s n o t w ithou t i ts l imitations . F irstly , ah igh w eigh t o f p ottery w ithin a c ollection u nit m ay b e e ffected b y t he p resence o f r ela tivlgy f ew l arge s herds w hich a re l ikely t o b e r ecovered b y m ost e xcavation a nd c ollection t echniques . S ince s mall s herds a re m ore c ommon t hey a re u nlikely t o b e r ecovered w ithout s ieving . A s s ieving w as n ot c arried o u t a s p art o f t he f ield s urvey s trategy , t he t wo d a ta s ets - e xcavation a nd t otal c ollection -m ay b e r elatively d issimilar . T he d ifference i n t he p redicted r ecovery o f w eight a nd n umbers o f p o ttery b oth f rom d ifferent a reas o f t he e xcavation a nd b etween s urface a nd e xcavated d ata i n c on text 1 51 m ay r eflect t his p henomenon ( S ee T able 1 0 .2 a nd a lso P ayne , S . 1 972 , f or f urther d iscussion o f t his e ffect ). i ) A nalysis O f P ottery D ensities F ru u l C on texts 1 71/9 . C ontext 1 71/9 w as i nterpreted a s al ower e lement o f t he t opsoil a nd a ppeared t o l ie b elow t he r each o f t he m odern p lough . T he c ontext c omprised 7 5 m etre s quares w ithin t h e m ost s outherly 1 5 m etres o f t he t rench . T able 1 0 .3 i llustrates t he p o ttery d ensities r ecovered f rom t his l ayer . Ac onsideration o f t he w eight d ata i n T able 1 0 .3 S hows t hat t he r ecovery r ates o f p ottery f rom c ontext 1 71/9 a re s ignificantly h igher t han t hose o f c ontext 1 51 . T his c on trasts r a ther s urprisingly w ith t he i nsignificant r ise i n t he p redicted r ecovery o f s herd n umbers .
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a dded t o t he t otal . T his t echnique d id n o t g ive e n tirely s atisfactory r esults b ut t he s mall s ize o f t he t rench a nd o f t he u nexcava ted a reas p robably a rgues a gainst m a jor e rror . F igure 1 0 .2 e xpresses t his i nformation i n t he f orm o f h istograms . C ontext 1 72/424 i s i ncluded i n t he c olumn r epresen ting s tra tified d eposits a nd t he d ata f rom t he t wo t opsoil c ontexts , 1 51 a nd 1 71/9 i s c ombined i n o ne c olumn .
F ig 1 0 .3 R ecovered a nd p redicted p o ttery d ensities a t M FI T he h istograms a bove c learly i llustrate a n umber o f f actors . a ) T he p ositive r ela tionship b etween a ctual a nd p redicted p ottery d ensities i s a pparent f rom t he h istogram . b ) T he h istograms s how a c lear d istinction b etween t he d a ta a nalysed b y w eight a nd t ha t a nalysed b y n umber o f s herds . W hen n umbers o f s herds a re c onsidered , t he v ertical a rtefact d istribution i s a t i ts m ost d ense i n t he t opsoil . W hen t he w eight o f t h e s ame p ottery i s e xamined , t he d istribution i s a t i ts d ensest i n t he s tratified d eposits f ound i n t rench M F1 . T his m ay b e e xplained b y e xamining t he m ean s herd w eigh t o f e ac h c on text ( F ig 1 0 .2 ). T here i s al arge d isparity b etween m ean s herd w eigh t o f s ub s urface c ontexts w hich p eak w ithin p rotected n ega tive f eatures a nd t opsoil c ontexts . T ha t o f c ontext 1 71/9 w as o nly 2 .33g , a n e ffect u ndoub tedly c aused b y t he a brasion a nd f ragmentation o f p ottery i n t he t opsoil . T he i ncreased f ragmen tation i ncreased t he n umeric r epresen ta tion o f t opsoil p ottery w hile h ardly a ffecting i ts w eigh t . T hus , i t a ppears p robable t hat w eigh t r ather t han n umhPrs o f p o ttery s herds m ay b e s tatistically m ore s ignifican t w hen c omparing p lough d amaged a ssemblages . Q ualitatively , h owever , t his m e thod d oes l ead t o ab ias i n f avour o f m ore d urable p o ttery . T he r elatively h igh m ean 19
s herd w eigh t f or p o ttery r ecovered f rom s urface c ollection m ay b e e xplained b y t he f ac t t hat s mall f ragments o f p ottery w ere s imply n ot r ecovered d uring f ieldwalking . v ) T he H orizon tal D istribu tion O f P o ttery W ithin T rench M F1 .
G ra m mes 1 0_
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b 1 72/424 6_
91 51
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F ig 1 0 .4 T he m ean s herd w eigh t f rom t he s urface , t he t opsoil a nd e xcavated c on texts . F igure 1 0 .4 s hows t he h orizontal d istribution o f p ottery r ecovered f rom t he s ampled c ontexts a cross t rench M F1 . P o ttery f rom n egative f ea tures i s e xcluded a s t hese c ould n o t b e c onvenien tly a ssigned t o s pecific 5 x5 m etre u nits . B ecause o f t he p roblems a ssocia ted w ith t he u se o f n umerical d ensities , o nly p o ttery w eigh ts w ere u sed f or c omparison . I t i s a pparen t f rom b oth a ctual a nd p redicted d ata s ets t ha t t here w ere d isparate p o ttery d istributions i n t he d ifferen t s trata . T he r esults f rom t he s urface c ollection a nd t he e xcava tion o f c on text 1 51 a re s imilar : t he p ottery d istribu tion i s a t i ts m os t d ense i n t he m iddle o f t he t rench a nd m uch l ess s o a t i ts e xtreme e nds . C on texts 1 71/9 a nd 1 72/424 c ontrast w ith t his p attern . B oth h ave l arge a moun ts o f p o ttery i n t he m ost s outh erly s pa tial u nit , w hich d eclines d ramatically t owards t he m iddle a nd n orth o f t he t rench . T here i s t hus a s triking i nverse r ela tionship b etween t h e t wo d a ta s ets w hich p robably r esults f rom t he d ifferen tial d estruction o f t he s tra tified d eposits a s r epresen ted b y c on text 1 72/424 . W here t his c on text h ad b een d estroyed , w e f ind a c oincidental p eak o f p o ttery d ensity i n t he t opsoil . T he a bsence o f s ignificant d ensities o f p ottery i n t he n orthern p art o f t h e t rench a ppears t o i ndica te t ha t s uperficial d eposits m ay h eve b een
a bsen t , a lthough i t m u st b e n oted t hat t he m ost s triking n egative f ea ture o f t he e xcavation , t he e nclosu re d itch , w a s f ound w ithin t his b arren a rea . v i ) D iscussion . T he e xcava tion o f t rench M F1 p roduced a n umber o f s ignificant r esults . T he c are w ith w hich t he t opsoil a nd s ub s urface s tratigraphy w as s tudied a llowed d etailed a nalyses o f t he
h orizon tal a nd v ertical p ottery d istributions w ithin t he t rench t o b e m ade a nd
f acilitated c omparisons o f e xcava ted d ata w ith f ield s urvey r esults . i )It w as a pparen t t hat r esults f rom t he i n tensive c ollection w ere c losely r elated t o t hose o btained f rom t he u pper p lough s oil . i )It w as a lso c lear t ha t t he p ottery i n t he u pper p lough s oil d id n o t r elate d irectly t o t he s urviving a rchaeology ; p o ttery d istribu tions i n t he l ower c on texts d escribed a bove h ad a n i nverse r elationship t o t hose f ound o n t he f ield s urface , p eaks i n t he d ensity o f s urface p o ttery o ccuring w here s tratified d eposits h ad b een d amaged o r d estroyed . ii )It w as a lso a pparen t t ha t s urface p ottery d ensities h ad l ittle r elationship w ith t he p osition o f n ega tive f eatures w hich h ad n o t s uffered s ignificant d amage . T he f ragmen tation o f p ottery i n t he t opsoil i s a n i mportant f actor t o c onsider w hen q uan tifying p lough s oil a sseMblages . P lough d amage a nd w eathering s eems t o b ias c ompara tive n umerical a ssessmen ts o f p o ttery d ensities i n f avour o f t he m ost d amaged s trata . D escrip tion O f A rchaeolog ical F ea tu res . F 440 - E nclosure D it c h . O ne o f t he m ost s ignificant f ea tures c ontained w ithin t he t rench M F1 w as t he d itch , f eature 4 40 , r unning a pproximately N W-SE a nd p robably c oinciden t w ith t he t hree s ided e nclosure n oted o n e arlier m aps a nd a erial p ho tographs . A lthough t he d itch r an a cross t he f ull w idth o f t he t ren c h , o nly o ne h alf o f i ts a vailable l ength w as e xcavated . T he f eature , a lthough 5 .7 m etres w ide , p roved t o b e s hallow w ith a m aximum d ep th o f o nly 3 5 c m . T he d it c h c on tained t wo p rincipal f ills . T he l ower f ill ( 1 61 ) w as a b rown s ilt w ith f requent c h alk f ragmen ts u p t o 5 cm i n s ize . W ithin t his l ayer w as a l ense o f s arsens w hich l ay a gainst t he n orth s ide o f t he d it c h w hich m igh t r epresen t t he r emains o f ab ank p ushed i n to t he d itch . O rdnance S urvey 1 :2500 m aps c ompiled b efore t he c learance o f t he s ite d o i ndeed a ppear t o sh ow s uch a f ea ture , a lthough t he s pread m ay , a fter a ll , o nly r epresent f ield c learance . T he u pper f ill o f t he d itch ( c ontext 1 58 ) w as c omposed o f a d ark b rown s ilt w ith n umerous c halk f lecks a nd l arge s arsen f ragments . As mall p a tch o f m edium b rown s ilt w hich o verlay t he d it c h m ay b e t he r emains o f ad eveloped c halk s oil , m uch d egraded b y p loughing . T his m ay w ell e quate w ith c on text 1 72 , t he B h orizon o f t he t opsoil . F 173 - P it C ut I n to B o ttom O f E nclosure D it c h . Ac ircular p it , f eature 1 73 , m easuring 1 .1 m etres w ide a nd 4 0 a n d eep , w as c u t i n to t he b o ttom o f d it c h 4 40 . T his f eature c on tained t wo f ills . T he l ower f ill ( c ontext 1 75 ) w as a l igh t b rown , f riable s ilt c on taining m any c halk f ragments . T he u pper f ill ( c on text 1 74 ) w as d istinguished b y t he s parsity o f l arger c halk f ragments .
