119090 FIFTHFIFTH l (b) MEDI.tEVAL HORIZON. Avera~(' depth below surface, 3' to 3' 8". Content:.;, pottery and PercPercyy SladenSladen MemorialMemorial FundFund ExExcavationscav at ions iron artefacts; faun a , all the ~ vci c s of the layer with the possible aatt RoRowberroww berrow CaCavern,v ern, 11925.9 2 5. exception of wolf. Parts of at le ast three large v(!s~ds were found. One (Fig. 1, BmB"ET NGb THTHEE FIFTHFIFTH RREEPORT PORT ONON THETHE CCA \ \VE. E. No.1) was about 1O~ inches in diameter at the rim, which was broad, fiat, and everted ; the vessel was hand-made, but fll1ished on the ByBy HEH EI (a)(a) i'vlO])ERMODER NN DEPOSIT.DEPOSIT. Thickness,Thickness, 33 ffeeeet.t. ContConteentntss, , ssoommee latelat pputlcry;ot tery ; bonesbones chi chieeflyfly 2 ofof dome:;ticdOffi(:stic fowl,fowl, shesheeepp aandnd goat.goat. FIG. 1, 190 FIFTH l (b)(b ) MEDI£VALIVIEDl£v AL HORIZONH OR IZON . . AveragAveragee depthdepth bebelowlow surface,surface. 3'3' toto 3'3' 8".8". Contents,Con ten ts, potterypottery andand Percy Sladen Memorial Fund Excavations ironiron artefacts;artefacts ; fauna fauna. , aallll thethe cp,pc('cies'cies ofof ththee layerlayer wwithith thethe possiblepossible at Rowberrow Cavern, 1925. exceptionexception ofof wolf.wolf. PartsParts o off atat kastl"'o.s t thrthreeee llaarrgege vessevessellss wewerree found.found. OneOne ( (FigFig.. I,I, RETNG THE FIFTH R EPORT ON THE CAVE. No.No . I)I) waswas aboaboutut 1010ii inchesinches inin diameterdiameter atat thethe rimrim ,, whichwhich waswas broad,broad, flat,flat , andand everivQ;evert(' o ; the the vesse vess l1 waswas hand-made,hand-made, butbut finishedfinished onon thethe By H E RBERT TAYLOR, M.B., M.r<.C.5. wheel.wheel. ThThee wareware isis thinthin andand hard,hard, darkdark brownbrown inin colourcolour andand sandysandy inin texturtexture.e . ItIt maymay bE'be asa latelate asas thethe XIIXIIIthIth r(!ltury.c('ntury, butbut inin thethe prpre sensentt Thanks to the generosi ty of the trustees of t he Percy Siaden stastatete ofof ourour knowledgeknowledge ofof ththee pottpotteerryy ooff thethe DarkDark AgesAges maymay equallyequall y Memo rial F und we have he",n ablt: 1"0 employ labour for the cxcavar.ion wellwell bebe muchmuch eaearlirlier.er . TheThe basebase ofof thisth is vessevessell maymay bebe rrecoeconstrunstructedcted of Rowberrow C:wern. and satisfactory progress b;J.s ueen ml de. fromfrom a frfragmagmeenntt ofof anotheranother,, very simisimillaarr inin matmateeririaall andand inin size,size, butbut ofof Practi cally all the remainder of the first two layers of the deposit aa r reddeddiishsh colourcolour eexternallyxtern ally (Fig. (Fig. II ,, NoNo.2).. 2). SheSherdrdss of of anan exceedingexceedingllyy h :1,; been removed; their combined th ickness varied from 3 .~ to 5 feet. The platform at the mou th of the cave has been cleared, in part, down to the same horizon, a depth of 9 fCd . A trial pit 12 feet by 18 fC'et in diameter at the mouth has be~ n begun. and lias reached a dc-pth of 10 feet over a small area. It is esl imated that abou t 220 tons of 111 a tcrial ha ye been removed and so rted, of wh ich 200 were derived from the first two layers. The deposi t in the inner or sOUlhern half of the cave appea red to be undisturbed, doubtless because too damp to attract burrowing animals; the deeper strata. even in tile entranc E' are rarely disturbed, owing to the fl oor of stalagmite abol/\:" them. COIl;;cqucntly it is possible for the first time to d e~ l with the finds in stratigraphical order. It is to be noted that some of the mai..: riul mentioned awaits expert scrutiny. Ir f general view of the cave is given in Plate XIIL\, and :l longi I: Ir (( tudimtl section of the excavations, Plate XIV, at the end of the I, II article. II f, I, II I, 1. THE FH6T CLAY AN D STONE LAYER. ------," II II II II In th(, sOll tlll'rn hall of the outer chamber the usual thickn ess fI II of this layer was 4 it d. It was lluite uniform in appearance, no fI II II hearths bein g recogni,,; : hie; but three horizons ,::,1 be distinguished II 4 II by the cont.:inc:d artcb r ts: Modern, :lll!dia::val, and Romano-British. f I intLTI !)l ~H f I f , The fauna :'PP,':lred to be the same at all depths ; to the lists given', ,,f I I I two sprcies have uccn added: Hare (L epits t1:mid!ts). and? Wolf I I (Canis luPu.s) , the latter from the fourth foot. (a) 'MODERN DEPOSIT. :2 Thickness, 3 feet. Con tents, some late pott ~ ry; bones chiefly of domestic fowl, sheep and goat. FIG.FIG. 1.1. 191922 FIfTHFII'TH HHE"PORTPORT 0:"1O~ ROWBERROwROWBERIWW ((, \: \" ERRNN n, FIFTH REPORT 0 '\ nOWRE RROW CA\' I::: H:\ 193 hardhard wareware,, varyvaryiningg inin cocolourlour fromfrom lilightght ssilvil vee rryy-~-grrl'eyy toto bblack,lack, andand This deposi t, like the modern and probably the media! \'al, ·wou ld cocontaininntainingg smallsmall whitwhitee )"gral1ulranul ess (?(I quaquarrtzit1.zit t:), , :.LaITr c f faairlyirly nnumumeerous;rous; appt";u to cover a long period (I or II to (·;:trly IV cenim)" A.D.), if on("ont' ofof ththee v vee sse1l-s \\"Wa:b, vveerry' llarar Cfg e,-,-ppeerhrhaappss 2020 ininrrht:Sht:S inin didi:lmeter,ameter, we may accept the evidence of tbe PlJ U cry. A. con :s iderabl<: n um ber -- aandnd ppossosse s's("ded l luuggss riri.-sinin g frfromom aa ,.shhaarprp ananglglee (F(Figig.. I I,, NoNo.3)., 3). SomeSome of sherds han' been found, representing a l)CJut twenty vessels, but ssimilarimilar mamat.t >~rialrjal ii s CO"ovet~r·dr e d eexxtt ernrnRalllly- bbyy aa ssliplip,, liligghtht greygrey oror buffbuff inin none ~l r " sufficielltly complete to permit of reconstruction. Descrip cocolour.lour. ThThee ddaat·te isis pprobablyrubably ththee XIIthXIIth oror _XlIIth' lIlt 1 cencenturytury AA.D..D . tion of the series is therefore postponed in the hope of further dis .An \ n ironiron bladbladee ofof triantrianggularular sectionsection (F(Fig.ig, 22,, KNo .. 1 J)) iiss defidefiniinit.Jelyy L:ove rit.!s. MMcdedii~a:vv aal.l , aass wwasas ththee llaancence-h-h eaadd figfigurur edd prpreevviousiou sJy~li;; aa poinlpoini edd rrodod A bronze or copper coin, one half of ,:mother, and fou r smaUer ooff cciirrccuullaarr ssectionection cancannotnot bbee dalt;d,dated, butbu tw waSas fofonnnndd aatt ththee samesame horizonhorizon ITflgments ha Vt' been found; though not icil; ni ifi cd, they art similar inin ththe· depdepositosit ooutsideutside thethe cavecave (Fi(Fiug.. 22,, NoNo.2. 2).). to tht' Tetricus group of earlier reports (A .D. 268 to 273, but current AA fragmentfragment ofof ggllassass fromfrom thethe rrurvurvcdcu rJ(n(;c; kk ofof aa y,"eesse 'sel I cocomplmpleetteess also in the ,·:"\fly part of the IVth century). Three smaU bent frag tthhee lilistst ofof arartefacts.tefacts. ments of copper or bronze, one alrnvst a cylindrical bead in form, 2 (c)(e) RRmlt\No-BIl.ITISHmI.\NO-BRITlSH HHORIORIZON.ZON. respm ble those described before ; they a re not distorteu coins; Depth bbelowelow pr C!ss entt surfacecL·,, 33'' 6" ttoo 4' thvir purpose is unkno\\·n. A bronze or copper point of ~LJua[l, s"ction (Fig. 2, No.5), may belong to this horizon or to th" Black Band. A fragment of lead in the form of a ridged strip, bent double long) tudinaUy, is also p uzzlin g; it was thought to hL' solder, but con[ ,lins no tin (Fig. 2, No.4). A considerable number of flint implemen ts were found. This was unexpected. Armstrong" has n·cvrned tilt" common occurrUlC, · of ~;;oM0*w1. a~_ worked flints in an Early Iron Age site of Hallstatt culture at Grim. ·,,' Graves; those contemporary with the o;i le \Vere "su·C'V cbipp, ·n scrapers, recalling certain Aurignacian fO!"llb; round and sqllare ended scrapers, a prismatic tool., a chopper and two piercers "; the\· had a distinctive facies, " lacking the fin e finish and secondary trimming of the older industries, and were, ext:t'pt where burnt or maJ,~ tro;n old Grimes' Graves fl ;!l No, . ! ~~~. rlUTds '''J..... n,( "J< I No 6, OM th,~cl. . 