Higher Nansloe Farm Helston Cornwall
Post-Excavation Assessment and Updated Project Design
for Coastline Design and Build Ltd
CA Project: 889011 CA Report: 18038
May 2019
Higher Nansloe Farm Helston Cornwall
Post-Excavation Assessment and Updated Project Design
CA Project: 889011 CA Report: 18038
Jonathan Orellana, Project Officer prepared by and Jonathan Hart, Senior Publications Officer
date 8 May 2019
checked by Jonathan Hart, Senior Publications Officer
date 8 May 2019
approved by Karen Walker, Principal Post-Excavation Manager
signed 08/05/2019
date
issue 01
This report is confidential to the client. Cotswold Archaeology accepts no responsibility or liability to any third party to whom this report, or any part of it, is made known. Any such party relies upon this report entirely at their own risk. No part of this report may be reproduced by any means without permission.
1 Higher Nansloe Farm, Helston, Cornwall: Post-Excavation Assessment and Updated Project Design © Cotswold Archaeology
CONTENTS
SUMMARY ...... 4
1 INTRODUCTION ...... 5
2 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ...... 7
3 METHODOLOGY ...... 8
4 RESULTS ...... 9
5 FACTUAL DATA AND STATEMENTS OF POTENTIAL ...... 21
6 SUMMARY STATEMENT OF POTENTIAL ...... 26
7 STORAGE AND CURATION ...... 27
8 UPDATED AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ...... 27
9 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...... 29
10 PUBLICATION ...... 29
11 PROJECT TEAM ...... 31
12 TIMETABLE ...... 31
13 REFERENCES ...... 32
APPENDIX 1: STRATIGRAPHIC ASSESSEMENT BY JONATHAN ORELLANA ...... 34
APPENDIX 2: FLINT BY JACKY SOMMERVILLE ...... 35
APPENDIX 3: POTTERY BY GRACE JONES ...... 38
APPENDIX 4: STONE BY RUTH SHAFFREY ...... 50
APPENDIX 5: METALWORK BY GRACE JONES ...... 53
APPENDIX 6: BURNT BONE BY ANDREW CLARKE ...... 55
APPENDIX 7: CHARRED PLANT REMAINS BY SARAH WYLES ...... 56
APPENDIX 8: CHARCOAL BY SHEILA BOARDMAN ...... 61
APPENDIX 9: OASIS REPORT FORM ...... 70
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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Fig. 1 Site location plan (1:25,000) Fig. 2 The site showing archaeological features and geophysical survey results (1:750) Fig. 3 Area 1, showing archaeological features (1:250) Fig. 4 Pit 1041, section and photograph (1:20) Fig. 5 Trench 9 (north), showing archaeological features (1:100) Fig. 6 Roundhouses 1 and 2 as seen from above (photogrammetry image) (1:75) Fig. 7 Trench 9 (south), showing archaeological features (1:100) Fig. 8 Photographs: General view of Trench 9, looking south-east towards Roundhouses 1 and 2; General view of the two roundhouses, looking south-east (1m scales) Fig. 9 Roundhouses 1 and 2, sections (1:20) Fig. 10 Posthole 9074, section and photograph (1:20) Fig. 11 Trench 8, showing archaeological features (1:100) Fig. 12 Cist 9101, section and orthomosaic photograph (1:20) Fig. 13 Cist 9253, section and orthomosaic photograph (1:20) Fig. 14 Photographs: Cist 9101 showing lintels 9102, looking south-west (0.3m scale); Post-excavation view of cist 9101, looking south-west (0.3m scale) Fig. 15 Pit 9129, section and photograph (1:20)
3 Higher Nansloe Farm, Helston, Cornwall: Post-Excavation Assessment and Updated Project Design © Cotswold Archaeology
SUMMARY
Site Name: Higher Nansloe Farm, Helston Location: Cornwall NGR: 65897 26703 Type: Excavation Date: 24 April–14 June 2017 Planning Reference: PA16/07813 Location of archive: CA office Exeter, to be deposited with the Royal Cornwall Museum Site Code: NAN 17
A programme of archaeological work was undertaken by Cotswold Archaeology between April and June 2017 at the request of Coastline Design and Build Ltd at Higher Nansloe Farm, Helston, Cornwall. Four areas were excavated across the development area.
The earliest remains comprised seven Early Neolithic (4000 BC–3000 BC) pits; although no associated structural remains were identified, these may indicate settlement of this date, possibly on an episodic basis. A single Beaker period (2600 BC–1800 BC) pit might represent a continuation of this pit digging tradition. Longer term settlement began during the Early to Middle Bronze Age (2400 BC–1100 BC) when a roundhouse settlement was established. Two adjoining roundhouses were found, along with evidence that they had been deliberately dismantled.
Later Bronze Age (1100 BC–700 BC) remains comprised a four-post structure and a cluster of pits/postholes. During the Iron Age, a rectilinear field system was established, associated with trackways and ditch arrangements suggestive of livestock management. In one area, a cluster of pits and postholes was associated with processing involving heating, whilst within another part of the site, two probable cist burials were found. No human remains were found but, aside from small quantities of unidentifiable burnt bone, bone was absent from all periods on the site, probably due to the acidity of the soils
Later remains were restricted to a single ditch which was cut through the subsoil and which is likely to have been medieval or later in date.
This document presents a quantification and assessment of the evidence recovered from the excavation which is of regional significance and warrants publication within a suitable journal.
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1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Between April and June 2017 Cotswold Archaeology (CA) carried out an archaeological excavation at Higher Nansloe Farm, (centred on NGR: 65897 26703; Fig. 1). The archaeological works were undertaken in advance of development for housing and were commissioned by Coastline Design and Build Ltd. The programme of archaeological work was requested by Sean Taylor, Senior Development Officer Historic Environment (SDOHE), Cornwall Council Historic Environment Service (CCHES), the archaeological advisor to Cornwall Council, and was carried out in response to a condition attached to a planning consent issued by Cornwall Council (ref: PA16/07813).
1.2 The work was undertaken in accordance with a detailed Written Scheme of Investigation (WSI) produced by CA (2016a) and approved by Cornwall Council acting on the advice of the SDOHE. The fieldwork also followed Standard and Guidance for Archaeological Excavation issued by the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (2014); the Management of Research Projects in the Historic Environment (MORPHE): Project Manager’s Guide and accompanying PPN3: Archaeological Excavation issued by Historic England (2015). The fieldwork was monitored by the SDOHE, including site visits on 27 April and 17 May 2017.
Location, topography and geology 1.3 The development area lies on the southern edge of the town of Helston (Fig. 1). It is bounded to the north by residential properties fronting Bulwark Road and by a school to the north-east. Farmland lies to the west, south and south-east of the development area. The development area comprises some 2.3ha (of which 0.39ha were archaeologically excavated) and prior to the development consisted of a sub- rectangular field laid to grass and defined by hedge-lined boundaries.
1.4 Helston and the development area lie on high ground forming the eastern bank of the River Cober which flows through the Loe Valley 600m west of the site, emptying into the sea at Porthleven Sands, 3.2km south-west of the site. The development area itself lies just off the brow of a 71m aOD-high hill, on its upper eastern side facing away from the Loe Valley. The landscape around Helston forms a broadly triangular parcel of relatively high ground (reaching c. 80m aOD) defined by the River Cober to the west, and water courses leading to the Carminowe Creek to the south and to Helford River to the east (Helford River lying east of the area shown on Fig. 1).
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1.5 The underlying solid geology of the development area is mapped as slate and siltstone of the Mylor Slate Formation, which formed in the Devonian era; no superficial deposits are recorded (BGS 2016). The natural geological substrate encountered during the excavation comprised degraded siltstone and slate with patches of reddish clay.
Archaeological background 1.6 Prior to the work reported on here, no archaeological remains had been recorded within the development area or its vicinity. The earliest known remains in the locality comprise the sites of Iron Age enclosed settlements, in Cornwall known as ‘rounds’. One possible example is recorded within the Cornwall Historic Environment Record (CHER) 900m south of the development area, where place-name evidence has been taken to suggest the site of a round (CHER ref. MCO 8277; Fig. 1). Similarly, a place name recorded 490m west of the development area has been taken to suggest the location of another round (CHER ref. MCO 7842; Fig. 1). A third possible round is suggested on the basis of cropmarks seen on aerial photographs of fields 1.1km north-east of the development area (CHER ref. MCO 50028; Fig. 1). None of these possible round sites have been tested by excavation.
1.7 During the medieval period, the development area appears to have formed part of the rural hinterland of Helston town and Nansloe hamlet. Medieval settlement at Helston began with the construction of a castle in the 12th to 13th centuries, built to control a crossing over the River Cober. Extra mural settlement lay immediately east of the castle and grew to become one of Cornwall’s leading medieval market towns and, from the early 14th century, a stannary town, reflecting the importance of the tin industry (Russell 2002, 5). The field boundaries forming the development area’s boundaries comprise Cornish hedges (hedgerows topping earth banks), and these may have originated during the medieval period (CA 2016b). The development area remained in agricultural use up until the present development.
1.8 The archaeological potential of the development area and its environs were assessed during a heritage assessment (CA 2016b). Archaeological work within the development area began with a geophysical survey undertaken in June 2016 (AOC 2016; Fig. 2). This identified possible archaeological remains including a sub- square enclosure, a ring-ditch, pits and field boundary ditches. There was generally a good correlation between the excavation results and those of the geophysical survey. However, two roundhouses and a number of discrete features recorded
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during the excavation had not been identified during the geophysical survey, whilst some geophysical anomalies were not identified during an evaluation of the development area (see below).
1.9 A subsequent evaluation of the development area (Fig. 2), undertaken in October 2016, confirmed the presence of the possible ring-ditch and of three pits, all of which dated to the Iron Age (CA 2016c). The ring-ditch was investigated within Trench 4 but in fact proved to be part of a larger ditch (investigated during the excavation as Ditch 4), whilst the linear geophysical anomalies that had been interpreted as the southern and eastern boundaries of the enclosure were not found to correspond to below-ground archaeological features within Trench 3.
2 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
2.1 Based on the results of the preliminary investigations detailed above, Cornwall Council, acting on the advice of the SDOHE, requested archaeological excavation within two areas (Areas 1 and 2; Fig. 2) targeted upon features identified during the geophysical survey and evaluation. Five additional trenches were excavated along the site’s eastern edge to test for the presence of a possible boundary for a round suspected by the SDOHE based on the slightly curving plan of the extant eastern field boundary. In the event, no such round boundary was encountered but the five trenches did contain significant remains which had not been recorded during the geophysical survey and were therefore extended to become two additional excavation areas (Trenches 8 and 9). The final four excavated areas totalled 0.39ha.
2.2 The aims of the excavation were to establish the character, quality, date, significance and extent of any archaeological remains surviving within the development area. The objectives of the excavation were laid out in the WSI (CA 2016a), as follows:-
• to record the nature of the main stratigraphic units encountered; • to record the overall presence, survival and potential of deposits and cut features; and • to record the overall presence, survival, condition, and nature of artefactual and ecofactual remains
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The specific aims of the work were to:-
• record any evidence of past settlement or other land use; • determine the function of the feature initially interpreted as a ring-ditch; • explore the phasing and dating of the field system; • explore the potential for the presence of a round; • recover artefactual evidence to date any evidence of past settlement that may be identified; and • sample and analyse environmental remains to create a better understanding of past land use and economy.
3 METHODOLOGY
3.1 Fieldwork commenced with the removal of the topsoil and subsoil from the excavation areas using a mechanical excavator equipped with a toothless grading bucket, under constant archaeological supervision.
3.2 All archaeological features identified were recorded in plan using Leica GPS. Detailed feature planning for the two roundhouses and the two stone cists was undertaken using photogrammetry and GPS. This was carried out in accordance with CA Fieldwork Survey Manual v5.
3.3 The archaeological features thus exposed were hand-excavated to the bottom of archaeological stratigraphy. Soil samples were taken from selected deposits that appeared on visual inspection to contain palaeoenvironmental materials.
3.4 All funerary and structural remains were 100% excavated. All postholes and pits were sampled by hand excavation to a maximum of 50% of each feature. All ditches were sampled to a maximum of 10%, including the excavation of all intersections and terminals. All features were planned and recorded in accordance with CA Technical Manual 1: Fieldwork Recording Manual. Deposits were assessed for their environmental potential in accordance with CA Technical Manual 2: The taking and processing of environmental and other samples from archaeological sites. All artefacts recovered from the excavation were retained in accordance with CA Technical Manual 3: Treatment of finds immediately after excavation.
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4 RESULTS
Fieldwork summary 4.1 Archaeological features were identified in all of the excavation areas (Areas 1 and 2; Trenches 8 and 9) and included ditches, pits, postholes, two probable cist graves and two sunken-floored roundhouses with remnants of stone walls. These features were assigned to provisional periods based on spot dates on the recovered artefacts and on the spatial relationships between features. A 0.1m–0.2m-thick subsoil layer overlaid the natural substrate across the site. The subsoil was overlain by modern topsoil which was 0.3m–0.4m thick. All prehistoric archaeological features were sealed by the subsoil, with one ditch (interpreted as medieval or later) having been cut through the subsoil. The visibility of features across site was good, and stratigraphic sequences, where present, were established with a high degree of confidence.
Period 1: Early Neolithic (4000 BC–3000 BC)
Period 2: Beaker (2600 BC–1800 BC)
Period 3: Early to Middle Bronze Age (2400 BC–1100 BC)
Period 4: Late Bronze Age (1100 BC–700 BC)
Period 5: Early to Middle Iron Age (600–100 BC)
Period 6: medieval/post-medieval (AD 1066–1800)
Unphased
Period 1: Early Neolithic (4000 BC–3000 BC) 4.2 Early Neolithic features were identified in Area 1 and consisted of seven pits (707, 1028, 1030, 1041, 1051, 1080 and 1086; Fig. 3) which yielded small quantities of gabbroic coarse ware pottery of Early Neolithic date. Flint assemblages consistent with Early Neolithic dating recovered from some of the pits are indicative of hide and plant processing. A smaller number of flints found as residual finds within Iron Age deposits most likely derive from the Early Neolithic activity, whilst flints within several features currently unphased may indicate that these were in fact Early Neolithic features.
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4.3 The dated Neolithic pits were circular to oval in plan, 0.45m to 1.05m wide and 0.1m to 0.35m deep with profiles that varied from bowl-shaped to steep-sided and flat- based. Most contained single fills but pit 1041, a steep-sided, flat-based cut, contained a sequence of three fills, 1042, 1043 and 1044 (Fig. 4, section AA). A sample from the second of these fills (1043) produced charred hazelnut shells, a charred fragment of apple-type fruit and a small assemblage of charred cereal remains including barley and hulled wheat grain fragments and an emmer wheat spikelet fork. Fill 1043 also yielded an assemblage of worked flints, including a microdenticulate blade.
4.4 The functions of these pits are not readily apparent. Whilst some might conceivably have been used to store foodstuffs, they are perhaps more likely to fall within the class of pits noted on Neolithic sites across many areas of Britain, typified by fairly bowl-shaped to flat-based profiles and often lacking finds, or containing small quantities of finds, charred plant remain and animal bones (Garrow et al. 2005, Jones and Quinnell 2011, 200; Smythe 2012; Garrow 2012; Hart et al. 2014). The Early Neolithic period saw more widespread adoption of farming, but most communities were probably peripatetic, with hunting-gathering having formed a major part of their subsistence, although the cereal remains within pit 1041 point to some level of arable production, which itself implies longer term occupation. In light of the overall pattern of movement (although the frequency of this is uncertain), such small pits found on other sites have been interpreted as having been excavated by Neolithic settlers to commemorate periods of occupation, with token handfuls of domestic waste having been cast into the pits as an act of closure (Carver 2012, 111; Thomas 2012, 2).
Period 2: Beaker (2600 BC–1800 BC) 4.5 A single pit (1019; Fig. 3) within Area 1 was dated to the Beaker period by the presence of five sherds from a Beaker pottery vessel which featured decorated vertical lines made with a cardium (cockle) shell, and horizontal rows of square impressions. Some of the undated pits might also have been of this period, although this is not knowable on the basis of the evidence. Pit 1019 was circular in plan and was 1m in diameter and 0.2m deep with moderate sides leading to a flat base. It contained a sequence of two fills, 1018 and 1017, the uppermost of which (1017) yielded the five pottery sherds. The function of this pit is not clear; it might
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represent a continuation of the Early Neolithic pit digging tradition but could equally have had a different significance.
Period 3: Early to Middle Bronze Age (2400 BC–1100 BC)
4.6 Early to Middle Bronze remains were identified in Trench 9 (Figs 5–7). These consisted of two roundhouses, a large posthole and a shallow pit. The dating of these features has been established based on spot dates from pottery sherds which occur in a gabbroic fabric which include examples with impressed cord decoration comparable to Trevisker pottery recovered from other Bronze Age sites in the region.
4.7 The most significant Bronze Age features found were the remains of two sunken- floored roundhouses (Roundhouses 1 and 2) located on a gentle south-east facing slope near the eastern boundary of the site (Fig. 8). Roundhouse 1 was fully exposed whereas Roundhouse 2 lay partially beyond the excavated area, although the majority of the surviving structure was revealed. Full exposure of Roundhouse 2 was precluded by the proximity of a hedgerow.
Roundhouse 1 4.8 The construction of Roundhouse 1 started with the excavation of a circular hollow, 9003, 8m in diameter and 0.55m deep (Fig. 8 and Fig. 9, section BB). This hollow had moderate sides leading to a flat base and was terraced into the natural south- east facing slope. Within the hollow, a drystone wall had been built up against the inner face; this wall survived in three segments (9004, 9005 and 9059), together extending for some two thirds of the circuit but originally probably more extensive as indicated by later rubble deposits. No clear evidence for an entrance was defined but a lack of stones on the south-eastern side of the roundhouse might indicate an entrance at that location. The gap along the wall line noted against the western part of the hollow probably represents collapse of the wall since that area was covered by rubble layer 9008. The wall survived as a single irregular course of granite blocks set out along the edge of the hollow and forming a wall line 8m in diameter and 0.7m wide.
4.9 No flooring survived within the roundhouse, but on the base of the construction hollow a number of postholes survived. Some of these may have supported a ring of upright posts acting as roof supports, whilst posthole 9240 was centrally located.
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The postholes were 0.2m to 0.4m wide and 0.3m deep, with moderate to steep sides and flat or concave bases. Some contained disturbed granite stones used to pack around former posts, suggesting that the posts may have been deliberately removed, allowing the stones to fall into the resulting voids. Aside from these stones, the postholes contained no finds and produced no ecofactual remains.
4.10 Also found on the hollow base was a shallow oval feature interpreted as a hearth, along with a layer. Hearth 9226 was found immediately south-west of central posthole 9240 and was 0.6m long, 0.5m wide and 0.03m deep. The surrounding substrate had not been scorched but the hearth contained a single fill of scorched clay, probably the remnant of a clay lining or superstructure. A sample from the hearth produced only a single charred barley grain but this paucity may reflect the shallow depth of the hearth. The layer, 9006, was a 0.07m-thick deposit, 4m long and 3m wide, located within the north-eastern part of the roundhouse hollow, terminating just before wall 9005. It consisted of dark brown-grey clay with frequent charcoal flecks; four samples from this layer produced mainly fuelwood charcoal derived from oak and hazel, with only a single charred barley grain.