1 2 1
F ea ture 4 40 c ontained a p ottery a ssemblage w hich i ncluded a n a lmost c omplete c arina ted b ow l i n aS avernake f abric ( F ig .12 .7 , 1 6 ) T his d ated t he p it t o t he f irst h alf o f t he s econd c entury a nd p rovided a t erminus a n te q uem f or t he d itch i tself . T he d itch s ilts t hemselves p roduced l ittle d a ting e vidence . T he r ecovery o f c ondoned b owl ( F ig .12 .7 , 1 7 ) w ould a ppear t o p lace t he t op s ilts w ithin t he l ast h alf o f t he f ourth c entury , g iving t he d itch a c onsiderable p eriod o f u se , a lthough t his s herd c ould w ell b e i n trusive . N o f ea tures w ere d iscovered t o t he n orth o f t he e nclosure d itch , i n t he i n terior o f t he e nclosure , a lthough i t m ust b e s tated t ha t o nly a s mall a rea w as a vailable f or i nvestigation . T o t he s outh o f t he e nclosure d it c h , as eries o f f eatures h ad b een c ut i nto t he n atural c halk . F 187 - P it . F ea ture 1 87 w as a p it 9 0 a n w ide b y 4 0 a n d eep s ectioned a gainst t he s outh e ast e dge o f t he t rench . T he f ill w as c omposed o f l arge s arsens w ithin a b rown f riable m a trix . T he f ea ture c ontained a l arge f ragment o f a n O xfordshire w hite w are m ortaria d ated b etween 2 40-300 A .D . ( F ig .12 .7 , 1 0 ). W hile s arsen w as u sed f or b uilding p urposes e lsewhere a t t he K n igh ton B ushes s ettlement , t h is f eature d oes n ot a ppear t o b e a ssociated w ith c onstruction . T he f eature m ay i nstead b e a llied t o t he r emova l o f l arge s arsens f ra u t he g round s urface d uring f ield c lea rance a s t hey h ave o ften b een a h indrance t o f arming o n t h is p a rt o f t he D owns . F 422 - P it . F eature 4 22 w as a s hallow c ircular p it c ut i nto n atural . T his f eature m easured 8 0cm i n d iameter b y 1 5 c m d epth a nd w as f illed w ith a h omogeneous d ark b rown s ilt ( c on text 4 23 ). C ontained w ithin t he p it w as t he r im o f aB .B .1 j ar o f 1 20-180A .D . ( F ig .12 .7 , 1 3 ). F 441 - P ost H ole . T he b ase o f as mall p ost h ole , 4 5 a n w ide a nd 1 5 c m d eep , w as a lso c ut i nto t he n a tural c halk . T his c ontained a n u pper f ill ( 4 32 ) o f c ompact l igh t b rown s ilt a nd a l ower f ill ( 4 33 ) o f d ark b rown s ilt f ram w hich n o d atable p o ttery w as r ecovered . T he l a tter c on text m ay r epresen t ap ost p ipe . F ive f eatures w hich m ay r epresent t he r emains o f s takeholes w ere a lso r ecorded a lthough n o s uggestion o f p atterning w as e viden t i n t he s mall a rea e xcavated . As eries o f s uperficial l ayers w as a lso r ecorded w ithin t he t re nch . T he m ost s ignificant o f t hese w as c ontext 1 72 , a n u ndifferen tia ted m edium b rown s oil c ontaining l arge a mounts o f p o ttery . T his l ay w ithin t he s outhernmost 1 5 m etres o f t he e xcavation . T hree c oins o f V alens , d a ting f ram b etween 3 64-378 A .D . g ave a t erminus a n te q uem f or t his c on text . I t w as a pparen t f rom a nalysis o f t he p o ttery t hat c onsiderable a mounts o f r esidual m aterial w ere c ontained w ithin t his d eposit . T he p resence o f l a ter w ares , h owever , n o tably O xfordshire c olour c oated w ares e mphasise t he l ater d a te . A nalysis o f s eeds a nd p ollen t ogether w ith c onsideration o f t he c onsiderable a mounts o f p ottery p rompted t he s uggestion t ha t t his l ayer r epresen ted a d isposal a rea . U nfortuna tely t he s mall a rea a vailable f or e xcavation m eant t ha t t his h ypothesis c ould n ot b e c on firmed .
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T o t h e n orth o f c ontex t 1 72 a l ayer o f s arsens w as f ound ( c ontex ts 1 91 , 2 , 8 , 9 ) w hich m erged i n to t he t op o f f ea ture 1 88 . L ittle c an b e d iscerned f rom t his a rrangement a lthough o nce a gain i t s hould b e n oted t hat s arsen w as u sed f or s tructural p urposes e lsewhere o n t he s ite . T he p o ttery r etrieved f rom t his s tone s catter h ad a b road 3 rd o r 4 th c entury d a te . T he d iscovery o f ab ase s herd t empered w ith o rganic m a terial f rom d irectly a bove l ayer 1 92 m ay w ell b e e vidence f or s ub R oman a ctivity a t K nighton B ushes ; f our s imilar s herds w ere i den tified f rom t he s urface a ssemblage c ollected o ver t he s ettlement a nd l ikewise a llow u s t o p ostulate s ome f orm o f c ontinuity o f a ctivity a t t he s ite i nto t he e arly m edieval p eriod . S ealed b enea th t he l ayer o f s arsens w as a d istinctive p a tch o f c halky , l igh t b rown s oil . T his c ontext p roduced s everal f ragments o f 2 nd c en tury p oppy h ead b eaker , b u t g iven t he l arge a mounts o f r esidual p ottery i n l ayer 1 72 , i ts i ntegrity a s ad iscrete c hronologica l c on text c annot b e c ertain .
1 23
M ADDLE F ARM T HREE . 1 . ) T he E xcava tion S tra tegy A nd M ethodology . T he e xcavation s trategy w as d esigned a round t he h ypothesis t hat t here w as n o s imple a ssociation b etween c oncentrations o f s urface a rte facts a nd t raditional s ub s urface a rchaeology . E xcavation o f t he f ormer t ypes o f d ensities w ould t here fore m ean t hat g reater a ttention w as p aid t o s urface d eposits , e specially f ormal d isposal a reas , r ather t han t o d omestic s tructures . A s i t s eemed l ikely t ha t e vidence f or h abitation m igh t e xist b e tween a reas o f f ormal d isposal , w ithin b lank a reas o f t he s urface a rtefact d istribu tions , as trategy t ha t a llowed t he l arge s cale i nvestiga tion o f b oth d ense a nd s parse s urface a rtefact a ssemblages a nd t heir r elationship w ith s ub s urface f eatures , h ad t o b e a dop ted . C onsideration o f t he r esults o btained f rom t he i ntensive c ollection a t K nigh ton B ushes i ndica ted t ha t i t s hould b e p ossible t o i nvestigate t wo d iscrete s urface p ottery c oncentra tions a nd t he i ntervening ' b lank ' a rea b y m eans o f at ransect 1 0 m etres w ide a nd 6 0 m etres l ong . T he t ransect w as s ampled b y s ix 5 x10 m etre e xcava tion u nits , e ach u nit b eing s ep arated b y 5m etre i n tervals .
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F ig 1 0 .5 T he o riginal t re nc h es ( 1 -6 ) a nd t heir e xtensions ( 7 9 ) E ach e xcava ted a rea w as f urther s ubdivided i nto t wo 5 x5 m etre u nits , c orresponding t o a s urface c ollection s quare . T his a llowing d irect c omparisons b etween s ur face a nd e xcavated d ata t o b e m ade . T he 5 x5 m etre c ollection u nits w ere s ubdivided i nto m etre s quares ; w ithin e ach u nit , f ive s quares w ere ch osen a t r andom f or t opsoil s ieving . G iven t he c onstrain ts o f t ime , o nly l imited s ieving o f t hese s mall u nits c ould b e a ttempted . T hus a s tandard v o lume o f t opsoil e quivalent t o f our b uckets o r 4 8 ,960 c ubic c m . o f s oil w as s ieved f rom e ac h 5 x5 m . s quare a nd t he r esults u sed i n c on junction w ith t he m easured t opsoil v olume t o e valuate t opsoil p ottery d ensities .
T he s ampled a reas w ere t hen u sed
t o l oca te a reas o f p articular i nterest s uitable f o r f urther , m ore d etailed e xcavation . W here p ossible , e xtensions t o t he t rench w ere c arried o ut w ithin t he a rea o f t he o riginal s urface c ollection ( F igs 9 .6 ). I n a ddition t o e xcavation , a n e xtensive F luxga te G radiometer s urvey w as c arried o u t o ver t he t ransect d escribed a bove ( F ig .9 .6 ); t he r elationship o f t he r esults o f t his s urvey t o t hose o f t he e xcava tion i s d iscussed b elow .
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( b ) A nalysis O f S ur face A nd S ub S urface P ottery D ensities . i ) C omparison b etween s urface a nd t opsoil p o ttery d ensities .
