Simmonds, A., Teague, S., Champness, C., Davies, A., Donnelly, M., McIntyre, L., Meen, J., Poole, C., Shaffrey, R. and Smith, I. G. (2021). A Middle Iron Age settlement at Hilltop Farm, Melton Mowbray. Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society 95. Vol 95, Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society. pp. 1-22. https://doi.org/10.5284/1114610. Cite this via datacite
| Title: | A Middle Iron Age settlement at Hilltop Farm, Melton Mowbray | ||
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| Issue: | Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society 95 | ||
| Series: | Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society | ||
| Volume: | 95 | ||
| Page Start/End: | 1 - 22 | ||
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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International Licence |
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| Publication Type: | Journal | ||
| Abstract: | Oxford Archaeology excavated a middle Iron Age settlement at Hilltop Farm, Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire. An initial phase comprising a boundary ditch, with adjoining rectilinear enclosures, was superseded by a settlement situated within a square-ditched enclosure, which contained a sub-enclosure and evidence for a single roundhouse. Unusually, the enclosure had its entrance at the corner and was linked to a trackway by means of a short, ditched passageway. Evidence for the farming regime that was practised here was limited due to the small size of the animal bone and charred plant remains assemblages, but the community evidently cultivated both wheat and barley, and reared sheep/goats and cattle – with smaller numbers of horses and pigs. The excavation produced a moderately large pottery assemblage that belongs to the Scored Ware tradition, dated to the third to first centuries BC, and radiocarbon dates were obtained with ranges of 365–200 cal BC and 360–120 cal BC (at 95 per cent confidence). The latter date came from a human skull fragment that was recovered from the enclosure ditch, and which may be evidence for the deliberate manipulation and ultimate deposition of defleshed human remains within the settlement. Two quernstones placed at opposite corners of a subsidiary enclosure adjoining the trackway, one of them associated with a jar that was apparently smashed in situ, may also represent evidence for ritual deposition. A single pit of Roman or later date was also recorded. | ||
| Year of Publication: | 2021 | ||
| Source: |
ADS Archive
(ADS Archive)
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| Created Date: | 05 Oct 2023 |