4.11 As described above, disturbed packing stones within some of the postholes suggest the deliberate dismantling of the roundhouse. Further evidence of the end of this roundhouse came in the form of layer 9008. This layer of stone rubble was 0.5m– 1.5m wide and 0.2m–0.4m thick sealing some of the postholes and produced three abraded sherds of decorated Early to Middle Bronze Age pottery. Whether this layer represents deliberate demolition of the roundhouse or a slow process of collapse is uncertain, but the former might be indicated by the deliberate removal of the posts. It is also possible that the absence of floor surfaces, deeper hearth deposits and general occupation debris (aside, perhaps, from layer 9006) suggest that the roundhouse was (ritually?) swept out before abandonment, although there is no further evidence to support this supposition.
4.12 The rubble layer was partially sealed by silty layers 9010/9011 and 9012 which entirely filled the roundhouse hollow. These might represent gradual natural infilling of the remnant hollow but could instead reflect deliberate backfilling, effectively burying the disused roundhouse in an act of closure. Layer 9012 produced nineteen sherds of Early to Middle Bronze Age pottery, which perhaps supports the latter interpretation.
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Roundhouse 2 4.13 Roundhouse 2 was immediately south of Roundhouse 1 and survived as oval hollow 9023, 5.85m long, 4.55m wide and 0.3m deep, with moderate sides leading to a flat base (Figs 5 and 6, and Fig. 9, section CC). The hollow of Roundhouse 2 was joined to that of Roundhouse 1 and, like that of Roundhouse 1, had been terraced into the natural slope. A segment of stone wall, 9159, survived along the western inner edge of the hollow, and the extent of later rubble deposits suggests that this wall was originally more extensive. The wall survived as two courses of irregularly coursed granite blocks and was 0.85m long, 0.25m wide and 0.25m high.
4.14 No floor survived within the roundhouse, but 11 postholes and 15 stakeholes had been cut into the base of the hollow. The postholes were 0.3m wide and 0.2m to 0.3m deep with steep sides and flat or concave bases. The stakeholes were 0.1m wide and 0.1m to 0.3m deep with steep sides and tapered bases suggestive of driven stakes. Some of the postholes contained disturbed packing stones and one, posthole 9204, contained in situ post packing stones. Two of the postholes yielded small amounts of prehistoric pottery.
4.15 Hearth 9188 was present within the centre of the roundhouse hollow. It survived as a cut 0.4m long, 0.35m wide and 0.05m deep and contained a single fill of yellowish scorched clay, probably the remnant of a clay lining or superstructure; the surrounding substrate had not been scorched. Layer 9165, consisting of compact dark brown silty clay with occasional charcoal smears, was identified within the central part of Roundhouse 2. It was 3.3m long, 2.5m wide and 0.02m to 0.07m thick and covered the hearth and several of the postholes and stakeholes and so may relate to the demolition rather than the occupation of the roundhouse. This layer yielded three sherds of Early to Middle Bronze Age pottery, one of which featured impressed cord decoration.
4.16 As with Roundhouse 1, the disturbed packing stones noted within some of the postholes suggest a degree of deliberate demolition. Rubble deposit 9022, a 0.1m to 0.25m-thick deposit which sealed a number of the postholes, represents either the collapse or demolition of the roundhouse wall. Eight sherds of pottery were retrieved from this layer, along with a saddle quern/grinding slab and half of a large stone used as a grain rubber (SF 9), these stone items perhaps representing special deposition associated with the abandonment of the roundhouse. This layer also produced a moderate charred plant assemblage, dominated by cereal grains,
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mainly from barley, but also from hulled wheat and emmer or spelt wheat. A charred hazelnut shell was also present.
4.17 The remaining hollow of the roundhouse was filled by brown silty clay 9021 which, like corresponding layers within Roundhouse 1, might represent either a process of natural infilling or deliberate burial of the roundhouse remains. The latter might seem more likely in light of the presence within this deposit of a perforated slate disk, perhaps a vessel lid (SF 4), which might represent special deposition. The layer also produced 24 small Bronze Age pottery sherds.
4.18 The area where the hollows of the two roundhouses joined was very shallow and horizontally truncated. However, it was observed that the demolition layer that sealed Roundhouse 2 extended through the area between the two roundhouses suggesting that they were contemporaneous. Both roundhouses contained hearths, and both might conceivably have been dwellings, although an alternative possibility is that Roundhouse 1 was a dwelling and Roundhouse 2, which produced the saddle quern/grinding slab and grain rubber stone, may have been a working area. Unfortunately, the evidence from both structures is too slight to do more than speculate in this regard. Either way, the site would seem to have been occupied by a single family or extended family that included cereal processing amongst its activities. The absence of animal bone may reflect the acidic soil conditions, rather than implying that the inhabitants did not engage in pastoralism, but again, this is unknown on the basis of the evidence from the site.
Other Early to Middle Bronze Age Features 4.19 Approximately 20m south-west of Roundhouse 2 a substantial posthole (9074) was found (Fig. 7). It was circular in plan, 0.95m wide and 0.6m deep with almost vertical sides and a flat base (Fig. 10, Sect. DD). It contained large granite blocks likely to represent stones used to pack around a former post of which no traces survived. A sequence of two fills within the posthole post-dates the removal of the post but a single rim sherd from a decorated Trevisker ware slack-shouldered jar was recovered from upper fill 9076. The posthole was found close to the excavation edge, and so it is unknown whether it represents the setting for a single post, such as a totem or marker post, or was part of a group of such features, the others of which lay beyond the excavated area.
4.20 Pit 9033, 5.5m north-east of posthole 9074, truncated shallow pit 9024, itself not closely dated. Pit 9033 was 0.5m long, 0.25m wide and 0.15m deep and contained
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a single fill from which a rim sherd from a decorated Trevisker slack-shouldered jar was retrieved. The presence of single rim sherds in the fills of posthole 9074 and pit 9033 perhaps suggests that these finds were selected for special deposition.
Period 4: Late Bronze Age (1100 BC–700 BC)
4.21 Late Bronze Age remains were found within Trench 8, 25m north-east of Roundhouse 1 (Fig. 11). They comprised a ditch terminal and a cluster of shallow pits and postholes (Pit Group B) which included the remains of a possible structure (Structure B). The dating for this period relies on the presence of gabbroic pottery with mudstone inclusions which seems to be a late form of the Trevisker tradition. Several undated pits/postholes in the same location may also be of this period.
4.22 Pit Group B included both pits and postholes. Amongst the postholes, a number of possible structural plans might be identified, the most convincing of which seems to be that of a four-post structure (Structure B) defined by postholes 8027, 8036, 8054 and 8057 and with a groundplan 2.5m x 2.5m in extent. Such structures are a common feature of later prehistoric sites and are often interpreted as raised platform granaries, although other uses are possible, such as for storage of other materials.
4.23 Some 7m south of Structure B, north-west/south-east aligned ditch 8005 was found. This ditch was 0.6m wide and 0.05m deep, with moderately sloping sides leading to a flat base. The ditch extended for 1.9m from the eastern site edge but may have been more extensive originally, given its shallow depth. Six sherds of Late Bronze age pottery were recovered from its fill.
Period 5: Early to Middle Iron Age (600–100 BC)
4.24 Iron Age remains were revealed in Areas 1 and 2 and within the southern part of Trench 9 (Figs 3 and 7). The remains consisted of a rectilinear field system, two probable cist graves and clusters of pits and postholes. These features have been dated based on the basis of the presence of pottery sherds from jars in the Plain Jar Group tradition of the Early Iron Age (c. 6th to 4th centuries BC) whilst Middle Iron Age activity is indicated by sherds in the South-West Decorated tradition (c. 4th to
1st centuries BC).
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Rectilinear field system 4.25 The rectilinear field system was clearly recorded during the geophysical survey and extended across the site (Fig. 2). It was based on north-west/south-east and north- east/south-west alignments of ditches with the development area encompassing most of a rectangular field within its central area, with further fields extending from the sides of this beyond the development area. Area 1 exposed the western edge of the central field, as well as elements of adjacent fields and a trackway, and some internal features within the central field. Area 2 exposed a junction between ditches whilst Trench 9 exposed remains to the east of the central field, including an area of burial. A possible trackway to the south of the central rectangular field was recorded during the geophysical survey and was subsequently investigated within evaluation Trench 3. Although no archaeological features corresponding with the geophysical anomalies were identified within Trench 3, the geophysical anomalies appear convincing and it is likely that they were produced by very slight trackway remains that were not detectable during the evaluation (the anomaly being faintest at the point where it was intersected by the evaluation trench, see Fig. 2).
4.26 The ditches themselves (Ditches 1–6; Fig. 2) were typically 0.6m–1.4m wide and up to 0.35m deep, generally with moderately sloping sides and flat bases. They contained homogenous dark brown silty clay fills which produced a few sherds of broadly dated prehistoric pottery. However, the ditches are considered to have been Iron Age based on their apparent spatial relationships with more closely dated Iron Age remains (see below). Evidence for re-cutting was only identified along Ditch 1 which had been re-cut by Ditch 2.
4.27 The function of these fields is suggested by their layout. Part of a trackway was exposed at the northern edge of Area 1, leading northwards from the central field (Fig. 3). South of this, a 6m-wide gap between Ditches 1 and 6 was associated with small ditch lengths (ditch 1107, Ditch 4) which created funnel-like arrangements suggestive of livestock management (c.f. Pryor 1999). A similar funnel-like entrance led westwards into the north-eastern corner of the central field from a field to its east, partially exposed within Trench 9 (Figs 3, 5 and 7). On this basis, despite the absence of identified animal bone from the site (aside from fragments of burnt bone, which are unidentifiable to species), pastoral farming would seem to have been part of the Iron Age occupants’ economy.
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Processing activity within Area 1 4.28 A short ditch segment, Ditch 4, was found immediately east of Ditches 1 and 2, and formed part of the funnel-like arrangement of ditches noted above (Fig. 3). It was a slightly curvilinear ditch, 11.5m long on a north-east/south-west alignment, with a return at its south-western end. It had steep sides leading to a flat base, and was up to 1.65m wide and 1.25m deep. It contained a sequence of fills suggestive of material having slumped in, or having been tipped in, from a bank along its south- eastern side, and this material included stone blocks, perhaps suggesting a stone core to the bank. The fills produced Early to Middle Iron Age pottery and a hammerstone (SF 16), and this pottery may provide dating for the field system as a whole. The ditch seems to have been associated with an area of pits and postholes (Pit Group A) to the immediate south, and was perhaps intended as a screen to funnel livestock away from this area.
4.29 Pit Group A comprised 51 shallow pits and postholes, some of which were intercutting, suggesting some longevity to the activity represented. Some of these features contained scorched stones and scorched clay whilst pits 1212, 1220 and 1230 produced small quantities of burnt bone, unidentifiable to species. Samples from some of the pits contained small quantities of charred plant remains, including grains of barley, emmer wheat and spelt wheat, hazelnut shell fragments and seeds of oat/brome grass and celtic bean. Pit 1158 contained a folded iron strip with a rivet hole and with mineral-preserved wood. The item is unidentified with any certainty, but might have been a spear butt or the tip of a digging stick. A 0.1m-thick layer of charcoal and scorched stones (1205) was associated with these pits and postholes, having been cut by some whilst sealing others. Together, these remains suggest an area of processing associated with heat, perhaps a cooking area, although this is uncertain. Four of the pits (1134, 1140, 1182 and 1214) yielded small amounts of decorated Iron Age pottery.
4.30 Immediately east of Pit Group A, a broadly square arrangement of postholes was found and these perhaps represent the remains of a structure (Structure A). Structure A had a north-west/south-east orientated rectangular plan 4.1m long and 3.8m wide. It consisted of eight circular postholes (1004, 1006, 1008, 1010, 1012, 1014, 1016 and 1128) which were steep sided, 0.2m–0.35m wide and 0.1m–0.3m deep. All contained homogenous brown silty clay fills from which no artefactual material was recovered.
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4.31 Pit 1084, identified 13.5m to the north-east of Structure A, was circular in plan and was 0.7m wide and 0.25m deep with moderate sides leading to a concave base. It contained a single fill from which a substantial amount of prehistoric pottery was recovered which is currently not closely dated.
Burial activity within Trench 9 4.32 Iron Age remains within Trench 9 comprised two probable cist graves and a few pits and postholes (Fig. 7). These seemed to have been bounded to the north by north- east/south-west orientated Ditch 7, which was 7.8m long, 0.55m–0.7m wide and 0.05m–0.1m deep, with moderate sides leading to a flat base. A short ditch segment immediately south of the eastern end of Ditch 7 may have been a re-cut of its eastern terminal whilst pit 9043 just south of the western terminal of Ditch 7 might also have been associated with the ditch (it had an uncertain relationship with a slightly intercutting posthole 9045). Three body sherds of Iron Age pottery were retrieved from the south-western terminal of Ditch 7.
4.33 Immediately south of Ditch 7 was Structure C, an alignment of five postholes (9077, 9079, 9084, 9086 and 9090) which may have supported the posts of a fence line. Morphologically these postholes were very similar, comprising circular steep-sided cuts with flat bases, typically 0.35m wide and up to 0.4m deep. All contained disturbed post packing stones. As with Ditch 4, this ditch and fence line may have screened features to the immediate south from livestock entering or exiting the field through the funnel entrance. Two additional postholes, 9050 and 9047, located south of Ditch 7 may have been associated with this boundary, or may have held the posts of an unrelated structure, whilst further pits/postholes along the fence line may also have been purposely excavated to reference and/or augment this boundary.
4.34 The two stone cists were found south-west of the ditch and fence boundary. Although neither contained inhumation burials and only one contained small quantities of unidentifiable burnt bone, both are interpreted as graves, any human bone (other than the unidentifiable burnt bone) having been lost to the acidic soils. Stone samples from both cists were collected for comparison with the local geology. The stones included slate and quartz from the Mylor formation which underlies the site, along with granite which does not occur within the site itself but is available locally, within 2km.
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4.35 Cist 9101 consisted of an east/west aligned rectangular cut (9098), 1.25m long, 0.95m wide and 0.55m deep, with vertical sides and a flat base (Figs 12 and 14). The sides of the cut had been lined with stone blocks whilst larger stones provided capping, although only two capping stones remained. Internally the cist measured 1.2m long, 0.75m wide and 0.6m high. No bone was found within the cist and no artefactual material was present.
4.36 Cist 9253 was 5m to the south of cist 9101 and on a slightly different alignment. It had been built within a sub-rectangular cut, 9252, which had irregular sides and a flat base and was 2.1m long, 1.05m wide and 0.4m deep (Fig. 13). The cut had been lined along its base and sides with substantial stone blocks and slabs. Capping stones were absent. Internally cist 9253 was 0.95m long, 0.95m wide and 0.5m high. It contained lower fill 9255, a brown-black silty clay with abundant charcoal; a sample from this deposit produced a large assemblage of charred plant remains dominated by cereal remains, in particular barley grains with low numbers of both emmer wheat and spelt wheat grain and chaff elements also present. Other remains include charred hazelnut shell fragments and oak and hazel charcoal. Two small fragments of burnt bone, unidentifiable to species, were retrieved from upper fill 9256 which also produced a well-made (unburnt) grain rubbing stone (SF 14) and a group of three iron objects (collectively SF 13). These included part of a spearhead with mineral-preserved wood from the shaft, part of a curved blade, and a bar fragment. The stone and iron objects came from within the construction cut for the cist but immediately outside the cist itself, and may have been grave goods. The spear with shaft could not have fitted into the grave, so the spearhead must have been broken off the shaft (perhaps deliberately) prior to deposition; it is possible that the remaining shaft was also included in the grave but has been entirely eroded. The discovery of a weapon within an Iron Age grave is unusual for the region, with the only apparent parallel being a sword found within a cist burial on the Isles of Scilly (See appendix 5).
4.37 Cist 9253 lay within a cluster of pits and postholes. Amongst these, an oval arrangement of postholes may represent a small structure or screen surrounding the cist (Structure D) and measuring 4.25m x 3.5m in extent. The postholes forming Structure D were circular with steep sides and flat or concave bases and contained disturbed post packing stones. A single sherd of probable Iron Age pottery was retrieved from posthole 9142.
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4.38 Two layers, 9250 and 9251, extended to the immediate east of Structure D and cist 9253. Of these, layer 9251 extended into the area enclosed by Structure D, suggesting that it did not comprise a solid screen, at least when the layer was deposited. Layer 9250 comprised large stones likely to represent disturbance of the cist itself, which lacked capping stones when found; a large saddle quern (SF 12) within this layer may have originated as a special deposit within the cist. Layer 9251, which contained abundant charcoal fragments, seems to represent material washed downslope from the cist. A sample from this layer produced charred cereal remains along with fragments of burnt bone, although the bone was too fragmented to be identifiable to species, even to the extent of determining whether the bone was human or animal in origin.
4.39 Pit 9129 was found immediately south of Structure D. It was a circular cut 0.8m wide and 0.75m deep (Fig.15, section GG) with steep sides and a concave base. It contained a sequence of four fills (9130, 9131, 9132 and 9133) which produced a large assemblage of Iron Age pottery (137 sherds weighing together 4375g), including cross-joining pottery sherds from twelve vessels found across three of the fills and which included jars of Early Iron Age date as well as a bowl in the later South-West Decorated ware tradition. The two lowest pit fills, 9130 and 9131, produced large assemblages of charred plant remains, dominated by cereal remains, in particular barley grains. There were also a few hulled wheat remains, including those of emmer wheat. Fill 9130 also produced a small quantity of burnt bone, but this was unidentifiable to species, and two pieces of copper wire, possibly from a brooch spring. These two lower fills were partially sealed by a horizontal stone slab above which the third fill (9132) contained a stone saddle quern or grain rubber (SF 18) and a possible stone grain rubber fragment (SF 3), all likely to represent special deposition, and there is the possibility (in light of the finds, burnt bone and stone slab) that this represents a further grave, although this must remain as speculation in the absence of any identifiable bone.
Period 6: medieval/post-medieval (1066–1800) 4.40 Medieval or post-medieval remains were restricted to a single ditch found within the northern part of Trench 9. This ditch, 9056, (Fig. 5) was aligned north-east/south- west and had truncated the eastern part of Roundhouse 1. No dating evidence was recovered from its single fill but the ditch was cut through the subsoil which sealed all the prehistoric features in Trench 9 and so is likely to date to the medieval period or later. Its alignment is also that of the extant boundaries. Although relatively late in
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date, the ditch produced a perforated slate disk likely to have been of prehistoric date and so probably residual within this ditch.
Unphased
4.41 A number of pits found across the site remain unphased since they lacked dateable finds and clear spatial relationships with other features. Whilst it is likely that most belong to one of the periods described above, the presence of pits from the Neolithic through to the Iron Age periods means that ascribing the unphased pits to a particular period on typological grounds is not possible in most cases, although a few might be more closely dated following further analysis. A few pits were truncated by prehistoric features and it may be possible to assign these to a particular phase following further analysis.
5 FACTUAL DATA AND STATEMENTS OF POTENTIAL
Stratigraphic Record: factual data 5.1 Following the completion of the fieldwork an ordered, indexed, and internally consistent site archive was compiled in accordance with specifications presented in the Management of Research Projects in the Historic Environment (MORPHE): Project Manager’s Guide (Historic England 2015a). A database of all contextual and artefactual evidence and a site matrix was also compiled and cross-referenced to spot-dating. The fieldwork generated the following records:-
Context sheets 567 Sections (1:10, 1:20) 79 Sample sheets 24 Digital photographs 1065 Matrices 2
5.2 The survival and intelligibility of the site stratigraphy was good with archaeological remains having survived largely as negative features. Despite a relative paucity of stratigraphic relationships, most features have been assigned to a period based on context dates and/or spatial association.