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We igh t o f s he rds i nG rammes
1 0 METRES
F ig 1 0 .6 T he s ur face p ottery d istribution o ver t he t renches a t M F3 F igure 9 .6 s hows t he p osition o f t rench M F 3 i n r ela tion t o t he r esults o f t he s urface c ollection . I t c an b e s een t hat A reas 1 a nd 4 o f t he e xcavation ( S ee F ig 1 0 .5 ) c oincide w ith z ones o f h igh s urface p o ttery d ensities . r elatively l ittle p ottery o ccurs b etween . F igures 1 0 .7 a nd 1 0 .8 i llustrate t he c ontrast b etween t he h orizontal s ur face p o ttery d istribution a nd t hat r evealed b y e xcavation o f t he t opsoil . P redic ted p ottery d istributions s uggested t ha t t rench 1 s hould h ave a h igh d ensity o f n umbers o f s herds a nd t hat t his c oncentration s hould e xtend i nto t re nc hes 3 a nd 4 ; t renches 2 a nd 3 , o n t he o ther h and , s hould h ave b een d eficient i n s herds , ap a ttern t ha t w as r epeated w hen w eights o f p o ttery w ere c onsidered . I n t erms o f t he r eal d istribution o f n umbers o f s herds , t he g rea test c oncentra tion w as f ound i n t re nc h 2w ith t he s outhern p art o f t rench 4a lso s howing a s ignificant c luster o f p o ttery ; n either o f t hese d ensities c oincided e xactly w ith s ur face c oncen tra tions . W hen t he w eigh t o f p ottery f rom e ac h s ampling u nit w as c onsidered , as imilar p attern e merged , a lthough d ensities w ere c onfined t o m ore l imited a reas . R egression a nalyses w ere c arried o ut i n o rder t o r elate s urface d ata t o b o th p redicted a nd a ctual p o ttery d ensities f ound w ithin t he t opsoil .N O s ignificant c orrela tion o ccured w ithin a ny o f t hese s ampling u nits . A s t he t renches e xcava ted w ithin e ac h a rea w ere o f v ariable s ize , i t w as d ecided t o a malgama te t he d ata f rom e ac h 5 x5m u nit i n to n ew s ampling u nits , t he i ndividual e xcavation a reas o f t re nc h M F3 i tself . T his i nforma tion i s e xpressed i n F igure 1 0 .8 . T hus d isplayed , t he s urface c ollection r esults s how t he s ame
1 25
patterning which had previously been observed, with high pottery densities occurring in Areas 1 and 4 and low concentrations in the intervening space •
• • . • - __,_T___• •• • ,.- , • - - - -• -� -r • •
I I I I I I I I I. I I I
•
,
e
•
e
--
I I
•
I I '
•
•
1-200 2-400
- 4-600
• 600+
Numbers of Sherds
•
•
I I
•
I I
I I I
•
•
•
I
I
---
--
•
I I
•
I
I
•
•
•
I
Weight of Sherds in Kilos
1-2 2-3 3-4 4-5
.5+
0
10
METRE
Fig 10.7 Ranan pottery fran the excavation of the topsoil at MF3. Figure 10.8 also allows canparison between the surface collection data and that recovered during excavation of the topsoil. With the exception of Area 2, the distribution of numbers and particularly the weights of p:>ttery fran each of the new sampling units is similar to that of the surface pottery. 'ihis is in cootrast to predicted p:>ttery densities, which supposed that. p:>ttery density declined across the site, fran west to east, when in actual fact it increased (see Table 10.5). TABLE 10.5: The Relationship Between Predicted And Recovered Densities Fran MF3. Area
Trench
Unsieved Predicted Percentage Average Pottery. Pottery. Recovered. Recovered
1
1. No. Wt.
756 6256g
1685 6360g
44.8 98
No. 44.8 Wt. 98g
2
2. No. Wt. 3. No. Wt. 7. No. Wt. 9. No. Wt.
917 3804g 949 7582g 1685 9865g 185 1343g
1780 8035g 1680 7994g 1365 7125g 510 1920g
51.5 47.3 56.4 94.8 123.4 138.5 36.4 69.9
No. 66.9 Wt. 87.6g
126
Pottery
3
4 . N o . W t .
1 024
6 40
1 60
N o . 13 .6
6 856g
2 915g
2 53 .1
W t 1 49 .3g
5 96
4 15
1 43 .5
4 916g
4 165g
1 94
5 10
3 8
1 987g
2 090g
9 5
1 047
5 60
1 86 .9
N o . 1 86 .9
6 476g
2 680g
2 41 .6
W t 2 41 .6g
5 . N o . W t . 8 . N o . W t . 4
6 . N o . W t .
18
i ) Ac omparison o f s urface a nd e xcavated d ata . T he v ertical d istribution o f p ottery a t M F 3 i s s hown i n T able 6 . S ame c au tion s hould b e t aken w hen u sing t his d ata . F irstly , i t m ust b e s tressed t hat t he c olumn r epresen ting s tratified d eposits c ontains a ll t he p o ttery n ot f ound b elow t he t opsoil , i ncluding s herds t ha t d id n o t c ome f rom s ecurely s ealed R aman c ontexts . S econdly , i t w as n ot p ossible t o c ompletely e xcavate a ll R aman d eposits a nd n o a ttempt h as b een m ade t o c ompensate t he d ata f or t his . T hus , w e w ould e xpect t he s tratified d eposits w ithin t he e xcavated a rea t o c ontain m ore p ottery t han i s r epresen ted h ere a nd t he q uan titative d ifference b etween t opsoil a nd s tratified p ottery d ensities t o b e g reater .
•
•
• N u mbers
•
•
S herds
•
•
•
•
•
2 50-500
•
5 00-750
•
o f
• •
•
•
K i los •
•
•
•
s herds
i n
•
•
1 -2 2-3 3-4
•
•
•
4-5
5+
•
o f
7 50 +
s herds
•
We ights
1 -250
•
k i los
F ig 1 0 .8 T opsoil p o ttery d istribu tion p redicted b y d ata f ram s ieving . D espite t he a bove l imita tions , w e c an m ake a n umber o f o bservations f rom T able 1 0 .5 . F irstly , t he m ean s herd w eight c hanges s ignificantly t hroughout t he c ontex ts . T he l owest
1 27
F ig 1 0 .9
R aman p o ttery d istribu tion p er s quare m etre a cross t he t renches a t M F 3 .
1 28
m ean s herd w eigh t i s , p redictably , a ssociated w ith t he s ieved t opsoil c on texts , w here w e m ay a ssume t hat t he p o ttery i s a t m ost r isk o f f ragmen ta tion f rom p ost d epositional f orces . T he h ighest m ean s herd w eight i s a ssociated w ith t he s urface c ollection a nd p resumably r eflects t he i nadequacy o f t he c ollection p rocedure . S econdly , t he m ean w eigh t o f s tratified p ottery d eposits f ram M F 3 i s r elatively l ow w hen c ompared t o s tratified p ottery f rom t he M F1 a nd M F2 e xcava tions . T his m ay r eflect i n p art t he n ature o f t he a rchaeo logical d eposits a t M F3 w here r elatively l ittle p ottery w as r ecovered f rom n ega tive f ea tures ; t he m a jority o f t he s herds r ecovered f ram s tra tified l ayers c ame f ram s uper ficial d eposits . T his i s as ignifican t o bservation a s n egative f ea tures t end t o p ro tect t heir c ontents f rom a brasion w hereas m aterials f rom s uperficial l ayers s uch a s a f armyard s ur face a re p rone t o av ariety o f d estruc tive p rocesses w hich s tart i mmediately a fter t heir d iscard . T he h ighly f ragmented n ature o f t he a ssemblage a t M F3 ( s ee C h 1 2 ) m ust a lso r eflect t he f armyard n ature o f t he s ite . T ABLE 1 0 .6 : T he V ertica l D istribution O f P o ttery A t M F 3 . S ur face
N umber
2 48
%o f
1 .5%
T opsoil
P redicted T opsoil
S tra ti fied
P o ttery D ensities .
D eposits .
7 353
9 225
8 718
4 5%
T otal
1 6319
5 3 .5%
T o ta l
W eigh t
2 864g
%o f
4 9085g
2 .8%
4 8 .3%
1.5g
6 .6g
4 3374g
4 9558g
1 01510
4 9 .8%
T o tal M ean S herd W t .
4 .7g
5 .6g
T o a llow f or c omparisons o f h orizontal p ottery d ensities o f a ll t hree c ontexts , t he s ite w as a gain d ivided i nto f our a reas ( F ig . 1 0 .6 ). T his a llowed d ata f rom f eatures w hich d id n o t r espect t he o riginal 5 x5 m etre g rid t o b e i ncluded i n t he d iscussion . F igure 1 0 .9 s hows t he v ertical d istributions o f p ottery a cross t he e xcavated a rea i n t erms o f n umbers o f s herds a nd t heir w eight p er t rench . i ) T he d ata c learly s hows t he p redominance o f t opsoil p o ttery i n t renches 1 a nd 4 ; t opsoil p o ttery a ccounts f or o ver 7 0% o f a ll p ottery f ound h ere . i ) S ub s urface d ata p redomina ted i n t renches 2 a nd 3 e ven t hough n o t a ll f eatures p resent w ere f ully e xcava ted ; t opsoil p o ttery o nly r epresented b etween 0 .6% a nd 8 % o f a ll s herds r ecovered f rom t his s ector . ( c ) D iscussion . T he a nalysis o f t he s ur face a nd s ub s urface a ssemblages a t M F3 r evealed a n umber o f i nteresting p oints . F irst o f a ll , i t m ust b e s tated t ha t t he r esults p roduced f ram
1 29
F ig 1 0 .10 T he v ertical d istribu tion o f p ottery u sing e xcavated t opsoil p ottery d ata .
F ig 1 0 .11 T he v ertica l p o ttery d istribu tion u sing p red icted p ottery d ata .
1 30
t opsoil s ieving w ere r ather d isappointing . W hile s ieving a t M F3 d id s how t hat a ctual s herd n umbers w ere u nderestimated b y o rdinary e xcavation i t d id n o t a llow a ccurate p redictions o f t he t otal n umbers o f s herds p resent t o b e m ade , ap roblem t hat w as p articularly a cute f or t he w estern e nd o f t he t ransect . T he d ecision t o u se a s tandard v olume a s t he s ample f raction r ather t han a n a rea , a s u sed i n M F1 , w as p robably t he c ause o f t his . I n t he e nd , o nly 1 3% o f e ach s ample m etre s quare w as e xamined i n t his w ay , r epresenting o nly 2 .6% o f t he v olume o f e ach 5 x5 m etre u nit . U ndoub tedly , t his s ample f raction p roved t oo s mall t o a llow r eliable
so f t he t opsoil p o ttery c ontent t o
b e m ade .
