Proc Hampsh Field Club Archaeol Soc, 49, 1993, 19-46 LATER BRONZE AGE AND EARLY IRON AGE SETTLEMENT IN THE LOWER TEST VALLEY Evidence from excavations and finds 1981-9 By HELEN REES with contributions by W BOISMIERJ COY, J EGERTON, C GAMBLE, andB WILLIAMS ABSTRACT earlier parts of the twentieth centuries (information from the District Sites and Monuments Record, Small excavations and watching briefs carried out in the lower not usually published in any other form). Secondly, Test Valley during the last two decades have produced some more recent excavations have been carried out on evidence of occupation of the later Bronze Age and early Iron Age a very small scale. It is the aim of the present writer periods. In the Nursling area, this consisted largely of isolated to discuss the evidence for settlement during the features, although a badly-truncated early Iron Age settlement later Bronze Age to early Iron Age period recorded was excavated at Nursling Gravel Quarry. In Romsey, evidence of the ancient course of the river Test, in the form of infilled stream during some of these excavations. The fact that channels, was recovered. This occupation produced small but sites of this date range are relatively common may varied finds assemblages, including pottery, metalwork and be fortuitous, rather than representative of a metalworking waste, querns, worked flint, animal bone and particular settlement pattern, as the sample is human bone. A larger sample of finds of the early Iron Age small. retrieved from a further stream channel at La Sagesse Convent, The sites under consideration were in the two Romsey, is to be published separately. The purpose of this paper modern parishes of Nursling and Romsey (Fig 1). is to draw attention to the importance of this material, given the In Nursling, the circumstances of recovery were lack of large scale excavation in the area. less than ideal. The material was of necessity rapidly and sketchily recorded in advance of gravel quarrying. More controlled conditions INTRODUCTION prevailed in Romsey, where evidence of prehistoric activity was confined to the earliest In recent years, much attention has been given to contexts on urban sites, or was manifested by the later prehistory of the northern part of the residual pottery. The stratigraphy in Romsey is Test Valley. This has been partly due to extensive shallower than that recorded for many urban sites redevelopment of the town of Andover and the due to extensive truncation in relatively recent resulting information from rescue excavations (see times. It is, however, deeper than that eg Wainwright 1969; Davies 1981; Dacre & encountered on rural sites in the area. Ellison 1981; Bellamy 1992; Dacre & Gardiner in Excavation and recording was carried out by prep). Rescue considerations have played a lesser the Test Valley Archaeological Trust, often with part in the research of the hillfort at Danebury substantial help from the Lower Test Valley- and its environs (see eg Cunlifle 1984), and both Archaeological Study Group. The Nursling gravel projects have contributed significantly to general quarry excavation was largely the work of the understanding of the archaeology of the Wessex latter organisation. Machinery was supplied free chalklands. of charge by the developer of the site at Church That the Hampshire Basin deposits of the lower Lane, Nursling. With the exception of the Newton Test Valley are also relatively rich in prehistoric Lane site in Romsey and the Adanac site in finds is perhaps less fully appreciated. Two factors Nursling, which were fully developer funded, may account for this. Firstly, part of the record resources for post excavation analysis and comprises finds made during the nineteenth and publication were provided by English Heritage. 20 HAMPSHIRE HELD CLUB AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY ~Z=^ <> Romsey ( A Contours in metres J 30 |:g;l|:;] Land over 50 m OD Gravel Quarry % Church Lane •Urns .Adanac -30, /—'-",-v„y^—- fL_V ^r HAMPSHIRE { Fig 1. Ixwcr Test Valley: Topography showing silc locations. REES: ] AI'ER BRONZE AGE AND EARLY IRON AGE SETTLEMENT IN THE IJOWER TEST VALLEY 21 Some classes of data were too small to warrant this 'island' of land favourable to settlement full publication, as specialist analysis could add existed in some form during the prehistoric nothing further to the fact of their presence. The period. Indeed, the abandoned river channels reader is therefore referred to the archive for recovered at Bell Street and Newton Lane (see details absent from this report. This is deposited below), and at the early Iron Age La Sagesse site with the Hampshire County Museum Service. may have defined its eastern and western Detailed research on finds of the later Bronze boundaries (Fig 2). Age and early Iron Age in the lower Test Valley The modern soils in the Nursling area are made prior