Durham E-Theses Later prehistory from the Trent to the Tyne Challis, A. J. How to cite: Challis, A. J. (1972) Later prehistory from the Trent to the Tyne, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/7941/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk A. J. CHALLIS LATER PREHISTORY FROM THE TRENT TO THE TYME Ph.D. Thesis, September 1972 ABSTRACT OF THESIS The object of the thesis is to present a study of the later Bronze Age and Iron Age periods in the area from the river Tyne southwards to the English Midlands. A large quantity of unpublished material is illustrated, and is discussed in a suggested chronological sequence devised on the basis of site association and relevant British and European context. The evidence of settlement sites, economy, and burial is also reviewed. Specific conclusions have been reached throughout all aspects of the discussion. To a great extent these conclusions are provisional, since much evidence is not yet published and research in many fields has been limited, but some are of considerable importance. Pottery forms owing much to earlier urn styles are identified in the Late Bronze Age alongside intrusive types. The widespread influence of Hallstatt traits is discussed. The scored pottery of the East Midlands is seen to have been introduced in the fifth century B.C. or even earlier. The identification of distinctive "angular" pottery in the East Riding adds credence to the theory of an early La Tene immigration. The importance of arable farming in the Iron Age food-producing economy, and the development of an enclosed, intensively- occupied landscape in parts of the south and east are shown. The fact that most excavated hill-forts in the area are demonstrably pre-fifth century B.C. is highlighted. An analysis of the distinctive character of constituent parts of the area of study is made. The results of palynological investigations are cited whenever possible to demonstrate the presence, character, and effects of prehistoric populations« It is seen that the paucity of material evidence from the north and west is not wholly a result of an imbalance in research effort. Suggestions for future work are made. LATER PREHISTORY FROM THE TRENT TO THE TYNE A Thesis submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Social Sciences in the University of Durham VOLUME 1 : TEXT A. J. Challis, September, 1972 Van Mildert College, The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without his prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. Know most of the rooms of thy native country before thou goest over the threshold thereof. Especially seeing England presents thee with so many ohservables. PREFACE In recent years, a continued research effort, particularly orientated towards regional study, has contributed to the clarification of the Iron Age of southern England. Likewise, archaeological reconnaissance, excavation, and radiocarbon dating have helped to elucidate the later prehistory of Britain north of the Tyne. As yet, no systematic attempt has been made to examine the archaeology of this period in the intervening area. With the grant of a Major State Studentship from the Department of Education and Science, a three-year research programme has been conducted. Initially, the field of study was to be the first millennium B.C. from the Trent valley in the south to the Scottish lowlands in the north. However, the diligence of other workers in the area north of the Tyne, and in the study of Late Bronze Age metalwork, coupled with the limitations of a three-year period of study, has allowed the writer to exclude these aspects from the main scope of this enquiry. The obligation to complete the programme within the time allotted has also limited the opportunity for surface fieldwork and the study of available air photographs to representative sample surveys in each case . (The Archaeology Division of the Ordnance Survey, the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), and the Research Committees of the Council for British Archaeology are all engaged in exhaustive surveys by these methods.) The research has, therefore, entailed an examination of Later Bronze Age and Iron Age sites and material remains (particularly coarse pottery) from the Trent to the Tyne. While the northern, western, and eastern areal limits are well-defined, the southern and south-eastern margin, through Cheshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Leicestershire, and Lincolnshire, has no unitary physiographical or archaeological