Meadows, J. (2003). Dating Briar Hill: Interpreting Controversial Radiocarbon Results from the Neolithic Causewayed Enclosure at Briar Hill, Northamptonshire. London: English Heritage. https://doi.org/10.5284/1092224. Cite this using datacite

Title
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Title:		 Dating Briar Hill: Interpreting Controversial Radiocarbon Results from the Neolithic Causewayed Enclosure at Briar Hill, Northamptonshire
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Series:		 Historic England Research Reports
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Downloads:
englishh2-349194_1.pdf (464 kB) : Download
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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence icon
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
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DOI
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DOI
https://doi.org/10.5284/1092224
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Publication Type:		 Report (in Series)
Abstract
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Abstract:		 The Neolithic causewayed enclosure at Briar Hill, Northamptonshire, excavated in the mid-1970s, became the subject of controversy when radiocarbon dating appeared to show that it had been constructed in the fifth millennium cal BC, and maintained for about a thousand years (Bamford 1985). If true, this interpretation made Briar Hill the earliest known causewayed enclosure in Europe, and Britain's earliest agricultural site (Kinnes and Thorpe 1986). Doubts were raised about the contextual reliability of the radiocarbon samples, given the artefactual evidence, which only indicated occupation from the later fourth millennium cal BC onwards (ibid). This report assesses the usefulness of each radiocarbon result, and the plausibility of the various interpretationa of these results, against criteria that were accepted at the time of the controversy. The results and interpretations are then reassessed, using new techniques of radiocarbon date calibration and chronology modelling. The report finds that only the final phase of maintenance of the enclosure can be confidently dated, to the later fourth millennium cal BC, and that the original interpretation depends entirely on the contextual reliability of two samples. It cannot be proved that these samples were residual, but are reasons to suspect that they were, in addition to the artefactual evidence. This conclusion can be tested by dating the surviving remains of some samples.
Author
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Author:		 J Meadows
Publisher
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Publisher:		 English Heritage
Year of Publication
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Year of Publication:		 2003
Locations
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Locations:
Parish: Northampton, unparished area
District: West Northamptonshire
Country: England
County: Northamptonshire
Grid Reference: 473599, 259199 (Easting, Northing)
Subjects / Periods
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Subjects / Periods:
FIELD SURVEY (Event)
SAMPLE (Object England)
NEOLITHIC SAMPLE (Tag)
CAUSEWAYED ENCLOSURE (Monument Type England)
NEOLITHIC CAUSEWAYED ENCLOSURE (Tag)
NEOLITHIC (Historic England Periods)
Identifiers
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Identifiers:
OASIS Id: englishh2-349194
OBIB: 64/2003
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Note:		 This report was uploaded to the OASIS system by the named Publisher. The report has been transferred into the ADS Library for public access and to facilitate future research.
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Created Date
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Created Date:		 10 May 2022