Durham Archaeol J 10

The site was partially excavated in 1987 as part of the wider research project focused on the major LIA site at Stanwick, 5km to the north. The earliest settlement comprised a rectilinear palisaded enclosure, subsequently succeeded by a ditched enclosure of similar shape and size, together with its associated field system. At its centre was a ring ditch, within which were the remains of two successive circular buildings. The radiocarbon dates indicate a prolonged occupation, beginning in the EIA and persisting until the Roman Conquest.Although rectilinear enclosures are well-known in north east England it is the first time it has been possible to study the economic basis of an IA rural settlement so close to Stanwick itself. There was evidence for the cultivation of bread wheat towards the very end of the occupation period. The associated weeds imply that Rock Castle was one of the sites directly involved in the expansion of arable farming in the north east during the late first millennium BC, while the presence of pottery fabrics also found at Stanwick and Catcote, near Hartlepool, imply that all three sites may have been supplied with pottery from a common source. There are specialist reports on: `The small finds' by Lindsay Allason-Jones (25); `The saddle quern' by David Heslop (25--7); `The ceramic assemblage' by Steven Willis (27--31); `The lithic artefacts' by Elizabeth Healey (31); `The animal bone' identified by Louisa Gidney (31); and finally, `The plant remains' by Marijke Van der Veen (31--9). Au&IH

Recording work on this fourteenth-century structure, necessitated by erosion of the gable wall, revealed considerable changes over time, including a reduction in its length.

Reports three seasons of excavation at the post-medieval walled gardens, to enable authentic reconstruction. Botanical analysis of seeds and pollen from archaeological deposits, along with archive consultation also contributed. There are specialist reports on: `The pottery' by Jenny Vaughan (83); `Clay tobacco pipes' by Lloyd Edwards (83--9); `Glass' by Rachel Tyson (89); `Botanical report' by J P Huntley (89); `Pollen analysis' by Duncan Hale (89--90); `Botanical survey of existing plants' by P Gates (90); and `The animal bones' by P R G Stokes (90--2).

Records this substantial and acclaimed twentieth-century church.