Stratigraphic record: statement of potential 5.3 A secure stratigraphic sequence is essential to elucidating the form, purpose, date, organisation and development of the various phases of activity represented. This can be achieved through detailed analysis of the sequence and further integration
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of the artefactual dating evidence. The refined sequence will then serve as the spatial and temporal framework within which other artefactual and biological evidence can be understood.
5.4 For the site, the majority of features have been assigned to periods, and this phasing scheme is unlikely to change significantly. It is proposed that further stratigraphic analysis targets specific key features, such as the roundhouses, in order to elucidate their forms, functions and histories.
Artefactual record: factual data 5.5 All finds collected during the excavation have been cleaned, marked, quantified and catalogued by context. All metalwork has been x-rayed and stabilised where appropriate.
Type Category Count Weight (g) Pottery Early Neolithic 128 1508 Beaker 5 44 Early to Middle Bronze Age 59 469 Late Bronze Age 11 127 Iron Age 191 4999 Indeterminate prehistoric 141 1376 Total 535 8523 Flint Worked 53 202 Metals Iron 4 items 391 Copper alloy 2 fragments 1 Stone Objects 14 n/a
5.6 As is typical for prehistoric (and indeed later) sites in Cornwall, the artefactual assemblage is small. The flint assemblage was largely found within Early Neolithic pits and is consistent with dating within that period. Sufficient pottery sherds were available to allow for the site to be securely phased, with only a few features remaining unphased. Ceramics found dated to the Early Neolithic, Beaker, Early to Middle Bronze Age, Late Bronze Age, Early to Middle Iron Age and later Iron Age periods. The metalwork assemblage, although small, includes the significant discovery of a group of three objects apparently placed as grave goods within a cist. Worked stones mainly comprised items used to process cereals, although two possible slate lids were also present.
Worked flint 5.7 Worked flints were found in small quantities. Most were from Early Neolithic pits and were found alongside Early Neolithic pottery. The types found are consistent with
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Early Neolithic dating and most/all of the flints on site are likely to derive from this period of activity.
Pottery 5.8 The pottery assemblage is small but has proved sufficient to allow for most of the features on site to be assigned to a phase of activity. The earliest wares date to the Early Neolithic and comprise coarse wares in gabbroic fabrics comparable with other examples of that date found within Cornwall. The few Beaker sherds found all came from a single feature; unusually for south-western England, the sherds display shell-impressed decoration, a feature not previously recorded within the region and perhaps deriving from Neolithic traditions along the western coast of Scotland.
5.9 The Early to Middle Bronze Age sherds belong to the Trevisker ware tradition well attested for the period within Cornwall. Some of the vessels display impressed twisted cord decoration. The Late Bronze Age pottery represents a later development of the Trevisker tradition. Iron Age pottery from the site mainly comprised jars in the Plain Jar Group tradition of the Early Iron Age (c. 6th to 4th centuries BC) but also a pottery of the Middle Iron Age South-West Decorated tradition (c. 4th to 1st centuries BC).
Stone 5.10 Of the fourteen stone items, two comprised perorated disks, most likely used as lids, whilst seven were querns or rubbing stones used to process cereals. A further three unworked stones were collected along with two stones of indeterminate function. In addition, stone samples were collected to determine the likely source of stones used within the cist graves; the analysis determined that the stone was likely to have been of local origin.
Metalwork 5.11 The metalwork assemblage includes two copper alloy wires from an Iron Age pit and possibly the remains of a brooch spring. The most significant discovery is of a group of three iron objects from one of the cist graves. These comprise the remains of a spearhead, a knife and a bar. The former item has mineralised wood attached from the haft. A second iron item with attached mineralised wood came from an Iron Age pit and may have been a spear butt or the tip of a digging stick.
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Artefactual record: statements of potential Worked flint 5.12 The assemblage is small but almost entirely in situ within contemporary Early Neolithic features and adds to the corpus of evidence for the region. The assemblage has been fully reported on and no further analysis is required. The findings should be summarised in any publication work but there are no items which require illustration.
Pottery 5.13 The pottery assemblage is small but adds to the corpus of material from the region. It has also allowed for a secure phasing scheme for the site to be established. The pottery has been fully analysed and further work is not required. The results should be included in any publication report, along with illustrations of selected vessels (c. 10 vessels).
Stone 5.14 The stone items were mainly those associated with grain processing. Many or all may represent special deposits, and this will require further stratigraphic analysis to assess. The stones themselves have been fully recorded at this stage and further analysis and recording are not required. The results should be included within any
future publication, and it is recommended that the following items are illustrated:
• SF 14 (9256) rubber (photo and cross section) • SF 4 (9021) perforated disc (photo and cross section)
Metalwork 5.15 The metalwork assemblage is of regional significance based on the small group of items from one of the cist burials, which includes a spearhead. The items have been fully analysed, conserved and x-rayed and no further analysis is recommended. A contextual discussion of the finds should be included in any publication and it is recommended that the four iron items are illustrated.
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Biological record: factual data 5.16 All ecofacts recovered from the excavation have been cleaned, marked, quantified and catalogued by context. A total of 19 bulk samples were taken for the recovery of environmental remains.
Type Category Count burnt bone Unidentifiable to species 83 (8.9g) Samples Environmental 19
Burnt bone 5.17 Burnt bone was recovered in small quantities from later prehistoric features including pits and a cist grave. The bone is all highly fragmented and is unidentifiable to species, even to the extent of determining whether it is human or animal in origin. No unburnt bone was recovered from the site, a result of the acidity of the local soils which can entirely destroy unburnt bone.
Plant macrofossil and charcoal 5.18 Nineteen samples were recovered from a range of features including layers, hearths, pits, postholes and a cist grave. The samples spanned the Early Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age periods. Early Neolithic remains included evidence for both farmed and gathered food in the form of charred remains. The cereal remains included grains from barley and hulled wheat; an emmer spikelet fork was also present. The wild food remains found included hazelnut shell fragments and an apple-type fruit fragment.
5.19 The Bronze Age features produced further charred plant remains, comprising cereals, weed seeds and charcoal. The cereals were dominated by barley, with hulled wheat (emmer and spelt) also present.
5.20 The Iron Age remains produced further charred cereal and weed seed assemblages, alongside fuelwood charcoal. Barley was again the dominant cereal, with hulled wheat (identifiable as emmer and spelt) also present.
Biological record: statements of potential Burnt bone 5.21 The burnt bone is unidentifiable to species and has been as fully analysed as it can be. There is no potential for further analysis but the results as they stand should be included in any future publication.
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Plant macrofossil and charcoal 5.22 The main potential of the charred plant remains is to add to the picture of food production, processing and consumption on the site, although this potential is limited by the small size of the assemblage, and also by a lack of animal bone which might have been used to assess the relative importance of arable and pastoral farming across the periods, and the contribution of hunted and fished food. The charcoal from the site was found in small quantities but adds to the evidence from the region for changes to the local ecology over time, and any human impact upon it, including woodland management. The charred plant remains have been fully analysed and no further work is recommended. The results should be detailed in any publication.
6 SUMMARY STATEMENT OF POTENTIAL
6.1 The site occupies a location which would have provided its prehistoric inhabitants with access to a range of resources on the higher ground within which the site lies, along the valley floors of the nearby rivers, and along the coast, which would have been readily accessible by foot or perhaps by boat along the River Cober. Although the areas excavated were relatively small, they lie within a wider area of geophysical survey which helps to place the results in context. The remains provide a picture of settlement and land use on the Lizard Peninsula from the time of hunter-gatherers during the Mesolithic period and those practicing a mixture of hunting-gathering and farming during the Early Neolithic period, to more settled farmers of the Early and Middle Bronze Age and then to a period of enclosure during the Early to Middle Iron Age.
6.2 Evidence for the economic lives of the people who inhabited the site across these periods was limited, in part due to the lack of unburnt animal bone. However, the flints, the small charred plant assemblage and the layout of the Iron Age features, taken with the evidence of the finds assemblage has enabled suggestions to be forwarded about the activities undertaken.
6.3 There is also evidence for the spiritual aspects of these people’s lives. Closure deposits may have been made by the Early Neolithic inhabitants who perhaps occupied the site episodically. During the Bronze Age, the end of the settlement may have been marked by the deliberate dismantling of the houses and the
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deposition of special objects (notably quern and grain rubbing stones) reflecting the domestic sphere, perhaps with overtones of fertility. During the Iron Age, burials within cists were laid out, although these cannot represent the entire population, and so others of the Iron Age inhabitants must have either died elsewhere or have been disposed of in a form which has left no trace, which reflects the general pattern on British Iron Age sites. The presence of a quernstone associated with one of the cists perhaps suggests a continuation of the Bronze Age tradition seen on site of special deposition of these objects.
6.4 The objectives of the excavation were fully met. The finds and environmental remains collected from the site have been analysed sufficiently to meet these requirements. Further analysis will be restricted to selected stratigraphic units, with the aim of addressing specific questions, such as the form of the roundhouses. Whilst it is anticipated that the phasing scheme detailed in this report is unlikely to change significantly, it is proposed that selected deposits are radiocarbon dated, and this dating may both refine the proposed date ranges of the periods, and will add to the corpus of radiocarbon dates associated with ceramics within the region.
7 STORAGE AND CURATION
7.1 The archive is currently held at CAs offices, Kemble, whilst post-excavation work proceeds. Upon completion of the project and with the agreement of the legal landowners, the site archive and artefactual collection will be deposited with the Royal Cornwall Museum, Truro, which has agreed in principle to accept the complete archive upon completion of the project.
8 UPDATED AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
8.1 The finds and environmental remains from the site have been analysed, and much of the stratigraphic sequence has also been analysed. Further analysis will focus on selected features and will be augmented by three radiocarbon determinations. Where appropriate, the updated aims and objectives are referenced against those detailed within the South West Archaeological Research Framework: Resource Assessment and Research Agenda (SWARF; Webster 2008), which provides a research agenda for the south-west region.
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Objective 1: Refine the dating of the Early Neolithic occupation 8.2 SWARF Research Aim 13 identifies a need to increase knowledge of Neolithic settlement in the region and to investigate the possibility of traditions of pit digging and deposition. Charred material from pit 1041 will be submitted for radiocarbon dating in order to provide a date range for the associated pottery which will add to the corpus of dates associated with Neolithic pottery from the region.
Objective 2: Elucidate the form of the Bronze Age roundhouses 8.3 SWARF Research Aim 13 identifies a need to increase knowledge of Early Bronze Age settlement in the region. Further stratigraphic analysis is required in order to determine the construction techniques used to build the roundhouses. This will focus on the spatial arrangement of the internal postholes in relation to the construction hollows and walls, and will take into account regional comparanda.
Objective 3: Refine the current understanding of the Iron Age remains 8.4 SWARF Research Aim 13 identifies a need to increase knowledge of the tradition of cist burials in the region, to allow for comparison with different traditions elsewhere. The Iron Age remains comprise a field system, an area of processing (Pit Group A) and an area of burial. Each requires further stratigraphic and/or spatial analysis in order for these remains to be more fully understood. It is clear that the Iron Age ceramic assemblage includes wares from several different traditions. The ceramics themselves do not require further analysis, but contextual analysis of the different types may allow the identification of any sub-phasing within the Iron Age period. In addition, it is proposed that samples are submitted for radiocarbon dating from two suitable Iron Age deposits (unfortunately, the mineralised wood from the spear shaft is not suitable for radiocarbon dating).
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Objective 4: Undertake radiocarbon dating of material from selected features to help refine the phasing of the site and to add to the corpus of dated deposits within Cornwall and nationally 8.5 Three deposits suitable for radiocarbon dating are identified below. Should any of these samples fail to produce a date, suitable alternative samples will be selected unless no such material is present.
Summary of radiocarbon dating proposals Period Context/feature material Reason for dating 1: Early Neolithic Fill 1043 (pit 1041) Charred To date the pit and plant associated pottery remains 5: Iron Age Fill 1213 of pit 1212 (Pit Charcoal To clarify the dating of this Group A) feature/group 5: Iron Age Fill 1220 of pit/ph 1221 Charcoal To clarify the dating of this (Pit Group A) feature/group
9 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
9.1 Fieldwork was undertaken by Jonathan Orellana, assisted by Edoardo Vigo, George Gandham, Parris Stubbings, Christina Tapply, Victoria Parsons, Jerry Austin and Simon Sworn. This report was written by Jonathan Orellana and Jonathan Hart. The pottery and metal finds reports were written by Grace Jones, the worked flint report by Jacky Sommerville, the stone report by Ruth Shaffrey, the burnt bone report by Andy Clarke, the charred plant remains report by Sarah Wyles, and the charcoal report by Sheila Boardman. The illustrations were prepared by Esther Escudero. The archive has been compiled and prepared for deposition by Hazel O’Neill. The fieldwork was managed for CA by Derek Evans and the post- excavation work was managed by Jonathan Hart.
10 PUBLICATION
10.1 The results from the investigations at Higher Nansloe Farm are of regional significance and merit publication. It is therefore proposed that an archive report fully detailing the findings (including all specialist reporting and radiocarbon dating evidence) is published online via the Cotswold Archaeology website, and that a summary of that report is published within Cornish Archaeology in order to bring the results to wider public attention.
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Synopsis of Proposed Summary Report for Cornish Archaeology
Prehistoric occupation, farming and burial above the Loe Valley: Archaeological Investigations at Higher Nansloe Farm, Helston, 2017 by Jonathan Hart, Grace Jones and Jonathan Orellano Words Acknowledgements 100 Summary 200 Introduction Location, topography and geology 150 Archaeological background 150 Project background 150 Excavation Results Chronological discussion of the major phases and features of the site 2000 Pottery (Grace Jones) 1100 Flint (Jacky Sommerville) 500 Stone (Ruth Shaffrey) 500 Metalwork (Grace Jones) 250 Discussion Discussion 2000 Bibliography 600 Total words 7,700 Approximate pages @ 600 words/page 13
Pages Tables Pottery 1 Illustrations Site plans and photographs 4 Finds drawings 3 21 Total publication estimate pages
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11 PROJECT TEAM
11.1 The analysis and publication programme will be quality assured by Karen Walker MCIfA (Principal Post-Excavation Manager) and managed by Jonathan Hart MCIFA (Senior Publications Officer: SPO), who will contribute to the discussion as senior author and co-ordinate the work of the following individuals:-
Jonathan Orellano (Project Officer: PO): Post-excavation phasing, draft report preparation, research and archive.
Ed McSloy MCIfA (Finds Manager: FM): Post-excavation phasing advice.
Sharon Clough MCIfA (Environmental Officer (Osteologist): Osteo) Radiocarbon analysis advice.
Daniel Bashford (Senior Illustrator: ILL): Production of all site plans, sections and artefact drawings (exc. pottery)
11.2 The final publication report will be edited and refereed internally by CA senior project management.
12 TIMETABLE
12.1 For a publication project, CA would normally aim to have completed a publication draft within one year of approval of the updated publication project design. A detailed programme can be produced if desired on approval of the updated publication project design.
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13 REFERENCES
Anderson-Whymark, H. and Thomas, J. 2012 Regional Perspectives on Neolithic Pit Deposition: Beyond the Mundane, Neolithic Studies Group Seminar Papers 12. Oxbow, Oxford
AOC (AOC Archaeology Group) 2016 Higher Nansloe Farm, Helston, Cornwall: Archaeological Geophysical Survey
BGS (British Geological Survey) 2016 Geology of Britain Viewer http://www.bgs.ac.uk/discoveringGeology/geologyOfBritain/viewer.html Accessed 21 September 2016
Carver, G. 2012 ‘Pits and Place-making: Neolithic Habitation and Deposition Practices in East Yorkshire c. 4000–2500 BC’, Proc. Prehist. Soc. 78, 111–134
CA (Cotswold Archaeology) 2016a Land at Higher Nansloe Farm, Helston, Cornwall: Written Scheme of Investigation for a Programme of Archaeological Work
CA (Cotswold Archaeology) 2016b Land at Higher Nansloe Farm, Helston, Cornwall: Heritage Desk-Based Assessment CA typescript report ref: 16289
CA (Cotswold Archaeology) 2016c Land at Higher Nansloe Farm, Helston, Cornwall: Archaeological Evaluation CA typescript report 16559
Garrow, D. 2012 ‘Concluding discussion: pits and perspective’, in Anderson-Whymark and Thomas 2012, 216–225
Garrow, D., Beadsmoore, E. and Knight, M. 2005 ‘Pit Clusters and the Temporality of Occupation: an Earlier Neolithic Site at Kilverstone, Thetford, Norfolk’, Proc. Prehist. Soc. 71, 139–158
Hart, J., Wood, I., Barber, A., Brett, M. and Hardy, A. 2014 ‘Prehistoric Land Use in the Clyst Valley: Excavations at Hayes Farm, Clyst Honiton, 1996–2012’, Proc. Devon Archaeol. Soc. 72, 1–56
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Jones, A.M. and Quinnell, H. 2011 ‘The Neolithic and Bronze Age in Cornwall, c 4000 cal BC to c 1000 cal BC: an overview of recent developments,’ Cornish Archaeology 50, 197–230
Pryor, F. 1999 Farmers in Prehistoric Britain Stroud, Tempus
Russell, S. 2002 Cornwall and Scilly Urban Survey Historic characterisation for regeneration Heston Cornwall Archaeological Unit Report No. 2002R071
Smythe, J. 2012 ‘Breaking Ground: an overview of pits and pit-digging in Neolithic Ireland’, in Anderson-Whymark and Thomas 2012, 13–29
Thomas, J. 2012 ‘Introduction: beyond the mundane?’, in Anderson-Whymark and Thomas 2012, 1–12
Webster, C.J. (ed.) 2008 The Archaeology of South-West England. South West Archaeological Research Framework. Resource Assessment and Research Agenda Taunton, Somerset County Council
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APPENDIX 1: STRATIGRAPHIC ASSESSEMENT BY JONATHAN ORELLANA
A total of 579 contexts were recorded during the excavation as detailed below: The remains from Periods 1 to 5 are of archaeological significance and warrant further detailed assessment, along with the records from features which are currently unphased.
Natural deposits 12
Period 1: Early Neolithic 15
Period 2: Beaker 3
Period 3: Early to Middle Bronze Age 108
Period 4: Late Bronze Age 29
Period 5: Early to Middle Iron Age 309
Period 6: medieval/post-medieval 2
unphased 101
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APPENDIX 2: FLINT BY JACKY SOMMERVILLE
Introduction and methodology A total of 53 worked lithics (202g) were recovered from nine separate deposits – one from a bulk soil sample and the remainder from hand-excavation. Lithics were recorded according to broad artefact/debitage type and catalogued directly onto a Microsoft Access database. Attributes recorded included dimensions, weight, colour, cortex description (the outer surface of a flint nodule or pebble), degree of edge damage (micro-flaking), rolling (abrasion), breakage and burning. For the flakes and blades, butt type, termination type and knapping stage were also recorded unless breakage prevented this.
