West Kennet Palisades, Avebury

An interim report on the Summer 2021 excavations

Living with Monuments Project

January 2022

Allen Environmental  

Archaeology

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Living with Monuments Project

The Living with Monuments Project is a joint venue between researchers in the Universities of  Southampton, Bournemouth, Ghent and Cambridge, Allen Environmental Archaeology and the  National Trust. It is funded by the Arts & Humanities Research Council with support in kind from the  National Trust and the University of Ghent.

The project’s aim is to redress a critical imbalance in our knowledge of life and cultural landscapes  during the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age (c.4,000-1500 BC). Accounts of these periods are dominated  by interpretive frameworks devised to explain the creation of ceremonial and funerary monuments,  which form the most visible and tangible part of its archaeological record in many regions. By contrast,  knowledge of the character of contemporary settlement and other non-monument focussed activity  lags behind. The project will redress this imbalance through a coherent and innovative programme of  targeted fieldwork and reassessment of existing data within one landscape that is famed for its  monumental architecture: that of the Avebury region in Wiltshire.

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Contents

1. Introduction 4 2. Background 5 3. Fieldwork Strategy and Methodology 8 4. Excavation Results 19

5. Discussion 31 6. Acknowledgements 37 7. References 38 8. Authorship 39 9. Contacts 40

Appendix 1. Detailed methodology statement from WSI 41

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1. Introduction

The aim of the AHRC-funded Living with Monuments Project is to redress a critical imbalance in our  knowledge of life and cultural landscapes during the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age (c.4,000-1500 BC).  Accounts of these periods are dominated by interpretive frameworks devised to explain the creation  of ceremonial and funerary monuments, which form the most visible and tangible part of its  archaeological record in many regions. By contrast, knowledge of the character of contemporary  settlement and other non-monument focussed activity lags behind. This project is redressing this  imbalance through a coherent and innovative programme of targeted fieldwork and reassessment of  existing data within one landscape that is famed for its monumental architecture: that of the Avebury  region in Wiltshire, a designated World Heritage Site.

The specific questions to be addressed are:

1. Can we develop a detailed understanding of the extent, scale, density, character and tempo  of human settlement in the core area of the Avebury landscape during the Neolithic and Early  Bronze Age?

2. What was the relationship between landscape occupation and monument building, both in  terms of how monument building impacted on the scale and composition of settlement (e.g.  drawing people and resources into the region), and the way that settlement imparted a  history to places that could lead to subsequent monumentalisation?

3. How was the process of living within this landscape enacted in relation to natural phenomena  such as the distinctive local sarsen stone spreads, woodland, other vegetation regimes,  springs, streams and rivers?

4. Can we provide, through the mapping of sedimentary deposits and the establishment of fine grained palaeo-environmental sequences, robust estimates as to the likelihood of where well preserved traces of prehistoric activity might be buried or masked?

5. In order to overcome the perception of Neolithic and Early Bronze Age settlement and other  routine practices as ephemeral and essentially passive and static compared to the active and  dynamic practices of monument building, can we generate diachronic accounts that  foreground the social complexities of lived life (networks, politics, mobilities, identity  formation, etc.)? Essentially, can we be more ambitious in the way we engage with such  evidence?

6. Linked to the above, how can a regional study of this kind contribute to the development of  widely-applicable methodologies and interpretive frameworks with which to interrogate the  often intractable traces of settlement during these periods?

There exists a close tie with agenda items identified in the Research Framework for the Stonehenge,  Avebury and Associated Sites World Heritage Site (Leivers & Powell 2016), specifically agenda items  C.2 and C.3 which relate to better understanding of the scale, tempo, duration and composition of  Neolithic settlement within the WHS, and the relationship between settlement and monuments.

Through work on Avebury Down, the Winterbourne west of the henge, and on Waden Hill, Knoll Down  and Folly Hill (as well as through earlier work at Rough Leaze, and on the West Kennet Avenue  occupation site) the Project has already acquired data that begins to address these questions (Gillings  et al. 2015, 2017). It has highlighted the variety of settlement signatures and histories at the non

monumental locations that exist, and the localised picture of sediment formation in the region’s  valleys. This document outlines the results of fieldwork undertaken in July and early August 2021,  which continued the investigation (begun in 2019) of connections between settlement and monument  building at the West Kennet palisade enclosures (Figure 1).

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Figure 1. Location of the West Kennet palisades in relation to other key sites and monuments of the Avebury  complex

2. Background

Known archaeology and previous fieldwork 

The West Kennet palisade enclosures comprise one of the principal monument groups within the  Avebury landscape (Whittle 1997). They are located on the floor of the Kennet valley c.1.5km to the  southeast of the Avebury henge and under a kilometre to the east of Silbury Hill, at a height of 145- 150m OD (centred on SU 109680). The complex is extensive, covering an area roughly 500m east-west  and 900m north-south, and comprises two substantial timber palisade enclosures, a series of smaller  timber monuments and sets of radial palisade lines (Figure 2). The eastern of the two enclosures  (Enclosure 1) comprises two concentric circuits of palisade, enclosing c. 4.2ha and straddling the River  Kennet. The single circuit of Enclosure 2 is located just to the south of the river and immediately west  of Enclosure 1. It defines an area of c. 5.5ha within the eastern third of which are three ditched and  timber circles. No structures are clearly discernible on aerial photographs within the western portion  of the enclosure (Martyn Barber pers. comm.). Radial palisade lines run from the southern part of Enclosure 2 to the southeast and south-south-east, connecting with further circular/sub-circular  enclosures, while other elements may lie further to the southeast.

The solid geology here is recorded by the British Geological Survey as New Pit Chalk Formation (https://www.bgs.ac.uk/), overlain by Coombe Rock (Whittle 1997, 57) and localised lenses of gravel  within the valley floor.

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Details of the history of previous investigation are provided in the Written Scheme of Investigation  document prepared for the 2019 fieldwork (LwMP 2019), to which the reader is referred.

Figure 2. West Kennet palisades: features revealed through excavation and aerial reconnaissance (from Barber  2013)

Results of the 2019 fieldwork 

During the summer of 2019, the Project undertook targeted excavation within the palisade complex  (Figure 3). The key objectives were:

1) to understand the date and character of the localised lithic scatters identified during the 2009  Wessex surface collection;

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(2) to date and characterise Structure 5 and its internal features;

(3) to obtain new material for C14 dating from the complex, and to establish structural sequences  through investigation of key junctions/intersections;

(4) to discern the soil/sedimentary/vegetational sequences present, as well as identify and sample any  former palaeo-channels, buried soils and deeply cut artificial features in this floodplain area. The latter  contexts may provide palynological data for the construction of longer-term vegetational and land use sequences throughout prehistoric and historic times.

Figure 3. West Kennet palisades: position of trenches excavated in 2019 (yellow) and 2021 (blue). Note: Trench  4 was not excavated.

Taking these objectives in order, first, we were better able to characterise the southern lithic scatter  than that mid-field. Worked flint densities were highest in Trench 2, adjacent to Structure 5, and  included material that spanned the Middle Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age, marking this as a locale  that attracted persistent, if perhaps intermittent, human presence over a long period of time. Lithic  densities were otherwise quite low, and in the area of Enclosures 1 and 2 included Mesolithic as well  as Neolithic material. There was little indication of substantial amounts of lithic material being  generated while the palisades were in use.

Structure 5 was shown to possess much the same character as other elements of the palisade  complex. The outer circuit was of typical close-set palisade construction and was contemporary with

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Outer Radial 3 (Figure 3). The inner circuit exposed in Trench 3 began as a short-lived ditch (in effect  a henge), which was soon replaced by a palisade. Three massive post-holes were revealed within the  small area of the interior of Structure 5 that was sampled.

Trenches 6 and 7 investigated the intersections of Enclosure 2 and Outer Radial lines 1 and 2 (Figure  3). In both instances it was demonstrated that the Enclosure palisade and radial were of a single build.  Where Outer Radial 2 intersected the outer ring of Enclosure 1 (Trench 8) it could be seen that the  former was a later addition. Clear evidence of post removal was seen in the investigated section of  the outer circuit of Enclosure 1, demonstrating that the interval between the construction of this and  the subsequent Outer Radial was short (a few years or a few decades at most). A large pit caught in  the north corner of Trench 8 proved to be a substantial tank or pond, within the fills of which were  abundant quantities of burnt sarsen. It is likely to be of Late Neolithic or Beaker date, and, as an  element of water technology, highlights the close connection between the palisade complex and River  Kennet.

Animal bone was recovered from primary contexts in the majority of palisade sections excavated, and  will be used to develop the existing radiocarbon chronology of the site.

Full details of the results of this work are given in Pollard et al. 2020, to which the reader is referred.

Questions arising from the 2019 fieldwork 

Although the fieldwork successfully addressed the key aims and objectives, other questions were posed and required resolution, especially in relation to Structure 5. First, the form of the timber  settings within Structure 5 remained unresolved, though the large post construction is highly  reminiscent of both multiple timber circles such as the nearby Sanctuary and larger ‘square-in-circle’  structures (Bradley 2019, 124-8; 2021). Might the settings at the centre of Structure 5 belong to such  as tradition, and how would such a building or buildings relate to the palisade complex? It is unlikely,  too, that the concentrated lithic scatter here is unrelated, even if elements of it pre- and post-date  the palisades and timber settings. As with the Sanctuary (Pitts 2001), long occupation histories and  monumentalisation may be intricately related – a core theme that is being explored by the Project.  Better understanding of that scatter, its distribution, composition, and the activities that generated it,  remained a key goal.

Unexpected was the occurrence of several fragments of granodiorite in the post-hole and palisade fills  of Structure 5. This material has been sourced by Rob Ixer, Richard Bevins and colleagues to a likely  geological origin point in Cheviot, c.400km to the north of Avebury. However, the small size and  weathered character of the rocks makes it most likely they were collected from glacial tills along the  North Sea coast, between North Yorkshire and East Anglia. Human transportation over a significant  distance is therefore still implied.

3. Fieldwork Strategy and Methodology

Aims and objectives 

With the above questions in mid, the aims of the 2021 fieldwork were to further enhance knowledge  of Structure 5 and the history of Neolithic and Early Bronze Age activity at this locale, with especial  emphasis on the understanding any relationship between phases of monumental and non monumental activity. Specific objectives included:

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• Further mapping of the lithic scatter most evident in Trench 2, refinement of its  chronological span and relative intensity within specific phases, and definition of any  relationship, where present, to Structure 5.

