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The Archaeology of South West England

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The Archaeology of South West England The Archaeology of South West England South West Archaeological Research Framework Resource Assessment and Research Agenda Edited by C J Webster Somerset County Council 2008 South West Archaeological Research Framework The Archaeology of South West England Resource Assessment and Research Agenda Published by Somerset Heritage Service Somerset County Council, County Hall, Taunton, TA1 4DY © Somerset County Council, 2008 ISBN-13: 978-0-86183-392-4 ISBN-10: 0-86183-392-9 Front Cover: Aerial view north-east across the Quantock Hills, with the Trendle in the foreground and Hinckley Point nuclear power station beyond. Photograph © English Heritage. NMR. Back Cover: Excavation at the end of Stukeley’s, often disbelieved, Beckhampton Avenue in 2000. Photograph © M Gillings, J Pollard and D Wheatley. Typeset by the editor using LATEX. The Archaeology of South West England Contents ListofFigures ...................................... .......... xi ListofTables....................................... .......... xiii Foreword ........................................... ....... xiv Preface............................................ ........ xiv ContributorstotheProject . ............. xv Acknowledgements................................... .......... xvii Summary............................................ xviii Résumé ............................................. ...... xix Zusammenfassung.................................... .......... xx AbbreviationsandGlossary . ............. xxi Noteonradiocarbondates. ............ xxii 1 Introduction to the Project and the Region. Chris Webster with a contribution from David Dawson 1 1.1 IntroductiontotheProject. ................. 1 1.2 IntroductiontotheRegion . ................ 3 1.2.1 GeologyoftheSouthWest . .......... 3 1.2.2 LandscapeCharacter . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ........... 3 1.2.3 History of Regional Government in the SouthWest . ................. 4 1.2.4 HistoricEnvironmentDesignations . ................ 7 1.2.5 HistoricEnvironmentRecords . .............. 15 1.2.6 Planning-relatedArchaeology. ................ 18 1.2.7 Museums....................................... ....... 20 2 Palaeolithic and Mesolithic. Robert Hosfield, Vanessa Straker and Paula Gardiner with contributions from Anthony Brown, Paul Davies, Ralph Fyfe, Julie Jones and Heather Tinsley 23 2.1 Introduction.................................... ............. 23 2.2 Chronology ...................................... ........... 23 2.3 ThePalaeolithicEnvironment . ................. 27 2.4 Lower and Middle Palaeolithic Archaeology (c.700,000–40,000 BP)................... 30 2.4.1 Summary....................................... ....... 30 2.4.2 TheSouthWestResource . .......... 31 2.5 Upper Palaeolithic Archaeology (c.40–10,000 BP) ............................ 35 2.5.1 Summary....................................... ....... 35 2.5.2 TheSouthWestResource . .......... 37 2.6 TheMesolithicEnvironment . ................ 40 2.7 Mesolithic Archaeology (c.10–6000 BP).................................. 48 2.7.1 Introduction .................................. .......... 48 2.7.2 TheSouthWestResource . .......... 49 2.7.3 Discussion .................................... ......... 59 2.8 Summary......................................... .......... 59 2.9 Radiocarbondates ................................ ............. 60 v The Archaeology of South West England 3 Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Environmental Background. Keith Wilkinson and Vanessa Straker 63 3.1 Introduction.................................... ............. 63 3.2 Vegetation ...................................... ............ 65 3.3 Areareviews..................................... ............ 66 3.3.1 Chalkdownland(WiltshireandDorset) . ................ 66 3.3.2 Jurassicuplands(TheCotswoldsandMendip) . ................. 68 3.3.3 Moorland(BodminMoor,DartmoorandExmoor) . ............... 69 3.3.4 Triassic and Devonian hills and valleys (south Somerset,DevonandCornwall) . 70 3.3.5 Coastal lowlands (Somerset, Severn and Avon levels) . .................... 70 3.3.6 IslesofScilly ................................. ........... 72 3.4 Conclusions ..................................... ............ 72 3.4.1 The “wildwood” and human impact on it prior to the Neolithic ............... 72 3.4.2 Woodland clearance in the earliest Neolithic . ................... 72 3.4.3 Upland and lowland environments in the Early Neolithic.................... 73 3.4.4 Regional environment divisions in the Later Neolithic..................... 73 3.4.5 LandscapechangeintheEarlyBronzeAge . ............... 