P LATE 5 T he s ieving o f t he t opsoil a t M F 3 . S econdly , w hile n o c lear s ta tistical l ink c ould b e d emonstrated b etween s urface a nd s ub s urface p o ttery a ssemblages , s everal c lear t rends d o a ppear w hen t heir r elative d istributions a re e xamined . A s i n t he M F1 e xcavations , a t M F3 w e c an s ee a n egative r ela tionship b etween d ensities o f s urface p o ttery a nd t hose o f t he s ub s urface
or
n egative f ea tures . I t w ould p robably b e c orrect t o i nfer t hat t he l ikelihood o f p o ttery 1 3 1
A rea 1
P l an 1
r -
3 016
l ' s z 7 0
3 021 0
( )
0
0
( 2C
T
3 019 , / 0 t s
F ig 1 0 .12 A rchaeological f eatures w ithin e l F 3 , A rea 1 . P lan 1 .
e ntering t he s urface r ecord i ncreases w ith i ts d ensity i n t he t opsoil ; t he s usceptibility o f p ottery t o a ppear i n t he t opsoil m ust o f c ourse d epend o n i ts s ource . T he h igh d ensity o f s urface p ottery i n a reas 2 a nd 3 d oes n ot a ppear t o b e l inked t o n egative f eatures o r t o t he s tructural f ea tures w hich d o o ccur i n t he l ow d ensity a reas 3 a nd 4 . A lthough o nly s mall a reas w ere o pened u p f or e xcavation a t K nighton B ushes , w e c an i nfer t ha t t he h igh s urface p ottery d ensities f ound i n a reas 1 a nd 4 w ere l inked t o n on h abitational s urface d eposits , s uch a s f armyard r ubbish o r m iddens . I n c onclusion , t he r esults o f t he M F3 e xcavation d o sh ow t ha t t he f ield m ethodology a dopted a nd d escribed a bove w as g enerally s uccessful i n i ts a ims , d emonstrating t he l ink b etween a rchaeological d eposits , f unctional a reas o f t he R aman s ettlement a nd s ur face p ottery d ensities . A rchaeologica l F eatures . T rench 1 ( A rea 1 ) . F ig . 1 0 .12 . E xcavation o f a rea 1 r evealed a s light s catter o f s arsen f ragments a nd t wo n egative f ea tures . F 3019 .Post h ole T his o val f ea ture , 3cm l ong , 2 4 a n w ide a nd 1 5 a n d eep , a ppeared t o r epresent t he b ase o f ab adly p lough-damaged p ost h ole . I t r etained a n i mpression o f as take
or
p ole a t i ts
b ase . T he f eature c ontained o ne f ill ( 3 020 ) w hich c omprised a b rown s ilt . F 3012 . P it T his f eature p roved o n e xavation t o b e ap it , o rientated r oughly w est-east a nd m easuring 1 .5m b y 1 .15m a nd . 4 5m d eep . T he f eature w as n o t e ntirely c ontained w ithin t he e xcavation t rench - i t r an u nder t he w est s ection e dge - a nd w as c onsequently o nly p artially e xcavated . T wo f ills w ere n oted ; t he u pper f ill ( 3 013 ) w as c omposed o f al igh t b rown s ilt w hilst t he l ower f ill ( 3 022 ) w as a b rown s ilt w ith o ccasional c halk f lecks . T he p it c ontained t he n ear-complete s keleton o f ap ony . T his a ppeared t o b e l ying o ver t he b ody o f a n a dult h uman a lthough o nly t he l egs o f t he l atter a ppeared w ithin t he e xcavated a rea . S everal b ones f rom a h uman i n fan t w ere a lso r ecovered f rom t he p it . N o d ating e vidence w as r ecovered . A rea 2 ( T renches 3 , 4 , 7a nd 9 ) . F ig . 1 0 .13 & 1 0 .14 . A rea 2 r evealed a n umber o f a rchaeological f eatures i ncluding s everal d itches a nd i ndica tions o f an umber o f s arsen s tructures . F 3218 . D itch F 3218 , w hich p roved t o b e ad itch , e ntered t he e xcavation t rench t hrough t he w est s ection o f a rea 9 , r an e astwards i n ag en tle c urve a nd l eft t he t rench t hrough t he e astern s ection o f a rea 3 . T he f ea ture w as s hown t o c ontinue i n t rench 3 . As ection o f t he d itch o ne m etre l ong w as e xcava ted n ext t o t he e astern s ection e dge o f t re nc h 2 ; t his r evealed aV s haped d itch , 6 0cm w ide a nd 3 0cm d eep . T he d itch c on tained a s ingle m edium b rown s ilt ( 3 223 ) a lthough a n umber o f c ontrasting d eposits h ad a ccumulated i n t he s ligh t d epression a bove t he d itch . N o d a ting e vidence w as r ecovered b u t t he d eposits o verlying t his f eature i n t rench 3 c ould b e s hown t o b e 4 th c entury i n d ate .
1 33
A rea 2
P lan 1
r
W
e rät,
00 , 90 ( 30 I ( 7 ,°
-7
7 : 7
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-( 5655 5853
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3 107
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3 228
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F ig 1 0 .13 A rchaeo log ical f e ature s w ithin M F 3 A rea 2 . P lan 1 . T he d itch w as o verlain b y ad ense s pread o f s arsens ( 3 652/3219 ) w hich m ay r epresen t s tructural d ebris . R emoval o f t his g eneral r ubble a nd i n tervening s ilts ( 3 810 a nd 3 813 ) r evealed a d ense s arsen l ayer ( F 3812 ) w hich w as r oughly c urvilinear a nd w hich e nclosed a c ircular v o id . T he b revity o f t he e xcavation m ean t t ha t t h is s tructure w as n o t e xamined i n a ny d etail a nd i ts f unction m ust r emain u ncertain . P o ttery r ecovered f rom 3 810 i ndica ted a l ate 4 th c en tury d a te f or t he d eposition o f a ll t he l ayers a bove t he d ense s arsen f ea ture F 3812 .
1 34
A rea 2
P l an 2
--
3 354
--
0 3 657
/
/
c
0 0
3 218 0 4 ) °
, n 0
0 ,9
cl r
.
1
SI
L.
_
F ig 1 0 .14 A rchaeologica l f eatures w ithin M F 3 , A rea 2 . P lan 2 . B etween F 3812 a nd t he s outhern s ection e dge o f t rench 2 l ay a s eries o f d eposits c on taining a l arge a moun t o f s ettlemen t d ebris . I n terpreta tion o f t hese d eposits w as n o t r eally p ossib le b ecause o f t he s mall s ize o f t he a rea e xcava ted . F 3354 . D itch As econd d itch ( F 3354 ) w as f ound t o t he n orth o f a nd r unning r oughly p arallel t o F 3218 . A d itch t erminal w as l oca ted a nd h al f s ectioned , b u t t he f ea ture c ertainly c on tinued i n to A rea 3 . T he s ection r evealed t ha t t he d itch w as f la t b o ttomed a nd 9 0am d eep . T he f eature c on tained t wo f ills . T he l ower f ill ( 3 661 ) w as a m edium b rown s ilt w ith o ccasional c h alk f lecks w hile t he u pper f ill w as d istinguishable b y t he p resence o f ah igh n umber o f l arge c halk f ragmen ts . T he l ower f ill c on tained p o ttery o f ap re-Flavian d a te t ogether w ith f ragmen ts o f ac rucible c on taining i ron r e sidues ( n o t i llustrated ).
1 35
F 3651 . S arsen F ea ture O verlying t he d itch F 3354 w as a n L -shaped s arsen f ea ture m easuring 2 .5m a long i ts l ongest a xis a nd 1 .5m a long i ts s hortest . I t w as 6 0cm w ide a nd c omposed o f as ingle l ayer o f r ough s arsen b locks . T he f eature r an b eyond t he t rench e dge t o t he n orth a nd w as i n terpreted a s t he b ase o f as tructure . T he e phemeral n a ture o f t he f ea ture - i t s imply r ested o n n a tural - i ndicated t ha t p loughing m ight e asily d estroy s imilar s tructures , l eaving o nly a c oncentra tion o f s arsens a s e vidence o f t heir p revious e xistence . A s hallow b and o f s tra tigraphy c on taining a g reat d eal o f s ettlement d ebris n estled b ehind t his l inear s tructure . T wo d istinct l ayers w ere e xcavated b efore n a tural w as r eached . T he u pper l ayer ( 3 653 ) w as a lmost b lack w hilst t he l ower l ayer ( 3 654 ) w as a b rown s ilt . I t i s p robable t ha t t hese c ontexts r epresent t he r emains o f p revious f loor l evels . A lthough l ittle p ottery w as f ound i n e ither l ayer , t he p resence o f s ome s hell t empered f abrics i n ad istinctly l ate f orm a rgues f or a 4 th c en tury d a te f or t hese d eposits . I t i s u nfortuna te t hat p lough d amage l eft s o l ittle o f t he s tructure i n tact t hat a ny i nterpreta tion o f i ts f unction m ust r emain c on jectura l . F 3658 . S lo t I mmediately t o t he s ou th o f t hese d eposits , a n e phemeral c urvilinear s lo t w as f ound c ut i nto n atural ( F 3658 ). T his f ea ture w as 3 5cm w ide , 1 0cm d eep a nd w as t raced f or 3 m . I t w as f illed w ith a m edium b rown c halk f ill b u t n o d a ting e vidence w as r ecovered . F 3655 . S coop A d jacent t o F 3658 w as a s hallow s coop , 3 0cm l ong a nd 1 5 a n d eep . I t w as f illed w ith a m edium b rown s ilt ( 3 656 ) b u t a gain n o d a ting e vidence w as r ecovered . F 3657 . P it Ac ircular p it w as c ut i nto n atural t o t he s outh o f d itch F 3354 . T he f eature c ontained a s ingle m edium b rown s ilt ; a s i t a lso y ielded a l arge a moun t o f s heep b ones i t w as i nterpreted a s ar ubbish p it . A gain , n o d a ting e vidence w as r ecovered f or t his p it . A rea 3 ( T renches 4 , 5a nd 8 ) . F igs 1 0 .15 , 1 0 .16 a nd 1 0 .17 . ( B o th t he d itches l oca ted i n A rea 2 c ontinued i nto A rea 3 ) . F 3354 . D it c h T he m ost n ortherly o f t he t wo d itches d escribed a bove , F 3354 , w as s ectioned a gainst t he w estern e dge o f A rea 3 . T his d itch d isplayed a s teep V s haped p ro file , w as 1 .1m d eep a nd 1 .8m w ide . A t l east o ne r ecut w as v isible w ithin t he s ection . T he o riginal s ilts , a m edium b rown s ilt w ith c halk f lecks ( 3 358 ) a nd a n o verlying p ale b rown s ilt ( 3 356 ) w ere c u t a ssymetrically . T he r ecut w as f illed w ith a p ale b rown s ilt c on taining m any c halk f ragments ( 3 355 ) a nd a l ayer d ifferentia ted f rom t his b y t he n umber o f s arsen f ragments i t c on tained ( 3 357 ). T he f inal d itch f ill ( 3 351 ), a p ale b rown/yellow s ilt , m ay r epresen t af inal s ilt o r a n e phemeral r ecut . T his s ection o f t he d itch p roduced a c onsiderable a mount o f p o ttery , p robably o f p re-Flavian d ate , w hich f ormed a h omogeneous a ssemblage t hroughou t t h e f ea ture ; s uch r ecuts a s e xisted w ere p robably n o t s epara ted b y s ignificant p eriods o f t ime . T he s ize o f t he s herds c oming f rom t his f ea ture w as s ignifican tly l arger t han i n o ther d eposits o n t he s ite a nd a n umber o f s herds f rom w ithin t he l ower c ontexts w ere c on joining ( F ig 1 0 .19 ).