• Gaining further detail on the form of the internal settings within Structure 5. Do the timber  elements belong to a single structure, or several, and what form does it/do they take? Are  former stone settings present, too?

• Determining whether there are structures or artefact scatters in the zone between the inner  and outer circuits of Structure 5

• Investigating the extent of the spread of granodiorite, determining whether the rock derives  from a single manuport or several transported pieces, and ascertaining whether granodiorite  was utilised in stone settings at the site.

Excavation strategy and methodology 

The focus of the fieldwork was on the area of Structure 5. Three out of four planned trenches were  excavated (plans to excavate Trench 10 were abandoned). Trench 9 continued the investigation of the  interior of Structure 5, comprising an extension to Trench 3 of 2019. Trench 12 took in an additional  section of the outer circuit of Structure 5, while Trench 11 was placed to evaluate the space between  its inner and outer circuits (Figures 4 and 5).

Details of the excavation and recording methodology are given in Appendix 1. Figure 4. Location of 2019 and 2021 trenches around Structure 5. Note: Trench 10 was not excavated.

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4. Excavation Results

Trench 3/9

2021 saw the excavation of a 10 x 10m area designated Trench 9, the south-western quarter of  which took in the eastern half of Trench 3, dug in 2019, where a series of three large post-holes had  been encountered, but due to time constraints had not been fully investigated (Figure 6).

The topsoil, 900, was a dark grey-brown clay loam with common poorly-sorted flint, ranging in depth  from 0.2m on the west to 0.3m on the east. Only the thinnest lens of sorted stone-free soil was  under the turf, despite the passage of a decade since the field was brought under pasture. A block of  61 metre squares was hand dug and the soil sieved in order to recover artefactual material. Only a  low density of worked flint was found to be present, with locally ‘high’ concentrations towards the  eastern edge of the trench.

Figure 5. View of the excavations in progress from the south-east, looking towards Silbury Hill (photo: Jim  Rylatt)

Across the eastern half of the trench was a lower stony soil, 901, its western extent bounded by  ditch F.3003. This comprised a friable dark brown clay loam with very frequent, poorly-sorted, flint  and occasional sarsen. 924 was allocated during cleaning to its lowest spit. This is likely to represent  the base of an original soil that has survived under a headland or the up-cast bank belonging to ditch  F.3003. The fills of larger features were observed to show, albeit indistinctly, towards the top of this  soil profile, highlighting its in situ, undisturbed, character. Worked flint was recovered from 901/924 in very low density, suggesting that little artefactual material had accumulated on the surface here  during or after the time of the palisades.

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Within the coombe rock natural were a series of tilted lenses of redeposited chalky material. These  looked to fill a broad palaeochannel approximately 8m wide, and of Pleistocene age, that ran  roughly east-west across the area defined by the trench. Further palaeochannels are recorded to the  north.

Figure 6. Trench 3/9 features (includes features in Trench 3 excavated in 2019)

Phase 1: The Timber Monument 

The earliest structural phase comprises a series of six very substantial post-settings within the central and eastern part of the trench, corresponding to the zone later enclosed by the inner  palisade: F.3002/F.3004 and F.3005 (first seen in Trench 3 of 2019), and F.900, F.901, F.902 and  F.914 (Figure 6). These were subject to partial excavation. In addition, three smaller post-holes – F.906, F907 and F.929 – lie within the pattern of larger post settings and may be of the same  structural phase. It is clear from geophysical and aerial photographic evidence that these features  form part of the north-western section of a monumental timber setting or structure perhaps 30m or  more in length. The likely form of this structure will be discussed further below.

The substantial post-holes

Taking the centres of the post-pipes as points of reference, the large post-holes forming the principal  elements of the timber structure are set at intervals approximately 4m apart in a broadly rectilinear  pattern. In one instance (F.3002, F.3004) there is clear evidence of post-replacement, defined by re cutting, a double post-pipe and substantial associated extraction ramp (F.905). Investigated to only  shallow depths, recutting was also seen in F.900 and F.901, while a massive ramp linked to F.3005

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may relate to a phase of post extraction. The implication is that the majority of larger posts were  replaced on at least one occasion, though further excavation is required to confirm this.

The cumulative pattern of ramps and re-cuts meant that the features defining the larger post  settings were both substantial and elongated. F.3005 was over 6m in maximum dimension, and  F.3002 and F.3004 over 5m. The full extent of F.900 and F.902 remain to be defined, but an area of  potentially re-deposited coombe rock extending to the west of F.900 might relate to an extraction ramp, and could take that feature’s footprint to over 4m. The somewhat messy pattern generated  explains why it has been difficult to identify structure and order in the cropmark and geophysical  plots for these features.

Detailed description of the features follows, beginning with F.3002/F.3004 and F.3005, first  investigated in 2019.

F.3002 / F.3004 group 

F.3002, F.3004 and associated insertion or extraction ramp F.905 represent the most thoroughly  investigated of the larger post-hole groups, and so offers the best level of detail on the morphology  and structural complexity of these features (Figures 7-9). The sequence runs from post-hole F.3004,  to extraction pit and ramp F.905, and then post-hole F.3002; the features being described in this  order.

Figure 7. South-facing section through post-hole F.3002 and ramp/extraction pit F.905

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F.3004

Post-hole F.3004 was located immediately south of, and was bisected by, post-hole F.3002. The cut,  [327], was sub-circular in plan with a maximum diameter of 1.8m. The sides of the feature were near  vertical. It was excavated in one quadrant (the south-east) to a depth of c.2.0m, at which point the  base had still not been reached. Much of the upper fill comprised an homogenous and firmly  compacted mid yellowish-brown clayey silt, 328, with frequent chalk and occasional flint. Initially it  looked as though no post-pipe was present, but traces of one became visible at a depth of 1.3m. approximately one third of the post-pipe [1001] remained unaffected by the cutting of F.3002, here  being >0.65m in diameter. The fill, 914, comprised a poorly sorted mixed beige/pale cream silty clay  with very common chalk, chalk pea-grit and occasional flint. The chalky character suggests this was  material displaced from the packing into the post-pipe void following removal of the post. Clearly  the post had been removed at an early stage and whilst still intact. Following identification of the  post-pipe it was evident that 328 represented both in situ and displaced packing material, broadly  corresponding to the lower and upper part of the deposit respectively; but beyond the top of the  surviving post-pipe it was not possible to establish where any interface caused by the removal of the  post was present. Within the lower, in situ, packing, against the south-east side of the post-hole was  a localised deposit/lens of tenacious chocolate brown clay loam with fine chalk and rare small flint,  921. This is likely a block of original topsoil that had tumbled in during the process of introducing the  packing. Eight medium-sized sarsen blocks (0.25-0.35m) were present in the lower part of 328 on the  south and east sides, close up to the post-pipe against which they had been placed as packing.

Figure 8. North-south profile through post-holes F.3004 and F.3002 and ramp/extraction pit F.905

F.905

Leading from both F.3004 and F.3002 and extending to the north was a substantial ramp, F.905.  Post-hole F.3002 clearly cut through the fill of this, but its stratigraphic relationship with F.3004 was  not observable. Projecting the southern end of F.905 across F.3004 it looks to intersect with the  post-pipe of the latter suggesting it was dug up against the post held in that feature and served to

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facilitate its removal. We therefore regard pit F.905 as a post extraction pit for the timber held in  F.3004. Overall, F.905 (cut [913]) was sub-rectangular with rounded corners, 4.0 x 2.3m in extent.  Investigated to a maximum depth of 0.7m, its full original depth was not established. Its eastern and  western sides were very steep to near vertical, while the northern 2.5m of the feature possessed a  gradually sloping base – the ‘ramp’ – and a marked step mid length. It contained a deliberate backfill deposit, 912, comprising a firmly compacted yellow-brown clay loam with frequent chalk and flint.

Figure 9. Post-holes F.3004 and F.3002 and ramp/extraction pit F.905 under excavation

F.3002

The cut of post-hole F.3002, [303], was oval, 2.2 x 2.0m across at the top, regular and well-defined,  except on its south side where cut into the fill of the earlier post-hole F.3004. The sides were steep  in the upper 0.7m of the profile, becoming very steep on the east and vertical on the west, but  tapering slightly towards the base. The base was reached at a depth of 2.98m below the surface of  the coombe rock in one small exposure before a partial collapse of the section led to a decision to  halt further work. In its lower profile the post-hole cut through solid chalk. Packing material

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(326/346) largely comprised redeposited natural, both in the form of a light reddish-brown silty clay  with moderate flint and common chalk inclusions, and tip-lines of chalk rubble, the latter present at  intervals throughout the depth of the packing. From this came several antler tines (likely the ends of  picks), a pick, section of beam and antler crown rake.

Post-pipe [333] was off-set to the southern end of the post-hole. Around 0.7m in diameter, the post pipe was straight-sided over its visible length, indicating the use of a mature and straight-grown tree.  The bulk of the post-pipe fill was a poorly sorted reddish-brown clayey silt with occasional flint and  charcoal inclusions, 332. Inclusions appeared in patches occurring sporadically throughout the fill,  although the charcoal was more frequent in the lower portion of the deposit. The upper fill of the  post-pipe, 344, was a reddish-grey-brown clayey silt with moderate chalk and occasional flint.  Although the soil matrix of the deposit was similar to 332, 344 was well-sorted and the majority of  the inclusions lay on a natural angle of rest indicating that the deposit represented a period of  stabilisation and more gradual silting within the upper part of the post-pipe. Within the deposit were  several large lumps granodiorite, separated by a vertical distance of 0.20m.

The top of the post-hole fill was truncated by a recut, [345], centred on the post-pipe. With a bowl shaped profile, 1.1m in diameter and 0.35m deep, gradually sloping sides and a rounded base, it was  filled by 304, a light reddish-brown silty clay with occasional chalk and rare flint inclusions. The  character of the fill suggests that the feature had silted-up naturally. Given that the recut was  centred on the post-pipe, F.3002 must have been still visible as a hollow at the time the recut was  made.

