A guide which explains how the Stonehenge landscape has changed over the past 6000 years

Beyond Stonehenge

Julian C. Richards

Wessex Archaeology

<p>In late 2000, during one of the wettest winters on record, Oxford Wessex Archaeology were commissioned by the construction consortium CAMBBA, on behalf of Midland Expressway Limited, to carry out the archaeological works associated with the construction of the new 44km M6 Toll motorway. The main phase of work was carried out during 2001, and by 2003 all investigations were complete, revealing 41 separate sites. Remains included Mesolithic flint scatters, isolated Neolithic pits and hollows, Bronze Age burnt mounds and Iron Age settlement enclosures. The Romano-British period was dominated by settlement and burials concentrated around Wall ( Letocetum ), Ryknield Street and Watling Street, whilst the Anglo-Saxons were notable by their absence from the results. Evidence for medieval settlement and agriculture was recorded at many sites, and in particular a Knights Templar fishpond complex at Wishaw. More recent standing structures were also recorded, including the northern dam for Hatherton Reservoir, Churchbridge Railway and Accommodation bridges and sections through the Cannock Extension and Wyrley and Essington Canals, vital elements of the post-medieval industrial heritage of the region.</p>

The Archaeology of the M6 Toll 2000-2003 (Oxford Wessex Archaeology Monograph)

History

Booth, Paul

Powell, Andrew B.

Fitzpatrick, A. P.

Crockett, A. D.

Ancient Civilizations

The upgrading of the A120 between Stansted Airport and Braintree allowed the unique opportunity to examine a slice of landscape crossing the clay plateau of Essex; a geology which has received little attention in the past. A diverse pattern of human history was revealed including earlier prehistoric flint knapping, later prehistoric ritual activity, a Roman farmstead with accompanying cemetery, a middle Saxon hall, medieval settlement, pottery production and a windmill. This report is the product of a joint venture between Oxford Archaeology and Wessex Archaeology and has been designed to provide the reader with an accessible interpretation of the findings with supporting factual data.

A Slice of Rural Essex: Recent Archaeological Discoveries from the A120 between Stansted Airport and Braintree (Oxford Wessex Archaeology Monograph)

BROWN, Richard

TIMBY, Jane R.

Hardy, Alan

Biddulph, E.

Europe

The Ebbsfleet Valley in north-west Kent is just 2.5 km long, with Springhead at its head and Northfleet near its confluence with the Thames, and contains many important sites of many periods. Construction of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link provided a unique opportunity to undertake large-scale investigations of Late Iron Age and Roman settlements, religious complexes, cemeteries, roads, a "processional way" and a villa site, as well as three small Saxon settlements, two cemeteries and a watermill. The results are published in four separate volumes. This volume describes the archaeological results of the excavations. A Roman "small town" or roadside settlement (Vagniacis) developed into an almost unique religious centre within Roman Britain, probably attracting pilgrims from throughout the Empire. In addition to temples, a major mid-2nd century AD sanctuary complex has been discovered, focused on the springs. Another temple close to Watling Street may have remained in use until the late 4th or early 5th centuries while a range of timber buildings lay within properties lining the road including an aisled barn, a blacksmith's forge, a bakery and a brewing complex. Three small cemeteries were recorded. At Northfleet villa, the waterfront and much of the agricultural surroundings were investigated. A detached bath-house and a multi-phased timber barn, the latter representing part of a brewing complex, were excavated. Also excavated were sunken-featured buildings belonging to possibly three separate Saxon settlements and two cemeteries and the waterlogged remains of a Saxon watermill.

Settling the Ebbsfleet Valley: CTRL Excavations at Springhead and Northfleet, Kent - The Late Iron Age, Roman, Saxon, and Medieval Landscape: Volume 1 - The Sites

Andrews, Phil

Biddulph, Edward

This volume presents specialist reports on the Late Iron Age and Roman artefacts recovered from Springhead and Northfleet. These include over 2 tonnes of pottery, 1,756 coins and tokens, over 2,500 other metal small finds and 3,000 nails. The metal finds include items of personal adornment and dress, household utensils and furniture, objects for weighing and measuring, pieces of toilet or medical equipment, tools associated with manufacture and agriculture, military equipment and votive and religious pieces. Quantities of iron slag, ceramic building material and wall plaster, woodwork, 95 rotary querns and at least two pipeclay Venus figurines, along with glass, leather shoes and objects of bone are also reported. Together this huge assemblage helps paint a picture of life, religious activity and death in the settlement and temple complexes with their associated roads, riverside structures and cemeteries, and of the nearby Northfleet Villa.

Settling the Ebbsfleet Valley: CTRL Excavations at Springhead and Northfleet, Kent - The Late Iron Age, Roman, Saxon, and Medieval Landscape: Volume 2 - Late Iron Age to Roman Finds Reports

Seager Smith, Rachael

Schuster, Jörn

The detailed specialist reports in this volume cover the late Iron Age and Roman human bone and animal bone assemblages recovered during the reported excavations, as well as environmental remains and dating evidence relating to contemporary landscape, subsistence and economy. A single cremation burial and a minimum of 48 inhumation burials were recorded at Springhead, with a single inhumation burial of a neonate from within the Northfleet villa complex. Whole or partial skulls appear to have been deliberately placed and others re-deposited in a variety of features, including a "ritual shaft". Over 68,000 fragments of animal bone were recovered, including many complete animal skeletons. At Springhead the assemblages are dominated by sheep/goats but cattle are more important at the Northfleet villa. The environmental evidence for Roman subsistence and economy is presented in reports on charred plant remains, wood charcoal and marine shell. Environmental sequences and remains relating the development of the Roman landscape were also recovered from a range of locations.