Raw material, provenance and condition The raw material is flint, all of which is coloured brown, grey or black. Cortex is present on 25 items. It is chalky on 18 of these and abraded on the remainder. This demonstrates a primary reliance on chalk flint and a lesser use of secondary flints, eg from beach or river gravels. During the Neolithic period flint is known to have been imported to Cornwall from sources including Beer Head on the south Devon coast (Healy 1985). The majority of flints (85%) from the site are from Early Neolithic pits 1041 and 1080, and from pit 1084 which contained pottery which is currently only broadly dated as prehistoric. The remainder are residual in Early to Middle Iron Age pits 9129 (4%) or unphased pits 1047, 1049 and 1086 (11%). All are from Area 1 with the exception of the two items from pit 9129. One flint has been burnt and 23 are broken (43%).
Range and variety Primary technology The debitage consists of flakes, blades and bladelets (Table 1), all of which were generated by knapping with no further modification. Of these, the 14 blades and bladelets make up 30%. This high proportion would be expected in a Mesolithic or Early Neolithic assemblage (Ford 1987, 79) and bladelets are typically Mesolithic debitage. Seventeen intact flakes were retrieved, with average dimensions of 29 x 22 x 6mm. Other indications of chronologically diagnostic flintworking technology, also of Mesolithic or Early Neolithic date, are evidence of soft hammer percussion on six blades and six flakes, and of preparation of the striking platform on the core on one flake and one blade.
Secondary technology Retouched tools total seven (Table 1), which is 13% of the assemblage. Included as well as the formal tool types are two retouched flakes and one fragmentary miscellaneous retouched item.
Scrapers Two end scrapers and one scraper/knife combination tool were retrieved. The end scrapers were both made on flake blanks and feature steep, regular retouch along the distal dorsal edge. On one the retouch continues along part of the lateral dorsal edges, where it is shallower. The combination tool, from unphased pit 1049 (fill 1050) is a medial flake fragment with abrupt, regular retouch on the left dorsal edge and semi-abrupt retouch on the right dorsal edge.
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Microdenticulate A microdenticulate (Ra. 5), made on a blade blank, was recorded from Neolithic pit 1041 (fill 1043). The fine serrations on the right distal edge were rather worn from use and ‘silica gloss’ was visible on the distal half of the reverse edge.
Lithics from Early Neolithic pits and from prehistoric pit 1084 A total of 37 flints was retrieved from fills of pits 1041 (30), 1080 (four) and 1086 (three), all of which contained Early Neolithic pottery. The debitage is typical of this period and includes blades, bladelets, and evidence of soft hammer percussion and platform preparation as detailed above. The tools are two retouched flakes, the miscellaneous item and a microdenticulate. Although microdenticulates were in use throughout the Neolithic and into the Bronze Age (Saville 2002, 96) and are particularly common in Mesolithic and Early Neolithic assemblages (Pitts and Jacobi 1979, 173). However, since the example from pit 1041 was made on a blade blank, it is dateable to the Mesolithic or Early Neolithic period. The other three tools are not closely dateable types.
In addition, 11 flints from pit 1084 (fill 1085) comprise two bladelets, one blade, six flakes and two scrapers. Soft hammer percussion was identified on three items and platform preparation on one. The lithics from this feature are technologically similar to those from the three pits outlined above and the assemblage is of Early Neolithic date.
Statement of potential This small lithics assemblage provides further evidence of Early Neolithic activity on the site, in addition to the recovered pottery. Although several items may alternatively be Mesolithic in date, no definitively Mesolithic items were recorded. The scant evidence for behaviour (the microdenticulate and scrapers) is indicative of domestic activities – hide scraping and plant processing. At Portscatho, Cornwall typically Early Neolithic flints were also retrieved in association with Early Neolithic pottery from a pit group (Lawson-Jones 2006). At Carn Brea, Cornwall a substantial lithic assemblage (over 26,000 items), mostly Early Neolithic in character, was recovered from a hilltop settlement, although only a small proportion was securely stratified. This assemblage also included a majority of imported flint (Saville 1981, 101–8). The flint assemblage from Higher Nansloe Farm adds to the corpus of known Early Neolithic sites in southwest Cornwall but its small size and lack of closely dateable tool types limits its significance to a regional level.
References Brown, A.G. and Edmonds, M.R. 1987 Lithic Analysis and Later British Prehistory: Some problems and approaches. Reading Studies in Archaeology No. 2. Brit. Archaeol. Rep. Brit. Ser. 162
Ford, S. 1987 ‘Chronological and Functional Aspects of Flint Assemblages’, in Brown and Edmonds 1987, 67–85
Healy, F. 1985 ‘And to Cornwall’, Lithics 6, 18–20
Jones, A.M. and Reed, S.J. 2006 ‘By land, sea and air: an Early Neolithic pit group at Portscatho, Cornwall, and consideration of coastal activity during the Neolithic’, Cornish Archaeology 45, 1–30
Lawson-Jones, A. 2006 ‘Flint and stone’, in Jones and Reed 2006, 11–14
36 Higher Nansloe Farm, Helston, Cornwall: Post-Excavation Assessment and Updated Project Design © Cotswold Archaeology
Mercer, R.J. 1981 ‘Excavations at Carn Brea, Illogan, Cornwall, 1970–73: A Neolithic Fortified Complex of the Third Millennium BC’, Cornish Archaeology 20, 1–204
Pitts, M.W. and Jacobi, R.M. 1979 ‘Some Aspects of Change in Flaked Stone Industries of the Mesolithic and Neolithic in Southern Britain’, J. Archaeol. Sci. 6, 163–77
Saville, A. 1981 ‘The Flint and Chert Artefacts’, in Mercer 1981, 101–52
Saville, A. 2002 ‘Lithic Artefacts from Neolithic Causewayed Enclosures: Character and Meaning’, in Varndell and Topping, 91–105
Varndell, G. and Topping P. 2002 Enclosures in Neolithic Europe: Essays on Causewayed and Non-Causewayed Sites Oxford, Oxbow Books
Table 1: Breakdown of lithics assemblage
Type Count Primary technology
Blade 11 Bladelet 3 Flake 32 Secondary technology Microdenticulate 1 Misc 1 Retouched flake 2 Scraper (end) 2 Scraper/knife 1 Total 53
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APPENDIX 3: POTTERY BY GRACE JONES
Introduction A total of 535 sherds of pottery (8523g) was recorded. The majority were recovered during the excavation, with ten sherds of the total (83g) found during evaluation. The assemblage ranges in date from the Early Neolithic to the Early to Middle Iron Age. The material is in moderate to poor condition, with some surface and edge abrasion to the sherds, a result of their soft nature; the average sherd weight is 15.9g. The assemblage derives from 59 contexts excavated during mitigation and four deposits encountered during the evaluation.
Methodology The pottery was analysed according to the Standard for Pottery Recording (Barclay et al. 2016). The data were recorded to an Excel spreadsheet and are held in the archive. An initial appraisal of the assemblage was carried out with Henrietta Quinnell and Imogen Wood, who kindly assisted with identifications and dating. Fabric definition has been supported by petrological analysis, with thin-sections made by Patrick Quinn and analysed by Imogen Wood. The assemblage is presented by period below.
Composition of the assemblage Fabric The assemblage consists entirely of gabbroic fabrics (Table 2). Gabbroic fabrics are those made from the clays produced through the breakdown of gabbroic rocks, outcrops of which occur predominantly on the Lizard Peninsula of Cornwall (Harrad 2004). The gabbroic minerals are very distinctive in thin section, containing the primary minerals of the rocks and a number of additional weathering products (ibid.). Comparison with the doctoral research of Lucy Harrad (2004) into gabbroic pottery indicates that the pots were made from a clay that had weathered from the rocks, rather than rock fragments added to a base clay as inclusions.
Table 2. Quantification of fabrics Fabric Description Number Weight (g) Petrological sample no. GA1 Standard gabbroic 308 5617 1, 7, 11 GA2 Fine gabbroic 58 394 3, 4, 5, 6 GA3 Coarse gabbroic 25 705 GA4 Gabbroic admixture (vein quartz) 125 1494 9, 10, 12 GA5 Gabbroic with a granitic component 1 6 GA6 Well processed gabbroic 1 61 8 GA7 Gabbroic fabric with mudstone inclusions 1 46 GA8 Gabbroic (unoxidised) 2 174 2 GA99 Gabbroic, unspecified 14 26 Total 535 8523
The majority of sherds are in standard gabbroic fabric GA1, utilised from the Early Neolithic through to the Early to Middle Iron Age at this site. This may be encompassed by Harrad’s (2004) Fabric 1: Normal Gabbroic, a medium to coarse fabric with a great deal of variation in the size and frequency of inclusions. It was widely used for prehistoric ceramics in Cornwall and cannot be closely sourced, occurring in several places of the gabbroic outcrop on the Lizard (ibid). The next most commonly occurring ware is a gabbroic fabric with additional inclusions of coarse, angular vein quartz (GA4), used exclusively here for Early Neolithic vessels. Sherds in a fine gabbroic fabric account for 10% of the total count (GA2). These have a sandy matrix and were used for vessels
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of Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age date. The fabric is likely to represent a specific outcrop of the Lizard clay. A coarse version of the gabbroic fabric is also present (GA3, 4.7% of the number of sherds), again utilised for vessels of Neolithic to Iron Age date and probably the result of exploitation of a specific area of clay. Fabrics represented by one of two sherds comprise a gabbroic fabric with occasional granitic rock inclusions (GA5), a well-processed fabric (GA6) and one with additional mudstone inclusions, utilised for a Late Bronze Age vessel (GA7). The fabric used for two vessels found in Iron Age pit 9129 is unoxidised, making identification difficult, but an example has been thin-sectioned to assist in its definition (GA8). Petrological analysis has been carried out on fabrics GA1, GA2, GA4, GA6 and GA8.
Early Neolithic The Neolithic component of the assemblage (128 sherds, 1508g; Table 3) derives from seven pits in Area 1 (707, 1028, 1030, 1041, 1051, 1080 and 1086). The fabrics are gabbroic, almost all with visible inclusions of coarse, angular, vein quartz. This fabric is probably the equivalent of the ‘coarse ware’ fabric identified at Carn Brea, Ilogan, described as ‘literally studded with large inclusions, most often angular pieces of quartz which may measure 10mm or more’ (Smith 1981, 162). Similar fabrics have been identified at a number of other Early Neolithic sites in Cornwall including Trevelgue Head, Newquay (Quinnell 2011a) and Tregarrick Farm, Roche (Quinnell 2002–2003, 113). The practice of adding such inclusions has also been recognised in other non- gabbroic clay types, for instance at Helman Tor, Lostwithiel (Smith 1997, 31, fabric C) and Trenowah, St Austell (Quinnell with Taylor 2008, 20). The Higher Nansloe Farm vessels are frequently oxidised on their external surfaces and unoxidised through the core and internal surface (44% of the number of sherds), or oxidised on both surfaces with an unoxidized core (29%). Fully oxidised sherds account for 10% of the sherds; the remainder are irregularly fired. The vessel walls range from 6mm to 18mm in thickness, with 8–10mm the most commonly recorded range. Surface treatments were rarely encountered, with a body sherd from pit 707 burnished on the interior and smoothed on the exterior.
Six rims are present. Two from pit 1041 are rounded and undifferentiated, and appear to derive from vessels of relatively neutral profile, similar to the ‘pots’ of Carn Brea – fairly large vessels with cordons and/or lugs (Smith 1981, fig. 72). One of the Helston examples has an irregular external surface with faint horizontal indents that reveal the coil-built nature of the vessel. At the point of breakage is a groove that appears to be the start of a cordon or lug, located approximately 55–60mm below the rim top. The vessel has a rim diameter of 240mm, and walls of 10mm. The second vessel is slightly larger, 280mm diameter, with walls also of 10mm. Damage to the external surface, approximately 30–40mm below the rim, appears to result from the removal of some form of handle or lug in this area.
Four rims derive from bowls, two in a fine gabbroic fabric (GA2) and two in the coarser gabbroic fabric with inclusions of vein quartz (GA4). The finer bowls have walls of 6mm but are too fragmentary to ascertain their rim diameter. One, from pit 1041, has a pointed, out-turned rim top, internally-bevelled; too little survives to ascertain the profile of the vessel. A second bowl rim, from pit 1051, is represented by a very small sherd, but had an out- turned rim with flattened top and probably derives from a wide, shallow bowl. The rims in the coarser fabric are plain and pointed, similar to examples from Carn Brea (cf Smith 1981, fig. 71, P114). They were recovered from pits 707 (evaluation trench 7; and 1041.
Body sherds with cordons or lugs were also recovered. Two joining sherds from pit 1030, in fabric GA4, have a horizontal cordon. A large (13mm) piece of vein quartz just below the cordon appears to have created a weak point in the vessel and may be the reason for its breakage at this point. Two horizontal lugs were recovered from
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pit 1041; one with a very noticeable piece of angular vein quartz protruding from the external surface, the lug may be pinched-up from the body of the vessel rather than being applied. It is similar to an example from Trenowah, St Austell (Quinnell with Taylor 2009, fig. 26, 1).
Table 3. Quantification of Neolithic pottery MSW: Mean sherd weight Feature No. Wg (g) MSW (g) Pit 707 (eval.) 1 10 10.0 Pit 1028 6 68 11.3 Pit 1030 7 112 16.0 Pit 1041 97 1221 12.6 Pit 1051 1 1 1.0 Pit 1080 15 83 5.5 Pit 1086 1 13 13.0 Total 128 1508 11.8
Beaker Five body sherds from pit 1019 may represent activity during the Beaker period date. They derive from a vessel decorated with vertical and wavy lines that appear to have been made with the edge of a cockle/cardium shell, and horizontal rows of square-toothed comb impressions, on a smoothed surface. They are in a gabbroic fabric with some coarse inclusions of quartz, and fired in fully oxidising conditions. Although gabbroic clays do not appear to have been specifically selected for Beaker pottery in Cornwall, unlike other pottery of other periods (Parker Pearson 1990, 11), the proximity of the site is likely to have made this the natural choice of clay. The vessel form cannot be ascertained from these sherds; they have a wall thickness of 9mm. Although 20 examples of shell-impressed decoration have been noted on Beaker pottery by Clarke (1970, 431), none are from south- western England. Clarke’s examples derive from sites in Scotland, west and north-west Wales, and north-east, north-west and eastern England. He suggested that the practice derived from Neolithic traditions of the West Coast of Scotland (ibid., 71).
Early to Middle Bronze Age Pottery of Early to Middle Bronze Age date was recovered from seven deposits in Area 9 (Table 4). Most are in the standard gabbroic fabric (GA1; 49 sherds, 368g), with smaller quantities in a finer version (GA2; 8 sherds, 34g), a variant with a granitic component (GA5, 1 sherd, 6g) and one large sherd that was a particularly well- processed gabbroic fabric (GA6, 1 sherd, 61g).
Pit 9033 and posthole 9074 each contained a single rim sherd from a Trevisker ware vessel. With rim diameters of 140mm (pit 9033; wall thickness 7mm) and 180mm (posthole 9074; wall thickness 10mm) both are of small to medium size, and were probably used for eating and drinking (Parker Pearson 1990, type 5). The sherd from posthole 9074 is a slack-shouldered jar with an internally-bevelled rim and well-executed parallel twist decoration comprising a triple row at the top, and double row chevrons that appear to be bounded below by a horizontal band, or multiple bands. The decoration bears some similarities to a vessel from Trethellan Farm, Newquay, but the rim form is slightly different and the profile more rounded (Woodward and Cane 1991, fig. 42, 111). The vessel from pit 9033 is also a slack-shouldered jar with internally bevelled rim, decorated with parallel twist impressed cord – at least five double rows, horizontally or slightly diagonally applied. A similar decorative scheme
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was employed on a vessel from Tremough, but the rim form is different (Quinnell 2015, fig. 3.1, P1), and Tredarvah, Penzance (Pearce and Padley 1977, fig. 12, 1).
Twenty-two sherds came from fills within Roundhouse 1 that had accumulated after the structure had gone out of use. From deposit 9008, associated with the collapse of the wall of the structure, came three abraded sherds in a gabbroic fabric, 12mm thick, decorated with a complicated impressed cord chevron design. Nineteen sherds came from the upper fill of Roundhouse 1 (9012), eight in a fine gabbroic fabric with walls of 6–7mm, and 11 in the standard gabbroic ware and of variable thickness (5–13mm). With the exception of a single base sherd, all are body sherds.
Three sherds of pottery were recovered from occupation layer 9165 in Roundhouse 2, including a single sherd (2g) with impressed cord decoration, and two plain body sherds; all are in the standard gabbroic fabric, but abraded. The rest of the pottery assemblage from Roundhouse 2 accumulated after the feature had gone out of use, with eight sherds from layer 9022 that infilled the lower part of the hollow, and a further 24 sherds from overlying layer 9021. One sherd is in a gabbroic fabric with granitic inclusions (GA5), with the rest in the standard gabbroic ware. The material from 9022 includes a Trevisker-style vessel with rounded, out-turned rim and strap handle. The rectangular-sectioned handle (19.5mm x 1mm) is decorated with double rows of parallel twist impressions along the outer edge of the handle. The out-turned rim is a more unusual feature. Less than 5% of the rim is present, but the diameter was probably in the region of 140mm. A strap handle, albeit undecorated, is present on a Trevisker vessel from Scarcewater, Pennance (Quinnell 2010, fig. 49, 13). No parallels were found for this vessel, however Quinnell (ibid., 96) notes that ‘communities making Trevisker pottery had a very wide repertoire, almost certainly wider than any others in contemporary Britain’.
Quinnell (2012, 151) highlights the great variability in the decoration of these vessels, with individual vessels almost unparalleled in the known corpus. Research into the method of creating the cord impressions has been carried out by Mary Ann Owoc, at the Merceyhurst Archaeological Institute in Pennsylvania. Owoc suggests the parallel twist impressions, seen on the Higher Nansloe Farm Trevisker vessels, were created by impressing ‘two parallel rows of cord held/impressed side by side or stretched side by side across some sort of object/paddle and impressed’ (information from M.A. Owoc, presented by Quinnell 2012, 153).
Table 4. Quantification of Early to Middle Bronze Age pottery Deposit Feature No. Wg (g) MSW (g) 9008 Roundhouse 1 3 38 12.7 9012 Roundhouse 1 19 117 6.2 9021 Roundhouse 2 24 121 5.0 9022 Roundhouse 2 8 71 8.9 9034 Pit 9033 1 22 22.0 9076 Pit 9074 1 61 61.0 9165 Roundhouse 2 3 39 13.0 Total 61 469 7.7
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Late Bronze Age An undifferentiated rim with flattened top was recovered from pit 8042 in Area 8 (RA 1). It has irregular incised decoration, comprising a horizontal line 20mm below the rim, and vertical to diagonal lines below. The fabric is similar to the standard gabbroic fabric, but it contains additional mudstone fragments (GA7). The vessel is similar in terms of its form and decoration to a bowl from Porthleven (Quinnell 2011b, fig. 00.01, P5). Quinnell (ibid) notes that the Porthleven assemblage displays traits of the Trevisker tradition, but is associated with radiocarbon dates of 1120–910 cal BC and 1130–910 cal BC, thereby indicating a final, Late Bronze Age, phase of this ceramic style, as had been suggested by the work of ApSimon and Greenfield (1972) and Woodward and Cane (1991). The evidence for this late phase, identified at Scarcewater, Pennance; Higher Besore, Truro; Gwithian and Porthleven has been summarised by Quinnell (2012, 166). The Gwithian assemblage is unpublished but is described as dominated by ‘straight-sided vessels with untidy decoration’, simple upright rims and without cord impressions (Quinnell 2016, 166). The evidence from these sites indicates contemporaneous use of Trevisker and Late Bronze Age Plain Ware ceramics in Cornwall during the 11th and 10th centuries BC (Quinnell 2011b). A small quantity (10 sherds, 79g) of pottery was also recovered from other features in Area 8, and appeared to be broadly comparable with the rim in pit 8042. They came from the subsoil, ditch 8005/8007, and posthole 8016.
