Archaeologia Aeliana Series 5

This preliminary report records the discovery of multi-phased Neolithic occupation, Bronze Age houses, Iron Age cist graves and Anglo-Saxon settlement and industrial activity at Lanton Quarry in the Milfield Basin.

Two seasons of excavations were carried out, during 1981 and 1986. Three trenches were opened, to examine the roundhouse, a 5-m long section of the field boundary where it passed close to the ring bank, and one of the clearance cairns within the field. A single series of context numbers was assigned to structural features and soil layers alike. Specialist reports are provided for soil, wood charcoal, carbonised plant material radiocarbon dates, and a general summary and discussion. The existence of three hillforts and 10 enclosed settlements of stone-built roundhouses around the moorland edge in the general area demonstrate the potential for a sizeable population during the pre-Roman and Roman Iron Age, while other evidence suggests pastoralism as the dominant activity in the uplands around the middle Iron Age. The crop samples from Halls Hill are the first to be recovered from a domestic site of the late Bronze or early Iron Age in the north of England, and include the earliest record of spelt in the region. The structure of the timber roundhouse is of considerable interest and could have important consequences for the understanding of both the structure and appearance of these architecturally sophisticated buildings.

This paper presents the results of a limited archaeological investigation of the Bowl Hole cemetery site adjacent to Bamburgh Castle, Northumberland. Although the existence of the site was known from antiquarian reports from the 19th century, its exact location was uncertain prior to the present programme of research. The limited finds evidence and 14C assays indicate a date range between the 6th to 8th centuries AD. Substantial variation was seen within the small sample of burials investigated and at least two phases of burial is proposed.