1 36
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F ig 1 0 .15 . A rchaeological f ea tures w ithin M F3 , A rea 3 . P lan 1 . F 3317 . P osthole As ingle s arsen-packed p osthole w as c u t i nto d itch F 3354 . T his f eature h ad u nfortunately s uffered a d irect h it b y a n R AF b omb w hich r emoved s ome o f t he p osthole p acking a nd m ost o f i ts o riginal s ilts . F 3218 . D itch T he m ost s outherly o f t he t wo d itches d escribed a bove e ntered t rench 3 t hrough t he e astern s ection o f a rea 4 a nd r an S E i n ag entle c urve , l eaving t he t rench u nder i ts w estern s ection e dge . As ection c u t t hrough t his f eature i n t rench 3 r evealed a U s hape d p ro file , 9 5cm w ide a nd 4 0 cm d eep . A s i n A rea 2 , t he d itch c ontained o nly o ne f ill ( 3 328 ), am edium b rown s ilt w ith c halk f lecks . A gain , n o d iagnostic p ottery w as r ecovered .
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F ig 1 0 .16 A rchaeolog ica l f eatures w ith in M F 3 , A rea 3 . P lan 2 . F 3432 . D itch E vidence f or a f urther d itch c ame f rom T rench 8 o f A rea 3 , w here t he t erminal o f ad itch w hich r an f or 3 m a long a r ough N W-SE a xis w as f ound . T his f eature w as h alf s ec tioned t o r eveal a f la t b ottomed d itch 1 m d eep . T hree f ills w ere n o ted . T he l owest f ill ( 3 446 ) w as al igh t b rown s ilt w ith c halk f lecks w hich w as s ealed b y ab rown s ilt c ontaining l arge s arsen f ragmen ts u p t o 2 5cm i n l ength ( 3 455 ). T he u pper f ill ( 3 433 ), a nother l igh t b rown s ilt w ith c halk f lecks , c ontained a c omplete s heep 's s keleton . T he p ottery w ithin F 3432 w as s imilar t o t hat o f F 3354 a nd w as t hus p robably p re-Flavian i n d ate . T h e d itch t erminal F 3432 a ppeared t o c u t a cross a d istinct b reak i n s lope w hich r an a cross A rea 3 a long a S W-NE a xis . T he f ea ture w as i nterp reted a s al ynchet . A lthough i t s eems p robable t hat t he l ynchet p reda ted t he d itch , e xcavated d eposits w ithin t h e n ega tive l ynchet w ere s o d isturbed b y l ate R oman a ctivity t hat n o d efinite r elationship w as o bserved b etween t hem . L arge a mounts o f s arsen r ubble h ad c ollected w ithin t he n ega tive l ynchet , w ith a p articularly d ense c oncen tra tion o f t his a ppearing i n T re nc h 8 o f t he t re nc h . W hilst m uch o f t his d ebris m igh t r epresen t c learance a nd a d h oc d umping , r emoval o f t he l arger d ebris r evealed s ome e vid ence f or f urther s arsen s tructures . F 3437 a nd F 3451 . P ossible C orn D riers . As eries o f c oncen tra tions o f s ma ll s arsen f ragmen ts w as f ound b eneath t h e l oose d ebris d escribed a bove . A lthough b adly d amaged , t wo d egraded k eyhole s tructures w ere d iscernable a nd i nterpreted a s p ossible c orn d riers . T he b est p reserved o f t he s tructures , F 34 37 , f aced w est o ver t he d it c h t erminal F 3422 ; t he s econd , F 3451 , f aced n orth . T hese t wo f ea tures w ere s o b adly d amaged t ha t n either o f t hem p roduced a ny t races o f b urning o r c orn d rying a ctivity a nd a ny f unctional i nterpreta tion r emains s peculative . L ittle p ottery w as f ound w ithin e ither s tructure , b ut i t w as a pparen t t ha t t hey m ust p ost d ate
1 38
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F ig 1 0 .17 A rchaeological f ea tures w ithin M F 3 , A rea 3 . P lan 3 . F 3709 . P it As mall p it w as e xcavated a d jacent t o t he d itch t erminal F 3422 . I t c ontained o nly o ne f ill , al igh t b rown s ilt ( 3 710 ) a nd n o d ating e vidence w as r ecovered . F 3319 . S coop As mall , c ircular d epression w as e xcavated i mmediately t o t he s outh o f t he n orthern m ost d itch , F 3354 . I t p roved t o b e 2 0cm i n d iameter a nd 1 0cm d eep . T he f eature c ontained o n e f ill , ab rown s ilt ( 3 320 ) b ut n o d ating e vidence w as r ecovered . As eries o f s take h oles w as a lso n oted w ithin T rench 4 . S everal o f t hese w ere b ox s ectioned b ut t heir d ate a nd f unction r emains u ncertain .
1 39
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A rea 4 ( T rench 6 ) F ig 1 0 .6 . N O a rchaeological f eatures w ere f ound i n t rench 6 . S UMMARY A ND D ISCUSSION O F T HE A RCHAEOLOGICAL S EQUENCE A T K NIGHT
B USHES R O AN
S E ITLEMENT . T he e arliest p ottery f o und d uring t he e xcavation a t K nighton B ushes w as a s ing le u nstratified f ragmen t o f ac arinated j ar , d ated t en ta tively t o t he m iddle I ron A ge . T he p aucity o f I ron A ge p o ttery f rom t he s urvey a rea l ends t his s olitary s herd s ome i mportance ; i f t he r arity o f s uch m aterial r esults f ram i ts l ack o f d urability , i ts s imple p resence m ay b e a n i ndica tor o f c on tempo rary s ettlement . A lthough t he a ssociation o f h uman a nd e quine b urials i s o ften a ssocia ted w ith t he l ate I ron A ge , n o f irm d ate c ould b e a scribed t o t he h uman a nd p ony b urial f ound i n p it F 3012 a t M F 3 . T he e arliest d atable f eatures o n t he s ite w ere t he p re-Flavian d itch t erminals F 3354 a nd F 3432 , f ound i n t renches 2 a nd 3 o f t he M F 3 e xcavation . T he d itches a re i mportan t f or s everal r easons . F irstly , t hey a ppear t o s ligh t am uch d ebased l ynchet f ound i n t rench 3 . T his a rrangemen t o f f eatures a ppears t o r epresen t c ertain e lements o f af ield s ystem w hich p reda ted t he e arly R aman s ettlemen t a nd w hich w as e ither b eing m odified o f g oing o u t o f u se a t t he t ime t he a bove d itches w ere c ut . M ore r ecent e xcavations o f b e tter p reserved l ynchets a t K nigh ton B ushes h ave d ated t hem t en ta tively t o t h e R aman p eriod ( B owden , M .C .B e t a l . f orthc . ). D espite t he p oor p reserva tion o f t he M F 3 l ynchet i t w as f elt t o b e d ifferen t a nd i s s een a s r epresenting a n e arlier , p erhaps c ore p art , o f a d ownland f ield s ystem . T his i s n o t w ithou t l ocal p arallels a s e xcava tions a t S treatly W arren y ielded a " broad I ron A ge d ate" f or a l ynch et , f or e xample ( R ichards , J .C . 1 978 , 3 8 ; M ills , A . 1 949 ). S econdly , t he p ottery a ssociated w ith t he e arly d itches a t M F 3 w as n otable b o th f or t he s ize o f f ragmen ts a nd t he n umber o f c on joining s herds I t i s l ik ely t ha t s uch l arge a nd u nabraided f ragments ( mega s herd w eigh t =1 5g ) i s i ndica tive o f t he p resence o f an earby h abita tion a rea ( H ayfield , C . 1 987 ). A lthough n o d irect e vidence o f ap re-Flavian s ettlemen t s ite w as f ound d uring t his e xcava tion , t he r ecovery o f ac rucible a nd i ron w orking f ragments f ram d it c h F 3354 a ppears t o i ndicate n ot o nly t he p resence o f a s ettlemen t b ut a lso t hat o f a ssociated a rtisan/industrial a ctivity . E arly s econd c entury a ctivity a ppears t o b e r epresented b y p it F 422 a nd t he s trange , d itched , r ectangular e nclosure s ectioned b y t rench M F 1 . T he e nclosure m ay h ave b een s urrounded b y ab ank a t a n e arlier d a te , b u t n o t races o f t his f ea ture w ere f ound d uring e xcavation ( R hodes , P .P . 1 950 ). T he d itch i tself w as u nu sua lly s ha llow , m ea su ring 5 m etres w ide a nd 3 5cm d eep . S im ilar e nclosures a re c ommon ly a sso cia te d w ith l ow s tatu s R om an s ites i n t he w est B erkshire a rea . T heir f unctions a re p roblematic a nd m ay v ary f ram s ite t o s ite . T he e nclosure e xcava ted a t C .stone D awn p rovided a m ple e vidence f or h abita tion w hile t hat o f B o tley C opse c on tained s tructures s uch a s aT -shaped c ornd rier a s w ell a s y ield ing e vidence o f aw id e a nd s ha llow d itch ( C unniag ton , W . 1 866 ; R hodes , P .P . 1 950 ). T he R am 's H ill e nclosu re a nd t hat o f R oden D own m ay a lso b e d omestic s ites a lthough t ha t e x cava ted a t L owbury m ay w ell h ave h ad s ome r itua l f unction ( B rad ley , Ra nd 1 42