Iron Age The Iron Age pottery assemblage derives from features across Areas 1 and 9, but with the exception of pit 9129 (137 sherds, 4375g), almost all features contain five sherds or fewer, with only pit 1182 producing a slightly larger group (Table 5).
Pit 9129 Three fills of pit 9129 (contexts 9130, 9131 and 9132) produced cross-joining sherds of Early to Middle Iron Age pottery. Twelve vessels were identified, comprising jars in the Plain Jar Group tradition of the Early Iron Age (c. 6th to 4th centuries BC) but also a stamped, necked bowl of the Middle Iron Age South-West Decorated tradition (c. 4th to 1st century BC).
At least seven vessels are of the Plain Jar type – vessels 1, 2, 3, 5–8. The complete profile of vessel 1 was reconstructed, revealing a jar with concave neck, carinated shoulder and plain, flat base. The scar from a handle is present immediately below the carination. The rim diameter is 180mm (30% is present), the base is 135mm in diameter and the vessel is 230mm tall with walls of 8–9mm. The external surface appears to be quite smooth in the areas where it is least abraded. Traces of burnt residue on the internal surface of the vessel suggest it was used to cook food. Two pairs of post-firing perforations had been drilled through the lower wall of the vessel, and a cord past through them, presumably to repair the vessel. Although nothing survives of the cord itself, it had worn a channel between the holes. The bulk of the sherds were recorded from fill 9132, with three sherds from fill 9130 and one from fill 9131.
Vessel 2 is the same form as vessel 1, with a rim of 160–180mm diameter (40% present), walls of 8–9mm and a height greater than 180mm. It has a rounded, flared rim, concave neck and sharply carinated shoulder with countersunk-lug handle immediately below. The handle is 22mm wide, with an opening of 23mm on one side and 18mm on the other. Possible black paint was noted on the external surface of the vessel; burnt residue is present on the internal surface. Most of the sherds were recovered from fill 9131, with one sherd from fill 9132 and one from fill 9133. Although very similar, vessels 1 and 2 do appear to represent separate pots. A similar, but larger (260mm rim diameter) and thicker-walled (10–13mm) vessel was recovered from fill 9131 (vessel 3). A black paint adheres to the upper external surface of the rim. Vessels 5 to 8 are all characterised by flared, rounded rims
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and concave necks; all are broken at the shoulder but the vessels were presumably carinated at this point. The rim diameters of only two are measurable: vessel 5 is 200mm and vessel 8 is 120mm; the walls of all are 6–8mm thick. Vessels 6 and 7 are particularly abraded.
Two vessels have similar rounded, flared rims, concave necks and carinated shoulders, but appear to be more open in profile and are probably bowls. Vessel 4 is of this type, with a rim diameter of 150mm and walls 6mm thick, and made from a fine, unoxidised gabbroic fabric (GA2) with burnished internal and external surfaces. Vessel 9 is similar again, with a flared, rounded rim, concave neck and carinated shoulder, but this appears to be a miniature version, with a rim diameter of just 60mm and walls of 5mm. It was made from the standard gabbroic fabric (GA1) and fired in a predominantly unoxidised atmosphere. More open, carinated forms have also been recorded from Trevelgue Head, Newquay (Quinnell 2011a, fig. 7.5, 27).
Two vessels are represented only by decorated carinated shoulder sherds. Vessel 10 is decorated with three irregular tooled horizontal lines above the shoulder. Burnt residue present on the interior, and patches of soot on the exterior, suggest that this vessel was used for cooking. The sherd is unoxidised. Vessel 11 has very smoothed, probably once burnished, surfaces, with tooled horizontal and diagonal lines just above the shoulder. The vessel is fully oxidised. The central part of a base, found in fill 9131, is decorated with incised lines irregularly applied in the form of a cross on the external surface of the base. It is just 4mm thick at edges, but 7mm thick towards the centre. It may have derived from one of the carinated vessels already described, or another vessel.
The Plain Jar form is paralleled at Trevelgue Head, Newquay (Quinnell 2011a, JB2.4, fig. 7.4, 74), Bodrifty, Penzance (Dudley 1956, fig. 9, 8), Carn Euny, West Penwith (Elsdon 1978, fig. 54, 3, form Po.2), Halligye fogou (Elsdon and Quinnell 2009–2010, fig. 3, P1; fig. 6, P18-19; fig. 8; fig. 14, P98), Boden Vean, St Anthony-in- Meneage (Quinnell 2013, fig. 25, 7 and 11, fig. 26, 10, 12-14) and Gurnard’s Head, Penwith (Patchett and Gordon 1940, fig. 8, 2). However, parallels have not been found for the handles found on vessels 1 and 2 at Higher Nansloe Farm. Although handles have been identified on other vessels in the Plain Jar Group, at Boden Vean (Quinnell 2013, fig. 25, 9, fig. 27, 17), Trenowah, St Austell (Quinnell with Taylor 2008, fig. 27, 11) and Trevelgue Head, none are directly comparable.
A small bowl, in the South Western Decorated tradition, was found across contexts 9133, 9130 and the topsoil of Area 9 (RA 19). The bowl has an out-turned, rounded rim, upright neck and rounded body. The rim diameter is 80mm (50% is present) and it is at least 63mm high; the walls are 5mm thick. The area below the neck is decorated with three tooled lines, each 1mm thick, and then a band of stamped triangles, defined above and below with two tooled lines, 3mm apart. They are isosceles triangles which appear slightly variable in size, presumably due to application to a curved surface; each is approximately 7.2mm wide and 9.2mm long. A second band of triangles below is suggested by the presence of one stamp under the lower horizontal bands. The vessel is in a fine gabbroic fabric (GA2), the surfaces are oxidised to a pale yellowish brown (10YR 5/6), the core is predominantly oxidised with some unoxidised areas. Vessels in the South Western Decorated tradition are mostly unoxidised. The external surface is spalled indicating this may be a firing failure. A body sherd with similar triangular stamps was found at Trevelgue Head, Newquay, with the stamps again located at the widest point of the vessel, but in the Trevelgue vessel the lines within the triangles are vertical, compared to the horizontal lines in the Nansloe stamps (Quinnell 2011a, fig. 7.10, 131). Quinnell also notes similar triangular stamps on a vessel from Porthmeor, placed below dot and circle stamps (Hirst 1937 in Quinnell 2011a, 178). The Nansloe Farm vessel is smaller than most South Western Decorated vessels, with data published from Trevelgue Head
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indicating the smallest internal neck diameters of 81–100mm, compared with the 60mm internal neck diameter of the Nansloe vessel.
Other Iron Age pottery A large bowl or lid, with irregularly folded over rim, was recorded from pit 9088. It is approximately 400mm in rim diameter, with walls of 15mm thick. The external surface is spalled. It is in the standard gabbroic fabric, and with the exception of the upper interior and rim top, the vessel is unoxidised. A jar with flared rim and offset neck, of probable Middle Iron Age date, was recovered from pit 1214. It was too incomplete to ascertain the rim diameter; the walls are 7–10mm thick. Beaded rim fragments, broken at the neck, were recovered from pits 1134, 1230 and 1234, and posthole 1140. Similar rims were recorded from Bodrifty, Penzance (Dudley 1956, fig. 10, 8–15) and Halligye fogou (Elsdon and Quinnell 2009–10, fig. 10, P64–5). Several body sherds displaying decoration consistent with the South Western Decorated ceramic tradition were also recovered. These include a sherd from pit 410 in the standard gabbroic fabric but with well-finished surfaces and accomplished decoration comprising a wide, tooled horizontal line, two wide, tooled opposing diagonal lines on one side, with incised lattice between, and incised diagonal lines on the other side. Two body sherds from pit 1182 are decorated with tooled horizontal and diagonal lines. Two body sherds found in pit 1134 are also in this tradition, one decorated with vertical and diagonal tooled lines and one with a row of punched dots and diagonal tooled lines below; both are in a fine gabbroic fabric. Similar decorative schemes have been recorded amongst the Middle Iron Age pottery from Bodrifty, Penzance (Dudley 1956, fig. 9, 22, 26-7) and other assemblages. The infilled lattice design is associated with the ‘Accomplished’ and ‘Standard’ styles of 3rd to 1st centuries BC (Quinnell 2011a, 163). Two shouldered body sherds from Ditch 7 (cut 9104) and topsoil 9001 probably derive from the shouldered jars of the Plain Jar tradition. The rest of the Iron Age assemblage comprises undiagnostic, body sherds in gabbroic fabrics, but of note is a body sherd from Ditch 4 with the impression of a small fern on its external surface (identified by Inés López-Dóriga).
Other prehistoric material A group of 93 sherds, weighing 1109g, was recovered from pit 1084, Area 1. Most of the sherds are in the standard gabbroic fabric (GA1), but 25 are in a coarse version (GA3) and 19 in a finer version (GA2). Only two rim sherds are amongst the group, and neither are particularly diagnostic. One is a plain, flattened rim from a jar or vessel of neutral profile. A scar on the external surface of the vessel indicates there was once a handle or lug, located approximately 40mm below the rim. The diameter of the vessel was in the region of 200mm; the top of the walls are 9mm thick, widening to 15mm in the area of the handle. The second rim is plain, pointed and undifferentiated, but unusual in that the external surface is convex and the internal surface is flat. The curvature of the rim top suggests it derives from a lid, but it is too uneven to ascertain the diameter. A post-firing perforation has been drilled from the external surface.
A number of other features across the sites produced small numbers (fewer than five) of gabbroic body sherds that cannot be closely dated (ditches 1032, 1061 (Ditch 1), 1066, 1090 Ditch 6), 1102 (Ditch 4), 1114 (Ditch 1), 1123 (Ditch 4), 2004 (Ditch 5), 2008 (Ditch 3), 9013 (Ditch 3) and 9042 (Ditch 7); postholes 1226, 9142 and 9151, and pits 1047, 1053, 1055, 1074, 8044 and posthole 9186).
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Table 5. Quantification of Iron Age pottery, by feature (number/weight in grammes) Area/feature No. Wg (g)
Area 1 features Ditch 403 (eval.) 1 23 Pit 410 (eval.) 4 26 Pit 705 (eval.) 1 3 Pit 707 (eval.) 3 21 Pit 1134 4 33 PH 1140 4 50 Pit 1182 9 80 Layer 1205 2 39 Pit 1212 5 75 Pit 1214 3 63 PH 1218 1 11 PH 1228 1 3 Pit 1230 1 6 Pit 1234 1 8 PH 9144 (structure D) 1 24
Area 9 features Topsoil 9001 5 29 Pit 9088 4 83 Ditch 9104 (structure C) 3 9 Pit 9129 137 4375 Pit 9186 1 38 Total 191 4999
Discussion The Early Neolithic material provides a contribution to the picture of pottery production and use during this period in south-western Cornwall. The vessels belong to a ceramic tradition in use across south-western England during this period, characterised by open bowls, carinated bowls and bag-shaped pots/jars. Cordons and lugs may represent functional or decorative attributes.
Activity in the later third or early second millennium is suggested by the Beaker vessel found in Area 1. Jones and Quinnell (2006, 56) have suggested that the introduction of Beaker pottery to Cornwall occurred around 2100 BC, at approximately the same time as Food Vessels and Trevisker Ware, and continued in use through the first quarter of the second millennium BC. There is however recent evidence for an earlier introduction, recently summarised by Quinnell (2014, 233–237) based on the discovery of Beaker pottery within a pit at St Stephen-in- Brannel which also contained hazel charcoal roundwood radiocarbon dated to 2488–2291 cal. BC (SUERC- 30740). In addition to the examples cited by Quinnell (ibid.), a further pit has been found recently near Truro containing Beaker pottery associated with a radiocarbon determination of 2480–2290 cal. BC (SUERC-66197; Sean Taylor pers. comm to J. Hart).
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The Trevisker assemblage from Higher Nansloe Farm is quite small, with much recovered from layers that accumulated within the roundhouses after they had gone out of use. Close dating of this activity is not possible on ceramic grounds alone as this was a very long-lived ceramic tradition, developed in Cornwall at some point near the beginning of the second millennium BC, and in use until the 11th century BC (Quinnell 2012, 146). The first detailed study of this material was presented by ApSimon and Greenfield in 1972, with the assemblage from Trevisker, St. Eval, classified into four styles based on fabric, form, decoration, firing and finish, with a suggestion of a chronological progression between forms. Later work by Parker Pearson (1990) also considered size, as well as form and decoration, identifying a significant correlation between height and rim diameter, and therefore functional, rather than chronological, variation. A synthesis of the many assemblages of Trevisker pottery now known from across the south-west has been published by Henrietta Quinnell (2012) and this confirms the longevity of the range of forms and decoration, with little change throughout the Early and Middle Bronze Ages. However, the evidence from Trethellan Farm and other sites suggest that the style 5 vessels went out of use in the early part of the Middle Bronze Age, a factor that may have chronological implications here.
Evidence of activity during the Late Bronze Age is suggested by material found in Area 8. The poorly executed incised decoration of the single rim from pit 8041 is typical of the latest phase of the Trevisker tradition, and is of probable 11th to 9th-century BC date.
The Early Iron Age pottery from pit 9129 adds to a growing body of data for the Plain Jar Group, with other assemblages found at Bodrifty, West Penwith (Dudley 1956), Trevelgue Head, Newquay (Quinnell 2011a), Carn Euny (Eldson 1978), Gurnard’s Head (Patchett and Gordon 1940), Halligye fogou (Elsdon and Quinnell 2009– 10), Trenowah, St Austell (Quinnell with Taylor 2008) and Boden Vean, St. Anthony-in Meneage (Quinnell 2013). The Nansloe assemblage provides a complete profile of one of these jars, and evidence for handled forms. Of particular interest is the association of Plain Jar Group forms in direct association with a South Western Decorated stamped bowl; the former tradition is known to immediately precede the latter in the Corish ceramic sequence (Quinnell 2013, 38) and this group may therefore be regarded as a transitional assemblage, of probable 4th-century BC date. This assemblage also presents evidence of vessel repair, a practice noted at several other Iron Age sites in Cornwall, with iron clamps found on pots at Trevelgue Head and Trevisker, amongst others. Quinnell has suggested that the repair of vessels may be related to their perceived value as objects rather than containers (Quinnell 2010, 183). The black ‘paint’ noted on the Early Iron Age vessels has been recorded on other vessels from the region, but more typically in Neolithic assemblages. Investigation of the phenomena at Carn Brea concluded it was non-magnetic and therefore an association with ‘charred organic matter which has partially decomposed to carbon’ suggested (comment by Dr. M.S. Tite, in Smith 1981, 170). Smith (ibid., 171) postulates that such a substance may have been made into a paint and applied to parts of the vessels.
The pottery of all periods was made using the gabbroic clays of the Lizard Peninsula, with some variation in the coarseness of the wares, and the addition of large, angular fragments of coarse vein quartz to the earlier material. This clay source was exploited for the production of pottery from the Early Neolithic period through to the medieval period (Peacock 1988, 302). The source of this clay is restricted even on the Lizard Peninsula, occurring within the parish of St Keverne, around Higher Polcoverack. ‘It is suggested that this area of 1 square mile may have produced the clays for the majority of pottery made in Cornwall in prehistory’ (Harrad 2004). The reasons why this single, restricted source of clay was utilised on such an extensive scale is not yet understood. The gabbroic clay may have had certain sought-after technical properties, or the vessels may have been used as containers for organic goods that are no longer visible in the archaeological record, although traces may be
46 Higher Nansloe Farm, Helston, Cornwall: Post-Excavation Assessment and Updated Project Design © Cotswold Archaeology
concealed in the walls of the pots and this may be investigated with lipid analysis. Parallels may be drawn with the largescale exploitation of potting clays around the Poole Harbour area of Dorset from the Early Iron Age into the post-Roman period. It is unknown if the success of the Dorset industries was a result of the technical properties of the vessels, their contents, or social and economic factors (Jones 2017). The reasons for the continued use of either clay source are likely to be multi-faceted and woven into cultural traditions. Nonetheless, both areas were well positioned to exploit salt and receive goods coming in from the Continent. Yet there is something about the gabbroic clay that must have had special symbolic properties, with a connection to a very specific source area that lasted for over four millennia. Research by Henrietta Quinnell and Roger Taylor has identified that gabbroic clay dug on the Lizard was also transported in its raw state to other parts of Cornwall and mixed with local clays or rock inclusions (Quinnell 2010, 96; Quinnell 2012). This is a very unusual phenomenon but provides further evidence of the importance of this clay source to south-western communities throughout prehistory.
Acknowledgements The assistance of Henrietta Quinnell, Imogen Wood and Patrick Quinn is gratefully acknowledged. Henrietta very kindly examined the assemblage with the author and assisted with identifications and references, providing access to the unpublished report from Porthleven. Imogen also offered advice on the assemblage and analysed the thin-sections, made by Patrick.
References
ApSimon, A.M., and Greenfield, E. 1972 ‘The excavation of Bronze Age and Iron Age settlements at Trevisker, St. Eval, Cornwall’, Proc. Prehist. Soc. 38, 302–381
Barclay, A., Knight, D., Booth, P., and Evans, J. 2016 A standard for pottery studies in archaeology Prehistoric Ceramics Research Group, Study Group for Roman Pottery and Medieval Pottery Research Group
Britnell, W.J. and Silvester, R.J. 2012 Reflections on the Past: Essays in honour of Frances Lynch Welshpool, Cambrian Archaeological Association
Christie, P.M.L. 1978 ‘The excavation of an Iron Age souterrain and settlement at Carn Euny, Sancreed, Cornwall’, Proc. Prehist. Soc. 44, 309–434
Clarke, D.L. 1970 Beaker pottery of Great Britain and Ireland Cambridge, Cambridge University Press
Cole, D. and Jones, A.M. 2002-2003 ‘Journeys to the Rock: archaeological investigations at Tregarrick Farm, Roche, Cornwall’, Cornish Archaeology 41–42, 107–143
Dudley, D. 1956 ‘An Excavation at Bodrifty, Mulfra Hill, Near Penzance, Cornwall’, Archaeol. J. 113, 1–32
Elsdon, S.M. 1978 ‘The pottery’, in Christie 1978, 396–423
Gordon, A.S.R. 1940 ‘The excavation of Gurnard’s Head, An Iron Age cliff castle in western Cornwall’, Arch. J. 97, 96–111
47 Higher Nansloe Farm, Helston, Cornwall: Post-Excavation Assessment and Updated Project Design © Cotswold Archaeology
Gossip, J. 2013 ‘The evaluation of a multi-period prehistoric site and fogou at Boden Vean, St Anthony-in- Meneage, Cornwall, 2003’, Cornish Archaeology 52, 1–98
Harrad, L. 2004 The production and trade of prehistoric ceramics in Cornwall. Doctoral research of Lucy Harrad at Oxford University 1999–2002. Downloaded from http://users.ox.ac.uk/~kebl1435 in 2011 but no longer available
Johns, C. 2008 ‘The excavation of a multi-period archaeological landscape at Trenowah, St Austell, Cornwall, 1997’, Cornish Archaeology 47, 1-48
Jones, A.M., Gossip, J. and Quinnell, H. 2015 Settlement and metalworking in the Middle Bronze Age and beyond. New evidence from Tremough, Cornwall Leiden, Sidestone Press
Jones, A.M. and Quinnell, H. 2006 ‘Cornish Beakers: new discoveries and perspectives’, Cornish Archaeology 45, 31–69
Jones, A.M., and Taylor, S.R. 2010 Scarcewater, Pennance, Cornwall. Archaeological excavation of a Bronze Age and Roman landscape Brit. Archaeol. Rep. Brit. Ser. 516
Jones, G.P. 2017 Sourcing the clay: Iron Age pottery production around Poole Harbour and the Isle of Purbeck, Dorset, UK Bournemouth University, PhD thesis, available at http://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/29885/9/JONES%2C%20Grace%20Perpetua_Ph.D._2017_vol_1.pdf accessed??