4. Prominence of the bulbs of percu~sion. 5. Almost complete absence of pa tination. FIG.FIG. 2.2. 1 and 2 perhaps sign ify only scarcity of flint. 192 nf."TH HE PORT ON RO\YBERROW CA\ ' £ R:-i FIFTFIFTHH REPORTREPORT ON0 1\ HOWBERROWHOW ;ERl( m\' CAVERNCAVERi'! 193193 hard ware, vary ing in colour from light silvery-grey to black, and ThiThiss deposdepositit,, likli kee thethe modern andand probablyrobably Lthe'he' mme: ·didi ;:evace val,l, would containing small whitl: granule:; (? qua rLl. ite), a I',' fairly numerous; appearappear toto covercover aa llonongg ' periodperiod (lor(I or IIII 1.01 ( (''a;Ird)lyT IVIV cce .ntury AA.l.D.), .), ifif one of the vessels W (J..', very large,- pcrha p~ 20 inches in Jiameter, we may acceptt ththe e·videnvidence: (; ofof thrbee pulpuu.l<; ·ry.ry. A considconsic..lerabrablle· number - and possessed lugs rising from a sharp angle (Fig. I , No.3). Some of sherdssherds hhaveave bbee enn found,found, reprre prese 's'ntitinngg aabl)o utut twtwentyenty vVt.:!(!5. s:d,;,ds, but similar mat<: rial is cow n;d externally by a slip, light 1::rey or buff in none areare suffisufficcientliently . completecomplete toto permit ooff nre;cconstonstructiruction.n . D (;·s 'crcripip colour. Th(; da te is probably the XTIth or XIIIth century A.D. hontion ofof thethe seseriesries isis th,thl'rdore'rdore postppo~tronedoned inin ththe hophopee ofof funfurthhner dis An iron blade of triangular section (Fig. 2, No. 1) is definitely covenecoveriess.. Medi;;eval , as "'as the lance-head fi gLlrl·d pr e viou sly ~ ; a pointed rod A bronze or copcopperper coicoinn,, oneone h a.alflf of anoan ttllllw.'rr,, and fofourur smallerr of circular section cannot be dated, but was fOlm d at the same horizon IragmI ragmenents ts havhavee been f ououndnd;; thoug!!hh n ott iic..ld e' n tifielifi ~dd,, th(e~ y arpe s imilarimilar in the deposit outside the cave (fig. 2, No. 2). to thethe TetricuTetricuss group ofof earlicarli(e'r reportsport. (A (A.D.D.. 268 toto 2273,73, but CcUfumk 'nt A fragment of glass from the curv,·d neck of it vessel completes alsoalso in ththee eaearlyrly partpart of the IIVthVth c(,Dt(·niuurryy).). ThrThrl"l:n ; smmaallll beentnt fragag the li st of artefacts. ments of coppe r oror bronze,bronze, one almosal most a;.J. cycylindrlindricalical bbeadead in form, 2 (e) ROi\1ANo-BmnsH Homzol'i. resembleresemble tho se ddescribedescribed beforebefore ; ththey are noott distortedc..l coinsco ins; ; Depth below present surface: , 3' 6" to 4' theirtheir purpose is unkunknown.nO\vn. A hronzebronzl: oror coppercopper puint of c;~quarc'qua[(' s,~ctions('(;tion (Fig.ig. 2,2, NoNo.. 5), may bbdongelong to thisthis horizon or to the BlackBlack Band.Bn.nd. A fragmfragmentent of lead in the form of a r idgl'dged strip,. lrip, bent double longng i tudiu:\tudill:llllly,y, iiss also puzpuzzling;zling; it was thought to be solder, but con tatainsins no tin (Figg.. 2,2, No. 4).). A conconsidesiderablrablee numbnumberer of flint implemimplemententss were found. This 3 was uneunexpected.xpected. Armstrong has n 'co( ordedrded 1 h"hc ' cocommonmmon occurrenceoccurrence of workedworked flintflintss in an EarlyEarly Iron A~,A;":t:~ sil';;i .. , · of HallstHallstaatttt cculultureture at GrimGrimes'es' Graves; thot hosese contcontemporaryemporary with the ssiteite werewere "Sl,",,,Pt:p chippch ipp"d"d scrapers,scrapers, rrecaecallinllingg certaincertain AurignacianAurignacian fll:mf(l:ms;s ; roundround and sq uare eendednded scrapscraperrs,s, a prismatic tool,tool, a cdJonperhooper and two piercerspiercers "; they had a distinctivedistinctive facies,facies, " lackinglacking thth(e'' fmefine rinitinishsh and sesecoconcl:irync\ a ry trintri r: i!l;ning of the olldderer induindustritstri ('!=',:s, and ,,·,'re.v,: 're , except whewh erree burnt or madmad. .. ; ffromrom old GrimesGrimes'' GravGra veses flakes, quitequi te blblaackck and ununpatipatimn:t t r~.c:d."" ThisThis wowouuldld aalmostlmost descscriberibe the RoRowbwbeerrrrowow seeries, which,which, howev e'r,r, occur in the Romano-British, not in the Iron Age deposit.deposit. The factfa ct thatthat thetherere are no local supplil'suppli,' .s.; ooff the rraaw.v matmater-'rialial rrendendersers an extensive ~ ' ,Mq~ \yi:,::~ uslise of flint at so latea te a dadatete yeyett more remarkable.remarkable. S' Individualliduallyy,, any specispecimmeenn might be matchedmatched in a collectillectionon from llocalocal round barrows ooff ththee BrBronzeonze AAgege,, oorr frfromom ththee surface; collec titivelvely,y, thethe serieriess isis distdistinguishedinguished bby:y : I1.. A majority of cchancehance forms.forms. Every scrrapap ooff flint hhasas been utiliutilized,zed, and allmomostst every edge iis worn.worn. 22.. Utili:0ationUtilization of olldderer implimplemements, often as sucsuch,h, bbutut some-some timtimeses rremodemodellelled,ed, somsometimestimes simplysimply as rawrav\! mrlWl! tte 'rial.l. 3. Ruder workmanshworkmanshipip ;; much batbatterintering,g, no elaborateelaborate flaking.flaking. NOl . t to 5' two. f/uYds ,,~I -~c.L SIJ<, No . 6, O'll th'~ Fig.Fig. 3, 3, AA,, iiss an an oldld implementimplemen t slightlyslightly rremodeemodelJlled.ed. ItIt isis a only use to which this implement could be put ; the sharp edge is triangulartriangular plateplate of of flintflint covcoveredred forfor thethe mostmost part part by a densedense whitewhite quite unworn. patinapatina ;; the the roundround ed " pointint "" hashas hb t:e n retrimm retrimmed andand a small small fracfrac L is the end of a knife with chipped back ; this type p,' r"ists [rom tureture mademade inin on e off ththe eedd ge'.s att a much latlaterer dat date,e, fforr ththe ssurfacesurfaces Pleistocene times, and parallels can be found from Aveline's Hole soso tXt xppooss edared are unaJtlunaltl''rul.rcd. Originally Originally itit maymay havehave beeneen a tranchettranchet and from local round barrows. withwith an ededge a tt XXX.XXX. TheThe chipping chipping at Y isis obviouslyobviously notnot intendedintended Man y of the implements found in the disturbed area of the cave toto tram;iurmtransform itit intointo a scraper,scraper, neilherilher coucoulc!lct itit bebe for use use as a piercer.pierccr. must belong to this sE.ries, e.g. Nos. 17 , 19, 20, 73 and 87 , of thos" C, D,, F , G,, MlVI ,, are are bladesblades showing extensiveextensive wear. D bbearsears fi gured. 2 a little secondarysecondary ch chippinipping;g; F hashas thethe point asas wellwell as ththe sidessides much A human radius and fibula, botli in complete, were found. Thq damageddamaged inin use.use . belong to an adult, possibly to the same individual as the crania l fragrnents and teeth alrea II. THE BLACK B !