F.3005 group 

Set immediately south of the above group, F.3005 and F.934 comprise, respectively, a massive post hole and associated ramp (Figure 10). Within the section excavated, F.3005 (cut [330]) was observed  to be oval, 1.5 x >1.3 m across, with very steep sides on the east and vertical to slightly undercut  sides on the north. Later ditch F.3003 clipped the upper part of the post-hole on its east side. F.3005 was excavated to a depth of c.1.5m, when a substantial void 1.4m deep opened-up in the section,  corresponding to the lower part of the post-pipe. At that point it was considered too dangerous to  continue work on the feature and excavation stopped. Combining the excavated depth and that of  the post void, it is evident that the original depth of the feature is at least 2.9m. The steep-sided  post-pipe, [336], had a diameter of 1.1m at its top, tapering to 0.70m at the lowest point of  excavation. The main part of its fill was a greyish-brown clayey silt with occasional inclusions of  chalk, flint and chalk pea grit, 331. Within the lowest part of this were two fragments of human  cranium. Above 331 was a layer of grey-brown clayey silt with occasional chalk and flint, 325, and  above this a deposit of light grey-brown clayey silt, 335, with occasional flint and frequent chalk  inclusions. The appearance of the void showed that much of the base of the erstwhile post had  rotted after a cap of fill, represented by 331, had formed, leading to slumping that caused the  conical profile to the top of the post-pipe in which soil deposits 325 and 335 formed.

The packing material that surrounded post-pipe, 334, was a reddish-brown clayey silt with frequent  chalk rubble. Large sarsen blocks were seen to be set within this on the west side of the post-pipe.  At a depth of c.1.0m on the north side, close against the post-pipe yet still firmly within the packing, was a substantial deposit of animal bone including large numbers of ribs and pig tibiae, calcanei and  astragali.

Extending from F.3005 to the north-west and clipped by ditch F.3000 was a substantial post ramp F.934. It took the form of a broadly sub-rectangular pit, c.4.4 x 3.2m (cut [946]). The north-eastern  edge was slightly irregular, with some scalloping. Where exposed, its sides were moderately sloping  in their upper profiles, becoming much steeper with depth where joining F.3005. The base was not

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reached, but the general pitch of the fills shows the feature slopes gently (c.30° from the horizontal) from north-west to south-east, as would be expected given its function as a ramp. The ramp was  backfilled with a friable pale yellow-brown sandy silt with common large flint and chalk pieces, 945.  Tip lines were evident coming in from both of the longer sides, sometimes including lenses of finer,  stone-free, silt.

Figure 10. Post-hole F.3005 and ramp F.934

Cut into 945 and respecting the shape and alignment of F.934, was a large trapezoidal pit with  slightly irregular rounded corners, F.910. The cut, [928], was 2.25m long, up to 0.5m deep, the  feature being narrower and shallower at the north-western end, with a moderate to shallow sloping  base. At its south-east the cut was abrupt and squared-off. It was filled with a dumped and poorly  sorted deposit of brown clay-silt with occasional flint and chalk, 925. An antler pick was founded  embedded in the north-west corner of the fill. The purpose of the pit remains unclear, but it could  represent an abortive attempt to extract the huge post set in F.3005. Sealing both F.910 and the  main ramp backfill was 916, a layer of chocolate-brown clay-silt, of moderate compaction with some  flint and occasional small chalk. Worm-sorted pea-grit lenses occurred on the edges of the deposit.

F.900 group 

F.3002/F.3004 and F.3005 serve as elements of the western post line of the structure. Around 4m to  the east-north-east (taking the centres of the post-pipes as the points of reference) a second post  line was formed by F.900, F.901, F.902 and associated features. As with F.3003/F.3004, evidence of  recutting and presumably post resetting was present with feature groups defined by F.900 and  F.901, but there was insufficient time to investigate this in detail. Pending further excavation, some  of the details and interpretations of sequence and feature function remain provisional.

The northern-most post-setting of this line comprised feature F.932 and F.900. Cut by F.900 and  later ditch F.3003, F.932 (cut [980]) was oval, >1.5 x >1.1m in extent. It was investigated to a depth  of 0.4m. The sides were seen to be moderately sloping in the upper profile. It was filled with 981, a  compact light beige clay silt with occasional chalk blocks. On the west side of a baulk left in place to  capture the feature section the fill was more of an orange-brown hue, this change perhaps reflecting

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the presence of a post-pipe. A large oval zone of discoloured coombe rock to the immediate west of  the feature could represent the fill of a ramp, but time did not permit its investigation.

F.900, cut [975], was dug through the northern part of F.932. The feature again appeared oval in  shape, and c.2.0 x >0.8m in extent. A post-pipe, [973], 0.7m in diameter with vertical sides, was off set slightly to the south of the centre of the post-hole. This was filled with a pale brown clay loam  with abundant small, degraded chalk and occasional flint, 907, within the top of which lay a large  antler. Sealing this was a deposit of loose dark grey-brown clay loam with moderate flint, 902, the  top of which was turf-like and decalcified. The packing around the post-pipe, 917, consisted of chalk  blocks in a yellow-brown clay loam with inclusions of beige coombe rock.

F.901 group 

Post-hole F.901 and an earlier ramp or post-hole, F.931, were half-sectioned and excavated to a  depth of 0.6-0.7m, though both are clearly much deeper features (Figure 11). The cut for F.901,  [966], appears circular, c.1.9m in diameter, with sides that are near vertical, except on the south

west where the upper profile was moderate to shallow (possibly a remnant of a post-ramp?). the  principal fill was a packing deposit, 960, comprising an orange-brown clay silt with patches of beige  coombe rock and common flint and blocky chalk. The chalk content of this increased in frequency  with depth. Set within this, though off-set slightly to the north-east, was a circular post-pipe, [967],  up to 0.9m in diameter, splayed in section in its upper profile through weathering or partial collapse  of the sides. The pipe itself was filled with an orange-brown clay silt with occasional flint and chalk,  964, darker and with charcoal flecking towards the centre. Fragments of granodiorite were found  within this, including a larger piece at 0.5m depth. In the lowest 0.05m of the excavated profile the  fill became a light orange-brown clay silt with occasional flint and chalk, 964, the deposit being notably darker in its centre due to concentrations of charcoal flecks. Here the diameter of the post pipe was 0.7m.

Figure 11. Post-hole F.901 under excavation. F.931 to left

Following formation of the post-pipe, the top of the feature was recut by a shallow bowl-shaped pit,  F.930 (cut [974]). Up to 1.3m in diameter and 0.38m deep, it was filled with a grey-brown clay loam

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with occasional flint and fine chalk/pea-grit, 903. While there is a possibility this represents a  weathering feature that formed in the top of the post-pipe, its interpretation as a deliberate recut  reflects evidence for similar episodes of later intervention seen elsewhere (e.g. F. 3002 and F.902).

Cut by F.901 and extending to the north-west was a large pit, ramp or earlier post-hole, F.931. Only  partially defined, the cut, [982], appears sub-circular, c.2.6 x >1.8m in extent, and steep sided. The  main fill was a concreted pale beige silty clay with abundant chalk and occasional flint, 984, over  which sat a layer of friable and loosely packed brown silty clay with frequent flint, 983.

F.902 group 

Post-hole F.902 was subject to only limited investigation and its full extent was not defined. Excavation largely focussed on the post pipe, [999], which was taken down to a depth of 1.0m.  Circular, 0.5m in its lower profile, splaying to 0.7m towards the top, it was filled by 957, a loose and  friable dark brown clay silt with rare chalk and one large flint nodule. A clayey lens was present on  the east side and lens of grey silt on the west. The fill contained the bones of two individuals, which  are described under F.908, below. At end of excavation, when tapped, the base of the post-pipe  sounded hollow, suggesting the presence at depth of a void akin to that encountered in F.3005. The  packing around the post-pipe, 911, was only minimally exposed and seen to be light brown silty clay  with abundant flint and pea-grit and small chalk blocks.

F.914 

F.914 was situated in the north-east corner of the trench and belongs to a third row of substantial  posts. From post-pipe centre to post-pipe centre, its interval to the post in neighbouring F.900  replicates the common spacing of c.3.8m seen with other elements of the structure. Not all of the  feature was exposed and it is possible that the feature was not fully bottomed nor the true sides  properly defined. As excavated, the cut, [915], appears sub-circular, 1.0m in diameter and 0.95m  deep, with very steep to near-vertical sides and a dished base. The post-pipe, [1004], ranged  between 0.65-0.8m in diameter, and was filled with an orange-brown silty clay with moderate flint  and occasional chalk, 940, with a layer of pea-grit at the basal interface. The packing, 987, comprised  a light beige clay silt with flint, becoming more frequent towards the base, and rare chalk.

The smaller post-holes

Three smaller post-holes were identified. F.906 and F.907 appear to form a ‘pair’, set within the  centre of the ‘aisle’ formed by F.900, F.901 and F.914, and reflecting the axis of the larger post holes. F.929 occupied a space equidistant between larger post-holes F.3002/3004, F.3005, F.901 and  F.902. That their positions appear to respect those of the larger post-holes supports a view that they  are integral with the timber structure.

F.906 and F.907 were set just 0.2m apart (Figure 12). The cut for F.906, [932], was circular, 0.82 x  >0.56m across and 0.63m deep, with near vertical sides and a dished base. The base was slightly  over-cut in excavation due to the feature cutting into mixed palaeo-channel fills which were  mistaken for packing. The packing itself, 943, was a compact pale beige clay silt with very common  small chalk pieces largely confined to the sides and very base. Post-pipe [1002] was 0.55m in  diameter, its fill, 919, being a poorly sorted grey-brown silty clay with moderate flint and occasional  chalk and chalk pea-grit. A localised circular re-cut was recognised in section on the south side of the  post-hole. [977] was very steep/vertically sided, with a rounded base, 0.32m in diameter and 0.3m  deep, filled with a friable dark orange-brown clay silt with rare flint, 976. The recut may be related to  the phase of pitting described below.

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Figure 12. Post-holes F.906 (right) and F.907 (left)

Post-hole F.907 was of a similar character, though more elongated in plan, cut [933] being oval and  1.2 x >0.64m across. Up to 0.63m deep, its sides were steep to very steep and the base dished. The  packing here, 944, was a very compact/concreted chalk rubble with occasional flint and pea-grit.  Post-pipe [1003] was 0.55m in diameter. The fill of this, 920, comprised a poorly sorted grey-brown  silty clay with common flint, occasional chalk and chalk pea-grit. Contained within the centre of this  were several large chalk blocks. In the case of both 920 and 919 the tops of the fills were slightly  darker and more humic from the working in of topsoil from above.

