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During the summer of 1977, rescue excavations of a square, ditched enclosure were undertaken at Rothwell Haigh Colliery, Leeds. Relatively few discrete features were identified, but a 12.3 m-deep well situated within the enclosure was fully excavated. Pottery from the well, which was waterlogged fromc. 7 m, indicates rapid infilling most likely in the early to mid-fourth century. Waterlogged wooden objects include a yew bucket, ash spade with iron shoe and ash drinking vessels, while the disposal of complete pottery vessels, a quern disc rough-out, articulated animal parts and a human skull highlight the potential for symbolic deposition. An exploration of the apparently more mundane items shows that they deviate from the normal domestic patterns seen on local sites, suggesting that selection for ritual deposition may have covered areas of material culture not normally associated with such activity.

Excavations to the north of the village of Easington in the East Riding of Yorkshire identified a funerary landscape of Late Bronze Age, Later Iron Age and Roman cremations, as well as Roman and early medieval inhumations. The four early medieval burials included a spearhead, knives, buckles and beads. Occupation activity associated with the Bronze Age and early medieval burials was not identified, but a 'ladder-style' settlement of trackways and enclosures was established by the first century bc. This settlement underwent at least two episodes of restructuring before its abandonment, probably in the third century ad. Given a dearth of imported objects and the preservation of pre-Conquest-style building traditions, the inhabitants of the final settlement chose not to adopt the trappings of a 'Romanised' lifestyle.

No abstract

The chance find of a discrete pit containing an Early Bronze Age funerary deposit was made at Stanbury, West Yorkshire, during the spring of 2007. A large Collared Urn, which was inverted, contained the cremated remains of a young male, together with a stone battle-axe, a bone belt-hook and pin, a pair of copper alloy earrings, and an accessory vessel. The burial was accompanied by two further Collared Urns, one of which was near complete. The two radiocarbon dates obtained have allowed a fairly tight date range of 1960–1780 cal BC to be proposed. This combination of pyre and grave goods is apparently unique, while a number of the items are exotic to Pennine Yorkshire.