\ ~D, This La Tene cuJtural deposit was found genera ll y at a depth of about 4 feet, except where projecting bosses or shelves of the Cemented Floor cau<: ,;d it to lie nearer the surface. In thickness it was about 3" in the ,:out hcrn half of the Outer Chamber, but two feet or more in the Inner. r pon a relatin ;ly thin layer of the Black Band \'.',' found the spoil of the sha.1lo',\' pit dug apparen tly to serve as Z~ furnac,! or ash-pit. The La TelJe layer passed above anJ belo\-v the spoil heJp, the contents of which \y ill be described with tIle next layer, to which they belong for th l; most part. Towards the inner ( ~ o uth e m ) end of the chaTll ber the Black Band became soml ' \ \ ' h~t peaty in character and contained bracken fronds still rl:adil y recognisable. The fauna was the same 3.S that of the preccect ing layer, man, goat , roe-deer, poleca t, cat, an d 1.l ank vole excepted ; bones of pig, sheep, horse, and badger were the most numerous. The sole portion of the hoof of a very small horse has been preserved, th anks to the peaty character of the (kposit. No flin t artefacts were found. Pottery was scarce in the area excavated; the few sherds found T wwoo--ththirdirdss AcActuatuall SSizizee.. were of La Tene type. A detailed account is postponed in the hope FIG,3.FIG. 3. of further discoveries in the middl' n areas, but it may be mentioned K isis aa ccombinedombined sside-andide- and ststeeeep eend-scrapernd-scraper oonn aa sshorthort flflakeake ;; that no decorated ware is pre'sent with the exception of a fragment E iiss aa thuthumb-scrapmb-scrapeerr cchipphippeed aalmostlmost vvertierticac:l Ull?? aaroround thrth[(n''l' parpartsts showing a projectin g rib with the fin ger-tip depressions characteristic ooff ththee ccircumference,ircumferen ce, aandnd J iiss aa frfragagmement ofof ananother.other. B isis verryy of the E arly Iron Age and end of the Bronze Age. There is no trace intinteresting;eresting; itit mimightght bbee cacalledll ed a p pseseududo-burino-burin.. ItIt iiss aa kekeeledeled flflak ake;e; of the curvilinear technique such as we fi nd in the Lake Villages of aatt thethe nnarrowerarrower eendnd ononee eedgedge hashas bbeenee n chippchippeded iinn sucsuchh aa wawayy asas ttoo Somerset , at Wookey Hole, Read 's Cavern, etc. This may indicate ggivivee ththee aappearanceppearance ofof aa ggraver.raver. SScratcbingcratching oorr ggravingravin g isis aaboutbout tthehe a cultural difference, e.g. an earlier period, or an affin ity wi th the North 194 FIFTH REPORT ON ROWBERROW CAVERN FIFTHFIFTH REPORTREPORT ONON ROWBROWllEER f< I,OWJW W C!CWEJ(!\.\ \'EHK 195195 Fig. 3, A. is an old implement slightly remodelled. It is a onlyonly useuse toto whichwhich thisthis implementimplement couldcould bebe put;put; thethe sharpsharp edgeedge isis triangular plate of flint covpred for tile most part by a dense white quitequite unworn.un 'worn. patina; the rounded" point " has been retrimmed and a small frac LL isis thethe endend ofof aa knifeknife withwith chippedchipped back;back; thisthis typetype persistpersis1s fromfrom ture made in one of t!J\.: etig(';s at a much later date, for the sllliaces PleistocenePJeistocelle times,times, andand parallelsparallels cancan bebe foundfound fromfrom A\A \''elelinine,'s 's HoleHole so l xposed are unalt. t.; red. Originally it may have been a tranchet andand fromfrom loclocalal roundround barrows.barrows . with an edge at XXX. The chipping at Y is obviously not intended Many:Many ofof ththee implimplet:mmeenntsts foundfound inin thethe disturbedd isturbed areaarea ofof ththee cavecave to transform it into a scraper, neither could it be for use as a piercer. mustmust belongbelong toto ththisis s.or iesies,, e.g.e.g. Nos.Nos. 1717,, 1919,, 20,20, 7373 andand 87,87 , ofof thothos"s ' 2 ~ , D, F, G, M, are bb.d(·s sho\oving extensive wear. D bears figured.figured. 2 a little secondary chippin g; F has the point as well as the sides much AA humanhuman rradadiusius andand fibula,fibula, bothboth inincompcomplletetee,, wweerere founfoun d.d . TheyThl! Y damaged in use. belongbelong toto anan aduadult,lt, popos s. ibliblyy toto ththe sasameme illdiilldividuviduala] ~iSas ththee crcrananialial frfragmagmeentsnts and;lnd teethteeth aalreadylready rrececo nr.Uelcd 1. . ScattSca tte"rreded humanhuman hbones nes an:arc: y anan unplunpleeasasaantnt fefeGla tureture ofof manymany RRoomano-Britishmano-British cav(IVe depdepoossiittss.. TheThe absencabsencee ofof personalpersonal ornornaammeents,n ts, andand pperhaerhapsps thethe utiliziltil' zatio~l lionn of flint,flint, s suuggestggest anan exceedexceedininglygly poorpoor co·ommunitymmunity.. II.n. THE BLACK BAND.BA~D. This La TeneTefll:! cllJtural!tural deposit w\\'aas. fofou undnd geunerallllyy at a ue·pth of about 4 fefe ett, exce 'ppt whe re projprojeecctinting bo sse(;sS oror shc:lvshdves-' ~ of thethe Cemented Floor cacau:edused it to lilit'e n e:aTm :r the surface. In thicknkllesC s it was about 3" in thethe sosouthuthern half of tthhe OuOuterter Chambhambecr, butbut b'ob 'o feet or more in the Inner. 'CplJpo n a relati v e1ly_ 11l'nthin laya" <' r of thrh e BlacBlac k Band we found the spoispoill of the shaJlshaJ1Llwow pit dug apparo::ntlapparentl y. to .se rvn ' as u.2. furn aacece or ash-pit. TheTbe La TellTent::- laybyerer passed above and hb e-low the spoispoill hheap,eap, ththee contents of which willwill be described with ttJ1h et:! rH'rw x,t layer,layer, to which they belonO'belong for the momostst part. Towards ththee innerinner (~i)u(~o uthern)th e rn ) end of thethe chamlmhr 'r the BlBlackack Band becbecameame somewhat peaty inin character and cocontainnt, ined brackbrackenen fronds sstitillll readilyreadily recognisablerecognisable.. ThThee faunafauna was thethe sasameme a s thatthat of thethe preceedingpreceecling laylayer,er, manman,, goagoat,t, rroe-deer,oe-deer, polecatpolecat,, ccaat,t, andand hankbank vovollee excepted;excepted; bonesbones of pipig,g, sheep,sheep, horse: andand badgerbadger werewere thethe mostmost numerounumerous.s. TheThe sosollee portionportion ofof thethe hoofhoof ofof aa veveryry smallsmall horsehorse haass beenbeen prepreserved,served, thanksthanks toto thethe peatypeaty charactercharacter ofof ththee deposit.deposit. NoNo flintflint artefactsartefacts werewere found.found. PotPottery tery waswas sscarcecarce inin thethe areaarea excaexcavated; va ted; ththee fewfew sherdssherds foundfound Two-thi rds Actual Size. werewere ofof LaLa TeneTene typetype.. AA detaileddetailed accountaccount isis popostponedstponed inin thethe hopehope FIG. 3. ofof furtherfurther discovdiscovereriesies inin thethe middmiddenen areasareas,, butbut itit maymay bebe mentionedmentioned K is a combined siuc: -and steep end-scraper on a short fl ake; thatthat nono ddecoratedecorated wareware isis present-present withwith thethe exceptionexception ofof aa fragmentfragment E is a thumb-scraper chipped almost verticali? around three parts showingshowing aa projectingprojecting ribrib withwith thethe fingfingeer-tipr-tip d(d ('' prl'~sions I)J'l ' ~sions characteristiccharacteristic of the circumference, and J is a fragment of another. B is ve ry ofof thethe EarlyEarly IronIron AgeAge andand endend ofof thethe BronzBronzee Age.Age. ThereThere iiss nono tracetrace interesting; it might be called a pseudo-burin. It is a keeled flake; ofof ththee curvilinearcurvilinear ttee 'chniquehnique suchsuch asas wwee findfind inin thethe LakLakee VillageVillage''SS ofof at the narrower end one edge has been chipped in such a way as to Somerset,Somerset, atat WWookeyookcy HoleHole,, Read'sRead's CavCav ernrn,, etcetc.. ThiThiss maymay indicateindicate give the appearance of a graver. Scratching or graving is about the aa culturalcultural differ difference,ence, ee.g..g. anan eearlierarlier period,period, oror anan affinityaffinity withwith thethe NorthNorth 196 FIFTH REPORT ON ROWBERROW CAVERN FIfTH REPORT ON IWWBI1WO\\" CAVERN 197 and East rather than ththee South; but it may be due mermerelyely to the clay being soft. The foul condition of the deposit is perhaps in poverty of the occupants. favour of the stable hypothesis, for bracken alone has quite a different A curious implimplemem ent,nt., made from a large'lrtr.lf,f lonlongg bone (?U horse), odour when it rots. The upper foot or S f) C;ll1l1ot be anything but is ilJustratte d in FiFig. 