Mercer, R. 1981 ‘Excavations at Carn Brea, Illogan, Cornwall: a Neolithic Fortified Complex of the Third Millennium BC’, Cornish Archaeology 20, 1–204
Mercer, R. 1997 ‘The excavation of a Neolithic enclosure complex at Helman Tor, Lostwithiel, Cornwall’, Cornish Archaeology 36, 5–63
Morris, B. and Walls, S. 2011 Guisseny Place, Porthleven, Cornwall, Results of archaeological monitoring and excavation, unpublished client report by Southwest Archaeology
Nowakowski, J. A., 1991 ‘Trethellan Farm, Newquay: The excavation of a Lowland Bronze Age settlement and Iron Age cemetery’, Cornish Archaeology 30, 5–242
Nowakowski, J.A. and Quinnell, H. 2011 Trevelgue Head, Cornwall: the importance of CK Croft Andrew’s 1939 excavations for prehistoric and Roman Cornwall Truro, Cornwall County Council
Patchett, F.M. and Gordon, A. 1940 ‘The pottery’, in Gordon 1940, 107–111
Peacock, D.P.S. 1988 ‘The gabbroic pottery of Cornwall’, Antiquity 62, 302–304
Parker Pearson, M. 1990 ‘The production and distribution of Bronze Age pottery in south-western Britain’, Cornish Archaeology 29, 5–32
48 Higher Nansloe Farm, Helston, Cornwall: Post-Excavation Assessment and Updated Project Design © Cotswold Archaeology
Pearce, S.M. and Padley, T. 1977 ‘The Bronze Age find from Tredarvah, Penzance’, Cornish Archaeology 16, 25–41
Quinnell, H. 2002-2003 ‘Early Neolithic pottery’, in Cole and Jones 2002–2003, 113–121
Quinnell, H. 2010 ‘Prehistoric and Roman pottery’, in Jones and Taylor 2010, 93–113
Quinnell, H. 2011a ‘The pottery’, in Nowakowski and Quinnell 2011, 144–208
Quinnell, H. 2011b ‘The prehistoric pottery’, in Morris and Walls 2011, 33–35
Quinnell, H. 2012 ‘Trevisker pottery: some recent studies’, in Britnell and Silvester 2012, 146–171
Quinnell, H. 2013 ‘The pottery’, in Gossip 2013, 26–49
Quinnell, H. 2014 ‘A pit with Beaker pottery at St Stephen-in-Brannel: a note’, Cornish Archaeology 53, 233–237
Quinnell, H. 2015 ‘The prehistoric ceramics’, in Jones et al. 2015, 53–79
Quinnell, H. and Elsdon, S.M. 2009-10 ‘The finds from Halligye fogou’, Cornish Archaeology 48–49, 145–171
Quinnell, H. with Taylor, R. 2008 ‘The prehistoric pottery’, in Johns 2008, 19–27
Smith, I.F. 1981 ‘The Neolithic pottery’, in Mercer, R. 1981
Smith, I.F. 1997 ‘The Neolithic pottery’, in Mercer, R. 1997, 29–37
Woodward, A., and Cane, C., 1991. The Bronze Age pottery, in Nowakowski 1991, 103–131
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APPENDIX 4: STONE BY RUTH SHAFFREY
Fourteen pieces of stone were submitted for analysis. These were briefly examined with the aid of a x10 magnification hand lens and information about them entered into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Summaries are included here but the full table can be accessed in the project archive in a file entitled NAN17-stone-data.xlsx.
Description The stone assemblage comprises two perforated discs and seven items classified as querns or rubbers (Table 6). There are also three pieces of unworked stone and two pieces of worked stone of indeterminate function not reported further here (but described in the archive).
A large saddle quern (SF 12) was found in layer 9250, a saddle quern/grinding slab in layer 9022, and a saddle quern or possible grain rubber (SF 18) in fill 9132 of pit 9129. Half a large grain rubber in two adjoining fragments (SF 9) was found in layer 9022, and a complete and neatly finished grain rubber (SF 14) in fill 9256 of cist 9253. A further cobble (SF 16) from fill 1124 of Ditch 4 has been used as a hammerstone. All of these are made of non- megacrystic muscovite granite. A further possible rubber fragment (SF 3) of slate from fill 9132 of pit 9129 has a curved face with some apparent pecking.
A perforated disc was found in layer 9021 associated with Roundhouse 2 (SF 4) with a second example within fill 9057 of ditch 9056. The former is complete but the two are of comparable size with approximately central holes and have been shaped to be roughly circular.
Discussion The vast majority of the stone artefacts are made from granite, which was easily sourced and was the most popular stone for quern and rubber manufacture in prehistoric Cornwall. Examples of Early Bronze Age date were found on the Sennen to Porthcurno pipeline (Quinnell 2012, 27) whilst on the opposite side of Dartmoor, granite was also used for saddle querns at Callestick during the later Bronze Age (Quinnell and Taylor 1999, 28). It has not been possible within the remit of this project to be more specific about the source of the granite (which is variable and may be from more than one locale). However, granite used for saddle querns and hammerstones at nearby Tremough had been sourced in the local Carnmennellis Granite (Quinnell 2015).
The two slate discs of comparable size are both perforated and have been shaped to be roughly circular. Whether the perforations found in slate are humanly created has been previously drawn into question (Quinnell and Taylor 1999, 34) but the precise central position of these within the discs indicates that they were deliberate. The discs seem certain to have served a specific purpose, perhaps as lids for vessels, and such stone discs are found on a range of archaeological sites, usually utilising locally available stone.
In comparison to other Cornish sites of similar date, the range of stone tools represented is quite limited: only one pounder/hammerstone is represented whilst examples of polished ‘lapstones’ used in leatherworking and cupped stones or cushion stones that frequently occur on Cornish Bronze Age sites are absent. However, this may simply be due to the relatively limited area excavated. The saddle querns and hammerstones probably represent domestic activity such as grain processing, but such tools are also known to have been used in metalworking, especially in ore producing areas such as Cornwall.
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Recommendations for illustrations The following items should be illustrated: SF 14 (9256) rubber (photo and cross section) SF 4 (9021) perforated disc (photo and cross section)
The cists A total of five samples of stone were collected from the cist structures for comparison with the local geology. These can be identified as slate with quartz veins (large samples from north and south cists), quartz and megacrystic granite with prominent biotite mica and feldspar phenocrysts. The slate is from the Mylor slate formation, which underlies the site. The formation has some large quartz-rich veins and it is probably from these that the large pieces of quartz originated; certainly some of the slate in use has thinner quartz veins running through it and other pieces of natural stone from the site include large pieces of quartz.
The granite is not local to the site but could be from the Carnmenellis granite, of which there are small intrusions nearby. The Carnmenellis is typically a microgranite, but coarser varieties of it do exist within 2km of the site. It therefore seems likely that most, if not all of the stone used to construct the cists was obtained locally.
References
Jones, A.M. 1999 ‘The excavation of a Later Bronze Age Structure at Callestick’, Cornish Archaeology 37–8, 5– 56 (28–36)
Jones, A.M., Taylor, S. and Sturgess, J. 2012 ‘A Beaker structure and other discoveries along the Sennen to Porthcurno South West water pipeline’, Cornish Archaeology 51, 1–67
Jones, A.M., Gossip, J. and Quinnell, H. (eds) 2015 Settlement and metalworking in the Middle Bronze Age and beyond, New Evidence from Tremough, Cornwall Leiden
Quinnell, H. 2012 ‘The stonework’, in Jones et al. 2012, 21–28
Quinnell, H. 2015 ‘The Prehistoric worked stone artefacts’, in Jones et al. 2015, 81–88
Quinnell, H. and Taylor, R. 1999 ‘Stone artefacts’, in Jones 1999, 28–36
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Table 6: concordance of worked stone
SF Ctx Function Notes Lithology Size Wt (g) Measures 220mm Complete small boulder shaped into a rubber. Neatly pecked into an oval shape long x 170mm wide x 14 9256 Rubber/muller with two very slightly convex faces both worn very smooth Granite? 77mm thick 5071 7 One face is roughly worked and rounded whilst other face is flat, pecked and worn and Possible saddle quern quite smooth. Two adjoining fragments forming large slab with one possible Measures 51mm thick 8 9022 /grinding slab straight edge Granite x >360 x >250mm 8647 Half in two adjoining fragments. Neatly pecked all over with very slightly convex Measures >150mm grinding surface, slightly worn, and rounded base/sides all one curve. Working long x 180mm wide x 9 9022 Large rubber area is full size of grinding face Granite 70mm thick 2473 Measures 162mm Cobble. Unshaped and smooth all over, probably natural. However, there is long x 125mm wide x 16 1124 Rubber/hammerstone percussion damage at one end Granite? 51mm thick 1584 Measures >320mm Roughly shaped base. Other face is flat and pecked, quite deeply with some wear long x >175mm wide 12 9250 Large saddle quern towards one edge Granite x 115 10000 Too heavy Massive saddle quern with flat grinding surface. Pecked all over. Vertical thick Measures 695 x to lift Saddle quern or sides roughly shaped. One end is rounded and the other end is straight. Base is 305mm x 125mm onto 18 9132 rubber roughly shaped and slightly rounded. Granite thick scales Almost perfectly circular disc with off centre irregular but roughly oval perforation Slate or Measures 93-95mm 4 9021 Perforated disc of 13-15mm diameter schist diameter x 6mm thick 101 Measures 5mm thick x approx 95mm 9057 Perforated disc Approximately 1/4 of probable circular perforated disc, with hole 13mm diameter Slate diameter 31 Measures 152mm Possible rubber Broken laterally. Other surface is gently rounded lengthways and appears pecked. wide x >150mm long 3 9132 fragment Edges also curved lengthways and appear pecked Slate? x > 36mm thick 912
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APPENDIX 5: METALWORK BY GRACE JONES
Copper alloy Two small pieces of copper alloy wire, with one flattened surface, were recovered from a bulk soil sample of context 9130, pit 9129. They may derive from the spring of an Iron Age brooch but are too fragmentary to positively identify.
Iron The fragmentary remains of three iron objects were recovered from the upper fill of cut 9252, made for cist 9253 (SF 13, context 9256). They include a small-bladed spearhead, broken in two. It has a conical socket, approximately 65mm in length, with a maximum width of 20mm externally (16mm internally). Mineral-preserved wood survives in the socket; x-radiography of the object indicates a nail or rivet within in the lower part of the socket, but there is no evidence for a rivet hole through the external surface. The blade is incomplete, but was approximately equal in length to the socket, and the object appears to be similar in form to an example from Danebury, Hampshire (Sellwood 1991, fig. 7.18, 2.286). Iron Age spearheads have been recorded from other sites in southern Britain, particularly Dorset (Hod Hill, Brailsford 1962; Maiden Castle, Wheeler 1943 and Laws 1991), Somerset (Glastonbury, Bulleid and Gray 1917; Meare Village East, Coles 1987; Cadbury Castle, O’Connor et al. 2000) and Hampshire (Danebury, Sellwood 1984 and 1991), and tend to be of later Iron Age date. The second object was joined to it in corrosion and is part of a bladed tool, probably a knife with curved blade, the tang in line with the non-sharpened edge of the blade. Similar knives have been found on Iron Age sites in the Wessex region and Glastonbury (cf Sellwood 1984, 239, fig. 7.10, 2.31, class 2c – ‘blades with a concave upper edge and a convex lower cutting edge’; Sellwood 1991, fig. 7.11, 2.226). A bar fragment, 50mm in length and 14mm wide, was found with these items but appears to derive from a different, unidentified, object.
An iron ferrule came from pit 1158 (SF 15, fill 1159 Pit Group A). It is formed of a folded strip with rivet hole, 125mm in length, with a maximum external diameter of 31mm (27mm internally). Mineral-preserved wood is present within the object. Sellwood (1984, 354) notes that ferrules are rarely found on Iron Age sites, but they may have been used as a spear butt or tip of a digging stick (cf Sellwood 1984, fig. 7.12, 2.53; Sellwood 1991, fig. 7.14, 2.254).
The discovery of such artefacts is unusual for Cornwall. The only example of the placement of a martial object in a grave from south-western Britain is the cist burial, with mirror and sword, from the Isles of Scilly (Johns 2002- 2003).
The metalwork has been cleaned an x-rayed and no further conservation work is required. The metalwork has been fully reported on here, although the mineralised wood from two items has not been analysed or reported on.
Objects to be illustrated:
1. Iron small-bladed spearhead with conical socket, only the base of the blade survives; RA. 13, context 9256; feature 9252, Area 9. 2. Iron curved, bladed tool with tang, probable knife; RA. 13, context 9256; feature 9252, Area 9. 3. Iron bar, unidentified object; RA. 13, context 9256; feature 9252, Area 9. 4. Iron ferrule with rivet hole; RA 15, context 1159, pit 1158, RA 15, pit group A, Area 1.
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Acknowledgements The assistance of Andrew Fitzpatrick and Lynn Wootten in the identification of the metal objects is gratefully acknowledged.
References Barrett, J.C., Freeman, P.W.M. and Woodward, A. 2000 Cadbury Castle Somerset. The later prehistoric and early historic archaeology London, English Heritage
Brailsford, J.W. 1962 Hod Hill: Vol. I. Antiquities From Hod Hill In The Durden Collection London, The Trustees of the British Museum
Bulleid, A. and Gray, H. St. G. 1917 The Glastonbury Lake Village: A full description of the excavations and the relics discovered, 1892-1907, Volume 2. Glastonbury, Glastonbury Antiquarian Society
Coles, J. M. 1987 Meare Village East: the excavations of A. Bulleid and H. St George Gray 1932-1956. Somerset Levels papers 13
Cunliffe, B. 1984 Danebury An Iron Age Hillfort in Hampshire. Vol 2 the excavations 1969-1978: the finds. London, Council for British Archaeology Res. Rep. 52
Cunliffe, B. 1991 Danebury An Iron Age Hillfort in Hampshire. Vol 5 the excavations 1979-1988: the finds. London, Council for British Archaeology Res. Rep. 73
Johns, C. 2002-2003 ‘An Iron Age sword and mirror cist burial from Bryher, Isles of Scilly’ Cornish Archaeology 41-42, 1-79
Laws, K. 1991 ‘The iron objects’, in Sharples 1991, 162-163
O’Connor, B. Foster, J. and Saunders, C. 2000 ‘Violence’, in Barrett et al. 2000 235-242
Sellwood, L. 1984 ‘Objects of iron’, in Cunliffe 1984, 346-371
Sellwood, L. 1991 ‘Objects of iron’, in Cunliffe 1991, 333-354
Sharples, N.M. 1991 Maiden Castle. Excavations and field survey 1985-6 London, English Heritage report 19
Wheeler, R.E.M. 1943 Maiden Castle, Dorset Oxford, Society of Antiquaries Res. Rep. 12
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APPENDIX 6: BURNT BONE BY ANDREW CLARKE
A total of 83 fragments (8.9g) of burnt bone were recovered by a combination of hand excavation and bulk soil sampling from seven Iron Age deposits relating to Pit Group A and the potential cist burial in Area 2. The bone was fragmented to a very small size, was heavily abraded, and displayed the calcined nature and white colour indicative of prolonged burning to temperatures in excess of 800° Celsius (Lyman 1994). The combination of these factors has rendered the assemblage entirely unidentifiable, to the extent that it has not been possible to ascertain whether the remains are human or animal. However, as feature 9253 is interpreted as a cist grave, at least some of the material recovered from this and the adjacent deposits 9250 and 9251 is likely to represent cremated human remains.
References
Lyman, R.L. 1994 Vertebrate Taphonomy Cambridge Manuals in Archaeology. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press
Table 7: Identified animal species by fragment count (NISP), weight and context.
Cut/feature Fill MM Ind BB SS Total Weight (g)
Pit 1212 (Pit Group A) 1213 1 1 0.1
Pit 1220 (Pit Group A) 1221 14 14 0.9
Pit 1230 (Pit Group A) 1231 1 1 0.9
Pit 9129 9130 1 53 54 5.2
Layer 9250 9250 3 3 0.5
Layer 9251 9251 8 8 1.2
?cist 9253 9256 2 2 0.1
Total 1 6 76 83
Weight 1 1.5 6.4 8.9 MM = medium sized mammal; Ind – indeterminate: BB SS = burnt and unidentifiable fragments from bulk soil samples
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APPENDIX 7: CHARRED PLANT REMAINS BY SARAH WYLES
Nineteen bulk soil samples (254 litres of soil) were analysed from a range of layers, hearths, pits, postholes and a cist. One of the samples was from an Early Neolithic deposit, six were from Early to Middle Bronze Age deposits, one was from a Late Bronze Age deposit, ten were from Iron Age deposits and one sample was from a pit which is currently unphased.
The samples were processed following standard flotation methods, using a 250µm sieve for the recovery of the flot and a 1mm sieve for the collection of the residue. All identifiable charred plant remains were identified following nomenclature of Stace (1997) for wild plants, and traditional nomenclature, as provided by Zohary et al (2012) for cereals. The results are recorded in Table 8.Generally only low numbers of charred plant remains were recovered from the Early to Middle Bronze Age samples and higher numbers from the Early Neolithic and Iron Age samples.
Period 1: Early Neolithic The moderate assemblage recorded from fill 1043 (sample 8) of pit 1041 is dominated by hazelnut shell fragments and there is a fragment of apple type (Malus sylvestris) fruit. The small number of cereal remains include barley and hulled wheat grain fragments and an emmer wheat (Triticum dicoccum) spikelet fork fragment. This assemblage may be representative of food waste material. The predominance of hazelnut fragments and fruit remains has been recorded from other Neolithic deposits in Southern Britain and this may be indicative of the exploitation and general reliance on these wild food resources during this period (Moffett et al 1989; Stevens 2007; Robinson 2000).
Period 3: Early–Middle Bronze Age The few remains recovered from occupation layer 9006 (samples 5, 6, 10 and 11) and hearth 9226 (sample 12), both in Roundhouse 1, include a grain of barley (Hordeum vulgare) and seeds of docks (Rumex sp.) and cleavers (Galium aparine).