E llison , A . 1 975 ; A tkinson , D . 1 916 ; R ichards , J .C . 1 978 ). E viden ce o f d omestic a ctiv ity w ithin t he K nighton B u shes e nclosure i s s ligh t ; s urface p o ttery a void s t he i nterio r a nd t he m agnetometer s u rvey i ndicated t ha t s ettlemen t a ctiv ity l ay b eyond i ts b ounds . A lthough n o i n terna l f ea tures w ere d iscovered d uring t he e xcavation o f t rench M F 1 , t h is c an h ard ly b e t aken a s c onclusive p roo f t ha t n o d omestic a ctivity t ook p lace . G iven t h e l imited e vidence a va ilable , w e m igh t s uggest t ha t t he e nclosure h ad a s pecialist f unction , f or e xample a s ac orra l , b u t f urther w ork i s n ecessary t o c on firm t h is h ypothesis . T he s hape a nd o rientation o f t he K n ighton B u shes ' e nclosu re l eads t o t he s uggestion t hat i t o rig inated a s , o r w as m odified f rom , a n e arlier f ield b oundary . T h e e nclosure a t B o tley C opse a nd p erhaps a lso t hat o f R am 's H ill , m ay a lso h ave s im ila r o rigins ( R hodes , P .P . 1 950 f ig . 1 0 ; B rad ley , Ra nd E llison , A . 1 975 f ig . 1 ,2 ). T hi s i s a n i mportant o b serva tion a s i t w ou ld s uggest , a ga in , d evelopmen t o f ap re R oman f ield s ystem o n t he s ite , d espite t he b roadly R aman d ate f or e x tensive a rea s o f t he B erkshire " Celtic f ields" ( B owden , M .C .B e t a l . f orthc .). I t m ay b e c orrect t o s uggest t hat e nclosures o f t his t ype i ndica te t he e xistence o f p re-Ra man f ield s y stem s , t he p a tterns o f w hich w ere l a id d own i n l ater p reh istory . T he e vidence f rom M F 3 f or t he s lighting o f al ynchet b y t wo p re-Flavian R oman d itches i s a ga in a n i nd ication o f t his . I ndirectly , t hey m ay a lso f u rnish e vidence f or t he c ontinued u se a nd d evelopmen t o f s pecific a reas o f l and f rom t he p rehistoric i n to t he R oman p eriod . T his c on tinu ity o f l an d u se s hou ld n ot , h ow ever , b e d irectly e qua te d w ith c on tinuity o f s ettlemen t a rea ; w hilst t he a vailable e vidence i ndicates t ha t t he t ran sition f ram t he I ron A ge t o t h e R oman p eriod w as n o t t oo t raumatic , w e c annot a rgue f or d irect c ontinu ity o n t he b asis o f a vailable e vidence f rom t his e xcava tion a lone . E vidence o f a c tivity f rom t he l ate 3 rd a nd 4 th c en turies w as p ro fusely s ca ttered a cross t h e s ite , a lthough u nfortunately m uch o f t he l a ter s tra tigraphy w as b adly p lough d amaged . T he m ost s ignificant f ea ture w as t he L s haped s arsen s tructure F 3651 w hich g ave s ome i ndica tions o f t h e l ink b etween s tructural e lements a nd l oose s arcen d istribu tions . T he e phemeral n a ture o f F 3651 - i t s imply r ested u pon t he c halk - e xplains h ow s imilar f ea tures e lsewhere m ay h ave b een p rone t o r apid a nd a lmost c omplete d estruction b y b rief p eriods o f p loughing . S uch s tructures , w hich m ay o riginally h ave b een c ommon o n m any a reas o f t he D owns , w ould t hus b e r apidly r educed t o s arsen s preads ( F owler , P . 1 967 ). I f t he c onstruction o f t he L -shaped s tructure a bove w as t ypical o f s arsen b uildings a t K nighton B ushes , t here i s ad istinct p ossibility t ha t t he l arge s ca tter o f r ubble f ound i n t rench 2 o f M F 3 ( F 3652 ) m ay h ave o riginally b een a b uilding ; p ottery f rom a ssociated c on texts m ay a lso s uggest a l ate 4 th c entury d ate f or t h e c ollapse o f t he s tructure . A gain , t he p oor p reserva tion o f t he a rchaeological r emains m akes i t d ifficult t o m ake d efinite s ta temen ts a bou t t h e p recise n a ture a nd d a te o f t his f ea ture . T he o nly o ther d atable s tra tigraphy c ame f rom t rench M F1 a nd a ppears t o r epresen t a r ubbish d isposa l a rea . T his w a s t he o nly c on tex t t o p rovide d a ting e vidence f ram c oins , n amely , t hree c oins o f V alens d ated b etween 3 64-378 A .D .
1 43
T he t wo p u ta tive c orn d riers , t enta tively d a ted t o t he 4 th c en tury , r emain p roblema tic . T he p oor s tate o f p reservation o f t hese f ea tures a llow s d oubts t o b e c ast u pon t he i n terpreta tion o f t heir f unction w hile t heir l a te R aman d ate w as a rrived a t o nly b y c onsidering t heir r ela tionships w ith t he d itch t erminal F 3432 a nd t he 4 th c en tury d eposits l ying w ithin t h e n ega tive l ynchet d iscussed a bove . As mall a moun t o f o rganic t empered p ottery w as r ecovered f rom t he s urface c ollection a nd s ubsequen t e x cava tions a t K nigh ton B ush es a nd h in ts a t t h e p ossibility o f c on tinued o ccupation o f t he s ite i n to t he s ub-Roman p eriod . U nfo rtunately , n o s herds w ere r ecovered f rom s ecure s tratigraphic c on texts . As ingle s herd l ay u pon t he s arsen s catter 1 92 i n t rench M F1 b u t t his c an h ardly b e t aken a s e vidence f o r s ettlemen t a ctivity . T he a ssocia tion o f s uch p o ttery a nd i ts r ecorded s carcity e lsewhere d oes , h owever , a rgue f or c ontinuity o f o ccupa tion o f s ome k ind a t t he s ettlemen t a fter t he v illa i tself m ay h ave g on e o u t o f u se .
1 44
C HAPTER E LE VEN
M ADDLE F ARM 2 :T HE S AMPLE E XCAVATI ON O F AR OMAN V ILLA
1 ) . T he S ite T he f irst p ublished p lan o f t he s ite a t M addle F arm i dentified a c oncentration o f b uilding m aterial a mongst a s pread o f " occupation m a terial " a pproximately 3 00 m etres n orth w est o f t he m odern f arm b uildings ( R ichards , J .C . 1 978 , 4 8 ) . I n t he s ame v olume , a n o blique a ir p hotograph o f t he a rea t aken b efore i t h ad b een b rought i nto m odern c ereal . . . 1 yr b 01% 0.2
P LATE 2 . T he F ield S ystem a nd V illa s oilmark a t M äddle F arm . ( R eproduced b y k ind p ermission o f t he N ational M onuments R ecord ).
1 45
.
F ig 1.1 C ontour S urvey w ith t he M add le F arm v illa s oilmark .
