Archaeology of the Wallingford Bypass, 1986-92: Late Bronze Age Ritual and Habitation on a Thames Eyot at Whitecross Farm, Wallingford: 22 (Thames Valley Landscapes Monograph) - Hardcover

Cromarty, Anne Marie; Barclay, Alistair; Lambrick, George; Robinson, Mark

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0947816674 ISBN 13: 9780947816674

Publisher: Oxford University School of Archaeology, 2006

Synopsis

The site at Whitecross Farm, including timber structures located on the edge of the eyot, and a substantial midden and occupation deposit has been securely radiocarbon-dated to the late Bronze Age. The late Bronze Age artefact assemblages are suggestive of a high-status site, with a range of domestic and ritual activities represented. The bank of the Grim's Ditch earthwork was found to have preserved evidence of earlier settlement, dating to the Neolithic and Bronze Age, and a sequence of cultivation, including ard marks and 'cord-rig' cultivation ridges. Pottery and radiocarbon analysis dated the earthwork to the end of the late Iron Age or the early Roman period. A multi-period settlement, consisting of pits, a waterhole, postholes, gullies and field systems, was identified at Bradford's Brook, Cholsey. The main periods represented are late Bronze Age and Romano-British, while a small quantity of Saxon pottery indicates limited Saxon activity. A large pit containing late Bronze Age pottery, a cattle skull, waterlogged wood and plant remains, a complete loomweight and flint flakes has been interpreted as a waterhole. A series of radiocarbon dates were obtained for deposits within this feature. All three sites are discussed individually as well as within their local, regional and national contexts. Chapter 7 provides an overall discussion of later Bronze Age themes that have arisen through the excavation and analysis of these sites.

About this title

About the Author

Alistair Barclay current works as Principal Post-Excavation Manager for Cotswold Archaeology and has been involved in publication for nearly 30 years in which time he has contributed to more than a dozen monographs as co-author/editor, he has also written and edited numerous articles. He was co-editor of NSG 4: Pathways and Ceremonies: the cursus monuments of Britain and Ireland.

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University School of Archaeology
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0947816674
• ISBN 13: 9780947816674
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 264