2, ;\io.::\io. 6. The prongsprong,; arc quitquitee slender and well a midden. it approaches the roof so closely ; probably the stable. was formed of compa mpa ct bO!ball 1:"e, thcrcforvtherefor<' it is not one of the pseudo-imple abandoned on account of the accumulation of debris, and used as a ments ggnawnaw ed hyby hyhY'Ge;:ena or dogdog. . refuse tip. The bracken may have been used as bedding for man as .\.\ sshorthort length of an iron barbar,, not identitiableidentitiable,, but possibly part well as beast. of a currency bar (Fig. 2,2, No.No.3); 3); some partly-rededuceduced iron and The scarcity of the usual kitchen rubbish is explicable, for bones waste;\vaste; a fc\\"few lumps of ha·matite;hit'matite; and a very large quantity of char have some valtw ~ \ S fuel and doubtless were used to feed the fires; coal \\"erl'\\'ere found. A cerr:.tjncertuin amount of work remains to be done in fact they are relatively scanty everywhere in the Black Band. on the sslag;lag; all that analystanalyse'dcl has been found to be iron, exceexceptingpting Bracken would he useless for such a purpose. a solitary fragmcntfragment of leeaad-slag in the Romallo-BritishRom'lllo-J3ritish level, clearly Some light is thrown upon the question, what species of animal an accidentaaccidentall inclusion. The whole didistrictstrict is scarred by ancieancientnt was kept, by the height of the entrance of the Inner Chamber; the !l'ad-workings;kad-workings; those of Charterhouse are known to have heenhcen worked Keltic pony, though only 12 to 13 hands, the ox, etc., could not have under the Romans. entered. The hoof fragment of a very small horse probably belonged No trace of a built furna ce,e, such as was probably used for the to a young individual, no evidence of a dwarf horse having bccn found reduction of the ore,are. exists.exists. Probably one or more were arranged in amongst the bones. The stablc may have been used for Vig;;, sheep, the banks of the shallow pit, already referred toto,, which was dugdug n ec'.Lrlr or goats; bones of the two furmer h;)ve bl', ~ n found both in the Inner the entrance; itsits depth w\':as ratherratller less than bNOtwo feet,ket, its area about Chamber and elsc\\'ht'fL! in the Rlack Band, but as yet no typical 6 feet by 8 feetfeet,, and it wwaa ..s floored incompleHetelyy by flat stones. It horn-cores of the last. was fiJled with charcoal anandd aslI,asll, s-lla!!g- and fused stonestone,, together \-vitlIwith A curious ita tmc' is the ahs, ·nce from the station of some common a few pot-sherdpot-sherdss of th, era- La T en e-a few bones of sh ee. p and so objects, e.g. spindlc-wlltlrls, loom weights, querns and q1lem-stones, forth, LhcLhL' majorit\-majorih- of whichwh ich were charred.charred. " cheek pieces," and personal ornaments. This may possibly signify In the InnInnerer Chamber the~ Black Band became much thicker, that it was not a dwelling-place, save temporarily for those employed varying from two to thnthr :'ce fece ·tt; ; th e incr ea se., in thith ickness being in working the iron; they may have lived in the opl'n in knts or chiefly in an upward direction, it must haha\w'c bbcen,een, at least llatteatterly,rly, huts, or come from sunil! neighbouring station, such as l~ead's Ca ve rn. a reill,.(,refu:.'· heap. It \\-a:::;\\';[::; composed of black slimslimyy material, \'t'ry\""ry odorous, and mmailll~'ainly urorgg;;'.Iiiclllic in originorigin,, a(ISs sshowhownn b y . combucombustion.stion. More than III. THE SECOND CLAY AND STONES LAYER. half of ititss bulk ct)J1sistedcl)nsisted of the stalks aanund fronnd::;ds of br,br;!rken,wken, stillstill well pn 'ss"tr'-.l,l;"':e,l; it "vasvvas even possiblep05sible to show ihth be separated by but a few inches from a Neolithic deposit, and there fore mixed to some extent therewith. If careful records are kept, it will often be possible to refer any group of half a dozen objects to its original position; for units:; the material has been turned com pletely over a greater percentage will be found there than at other levels. This is not theory; it has proved reliable for everything found in Rowberrow Cavern,-slag, pottery, flint and metal. Fig. 4, C is a flint knife made from a fragment of a polished implement, probably a celt; a segment of the edge of the original implement is visible, polished on one side, on the other re-sharpened by flaking. After being broken from the business edge of the celt the fragment ,vas shaped into a knife by well-executed scale-flaking on both surfaces. The edges are much worn. The fragment has been regarded as the butt of a polished knife-dagger, chiefly owing to the charcter of the scaling; but the latter was done after the polishing. Fig. 4, F*, G*, H*, l~*, are knives which display nne surface- scaling not common amongst the surface implements of ~\lcndip , in each case upon the upper surface only. (The asterisk indicates that a nlm of stalagmite is adherent). F \\'as embedded in a superncial stratum of the cemented floor. in association with Bronze Age pottery resem bling the local Food-Vessels in texture ; the scaling was carried Two-thirdsTwo-thirds Actctuauall S: i'i7e. completely round the implement as was probabfy the case in G, FIG. 4. which was oval before its breakage. Fig. 4, B is a small stout crescent-shaped knife, exquisitely thisthis horizon.horizon. TheThe rreemainimainingng 2020 ppc-c-rr cent.cent. isis doubtlessdoubtless thethe proportionproportion ch ipped; it is of the same flint as the above, as also is A*, a small ofof I<.omano-BritishRomano-British imp!,'ments,imp!"ments, aa ngurefigure whichwhich agreesagrees withwith thatthat pointed knife which has been badly nrc-crackled and subsequently obtainedobtained byby countingcounting tintilt:.: latterlatter by by ab~l'llce abC:,' ll ce ofof patination.patination. NoNo datedate encrusted with stalagmite. D*, also nre-crackled, is of the same ablable... objectobject latlate rr ththaann thethe BronzBronzee AgAgee bearsbears stalagmite,stalagmite , material and may be considered a modincation of the horse-shoe (c)(c) TheThe numericalnume rical test test showsShO\NS thatthat aboutabout 8282 perper cent.cen t. ofof allall thethe scraper .. stastallaagmitgmitee--encrustedncrusted specimensspecimens werewere foundfound uponupon oror withinwithin aa footfoo t J*, again of the same flint, is a skilfully made point, almost cer abuveabuve thethe babaSsee ofof ththe. C"emmeC'ntniecdd Floor.Floor. tainly intended as a borer. Platforms have been left for thumb and forennger; two ogival edges have bl'cn chipped, the pressure being TbisTbis lastlast ttesestt ddese senr\'('cs:, aa littleli ttle explanationexplanation,, forfor itit seemsseems thatthat directed mainly from the face not shown. Since either face is steeply sometimsometimeses thethe disdiscovecoverr'y tthhaat t aa depositdeposit isis didiststurbedurbed hashas beenbeen allowedallowed ridged the section is quadrilateral. toto throwthrow unnunnecess c~ , aarryy dodoububt t upouponn itsits strsrratigatigraphicalraphica l evidence.evidence. AsAs L* is an accidental form , but the pointed end has seen much ser aa mattmatteerr ofof fact,fac t, aa litt.1elittle rrecflflectie bonon willwill showshow thatthat aalmlmuust;:; t allall cavecave vice; the back is chipped (dos rabaUIf) . E, another nre-crackled ddeepositsposits area re disturbeddisturbed; ; arartit iclcle ss slipslip intoin to crcracksa )'5 belowbelow theirth eir origori gininala l 44 specimen, is a hollow-ended scraper, and has also a concave scraping leveI ve.!,l ,es esppececiallyially byby th thee cav ca\"ee-wa- va1l1l ; ; roderodentntss have have a alwalwaysy. bbee' n withwith us;us; facet upon one side. K , again nre-crackled, is a small