Post-hole F.929 was clipped by pit F.928 on its west side. The cut, [973], was oval, c.1.0 x 0.8m and  0.54m deep, with vertical sides merging with an irregular, flattish, base. The post-pipe, [1005], was  off-set to the east. Sub-circular in plan, c.0.4m in diameter, it was filled with an orange-brown clay  silt with occasional chalk, 972. The packing comprised a pale beige chalk rubble with occasional flint,  

988.

Pit/hollow F.916

One further feature, F.916, belongs early in the sequence, at least prior to the phase of pit digging that followed on from the decay of the timber structure. Located against the east edge of the trench south of post-hole F.9007, and cut through by pit F.915, this may represent a section of post ramp or  a tree-throw hollow. The cut, [950], was oval with rather irregular edges, 1.8 x >1.5m in extent and up to 0.25m deep, with shallow sides and base that sloped to the east. It was filled with a friable  orange-brown clay silt, 949, with rare flint and chalk flecks.

Phase 2: Pits and grave 

Pits

Around 20 small pits were revealed within the trench; and were frequently observed to cut into the  fills of the post-holes (Figure 13). The greatest concentration occurred in a swathe running  southwest-northeast across the area, largely avoiding the north-west corner. An apparent gap in  distribution in the south-east may reflect the absence of ‘deep cleaning’ in this area occasioned by

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the intensive work on grave F.908 (see below). A number were perhaps missed during the  excavation of F3002/F.3004 and F.3005. Having been rapidly dug and backfilled, the pits were not always easy to detect, and would tend to reveal their presence after a period of weathering.

Figure 13. Later pits and grave, Trench 9

Although the patterning in distribution appears chaotic, many of the pits cut into the post-hole  packing and ramp fills, suggesting a good awareness at the time of their digging of where these  ‘primary’ features were, and also hinting that the interval between post-erection and pit digging was relatively short. In this regard, that none were seen to cut into the post-pipes is significant; and while  the post-pipe recuts in F.3002 and F.901 might be viewed as analogous, they were more substantial  and with different fill sequences to the pits. Where a stratigraphic relationship could be discerned  between pits and post-holes, the former invariably cut into the fills of the latter: thus, F922-6 cut  F.3005; F. 904, F.912, F.921 and F.927 were dug into F.905; F.913 and F.920 cut F.900; F.919 cut into  F.901; and F.928 cut F.929. Although the status of F.916 needs resolution, it is cut by pit F.915.

In total, 16 of the pits were excavated (F.904, F.909, F.911-F.913, F.915, F.917-F.921, F.924, F.926- F.928 and F.933); the positions and extent of four others (F.922, F.923, F.925 and F.935) were  defined but these remained unexcavated; while the positions of two possible pits were noted, but  time prevented proper definition and further investigation. The latter have not been assigned  feature designations.

Where excavated, the pits were found to be well-cut, bowl-shaped, with mostly steep or near  vertical sides (Figure 14). Diameters ranged from 0.34 to 0.90m (average 0.64m) and depths from  0.17 to 0.68m (average 0.34m). They were filled with similar deposits of grey-brown or orange brown clay loam, formed through backfilling. Finds were few, but where present had the appearance

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of placed deposits (e.g. the antler tine in F.917 and bone and flint in F.921). F.928 was capped by two  small sarsen blocks.

Figure 14. Representative sections of small pits

For the purpose of description, the pits are divided by area and/or association with one of the major  post-holes: beginning with those cut into ramps F.934 and F.905; followed by those cut into and in  the vicinity of F.900 and F.901; and finally examples in the south-eastern part of the trench.

Area of F.934 

F.922. Cut [990], oval, 0.56 x 0.4m. Filled with a friable brown silty clay, 989, with frequent flint and  occasional chalk. Not excavated.

F.923. Cut [992], oval 0.7 x 0.6m. Filled with a friable brown silty clay, 991, with frequent flint and  occasional chalk. Not excavated.

F.924. Cut [994], circular, 0.34m diameter and 0.2m deep. Moderate sloping sides and a dished base.  Filled with a friable brown silty clay, 993, with frequent flint.

F.925. Cut [996], circular, 0.36m diameter. Filled with a friable brown silty clay, 995, with frequent  flint and occasional chalk. Not excavated. Observed to cut F.926.

F.926. Cut [998], oval, 0.9 x 0.8m and 0.35m deep. Moderately sloping sides and dished base. Filled  with a friable brown silty clay, 997, with frequent flint and occasional chalk.

Area of F.905 

F.904. Cut [906], oval, 0.6 x 0.5m and 0.2m deep. Sides near vertical in upper profile, then sloping in  to form a dished base. Filled with a brown silty clay loam, 905, with small amounts of poorly sorted flint. Finds comprise a flint flake.

F.912. Cut [937], circular, 0.4m in diameter and 0.22m deep. Near vertical sides merging with a  dished base. Filled with a dark grey-brown clay loam, 936, with moderate small chalk,

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occasional flint and pea-grit. Off-set to the north of centre was a block of grey-beige silty  clay, possibly representing a post-pipe. There were no finds.

F.921. Cut [962], circular, 0.6m diameter and 0.23m deep. Gently sloping sides and a dished base.  Filled with a yellow-grey-brown silty clay, 961, with moderate flint. Finds comprise  fragments of animal bone and worked flint.

F.927. Cut [969], circular, 0.49m in diameter and 0.31m deep. Very steep sides merging with a flat  base. Filled with a friable orange-brown clay silt, 968, with common flint and rare chalk.  Finds comprise a vertebra.

Area of F.900 

F.911. Cut [931], circular, 0.5m in diameter and 0.17m deep. Moderate sloping sides merging with a  dished base. Filled with a dark grey-brown clay loam, 930, with some flint and medium-sized  chalk blocks, and pea-grit in the lower part of the fill. There were no finds.

F.913. Cut [939], circular, up to 0.6m in diameter and 0.68m deep. Sides near vertical and the base  uneven, here clipping the packing of post-hole F.900. Filled with an orange-brown silty clay,  938, with occasional and poorly-sorted flint and small chalk. A lump of redeposited chalk  was present on the north-west side. There were no finds.

F.917. Cut [951], oval 0.74 x 0.62m and 0.4m deep. Very steep sides merging with a dished base.  Filled with a friable brown silty clay, 952, with occasional small to medium-sized chalk and  flint. A slump of natural was present on the northeast side. Next to this and on the base was  a large antler tine.

F.920. Cut [955], circular 0.55m diameter and 0.48m deep. Steep sides merging with a flat base.  Filled with an orange-brown clay silt, 956, with moderate flint and small chalk. The eastern  side of the fill was slightly darker, leading to suggestions on excavation this may be a post pipe, but the evidence is very inconclusive (the tone changed but not the fill matrix). There  was some slumping of packing 917 from post-hole F.900 on the west side. There were no  finds.

Area of F.901 

F.915. Cut [948], circular 0.77m diameter and 0.45m deep. Moderately-sloping sides merging with a  flat base. Filled with a light orange-brown silty loam, 947, with common chalk and rare flint,  flint being more common towards the sides. There were no finds.

F.919. Cut [954], oval, 0.6 x >0.4m and 0.42m deep. Steep sides merging with a dished base. Filled  with a yellow-grey-brown silty clay, 953, with poorly-sorted small chalk and occasional flint.  Encountered during the removal of fill of F.901 and not initially noticed as a separate  feature, leading to the northern section of the pit not being fully recorded. There were no  finds.

F.933. Cut [985], sub-circular, 0.63 x 0.61m. Only partially excavated, so full depth not established.  Filled with a friable brown silty clay, 986, with frequent flint and occasional chalk. F.935. Circular or oval, c.06m in diameter. Not fully defined. Cut into F.931. Not excavated.

South-eastern corner of trench 

F.909. Cut [929], oval, 0.73 x 0.57m and 0.33m deep. Moderately sloping sides merging with a  rounded base. Filled with a dark brown silty loam, 927, becoming lighter and more orange brown with depth, with sparse flint and chalk, and pea-grit in the lower part of the fill. Finds  comprise a fragment of cattle pelvis.

F.918. Cut [959]. circular 0.66m diameter and 0.35m deep. Near-vertical sides and a flat base. Filled  with a mid-brown silty clay with occasional chalk and flint, 958.

F.928. Cut [971], circular, 0.5m in diameter and 0.32m deep. Steep sides and a rounded base. Filled  with an orange-brown clay silt, 970, with occasional flint and chalk. Capped by two medium-

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sized sarsen blocks, perhaps acting to mark the position of the feature. Finds comprised  animal bone and two flakes.

Grave 

Cut into the top of post-hole F.902 was an oval grave, F.908 (Figure 15). The cut, [922], was regular 1.7 x 0.9m and 0.22m deep, with near vertical sides and flat base where this remained on the south east side. Its orientation was northwest-southeast. A basal fill of orange-grey-brown clay loam with  common flint and occasional small chalk and pea-grit, 910, was sealed by a brown clay loam with  chalk and flint with frequent pea-grit, 904. The western half of the grave cut into the fill of post-pipe  [999]. Here, the feature had been substantially deformed through slumping of the post-pipe fills, a  process exacerbated by the placement of a large sarsen boulder (934) over the head of the grave,  which had sunk significantly into the post-pipe to a point where the stone was no longer visible at  ground-level. Originally in the region of 1.0m in length, the sarsen had been purposefully shaped and  reduced to a block 0.7 x 0.7 x 0.45m in size. Flaking had removed c.50% of the stone’s cortex. Scars  on the stone display conchoidal features, including localised crushing at points of impact (observations by Katy Whitaker). Around the stone, and filling the slump caused by its sinking was a  largely stone-free dark grey-brown clay loam of turf-like appearance.

