Middle Neolithic pits and a burial at West Amesbury, Wiltshire

Northamptonshire Archaeology, 2012

A triple-ditched circular enclosure, 23m in diameter with a central space 7.8m in diameter, was excavated in advance of new housing. The outer two ditches had single entrances to the north-west. A possible narrow entrance through the inner ditch had been blocked by an elongated pit, which was packed from bottom to top with a dense mass of disarticulated human bone, from perhaps 130 individuals. Only selected bones, particularly the femur with lesser quantities of the other major limb bones, had been collected for deposition in the pit. Fragments of skull are present in some quantity but vertebra and ribs are rare, and there are no hand or foot bones. Initial examination of the bone has recorded the presence of frequent lesions around the major limb joints, suggesting that the deposited material may have come from partially decayed corpses that had been forcibly dismembered to separate the major long bone joints. However, it will require much further analysis before the full story of the burial rite and the treatment of the individuals will be more fully understood. Initial radiocarbon dates indicate that the bone deposit was the product of a single event occurring in the Middle Neolithic (3360-3100 cal BC), although a more extensive programme of dating will be needed to establish the chronology of the whole monument in relation to the mortuary deposit.

Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, 1993

Excavations at the Easton Down long barrow were part of a wider programme of research into the Neolithic sequence and context of the Avebury area in north Wiltshire. The short barrow, on high chalk downland to the southwest of Avebury and the upper Kennet valley, and containing only a few inhumations according to Thurnam's 19th-century investigation, dates to the later 4th millennium BC. Test pits around the barrow produced very little struck flint, and virtually no colluvium in the adjacent dry valley to the west. The mound covered a thin calcareous turfline above a rubbly soil, probably formerly cultivated. The pre-barrow molluscan fauna, soil micromorphology and other environmental data indicate a clearance adjacent to woodland. In the secondary fill of the flanking ditches there is a succession from renewed woodland to open conditions in the Late Neolithic. The Easton Down monument falls relatively late in the regional sequence of long barrow construction. Its setting was probably one of scattered, non-permanent clearances in woodland. Woodland was still widespread on the higher downland of the region in the middle of the Neolithic. Renewed and bigger-scale clearance towards the end of the Neolithic may be connected with the construction of very large monuments elsewhere in the region. The later prehistoric landscape became both more open and less diverse.

The Archaeological Journal, 2012

An early Neolithic causewayed enclosure, a middle Neolithic long enclosure and an earlier Bronze Age open enclosure were among a group of prehistoric features discovered and examined by excavation at Netherfield Farm, South Petherton during archaeological mitigation work ahead of the construction of a natural gas pipeline between Illchester and Baringtom, Somerset, in 2006. Of particular interest were burnt deposits within the long enclosure ditches and a possible Bronze Age field system. Assemblages of pottery and flintwork contribute to the understanding of these features and a programme of radiocarbon dating has amplified the chronology of activity on the site. Evidence from a group of burnt and unburnt pits and a partial enclosure reveal the reuse of the site between the fifth and eighth centuries AD.

Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, 2013

Recent radiocarbon dates obtained from two soil cores taken through the Marlborough Castle mound, Wiltshire, show the main body of it to be a contemporaneous monument to Silbury Hill, dating to the second half of the 3rd millennium cal BC. In light of these dates, this paper considers the sequence identified within the cores, which includes two possible flood events early in the construction of the mound. It also describes four cores taken through the surrounding ditch, as well as small-scale work to the north-east of the mound. The topographic location of the mound in a low-lying area and close to rivers and springs is discussed, and the potential for Late Neolithic sites nearby is set out, with the land to the south of the mound identified as an area for future research. The paper ends with the prospect that other apparent mottes in Wiltshire and beyond may well also have prehistoric origins.

2014

During 2012-2013 two sites were subject to investigation: the first the West Kennet Avenue 'occupation site' initially recognised during Alexander Keiller's work on the avenue in 1934-5; the second a flint scatter on the foot of Avebury Down, to the east of the Avebury henge (Figure 1). Both are locations where significant quantities of Neolithic worked flintrecovered through excavation and surface collection respectivelywere recognised during the first half of the 20th century. While each exceeds 0.5-1.0ha in extent, they are discrete scatters whose artefactual component suggests they span the early 4th to early 3rd millennia BC. Occupying different landscape zones-foot of slope/valley and upper slopetheir investigation offers a routeway into understanding the character of settlement, aggregation, place-making and routine life during the region's Neolithic. Geoarchaeology of the soils along the Avebury Avenue, 2013 (WKA-13) Michael J. Allen question is premature. What is clear is that the soil development history will provide information the local vegetation status (any former woodland soils / duration of grassland conditions) which itself is of direct relevance to the activity not just at the Avenue, but at Avebury itself (cf. Allen & Gardiner 2009).

