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Yorkshire Archaeological Journal, 2020
examined a small sub-square enclosure connected to field system ditches, and four adjacent waterh... more examined a small sub-square enclosure connected to field system ditches, and four adjacent waterholes, the site producing a small assemblage of finds including Romano-British pottery. The presence of the enclosure had been revealed by a geophysical (detailed gradiometer) survey on the site of the proposed Rossington Inland Port (Wessex Archaeology 2012a). The survey, conducted in five adjacent fields (Fields A-E) totalling approximately 40 ha, had also revealed elements of an ancient field system known from aerial photographs to be far more extensive and to incorporate within it a number of other enclosures (Figure 1). Many of the geophysical anomalies in Fields BE (some of which related to field boundaries known from maps to be of post-medieval and modern date) were investigated by phases of trench evaluation (Wessex Archaeology 2012b; 2014a); Field A was initially not accessible for evaluation. Evaluation also targeted some of the cropmarks recorded in fields to the north (Field F and Borrow Pit 2) (Wessex Archaeology 2012c; 2015). In 2012, on the basis of the initial evaluation results, an area of 1.1 ha in Field B (Trench B), immediately surrounding the sub-square enclosure and an adjacent waterhole, as well as a ditch running north from the enclosure, was subject to excavation (centred on NGR 458800 398740) (Figure 2). Subsequently, in 2014, some of the field boundaries to the south, in Field A, were also subject to targeted excavation in five Trenches (A1-A5), totalling 0.5 ha (centred on NGR 458900 398550) (Figures 2 and 5).
Investigations at the Western Approach Distribution Park, Avonmouth, South Gloucestershire provid... more Investigations at the Western Approach Distribution Park, Avonmouth, South Gloucestershire provided an opportunity to examine deposits of late Neolithic/early Bronze Age and late Bronze Age/early Iron Age date from the Wentlooge Formation. The sedimentary sequence of estuarine silts and peats and associated palaeoenvironmental remains were analysed and dated using radiocarbon and provide a body of data on local landscape and responses to wider phenomena in the estuary related to sea-level changes. A Romano-British farmstead of 2nd-4th century AD date was also investigated. It was characterised by roundhouse gullies, pits and other features. A series of ditched enclosures were also found, providing evidence for animal husbandry and agricultural exploitation of the Avon Levels. Animal bones and a variety of environmental remains provide evidence for the economic basis of the farmstead. The use of non-local goods illustrates contacts with wider communities. Little evidence was, however...
A five-year programme of archaeological investigations was undertaken within a c.9ha area to the ... more A five-year programme of archaeological investigations was undertaken within a c.9ha area to the north of the High Street, Staines on land formerly predominantly occupied by the Central Trading Estate. The vast majority of the archaeological evidence pertains to the Romano-British settlement established in the second half of the first century AD at this bridging point across the Thames, forming the main route from London to the west of the province. The early settlement flourished, with expansion in the second century AD, followed by a hiatus and apparent contraction in the late-second/early-third centuries, occupation continuing to the end of the Roman period. Much of the land to the north of the main road formed areas of refuse disposal and small-holdings, with probable animal corralling and grazing, the latter extending into the rich meadowland bordering the north side of the gravel island on which the town was built. The single building for which evidence was recovered correspon...
Archaeological Journal, 2020
Excavations on the southeastern slopes of King Barrow Ridge, 1.5 km east of Stonehenge, revealed ... more Excavations on the southeastern slopes of King Barrow Ridge, 1.5 km east of Stonehenge, revealed five pits, a grave and other features of Middle Neolithic date. Analysis of the pit assemblages and the partial inhumation interred in the grave has provided insights into lifeways in this landscape in the late fourth millennium cal BC. Evidence suggests that the area was visited by a pastoralist, mobile community on a semi-regular basis for a significant period, in late autumn or winter. Selected remnants of craft-working and consumption were deposited in pits, before deliberate infilling. These depositions repeatedly memorialised activity on the hillside at a time of contemporary activity elsewhere on King Barrow Ridge and at the future site of Stonehenge. Middle Neolithic pits are present in significant numbers across King Barrow Ridge, and alongside pits in the Durrington area, form one of the densest concentrations of such activity in the region. Long distance mobility is suggested by the possible Irish origins of the inhumation, the first Middle Neolithic individual excavated in the environs of Stonehenge. Whilst of significance for understanding the Middle Neolithic in the WHS and the region, this research also hints at the roots of Late Neolithic monumentalisation of this landscape.
Hampshire Studies, 2019
Excavations were undertaken in 2016 in advance of development at Chesil Street car park, Winchest... more Excavations were undertaken in 2016 in advance of development at Chesil Street car park, Winchester, to the east of the Roman and medieval city defences, in a part of the eastern suburb that has seen little previous investigation. The work revealed four Romano-British pits – at least one possibly a lime kiln, extensive areas of chalk quarrying and several medieval features including a chalk-lined cess pit that contained well-preserved environmental evidence. Post-medieval remains comprised five wells in addition to wall foundations alongside Chesil Street, while the east side of the site had been truncated by construction of a railway opened in 1895.
Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, 1995
The analysis of Bronze Age barrow sites excavated as long ago as 25 years can provide information... more The analysis of Bronze Age barrow sites excavated as long ago as 25 years can provide information on more significant and wide ranging topics than basic funerary rites. At Buckskin no primary burial rite was recorded nor any high status artefacts found. The analysis, of stored soil samples and animal bones however, produced evidence for ceremonial activity and feasting prior to the construction of the barrow mound. This encourages discussion on both the role of this barrow and the primary function, other than interment, of similar monuments, especially from the evidence of environmental data. Study of both land Mollusca and faunal remains enabled a greater explanation of the cultural history of this monument and aided the site phasing.
A Late Iron Age farmstead was represented by an oval ditched enclosure, subsequently cut by anoth... more A Late Iron Age farmstead was represented by an oval ditched enclosure, subsequently cut by another enclosure and together possibly forming a figure-of- eight plan, with contemporary features including a well, pits and post-holes. This was succeeded by a larger, early Roman enclosure in which lay a rectangular post-built structure and a sub-oval gully that may have been associated with a roundhouse, as well as hearths, pits, a well and a waterhole. The final mid–late Roman phase of settlement was characterised by a series of rectilinear enclosures. Although there is nothing of particular note amongst the finds and environmental assemblages, the significance of the site overall is that it provides a rare example of rural settlement of this date and duration on the Hampshire claylands, just to the south of Silchester and close to the Roman road that linked this with Chichester.
Excavation on land formerly occupied by Rowe's Garage on The Hornet, Chichester revealed a la... more Excavation on land formerly occupied by Rowe's Garage on The Hornet, Chichester revealed a large, mid-first-century AD ditch, adding to the series of possibly defensive ditches previously identified immediately east of the later Roman town. During the rest of the Romano-British period, the site was used for small-scale domestic settlement, crop-processing and other agricultural activities. After the fourth century AD much of the western part of the site was quarried for clay and gravel. A handful of features provided evidence for the medieval and later suburb known to have developed outside the Eastgate from the thirteenth century; any more ephemeral remains were probably destroyed during construction of Rowe's Garage itself.
The Archaeologist 60 (Summer 2006), 41, Jun 1, 2006
Yorkshire Archaeological Journal, 2020
examined a small sub-square enclosure connected to field system ditches, and four adjacent waterh... more examined a small sub-square enclosure connected to field system ditches, and four adjacent waterholes, the site producing a small assemblage of finds including Romano-British pottery. The presence of the enclosure had been revealed by a geophysical (detailed gradiometer) survey on the site of the proposed Rossington Inland Port (Wessex Archaeology 2012a). The survey, conducted in five adjacent fields (Fields A-E) totalling approximately 40 ha, had also revealed elements of an ancient field system known from aerial photographs to be far more extensive and to incorporate within it a number of other enclosures (Figure 1). Many of the geophysical anomalies in Fields BE (some of which related to field boundaries known from maps to be of post-medieval and modern date) were investigated by phases of trench evaluation (Wessex Archaeology 2012b; 2014a); Field A was initially not accessible for evaluation. Evaluation also targeted some of the cropmarks recorded in fields to the north (Field F and Borrow Pit 2) (Wessex Archaeology 2012c; 2015). In 2012, on the basis of the initial evaluation results, an area of 1.1 ha in Field B (Trench B), immediately surrounding the sub-square enclosure and an adjacent waterhole, as well as a ditch running north from the enclosure, was subject to excavation (centred on NGR 458800 398740) (Figure 2). Subsequently, in 2014, some of the field boundaries to the south, in Field A, were also subject to targeted excavation in five Trenches (A1-A5), totalling 0.5 ha (centred on NGR 458900 398550) (Figures 2 and 5).
Investigations at the Western Approach Distribution Park, Avonmouth, South Gloucestershire provid... more Investigations at the Western Approach Distribution Park, Avonmouth, South Gloucestershire provided an opportunity to examine deposits of late Neolithic/early Bronze Age and late Bronze Age/early Iron Age date from the Wentlooge Formation. The sedimentary sequence of estuarine silts and peats and associated palaeoenvironmental remains were analysed and dated using radiocarbon and provide a body of data on local landscape and responses to wider phenomena in the estuary related to sea-level changes. A Romano-British farmstead of 2nd-4th century AD date was also investigated. It was characterised by roundhouse gullies, pits and other features. A series of ditched enclosures were also found, providing evidence for animal husbandry and agricultural exploitation of the Avon Levels. Animal bones and a variety of environmental remains provide evidence for the economic basis of the farmstead. The use of non-local goods illustrates contacts with wider communities. Little evidence was, however...