to 1970 was beyond the scope of the largely deep, well-drained brickearths, or loamy, project. permeable soils, both suitable for growing Frequent reference is made in this report to the cereals and horticultural crops. Others are less site at La Sagesse Convent, Romsey, which permeable or waterlogged and better-adapted produced a large enough sample of finds to for dairying, permanent grassland and rough warrant separate publication (Green et al, grazing (see Soil Survey of Great Britain, sheet forthcoming). There, excavation revealed a well 6, The Soils of South East England; Romsey not preserved stream channel deposit containing a surveyed). There is some evidence that the high density of early Iron Age pottery and animal woodland cover in the lower Test Valley was not bone, together with human remains and some as extensive as might be expected during the fired clay artefacts. late Mesolithic period (F J Green, pers comm), although the implications for the environment of the later sites under discussion are not SITE LOCATION AND SETTING known. It may be concluded that, potentially, the The River Test in draining the chalklands of Bronze Age and early Iron Age inhabitants of the Wessex passes through an area characterised by lower Test Valley enjoyed the benefits of a varied alluvium, river gravels with some brickearth and landscape, with easy access to riverine resources London clay, and sandy uplands before reaching and to the coast and the possibility of both arable Southampton Water (Fig 2). All of the sites and pastoral farming. It may have been necessary under discussion were located on the valley to locate permanent settlements with care to gravels and below the 30 m contour line (Figs 1 avoid seasonal flooding. & 2). The ancient course of the river may have been quite different in detail from that of today, especially in Romsey, where it has been THE SITES (Figs 1 & 2) extensively canalised in relatively recent times. Similarly, the overall height of the water table may have changed. Some evidence for this has Nursling Gravel Quarry (Figs 1, 2C, 3 & 4) (accession been recovered from sites in Church Street code A: 1984.24) (Newman, in prep), where the shallowness of the This site was apparently very badly truncated, as medieval wells suggests that the water table was none of the features was deeper than c 0.8 m and once higher than at present. most were around 0.5-0.6 m deep. One of the The name of Romsey may provide a clue to its ditches was recorded as appearing merely as a topography in recent antiquity since it implies stain that was removable by light trowelling, and that early historic settlement took place in an area the finds were generally in poor and badly of slightly higher ground set amidst a low-lying abraded condition. marshy landscape. There is certainly a The two concentric rings of postholes 902, 903, concentration of early historic sites to the west of 953, 955, 960, 961, 1000 and 1001 have been The Hundred, in an area roughly defined to the interpreted as forming the elements of a north by Romsey Abbey and to the south by roundhouse. It is also possible that postholes Newton Lane (Scott, forthcoming). It is likely that 1007, 1009 and 2021 were associated, and that HAMPSHIRE 111 II) ( l.l MAM). \!«l I U. < >!.(>(, K :.\!.S()( Ml. TV Fig 2. Lower lest Valley: Drill geology showing site locations. Insert: showing Romse) stream channels;. A Romsey; B Luzborough urns recorded in SMR ; C Nursling Gravel Quarry; I) Church Lane; K Nursling (urns recorded in SMR); I' Nursling palstave find; (• Adanac Park. RKES: LATER BRONZE AGE AND EARLY IRON AGE SETTLEMENT IX THE IJOWER TEST VALLEY 23 Fig 3. Nursling: Site locations. 24 HAMPSHIRE HELD CLUB AND ARC11AKOI.OG1CA]. SOCIETY postholes 1011, 1020 and 1021 represent the Adanac Farm, Nursling (Figs 1 & 2G) (accession truncated remnants of a south-east facing code A: 1989.6) entrance. It may seem that the eye of faith has played an overactive part in this reconstruction. Topsoil stripping revealed a partially ploughed However, the existence of further postholes, out feature, oval in shape and around 1.4 m long, forming a larger arc, was noted at the time of which contained sherds from a single large pot of excavation but these were rapidly removed by the late Bronze Age date. machine before they could be properly recorded (Cooper 1984, 31). Nursling palstave find (Figs 1 & 2F) (accession code The pits largely respect the roundhouse and A: 1984.12) are spatially isolated or cluster in intercutting This site produced a hoard of metalwork, which groups. It was not always possible to determine was dispersed by workmen before it could be the stratigraphic relationships between properly recorded. Seven palstaves were individual pits in the same group. One pit (180) subsequently retrieved and are reported on contained an area of burnt clay and charcoal, below.