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Dr
John
Allan
Exeter Archaeology
The Custom House
The Quay
Exeter
EX2 4AN
England
In 2002 an excavation was undertaken by Exeter Archaeology in advance of residential development at Foster's Field, Tinney's Lane, Sherborne, Dorset, a c. 5 ha site located on a south-facing slope above the River Yeo. A unique example of a Late Bronze Age pottery production site and multi-phase prehistoric settlement was revealed.
The earliest features comprised six pits containing sherds of Neolithic Peterborough Ware pottery, an infant inhumation and fragments of a possible Early Bronze Age accessory cup. During these periods the site was within an open landscape of long-established grassland and included the rearing of domestic livestock.
The majority of archaeological remains formed part of a small Late Bronze Age settlement, which included circular hut structures and several ancillary features, together with a range of non-domestic features and deposits associated with production of pottery vessels and fired clay objects. Activity took place within two main areas: at the head of a coombe in the centre of the site, and to the east. The zones were broadly contemporary but probably represent more than one phase of occupation.
The main focus of activity took place within the coombe, with domestic structures and pottery production features, including areas used for bonfire-firings. The features included pits, some of which may have held water and/or other resources collected from the floodplain of the River Yeo. Large spreads of burnt limestone and dumps of pottery wasters were generated during production activities. Pottery production in this zone took place within a 1-200 year period, and has been dated to between 1200-1050 cal BC and 1100-950 cal BC. Activity in the eastern part of the site was of a similar nature but there seems to have been some remodelling of existing features. Variations within the pottery assemblage in this area suggest that occupation may have continued longer.
The Late Bronze Age pottery assemblage is one of the largest ever recovered and shares many similarities with other assemblages from the plain ware phase of the post Deverel-Rimbury tradition. Similar assemblages in the southwest and southern England have primarily been dated to between the 10th and 8th centuries cal BC. The assemblage at Foster's Field has been shown to pre-date other plain ware assemblages from sites in Dorset and Somerset, and represents a newly recognised ceramic sub-phase, spanning the transition between the Middle to Late Bronze Age.