Neolithic to Early Bronze Age Buckinghamshire: a Resource Assessment
Neolithic to Early Bronze Age Buckinghamshire: a resource assessment Inheritance Mobility Although Neolithic populations are thought to have had continued mobility, more and more evidence for Neolithic settlement has come to light. In Buckinghamshire the most important evidence comes from excavations in advance of the construction of Eton Rowing Course (ERC) and the Maidenhead to Windsor and Eton Flood Alleviation Scheme (MWEFAS), mainly in the parish of Dorney in South Bucks on the Thames. The evidence points to intensive use of the area by people in the Early Neolithic but it is not certain that it represents year-round sedentary occupation rather than seasonal re-use (Allen et al 2004). Other evidence does point to continued mobility, such as the artefact scatters at Scotsgrove Mill, Haddenham (Mitchell 2004) and East Street, Chesham (Collard 1990) for example, reflecting visits over a long period of time. Persistent places Mesolithic persistent places continue to have meaning for Early and later Neolithic populations. These persistent places include East Street, Chesham (Collard 1990, 18) and Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age activity at Chessvale Bowling Club nearby (Halsted 2006, 23-8). Another persistent place seems to have been the lower reaches of the River Colne. Recent excavations at the Sanderson Site, Denham (Halsey 2005) continued the activity from nearby Three Ways Wharf, Uxbridge (Lewis 1991). Other persistent places include the attractive river valley location at Bancroft in Milton Keynes (Williams 1993, 5), and Scotsgrove Mill, Haddenham, where the River Thame meets one of its tributaries (Mitchell 2004, 1). These persistent places may have been the basis of evolving ideas about land tenure.
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