The Earlier Prehistoric Settlement of Cranborne Chase-the First Results of Current Fieldwork

Barrett, John C.; Bradley, Richard; Green, Martin A.; Lewis, Barry

doi:10.1017/s0003581500029498

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Equally, it is unlikely the 12 sites (or 14 if including those sites that have used Bayesian modelling) which have radiocarbon dates (Table 3) that would allow for their cremation burials to be buried within a single year were used for so short a time. It does appear that the larger cemeteries’ span of use is extended by the presence of a minority of burials dating either earlier than the majority of the burials, such as at Eweford West, East Lothian (MacGregor 2008) and Moverons Pit, Essex (Clarke & Lavender 2008), or later than the majority of the burials, such as at Western International Market, London (Bradley 2003; Boyer 2007); Handley Hill, Dorset (Barrett et al 1981); and Simons Ground, Dorset (White 1982).…”

Section: Evaluating Middle Bronze Age Cremation Sitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reassessing Community Cemeteries: Cremation Burials in Britain during the Middle Bronze Age (c.1600–1150 calbc)

Caswell

Roberts

2018

Proc. Prehist. Soc.

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The Middle Bronze Age (c. 1600–1150 cal bc) in Britain is traditionally understood to represent a major funerary transition. This is a transformation from a heterogeneous funerary rite, largely encompassing inhumations and cremations in burial mounds and often accompanied by grave goods, to a homogeneous and unadorned cremation-based practice. Despite a huge expansion in the number of well excavated, radiocarbon dated, and osteologically analysed sites in the last three decades, current interpretations of Middle Bronze Age cremation burials still rely upon a seminal paper by Ellison (1980), which proposed that they comprise and represent an entire community. This paper analyses 378 cremation sites containing at least 3133 burials which represent all those that can be confidently dated to the Middle Bronze Age in Britain. The new analysis demonstrates that relatively few sites can be characterised as community cemeteries and that there are substantially more contemporary settlement sites, though few contemporary settlements are in close proximity to the cemeteries. The identifiable characteristics of cremation-based funerary practices are consistent across Britain with little evidence for social differentiation at the point of burial. It is also evident that only a minority of the population received a cremation burial. There is a substantial decrease in archaeologically visible funerary activity from the preceding Early Bronze Age (c. 2200–1600 cal bc) and a further decrease in the proceeding Late Bronze Age (c. 1150–800 cal bc) in Britain. This is comparable in form, and partially in sequence, to Bronze Age funerary practices in Ireland and several regions in North-west Europe.

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Section: Evaluating Middle Bronze Age Cremation Sitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reassessing Community Cemeteries: Cremation Burials in Britain during the Middle Bronze Age (c.1600–1150 calbc)

Caswell

Roberts

2018

Proc. Prehist. Soc.

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“…The dimensions of both ditch and bank are moreover slight compared with Ogbourne Down West or South Lodge (Barrett et al 1981), and especially in comparison with the complex and prestigious rampart and palisades of the Late Bronze Age phase at Rams Hill. The dimensions of both ditch and bank are moreover slight compared with Ogbourne Down West or South Lodge (Barrett et al 1981), and especially in comparison with the complex and prestigious rampart and palisades of the Late Bronze Age phase at Rams Hill.…”

Section: Synthesis and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…In direct contrast to this observation, the internal ditch is an unusual feature. The dimensions of both ditch and bank are moreover slight compared with Ogbourne Down West or South Lodge (Barrett et al 1981), and especially in comparison with the complex and prestigious rampart and palisades of the Late Bronze Age phase at Rams Hill. On the other hand, the indications are that at Hog Cliff Hill the interior was densely occupied with timber structures, probably much more densely than at Rams Hill, which is the only other enclosure of this type to have been sampled by excavation on any scale.…”

Section: Synthesis and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Excavations at Hog Cliff Hill, Maiden Newton, Dorset

Ellison¹,

Rahtz²,

Ensom³

et al. 1987

Proc. Prehist. Soc.

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A segment of earlier Bronze Age arable landscape incorporating isolated round barrows on the high chalk spur of Hog Cliff Hill became the chosen location for a later Bronze Age earthwork of considerable dimensions. The area excavated within the bank and ditch was densely occupied by two major phases of buildings of timber construction, lasting into the earliest Iron Age. Sometime during the early Iron Age the oval enclosure was replaced by a more substantial one which partly followed its line and contained a series of unusual structures comprising dry-stone flint banks or wall-footings. The site was subsequently abandoned, the land probably being returned to agricultural use, until the Roman period when the agger of the Roman road from Dorchester to Ilchester was constructed across the earthwork.

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“…Only later did he turn his attention to slighter earthwork enclosures, such as South Lodge Camp. This is confirmed by Pitt Rivers's notes on other sites dug in 1893 (Bradley, 1973). Pitt Rivers's intellectual development is clear; recording, description and storage of the material became increasingly systematic as the excavations proceeded.…”

Section: T H E E X C a V A T I O N S O Fmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Pitt Rivers's intellectual development is clear; recording, description and storage of the material became increasingly systematic as the excavations proceeded. In all these respects the procedure seems to have been similar to that used by St George Gray in his later excavations at Maumbury Rings, where the site record survives complete (Bradley, 1975). When the latter site was investigated, the field plan was based upon a contour survey, and the excavation extended well outside the mound.…”

Section: T H E E X C a V A T I O N S O Fmentioning

confidence: 99%

South Lodge after Pitt Rivers

Barrett¹,

Bradley²,

Bowden³

et al. 1983

Antiquity

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Between 1880 and 1893 General Pitt Rivers excavated two Bronze Age sites inside his park at Rushmore. In 1880 and 1884 he investigated a cemetery of six barrows at Barrow Pleck, and in 1893 he went on to examine the small enclosure known as South Lodge Camp, which is situated about 130m to the south. These excavations are reported in his volumes on Cranborne Chase, which are still referred to as a model of 'total publication' (Pitt Rivers, 1888, 1898; Alcock, 1978). The results of this work raised the possibility that here was a rare case of a prehistoric settlement associated with its cemetery, but other aspects of the sites, in particular the nature and chronology of the enclosure, have aroused greater interest among later generations of archaeologists. Until recently, it has been uncertain how far this published record can be reinterpreted. Since 1977 we have carried out fresh excavations on both sites. These have taken in the entire enclosure, parts of its field system and selective re-examination of the barrow cemetery. With the completion of that work we are able to offer a summary of the results and a comparison between our findings and those of the General. The first section of this account reconsiders Pitt Rivers's excavation and summarizes our main conclusions concerning his working methods. It is also a contribution to the current debate on the nature of archaeological publication. The second part describes the results of our own work on these sites between 1977 and 1981.

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The Earlier Prehistoric Settlement of Cranborne Chase-the First Results of Current Fieldwork

Cited by 8 publications

References 29 publications

Reassessing Community Cemeteries: Cremation Burials in Britain during the Middle Bronze Age (c.1600–1150 calbc)

Reassessing Community Cemeteries: Cremation Burials in Britain during the Middle Bronze Age (c.1600–1150 calbc)

Excavations at Hog Cliff Hill, Maiden Newton, Dorset

South Lodge after Pitt Rivers

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