Gibson, C. and Knight, S. (2007). A Middle Iron Age settlement at Weston Down Cottages, Weston Colley, near Winchester, Hampshire. Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club & Archaeological Society. Vol 62, pp. 1-34.

Title:

A Middle Iron Age settlement at Weston Down Cottages, Weston Colley, near Winchester, Hampshire

Issue:

Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club & Archaeological Society

Series:

Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club & Archaeological Society

Volume:

Page Start/End:

1 - 34

Biblio Note

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Publication Type:

Journal

Abstract:

The excavation at Weston Down Cottages, just north of Weston Colley, formed part of a mitigation strategy for construction of a gas pipeline and revealed the presence of an Iron Age settlement. This comprised a large concentration of bell-shaped and other pits, associated with roundhouses, and a series of ditches, predominantly aligned northeast--southwest. Geophysical survey showed that the site formed part of an extensive Iron Age complex that included a D-shaped, banjo and rectangular enclosure with associated trackways and field systems. The site was predominantly occupied during the Middle Iron Age. The features and finds suggest small-scale rural settlement and associated industrial activities. Some of the pits contained exceptionally high quantities of burnt flint, associated with daub and small quantities of slag, relating to a number of different activities, including pot-making. Over sixty bell-shaped or beehive storage pits were revealed, implying storage of grain. Several pits contained articulated animal remains, including a legless horse and a complete dog, concurring with patterns noted at other Iron Age sites where storage features become repositories for structured deposits. The site was probably occupied by one or two households and may have been relatively long-lived. A cremation burial was radiocarbon dated to the Middle Bronze Age. Two inhumation burials were revealed adjacent to an Iron Age boundary ditch, and both were radiocarbon dated to the Middle Iron Age. After the Middle Iron Age, the site was abandoned for several hundred years. In the early Romano-British period, elements of the Iron Age landscape were reused and adapted. Later Romano-British features identified include a corn-drier placed centrally within an Iron Age trackway. The Romano-British features and finds are indicative of predominantly rural activities of agricultural nature, with settlement in the vicinity.

Author:

Catriona Gibson
Stephanie Knight

Year of Publication:

2007

Subjects / Periods:

Grain (Auto Detected Subject))
Legless Horse (Auto Detected Subject))
Trackway (Auto Detected Subject))
Boundary Ditch (Auto Detected Subject))
	Iron Age (MIDAS)
	Middle Iron Age (MIDAS)
Trackways (Auto Detected Subject))
Slag (Auto Detected Subject))
Settlement (Auto Detected Subject))
	Middle Bronze Age (MIDAS)
Geophysical Survey (Auto Detected Subject))
Beehive Storage Pits (Auto Detected Subject))
Radiocarbon Dated (Auto Detected Subject))
Inhumation Burials (Auto Detected Subject))
Cremation Burial (Auto Detected Subject))
Burnt Flint (Auto Detected Subject))
Rectangular Enclosure (Auto Detected Subject))
Roundhouses (Auto Detected Subject))
Ditches (Auto Detected Subject))
Gas Pipeline (Auto Detected Subject))
Field Systems (Auto Detected Subject))
Pits (Auto Detected Subject))

Note:

[OS SU 49750 41130]

Source:

BIAB (The British & Irish Archaeological Bibliography (BIAB))

Created Date:

29 Feb 2008