1 46
Av ertical a ir p hotograph t aken i n 1 972 S howed s oi lmarks o f a n e xtensive f ield s ystem w ithin w hich t here w as a s ubstan tial r ectangular b uilding f acing s outhwards o nto a l arge e n closed a rea MR S F N O 9 1 9 P la te 2 ) . S ince p loughing h ad b lurred t he e dges o f t he s oilmark , t he o utline o f t he w alls c ould o nly b e e stablished t o a n a ccuracy o f a bou t p lus o r m inus f our m etres . T he s oi lmark i ndicated p ossib le s tructural r emains w ithin a n a rea 9 0 m etres b y 2 0 m etres , t hough t he p recise l ocation o f a ny b uilding o r b uildings c ould o nly b e e stablished b y e xcavation . Al arge w hite s ub c ircular m ark i n t he w estern h alf o f t he c ourtyard i s ap ost r oman q uar ry t hat a ppears o n e arly e ditions o f t he 2 5 i nches t o t he m ile , O rdnance S urvey m aps o f t he a rea ( F ig 1.1 ). T hus , ac oMbination o f t he r esults f rom t he i ntensive c ollection o f t he a rea , t ogether w ith t he i n formation f rom t he a ir ph o to t ha t l ed t o as tra tegy o f s ample e xcava tion o n t he s ite ( F ig 1.2 ). T he e xcava tion h ad t hree p rincipal a ims : i ) T O c larify t he n ature o f t he b uilding o r b uildings i ) T o p rovide b asic d ating e vidence f or a ny s tructures ii ) T o d etermine t he r ela tionship b etween t he s urface a rtefact d istribu tion a nd i nformation d erived f ram e xcava tion a nd a erial p hotography W hile t he i n tensive s urface c ollection c overed 2 8 ,000 s quare m etres , as ample o f 1 50 s quare m etres ( 0 .5% ) w as c hosen f or e xcavation . P riority w as g iven t o t he e xcavation o f t he b uilding w ith t he r emaining t renches i nvestigating e ither t he a rea b ehind t he b uilding w here h igh d ensities o f p ottery o n t he s urface m ay r epresent a ctivities s uch a s r ubbish d isposal , o r t hat p art o f t he c ourtyard u neffected b y q uarrying . I nitially t wenty t hree t renches m easuring 2 m etres b y 3m etres w ere e xcavated c overing a n a rea o f 1 38 s quare m etres . A nother c omp lete t rench w as o pened i n t he c ourse o f e xcava tion a nd f our o thers w ere e xtended m aking t he t o tal a rea o f t he e xcavation 1 67 s quare m etres . T he t wenty t hree t renches w ere d istributed i n t he f ollowing m anner ; i ) . T he V illa b uilding T he a rea a ssumed t o c ontain s tructural r emains w as c overed b y s eventy t hree o f t he f ive b y f ive m etres i ntensive c ollection s quares . T hirteen r andomly s elected e xcavation t renches w ere a llocated t o t his a rea e xamining a s ample o f 4 .2% o f t he t otal a rea . W ithin t he 5 x5 m etre s quares ,e ach t rench w as a ligned s outhwest t o n ortheast o r n orthwest t o s outheast t o t he b uilding e nhancing t he p robability o f l ocating s tructural f eatures p lo tted f ram t he a erial p hotographs . i ). T he C ourtyard F ive t renches w ere e xcavated o ut o f at otal o f 6 1 i n tensive c ollection u nits e xcluding t he a rea o f t he p ost R aman q uarry . T his r epresented 1 .9% o f t he t otal a rea . ii ). T he a rea b ehind t he V illa F our t renches w ere e xcava ted , r epresenting 3 .5% o f t he a rea c on tained w ithin t he 2 7 i n tensive c ollection u nits .
1 47
F ig 1.2 P Ia
o f t he r-: c avation m r-e r iches , = 2I dP ottery D istriLution 1 48
t1 7"
I n t he c ourse o f t he e xcavations , t renches 2 , 3 , 5a nd 9 w ere e xtended , s o t ha t at otal a rea o f 1 67 s quare m etres w as i nvestiga ted . 2 ) . C orrelation B etween S urface A nd T op S oil R oman P ottery D ensities . F ig 1.3 C omparison o f s urface a nd t op s oil p ottery d ensities n ecessitated a s ieving p rogramme , a s c arried o ut a t M F1 . W ithin e ach e xcava ted t rench , as ample o f t he t opsoil o f t wo i ndividual m etre s quares w as s ieved . F or t he s ake o f c onvenience , t he s ieved s ample w as b ased u pon t he v olume o f s oil c ontained i n ab ucket . T he v olume o f s oil t reated i n t his w ay a moun ted t o 4 8 ,960 c ubic c entimetres o r 3 .6% o f t he e xcavated t opsoil . P ottery r ecovered f rom t he s ieved s amples w as c ompared t o t ha t g athered d uring t he i n tensive c ollection . i ) C omparison O f P ottery F rom T he I ntensive C ollection W ith T hat F rom A ll E xcavated C on texts - F igure 1.3 s hows t ha t s urface p ottery c oncentra tes i n t he w estern h alf o f t he v illa s oi lmark a nd a bove t rench 1 3 , i n t he c ourtyard . T his c ontrasts w ith t he d istribu tion o f e xcavated p ottery , w hich w as f ound m ainly i n t he e astern h alf o f t he s tructure .O utside t his a rea , r ecorded e xcavated p ottery d ensities i n t renches 1 5 a nd 1 7 a gain s how n egative c orrelation w ith s urface d a ta . i ) C omparisons O f S urface P ottery A nd T hat f rom S tratified C ontexts - p o ttery f rom s tra tified c ontexts i s e ven m ore d ensly d istribu ted i n t he e astern h alf o f t he s oil m ark a nd i n t renches 1 5 a nd 1 7 t han t he c ategory i n l a . T hese a re t he a reas w here t he m a jority o f i ntact a rchaeological d eposits s urvived . ii ) C omparisons O f P ottery F rom T he S urface a nd T he T opsoil- S urprisingly , p ottery r ecovered f ram t he t opsoil e xhibits t h e s ame g eneral d istibu tion a s t ha t f ram o ther e x cavated d eposits a nd d iffers f rom s urface d ata . P articular c oncen trations o f t opsoil p ottery o ccur i n t renches 2 , 3 , 9 , 1 0 a nd 1 7 . i v ) C omparisons O f S urface P ottery A nd P redicted T opsoil D ata - P redicted v alues r epresent a n a ttempt t o c ompensate f or m issing d ata i n t he a rchaeological r ecord . R esults f rom s ieving 3 .6% o f t he t opsoil a re e xtrapolated t o g ive a v alue a pproximating t o t he t otal a mount o f p ottery t hat w ould h ave b een r ecovered h ad a ll t he t opsoil b een s ieved ( F ig 1 .3 ). T he r ela tionships b etween s urface p ottery , s ieved r esults a nd p redicted d ata a re S hown i n t he f ollowing t ables : T ABLE 1.1 : P o ttery D ensities A t T he M addle F arm V illa . S urface
T opsoil
S ieved
O ther
T ot a l
S ample .
C ontexts .
Makers o f S herds .
3 27
2 647
7 6
3 900
6 950
3 070g
2 0063g
4 69g
3 2849g
5 6451g
W eigh t i n G rammes .
1 49
S u r face p o t te ry w e igh t
E xcava ted t opso i l p o t te ry w e igh t p e r s qua re me t re
•• •
••
• •
•
G rammes •
G rammes
nes and the teeth are very worn, indicating that this was an aged animal. There are no canine teeth (the upper ones are present only in males and the lower ones usually only in males).· and :roost probably it was a mare. Several canplete long bones are available for height estimation and indicate that the animal stood about 14 hands (1.42 m) high and was, therefore, considerably larger than the pony buried at the nearby Iron Age site at Blewburton Hill (King, 1952). Both second metacarpals (the 'splint bones ' on the inside of the cannon bones in the front legs} are fused to the third metacarpals (the cannon bones}_: there is no sign of injury which might have preceded the fusion of the bones and probably these are simply age-n�lated skeletal changes in a very old animal. A small area of soft tissue adjacent to the sternum had ossified but although, due to recent damage, the extent of the lesion is unknown, the absa1ce of any evidence of disease is any other JX)St cranial bones suggests that it was very localised. In the skull, recent damage to the right maxilla just in front of the tooth row cuts across a small patch of raised bone which has a rather disorganised appearance and was probably associated with a 1ninor injury and/or localised infection which had occured not long before the anfaw.'s death. The bony deposits are confined to the eXterior aspects of the maxilla and do not appear to have been associated with disease in the prelrolar teeth. There is evidence of periodontal disease, and slight alveolar reeession has occured, in the left mandible where there is a gap between the second and third molars where food debris probably became impacted, probably mainly due to the heavily-worn state of the teeth. An interesting anomaly was noted in the third ;;1axillary premolars of this animal. In both teeth, the anterior cusp of the buccal side is absent. The slanting wear on the upper surfaces of each tooth where it lacJr..s the cusp (and a ridge in the mandibular tooth rows 190
o pposite t h e m issing c usps ) i ndica te t ha t i f t he c usps b roke o ff t hey m ust h ave d one s o a l ong t ime b efore t he a nimal d ied . Ar adiographic e xamination w ould s how w hether t he r oots o f t he c usp s w ere s till p re sen t , b ut t he m orphology o f t he a n terior p art o f t he c rowns o f t he t eeth Wh ich c an b e e xamined b ecause t he s econd p remolars h ave b een l ost a fter d ea th ) s uggest t ha t i t i s m uch m o re l ikely t ha t t he c usps a re c ongenitally a bsen t . C ongenital a bnormalities o ften a re b ilaterally s ymmetrical , a s i n t his c ase ; a nd w hile s ymmetrical d amage r esulting f rom a t rauma tic e ven t c onnected w ith s ome f orm o f b it o r b itless b ridle c an b e e nvisaged , i t i s d ifficult t o i magine h ow t his d amage c ould h ave o ccured s o f ar b a ck i n t he a nimal 's m ou th a nd h ave a ffected o nly t he b uccal s ide o f t he t eeth .There i s n o e vidence , f rom t he b ones t hemselves , o f t he c ause o f d ea th o ther t han t hat t he a nimal w as v ery o ld a nd i t m ay w ell h ave d ied f rom n a tural c auses . T he b ones b ear n o b utchery m arks n or w ere a ny c ut m arks s een w hich m igh t i ndicate t hat t he p ony w as s kinned b efore b urial .