Settling the Ebbsfleet Valley: CTRL Excavations at Springhead and Northfleet, Kent - The Late Iron Age, Roman, Saxon, and Medieval Landscape: Volume ... Roman Human Remains and Environmental Reports

Stevens, Chris J.

Grimm, Jessica M.

McKinley, Jacqueline I.

Barnett, Dr. Catherine

<p>The detailed specialist reports in this volume cover all the Saxon and later finds recovered during the reported excavations, including human bone and animal bone, and environmental remains and dating evidence relating to contemporary landscape, subsistence and economy. Fifth to early 6th-century pottery was recovered from the Northfleet villa site, including from demolition layers over the Roman buildings, nine sunken-featured buildings and the area of the Saxon mill. The metal small finds come largely from 36 graves in two cemeteries, which contained 30 individuals. A small quantity of smithing slag was recovered as well as ceramic building material, fired clay and daub and objects of bone. A wooden bowl and a very early example of a wood plane are unusual finds. The animal bone assemblage is largely comprised of domestic animals indicating mixed farming supplemented by a little hunting and with charred plant remains from locally grown crops.</p>

Settling the Ebbsfleet Valley: CTRL Excavations at Springhead and Northfleet, Kent - The Late Iron Age, Roman, Saxon, and Medieval Landscape: Volume 4 - Post-Roman Finds and Environmental Reports

Mepham, Lorraine

The archaeological investigation of the route of High Speed 1 (HS1; formerly the Channel Tunnel Rail Link) through the Thames Marshes required an innovative approach to mitigation in order to find and reach the deeply buried, but highly significant, palaeoenvironmental and geoarchaeological sequences. Early on in the construction project it was evident that a geoarchaeological approach would be necessary because of the depth of sequences and the relative invisibility of the archaeological resource, both within the Historic Environment Record, and to conventional archaeological prospection. An initial desk-based study of geotechnical and geomorphological data produced a model for the alluvial corridor which categorised zones of potential that could be compared against construction impacts. Subsequent field survey included geophysical investigation of buried sediment bodies, the use of boreholes, cone penetration testing and conventional test pitting and trenching. The project was highly successful in predicting the location of buried archaeological remains in a number of locations. Key amongst these are extensive remains excavated in the Ebbsfleet Valley, Mesolithic flint scatters at Tank Hill Road, Aveley, and Late Upper Palaeolithic and Neolithic scatters on Swanscombe Marsh. Other sites described here include an in situ Early Neolithic flint scatter and evidence of seasonal Roman and medieval activity on Rainham and Wennington Marshes. As important, in addition to the archaeological results, this work also presents the methodological approach that was adopted for the investigation of approximately 18km (17%) of the HS1 route across an area of thick alluvium.

Thames Holocene: A geoarchaeological approach to the investigation of the river floodplain for High Speed 1, 1994–2003

Politics & Social Sciences

Bates, Martin

Stafford, Elizabeth

Archaeology

The expansion of Stansted Airport provided an opportunity to investigate a large area of clay plateau, typical of the north-west Essex landscape. The area was a focus for hunter-gatherer activity as early as the Palaeolithic period, and was first settled by small farming communities in the Middle Bronze Age. From the Middle Iron Age onwards, increasing settlement and population density led to the enclosure of the landscape. Farming and settlement concentrated on the more fertile river valleys and the slopes of the heavily wooded plateau. The Romano-British period saw a decline in the rural population, whilst increasing agricultural intensification led to the first systematic farming of the clay plateau. Woodland regeneration in the post-Romano-British period is clearly demonstrated in documentary sources. Indeed, much of the history of the Saxon and medieval settlement of the area concerns the relationship between agricultural expansion and the surrounding woodland, whilst deer parks such as Stansted Park allowed landowners to demonstrate their mastery of the landscape and its wildlife. This book, along with its accompanying CD-ROM, presents the results of these excavations, allowing the reader to explore both broader historical themes and the minutiae of individual sites, features and finds. The results of earlier work in the area are integrated, providing a coherent historical narrative of human inhabitation.

From Hunter-Gatherers to Huntsmen: A History of the Stansted Landscape (Framework Archaeology Monograph, 2)

Brown, Fraser

Cooke, Nicholas

Phillpotts, Christopher

Framework Archaeology

This report describes the results of several stages of archaeological work resulting from plans to construct a new water treatment plant utilising the springhead of the River Jordan at Sutton Poyntz, a village at the foot of the chalk scarp near Weymouth, Dorset. Human activity in the area, since at least Mesolithic times, has focused on the river. Its post-medieval history revolved around its water mills. Evidence for an Early Iron Age settlement and Romano-British activity, including an infant burial were recorded, partly beneath a thick colluvial deposit. A rectangular, stone-founded building has been identified as a 13th-14th century chapel. probably belonging to the Poyntz family estate.

By A Crystal Brook: Early Riverside Settlement and a Medieval Chapel at Sutton Poyntz, Dorset

Rawlings, Mick

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