basis. Evidence from the Trent basin, including that from the southern and eastern parts of the iv drainage system, is considered in detail, "but that from beyond Watling Street, Ratae Coritanorum (Leicester), and Ermine Street is not. The definition is principally one of convenience with regard to both the nature and the quantity of the evidence included. The records of the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England) and the National Monuments Record, and the collections of most private and public museums with relevant material, have most generously been made available for study. Excavation directors from local archaeological societies, from museums, and from the Department of the Environment have likewise willingly offered unpublished evidence. Yet the extent to which this thesis relies upon such sources reflects a situation in which a high proportion of the evidence remains unpublished. It is understood, more• over, that to some extent the reliability of the whole is dependent upon the accuracy of the contributed parts, which have been accepted as trust• worthy in most cases. Some sources of information may not have been fully utilised because of a shortage of time, but other evidence, which the writer expected to be able to consider, has proved to be lost or mislaid, or is otherwise not available. The thesis is arranged in four parts. Introductory sections are followed by chapters considering material remains, chapters discussing settlements and structures, and a final part of summaries and conclusions. Following the Bibliography are the Notes on Figures, in which is incorporated a large quantity of evidence. The material remains drawn are described, the numbered layers of the section drawings are listed, and the sites entered on the distribution maps are identified. Locations and references are given in these Notes, so reducing the number of explanatory remarks necessary in the text. It is hoped that all assistance is adequately acknowledged where appropriate. In particular, thanks must be recorded to Dr. W. J. Varley V for allowing the writer to assist with his excavations at Castle Hill, Almondbury, in 1970, to Mr . D. Hudspeth for photography, and to Mrs. J. Moore and Mrs. I. Riley for typing. The assistance of the writer's sister and wife is gratefully acknowledged. Without the enthusiasm and vision of Dr. D. W. Harding this work could never have begun; without his guidance and encouragement it would not have been completed . A. J. Challis, Van Mildert College September 1972 vi CONTENTS Page List of Figures ix List of Plates xiv Bibliographical Abbreviations xv Abbreviations of Sources: Mainly Museums xvii PART I INTRODUCTION i. The Object of the Research 1 ii. Summary of Past and Present Research 4 iii. Problems of the Material and its Interpretation 9 iv„ Some Environmental Factors 14 PART II MATERIAL REMAINS CHAPTER 1 The Materials Used, and Some Technical Factors 19 i. Pottery 19 ii. Metalwork 25 iii. Wood 32 iv. Bone and Antler 36 v. Stone 38 vi. Other Materials 42 CHAPTER 2 The Late Bronze Age „ 44 i. Metalwork 44 ii. Pottery : General Considerations 51 iii. Pottery : Details of Types 54 CHAPTER 3 Hallstatt Influences 68 i. Metalwork 68 ii. Pottery 77 vii Page CHAPTER k The Early La T'ene Period „0 . 94 i. Pottery 94 ii„ Metalwork 104 CHAPTER 5 The Middle La Tene Period .... «, „ 114 i. Metalwork 114 ii. Pottery 125 CHAPTER 6 The Late La T^ne Period . „ »„ 141 i. Metalwork 141 ii. Pottery 153 PART III SETTLEMENTS AND STRUCTURES CHAPTER 1 Hill-Fortifications •>. ..........<>. 168 io Fences 169 ii. Walls 176 iii. Dumps 188 iv. Castle Hill, Almondbury, near Huddersfield 195 v. Unexcavated Sites 205 CHAPTER 2 Types of Domestic Settlement 208 i . Middle and Late Bronze Age 208 ii . Iron Age Enclosures 217 iii. Extensive and Unenclosed Settlement 230 CHAPTER 3 Dwelling Structures 237 i. Circular Types 237 ii. Rectangular Types 247 CHAPTER k Food-Producing Economy „... 252 i. Arable Evidence 253 ii. Pastoral Evidence 261 CHAPTER 5 Religious and Burial Sites 273 i. The La Tene Burials of Eastern Yorkshire 273 viii Page ii. Other Burial Evidence 285 PART IV REGIONAL SUMMARIES AND CONCLUSIONS i. Cumbria 295 ii. Lancastria 297 iii. Co. Durham 298 iv. North-East Yorkshire 300 v. The Askrigg Pennines 302 vi. The Southern Pennines 303 vii. The East Riding 305 viii. The South-West 307 ix. The East Midlands 309 Bibliography 314 Notes on Figures Vol. 2, Nl Notes on Plates Vol. 2, N104 ix LIST OF FIGURES Material Remains (1-50) The Southern Pennines and the West (1-8) 1.