oval knife. apaapartrl fromfrom burials,burials, anyany hhumt man n o0cc cup~tiupatioonn isis liklikeelyly toto mixmix itsits tracestraces Fig. 4, is a short length of a narrow flake showing prepared with\. ith thtlle ' subjacent subjacent laylayeer.r . UUnntiltil wew e c co meme toto ~::\Iccoolilit hicthic timl'tinl <:~ ~ thethe Q effffe ctscts are arc l ikelylikel) toto escapca]e noticnotice,e, thethe rate rate of of c chaha.ngngee of of cultureculture baving having striking platform and minimal bulb of percussion. The rather dense beenbeen s slow;low ; butbut aftcrw'lrds aftcnn.rds it it is is veryvery ,,[kn oH"n ev evident,ident ,e.g. e.g. aa Roman Roman may may brownish patina differs from the precce'ding, and is scarcely matched 199 FIfTHnl'T H REPOI by anything from the cave excepting three implt'mcnts previoush' THETHE PYGMPYGMYY I Ir;}; DusTRY.DUSTRY, figurecV No. 27 (a similar implement), r;os. 7 and 70, all of which arl' 2 Pygn.yPygmy implements implements now now numbernumber 15 IS, ,of of which which 88 have have been been figured.figured,2 vf types unusual in the district.. I t would be unsafe to draw con ThatThat the thr.yy belong belong approximately approximately to to th thee sa sammee period period;Js 8C; the the last-mention last-men tioneded ciu:;ions from only t\\'o specim ens, but Q :l nd ~o. 27 recall the short seseries,ries,-th-thee extreTlJ('extrenw endend ofo f thethe NNeoeolithic,lithic, oror thethe earliestearli es t pba<;pha~e ' ofof ththee lengths of narrow nakcs with prepared striking-ph,tfurms and in con BronzeBronze .\g(',\ g(,' , isis quitequite evidentevident fromfrom theirtheir patination,patination, TheTh e singlesingle spicllous uulus of pPrcLlssion which have been recorded as occurring exampleexample foundfound inin anan undisturbedundisturbed depositdeposit (Fig.(Fig,S 5, , E),E ), waswas atat thisthis at a fl a king sitc' on Kelling Heath;; and attributed to an early period horizon; and the numerical test agr cs :- in the \icolithic A,C:c . 1 have seen one or two such specimens amongst horizon; and the numerical test agrees : loced sllrface finds, none from barrows. FOOTFOOT 1 FOOTFOOT 22 FOOTFOOT 33 FOOTFOOT 4 4 FOOTSFOOT 5 FOOTFOOT 6 6 II I125 2 5 I I 22 Fig. 4, M*, N, 0, are flakes which suggest the Upper Pala:o lithic; thl'y were discovered in the disturbed deposit in the 7th, EE isis notnot includincluded,ed, forfor onlyonl y specimensspecimens fromfrom aarreaseas whichwhi ch havhavee beenbeen 6th, and 4th foot respectively and doubtless belong to the surface excav;].tedexcav~ t e d toto thethe fullfull depthdepth cancan bebe usused;ed; itit laylay atat aa depthdepth ofof 4 4 toto of the gravel layer, but it will be more convenient to consider them 4~4~ fcd.fed , TheThe remremaiainingning twotwo wen.:wen.: foundfound uponupon thethe spo spoilil hl'ap;h('ap; ththes(es' here. They can be matched with flakes from Aveline's Hole, but tinyt ill Y implemimplemenentsts covecoveredred withwith facetsfacets clingcling toto thethe clayclay tenatenaciousciously.ly. with vely few from local barrows. Tlleir patination is heavier than AllowingAllowin g forfor thethe variationsvariations inin depthdepth ofof thethe CementedCemented FloorFloor,, moremore that of anything else from til e cave, and they are chalky in texture. convincingconvincing figuresfigures areare obtained,obtained, 88 ofof ththee 1212 havinghaving beenbeen foundfound inin M, with it::; oblique chipped extremity, is almost certainly Pala:o oror uponupon thatthat layer,layer, i.e.i .e . within aa footfoo t aboveabove itsits lowerlower surface.surface. lithic. TheThe flakingflakin g isis oftenoften exquisitelyexquisitely fine,fin e, and many of thethe facetsfacets are scarcelyscarcely vvisibisiblele withouwithout t a lenlenss.. The se ries A to L, P and R is of some interest. The pa tination is the same as that of the pygmy flints to be described, less heavy than (<: p E:£ Ff (,. that of the two Kelling Heath type flakes, and very much less heavy A .B13 JJ & than that of the Upper Pahulithic. Compared with the local i\Jiddle Bronze Age period, as ('x. ~ mp1ified in the Tyning's Farm Barrow Group,-the peri ods of the overhanging rim and earlier finger-tip "-~ ..; .. -,.,..~ cinerary urns,-it suggests a rather ea rlier date, when scale-flaking ' ~ '."/'/ was more usual and bruising less common. The fragment of polished ~/./, '.'. ,~~~~ ~ ~ celt, possibly a part of a knife-dagger, is perhaps the most dateable , Sco..ksc... lo. J-. implement; it accords very well with the maggot-pottery, u,'aker +I and food-vessel fragments described below, and with the monolith FIG,S.FIG. 5. which stood in former days about 200 yards North of the Warrener's FigFig.. 55,, B,B, C,C, DD,, EE,, belbelongong ttoo ththee eelongatedlongated triangletriangle ttype,ype, hahavingving Cottag(' on Rowberrow vVdrren. This stone is still marked on the oonene knifeknife edge;edge; thethe ttwowo latterlatter havehave bbeenee n brbroken.oken. GG iiss ooff thethe sasameme six-i nch Ordnance map, but is said to have been removed about sshape,hape, butbut iiss chippedchipped aallll roundround relatirelativevellyy coacoarrsesely.ly. FF isis aa sshorterhorter 30 years ago for building purpOse;; . Two insignificant fragments remain tritriangle,angle, andand AA aa pygmypygmy flakeflake wwithith aa pperfectly-chippederfectly-chipped obliqueoblique butt.butt. in the position given, in the sides of a small depression about 2 feet AllAll thethe ababoveove wouldwould bebe consideredconsidered ppeerfectrfec t TardenTardenoisianoisian geogeomeme by 3 feet in diameter; of the curious cross,-'s (X, not + ), which on ~ trictricalal ppygmies:ygmies: butbut theirtheir datedate cancannnotot bbee earlierearlier tbthanan thethe LatLatee are believed to han; been vermin traps, was built around it. It is NeolitbiNeolithic,c, andand isis probablyprobably L.!Earlyrly BrBrononzeze AAge.ge. BBesidesI';;ides ththee evevidenceidence just possible that the stone was merely part of the trap, but not one ccitedited above,above, BBeakereaker frfragmentsagments werewere foundfound aappparpareentlyntly undiundisturbedsturbed of the half-dozen others has a central stone or pit, Or indeed any but aatt a a depthdepth ofof 5 5' ' 6"6" toto 6'6' 66"" inin thethe sa sameme area area in in whichwhich pygmi(pygmi;c~,; occurredoccurred aCCidentally included stone in its composition. There is one excep aatt aa depthdepth ofof 5'5' 00"" toto 6'6 ' 0";0"; ththeseese wwereere ththee twotwo ffromro m thethe sixtsixthh footfoot tion, \\'IJich Supports the idea that the stone was prestn t before the inin thethe tabltablee ofof depths,depths, cross was built; a half-cross (V) , exists with its point at a wall which were common at Svaerd is obviou,,;Jy of earlier date. PrPrecisec iseelyly ssiimilmilarar "lungated,'lungated tritrianglangleses were common at Svaerd·· borg6,borg6, a a s stationtation o off thlth'l' :\fa :'IIaglcmoseglcmose c cultureultun'; thesthesee were were l elet tinto into g groo\','S,roon's, 202202 FIFTHFIFTH REPORTREPORT ONON lW\il(QvVBEHROWVBEHROW CAVERNCAVERN FHTH REPORT ON ROWBERROW C.'.