Figure 15. Grave F.908 (top right) with large capping sarsen (934) and skeletal material displaced into the post pipe of F.902 (bottom right). Note the presence of small granodiorite blocks around the edge of the grave

The remains of two individuals, 923 and 942, were present within the grave and in the slumped post pipe fill under the sarsen block (Figure 16). Both are male, one a mature adult (c.50+ years), the  other an adolescent (Jess Thompson pers. com.). The mature individual had suffered spinal injury

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earlier in life. The feet and legs of both skeletons remained in situ in the undisturbed south-eastern  portion of the grave, and show the individuals were buried in flexed positions. It is unclear whether  they were buried simultaneously (as a double burial) or in succession. While no recut was observed  during excavation the two fills might imply successive cut and fill events. The skulls, upper limbs and  

trunks of both individuals were found displaced in the post-pipe under the sarsen, a number of  bones suffering crushing damage from the weight of the stone. That parts of the displaced bodies  were still in some degree of articulation implies the slumping and downwards movement of the  stone began relatively soon after the bodies were interred: this will be further investigated. A fine  barbed-and-tanged arrowhead was found in association with the displaced bones, and either  represents a grave-good or evidence of trauma through conflict. Placed around the bodies within the  grave were seven small blocks of granodiorite (0.06-0.18m in maximum dimension), while a large  flake of oolitic limestone had been placed at the eastern end of the grave.

Figure 16. Displaced skeletal material from grave F.908, including the adolescent skull, within post-pipe of  F.902

Phase 2: Palisade 

A short section of the inner ditch and palisade F.3000 was exposed in the north-west corner of the  trench. Four post-pipes (assigned a general number: 1000) and two sarsen packing stones were  visible following cleaning. A possible edge to the feature within which these sat could be observed at  the north-east end of the row, here returning in a fashion suggestive of the presence of a terminal. A  single sherd of Grooved Ware was recovered from the very top of one of the post-pipes. Cut into the  ditch/palisade, truncating the northern-most post-pipe, was a sub-oval pit, F.903 (cut [909]), >1.1 x  0.7m in extent, up to 0.25m deep. The pit’s sides were very steep in the upper profile, merging with  a dished and undulating base that was deepest at the north. Based on its morphology, one  interpretation is that it originally contained a medium-sized sarsen boulder that was either sitting in  the fill of the palisade or within a larger feature cut into it. It was filled with 908, a friable very dark  purple-grey-brown clay loam with small amounts of flint and rare charcoal flecks.

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Later activity 

The latest feature within the trench was a north-south orientated ditch, F.3003, which cut into the  upper fills of large post-hole groups F.3005, F.900 and F.901. Its cut, [978], was c.04-0.6m wide and  0.3m deep, with steep sides and a flat base. At its point of intersection with F.3005 weathering back  against the soft fills of the post-hole caused the ditch width to expand to 2.0m. Where cut into other post-hole fills it was not always easy to determine the true feature edge. The fill, 318/979, was a  compact dark grey-brown clay loam with very common flint and rare sarsen, being more chalky in  the lower profile. That the remnant soil deposit 901 was bounded by the length of the ditch implies  the feature served to demarcate a zone of plough cultivation to the west from an area that remained  pasture or was sealed by a hedge bank to the east.

Trenches 10 and 11

Time pressures prevented work from proceeding on Trench 10. In the case of Trench 11, a 2m-wide  slot was excavated across deposits against its northern end. Under a thin layer of ploughsoil was a  highly compact deposit of orange-brown silty clay with abundant poorly sorted flint, between c.0.2- 0.3m thick. Set within this, on angle, were a series of small to medium-sized (0.2-0.5m) tabular  sarsen blocks (Figure 17). The deposit is considered natural.

Figure 17. Trench 10 from the west showing depth of soil within valley bottom and naturally-emplaced sarsen  boulders

Trench 12

A 5 x 5m area was excavated across the arc of the outer palisade circuit enclosing Structure 5.  Following removal of the turf the ploughsoil (1200) and underlying colluvium (1201) were hand excavated in 1m squares in order to provide spatial control on artefact recovery. Reaching a depth of

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0.20m, 1200 comprised a compact, mid-greyish brown silty-clay with abundant sub-angular flint. It  sealed a very compact mid orange-brown silty-clay, 1201, which was densely packed with sub angular flint. Most likely colluvial in origin, this deposit covered the excavated area to a depth of  0.25m. Following removal of the 1200 and 1201 the arc of the palisade (F.121) could be seen  crossing the trench diagonally from NE to SW. A small post-hole, F.120, was also visible close to the  NW corner and truncated by the trench edge.  

F.121: the outer enclosure circuit of Structure 5 

A 3m length of the palisade circuit was excavated encompassing six discrete postpipes (1209-1213  and 1220). The palisade trench [1218] varied in width between 0.80 and 1.16m and was cut into the  chalk natural to a depth of 1.30m below the base of the colluvium (1.75m below the contemporary  surface); the near vertical sides making a sharp angle with the flat base. In plan, the inner edge of  the trench was remarkably regular, with bowing more noticeable on the outer edge (Figure 18).

Figure 18. Excavated palisade trench within Trench 12. Note, due to the very loose and friable nature of the  post-pipe fill the sections were allowed to slope back (shaded grey) in order to avoid collapse

That the palisade uprights had stood along the central axis of the slot was clear from the basal  depressions left by the posts (1209, 1211, 1212, 1213 and 1220). Varying in their plan form but  uniformly flat, these reached depths of between 0.01 – 0.16m beneath the level of the base and  appear to have been the result of compression caused by the weight of the upright timbers, rather

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than deliberate cuts designed to hold, place, or guide the posts. The depression at the base of post  1210 was notably different; a steeply tapering cone (excavated to a depth of 0.20m below the level  of the base) indicating that unlike the other posts excavated, 1210 had been sharply pointed. The  only other irregularity in the base was a slight ridge of undug chalk. Running across the slot between  posts 1209 and 1210 this curving ridge varied in height between 0.05m in the central portion and  0.15m at the sides where it merged with the edges of the palisade slot.  

Figure 19. Sections of palisade F.121

The post-pipes were visible as tapering, rather irregular columns of very soft to soft, mid dark-brown  silty clay, notably wider at the top and varying in diameter between 0.28 – 0.40m. They ranged in  depth between 1.35 and 1.61m below the surface of the natural. Inclusions were dominated by  frequent flint and charcoal flecking which was present throughout. In the case of 1209, 1210 and  1211 there were much darker localised patches of charcoal on the inner edges of the pipes. Using  the basal indentations as a proxy, the original posts appear to have been of the order of 0.30m in  diameter. Whilst the palisade line itself was consistent, the intervals between the posts was variable  – from a mere 0.04m between 1211 and 1213 to 0.20m between 1210 and 1212.

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The posts had been packed into place with a very mixed packing deposit, 1207, comprising bands  and zones of very firm, compacted chalk rubble in a matrix of degraded and weathered chalk  alongside a softer reddish-brown silty clay containing frequent fragments of charcoal. With depth  some patterning could be discerned within this material, with the chalk rubble tending to occur on  the inner edge of the palisade slot and silty-clay the outer (Figure 19). Pushed down along the edge  of post pipe 1212 were three pieces of re-fitting sarsen – two flakes and a core (0.10-0.25m in  maximum dimension). On the very edges of the slot 1207 overlay a compact, off-white deposit of  degraded chalk that was free of inclusions. This was noticeably thicker (max. 0.25m) and more  consistent on the inner edge, 1215.  

The asymmetry in plan evident between the inner and outer edges of the palisade trench would  support the interpretation that the posts had been introduced into the slot from the ‘outside’ of  Structure 5. As to the mode and tempo of construction, the pointed post 1210 and the undug ridge  of curving chalk in the base adjacent to it are of particular interest. Together they would suggest that  the slot was dug in sections and the timber palisade erected from the north in two distinct stages,  the sharpened post marking a moment of pause. The use of a sharpened post would also have made  it easier to temporarily remove and replace this post to allow the next phase of slot excavation to  proceed unhindered. Whilst we have no clear evidence of the time that elapsed between sections of  the palisade arc being constructed, the lack of any evidence of weathering in the base of the slot  suggests that once dug, the individual sections were utilised relatively rapidly, the timber palisade  advancing in a series of smaller arcs. The predominance of chalk rubble (within 1207) and chalk  packing (1215) along the inner edge perhaps indicates that the spoil from the digging of the palisade  trench was originally piled up here (which would also support the suggestions that the posts were  manoeuvred into position and inserted from the outside).  

Finds from the post-pipes and surrounding packing comprised 119 pieces of animal bone and a  single chisel arrowhead. All were 3D recorded during excavation (Figure 20). Whilst no articulated  bone was recovered the find locations included seven small groups, where the component bones  were too closely spaced (i.e. overlapping) for individual locations to be recorded. Interestingly these  were grouped in the vicinity of post-pipe 1212. A further four pieces of bone (SF212, 213, 231 and  232) were recovered from the fill of the sarsen pit, F.122 – see below - though the likelihood of this  being residual is high. As the post-pipes were excavated in plan it is possible to group the finds  according to their relative position within the pipe. In practice three zones were delineated based on  the mean excavated pipe depth below the surface of the natural (1.42m) and the basal elevation of  the slot (147 masl) (Table 1). In the case of postpipe 1220 the ‘upper’ portion of the pipe was  truncated by the digging of [1217] discussed below.

Table 1. Depth zones used to partition 3D finds distribution (metres) in F.121

Finds were distributed across the vertical extent of the post-pipes, rather than being clustered at the  tops or bases (Figure 20, A and B). To better understand this distribution, the depth zones were used  to slice the finds data to produce distributions by depth (Figure 21). Whilst there is clear variation in  

the horizontal spatial patterning of the finds, reflecting the vertical irregularity noted in the pipes  themselves, some trends are clearly evident. Most obvious is that the animal bone is not evenly  distributed across the fill of the palisade. Further, whilst undoubtedly rather irregular, the

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distributions do seem to mark out the edges of the former posts, rather than occurring throughout  the fill of the pipes; this is perhaps most evident at the base. This confirms the sense gained during  excavation that the bone deposits were clustered around the posts, presumably entering the post

pipes as the posts rotted. The predominance of bone groups (and highest density of finds) in the  middle depth zone is most likely a consequence of the funnelling of this material into the hollows  that developed as the posts rotted and fill initially settled. The concentration of groups of bone  around post-pipe 1212 perhaps indicates that this post had formed more of a focus for deposition.  

Figure 20. Distribution of finds in palisade F.121. In the 3D visualisations A (looking to the north) and B (a  profile through the palisade) the chisel arrowhead is indicated in red, individual bone finds in green, and  groups of bone in blue.

