Redating Rams Hill and reconsidering Bronze Age enclosure

Abstract

A new set of radiocarbon measurements for the three phases of Bronze Age enclosure at Rams Hill allows refinement of their chronology. Phase 1 is radiocarbon dated for the first time and appears, contrary to previous indications, not to be very much earlier than phases 2 and 3. The dates are on carefully selected bone samples and give a rather later timespan overall than an earlier set of dates on charcoal, within the 13th–10th centuries cal BC. This span bridges the formal Middle–Late Bronze Age transition, overlapping the use ofPenard and Wilburton metalwork. The opportunity is taken to clarify some confused aspects of Bronze Age periodization.The development of Bronze Age enclosure in Britain is reviewed. A former suggestion that Rams Hill is representative of a class of Middle Bronze Age high-status enclosure is re-examined. Current evidence does not support the idea of a coherent set of sites either functionally or chronologically. It is considered likely that Rams Hill represents an emergent state of larger-scale enclosure, perhaps after the regular embanking of small domestic sites. However, the precise role of Rams Hill in the regional economy remains enigmatic.

Middle Bronze Age Enclosures in the Norfolk Broads: a Case Study at Ormesby St Michael, England

“…Middle Bronze Age enclosures are known across southern England, (eg, Barrett et al 1991; Cunliffe 1975, 15), along with more substantial hilltop enclosures (eg, Needham & Ambers 1994), and Late Bronze Age ring-works (eg, Bond 1988). The enclosure at Ormesby St Michael joins a growing corpus of such sites excavated across East Anglia which are similar in form to enclosed settlements found in Wessex.…”

The Uffington White Horse geoglyph as sun-horse

“…These provide a range of 1380–550 BC (68% confidence) for the construction of the first horse (Rees-Jones & Tite 2003), placing it within a horizon that extends from the middle Bronze Age to the latter part of the early Iron Age. That horizon represents an especially busy time for this landscape, taking in the highly elaborate inner enclosure at Rams Hill (Bradley & Ellison 1975), dated to between the thirteenth and tenth centuries BC (Needham & Ambers 1994), major linear ditches, the construction of the hillforts at Uffington and Alfred's Castle during the eighth to sixth centuries BC (Lock et al 2003; Gosden & Lock 2013) and the eighth-century BC open settlement at Tower Hill (Miles et al 2003b).…”

“…There are good grounds for arguing that both served as locales for periodic gathering linked to observances at, and maintenance of, the horse (Lock et al 2003: 124). The first phase of enclosure at Rams Hill dates to between the thirteenth and tenth centuries BC (Needham & Ambers 1994). It is unusual in several respects, not least the complexity in its periodic circuit redefinition and the presence of multiple entrances.…”

Land, Kinship Relations and the Rise of Enclosed Settlement in First Millenium B.C. Britain

“…The suggestion that these two developments were linked through the mechanism of changing kinship relations, brought about by the emergence of a new concept of land as property, does perhaps allow some insight into the ways in which lives may have been lived, and the ways in which those lives may have changed, at this particularly formative period in prehistory. NOTES 1 In fact, following their redating of the Ram's Hill enclosure, Needham and Ambers (1994) have questioned both the unity and the dating of this group of enclosures. 2 Some authors have suggested that the earlier first millennium B.C.…”