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West Kennet Long Barrow Wiltshire Archaeological Evaluation

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West Kennet Long Barrow Wiltshire Archaeological Evaluation West Kennet Long Barrow Wiltshire Archaeological Evaluation for English Heritage CA Project: 3916 CA Report: 12227 August 2012 West Kennet Long Barrow Wiltshire Archaeological Evaluation CA Project: 3916 CA Report: 12227 prepared by Alistair Barber, Senior Project Officer date 31 August 2012 checked by Mark Collard, Head of Contracts date 3 September 2012 approved by Simon Cox, Head of Fieldwork signed date 3 September 2012 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. © Cotswold Archaeology Building 11, Kemble Enterprise Park, Kemble, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, GL7 6BQ t. 01285 771022 f. 01285 771033 e. [email protected] © Cotswold Archaeology West Kennet Long Barrow, Wiltshire: Archaeological Evaluation CONTENTS SUMMARY........................................................................................................................ 2 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 3 The site ................................................................................................................ 3 Archaeological background.................................................................................. 4 Archaeological objectives .................................................................................... 5 Methodology ........................................................................................................ 5 2. RESULTS (FIGS 2-8) .......................................................................................... 7 Test pit 4 (Figs 3 & 5)........................................................................................... 8 Test pit 10 (Figs 3 & 7)......................................................................................... 8 Test pit 11 (Figs 3 & 7)......................................................................................... 8 Test pit 12 (Figs 4 & 8)......................................................................................... 8 Test pit 13 (Figs 4 & 8)......................................................................................... 8 Test pit 14 (Figs 4 & 8)......................................................................................... 8 3. DISCUSSION....................................................................................................... 9 4. CA PROJECT TEAM ........................................................................................... 10 5. REFERENCES .................................................................................................... 10 APPENDIX A: CONTEXT DESCRIPTIONS ..................................................................... 11 APPENDIX B: OASIS REPORT FORM............................................................................ 14 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Fig. 1 Site location plan (1:25,000) Fig. 2 Site location plan (1:5000) Fig. 3 Test pits 1 to 11 location plan (1: 50) Fig. 4 Test pits 12 to 14 location plan (1: 50) Fig. 5 Test pits 1 to 4: sections (1: 10) and photographs Fig. 6 Test pits 5 to 9: photographs Fig. 7 Test pits 10 and 11: sections (1: 10) and photographs Fig. 8 Test pits 12 to 14: sections (1: 10) and photographs 1 © Cotswold Archaeology West Kennet Long Barrow, Wiltshire: Archaeological Evaluation SUMMARY Project Name: West Kennet Long Barrow Location: Wiltshire NGR: SU 1045 6773 Type: Evaluation Date: 15-16 August 2012 SMC: Class 7 Consent ref: S00040979 Location of Archive: To be deposited with English Heritage Site Code: WKL 12 An archaeological evaluation was undertaken by Cotswold Archaeology in August 2012 at the request of English Heritage at West Kennet Long Barrow, Wiltshire. Fourteen test pits were excavated. The reconstructed upper surface of the burial chamber and passageway capstones were revealed in three test pits. Modern roof lights had been cement-bonded to these structural remains, but the evaluation noted that there was no extensive concrete overpour around the roof lights. Although 1950s sectional drawings suggested that bitumen felt may have been used to help weatherproof the reconstructed chambers and mound, none was encountered during excavation. Two internal test pits, within the western burial chamber and passageway, revealed undated stony-clay deposits overlain by successive gravel surfaces, whilst a third test pit within the entrance noted modern concrete supporting a large sarsen. stone. The remaining eight test pits in the upper surface of the mound all contained an identical sequence of turf and topsoil over stony-clay deposits. 2 © Cotswold Archaeology West Kennet Long Barrow, Wiltshire: Archaeological Evaluation 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 In August 2012 Cotswold Archaeology (CA) carried out an archaeological evaluation for English Heritage at West Kennet Long Barrow, Wiltshire, (centred on NGR: SU 1045 6773; Fig. 1). English Heritage (EH) required these investigations in order to better understand the nature of 20th-century works at the site, and to inform future proposals to address damaging water ingress into the internal burial chambers. 1.2 The excavation of test pits to investigate areas of proposed repair works outlined above, was approved under a Class 7 Consent (ref. no. S00040979) issued by English Heritage on 14 August 2012 under the Ancient Monuments (Class Consent) Order 1994. 1.3 The evaluation was carried out in accordance with a detailed Written Scheme of Investigation (WSI) produced by CA (2010; issue 02, dated 10 August 2012) and approved by English Heritage. The fieldwork also followed the Standard and Guidance for Archaeological Field Evaluation issued by the Institute for Archaeologists (IfA) (2008), the Management of Archaeological Projects (English Heritage 1991) and the Management of Research Projects in the Historic Environment (MORPHE): Project Manager’s Guide (EH 2006). 1.4 Notification of the start of site works was made to English Heritage (EH), prior to the commencement of the excavation so that there were opportunities to visit the monument and check on the quality and progress of the work. Site visits were made by Morgan Cowles (EH Buildings Technical Manager), David Vaughan (EH Stonehenge and Avebury WHS Research Assistant and Historic Environment Field Advisor) and Arthur McCallum (EH Structural Engineer) The site 1.5 The National Heritage List for England provides background information for the site (http://list.english-heritage.org.uk/resultsingle.aspx?uid=1010628, accessed 10 August 2012). In summary, the West Kennet Long Barrow is Scheduled as National Monument no. 21708 and is in the Guardianship of English Heritage (EH). It lies within Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site and within the Marlborough Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Lying just south of the A4 and the 3 © Cotswold Archaeology West Kennet Long Barrow, Wiltshire: Archaeological Evaluation village of Avebury, it sits at a height of c.170m AOD on a domed ridge of Upper Chalk immediately south of the River Kennet and overlooking Silbury Hill (Fig 2). 1.6 The underlying solid geology of the area is mapped as Lewes Nodular, Seaford and Newhaven chalk formations of the Upper Cretaceous period (BGS 2012). The natural substrate was not encountered during the archaeological evaluation. Archaeological background 1.7 The burial mound has been partially excavated and the entrance to the chambers reconstructed. The barrow mound, which is trapezoidal in plan, measures 104m in length and 25m across at the widest point. The mound survives to a maximum height of 3.2m. The internal chamber, which is at the broader east end of the mound, is of the multiple axial type, consisting of five small chambers, all accessible from a common 12m long passage but not from each other. The chambers vary in size from 2m to 4m across and have a maximum internal height of 2.5m. Following a period of exposure, the mixed bones of at least 30 individuals were placed in the chambers over a number of generations before the entrance was finally sealed. There seems to have been no preference for male or female, adults or children, although there were no infants present. Grave goods included pottery vessels of Early and later Neolithic date as well as beads and stone implements including a dagger dated to between 3000 BC and 2600 BC. The area in front of the entrance to the chamber was originally a forecourt where funerary processions would have arrived and offerings to the dead would have been left in wooden structures. To the north and south of the mound are quarry ditches 100m in length and c.5m wide located c.6m out from the edge of the barrow mound. Although these have become in-filled over the years they survive comparatively well and remain visible as earthworks. 1.8 The history of the previous investigations at the site has been set out by Julian Richards in a report considering the available documentary sources, and reference should be made to that report for the detailed background (Richards 2010). Relevant to these investigations is the fact that that the barrow was the subject of intensive archaeological excavation and reconstruction work in the 1950s. During this reconstruction work the sarsen stones around the east entrance and many of the capstones to the main passage
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