Filling the upper portion of the palisade slot and sealing the post-pipes was a soft, dark to very dark  brown silty clay, 1206, with frequent flint and occasional small pieces of sarsen and chalk flecking.  This was sealed in turn by a soft, mid-brown silty clay, 1205, with abundant angular to sub-angular  flint with concentrations of charcoal visible in patches where it sat against inner edge of 1218. These  are best interpreted as the result of gradual infill of the weathered palisade slot by colluvium; there  was certainly no evidence of any deliberate re-cutting of the arc.

F122: sarsen setting 

At some point after the posts had decayed a 1.15m diameter pit, F.122 (cut [1217]), had been dug into the packing and upper portion of post-pipe 1220. Sub-circular in shape, the sides were steep on  the southern edge and gently sloping to the north, merging at a depth of 0.57m with an irregular  base (the northern edge being particularly irregular) sloping slightly from north to south. Contained  within this pit was a sarsen boulder (0.64 x 0.60 x 0.42m) that had been deliberately flaked into a  rough sub-rectangular shape, with four distinct flake removal scars in evidence (identified by Katy  Whitaker). The sarsen lay at a sloping angle against the outer edge of the pit with the top extending  into the base of the colluvium 1201. Surrounding the boulder was a soft, dark brown silty clay, 1216, containing frequent flint and fragments of burnt bone. At the interface with the cut was a thin band

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of charcoal along with small lumps of chalk. That the boulder had originally been seated upright on  its narrow edge at the very centre of the pit (and thus the slot) was indicated by a band of crumbly  light brown silty clay with abundant chalk flecking, 1219, in the centre of the base; presumably  material that had been crushed beneath the upright weight of the stone. As to whether the pit had  been cut prior to the formation of 1206 and 1205, unravelling the sequence was complicated by the  close compositional similarity between 1216 and these deposits. However, during the plan  excavation of the slot as a whole it was clear that the 1206 was present in only the uppermost  portion of the pit fill. This suggests that it had been dug before this weathering and infill took place,  the sarsen sitting upright in a dished hollow.

Figure 21. Finds distributions in F.121 with depth as point distributions (A - C) and Kernel Density Estimates  (KDE) (A’ – C’)

F.120: large stake-hole 

Truncated by the northern edge of the trench was a sub-circular hole (cut [1204]), 0.27m in  maximum dimension and extending to a depth of 0.28m. The sides were vertical to steeply sloping,  merging with a flat base (width 0.10m). The fill of the feature was very similar to the overlying  colluvium, a firm mid orange-brown silty clay with abundant flint and flecks of chalk throughout,  becoming more concentrated towards the base. Occasional larger flint pieces were also present. No  finds were recovered from the fill of this feature and the close similarity of the fill to the overlying  1200 and 1201 imply a relatively recent origin.

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5. Discussion

The 2021 excavations provided greater insight into the physical character and history of Structure 5.  It is clear this is a major monument in its own right, and that its importance has been unrealised until  the recent fieldwork reported here. It may be a primary element of the West Kennet palisade  complex (we await dates to confirm this), and it can be seen to have changed its form, associations  and function quite dramatically over the course of its life: as a working interpretation, what began as  a massive timber structure ringed by areas of feasting became a palisade-enclosed space associated  with intense pitting, and ended as a focus for Beaker-period funerary activity marked by sarsen boulder settings (Table 2). This kind of monumental metamorphosis is repeatedly seen in Late  Neolithic sites, most notably with the remarkable sequence at Silbury Hill (Leary et al. 2013).

Table 2. Provisional phasing for Structure 5

First, we must begin with a matter of ‘housekeeping’: the results of Trench 9, and badgers, or rather  the lack of them. It was soon apparent that the narrative generated following the excavation of  Trench 3 in 2019 (Pollard et al. 2020) is misleading, in that this area had not been subject to  extensive animal burrowing as hypothesised. The eastern part of the putative burrow system seen in  2019 transpired to be ditch F.3003, and that to the west of post-hole F.3005 the post extraction  ramp, F.934. The void in the post-pipe of F.3005, taken to be direct evidence of a burrow, proved to  be a cavity caused by delayed decay of the basal part of the post capped by a fill ‘plug’. Irregularities  in the sides of F.3005 could well be due to the presence of small pits that were not identified at the  time. It is telling of how limited, key-hole, exposure of complex archaeology led to a reductive  explanation; one that was seemingly backed-up by the irregularity of the internal features as seen on  the aerial photographs and geophysical survey results. Far from being biologically damaged and  compromised, the deposits and features belonging to the interior of Structure 5 are actually well preserved, even to the extent of original surface/soil deposits surviving across the zone against the  field’s hedge-line. The sequence of interpretation of features has gone from a Bersu model to a  Collingwood (Bradley 1994), though without a change of excavator!

The timber structure

The sheer density of features encountered in Trench 9 came as a surprise. Of the timber structure  itself, only a small portion of this has been investigated, probably under 20%. Excavation of many of  the larger post-holes and ramps was incomplete, though enough work was undertaken to establish  their character and key stratigraphic relationships and to provide insight into the architectural form  of the structure. The principal elements comprise a series of massive post-holes, up to 3m deep, and  originally supporting timbers set approximately 3-3.5m apart that must have stood 9-12m above  ground, or higher still if joined by lintels or cross-beams. There is clear evidence of replacement in at  least three instances. In the case of F.3002/F.3004, this process of replacement looks to have  occurred while the original timber was in a sound state. There are obvious parallels here with the  process of periodic renewal of large posts identified at the Sanctuary (Pitts 2001).

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Figure 22. Postulated posts lines making up the internal structure

Figure 23. Excavated post-pipes (in red) in relation to the inner and outer palisades of Structure 5 (in green) and  the results of the 2012 magnetometer survey undertaken by Kate Welham (Bournemouth University)

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There is a clear analogy to be drawn between the Structure 5 setting and large multiple timber  circles of the latest Neolithic, notably those of Woodhenge and the Southern Circle within the  Stonehenge landscape (Cunnington 1929, Wainwright & Longworth 1971, Thomas 2007), the  Sanctuary at Avebury (Cunnington 1930), and the Great Circle at Stanton Drew, Somerset (David et  al. 2004). The Sanctuary is located a little under 1km to the ENE, and is intervisible with Structure 5.  Each of these monuments includes individual rings of substantial post-holes, though only those of rings 2D and 2E at the Southern Circle come close to the scale of F.3002 and F.3005 at Structure 5  (here reaching a maximum depth of 2.9m: Wainwright & Longworth 1971).

Attempts at placing the Structure 5 post-holes within circular arrangements have not been  successful. Instead, the post-holes look to belong to a square or rectilinear setting (Figures 22 and  23). The rows of posts define internal aisles, and the structure possesses a very ‘building-like’  quality. More may be shared in common with so-called square-in-circle structures, which at one end  of the scale likely comprised structurally substantial dwellings, at the other monumental buildings or  free-standing settings (Noble et al. 2011; Bradley 2019, 124-8). That within the SSW Circle at Stanton  Drew comes close in scale and conceivably even form to Structure 5 (David et al. 2004, Linford et al. 2017). Further afield, but within a connected Grooved Ware ‘world’ (Thomas 2010), a range of  rectilinear timber structures recently identified within the Brú na Bóinne complex provides another  point of reference (Davis & Rassmann 2021), as do the rectilinear timber structures at Balfarg Riding  School, Fife (Barclay & Russell-White 1993), and (earlier?) piered and stone-built monumental  buildings at the Ness of Brodgar, Orkney (Card et al. 2020). There is clearly great diversity within the  repertoire of later Neolithic monumental timber architecture, and search for exact parallels need  not be warranted.

It is impossible to tell whether the timber settings at Structure 5 were roofed, but as with the Sanctuary, Woodhenge and other great timber monuments, its form likely drew upon the template  of the house (Pollard 2009, Thomas 2010). The house was a potent metaphor for sociality, social  reproduction and belonging. Richard Bradley has referred to these large structures as ‘Great Houses’ (2019), and has argued that their construction served to reinforce ideas of community in the face of marked social change. We await dates for the West Kennet structure, but suspect they will fall  within the same horizon, in the decades around 2500 cal. BC, as monuments such as the Southern  Circle and Site IV, Mount Pleasant (Greaney et al. 2020); an horizon of ‘culture contact’ that  witnessed renewed links with the Continent via in-migration of early Beaker communities (Olalde et  al. 2019).

Associated activities

In assessing the range of activities that may have taken place within the timber structure, we are  struck by how ‘clean’ it was. Very few pieces of worked flint were recovered from the soil over the  post-holes or from the post-holes and later pits themselves. Only one sherd of prehistoric pottery  was found, and that from the (structurally later) inner palisade line. Finds of animal bone were highly  localised (e.g. in the packing of F.3005), suggesting that where present these were deliberate  deposits rather than components of a general spread of refuse. Contrast is provided with the relative  abundance of bone from the later palisade circuits. Antler was common in primary contexts and  evidently linked to the digging of the post-holes and later pits. It may be that lithic material in the  soil had eroded downslope off the slight knoll that Structure 5 encloses, but this is not a sufficient  explanation given the survival of soil 901 over a good part of the interior (from which, as mentioned,  very little artefactual material was recovered). Could cleanliness be linked to elevated status, of the  structure as much as the people who engaged with it, or does it reflect a genuine dearth of  artefact/ecofact generating activity?

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By contrast, worked flint and animal bone was recovered in some quantity from Trench 2 (of 2019)  and Trench 12 over the outer palisade circuit. There is certainly time-depth in the lithic material,  which from rudimentary inspection includes some Mesolithic pieces, others that may be Middle and  Late Neolithic, and some Early Bronze Age. It therefore brackets the timber structure. The animal  bone (dominated by pig) is likely tied to the palisade phase, and so perhaps belongs a little later than  the structure (though is conceivably from activity taking place while the structure remained  standing). Work remains to be done mapping flint densities, but the concentrations of bone along  the inner edge of the post-pipes of the outer circuit suggests material accumulated against the inside  of the palisade. The question is whether its recovered location reflects where feasting took place, or  whether it was subsequently moved and middened against the palisade.