2008

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2019

Little synthesis of evidence for Middle Neolithic food and farming in Wiltshire, particularly in and around the Stonehenge World Heritage Site (WHS) has been possible, until now, due to a paucity of assemblages. The excavation of a cluster of five Middle Neolithic pits and an inhumation burial at West Amesbury Farm (WAF) has prompted a review of our understanding of pit sites of this period from the county. Bioarchaeological assemblages are used to investigate evidence for the consumption of animal and plant-based foods, and for agricultural and pastoral farming. For the first time Middle Neolithic zooarchaeological evidence, including strontium isotope data, is considered alongside archaeobotanical data, and radiocarbon dating. The absence of cultivated plants from WAF and contemporary sites in the county is consistent with the hypothesis that the reduction in cereal cultivation and greater reliance of wild plants witnessed in the later part of the Neolithic in southern England began in the Middle Neolithic. The zooarchaeological evidence from the same sites demonstrates that the shift away from cereal cultivation may be concurrent with, rather than earlier than, an increase in the relative proportion of deposited pig bones relative to cattle. Both cattle and pigs deposited in pits at WAF have strontium and sulphur isotope values consistent with the local biosphere, and therefore were potentially raised in the area. Zooarchaeological data from WAF compliments that from human dental calculus and lipid residues in associated Peterborough Ware pottery that local cattle husbandry included exploitation of dairy. It also highlights the presence of consistent food preparation methods between pits as seen through butchery practice. The faunal and archaeobotanical remains from contemporary pit deposits suggest that similar farming and subsistence strategies can be proposed across the county, though with some inter-site variation in deposition. Together these excavated pit sites are likely to represent only a sample of those present in the area. Application of a similar integrated approach to material from other Middle Neolithic pits holds potential for better understanding of food and farming in this previously neglected period.

Archaeological Journal, 2016

Little synthesis of evidence for Middle Neolithic food and farming in Wiltshire, particularly in and around the Stonehenge World Heritage Site (WHS) has been possible, until now, due to a paucity of assemblages. The excavation of a cluster of five Middle Neolithic pits and an inhumation burial at West Amesbury Farm (WAF) has prompted a review of our understanding of pit sites of this period from the county. Bioarchaeological assemblages are used to investigate evidence for the consumption of animal and plant-based foods, and for agricultural and pastoral farming. For the first time Middle Neolithic zooarchaeological evidence, including strontium isotope data, is considered alongside archaeobotanical data, and radiocarbon dating. The absence of cultivated plants from WAF and contemporary sites in the county is consistent with the hypothesis that the reduction in cereal cultivation and greater reliance of wild plants witnessed in the later part of the Neolithic in southern England began in the Middle Neolithic. The zooarchaeological evidence from the same sites demonstrates that the shift away from cereal cultivation may be concurrent with, rather than earlier than, an increase in the relative proportion of deposited pig bones relative to cattle. Both cattle and pigs deposited in pits at WAF have strontium and sulphur isotope values consistent with the local biosphere, and therefore were potentially raised in the area. Zooarchaeological data from WAF compliments that from human dental calculus and lipid residues in associated Peterborough Ware pottery that local cattle husbandry included exploitation of dairy. It also highlights the presence of consistent food preparation methods between pits as seen through butchery practice. The faunal and archaeobotanical remains from contemporary pit deposits suggest that similar farming and subsistence strategies can be proposed across the county, though with some inter-site variation in deposition. Together these excavated pit sites are likely to represent only a sample of those present in the area. Application of a similar integrated approach to material from other Middle Neolithic pits holds potential for better understanding of food and farming in this previously neglected period.

2011

2020

This paper presents detailed analysis by remote sensing, excavation, and environmental analysis of an upland round barrow in the northern Cotswolds (Gloucestershire, UK; SP 0844 2446). The barrow, earlier Bronze Age in date, survived as a clay core revetted by two phases of kerbing. Any stone superstructure at the monument, suggested by the large quarry pit adjacent to the mound, did not survive, but had been removed by stone-robbing and plough erosion. Finds included a few low-grade artefacts and animal bone, mainly comprising debris scattered within the mound, perhaps associated with ritual activity accompanying construction. The monument produced two intact deposits of cremated human bone, and included three surviving pyre sites, with the possibility of others suggested by instrumental survey. Supplementary information is presented to provide a background for broader discussion of the monument.

