Untitled - Council for British Archaeology

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was essential, followed by the drawing of
detailed plans. The most effective method of
recording was found eventually to be a dual
system using photomosaic techniques and outline
plans, backed up by a plot of the positions
of all finds from the subsoil surface.
An area.of 90m x 12m, including parts of
the inner and outer ditches of the causewayed
camp and of the interior of the enclosure was
selected for investigation first, and 1800s.q m
had been excavated. The inner and outer
ditches .of the enclosure were located, and
demonstrated to be neolithic and consistent in
general character with the ditches of other
knOwn causewayed camps. The trial excavation.
in 1973 showed that there had been occupation
of the site by I.A. peoples, So that the
discovery of pits containing I.A. pottery. in
the fill was not surprising. More unexpected
was the discovery of Saxon Grubenliauser,
indiCating the existence of a possible Saxon
settlement on the site.
This season's work has demonstrated the
accuracy of the magnetometer survey done in
1973 by staff of the AM Laboratory in tracing
the outline of the ditches and major features.
This has been and will be of great help in the
preliminary wOrk.
Pre-Neolithic No features earlier than those
of the neolithic period Were identified,'but
a number Of microlithic flints were found.
Neolithic Neolithic flints, including leafshaped
arrowheads, knives, scrapers, saws,
and cores and other flint working debris, were
found scattered over the whole site, both in
the plough soil and on the surface of the. subsoil,
but no features which can be shown to be
neolithic have been found within-the small
area of the interior of the enclosure which
has been excavated so far. The quantity of
finds is not sufficient to suggest continuous
occupation of the site.
The Inner Ditch Slightly over 30m of the
inner ditch was excavated and was found to
consist of a series of short segments.varying
between 3m - 10m in length, and 1.5m - 2m in
depth, steep-sided and flat-bOttomed and
separated by 'causeways' often no more than
0.50m wide.
Opposing quadrants of each ditch segment
were.excavated so as to provide complete axial
sections as well as cross-sections, a method
which was justified when the axial sections
yielded information which might otherwise
have been lost to the record. The longest of
the segments proved to have been lengthened
at some time following its original excavation,
and the seCtions indicated that it had
also been cleaned out and perhaps partially
recut at least once.
The lower and middle fills have produced
pottery of a type current in the early to
middle neolithic period, and the top fills
pottery of late neolithic type and Beaker
sherds datable to around 2000 BC - 1800 BC.
Other finds from the inner ditch segments
include a group of three discoidal scrapers
found together, and a chip from a polished
stone axe, possibly a product of the Great
Langdale axe factory in the Lake District.
The Outer Ditch A similar length of the outer
ditch was excavated, consisting. of a single
long segment, rather narrower than those of
the inner ditch, but similarly steep-sided and
flat-bottomed. This segment seems to have
silted up almost entirely when a series of
shorter segments were cut into the fill.
Finds from the outer ditch came almost
entirely from the upper fill, and consist of
Beaker pottery and flints, including a pianoconvex
knife of late neolithic type.
On analogy with other known causeway camp
sites it is likely that the enclosure on Briar
.Hill had banks as well as ditches, but if so,
all trace of them has'been removed'by the
plough. The former existence of banks might
be inferred from the character of the ditch
infill, since a proportion of the material
from a bank might be expected to collapse or
be washed into the ditch alongside, but the
evidence so far is not conclusive.
Saxon A high proportion of the total quantity
of pot sherds on the site have been identified
as of Saxon type. 4 Grubenhauser were discovered,
each consisting of a rectangular dugout
approximately.30cm deep in the subsoil,
and measuring around 2m x 4m, which would have
formed the base of a hut. In one of these
there was a well defined, deep post sOcket at
either end, to take the uprights which supported
the roof ridge. In the others, post
h6les have been identified but they are not so
well defined.. One Grubenhaus produced abundant
evidence of domestic activity in the form
of sherds of pottery, a bronze wire bracelet,
two.iron knives, two lead weights, probably
for use on an upright loom, part of a rotary
quein and quantities of animal b6ne - chiefly
pig and cow. The other three produced few
finds by-comparison, chiefly pottery and, in
one instance, a glass bead, but what there is
is consistent with a Saxon date.