• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

Proc. Hampsh. Field Club Archaeol. Soc. 45, 1989, 5-12 EXCAVATIONS AT SOUTHWICK HILL CROSS-ROADS, PORTSDOWN, PORTSMOUTH By DAVID J RUDKIN with a report on the skeletal remains by C B DENSTON ABSTRACT prior to the first phase of the road improve­ ment. The site was subsequently destroyed by Archaeological investigations in advance of extensive road this work. The finds and records from the exca­ work revealed an Early Bronze Age inhumation, accompanied vation are held at Portsmouth City Museums. by two accessory vessels: a double ended incense cup, of a type previously ascribed to the Wessex Culture, and a simple bucket shaped miniature vessel. Several pairs of post holes, THE SITE which have been interpreted as com or hay drying racks of Early Iron Age date, were also discovered. Portsdown is a ridge of chalk running ESE - WNW for some 10km between Fareham and Havant along the heads of Portsmouth and INTRODUCTION Langstone Harbours and the low lying Portsea Island. It represents a prominent part of the The site was located at NGR SU 6490 0657, on more extensive Portsdown Anticline. To the the crest of Portsdown, immediately to the south the down drops away rapidly to the north of the intersection of the A333, Southwick harbours and to the north to the clays, sands Road and the Portsdown Hill Road (Fig 1). In and gravels of the Tertiary beds. The crest of August 1972 Portsmouth City Museums were the down is still largely undeveloped and the notified by the City Engineers Department of land not under plough supports a scrub vege­ impending roundabout construction at the tation much as it is likely to have done in the intersection. The archaeological potential of prehistoric period before it was modified by the area was immediately apparent. Previous man. The tertiary beds would have had a improvements to the junction in 1948 and 1956 heavy forest cover, part of which survived as had led to the discovery of an Anglo-Saxon the Forest of Bere until this century. cemetery with approximately 20 interments, a The site lay on the crest of the Down at cremation with associated grave goods of the 107m + OD, 2.2km east of its highest point at Wessex Culture, an undated cremation, a fea­ 152m + OD. It is an exposed site open to the ture containing burnt flints and a pit containing prevailing south-westerly winds. a Bronze Age food vessel (Corney el al 1967). In addition the museum collections contain sherds of Iron Age pottery found in this area on THE EXCAVATION two previous occasions, in one case from a post hole sectioned by road widening. Finally, Grin- An area of approximately 1,230 sq m to the sell reported the presence of a bell barrow, north of the B2177/A333 junction was stripped eighteen paces in diameter by 2ft high at mechanically and the surface of the chalk was SU 6491 0658 in the late 1930s (Grinsell 1940) then cleaned by hand. The overlying top soil although this was no longer visible by 1972. varied in thickness from as little as 5cm up to The excavation was carried out in late Sept­ 15cm. From the mixed nature of this soil it was ember 1972 by Portsmouth City Museum staff clear that it had been thoroughly disturbed in 6 HAMPSHIRE FIELD CLUB AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY Present road line. Pre 1972 road line. Limit of excavation. A E.B. A. Inhumation. B E.B.A. 'Wessex'cremationdg^S). c Undated cremation(1948). D 'Food Vessel'(1948). W/. Anglo-Saxon cemetery (1948& 1956). Fig 1. Southwick Hill Cross-roads: General location plans A: Portsdown area B: Relationship of site to old and new road lines and previous archaeological features. the past. This was evidenced by shallow gull- The Bronze Age Features eys which were seen to cut the site in an approximate east—west direction (Fig 2). The grave (Fig 3) was of irregular outline with Metalwork from these suggested they were of its floor set into the present chalk surface by 19th century date and it is believed that they some 7.5cm at the north-east end and level with represent part of the extensive work that took the surface of the chalk from midway along its place on Portsdown during the building of the length. The southern third had been cut away Palmerston forts in the 1860s which included by a 19th century gulley. In consequence, the clearing the scrub cover from between the skeleton that it contained was in a poor state of forts. The site lies on a line between Forts preservation. Nevertheless, enough remained Widley and Southwick. to show that it was lying on its right side with its The cleaned down chalk surface revealed in head to the north-east. The position of frag­ addition to the above gullies a number of ments of one ulna and radius suggested that one features cut into it: a grave, pits and post arm was bent up towards the chest whilst the holes, all of which were excavated. position of fragments of tibia and fibula indicate RUDK1N: EXCAVATIONS AT SOUTHWICK HILL CROSS-ROADS, PORTSDOWN, PORTSMOUTH 7 30m 19-20 \ * ' ' ' • ' ' ' ' ' ' i rn-19th.