Scottish archaeological journal, 2009

"While long barrows and chambered tombs have long received most of the attention of British neolithic archaeologists investigating mortuary practices, it is clear that there were a variety of different depositional contexts for the remains of the dead at this time. Other kinds of monuments, and in particular causewayed enclosures, seem to have played an important role in funerary behaviour. But other, less immediately recognisable places also feature. More flat graves are being identified through the application of AMS dating to burials lacking diagnostic grave goods. A number of human remains recovered from river contexts have also been shown in recent years to fall within the Neolithic Period, raising the possibility in some instances of river ‘burial’. But, at least quantitatively, the most important alternative burial location to monuments is without question deposition in caves. Again, it is the increasingly routine use of AMS dating that is raising awareness of the number of neolithic human remains from caves. In many cases there appear to be parallels in how the skeleton is treated in caves and monuments, such as the deposition of both articulated and disarticulated remains, and the manipulation of skeletal elements. The significance of these different burial locations remains poorly understood, but there are some clear lines of inquiry that can be explored. Foremost is the need to document the full extent of cave burial in the Neolithic through the instigation of systematic dating programmes. This can then provide the basis for a comparison of the demographic and health profiles of groups interred in caves and in monuments. Preliminary stable isotope results from South Wales suggest that the long-term diets of individuals differed significantly between these two burial contexts, intimating the existence of considerable socioeconomic differentiation in neolithic Britain. "

Journal of Neolithic Archaeology, 2010

Über die Identität der Erbauer von Stonehenge wurde schon lange gerätselt. Vor fünfzig Jahren spekulierten Archäologen, mediterrane oder ägyptische Architekten hätten lokale Barbaren beim Bau angeleitet. Die Ergebnisse der aktuellen Untersuchungen deuten an, dass die Vorbilder der Architektur allesamt bei bereits bekannten britischen Traditionen im Monumentbau aus Wales und Wessex zu suchen sind. Erste Ergebnisse osteologischer Untersuchungen demonstrieren, dass von den geschätzten 150 Menschen, die in Stonehenge bestattet sind, die 64 ausgegrabenen von einem ausgewählten Segment der Gesellschaft stammen. Neben zwei erwachsenen Frauen und zwei bis drei Kindern waren alle übrigen wohl adulte Männer. Die wenigen Grabbeigaben, die in diesen Brandgräbern gefunden wurden, deuten auf Individuen von religiöser oder politischer Autorität. Sie wurden in Stonehenge während der Zeit 3000-2300 cal BC bestattet und könnten eine oder mehrere Herrscherdynastien repräsentieren. Die erste Bauphase von Stonehenge (3000-2920 cal BC) fällt in eine Zeit steigender Uniformität der materiellen Kultur in Britannien, sowohl im Hinblick auf Keramikstile und Hengemonumente, als auch im Hinblick auf Hausformen. Seine Errichtung könnte geplant worden sein, um die verschiedenen Regionen Britanniens zu vereinen, insbesondere die von Sandsteinen geprägte Wessexregion und die von Dolerit (Bluestone) geprägten Regionen in Wales. Die zweite Bauphase von Stonehenge (2620-2480 cal BC), als das Monument in etwa die heute sichtbare Form annahm, war mit einer großen Siedlung im nahegelegenen Durrington Walls assoziiert, die später zu einem Henge umgebaut und so monumentalisiert wurde. Die Inspiration für die Steinarchitektur in Stonehenge-die Zuformung der Steine, die Sturzsteine, das Element der Verzapfung-kann in der einheimischen Holzarchitektur Britanniens gesucht werden. Insbesondere die Form der Anlage kann von den timber circles in Wessex und anderswo in Britannien abgeleitet werden, während die hufeisenförmige Anordnung der Trilithen von den halbovalen hölzernen Wohnhäusern aus Wales, aber auch aus Durrington Walls und Stonehenge selbst abgeleitet werden kann. Insgesamt kann Stonehenge als eine monumentale steinerne Repräsentation von Baustilen gedeutet werden, die üblicherweise in Holz ausgeführt wurden.

2018

During five seasons of excavations directed by Leslie Alcock from 1966 to 1970 on the multiperiod hillfort at South Cadbury Castle proven and possible Early Neolithic postholes and pits were identified in several trenches on the plateau, under the southern inner bank, and bisected by the Iron Age South West gate passage. A discrete assemblage of Late Neolithic material was discovered under the north bank. The evidence has been treated only cursorily in a popular account of the excavations and in the final reports which focused on the periods following