Demolition/collapse layer 9022 (sample 9) associated with Roundhouse 2 contained a moderate number of charred plant remains. The assemblage is dominated by cereal remains, in particular those of barley with a smaller number of hulled wheat, emmer or spelt (Triticum dicoccum/spelta), grain fragments. There is also a fragment of hazelnut (Corylus avellana) shell. This assemblage may reflect domestic settlement waste.
Period 4: Late Bronze Age Posthole 8050 (sample 1), part of Pit Group B, contained a small number of remains, including those of barley.
Emmer wheat was the predominant wheat within this period in Southern Britain (Greig 1991) and although celtic beans have been rarely recorded from deposits of Neolithic and earlier Bronze Age date, they have observed more frequently within later Bronze Age assemblages, in particular those from coastal sites (Treasure and Church 2016). Barley was the predominant cereal within some Bronze Age assemblages recorded from Trethallan Farm Newquay (Straker 1990; 1991) with emmer and spelt wheat and celtic beans also recovered. Barley and hulled wheat were also recovered from Bronze Age contexts at Tremough, Penryn (Gossip and Jones 2009-2010).
56 Higher Nansloe Farm, Helston, Cornwall: Post-Excavation Assessment and Updated Project Design © Cotswold Archaeology
Period 5 Iron Age The few remains recovered from pits 1158, 1165, 1212, 1220, 1224 and 1230 (samples 16, 18, 20, 21, 22 and 23 respectively) in Pit Group A include grains of barley, emmer wheat and spelt wheat (Triticum spelta), hazelnut shell fragments and seeds of oat/brome grass (Avena/Bromus sp.) and celtic bean (Vicia faba).
The large assemblages recorded from pit 9129 (samples 4 and 24), part of Pit Group C, are dominated by cereal remains, in particular barley grains. There are also a few hulled wheat remains, including those of emmer wheat. The small number of weed seeds include those of goosefoot (Chenopodium sp.), redshank (Persicaria maculosa) and oats/brome grass. These assemblages suggest dumps of settlement waste.
Fill 9255 (sample 14) of cist 9253 and associated layer 9251 (sample 13) contained high numbers of plant remains. The assemblages are dominated by cereal remains, in particular those of barley grains with low numbers of both emmer wheat and spelt wheat grain and chaff elements. The weed seeds include seeds of goosefoot, knotgrass (Polygonum aviculare), docks, vetch/wild pea (Vicia/Lathyrus sp.) and cleavers. Other remains include hazelnut shell fragments, false oat-grass (Arrhenatherum elatius var. bulbosum) tuber fragments and buds. These assemblages may represent settlement waste.
Emmer and spelt wheat have been recorded in other assemblages of this date from sites in the wider area such as Trethallan Farm Newquay (Straker 1990; 1991) and Stencoose (Straker 2000-2001). The weed seed species are those typical of grassland, field margins and arable environments.
Cereal remains were predominant within the small assemblage recovered from pit 9043 (sample 2). These include those of barley and emmer wheat. This assemblage may be reflective of dispersed remains and would be compatible with dating within the Iron Age, although the pit itself lacked pottery and is only tentatively assigned to this period.
Summary The charred plant assemblages from Periods 1, 3, 4 and 4 appear to be generally associated with domestic food and settlement waste and are comparable with other assemblages of a similar date in the wider area. These results augment the environmental data for these periods in this area.
References Colledge, S. and Conolly, J. (eds) 2007 The origin and spread of domestic plants in Southwest Asia and Europe Walnut Creek, Left Coast Press
Fairbairn, A.S. (ed.) 2000 Plants in Neolithic Britain and Beyond (Neolithic Studies Seminar Paper 5) Oxford, Oxbow Books
Gossip, J. and Jones, A.M. 2009–2010 ‘Excavations and Tremough, Penryn, Cornwall 2000-2006’, Cornish Archaeol. 48–49, 1–66
Greig, J. 1991 ‘The British Isles’, in van Zeist et al. 1991, 229–334
Jones, A.M. 2000–2001 ‘The Excavation of a Multi-Period site at Stencoose, Cornwall’, Cornish Archaeol. 39–40, 45–94
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Milles, A., Williams, D. and Gardner, N. (eds) 1989 The Beginnings of Agriculture Oxford, BAR Int. Ser. 496
Moffett, L, Robinson, M.A. and Straker, S. 1989 ‘Cereals, fruit and nuts: charred plant remains from Neolithic sites in England and Wales and the Neolithic economy’, In Milles et al. 1989, 243–61
Nowakowski, J. A. 1991 ‘Trethellan Farm, Newquay: the excavation of a lowland Bronze Age settlement and Iron Age cemetery’, Cornish Archaeol. 30, 5–242
Robinson, M.A. 2000 ‘Further considerations of Neolithic charred cereals, fruits, and nuts’, in Fairbairn 2000, 85– 90
Stace, C. 1997. New Flora of the British Isles Cambridge, Cambridge University Press
Stevens, C.J. 2007 ‘Reconsidering the evidence: towards an understanding of the social contexts of subsistence production in Neolithic Britain’, in Colledge and Conolly 2007, 375–389
Straker, V. 1990 Charred plant macrofossils from a Middle-Late Bronze Age settlement and later prehistoric features at Trethellan Farm, Newquay, Cornwall, AML Rep. New Ser. 42/90
Straker, V. 1991 ‘Charred plant macrofossils’, in Nowakowski, 1991, 161–79 and Appendix 1
Straker, V. 2000–2001 ‘Plant Macrofossils’, in Jones 2000–2001, 75–78
Treasure, E.R. and Church, M.J. 2016 'Can't find a Pulse? Celtic bean (Vicia faba L.) in British prehistory', Environmental Archaeology - http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14614103.2016.1153769 van Zeist, W., Wasylikowa, K. and Behre, K-E. (eds) 1991 Progress in Old World Palaeoethnobotany Rotterdam, Balkema
Zohary, D., Hopf, M. and Weiss, E. 2012 Domestication of plants in the Old World: the origin and spread of cultivated plants in West Asia, Europe, and the Nile Valley, 4th edition. Oxford, Clarendon Press
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Table 8: Charred plant table 1 – E. Period Neo 3 - E-MBA & 4 - LBA 5 -E-MIA Round Pit gp Feature Label Roundhouse 1 house 2 B Pit gp A Pit gp C Structure D Post Feature type Pit Layer Hearth Layer hole Pits Pit Cist Layer Pit
Cut 1041 9226 8050 1158 1165 1212 1220 1224 1230 9129 9253 943 Context 1043 9006 9227 9022 8089 1159 1168 1213 1221 1225 1231 9130 9131 9255 9251 9044 Sample 8 5 6 10 11 12 9 20 21 22 23 21 16 18 24 4 14 13 2 Vol (L) 8 7 30 20 20 6 32 5 15 5 5 15 10 7 7 10 46 8 6 Flot size 90 40 40 20 35 5 350 30 90 15 30 90 100 15 185 400 390 675 200 %Roots 2 5 5 5 10 10 5 20 20 30 10 20 75 5 2 1 5 1 2 Hordeum vulgare L. sl (grain) barley 2 - - - - 1 21 1 1 1 - - 1 1 66 105 70 134 2 Hordeum vulgare L. sl (grain still in husk) barley ------7 7 - - - Triticum cf. dicoccum Emmer (Schübl) (grain) wheat ------1 - - 2 4 4 10 1 Triticum dicoccum Emmer (Schübl) (glume base) wheat ------2 - - - Triticum dicoccum Emmer (Schübl) (spikelet fork) wheat 1 ------3 1 Triticum spelta L. (grain) spelt wheat ------1 ------2 5 - Triticum spelta L. (spikelet fork) spelt wheat ------1 - Triticum emmer/ dicoccum/spelta (grain) spelt wheat 1 - - - - - 2 - 1 - 1 1 - - 9 32 22 67 1 Triticum dicoccum/spelta emmer/ (spikelet fork) spelt wheat ------1 - Triticum dicoccum/spelta (glume emmer/ bases) spelt wheat ------2 - 3 - Triticum free- turgidum/aestivum threshing (grain) wheat 1 ------2 1 - - - Cereal indet. (grains) cereal 5 - - 1 - - 15 - 3 1 1 2 - 1 10 28 10 15 5 Cereal frag. (est. whole grains) cereal 2 - - - - - 5 - 2 1 - 1 1 1 5 17 10 9 2 Corylus avellana L. (fragments) hazelnut 56 - - - - - 1 - - - - 1 - 3 - - 1 - - Chenopodium sp. L. goosefoot ------1 - - 1 -
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Persicaria maculosa (L.) Gray redshank ------2 - - - Polygonum aviculare L. knotgrass ------2 - - Rumex sp. L. docks - 4 ------2 - - Malus sylvestris Miller apple type type fruit 1 ------vetch/wild Vicia L./Lathyrus sp. L. pea ------2 - - Vicia faba celtic bean ------1 ------Galium aparine L. cleavers - - - - 1 ------2 - - Arrhenatherum elatius Var. bulbosum (Willd) false oat- tuber grass ------2 - - Arrhenatherum elatius Var. bulbosum (Willd) false oat- stem frags grass ------3 - - oat/brome Avena L./Bromus L. sp. grass 1 ------1 - - - 3 - - - Monocot. Stem/rootlet frag ------2 - - - - Bud ------1 - - - - 14 - 4
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APPENDIX 8: CHARCOAL BY SHEILA BOARDMAN
Introduction Seventeen samples were investigated for wood charcoal. One was from Early Neolithic pit 1041, five were from Early to Middle Bronze Age features, ten were from Iron Age features and one was from an undated feature. Sampled contexts included pits, layers, hearths, postholes, and a cist. Overall, nine samples were fully analysed, with 104–120 (mean 109) charcoal fragments examined per sample. Two samples were rapidly analysed, with 74 or 75 fragments examined for each. The wood charcoal remains were assessed for a further seven samples, with 30–37 (mean 34.5) charcoal fragments examined per sample.
Methods The soil samples were processed using Cotswold Archaeology methodologies (see Wyles, above). Wood charcoal was received in the form of pre-sorted material from the greater than 2mm flots and residues. Thirty to 120 fragments per sample were randomly extracted from the fractions. Individual fragments were fractured by hand and sorted into groups based on features observed in the transverse sections, at x10–x40 magnifications. The fragments were then fractured along their radial and tangential planes and examined at magnifications of up to x400 using a Biolam-Metam P1 metallurgical microscope. Identifications were made using keys in Hather (2000), Gale and Cutler (2000) and Schweingruber (1990), and by comparison with modern reference material. Nomenclature follows Stace (2010).
Results (Table 9) Anatomical features observed on charcoal fragments from the site are consistent with the taxa groups below. Wood charcoal cannot often be identified to single species, and many related genera may be hard to distinguish. Here, these include the Fabaceae, Pomoideae and Salicaceae. Preservation of the wood charcoal also varied considerably. Some samples had predominantly less than 4mm heavily silt infused remains, whilst elsewhere, many fragments were greater than 10 or 20mm in size and well preserved. Full results can be found in Table 9.
Fabaceae Cytisus/Ulex, broom/gorse. Rosaceae Subfamily Pomoideae - includes Crataegus spp., hawthorn, Malus sp. apple, Pyrus sp., pear and Sorbus spp., rowan, whitebeam and/service. One or more of these anatomically similar taxa may be represented. Subfamily Prunoideae – Prunus spinosa type, blackthorn type; Prunus sp., cherry/ blackthorn. Fagaceae Quercus spp., oak (either Q. robur L., Q. petraea, or their hybrids). Betulaceae Betula sp., birch, Corylus avellana L., hazel, and Alnus glutinosa (L.) Gaertner, alder. Salicaceae Salix/Populus, willow/poplar. Celastraceae Euonymous europaeus L., spindle. Aquifoliaceae Ilex aquifolium L., holly. Araliaceae cf. Hedera helix, cf. ivy.
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Period 1: Early Neolithic (Table 9) This period is represented by a single sample (8) from pit 1041. Oak, which includes sapwood, heartwood and roundwood fragments, seems to be the main taxon, followed by hazel. A quarter of hazel fragments were from roundwood, but most were too poorly preserved for measurement (of diameters or numbers of growth rings). There were a few fragments of hawthorn group (Pomoideae), and one of alder/hazel charcoal. The combination of oak, hazel and hawthorn group charcoal suggests the collection of fuel wood from mixed deciduous woodland. Sample 8 also had the crab apple (Malus sylvestris) pip and small concentration of hazelnut shell fragments (Wyles, above). While some of these remains may have been brought onto site with fuel, both species were widely collected during the Neolithic, so probably represent food debris.
Period 2: Early to Middle Bronze Age (Table 9) Five samples were analysed or assessed. Hearth 9226 (sample 12) did not produce any identifiable wood charcoal. The samples from layer 9006 (sample numbers 5, 6, 10 and 11) from Roundhouse 1 were dominated by hazel, or a mixture or hazel, oak and/or hawthorn group charcoal. The hawthorn group remains from the site were quite variable, suggesting that more than one taxa may be present. As with the Early Neolithic sample above, the mixtures of oak, hazel and hawthorn group charcoal hint at fuel wood collection from mixed deciduous woodland. Hedgerow and scrub habitats may also be indicated by hawthorn and blackthorn (Prunus spinosa; Prunus), if present. Spindle tree is another shrub or small tree which grows up to 5m in height on base-rich soils. The oak roundwood fragments in sample 5 had 10 to 12 surviving growth rings (but little pith or bark). Hazel roundwood in samples 5 and 11 was more variable, with 3 to 15 surviving growth rings. The proportions of roundwood to timber charcoal in the samples from this site are discussed further below.
Layer 9022 (sample 9) from Roundhouse 2 also produced a mixture of oak and hazel, with small amounts of hawthorn group and a single fragment of alder/hazel charcoal.
Period 3: Iron Age (Table 9) Five of the six samples from Pit group A were strongly oak dominated with moderate amounts of hazel. These came from the fill of pit 1158 (sample 16) and the fills of pits 1212, 1220, 1224 and 1230 (samples 20, 21, 22 and 23 respectively). A sixth sample (18) from pit 1165 had a more even mix of oak and non-oak taxa. In addition to hazel, the non-oak taxa in these six samples were hawthorn group, cherry/ blackthorn, broom/gorse, alder, alder/hazel, holly and willow/ poplar. The presence of alder and willow may indicate the collection of fuel from damp or low-lying areas, while broom/gorse may have come from local grasslands. The dominance of oak in samples 20, 21, 22 and 23 indicates that this was probably selected for fuel. These samples also had proportionally more oak heartwood than other samples from the site. The latter was presumably selected for its excellent thermal qualities and long-lasting heat. The other taxa in these samples may represent a mixture of secondary fuels, kindling materials and incidental inclusions.
The two samples (24 and 4) from pit 9129 in Pit group C were dominated by hazel, with moderate amounts of immature (sapwood) oak. Much of the hazel in sample 4 was from roundwood (with 1–5 surviving growth rings), or young trees/branches (with up to 37 growth rings, and up to 30mm in diameter). Sample 24 had a small concentration of alder and single fragments of spindle and hawthorn group charcoal. Samples 24 and 4 had a few birch fragments, which may point to some woodland regeneration locally, or this may have been collected from nearby alder-birch carr.
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The charcoal in sample 14 (cist 9252) may represent a cremation placed in the cist, or this may be related to other local activities. This was dominated by oak, much of which was in the form of narrow roundwood (with 3–10 growth rings). The other remains were hazel, broom/gorse and hawthorn group charcoal. Sample 13 from nearby layer 9251 was dominated by holly charcoal, the only such sample from the site. Around 90% of this was from larger roundwood/immature timbers, suggesting this was deliberately collected fuel wood rather than, for example, remains of leafy material collected as animal fodder. The other taxa in this sample were oak, hazel and broom/gorse.
Unphased deposit Sample 2 was the only sample from the site that was dominated by broom/gorse charcoal, and much of which was in the form of fragmentary roundwood. It also had some oak (including sapwood, roundwood and heartwood) and hazel (timber and roundwood) charcoal. Broom/gorse remains have been recovered from Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age deposits at Royalton Hengiform on the A30 in Cornwall (Challinor 2009), and the remains become more common on sites (in small quantities) from around the Middle Bronze Age (Smith 2002).
Discussion Charcoal evidence from other prehistoric period sites in Cornwall indicates that oak and hazel were the main tree and shrub species used for fuel from the Neolithic to the Iron Age. Broom/gorse remains are also quite widespread (see above), in small to moderate quantities (Smith 2002; Challinor 2009). The other tree and shrub taxa identified at Higher Nansloe Farm (holly, hawthorn group, alder, cherry/blackthorn, blackthorn, birch, spindle, ivy and willow/poplar) are represented by wood charcoal at other prehistoric sites across the region (Smith 2002). Pollen work carried out on later Neolithic to Iron Age deposits at nearby Chysauster, Cornwall, indicates some stability in the open oak and hazel woodland over much of this period, with alder and/or willow carr forming on low lying ground (Scaife 1988). Oscillations in the latter seem to be partly in response to anthropogenic activities, particularly by the Iron Age.
The range of tree and shrub taxa present in the samples, taken with evidence for maturity (roundwood sizes, ratios of roundwood to timber, etc.) can provide information on the areas exploited and fuel procurement strategies. Figure 8.1 shows the ratios of oak to non-oak fragments by sample and period at Higher Nansloe Farm and indicates little apparent change in the utilisation of non-oak taxa over time.
Figures 8.2a–2c show the ratios of oak timber to roundwood in samples from Periods 1, 2 and 5 at Higher Nansloe Farm. There is an apparent increase (proportionally) in oak roundwood over time. Some caution is necessary as the overall numbers of fragments are small and Period 1 is represented by a single sample. Nevertheless, this provides a tentative hint of a decrease in the availability of larger oak timbers from the Neolithic to the Iron Age, or at least an increased reluctance to burn these on domestic fires. Figures 8.2d–2f show the ratios of hazel timber to roundwood in samples from Periods 1, 2 and 5. Again, there appears to be an increase in the proportion of roundwood to timber over time, particularly between Periods 2 and 5. One possibility is that this reflects the increased exploitation of hedgerows and scrub type vegetation, rather than woodlands. If so, we might expect other shrubby taxa to be present in the Period 5 samples. The main shrubby species present in the charcoal assemblage are blackthorn and hawthorn group. However, blackthorn and cherry/blackthorn were both completely absent from Period 5, and there was a marked reduction (rather than increase) in hawthorn group charcoal here, as compared to Periods 1 and 2.
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Thus, it is likely that much of the variation in the charcoal assemblage from Higher Nansloe Farm, both in terms of taxa represented and the maturity of the material, is context related. This would often appear to reflect the selection of fuels for different purposes as much as wider vegetation changes taking place between the Early Neolithic and the Early to Middle Iron Age. Nevertheless, it is likely on the basis of the evidence here and from other, nearby charcoal and pollen investigations, that the oak woodlands of the region did become more scarce between the Early Neolithic and the Iron Age.