73 4 Neolithic and Early Bronze Age. Edited by Joshua Pollard and Frances Healy from contributions by Frances Griffith, Frances Healy, Andy Jones, Andrew J. Lawson, Jodie Lewis, Roger Mercer, David Mullin, Jacque- line Nowakowski, Joshua Pollard, Helen Wickstead and Peter Woodward 75 4.1 Introduction.................................... ............. 75 4.2 Chronologies .................................... ............ 75 4.2.1 TheMesolithic–Neolithictransition . .................. 75 4.2.2 Chronology in the established Neolithic and Early BronzeAge ................ 76 4.3 Landscape ....................................... ........... 78 4.3.1 Theimpactofagriculture . ............. 78 4.3.2 Character of activity in relation to topography and “landscapezones” . 78 4.3.3 The appropriation of natural topographic features . ..................... 78 4.3.4 Thelandscapecontextofmonuments . .............. 79 4.3.5 Theperceptionanddefinitionofplace. ................ 80 4.3.6 Settlement.................................... ......... 80 4.4 TheMaterialWorld................................ ............. 83 4.4.1 Materialculture ............................... ........... 83 4.4.2 Material extractionand artefact production . .................... 85 4.4.3 Art ........................................... ...... 87 4.4.4 Subsistence................................... .......... 88 4.4.5 Transport..................................... ......... 91 4.5 Sociallife...................................... ............. 92 4.5.1 Socialrelations............................... ............ 92 4.5.2 Monumentality................................. .......... 94 4.5.3 MortuaryPractices ............................. ...........100 4.6 Radiocarbondates ................................ .............102 5 Later Bronze Age and Iron Age Environmental Background. Vanessa Straker, Anthony Brown, Ralph Fyfe, Julie Jones and Keith Wilkinson 103 5.1 Introduction.................................... .............103 5.2 Soils ........................................... ..........104 5.3 Scientificdating ................................. ..............104 5.4 Climate,sealevelandrivers . .................104 5.5 Areareviews..................................... ............105 5.5.1 Chalk downland, heaths(WiltshireandDorset) . ..................105 5.5.2 Jurassicuplands(CotswoldsandMendip) . .................107 5.5.3 Upper Thames valley, Gloucestershire (and Wiltshire).....................107 5.5.4 Coastal lowlands (Somerset, Severn and Avon Levels) . ....................108 5.5.5 Triassic and Devonian hills and valleys (south Somerset,DevonandCornwall) . 110 5.5.6 Moorland (Isles of Scilly and west Cornwall, Bodmin, Carnmenellis, St Austell area, Dart- moorandExmoor) ..................................... 111 vi The Archaeology of South West England 5.6 Discussion...................................... ............114 5.7 Radiocarbondates ................................ .............116 6 Later Bronze Age and Iron Age. Edited by Andrew Fitzpatrick from contributions by Richard Brunning, Andrew Fitzpatrick, Charlie Johns, Steve Minnitt, Tom Moore and David Mullin 117 6.1 Middle Bronze Age (1500–1000 BC ) ...................................117 6.1.1 Chronology .................................... ........117 6.1.2 Landscape ..................................... ........117 6.1.3 MaterialCulture............................... ...........121 6.1.4 Farming ....................................... .......123 6.1.5 MortuaryPractices ............................. ...........124 6.2 Late Bronze Age 1000–c.700 BC ......................................125 6.2.1 Chronology .................................... ........125 6.2.2 Landscape ..................................... ........125 6.2.3 Settlement.................................... .........125 6.2.4 Burials ....................................... ........126 6.2.5 Thematerialworld .............................. ..........126 6.3 The Iron Age (c.700 BC–AD 43)......................................127 6.3.1 Chronology .................................... ........127 6.3.2 Settlements ................................... .........129 6.3.3 TheMaterialWorld.............................. ..........140 6.3.4 SocialLife .................................... .........142 6.4 Radiocarbondates ................................ .............144 7 Romano-British Environmental Background. Vanessa Straker, Anthony Brown, Ralph Fyfe and Julie Jones 145 7.1 Introduction.................................... .............145 7.2 Areareviews..................................... ............145 7.2.1 Chalk downland, heaths(Wiltshireand Dorset) . ..................145 7.2.2 Jurassic and Carboniferous uplands (Cotswolds and Mendip) .................146 7.2.3 UpperThamesvalley ............................. ..........146 7.2.4 Coastal lowlands (Somerset, Severn and Avon Levels) . ....................147 7.2.5 Triassic and Devonian hills and valleys
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