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Recent discoveries on both sides of the Anglo-ScottishBorder have shown that it is now possible to identify the surface remains of prehistoric cultivation without recourse to excavation. Numerous sites of very narrow ridged cultivation, generally no more than 1.4 m between the centre of the furrows and now known as cord rig, are associated with prehistoric settlements of various types. When taken in conjunction with the many examples of demonstrably pre-Roman cultivation terraces, this has finally destroyed the concept of a predominantly pastoral economy believed to have been practised in much of the Tyne-Forth area. It is now apparent that arable regimes formed a significant part of the local economy and that the currency of the myth of the footloose Celtic cowboy is at an end. This paper concentrates upon Northumberland.A more complete description of the Scottish material will be produced by S. Halliday.CORD RIG CULTIVATION t m s discovery had been evident for some time: as early In 1981 at a s i t e o n Gibb'sHill (NY 3 0 8 8 4 1 ; R C A H M S as the 1940s Clark's (1949) work at the Cam-1981, 9, no. 24) Halliday recognized the remains of bridgeshire Car Dyke included an area of apparently prehistoric narrow ridged cultivation adjacent to a Romano-British ridged cultivation; and more recently complex succession of palisaded settlements. This form the seminal and far-sighted report on the excavations at of very narrow ridged cultivation, n o w known as cord Rudchester recorded not only ardmarks scoring the rig, only achieved on average a width of 1.4 m between subsoil, but recovered in excavation and section the the centre of the furrows; from the evidence of other regular undulations of cultivation ridges sealed beneath sites it was found to be arranged in fields, sometimes buildings of the Roman fort (Gillam etal. 1973; cf. fig. with formal boundaries, and also in small irregular 2). plots resembling 'cabbage patches'. The potential for A search through the relevant literature has shown that along the line of the Hadrianic frontier zone there are well over a dozen sites where pre-Roman phases of 1 RCHME, Line Building, The University, Newcastle upon Tyne, cultivation have been recorded, and which can be tenta-N E I ? RU tively interpreted as cord rig from the spacing and

Integrated non-invasive survey in the Stonehenge ‘triangle’, Amesbury, Wiltshire, has highlighted a number of features that have a significant bearing on the interpretation of the site. Among them are periglacial and natural topographical structures, including a chalk mound that may have influenced site development. Some geophysical anomalies are similar to the post-holes in the car park of known Mesolithic date, while others beneath the barrows to the west may point to activity contemporary with Stonehenge itself. Evidence that the ‘North Barrow’ may be earlier in the accepted sequence is presented and the difference between the eastern and western parts of the enclosure ditch highlighted, while new data relating to the Y and Z Holes and to the presence of internal banks that mirror their respective circuits is also outlined.

Non-invasive survey in the Stonehenge ‘Triangle’, Amesbury, Wiltshire, has highlighted a number of features that have a significant bearing on the interpretation of the site. Geophysical anomalies may signal the position of buried stones adding to the possibility of former stone arrangements, while laser scanning has provided detail on the manner in which the stones have been dressed; some subsequently carved with axe and dagger symbols. The probability that a lintelled bluestone trilithon formed an entrance in the north-east is signposted. This work has added detail that allows discussion on the question of whether the sarsen circle was a completed structure, although it is by no means conclusive in this respect. Instead, it is suggested that it was built as a façade, with other parts of the circuit added and with an entrance in the south.

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