References Gale, R. and Cutler, D. 2000 Plants in Archaeology: Identification manual of vegetative plant materials used in Europe and the southern Mediterranean to c.1500 Westbury and Kew
Hather, J.G. 2000 The Identification of Northern European Woods: A Guide for Archaeologists and Conservators London, Archetype Publications
Scaife, R.G. 1988 Pollen analysis of the Bronze Age cairn and an adjacent peat profile at Chysauster, Cornwall Ancient Monuments Laboratory Report 193/1988
Schweingruber, F.H. 1990 Microscopic wood anatomy 3rd Edition. Birmensdorf, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research
Smith, W. 2002 A review of archaeological wood analyses in southern England.Centre of Archaeology Report 75/2002. English Heritage
Stace, C. 2010 New Flora of the British Isles 3rd edition. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press
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Table 9: charcoal from Higher Nansloe Farm Period 1. E.Neo 2. Early - Middle Bronze Age 5. Early - Middle Iron Age Round Feature label Roundhouse 1 house 2 Pit Group A Pit Group C Structure D Feature type Pit Layer Layer Pits Cremation related Pit Cist Layer Pit Cut 1041 1158 1165 1212 1220 1224 1230 9129 9253 9043 Context No. 1043 9006 9022 1159 1166 1213 1221 1224 1231 9130 9131 9255 9251 9044 Sample No. 8 5 6 10 11 9 16 18 20 21 22 23 24 4 14 13 2 Volume 8 7 30 20 20 32 10 7 5 15 5 5 7 10 46 8 6 Fabaceae Cytisus/Ulex broom/gorse 1 3r 3 1r 6r 2r 66r Rosaceae Prunus spinosa type blackthorn type 7 1 1 Prunus sp. cherry/blackthorn 10 1 5 1 1 7 Pomoideae hawthorn group 7 15r 5 9 13r 8r 1 3 3r 4 1 1 cf. Pomoideae cf. hawthorn group 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Fagaceae 9sh Quercus oak 67shr 8sh r 8sr 4sh 33shr 24shr 17sh 82shr 91shr 27shr 75shr 30sh 20s 76rsh 21sr 44srh Betulaceae Betula birch 5 4r Alnus glutinosa alder 2r 1 1 19r Corylus avellana hazel 28r 61r 15r 7r 13r 32 6r 5r 11r 3r 7 6 44r 51r 20r 5r 9r Alnus/Corylus alder/hazel 1 1 2 1 Salicaceae Salix/Populus willow/poplar 1 Celastraceae Euonymous europaeus spindle 1 1 Aquifoliaceae Ilex aquifolium 3r 92r Araliaceae cf. Hedera helix cf. ivy 2 Indeterminate charcoal 1 2 1 2 3b 5b 7br 4b 3b 11b 6b 4b Fragments analysed 105 105 30 34 34 74 35 36 106 104 37 107 106 75 108 120 119 KEY: Counts include: h - heartwood; s - sapwood; r - roundwood; b- bark. Pomoideae may include: Pyrus (pear), Malus (apple), Crataegus (hawthorn) & Sorbus (rowan, service, whitebeam) species.
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Fig. 8.1. Ratio of oak to non oak charcoal fragments by sample and period
100%
50% Non oak fragments 0% Oak fragments 8 5 6 10 11 9 16 18 20 21 22 23 24 4 14 13 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 Sample Nos. and Period
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Fig. 8.2a. Oak - ratio of timber and roundwood in one Period 1 sample
Timber (%) Roundwood (%)
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Fig. 8.2b. Oak - ratio of timber and roundwood in Period 2 samples
Context Sample Period Timber (%) Roundwood (%)
Fig. 8.2c. Oak - ratio of timber and roundwood in Period 5 samples
Timber (%) Roundwood (%)
Fig. 8.2d. Hazel - ratio of timber and roundwood in one Period 1 sample
Timber (%) Roundwood (%)
68 Higher Nansloe Farm, Helston, Cornwall: Post-Excavation Assessment and Updated Project Design © Cotswold Archaeology
Fig. 8.2e. Hazel - ratio of timber and roundwood in Period 2 samples
Timber (%) Roundwood (%)
Fig. 8.2f. Hazel - ratio of timber and roundwood in Period 5 samples
Timber (%) Roundwood (%)
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APPENDIX 9: OASIS REPORT FORM
PROJECT DETAILS Project Name Higher Nansloe Farm, Helston, Cornwall Short description A programme of archaeological work was undertaken by Cotswold Archaeology between April and June 2017 at the request of Coastline Design and Build Ltd at Higher Nansloe Farm, Helston, Cornwall. Four areas were excavated across the development area. The earliest remains comprised seven Early Neolithic (4000 BC– 3000 BC) pits; although no associated structural remains were identified, these may indicate settlement of this date, possibly on an episodic basis. A single Beaker period (2600 BC–1800 BC) pit might represent a continuation of this pit digging tradition. Longer term settlement began during the Early to Middle Bronze Age (2400 BC–1100 BC) when a roundhouse settlement was established. Two adjoining roundhouses were found, along with evidence that they had been deliberately dismantled. Later Bronze Age (1100 BC–700 BC) remains comprised a four- post structure and a cluster of pits/postholes. During the Iron Age, a rectilinear field system was established, associated with trackways and ditch arrangements suggestive of livestock management. In one area, a cluster of pits and postholes was associated with processing involving heating, whilst within another part of the site, two probable cist burials were found. No human remains were found but, aside from small quantities of unidentifiable burnt bone, bone was absent from all periods on the site, probably due to the acidity of the soils Later remains were restricted to a single ditch which was cut through the subsoil and which is likely to have been medieval or later in date. This document presents a quantification and assessment of the evidence recovered from the excavation which is of regional significance and warrants publication within a suitable journal. Project dates 24 April-14 June 2017 Project type Strip, Map and Sample excavation Previous work Desk-Based Assessment (CA 2016b); Geophysical Survey (AOC 2016); Evaluation (CA 2016a) Future work Unknown PROJECT LOCATION Site Location Higher Nansloe Farm, Helston, Cornwall Study area (M2/ha) 2.3ha (0.39ha excavated) Site co-ordinates 65897 26703 PROJECT CREATORS Name of organisation Cotswold Archaeology Project Brief originator N/A Project Design (WSI) originator Cotswold Archaeology Project Manager Derek Evans Project Supervisor Jonathan Orellana MONUMENT TYPE Bronze Age roundhouses, Iron Age cists SIGNIFICANT FINDS None PROJECT ARCHIVES Intended final location of archive Content Physical Royal Cornwall Museum Pottery, flint, metal object Paper Royal Cornwall Museum Context sheets, section drawings, photographs Digital Royal Cornwall Museum Database, digital photos, digital survey BIBLIOGRAPHY Cotswold Archaeology 2018 Higher Nansloe Farm, Helston, Cornwall: Post-Excavation Assessment and Updated Project Design. CA typescript report 18038
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PROJECT TITLE Higher Nansloe Farm, Helston, Cornwall Development area ISLES OF SCILLY FIGURE TITLE Site location plan 0 1km
DRAWN BY EE PROJECT NO. 889011 FIGURE NO. © Crown copyright and database rights 2018 CHECKED BY DJB DATE 08/08/2018 Ordnance Survey 0100031673 APPROVED BY JH SCALE@A4 1:25,000 1 N 2 FIGURE NO. 01908 564660 cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk 01285 771022 @ 01264 347630 01392 826185 nT 889011 08/08/2018 1:750 www.cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk
enquiries Andover Cirencester Exeter Milton Keynes w e 2 -1 PROJECT NO. DATE SCALE@A3 Development area Development areas Excavation results survey (Geophysical 2016) AOC, trench (CA 2016) Evaluation Early Neolithic Beaker Age Early to Middle Bronze Age Late Bronze Early to Middle Iron Age / Post-medieval Medieval Undated 025m EE DJB JH Cotswold Archaeology © Crown copyright and database rights 0100031673 copyright 2018 Ordnance Survey © Crown The site, showing archaeological features and geophysical survey results PROJECT TITLE FIGURE TITLE Higher Nansloe Farm, Helston, Cornwall DRAWN BY DRAWN CHECKED BY APPROVED BY Primary School Nansloe Community
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h a c t i 1 e Ditch 3 D r T T1 A Area 2
116590065900 2 T T2 3
h c t i Ditch 3 D ) 1 3 .
g i 6 a F
T T6 e 4 e r e T T4 Structure A s ( (see Fig.3) A Area 1 Ditch 4 Ditch 1 3 T T3 Pit
Group A Bulwark Road Bulwark Ditch 2 6
h c t i D Ditch 6 7 T T7 5 T T5
116580065800 0 0 0 0 7 7 6 6 2 2 0 026700 0 026700 165850 N
1059 1061 1032
1028 Ditch 3 1025
1034 1030
1041
A 1022 1020 A
Ditch 2 Ditch 1
1047 1049
707 705 Area 1 1070
1072 1068
1037 1045 1039 1066
026700 1064
1062
Ditch 4 1076 1088 1053 1078 1086 Excavated area 1116 1084 (excavated/unexcavated) 1114 1102 1055 1118 Early Neolithic 1074 1080
1082 Beaker 1051 Early to Middle Iron Age 1106 410 1104 Undated A A 403 1123 Section location
1140 1168 1006 1134 1154 1177 1094 1128 Andover 01264 347630 1174 Cirencester 01285 771022 1107 1004 1008 Cotswold Exeter 01392 826185 1182 1165 1230 1010 Archaeology Milton Keynes 01908 564660 1109 1158 w www.cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk 1201 e [email protected] 1160 1012 1220 1212 Structure A Ditch 6 1226 PROJECT TITLE 1111 1214 1014 Higher Nansloe Farm, Helston, Cornwall Pit 1016 1092 FIGURE TITLE 1098 Group A 1019 Area 1, showing archaeological features 1096 1206
1036 1090 DRAWN BY EE PROJECT NO. 889011 FIGURE NO. 0 1:250 10m CHECKED BY DJB DATE 08/08/2018 APPROVED BY JH SCALE@A4 1:250 3 Section AA
NE SW 66.4m AOD
1044
1043 1042
pit 1041
01m1:20
Pit 1041, looking south-east (0.4m scale)
Andover 01264 347630 Cirencester 01285 771022 Cotswold Exeter 01392 826185 Archaeology Milton Keynes 01908 564660 w www.cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk e [email protected]
PROJECT TITLE Higher Nansloe Farm, Helston, Cornwall
FIGURE TITLE Pit 1041, section and photograph
DRAWN BY EE PROJECT NO. 889011 FIGURE NO. CHECKED BY DJB DATE 08/08/2018 APPROVED BY JH SCALE@A4 1:20 4 1 165970 6 5 9 7 0
wall B 002674026740 9005 Roundhouse 1 9269
9272 9278 9234 9232
9276 layer 9244 9006 layer 9008 9236 wall 9240 9059
92749226 9238 9030 9242 ditch 9228 9056
wall 9246 9004
B 9206 9208 9210
9204 9202 TT99 9200 layer 9248 9165 9198 (north)(north) 9212 9196 wall 9214 9159 9190 9194 99188188 9218 C 9192 9220 9166 9222 99216216 9170 9168 9180 9182 C 9186 99172172 9176 99178178 Roundhouse 2 9174 9184
9182
9035
9016 9037
9017 Ditch 3 9039 9019
9013 002672026720
Andover 01264 347630 N Cirencester 01285 771022 Excavated area Cotswold Exeter 01392 826185 Archaeology Milton Keynes 01908 564660 (excavated/unexcavated) w www.cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk Early to Middle Bronze Age e [email protected] PROJECT TITLE Early to Middle Iron Age Higher Nansloe Farm, Helston, Cornwall
Medieval / Post-medieval FIGURE TITLE Undated Trench 9 (north), showing archaeological features A A Section location 05m1:100 DRAWN BY EE PROJECT NO. 889011 FIGURE NO. CHECKED BY DJB DATE 08/08/2018 APPROVED BY JH SCALE@A4 1:100 5 B wall 9005 9269
9272
9278 9234
9232
9276 9244
Roundhouse 1 9240 9236
wall 9059
9274 9226 9238 9030 9242
9228
9246
B 9208 wall 9206 9210 9004
9204 9202
9200 9248 9198 9212 9196 wall 9214 9159 9190
9194 9188 9218 C 9192 9220
9166 9222 9216
9168 9170
Roundhouse 2 9180 9182 C 9172 9186 9178 9176 9174 9184
9182
Andover 01264 347630 N Cirencester 01285 771022 Cotswold Exeter 01392 826185 Archaeology Milton Keynes 01908 564660 w www.cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk e [email protected]
PROJECT TITLE Excavated area Higher Nansloe Farm, Helston, Cornwall
Walling FIGURE TITLE A A Roundhouses 1 and 2 as seen from above Section location (photogrammetry image)
01:75 2,5m DRAWN BY EE PROJECT NO. 889011 FIGURE NO. CHECKED BY DJB DATE 08/08/2018 APPROVED BY JH SCALE@A4 1:75 6 1 165975 6 5
9 N 7 5
9069 9073
9033 9054 Ditch 7 9065
9071 9061 9067 9024 9042
9084 9086 9077 9081 9079
9052 9104 Structure C
E 9157 cist 9047 9043 9101 9045
9090 9050 D
E
9092
D posthole 9074 9094 9096
9250
9265
9147 F 9261 9263 9142 9144
9257 9259 9140 Structure D cist 9161 9253 9267 9149 9138 9115 9163 9136 F 9251 G 9134 Pit 9113 9117 group C 9153 9119 9151 G 9121
9129
Excavated area
(excavated/unexcavated)
002670026700 Early to Middle Bronze Age
Early to Middle Iron Age
Undated
Cist stones
9123 A A 9125 Section location
Andover 01264 347630 Cirencester 01285 771022 Cotswold Exeter 01392 826185 Archaeology Milton Keynes 01908 564660 w www.cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk e [email protected]
PROJECT TITLE Higher Nansloe Farm, Helston, Cornwall
9127 FIGURE TITLE Trench 9 (south), showing archaeological features
9107 9111 05m1:100 DRAWN BY EE PROJECT NO. 889011 FIGURE NO. CHECKED BY DJB DATE 08/08/2018 APPROVED BY JH SCALE@A4 1:100 7 9109 General view of Trench 9, looking south-east towards Roundhouses 1 and 2
RRoundhouseoundhouse 2
RRoundhouseoundhouse 1
General view of the two roundhouses, looking south-east (1m scales)
Andover 01264 347630 Cirencester 01285 771022 Cotswold Exeter 01392 826185 Archaeology Milton Keynes 01908 564660 w www.cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk e [email protected]
PROJECT TITLE Higher Nansloe Farm, Helston, Cornwall
FIGURE TITLE Photographs
DRAWN BY EE PROJECT NO. 889011 FIGURE NO. CHECKED BY DJB DATE 08/08/2018 APPROVED BY JH SCALE@A4 NA 8 Section BB
SW NE 62.4m AOD
9012 wall 9004 9010 9011 wall 9008 9005 Roundhouse 1 9006 9003 9233 9008
posthole 9232
01m1:20
Section CC
SE NW 62.1m AOD
9021 9022 wall 9159
9217 9165 9193 Roundhouse 2 9023 posthole posthole 9216 9192
Andover 01264 347630 Cirencester 01285 771022 Exeter 01392 826185 01m1:20 Cotswold Archaeology Milton Keynes 01908 564660 w www.cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk e [email protected]
PROJECT TITLE Higher Nansloe Farm, Helston, Cornwall
FIGURE TITLE Roundhouses 1 and 2, sections
DRAWN BY EE PROJECT NO. 889011 FIGURE NO. CHECKED BY DJB DATE 08/08/2018 APPROVED BY JH SCALE@A3 1:20 9 Section DD
SW NE 62.4m AOD
9076
9075
posthole 9074
01m1:20
Posthole 9074, looking north-west (0.4m scale)
Andover 01264 347630 Cirencester 01285 771022 Cotswold Exeter 01392 826185 Archaeology Milton Keynes 01908 564660 w www.cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk e [email protected]
PROJECT TITLE Higher Nansloe Farm, Helston, Cornwall
FIGURE TITLE Posthole 9074, section and photograph
DRAWN BY EE PROJECT NO. 889011 FIGURE NO. CHECKED BY DJB DATE 08/08/2018 APPROVED BY JH SCALE@A4 1:20 10 1 165975 6 5 9 7 5
8010 002677526775
8012
Pit Group B
8014
8059 8018 8016 8046 8020 8022 8033 8024 8031 8027 8048 8044
8042 8038 8040 8036 8029
8050
8052 8054 8057
Structure B
TT88
8005
8007
8003
Andover 01264 347630 N Cirencester 01285 771022 Cotswold Exeter 01392 826185 Archaeology Milton Keynes 01908 564660 Excavated area w www.cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk e [email protected]
PROJECT TITLE
(excavated/unexcavated) Higher Nansloe Farm, Helston, Cornwall Late Bronze Age FIGURE TITLE Trench 8, showing archaeological features Undated
05m1:100 DRAWN BY EE PROJECT NO. 889011 FIGURE NO. CHECKED BY DJB DATE 08/08/2018 APPROVED BY JH SCALE@A4 1:100 11 Section EE
SN 62.1m AOD
lintel 9100 9102 9100 9099 9155
cist cist 9101 9156 9101
cut 9098
01m1:20
N
cist E 9101
cutcut 9098
E
01m1:20
Andover 01264 347630 Cirencester 01285 771022 Cotswold Exeter 01392 826185 Archaeology Milton Keynes 01908 564660 w www.cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk e [email protected]
PROJECT TITLE Cist structure Higher Nansloe Farm, Helston, Cornwall
A A Section location FIGURE TITLE Cist 9101, section and orthomosaic photograph
DRAWN BY EE PROJECT NO. 889011 FIGURE NO. CHECKED BY DJB DATE 08/08/2018 APPROVED BY JH SCALE@A4 1:20 12 Section FF
N S 61.9m AOD
cist cist 9268 9253 9256 9264 9253
posthole 9255 posthole 9263 9267
cut 9252
01m1:20
F
N 9263
cist 9253 cut 9252
9267
01m1:20
F
Andover 01264 347630 Cirencester 01285 771022 D Cotswold Exeter 01392 826185 Archaeology Milton Keynes 01908 564660 w www.cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk e [email protected]
PROJECT TITLE Cist structure Higher Nansloe Farm, Helston, Cornwall
Archaeological feature (excavated/unexcavated) FIGURE TITLE A A Cist 9253, section and orthomosaic Section location photograph
DRAWN BY EE PROJECT NO. 889011 FIGURE NO. CHECKED BY DJB DATE 08/08/2018 APPROVED BY JH SCALE@A4 1:20 13 Cist 9101 showing lintels 9102, looking south-west (0.3m scale)
Post excavation view of cist 9101, looking south-west (0.3m scale)
Andover 01264 347630 Cirencester 01285 771022 Cotswold Exeter 01392 826185 Archaeology Milton Keynes 01908 564660 w www.cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk e [email protected]
PROJECT TITLE Higher Nansloe Farm, Helston, Cornwall
FIGURE TITLE Photographs
DRAWN BY EE PROJECT NO. 889011 FIGURE NO. CHECKED BY DJB DATE 08/08/2018 APPROVED BY JH SCALE@A4 NA 14 Section GG
SW NE 62.1m AOD
9133
9132 stone saddle quern or grain rubber 9131
9130 pit 9129
01m1:20
Pit 9129, looking north-west (0.4m scale)
Andover 01264 347630 Cirencester 01285 771022 Cotswold Exeter 01392 826185 Archaeology Milton Keynes 01908 564660 w www.cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk e [email protected]
PROJECT TITLE Higher Nansloe Farm, Helston, Cornwall
FIGURE TITLE Trench 9, section and photograph
DRAWN BY EE PROJECT NO. 889011 FIGURE NO. CHECKED BY DJB DATE 08/08/2018 APPROVED BY JH SCALE@A4 1:20 15
71