A five-year programme of archaeological investigations was undertaken within a c.9ha area to the ... more A five-year programme of archaeological investigations was undertaken within a c.9ha area to the north of the High Street, Staines on land formerly predominantly occupied by the Central Trading Estate. The vast majority of the archaeological evidence pertains to the Romano-British settlement established in the second half of the first century AD at this bridging point across the Thames, forming the main route from London to the west of the province. The early settlement flourished, with expansion in the second century AD, followed by a hiatus and apparent contraction in the late-second/early-third centuries, occupation continuing to the end of the Roman period. Much of the land to the north of the main road formed areas of refuse disposal and small-holdings, with probable animal corralling and grazing, the latter extending into the rich meadowland bordering the north side of the gravel island on which the town was built. The single building for which evidence was recovered correspon...
Archaeological Journal, 2020
Excavations on the southeastern slopes of King Barrow Ridge, 1.5 km east of Stonehenge, revealed ... more Excavations on the southeastern slopes of King Barrow Ridge, 1.5 km east of Stonehenge, revealed five pits, a grave and other features of Middle Neolithic date. Analysis of the pit assemblages and the partial inhumation interred in the grave has provided insights into lifeways in this landscape in the late fourth millennium cal BC. Evidence suggests that the area was visited by a pastoralist, mobile community on a semi-regular basis for a significant period, in late autumn or winter. Selected remnants of craft-working and consumption were deposited in pits, before deliberate infilling. These depositions repeatedly memorialised activity on the hillside at a time of contemporary activity elsewhere on King Barrow Ridge and at the future site of Stonehenge. Middle Neolithic pits are present in significant numbers across King Barrow Ridge, and alongside pits in the Durrington area, form one of the densest concentrations of such activity in the region. Long distance mobility is suggested by the possible Irish origins of the inhumation, the first Middle Neolithic individual excavated in the environs of Stonehenge. Whilst of significance for understanding the Middle Neolithic in the WHS and the region, this research also hints at the roots of Late Neolithic monumentalisation of this landscape.
Hampshire Studies, 2019
Excavations were undertaken in 2016 in advance of development at Chesil Street car park, Winchest... more Excavations were undertaken in 2016 in advance of development at Chesil Street car park, Winchester, to the east of the Roman and medieval city defences, in a part of the eastern suburb that has seen little previous investigation. The work revealed four Romano-British pits – at least one possibly a lime kiln, extensive areas of chalk quarrying and several medieval features including a chalk-lined cess pit that contained well-preserved environmental evidence. Post-medieval remains comprised five wells in addition to wall foundations alongside Chesil Street, while the east side of the site had been truncated by construction of a railway opened in 1895.
Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, 1995
The analysis of Bronze Age barrow sites excavated as long ago as 25 years can provide information... more The analysis of Bronze Age barrow sites excavated as long ago as 25 years can provide information on more significant and wide ranging topics than basic funerary rites. At Buckskin no primary burial rite was recorded nor any high status artefacts found. The analysis, of stored soil samples and animal bones however, produced evidence for ceremonial activity and feasting prior to the construction of the barrow mound. This encourages discussion on both the role of this barrow and the primary function, other than interment, of similar monuments, especially from the evidence of environmental data. Study of both land Mollusca and faunal remains enabled a greater explanation of the cultural history of this monument and aided the site phasing.
A Late Iron Age farmstead was represented by an oval ditched enclosure, subsequently cut by anoth... more A Late Iron Age farmstead was represented by an oval ditched enclosure, subsequently cut by another enclosure and together possibly forming a figure-of- eight plan, with contemporary features including a well, pits and post-holes. This was succeeded by a larger, early Roman enclosure in which lay a rectangular post-built structure and a sub-oval gully that may have been associated with a roundhouse, as well as hearths, pits, a well and a waterhole. The final mid–late Roman phase of settlement was characterised by a series of rectilinear enclosures. Although there is nothing of particular note amongst the finds and environmental assemblages, the significance of the site overall is that it provides a rare example of rural settlement of this date and duration on the Hampshire claylands, just to the south of Silchester and close to the Roman road that linked this with Chichester.
Excavation on land formerly occupied by Rowe's Garage on The Hornet, Chichester revealed a la... more Excavation on land formerly occupied by Rowe's Garage on The Hornet, Chichester revealed a large, mid-first-century AD ditch, adding to the series of possibly defensive ditches previously identified immediately east of the later Roman town. During the rest of the Romano-British period, the site was used for small-scale domestic settlement, crop-processing and other agricultural activities. After the fourth century AD much of the western part of the site was quarried for clay and gravel. A handful of features provided evidence for the medieval and later suburb known to have developed outside the Eastgate from the thirteenth century; any more ephemeral remains were probably destroyed during construction of Rowe's Garage itself.
The Archaeologist 60 (Summer 2006), 41, Jun 1, 2006