\ El(~ 203 oneone groove groove on on eeitherither side side of of aa longlong bone,bone, andand sec securedured byby mastic, mastic, thusthus and an early Bronze Age date seems certain. The pygmies resemble -formingforming aa harpoon.harpoon. NoNo sucsuchh bonesbones havhavee bbee enn foundfound inin RowberrowRowberrow C, F, G, very closely. Cavern.Cavern. ManyMany otherother u u'ses ~ hahavvee bb eeenn suggested,suggested, suchsuch as:as: fish-hooksfish-hooks,, (2) The Rowberrow finds, associated with" maggot" pottery, teethteeth forfor sawssaws andand sicksickll es,a, arrrrowow tips,tips, 'ngravingengraving totools,ols, scscrapers,rapers, awls,awls, late beaker, and food-vessel (see belOW), and with scaled knives, drills,drills, tattooingtattooing nneee dldl·e s,s , amulamul ets,ts, andand exhibiexhibitions bons ofof skskillill inin workingworking and a fragment of polished celt; a number of small simple flake flflint.int. TheThe twotwo lastlast sugg-estiollssuggestions arisearise fromfrom thethe factfact thatthat somesome aarere knives, possibly the counterpart of the special blades of the Azilio ttoooo fragilefragile forfor anyany practical practical purpose;purpose; thethe prese;lprese;l t t seriesseries isis mormoree robust.robust. Tarc1enoisian, are present, but the small oval scraper seems to have TheThe ageage ofof susuchch pygmypygmy implementsimplements hashas longlong beenbeen aa mattermatter been replaced by rather larger impilomcnts. ofof disputedispute,, somesome placingplacing themthem atat thethe closeclose ofof thethe Pala:olithic,Palaeolithic, andand The bulk of the <.:arlier finds of pygmy tools ~<.:cm to have been some,some, e.e.g.,g., Nir.NIr. J.J. AllenAllen Brown,Brown, atat thethe beginningbeginning ofof thethe MetalMetal Age.Age. made along W:lt( ',rcourscs, or by the sea-shore, or upon high-lying ThatThat identicalidentical implementsimplements werewere inin uusese atat aa veryvery eaearlyrly datedate isis quitequite moors, and thc,;(' were unaccompanied by pottery ; such tiny im certain;certain; theythey areare foundfound inin asasssociaociationtion withwith ththee remainsremains ofof reindeerreindeer plements were known to occur in stations belonging to the close of the injn aa TardenoisianTardenoisian ddepositeposit atat RemouchampRemouchamp andand ZonhovenZonhoven inin BelgiumBelgium 7; 7; Pala:olithic; these facts together with the a.hscnce of domestic ani inin MaglemoseMaglemose stations;stations; eetc.tc. Aurignacian andand MaMagdaleniangdalenian pygmypygmy mals, t'xc<.:pt possibly the dog, led to the assignment of that date to flintsflints seemseem toto bebe ofof aa somewhatsomewhat differentdifferent facies.facies. MessrsMessrs.. JJohnsonohnson the type whercver found. It is still said that they have never bc(,n andand WrightB8 conclude thatthat inin England suchsuch specimens asas herehere illusillus found with potterylo in spite of Hastings and Scvenoaks. trattrateded "probably belong toto thethe llatestatest Neolithic period when bronze There s( (' ms to bl' a distinct difference between a series from was used side by side with stone,stone,"--i.e. "--i.e. to the Transitional Phase of an Azilio-Tardenuisian station, so dated by other means, and one the Bronze Age. They quote two specimens found by Bateman in of the end of the Ncolitllic. Some types persist absolutely unchanged, Derbyshirerbyshire round barrows; the Pennine group found beneath about e.g. the elongated triangles, as pointed out in comparing the Svaerd six feet of peat;peat ; an exampleexample from a Neolithic tufaceous deposit near borg and Ro\vberrow examples; but the early series, at least in this Corfe Castle,Castle, associated withwi th the shellsshells of limpets,limpets, oysters,oysters, and other country, and in Belgium, seem oftener to contain micro-burins, and molluscs; the hundredshundreds found in thethe Don Valley near Rotherham, either small oval scrapers and a characteristic blade (Azilian), or and on adjacent high landland above thethe 1,0001,000 footfoot contour,contour, associatedassociated broader trianglc~ and trapezoids (Tardenoisian), or both. Although with otherother flintflint implementsimplements ofof " :\"<.:olithie":\"colithic" type,type, but exexcludingcluding thethe trapezoids do occur in later series, it is in relatively small numbers. largerlarger tools,tools, e.g.e.g. celts.celts. To thisthis listlist ofof dateabledateable discoveriesdiscoveries wewe cancan nownow In the absence of the above criteria, it will be necessary to look for addadd ::- other evidence before assigning a Transitional date to a site containing, (I)(I) FourFour typicaltypical pygmypygmy flintsflints ofof thethe elongatedelongated triangletriangle typetype pygmy impkments, e.g., dateable tools of flint, bone, or antler (lVIagle fromfrom thethe NorthNorth Barrow,Barrow , Tyning'sTyning's Farm.Farm.99 TheseThese werewere inin thethe primaryprimary mose, and some French and Scottish station) ; survivals of Pleistocene. partpart ofof thethe barrow.barrow . TheThe primaryprimary ddeepositposit hashas notnot yetyet beenbeen found;found; fauna (Zonhoven); stratigraphical or geological evidence. In the twotwo Cinerarycinerary urnsurns ofof ththee extremeextreme endend ofof thethe BronzBronzee AgAgee accompaniedaccompanied absence of these the chances will be that the site is of thl' earliest secondarysecondary interments,interments, but,but, contrarycontrary toto thethe generalgeneral rule,rule, thethe primaryprimary Bronze period. Negative evidence, such as absence of pottery and barrowbarrow isis obviouslyobviously veryvery muchmuch older,older, soso muchmuch soso thatthat itit waswas atat firstfirst domestic animals, can nev er be conclusive. takentaken forfor aa naturalnatural mound,mound, inin whichwh ich sshahallowllow pitspits hadhad beenbeen dugdug toto rere It has yet to be determined whether the microlithic industry ceiveceive thethe twotwo (secondary)(secondary) urns,urns, andand aa footfoot oror soso ofof earthearth andand stonesstones persisted in Britain from the earlier date to the later, or whether it added.added. TheThe primaryprimary barrowbarrow isis aa simplesimple bowlbowl; ; uponupon thethe basalbasal turfturf was reintroduced: it is said to have endured longer in Belgium than levelleve l was\-vas aa "" hearth"hearth" conconta tainingining charcoal, charcoal , andand oneone oror twotwo fragmenfragmen ts ts else\\'llere on the continent, and m,IY have been brought over b~' the ofof calcined calcined bone, bone, several severa lflint flint implements,implements, and and coarse coarse pottery, pottery, including including Beaker-folk, or rather by followers who became attached to them partpart ofof anan overhangingoverhanging rimrim almostalmost identicalidentical inin designdesign withwith thatthat fromfrom en route. There seems to he no evi(lence of its e..xis tencc in this thethe secondarysecondary intermentinterment inin BarrowBarrow No.No . I 1 BlackdownBlackdown,, inin whichwhich thethe country between the Transit.ional period and their arrival, unless primaryprimary waswas accompaniedaccompanied byby aa beaker.beaker. JustJust aboveabove thethe basalbasal turfturf it be the Second Pennine Group of Buckky,ll but practically nothing werewere aa considerableconsiderabl e numbernumber ofof implementimplementss ofof "Neolithic""Neolithic" form,form, is known of this possibly long interval. \ 203 202 FIFTH REPORT ON ROWBERIW\\f CAVERN FIFTHFIFTH REPORTREPORT ONON ROWDERHOVvRO\\,];ERHOW l c.'.\.'.