Excavations at Larkwhistle Farm, Brimpton, Berkshire
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Excavations at Larkwhistle Farm, Brimpton, Berkshire The Oxford Archaeological Unit (OAU) carried out an excavation on c.8 hectares of gravel terrace south of Brimpton, at one time By Alan Hardy and Cecily Cropper part of Brimpton Common, on the south borders of Berkshire. This followed the decision in December 1994 by Berkshire County Council to allow the extraction of gravel from the site by ARC (Planning Application 144973), subject to a legal agreement OAU Occasional Paper Number 2 allowing a programme of archaeological investigation and publication. The OAU had performed an archaeological assessment of the site in 1987 following the initial proposal for the extraction of gravel. Excavations in 1995 revealed features of a middle Iron Age date, consisting of one rectangular enclosure, two associated circular gullies and one four-post structure. The archaeological evidence indicated a settlement that was short- lived and possibly marginal to a nucleus situated to the south. ISBN 0-904220-12-5 Excavations at Larkwhistle Farm, Brimpton, Berkshire by Alan Hardy and Cecily Cropper with contributions by Jane R Timby, Philippa Bradley and Mark Robinson Series editor Angela Boyle OAU Occasional Paper No. 2 1999 Excavations at Larkwhistle Farm, Brimpton, Berkshire This book is the second in a series of Occasional Papers to be published by the Oxford Archaeological Unit. The series aims to provide a means for rapid publication and dissemination of short reports for which there is no established provision elsewhere. ISBN 0-904220-12-5 © Oxford Archaeological Unit ii OAU Occasional Paper Number 2 Plate 1 Aerial photograph of Area A iii Excavations at Larkwhistle Farm, Brimpton, Berkshire CONTENTS SUMMARY .......................................................................................................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................................................. 1 Location and geology ............................................................................................................................................. 1 Historical and archaeological background ....................................................................................................... 1 The 1987 evaluation ............................................................................................................................................... 1 Methodology ........................................................................................................................................................... 1 ARCHAEOLOGICAL DESCRIPTION .......................................................................................................................... 2 Area A ....................................................................................................................................................................... 4 The rectangular enclosure, structure 112 ..................................................................................................... 4 Circular structure 194 ..................................................................................................................................... 4 Circular structure 209 ..................................................................................................................................... 7 The four-post structure 133............................................................................................................................ 7 Area A phasing........................................................................................................................................................ 7 Phase 1 .............................................................................................................................................................. 7 Phase 2 .............................................................................................................................................................. 7 Area B ........................................................................................................................................................................ 9 Area C ....................................................................................................................................................................... 9 THE FINDS .......................................................................................................................................................................... 9 The pottery by Jane R Timby ............................................................................................................................... 9 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................... 9 Fabrics and forms ............................................................................................................................................ 9 Flint tempered wares ...................................................................................................................................... 9 Sandy wares ..................................................................................................................................................... 9 Site distribution .............................................................................................................................................. 9 Discussion ........................................................................................................................................................ 10 Catalogue of illustrated sherds ..................................................................................................................... 11 Fired clay by Jane R Timby .................................................................................................................................. 11 The worked flint by Philippa Bradley ............................................................................................................... 11 THE ENVIRONMENTAL REMAINS............................................................................................................................. 11 Charred plant remains by Mark Robinson ....................................................................................................... 11 DISCUSSION ...................................................................................................................................................................... 12 Structures ................................................................................................................................................................. 12 Function of the enclosures and the structures .................................................................................................. 13 Local environment .................................................................................................................................................. 13 THE ARCHIVE ................................................................................................................................................................... 13 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................................................................ 13 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................................................................ 14 iv OAU Occasional Paper Number 2 List of plates Plate 1 Aerial photograph of Area A ............................................................................................................................ iii Plate 2 Area A, structure 194 .......................................................................................................................................... vi List of figures Figure1 Site location map ............................................................................................................................................... vi Figure2 Trench location plan ......................................................................................................................................... 2 Figure3 Area A.................................................................................................................................................................. 3 Figure4 Structure 194....................................................................................................................................................... 4 Figure5 Structure 209....................................................................................................................................................... 5 Figure6 Sections................................................................................................................................................................ 6 Figure7 Structure 209 sections ....................................................................................................................................... 8 Figure 8 Iron Age pottery ................................................................................................................................................ 10