Robin Jackson - Clifton Quarry, Worcestershire: Pits, Posts and Cereals: Archaeological Investigations 2006-2009

CLIFTON QUARRY, WORCESTERSHIRE

Pits, posts and cereals:

archaeological investigations

20062009

Andrew Mann and Robin Jackson

With contributions by Steven J. Allen, Hugo Anderson-Whymark, Christopher Bronk Ramsey, Anthony Brown, Alan Clapham, Gordon Cook, Nick Daffern, Steven R. Davis, Emily Edwards, Richard P. Evershed, Laura Griffin, Katie Head, Derek Hurst, Robert A. Ixer, Peter Marshall, John Meadows, Elizabeth Pearson, Fiona Roe, Ruth Shaffrey, Lucija oberl, Ian Tyers and Shirley Wynne

Illustrated by

Laura Templeton, Sarah Phear and Steven Rigby

Published in the United Kingdom in 2018 by

OXBOW BOOKS

The Old Music Hall, 106108 Cowley Road, Oxford, OX4 1JE

and in the United States by

OXBOW BOOKS

1950 Lawrence Road, Havertown, PA 19083

Oxbow Books and the individual authors 2018

Hardback Edition: ISBN 978-1-78925-011-4

Digital Edition: ISBN 978-1-78925-012-1 (epub)

Kindle Edition: ISBN 978-1-78925-013-8 (mobi)

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018943148

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the publisher in writing.

For a complete list of Oxbow titles, please contact:

UNITED KINGDOM

Oxbow Books

Telephone (01865) 241249

Email:

www.oxbowbooks.com

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Oxbow Books

Telephone (800) 791-9354, Fax (610) 853-9146

Email:

www.casemateacademic.com/oxbow

Oxbow Books is part of the Casemate Group

Front cover image: Iron Age Clifton by Steve Rigby

Back cover image: top: Neolithic axe assemblage from a Grooved Ware pit; upper middle: early medieval timber-lined structure; lower middle: Grooved Ware; bottom: Aerial view of burnt mound and associated activity with palaeochannel running down right hand side of excavation area

1.1 Location of the site

1.2 Clifton Quarry with Malvern Hills in distance (facing south-west)

1.3 Areas of investigation

1.4 The 2006 watching brief (facing north)

1.5 The 2008/9 excavation (facing north)

1.6 Lidar mapping and geology of the area of the quarry

2.1 Location of the 2005 evaluation trenches in Area 10

2.2 Plan of all features in Area 10: Watching brief

2.3 Plan of all features in Area 10: Excavation

3.1 Plan showing all features in the 2006 area

3.2 Sampling palaeochannel peat (6002) (facing north)

3.3 Aerial view showing palaeochannel margin (2005) (facing north)

3.4 Age-depth model for the palaeochannel sequence based on Bacon (Blauuw and Christen 2011)

3.5 Probability distributions for the dates of pollen zone boundaries and selected palynological events recorded in the pollen diagram

3.6 Plans and sections of Late Neolithic pits

3.7 Pit [4012] (facing south-east)

3.8 Plans and section of Pit [2024]

3.9 Pit [2024] and Posthole [2027] (facing south-east)

3.10 Pit [2024] with pottery on base (facing south-east)

3.11 Plan and section of Late Neolithic Pit [10767]

3.12 Probability distributions of radiocarbon dates from Neolithic Pit [2024]

3.13 Plan and section of Pit [4010]

3.14 Pit [2022] pre-excavation beneath alluvial clay (facing west)

3.15 Plan of burnt mound (2124) and associated features

3.16 Burnt mound (2124) and associated features (facing west)

3.17 Burnt mound (2124) and associated features (facing east)

3.18 Plan and section of Trough [2084]

3.19 Trough [2084] (facing south-west)

3.20 Section of Pit [2140]

3.21 Pit [2140] (facing north-west)

3.22 Typical pit containing burnt stone fill: Pit [2008] (facing south-west)

3.23 Probability distributions of dates from the burnt mound and associated pits

3.24 Summary of prior information incorporated in the chronological model shown in

3.25 Probability distributions of dates relating to the use of the burnt mound

3.26 Probability distribution of the number of years during which the burnt mound was in use

3.27 Probability distribution of number of years during which burnt mounds from Clifton Quarry, Burlescombe and Northwold were in use

3.28 Plan showing all features in the 2008/9 area

3.29 Typical charcoal rich postpipe: Posthole [10569] (facing west)

3.30 Typical four-post structure: Structure 2 (facing west)

3.31 Structure 19 with additional repair posts (facing west)

3.32 Bar chart showing the footprint area of the four-post structures

3.33 Chart showing the size of the postholes against the area of a four-post structure

3.34 Structure 4 replaced on same position by Structure 89 (facing east)

3.35 Overlapping four-post structures (Structures 20 and 22; facing west)

3.36 Typical three-post structure (Structure 73; facing east)

3.37 Chart showing area of three-post structures (extra post added to make complete four-posters)

3.38 Typical six-post structure (Structure 60; facing south-west)

3.39 Chart showing area of six-posters vs four-posters

3.40 Average posthole width of six-post structures

3.41 Roundhouse, Structure 49 (facing north-east)

3.42 Plan of roundhouse Structure 49

3.43 Plan of roundhouse Structure 104 and/or four-post Structure 90

3.44 Plan and sections of Pit Group 5

3.45 Plan and sections of Pit Group 6

3.46 Plan and sections of Pit Group 7

3.47 Plan and section of Pit [10311]

3.48 Pit [10164] (facing west)

3.49 Plan and section of Pit [11153]

3.50 Pit [11153] under excavation (facing north-west)

3.51 Radiocarbon sample locations (2008/9)

3.52 Calibration of the 2008/9 radiocarbon results by the probability method

3.53 A Bayesian bounded phase model of the 2008/9 radiocarbon results

3.54 Estimated duration of the first-millennium cal BC cereal farming phase

3.55 Bayesian model of the 2008/9 radiocarbon results on cereal grain samples

3.56 Probability distributions for the dates of the earliest and latest pits and postholes

3.57 A variation of the model shown in

3.58 Duration of the interval between the posthole and pit phases

3.59 Another variation of the model shown in

3.60 A variation of the model shown in

3.61 Another variation of the model shown in

3.62 A variation of the Bayesian model shown in

3.63 Estimated duration of pit-storage and posthole-structure storage phases

3.64 Roman Graves [2198] and [2200] (facing east)

3.65 Timber-lined structure (2267) in Pit [2121] under excavation (facing east)

3.66 Timber-lined structure (2267) in Pit [2121] (facing north-west)

3.67 Plan of Timber-lined structure (2267) in Pit [2121]

3.68 Section through Timber-lined structure (2267) in Pit [2121]

3.69 Stone surface (2231) with Holloway [2290] in distance (facing north)

3.70 Probability distributions of dates from Timber-lined structure (2267) in Pit [2121]

3.71 Absolute dating positions of the 5 dated tree-ring sequences

4.1 Peterborough ware pottery sherd

4.2 Late Neolithic pottery (nos. 1-4)

4.3 Late Neolithic pottery (nos. 5-8)