\ !eRN J,R N 20 3 roble one groove on ei ther side of a long bone, and secured by mastic, thus andand aann earl,'iearly,' B ronronzzee AgeAge datedate seemsseems cen::>..in,cen:lin. ThThee pygmiespygmies r[(('se'cemble -forming a harpoo n. No such bones have been found in Rowberrow C,C, F,F, G,G, veverryy clclo selely.y. , Cavern. Many other u,;cs have been suggested. such as; fish-hooks, (2)(2) ThThee l<.owbRowbeerrrrowow findfinds,s, associatedassociated withwith "maggot""mag~o t » pottery,pottery teeth for saws and sickles, arrow tips, engraving tools, scrapers, awls, la(('lak bbeaker,eaker. aandnd fofood-vod-ve ssd-I (see(see belbeloow),w), andand withwith scaledscaled knivkniv\"s,es, drills, tattooing nerol( ·os , amulets, and exhibitions of skill in working fbke andand aa fragmentfragment ooff polishedpolished celt;celt; aa numbernumber ofof smallsmall simplesimple flake that some are flint. The two last suggestions arise from the fact kniveknives,s, popossssiblyibly tthehe ccoounun t teerpartrpart ofof ththec specialspecial bladesblades ofof tlwthl ' AAziliozilio have too fragile for any practical purpose ; the pr ese ~t series is more robust. TardTardenoisianenoisian,, areare prprescesent,nt, butbut tht·th( ' ,;,;mamallll ovaovall scraperscraper seemsseems ttoo have The age of such pygmy implements has long bt ·co a matter bbeeenen rreeplacplaceedd byby rathrathecrr larglargerer imimplemenplemen ts ts.. of di spute, some placing them at the close of the Palcco li thic, and ThThee bulkbulk ofof thethe eaearlirlieerr findfindss ooff ppygmy gmy toolstools see. emm toto havhavee bbeeeenn high-lying some, e.g. , Mr. ]. Allen Brown, at the beginning of the Metal Age. mademade alongalong watercourses,watercour~ c ~ , oorr byby thethe seca-sa-shorhore'., oror uponupon high-lying im That ident ical implements were in usc a t a very early date is quite moormoors,s, andand ththesesee werewere unaccompaniedunaccompanied byby ppottery;ottery; ssuchuch tinytiny im the certain; they are found in association with the remains of reindeer plemplemeentsnts were knoknown.....vn toto occuroccur iinn stationss ta tions belongingbelonging ttoo tiltill'l' closclosee ofof the ani in a Tardenoisian deposit at Remouchamp and 20nhoven in Belgium7; PalCEolithicPalceolithic; ; ththeseese factfactss togethertogether withwith thethe absenceabsence of domesticdomestic ani to in Maglemose stations; etc. Aurignacian and Magdalenian pygmy mmals,als, c:excexceptpt pospossiblysibly ththee: dog,dog, ledled toto thethe assignmentassignment ofof ththaatt ddaatete to been flints seem to be of a somewhat different facies . Messrs. Johnson ththee typtype wwheherereveverr foundfound,. ItIt iis s stilltill saidsaid thatthat theythey havehave never been and WrightS conclude that in England such specimens as here illus foundfo und withwith pottpotteryloeryIo inin spitespite oof HaHastingsstings and SeS('vL:noaks...... cnoaks. trated "probably belong to the latest Neolithic period when bronze There Ss('cf'c ms toto be a distinctnct differdiffereencence betwcbetw(,(,f1r rI a scseririeses fromfrom one was used side by side with stone,"--i.e. to the Transitional Phase of an Azilio-TardenoiAzilio-Tardenoisian sstation,tation, so dateddaled byby other meaeans,ns, and one the Bronze Age. They quote two specimens found by Bateman in of thethe end of the Neolitllic.lithic. Some types ppersistersist absolutely unchanged, Derbyshire round barrows ; the Pennine group found beneath about e.ge.g. the elonggatedated trlriangiangle s, aass pointpointed out in cocompamparinringg the Svaerd this six feet of peat; an example from a Neolithic tufaceous deposit near borg and RoRowbewberrowrrow examples; but the earlyearly sseerieses,, at lealeas.st in this , and Corfe Castle, associated with the shells of limpets, oysters, and other cocountuntrry, and in Belgium, seem oftenoftenerer to concontatainin micro-burins,micro-bunns and ), or molluscs; the hundreds found in the Don Valley near Rotherham, eithitherer smasmallll oval scrapescrapersrs aandnd a ccharacteristicharacteristic blade (Azilianili an), or ough and on adjacent high land above the 1,000 foot contour, associated broader trianganglles andand trapeztrapezoidsoids (Ta (Tard c'1no oisisiianan),), or both. AlthAlthough with other flint implements of " Neolithic" type, but excluding the ttrapezoidrapezoidss do occuoccurr in laterer series, it is iinn rrellativati veellyy smalsmalll numbers.numbers. for larger tools, e.g. ce lts. To this list of dateable discoveries we can now IInn the absence ooff tthehe above criteriaria,, it ,"viII.v ill be necessaryecessary to looklook for add ; in g: other evievidencedence before a.,:;a;;signingsigning aa Transitiitiononal ddateate to a sisitte concontaining.tain or antler (Magle (I) Four typical pygmy flints of the elongated triangle type pygmypy§!"my impl e mentm e nt ~~,, e.g., dateaabblele toolstools of flint, bone, or antler (Magle eistocene.: from the North Barrow, Tyning's Fann.9 These were in the primary momose,st:, and soml't' FrFrenchench andand ScotScottitish ssttation)a tion); ; su surrviivalsvals of PlPleistocene; . In the part of the barrow. The primary deposit has not yet been found; faunafauna (Zonhovcn);(20nhov,'n); strastratitigrapgraphihi call oorr geolloogicagicall evidenceevidence. In the f th" earli(':=;t two cinerary urns of the extreme end of the Bronze Age accompanied absencea bsence of thth,;;:;c,;,;(' ththee chanceschances will be ththatat ththee sitesite iiss oof th" earlit,;; t and secondary interments, but, contrary to the general rule, the primary Bronze pperiod.eriod. NegativeNegative eyievidence,dence, suchsuch asas abab seence of potterypottery and barrow is obviously very much older, so much so that it was at first domdomesticestic anan imals,imals, canc m never bebe coconclnsive,nclllsive. taken for a natural mound, in which shallow pits had been dug to re ItIt hashas "yetet toto be dedeterminedtermined whetherwhether ththee microlithic induindustrstryy it ceive the two (secondary) urns, and a foo t or so of earth and stones persistedpersisted inin BBritritainain fromfrom ththee eaearlirlieerr datedate toto thethe llatater,er, oorr whetherwhether it u[( ~ d longer in Belgium tktn added, The primary barrow is a simple bowl; upon the basal tllIi \\w;.:<;' ti5 reintrodurei ntroducuc('(l:l : itit iiss "::'aliidd toto havhavee endendun~d longer in l3e1gium tilan the level was a " hearth" con taining charcoal, and one or two fragmen ts eel"lscc\\'h".heerere onon titilelL' ' mne,mtinl'nttin\"nt, , andand mmayay havehave bbeeeenn broughtbrought oveovcrr byby the to t hem of calcined bone, several flint implements, and coarse pottery, including .Ke.Kcetker-folk;.!ker-fo lk,, oorr r raatthheerr b~b\.:" followefollowl'r~r,; \\'ho,,·110 becamebecame attachedattached to them this p art of an overh anging rim almost identical in design with that from enen rrououte.te , ThTheerere sese,':,':nsns tutu bebe nnoo evideevidenncece ooff ititss exi.exi <;tteencence inin this unless the secondary interment in Barrow No. 1 B1ackdown, in which the councountrytry betwf>f:nbetwt>p.n thethe Tr~Tr::o.nsitionaln si tion a l periodperiod andand ttheirheir arrival,arriva1, unless primary was accompanied by a beaker. Just above the basal turf itit bebe thvthl' SernllSernlldd PenninePennine ((~roup~ roup ofof Buckl<:yBucklcy,,lIll butbut prpractiacticallcallyy nothingnothing were a considerable number of implements of " Neolithic" form, isis kknownnown ofof thisthis posposssibliblyy llongong inint teervarval.l. 204204 FIFTH REPORT 01\ FIFTH REPOln or; HOROWflERWBE RRQWROW CACAV VERERKN ROWBERROW CAVERN. ReviewingReviewing brieflybriefly somesome ofof thethe bbee st-t-knownknown sitessites ofof ththee pygmypygmy industryjndustry,, Wtwe' cancan assignassign thethe :=)c~cllnrhorp('ll11thorp" andand thethe bulkbulk ofof thethe PenninePennine findfindss toto tit « Second Pennille Group," :l.S Buckley has pointed out, seems to be a developmen t from the carly Tardenois of Belgi um, and includes micro-gra\TTs, typical blades, oval scrapers, etc.; E' lon gated triangles arc uncommon, but GLlmo t be differentiated fwm the Rowberrow specimens (10 judge by the illustrations) ; c.f. the six" minute knives" fon ml within a square foot on a " Iloor " on Warcock Hill-a harpoon) of whidl the shafl has decayed. Buckley rt'garded this