-20th.Century disturbance. Fig 2. Southwick Hill Cross-roads: Site plan showing Bronze Age grave (1) and pit (8) and Iron Age post holes (2-7, 9-12, 16-23) and pits (13-15 and 24). (Scale 1:500) tfttvCen^ Fig 3. Southwick Hill Cross-roads: The Early Bronze Inhumation. (Scale 1:20) 8 HAMPSHIRE FIELD CLUB AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY that the legs may have been bent, the whole holes falls between 1.1m and 2.3m with an body thus being in a semi-flexed position. How­ average of 1.85m. ever, the skeleton was too badly disturbed to be There were five single post holes but as the certain of this. Fortunately, as the head end of majority of these were adjacent to later dis­ the grave was slightly deeper, two accessory turbance it may be that each was originally one vessels which had been buried adjacent to the of a pair. Four shallow pits were discovered, forehead of the body had escaped largely intact. none being deeper than 25cm. They were filled It is clear from these two vessels, considered with granular grey-brown soil and flint nodules below, that the burial is of Early Bronze Age with small fragments of pottery and charcoal. date. Analysis of the skeletal material (see below) revealed that it was of a tall female of between 15 and 17 years of age. The skeletal THE FINDS material was submitted to the British Museum Research Laboratory for radio-carbon analysis. The Bronze Age Pottery (Fig 4) A determination based on collagen from post- cranial bones gave the following date: 1. Double ended incense cup, 61mm high with a maximum diameter of 67mm and a 3009 ± 57 BP (BM-1119) minimum waist diameter of 50mm. The upper and lower ends are not quite symmetrical with Immediately to the north of the head end of one being 3mm deeper than the other and the EBA grave was the base of a pit of trian­ having more curved walls. The fabric is lightly gular outline with sides of c 30cm and cut c grog-tempered, with a dark grey core and a 4cm below the surface of chalk. This contained slightly burnished surface, ranging from pink­ the truncated base of a possible BA vessel, ish buff to pinkish grey. The surface decoration discussed below. consists of twelve encircling lines of twisted cord impression. This had been produced by a The Early Iron Age Features (Fig 2) double strand, clockwise twisted cord with approximately 3-4 twists per cm, the indi­ The Iron Age features comprised post holes vidual fibres of the strands being visible in the and shallow pits or depressions. Eighteen post impressions. Two similar circles of twisted holes were discovered. All were ovoid in plan cord impression decorate the upper and lower with their average longer axes measuring rims. In addition, there are four rows of circular 50cm. They varied in depth from 15- 45cm. In impressions c 3mm dia made by a stamp, prob­ five of the holes, 3, 5, 6, 17 and 18, there was a ably a bird bone. When excavated all the above packing of flint nodules leaving a post pipe of impressions were filled with chalk whereas the approximately 10cm diameter. One post hole, surface of the vessel was elsewhere relatively 21 a/b had been re-cut. clean of such deposit. It is possible that this The majority of the post holes were represents an original, deliberate, decorative arranged in pairs, 2-3, 5-6, 11-12, 16-17 and encrustation as has been seen in some beakers 21b-23. The grouping of 18, 19, 20, 21a is (Clarke 1970) and Aldbourne cups (Piggott ambiguous and may represent either two 1938) although deposition by ground water north-south pairs, two east-west pairs or the rich in calcium carbonate cannot be ruled out. plan of a four post structure. The fact that 2. Miniature vessel in the form of a simple 19—20 had their longer axes running east-west urn. There is a roughly formed shoulder beneath and had no flint packing, whereas 18-21 had a distinct neck and slightly everted rim. The top their longer axes running edge of the latter is bevelled on the outside. The north-south and had flint packing, tempts one fabric is very sparsely tempered with grog and to see them as two cast-west pairs: 19-20 and some calcined flint particles.

Load more

  8

Copy Link