Granodiorite and sarsen

One objective of the 2021 work was to investigate the extent of the spread of imported  granodiorite, to establish whether the rock derived from a single manuport or several transported  pieces, and ascertaining whether granodiorite was utilised in stone settings at the site. An additional  12.5kg of the rock was recovered in 2021, bringing the total to over 22kg (Table 3). The majority of  pieces came from the larger post-holes, notably F.3002 (with over 9.4kg), but there were also  several fragments from grave F.908. There are no instances of granodiorite occurring in primary  contexts in the post-holes: all the fragments derive from the upper parts of the post-pipes, re-cuts in  the post-pipes or later features such as the grave (Figures 24 and 25). It seems likely the rock arrived  on site either when the timber structure was in an advanced state of decay, or after it had decayed.

Figure 24. Granodiorite block in situ within the base of the recut in F.901

It is now evident that the rock arrived as smaller, rounded and weathered pieces (so-called grus) – not a monolith – most likely collected from glacial tills along the North Sea coast (Rob Ixer pers.  comm.). The implication is of a combination of glacial and human transport, the latter still involving  considerable distances (perhaps 250-300km as the crow flies). The rock’s wide distribution across  Trench 9 (and a single piece was recovered from Trench 2 in 2019) strongly suggests we have not  captured the entirety of its distribution, and that greater quantities of the rock may be spread across

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the unexcavated portion of the monument. It is striking that no pieces of grus have been found  outside Structure 5: its presence is particular to this monument.

Table 3. Granodiorite (grus) from Structure 5 features

Figure 25. Distribution of granodiorite within Trench 9 features

The find recalls that of twenty ‘small, mostly rounded pieces’ of Niedermendig Lava, identified by  H.H. Thomas, from the lower half of post-hole C27 at the nearby Sanctuary (Cunnington 1931). The  post-pipe being present, the excavator was adamant that there had been no disturbance, making a  convincing case for the rock’s transport and deposition within that monument during the Late  Neolithic.

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Pits and burials

Following on from the construction of the timber setting was a phase of intense pit digging. The  twenty or so pits identified were generally small, well-dug, and backfilled with relatively  homogenous deposits of soil. There were occasional finds of antler and bone within these, but the  density of finds was low, and in this respect they are unlike the pit depositions found on Neolithic  and Early Bronze Age settlements (Garrow 2006, Anderson-Whymark & Thomas 2011). A possibility  exists that the pits started being dug while the posts of the structure were still standing; equally  there could be a meaningful interval. Radiocarbon dating will hopefully clarify this matter. In  addition, more substantive recuts were observed in the tops of post-holes F.3002 and F.901, here  centred on the tops of the post-pipes. Analogous practices are seen at other Late Neolithic timber  settings, including the Southern Circle and Woodhenge (Thomas 2007), where pits may have been  dug into former post-holes as late as the early 2nd millennium BC (Parker Pearson et al. 2009). They  should be seen as active interventions into potent and ancestrally-connected locales, providing  points of connection as well as acting as memory works.

In the case of F.902 it was not a pit but a grave that had been dug into the erstwhile post-hole. Two  bodies had been placed in the grave (or, more likely, successive grave cuts): an adult and juvenile  male. The bodies were ringed by small, rounded pieces of granodiorite and a large flake of oolitic  limestone. Their attribution as a Beaker-period burials currently stands on the presence of a barbed and-tanged arrowhead found in association with the human remains. Pieces of human cranium from  the upper fill of the post-pipe in adjacent post-hole F.3005 might suggest this burial was not alone. A  large, partially modified sarsen had been placed over the centre of the grave, but had soon sunk into  the soft and unconsolidated fills of the post-pipe, pushing the torsos and upper regions of both  bodies further into the ground, and resulting in the sarsen being submerged below ground-level.  This may have occurred not long after the burials took place. One can imagine the active ‘self-burial’  of the stone perhaps induced a degree of puzzlement and consternation on the part of the  community who had buried their dead there. It is likely that the boulder served as a grave marker; its  survival offering a rare insight into above-ground marking of a Beaker-period flat grave.

The interment of Beaker/Early Bronze Age inhumations within Late Neolithic monuments is by no  means uncommon within Wessex and beyond (in fact, it seems almost to have been de rigueur).  Locally, we can note instances against standing stones at the Longstones Cove (Cunnington 1913),  along the West Kennet Avenue (Smith 1965), and the Sanctuary (Cunnington 1931). An adult female  was buried in the eastern terminal of the ditch flanking the southern entrance at Avebury (Gray  1935). Available dates (Parker Pearson et al. 2019) and ceramic associations (e.g. with W/MR and  Barbed-wire Beakers) place a number of these burials in the third quarter or early part of the second  quarter of the 3rd millennium BC. In the context of the palisades, they likely overlap on-going  aggregation and feasting associated with culturally Late Neolithic material and practices (Bayliss et  al. 2017), and suggest ‘ethnically’ distinct responses to key monuments in the complex.

Sarsen marking

In Trench 12 the post-pipes of the outer circuit indicate that here, as across much of the palisade complex, the timbers had been allowed to decay in situ. At some point after the posts had rotted,  but prior to any substantial infill of the settled palisade trench, a pit was dug into the top of the  feature, truncating one of the former post positions, and into this a partially-worked sarsen boulder  had been set. An identical sequence was recorded in Trench 2 in 2019; while pit F.903, cut into the  inner circuit in Trench 9, could represent another stone position. Their occurrence within each of the  small trenches excavated suggests that they may have been placed at frequent intervals around the  former palisade circuits. Assuming some degree of regularity, the lack of other sarsens in Trench 12

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gives a minimum spacing of 3m, whilst the distance of 21m separating the sarsens in Trenches 2 and  12, provides a maximum.  

Well set despite their relatively small size – they are, in effect, part stone burial, part small megalith – none of these stones need have projected far above ground level, and so they do not speak of the  kind of massive monumentality that typifies the latest elements of the Avebury complex. This is a  rather understated process of reworking, marking and perhaps memorialisation, much like the  cutting of the shallow ditch around the circuit of Enclosure 2. The placement of these stones around  the former circuits of Structure 5 did, however, effect a critical transformation: a process of  ‘lithicisation’ which, albeit on a subtle scale, mirrors that seen at the Sanctuary (Pollard 1992). It is  tempting to link this to a significant change in the ontological status of Structure 5 during the latest  3rd millennium BC, one connected to the late phase presence of burials and the site’s redefined role as a mortuary and/or ancestral focus.

6. Acknowledgements

First and foremost, we would like to extend our thanks to Mark and Sarah Hues for allowing us to  continue work on their land, for their forbearance and logistical support (notably in moving large  sarsens!). Once again, the Project’s fieldwork has only been possible through the support and interest  shown by the Avebury community.

The work was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC - AH/N007506/1), with  additional support from the Universities of Southampton and Bournemouth. Helpful advice was  received in developing the fieldwork strategy from the Wiltshire County Council Archaeology Service.  Judy Farthing undertook the metal detector survey. The National Trust Countryside Team provided  useful logistical support (and shelter!), and Brian Edwards a constant supply of biscuits, ice lollies and  banter.

We are grateful to Rob Ixer, Richard Bevins and Duncan Pirrie for their on-going work on characterising  the granodiorite, and Katy Whitaker for her on-site examination and reporting on the sarsen boulders.

Helpful comment was received from visitors to the site and those following the excavations, notably  Martyn Barber, Richard Bradley, Alasdair Whittle, Brian Edwards, Mike Pitts, David Dawson, Roy  Loveday, Steve Marshall, Colin Shell and Gill Swanton. Fitting with themes ancestral, we suspect the  spirit of Humphrey Case (a long-time supporter of fieldwork in the region) was there, too.

We would like to extend a big thanks to all the hard-working volunteers who took part in the  excavation, and especially to Jon Baczkowski, Emily Banfield, ‘Baz’ Barraclough, Mike Burgess, Briony  Clifton, Stephen Cogbill, Dave Durkin, Brian Edwards, Susan Greaney, Martin Green, Petra Jones, Jake  Keen, Beth Linscott, Edrys Lupprian, Stella Maddock, Alistair Pike, Emilie Porter, Jake Rowland, Jim  Rylatt, Prue Saunders, Anne Teather, Jess Thompson, Mick Tizzard, Katy Whitaker, Joanna Wright.  Dani De Carle once again led the process of environmental sampling with considerable efficiency and  good humour.

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7. References

Anderson-Whymark, H. & Thomas, J. (eds) 2011. Regional Perspectives on Neolithic Pit Deposition:  beyond the mundane. Oxford: Oxbow Books/Neolithic Studies Group Seminar Papers 12 Barber, M. 2013. West Kennet Late Neolithic palisaded enclosures. In J Leary, D Field & G Campbell  (eds) Silbury Hill: The largest prehistoric mound in Europe, 234-5. Swindon: English Heritage Barclay, G.J. & Russell-White, C.J. 1993. Excavations in the ceremonial complex of the fourth to second millennium BC at Balfarg/Balbirnie, Glenrothes, Fife. Proceedings of the Society of  Antiquaries of Scotland 123, 43-210

Bayliss, A., Cartwright, C., Cook, G., Griffiths, S., Madgwick, R., Marshall, P. & Reimer, P. 2017. Rings  of fire and Grooved Ware settlement at West Kennet, Wiltshire. In P. Bickle, V. Cummings, D.  Hofmann & J. Pollard (eds), The Neolithic of Europe, 249-78. Oxford: Oxbow Books

Bradley, R. 1994. The philosopher and the field archaeologist: Collingwood, Bersu and the excavation  of King Arthur's Round Table. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 60, 27-34 Bradley, R. 2019. The Prehistory of Britain and Ireland. 2nd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University  Press

Bradley, R. 2021. Temporary Palaces: the Great House in European prehistory. Oxford: Oxbow Books Card, N., Edmonds, M. & Mitchell, A. (eds) 2020. The Ness of Brodgar: as it stands. Kirkwall: The  Orcadian

Cunnington, M.E. 1913. The re-erection of two fallen stones, and discovery of an interment with  drinking cup, at Avebury. Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine 38, 1–11 Cunnington, M.E. 1929. Woodhenge. Devizes: George Simpson

Cunnington, M.E. 1931. The Sanctuary on Overton Hill near Avebury. Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine 45, 300-35.