D iscussion O f T he A nimal B urials . T hese t wo a nimal b urials a re i n teresting b ecause o f t he i nformation t hey p rovide a bout t wo a nimals o f R aman d ate a nd a lso b ecause o f t heir a ssocia tion w ith h uman r emains . T h e i mma ture s heep b uried i n t he s ame f ill o f ai st c en tury d itch t erminal a s ah uman i nfant m ay h ave s erved a d edica tory p urpose o r t his m ay s imply h ave b een a c onven ien t w ay o f d isposing o f a n a nimal w h ich h ad d ied o f ad isease o r i n c ircumstances w hich m ade i ts d ea th u npala table . T he p ony b uried i n t he 3 rd /4 th c en tury p it i s p erhaps u nlikely t o h ave b een r egarded a s ap o tential m ea t s upply w hen i t d ied a s i t w as a v ery o ld a nimal a nd i ts f lesh w ould h ave b een e xtremely t ough . I ts p recise a ssocia tion w ith t he a dult h uman l ower l eg b ones ( a nd t he b ones o f a n i nfant ) r ecovered f rom t his p it w as n o t r ecorded a t t he t ime o f e x cavation b ut t h e h uman l eg b ones c ame f rom a l ayer b elow m ost o f t he p ony b ones ; p resumably t he r est o f t he h uman s keleton w as b eyond t he l imits o f t he e xcavation . I nh uma tions o f aR oman d a te a ccompanied b y ad og o r ab ird h ave b een r ecorded a t an umber o f s ites , e .g . L ankhills a nd T rentholme D rive , Y ork a nd h orse r emains h ave b een f ound i n a ssocia tion w ith e arly a nd l ate R oman b urials a t W in chester ( C larke ,G . 1 979 ; W enham , 1 968 ; Q ualmann , f orthc ). T he i n terpretation o f t he a ssociation a t M addle F arm o f t he s keleton o f a n a ged p ony a nd a n a dult h uman b urial i s , h owever , u ncertain . P erhaps t hey w ere d edicatory d eposits , p erhaps a f avourite m are w as b uried w ith h er o wner , o r p erhaps t he b urials w ere d iscrete e ven ts a nd n o t , i n f act , r ela ted t o e ach o ther . T he H uman R emains . T he p artial p ostcranial r emains o f t hree i nfants w ere r ecovered f rom t he f ills o f ad itch a nd a d itch t erminal o f i st c en tury d ate a nd a l inear f ea ture o f 3 rd /4th c en tury d ate ; a nd a f ew b ones f rom a f ourth i n fant a nd t he l ower l egs o f a n a dult , p robably m ale a nd a pproxima tely 1 .63 m ( 5 ft 4 ins ) t all ( h eigh t e stima tion i s b ased o n t he f ormulae o f T ro tter a nd G leser ( 1 952 a nd 1 958 ), w ere r ecovered f rom a p it . T he s ize o f t he i n fants ' b ones s uggests t ha t t hey a ll d ied a round t h e t ime o f t heir b irth o r s hortly a fterwards . N o p a thology w as s een a nd t h e c ause o f d eath i s u nknown i n e very i nstance . T he s ignificance o f t he b urial , i n t he s am e p it , o f a n a dult h uman a nd a p ony ( d iscussed a bove ) i s u ncertain . N O g rave c u t f or t he h uman b urial w as r ecognised d uring e xcavation a nd t here w ere n o c o ffin r emains . T he d isposal o f t he r emains o f i nfants i n d itches a nd
1 9 1
p its f ollows t he c ustom o bserved a t O w lesbury i n H ampshire , w here c hildren w ere n o t a ccorded a dult b urial r ites u nless t hey w ere a t l east a y ear o ld ( C ollis , 1 977 ).
S ummary . D espite t he l imitations o f t he m aterial d iscussed i n t his r eport , e specially i ts f ragmen ted s ta te w hich h as l ed t o al ow i d en tifica tion r a te a nd t h e s mall s ize o f t he s amples f rom s ecurely d ated c on texts , af ew g eneral o bservations c an b e m ade a bou t t he b on e f rom t h e s ite a s aw hole . T he b ones o f d omestic a nimals p redomina te , a lthough c learly w ild a nimals w ere e xploited a lso t o ac ertain e xtent . T he m a jority o f t h e a ssemblage c onsists o f t he b ones o f c a ttle , c aprovids a nd p igs , m any o f w hich w ere y oung a nimals ; t he f ew h orse b ones a re a ll f rom a dult a nimals . D ogs o f av ariety o f s izes w ere k ep t . T he b ird r emains i nclude t he b ones o f d omestic f ow l a nd t hree s pecies o f w ild b irds . T he r emains o f r ed d eer a nd r oe d eer i ndicate t ha t , i n t he 3 rd/4th c en turies a t l east , t h ere w as p robably s ome w oodland n ear t he s ite . T he r emains o f f ive h uman i n fan ts a nd o ne a dult , p robably m ale , w ere r ecovered . T he t wo a nimal b urials f rom M F 3 a re i n teresting i n t hemselves f or t he d a ta t hey p rovid e o n i ndividual a nimals o f R oman d a te a nd a lso b ecause o f t heir a ssocia tion w ith h uman r emains . A cknowledgemen ts . S ue B rown i s g rateful t o D on B ro thwell a nd K eith D obney ( I nstitute o f A rchaeo logy , L ondon ) f o r h elp ful d iscussion d uring t he p repara tion o f t his r eport .
1 92
G EOPHYSICAL S URVEY A T K N IGHT ON B USHE S . ( C . G a ffney , J . G a tor a nd D . S tart ).
T he e xcavation o f t rench M F 1 a t K n ighton B ushes r evea led a n umber o f i nteresting a rchaeolog ica l f ea tures i ncluding a n e nclosure d itch , d a ted b y p o ttery t o t he e arly 2 nd c en tury A .D . a nd a n umber o f l ate 4 th c entury c ontex ts w hich w ere t en tatively i nterpreted a s f armyard o r m idden d epo sits . T he a ssocia tion o f t he l atter w ith a c oncentration o f s urface p ottery r evealed b y s urvey s uggested t ha t o ther s urface c oncentrati o ns o f p ottery m igh t a lso b e r ela ted t o f armyard a ctivities r ather t han t he p osition o f s tructures . I f t h is w as t he c ase , i t w a s h ypothesised t hat f urther e xcava tion w ou ld h ave t o i ncorporate t he i nvestigatio n o f l ow d ensity s urface p ottery a reas w hich m ight c on tain s tructura l e vidence , a s w ell a s t he m ore s uperficia lly a ttractive c oncentratio ns o f s urface p ottery . A s p art o f t he p repara tion f or s uch a n e xercise , i t w as d ecided t o c arry o ut a l imited g eophysical s urvey t ransect o ver t he a rea m ost l ikely t o b e s ampled b y f urther e x cava tion ( F ig . 9 .6 ). T he p loughed n a ture o f t he s ite s uggested t ha t n egative f eatures w ere m ost l ikely t o s urvive a nd i t w as d ecided t hat t he t echnique b est s uited t o t he i dentifica tion o f s uch r emains w ould b e t ha t o f m agnetometry . C onsequently , t he s urvey w as c arried o ut b y J ohn G ator a nd D avid S tart u sing a 0 .5m P hilpot f luxgate g radiometer a nd a n X -Y c hart w as r ecorded . T he r esults o f t he s urvey i ndicated t hat t he s ite d ivides i nto t wo p rincipal a reas ; 1 ) T he e astern a rea , i ncluding t he e nclosure , w hich d isplays a r elatively ' n oise-free ' b ackground , w ith f ew a rchaeological a nomalies s uperimposed . 2 ) T he a rea t o t he w est o f t he e nclosure , w hich i s m arked b y s ignifican tly ' noisy ' r esults a nd a f ew p ossible a rchaeological f eatures . T he r easons f or t he ' n oise ' w ithin t his a rea w ere n ot i mmediately a pparen t . A lthough t he s ite h ad b een u sed a s ab ombing r ange d uring t he S econd W orld W ar a nd a c ertain a moun t o f s hrapnel w as e viden t , t his w as n o t t he m a jor c ontribu tan t t o t he p a ttern . F urther i nvestigations o n s ite i ndicated t hat t he p rincipal s ource o f ' n oise ' w as t he a bundant s arsen w hich l ittered t he s urface o f t he s ite . A lthough s arsen i tself p roduces n o a ppreciable m agnetic r esponse , m uch o f t he m aterial o n t he K nighton B ushes s ettlement d isplayed t he e ffects o f b urning , w hich e xplained t he a nomalous m agnetic e ffects . S arsen h as b een r ecorded a s as ource o f b uilding m aterial i n W iltshire a nd i t w as f elt t ha t t he e xtreme ' n oise ' r esulting f rom t he e ffects o f b urnt s arsen m igh t i ndicate i n tense a ctivity a ssocia ted w ith s ettlement a reas ( F ow ler , P .J . 1 967 ). T he a rea o ver t he e nclosure w as r e-surveyed u sing a m ore s ensitive l evel i n o rder t o p inpoint t he e xact p osition o f i ts d itch . T his w as n o t p ossible o ver t he a rea a ssociated w ith e xtreme ' n oise '. W hilst i n terpretation o f t he c onfused r esults o ver t he w estern a rea w as d ifficult , t his w as a ttemp ted o ver t he a rea e ventually c overed b y t rench M F 3 ( G affney &G affney , 1 986 ). T he r esults o f t his i nterpreta tion a re s hown i n F igure 1 2 .5
a longside
t he r esults o f s urface s urvey a nd e xcava tion . W ithin t his a rea , s arsen-rela ted a nomalies t ended t o l ie a d jacen t t o p eaks i n s urface p ottery d ensities a nd t ended t o b e a ssociated w ith t hose a reas i n w hich e xcava tion s uggested t hat s arsen s tructures m ight p reviously 1 93
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21-30 11-20 ndon. MANNING, W.H. 1985. Catalogue Of The Ranano-British Iron Tools, Fittings And Weapons In '!he British Museum. l.Dndon. MATI'INGLY, H., SYDEMIAM, E.A., strrHmLAND, C.H.V. & CARSOO, R.A.G., 1923. Ranan Imperial Coinage. l.Dndon. MAVOR, W. 1809. A General View Of Berkshire. Phillips, I.JJndon. Mmcm, R. 1982. Field SUrvey: A Route To Research Strategies. Scottish Archaeological Review I, 91-97. MILLS, A. 1949. A Section Of Celtic Field Terraces At Streatley Warren, Berkshire. Berkshire Archaeological Journal LI, 51-52. MILLS, N. 1985. Sample Bias, Regional Analysis And Field Walking In British Archaeology. In Hazelgrove, C., Millet, M. & Smith, I eds. Archaeology Fran '!be Plough Soil. Sheffield. MURRAY, P. & CHANG, C. 1981. An Ethno-Archaeological Study Of A Contemporary Herders' Camp. Journal Of Field Archaeology VIII, 372-380.
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