Luke, M. (2004). The investigation of an early-middle Iron Age settlement and field system at Topler's Hill. Bedfordshire Archaeology Volume 25 2004. Vol 25, Bedfordshire Archaeological Council. pp. 23-54.
 Title The title of the publication or report |
The investigation of an early-middle Iron Age settlement and field system at Topler's Hill | ||
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Issue The name of the volume or issue |
Bedfordshire Archaeology Volume 25 2004 | ||
Series The series the publication or report is included in |
Bedfordshire Archaeology | ||
Volume Volume number and part |
25 | ||
Page Start/End The start and end page numbers. |
23 - 54 | ||
Downloads Any files associated with the publication or report that can be downloaded from the ADS |
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Licence Type ADS, CC-BY 4.0 or CC-BY 4.0 NC. |
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International Licence |
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Publication Type The type of publication - report, monograph, journal article or chapter from a book |
Journal | ||
Abstract The abstract describing the content of the publication or report |
Between 1998 and 2000 Bedfordshire County Archaeology Service (now known as Albion Archaeology) undertook archaeological investigations, in line with PPG16, in advance of substantial junction improvements on the A1 at Topler's Hill, Bedfordshire. These revealed evidence for an early-middle Iron Age settlement and contemporary field system. Although only a small part of the settlement was subject to open area excavation, a considerable amount of information on its origins, extent, layout and internal morphology was recovered. It comprised at least eight interlinked enclosures, possibly representing different family units, each defined by substantial ditches. Only a few Iron Age settlements with a similar layout are known from southern England. Although the southern limit of the settlement was outside the Study Area, its likely extent was at least 0.8ha. Within the enclosure interiors there was evidence for roundhouses and areas of pitting. Although there was only limited evidence, it is possible that some activity associated with the settlement also took place outside the enclosures. The evidence for cereal cultivation and animal husbandry are in keeping with other Iron Age sites in southern England. However, two cattle bones may indicate the presence of a larger breed than normally expected for this period. The nature of the pottery is suggestive of a reliance on local manufacture. Cropmarks suggest an arable field system extending over c. 1 ha was located to the west of the settlement. A small quantity of domestic debris was recovered from the field boundaries nearest the settlement, suggesting that, at some point, these were also the site of domestic activity. Although the evaluation stage of this project utilised a range of archaeological techniques, it is now clear that if undertaken individually they would have provided a very misleading impression of the date and nature of the archaeological remains within the Study Area. Therefore, this article concludes with a critical review of the methodologies and techniques used during the investigations. | ||
Year of Publication The year the book, article or report was published |
2004 | ||
Locations Any locations covered by the publication or report. This is not the place the book or report was published. |
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Source Where the record has come from or which dataset it was orginally included in. |
ADS Archive
(ADS Archive)
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Relations Other resources which are relevant to this publication or report |
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Created Date The date the record of the pubication was first entered |
28 Apr 2023 |