group as con temporary with the other, but adnlllced no evidenc, '. Its facies might be considered to suggest a Tardenoisian date, that of the main series certainly clues not. The Wildernc's"e barrow at Seven oaks WilS a ro und barrow of no nry exceptional proportions, being 90 ' by 1)0' in diameter, and 5}' in height.12 It contained apparently a mass cremation, if we may use the term. 1']1(' pygmy flints found in the hearth layer, and in the white sane!, and thos!' of the neighbouring occupation site, are mainly elongated triangles of the usual pattern, or crescen ts (? a varian t of the same). A number of other forms occurred, e.g., borers and notched implements, possibly used in the manufacture of needles. A Of tht, larger implements, a few certainly resemble common Upper PaJ;;eolithic types, but others are pretty definitely late Neolithic or early Bronze Age, c.j. Nos. 8 and 14, plate XI, in Mr. Lewis Abbott's article, (some error seems to have crept in in numbering the plates; I I refer to the numbers engraved); the latter resembles closely Fig. 3, K, from Rowberrow. The presence of coarse pottery is recorded. The barrow was constructed in layers, of material not all ob tained from the immediate neighbourhood; beside the possibly natural layer of" carstone," (a very ferruginous sandstone), below the hearth, 4. a similar layer sealed it down, and above this was sharp white sand, then local sand. With this the ~lcndip Hunt Barrow No. I, described e1 sc wh erl~ in this number may be compared. Similarly the Hastings kitchen-middens contained, besides large numbers of pygmy implements like the Rowberrow examples and a few other forms, some larger implements recalling the Upper Paheolithic, and others which must be regarded as Neolithic; cI , No. 15, Plate XIII and No. 19, Plate X,13 which are very like Fig. 4, B and No.7 (previously figured), from Rowberrow, respectively. Some at least of the Pala:olithic forms were merely old flakes re utilised. The straight-line flaking characteristic of the small imple ments and found also on some of the larger, recalls that seen on some BB knife-daggers and arrow-heads of the Early Bronze Age. PLPLATEA TE XIII.XIII. FIFTH REPORT ON rWWBERROvV CAVI:!,:>iCAVLl<>-' 205 Coarse black hand-made pottery, well baked, in the form of fiat-bottomed pots with large base, was common;common; rreded ware too was found; decorated fragments occurred. In the light of recent re search more information ought to be obtainable from the collection. The fauna was of quite modern aspecaspect,t, only the mollusc.!.mollusc ~L "l;i'ming<:cl'ming to differ. It is fairly certain that both thethesese sstationstations belong to the clvsl~clus(~ of the NNeolithic eoli thic or eaarliest Bronze .Age\ge, and thithiss seems to hahaveve been the excavator's opinion. More recently, :\h..\h. LLewiewiss AbbotAbbottt hahass pub lished a discussiondiscussion of thethe ppygmy-flintygmy-flint problproblem,em, with a vivvivid recon struction of the life of the timestimes..1' 4 POTTERY.POTTER Y . Neolithic and food-food-vesselvessel ware was found in the didisturbedsturbed de posit, but not in sufficient quantitquantityy to apply the ttestest for original depth. The ttwowo larger Neolithic fragments and the firfirstst Food-Vesesselsel fragment described below lalayy at a depth of 4 to 4:}4~ feet in the spoil deriderivedved from the digging of the LLaa Tene ash-pit or hearth; tthehe two beaker-sherds la y, ppossiblyossibly in Sitl!,situ, beneneathath the sstonetone floor of lthho.:' same pit at depths of 5' 6" to 6'6' 00"" and 66'' 0" to 6' 66"" re spect·pcctively.ively. Part of the base of another ffood-vood-vesses" 1l lay upon ththee CeCementedmented Floor, at a depth of 3' 0"0" in that situation. Plate XIII B, Nos. 1,2,3 are fragments of a Neolithic round-bottomed bowl, reconstructed in Fig. 1, No.4.No. 4. ThThee hheighteight of the body is uncertain, probably rratherather over 3 inchinches;es; ththee diameter at the rim 4~· inches.inches. ThThee vl'ssel is hand made;made; its walls are thin (one-sixth(one·sixth to one-fifth inches). The pastpastee is dark brown, almost black, in colour, of finfinee tetexture,xture, and surprisingly hard after drying. The incipient overhanging rim is noteworthy; this is the prototypl'prototYlJl' of some food-vessels and later of the Overhanging Rim type of cinerary urn. The decordecorationation is the typical maggot pattern, and is placed around the junjunctionction of body aandnd neck, and on the outer and inner surfaces of the liplip.. The tendency to an overhanging rim probably indicates a rratherather latelate date, which is what one wouldwould expect on account of the ststratigraphy,-slightlyratigraphy,-slightly laterlater than a rather late beaker.beaker. It is quitec usual, if not the invariable rule, to find such "Neolithic" pottery in association with beakers; c.j. the West Kennet long bar row,15 in which (in a single assocassociatediated group burial, according to Thurnam), frfragmagments of aboaboutut 50 vessels were found. The West RennetKennet bbeakerseakers were early,early, to judgjudgee by the presence of plain zones and thethe fine quality ooff the ware in the DevizesDevizes Museum exhibit;exhibit; ththee Neolithic pottery assocassociatediated ththerewitherewith was thicker, coarser, more profusellyy and mormoree roughly dedecoratedcorated than that from RowberrowRowberrow,, 207 206 FIFTFIFTHH HEPORTHFPORT ON ROWBERROW CAVERN FIFTH REPORT ON ROWBERROW CAVERN anandd fifing,ng"rti 'rtipp imprimpressionsessions Wl're~ : l're a cocommonermmoner motive than the maggotmaggot texture, but hardly identifiable. They were imbedded beneath pattern. With'With the lak RowbRowberrowerrow beaker iiss associated finfinerer NNeoeo 4} inches of the breccia. Assuciated was a finely-scaled flin t knife lithlithicic warware,e, i<-k"s;;s ornate of ,klk(,c(Jratioration,on, and approaching the beaker (Fig, 4, F) , and a thin lamina of bone, like the rougher of the two ,vareware iits01fh(']f in thinn(:;:;thinn(',,:; and L,x,xtture.ure, spatula: from Merlin's Cave (described elsewhere in this numl.l 2 T he s~ n1L', Vol. II, ~o. 1. VII.VII. BOULDERSBOULDERS WITHWITH GRAVELGRAVEL. ,'\ rm Sl [ong, Disco, 'n y fl i 1m E ar/y [ mn . lge .~· ' il r at Gri mes' G rtWt's . J>-ro Cei!dings oj t h ~ Pl'r hisltl l ic -""tifty 0/ La..l t . Jnglia, Vol. I V, Part 2, pp. ThThee uppupperer surfacesurface ofof thithiss la~la~' (T' IT waswas eencounnco untertereded aatt aa dedepthpth I G- 17. ooff 1100 ffeeeet.t. LLarargegt blocksblocks c:I R eemoucmoucha mp :: BB:lfona ron de Loe et Rabnbir,. .\'.V oltot~ SttrSlit' i'e.XPl'e.xpIOy'lIllor.atiiolll1 ddeess p lalteaux de 1't'.Amb 1IIIb l l1["lit-c, etttc . Suc.oc. A lll1tltlltrlJP.rop. B YIm 1rO0 cc.g..g. OsOsborn borne, .'feMenn ofj ti,ethe Old StOIl~ton~ ,-IA ge"c (1919),(1919), pppp.. 474474 and 466. 11[[ BuBl.l cld ey, A ,)ficrM icroolillhllieic I ndlI d llsl,)'ustry 0o]j Ihthee P~e Ilii/in/IIin e Chaill,hain, relalerelatedd 10to Ihethe T ardulOisardenois oJj B cel/gium."iunI. Il" WW.. J. LewisLewis Abbott,Abbo tt, FF.G.G.S.S.,., }j ClIlYl1aOIlI',wli 0]oj IIIthe AAnthrn lh ropologicogical ]III'ISl/itilulutc, VoVol.J. XXV (1896)'). p. 130 i'Id '"<'iJ l "yFR. , ~ S.,..,AL.A.'-M,rfS ,.. ... (.A.'"M'rf (l.f\V. tt.N,- 5r-.)M~ S 6.A<~ 0""'0 ==~ ~N' 11111111 11111/)1111) ROWBERROW CAVERN:-CAVERN :- SrcnoN OF DEPOSIT AT fvloUTH, ON 1I NE 4./5. "ft&<-,-/"" (~<"f.I" • --.,...... ~ )Af'(H 13(1.£H~· OTHt"I " H~AcrIfS ------f.f.,. R OWBERROW CAVERN: LONGITUDINAL SEmON.SE<,TlON • 1'1,1:1, A ~t,~ st'J< of 1/" £'J«( .." .. r'Q"~S sh"w'n tl...n- Uu,t dl PLATE XIV.
Percy Sladen Memorial Fund Excavations at Rowberrow Cavern