David, A., Cole, M., Horsley, T., Linford, N., Linford, P. & Martin, L. 2004. A rival to Stonehenge?  Geophysical survey at Stanton Drew, England. Antiquity 78, 341-58

Davis, S. & Rassmann, K. 2021. Beyond Newgrange: Brú na Bóinne in the later Neolithic. Proceedings  of the Prehistoric Society 87, 189-218

Garrow, D. 2006. Pits, Settlement and Deposition during the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age in East  Anglia. Oxford: British Archaeological Reports 414

Gillings, M., Allen, M., French, C. Cleal, R., Snashall, N. Pike, A. & Pollard, J. 2015. Living on the Avenue:  investigating settlement histories and other events at West Kennet, near Avebury. PAST 81,  6-9

Gillings, M., Pollard, J., Allen, M., Chan, B., Cleal, R., French, C., Pike, A. & Snashall, N. 2017. Excavations  on Avebury Down, Avebury, Wiltshire, July-August 2017: an interim report. Unpublished  interim report, Living with Monuments Project

Gray, H.St.G. 1935. The Avebury Excavations, 1908-1922. Archaeologia 84, 99-162. Greaney, S., Hazell, Z., Barclay, A., Ramsey, C., Dunbar, E., Hajdas, I., Reimer, P., Pollard, J., Sharples,  N. & Marshall, P. 2020. Tempo of a Mega-henge: A new chronology for Mount Pleasant,  Dorchester, Dorset. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 86, 199-236

Leary, J., Field, D. & Campbell, G. 2013. (eds) Silbury Hill: the largest prehistoric mound in Europe.  Swindon: English Heritage

Leivers, M. & Powell, A.B. (eds) 2016. A Research Framework for the Stonehenge, Avebury and  Associated Sites World Heritage Site. Avebury Resource Assessment. Salisbury: Wessex  Archaeology

Linford, N., Linford, P., Payne, A. & Greaney, S. 2017. Stanton Drew Stone Circles and Avenues, Bath  and North East Somerset Report on Geophysical Surveys, July 2017. Portsmouth: Historic  England Research Report Series 79-2017

LwMP 2019. West Kennet Palisades, Avebury, Summer 2019: a Written Scheme of Investigation.  Southampton, Bournemouth and Avebury: Living with Monuments Project

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Noble, G., Greig, M. & Millican, K. 2011. Excavations at a multi-period site at Greenbogs,  Aberdeenshire, Scotland and the four-post timber architecture tradition of late Neolithic  Britain and Ireland. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 78, 135–71

Olalde, I., Brace, S, Allentoft, M.E., 141 others, & Reich, D. 2019. The Beaker phenomenon and the  genomic transformation of northwest Europe. Nature 555, 190–6

Parker Pearson, M., Chamberlain, A., Jay, M., Marshall, P., Pollard, J., Richards, C., Thomas, J., Tilley,  C. and Welham, K. 2009. Who was buried at Stonehenge? Antiquity 83, 23–39 Parker Pearson, M., Sheridan, A., Jay, M., Chamberlain, A., Richards, M.P. & Evans, J. 2019. The  Beaker People: isotopes, mobility and diet in Prehistoric Britain. Oxford: Oxbow  Books/Prehistoric Society Research Paper 7

Pitts, M. 2001. Excavating the Sanctuary: new investigations on Overton Hill, Avebury. Wiltshire  Archaeological & Natural History Magazine 94, 1-23

Pollard, J. 1992. The Sanctuary, Overton Hill, Wiltshire: a re-examination. Proceedings of the  Prehistoric Society 58, 213-26

Pollard, J. 2009. The materialization of religious structures in the time of Stonehenge. Material  Religion 5.3, 332-53

Pollard, J., Gillings, M., Chan, B., Cleal, R., French, C., Allen, M., Banfield, E., Pike, A., De Carle, D., Eve, S., Rowland, J., Thompson, J., Clifton, B. & Snashall, N. 2020. West Kennet Palisades, Avebury:  an interim report on the Summer 2019 excavations. Unpublished interim report, Living with  Monuments Project

Smith, I.F. 1965. Windmill Hill and Avebury: excavations by Alexander Keiller 1925-1939. Oxford:  Clarendon Press.  

Thomas, J. 2007. The internal features at Durrington Walls: investigations in the Southern Circle and  Western Enclosures 2005-6. In M. Larsen & M. Parker Pearson (eds), From Stonehenge to the  Baltic: living with cultural diversity in the Third Millennium BC, 145-58. Oxford: British  Archaeological Reports

Thomas, J. 2010. The Return of the Rinyo-Clacton Folk? The cultural significance of the Grooved  Ware Complex in Later Neolithic Britain. Cambridge Archaeological Journal 20(1), 1-15 Wainwright, G.J. & Longworth, I.H. 1971. Durrington Walls: excavations 1966-1968. London: Society  of Antiquaries of London

Whittle, A. 1997. Sacred Mound, Holy Rings. Silbury Hill and the West Kennet palisade enclosures: a  later Neolithic complex in north Wiltshire. Oxford: Oxbow Books

8. Authorship

Joshua Pollard, Mark Gillings and Ben Chan, with Ros Cleal, Charly French, Mike Allen, Jim Rylatt,  Emily Banfield, Dani De Carle, Stuart Eve, Jess Thompson, Briony Clifton and Nick Snashall

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9. Contacts

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Appendix 1 Detailed methodology statement from WSI (Pollard & Gillings 2021)

Fieldwork methods 

Excavation will be undertaken by hand. Trench edges will be stepped where necessary, and certainly  where any deposit depth exceeds 1.2m.

Excavated spoil will be stored on site in trench-specific spoil heaps. On completion of the work, the  trenches will be backfilled by machine (a JCB or equivalent) and turf replaced by hand. Bare patches  will be re-seeded with a suitable mix as agreed with the farmer. The investigated areas are within  fenced fields, but additional fencing may be erected around trenches if deemed necessary on safety  grounds (e.g. depth of excavation). We will work closely with the farmer to ensure the site is suitably  reinstated after excavation.

Archaeological features within the trenches will be excavated as appropriate to enable their date,  character, extent and condition to be properly assessed. Archaeological contexts will be investigated  in order to understand the full stratigraphic sequence, down to the naturally occurring deposits. Care  will be taken to extract maximum information from minimal intervention. Contexts will be planned  and sampled according to the following sampling strategies:

• All features and pre-colluvial layers will be hand-excavated with sieving of spoil through a  10mm mesh.  

• Pits, postholes and other isolated features will normally be half-sectioned to determine and  record their form prior to total excavation. Some may be excavated in plan where it would  benefit understanding of artefactual and faunal deposits contained within them.

• The progress of excavation will be appraised and modified as necessary through consultation  with the archaeology section of Wiltshire County Council.

Recognising that any ploughsoil artefact scatters constitute a critically important part of the record,  all topsoil/ploughsoil will be excavated in metre squares and sieved through a 10mm mesh in order to maximise artefact recovery.

The generated spoil will be monitored in order to recover artefacts. This will include systematic  sweeping with a metal detector by an experienced user. Metal detecting and hand cleaning of the  stripped surfaces will be undertaken, to better define any identified archaeological deposits/features  and record the distribution of unstratified/surface artefacts.

A full written, drawn and photographic record will be maintained. Recording will follow a modified  version of the Museum of London (MoLAS) single context system; though adherence to single context  planning is not deemed necessary for this particular work. Excavated stratigraphic entities (e.g. a cut,  layer or fill) are to be recorded as individual contexts, numbered sequentially ([001] onwards).  Interrelated stratigraphic units (e.g. a pit and its fill) are to be assigned feature numbers (F.1 onwards).  Drawn sections will be made at 1:10, feature and deposit plans at 1:20. Complex deposits and burials  will be drawn at 1:5. A full photographic record will be maintained using a high resolution digital  format. All finds are to be bagged according to context, with details of feature, context and finds  number (sequentially numbered <001> onwards) recorded on the bag. The same procedure will apply  to environmental samples (bulk samples for plant macrofossils, smaller bagged soil samples for MS/P,  molluscan and pollen analyses) where it is deemed deposits appropriate for sampling exist. A register  of finds and samples will be retained.

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The position of each trench will be recorded using survey-grade DGPS, and will be incorporated into  the Project GIS.

Finds collection and deposition policy 

All artefactual material of pre-modern date will be retained. The exception is provided by unworked  burnt flint, which will be counted and weighed prior to disposal. Mass-produced materials such as  pressed tin plate, plastics, and ‘universal’ building materials such as brick and metamorphic roof slate,  will not be retained, but the presence of these materials will be recorded in writing, noting their  frequency of occurrence. Retained artefacts will be cleaned, catalogued and bagged / boxed in  accordance with the Conditions of Acceptance of the Alexander Keiller Museum and the United  Kingdom Institute of Conservation (UKIC). After cataloguing and quantification, the finds assemblages  will be examined by appropriate specialists.

Conservation, if required, will be undertaken by approved conservators. The UKIC guidelines will  apply. As a guiding principle, only artefacts of displayable quality would warrant full conservation, and  conservation costs will be included as a contingency.

Both finds and archive will be deposited within the Alexander Keiller Museum, Avebury.

Environmental sampling policy 

On-site sampling methods will follow the English Heritage Guidelines for Environmental Archaeology (2011). Where buried soils and/or features are present, standard 40 litre samples will be taken for  flotation and the recovery of plant macrofossils. Flotation samples will be mechanically processed during the excavation at a facility close to the site, providing the opportunity for rapid assessment and  

feedback, and allowing additional samples to be recovered where appropriate. Flot will be collected  on a 0.25mm mesh and residues on a 0.5mm mesh. Dried residues will be sieved through stacks of  2mm and 4mm sieves, and will be sorted under supervision for environmental remains and small finds.  Flotation samples will be stored in sealable plastic tubs with context and sample numbers recorded  on plastic tags, one tied to the tub and a duplicate inserted inside. It is anticipated that all samples will  be floated over the duration of the excavation, but any remaining unprocessed will be temporarily  stored in suitable conditions at the University of Southampton, where they will be processed within  two months of the end of the excavation.

Where appropriate, small bulk samples will be taken for multi-element analysis (ICP-AES) and  magnetic susceptibility. Where deemed appropriate, contiguous, close-interval bulk samples will be  taken for molluscan analysis in conjunction with samples of undisturbed soils/sediments as Kubiena  samples (for soil micromorphology) and monolith samples (for geoarchaeology and subsampling for  pollen -- and potentially diatom -- analysis. The position of these samples will be recorded on section  drawings.

Environmental material removed from site will be stored in appropriate controlled environments prior  to analysis.

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