ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORK ALONG THE A2: 1966 — 1974* PART 1 : THE LATE BRONZE AND EARLY IRON AGE SITES NIGEL MACPHERSON-GRANT INTRODUCTION The Bridge by-pass survey overlaps and complements, both in terms of area and content, findings made in advance of widening the A2 between 1966 and 1973. In particular, the material from Site 8 only comes into perspective when compared with other Iron Age pottery from the Barham and Kingston Downs ridgeway. Therefore, this earlier, mostly unpublished, material has been included here. As a result the emphasis is on pottery. Publication of detailed site information has been withheld, since the nature of the pre-1974 excavations and the paucity of available site records would make the present report unwieldy. Most site evidence is therefore confined to a brief description accompanying the excavation plans. The pottery itself is described and illustrated in a continuous number. sequence throughout. The individual pot descriptions are taken as far as possible using the eye alone. This detail is considered necessary due to the lack of a comprehensive study of east Kent Iron Age pottery. A preferred synthesis into simplified form/fabric descriptions can only be employed after study of a wider range of material than is presented here. Fig. 1 shows the by-pass route and the relevant section of the A2, together with the sites excavated during the period concerned. Since research is still in progress on finds from the later Roman and * This report is published with the aid of a grant from the Department of the Environment. 133 NIGEL MACPHERSON-GRANT Anglo-Saxon cemeteries (Sites 6 and 7, respectively) the full report has been divided. Part 2, forthcoming, will cover the later archaeo- logical periods and include a section on settlement and land-use synthesizing the evidence presented in Parts 1 and 2. This report does not include the results of fieldwork by the Dover Archaeological Group or the evidence of chance finds made adjacent to the route. Detailed context-related catalogues have been placed with the various site archives in the Royal Museum, Canterbury, where the finds are held. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The excavation of sites 1, 5-7, and those on the Bridge by-pass were funded by grants from the Department of the Environment, which also provided a proton-magnetometer survey of the by-pass route. Throughout, the work was carried out on behalf of the Canterbury Archaeological Society by members from the Ashford, Canterbury and Chatham House (Thanet) Archaeological Societies, and directed by Mr. A.C. Hogarth or myself. Much fieldwork was undertaken by members of the Ashford Archaeological Society, particularly by Messrs. Jim Bradshaw and Alan Bruce during the initial stages of the by-pass section. We are grateful to the owner of Highland Court Farm, Mr. C. Wigham, and to the various farm managers; to the personnel of Messrs. Mears Construction Ltd., and their agent Mr. P. Barrett; to the staff of their sub-contractors, Messrs. Blackwells, whose co-operation and assistance was invaluable. Finally, I particularly wish to thank the contributors whose reports are published below, and Mr. Tim Tatton-Brown for reading and discussing the report in general. I. THE SITES Site 1: Barham Downs 1971. (A.C. Hogarth — BD 71). (Figs. 2-3). The site (Fig. 2 and N.G.R. TR 21804970 epicentre) lies just south of the junction of the B2046 with the A2, and was excavated in advance of roadworks for the second A2 carriageway. The excav- ation (Fig. 3) revealed a three-, possibly four-period use of the area, which was excavated and recorded using a grid-system of 50 ft. (15.25 m.) squares. 134 A2 DUAL CARRIRGELRY : (986 = 1974 BRIDGE BY-PASS : 1974 A2 CANTERBURY ROADWORKS £AD OVER 200 FEET Ssrés: Paar 2 FORTHCOMING REPORT Siras: PRAT 1 PRES¢NT REPORT B2046 WINGHAL CanrersuRY @ Fra.t AN €AST KENT LOCRTION 0 Mies ° ‘ ee ELT 6 KLOMETRES U a t — J kuonerres Fig. 1. Overall Route and Site Map Part 1: Late Bronze and Iron Age Sites ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORK ALONG THE A2: 1966-1974 TRADITIONAL COURSE te — OF ROMAN ROAD Fla, CANTERBURY BARNAME DOWNS N97: — Sure i NA smur or nonawonxs ot J me L . *S KMONETRE Fig. 2. Overview 1. Site 1. Inset. Site 2: Roman Temple. Pre-Iron Age Activity The surface collection of worked flakes and implements during and after mechanical stripping, implies pre-Iron Age occupation. The collection is small but unworn, coming mainly from squares 01 to B1. It includes several scrapers and at least one ‘adze’ — all of white or pale blue patinated flint. The forms and patination suggest a Neolithic — Bronze Age date bracket. One pottery bowl (Fig. 4.1) from the degree of wear and grit coarseness could, just possibly, be assigned to this phase. Iron Age Features Iron Age pottery was found in most areas of the excavation, and pits and post-holes dateable to this period were scattered in a broad band across the site. With one exception, few significant interpret- ations can be made. The group of pits and post-holes in squares B3 — D3 suggests an ‘activity area’, with a further one in E2 and D2. Here the ‘gulley’ linking features 4 and II (squares E2 and F2, respectively), could indicate a drip-trench around a hut. The exception is the rectangular cluster of post-holes/?post-pits straddling F3 and G3. This could be interpreted as a 6-post structure, and apparently renewed at least once. Study of the assoc- iated pottery from the above features indicates a date range of c. 500-350/200 B.C., with a possible cultural or trait subdivision within this bracket (see discussion below). 135 NIGEL MACPHERSON-GRANT Roman Features The Dover-Canterbury Roman road and ditches divide the site. The road was metalled with flint cobbles, and inevitably has become badly eroded, with the original edges now uncertain. In the section exposed, the northern road ditch is noticeably narrower and closer to the road than those on the south side. No other Roman features were recorded and the few scraps of worn Romano-British pottery from the excavation are broadly assignable to the late first and second centuries. Medieval Features A group of features excavated in squares 00/01 — B0/B1 belongs to this period. These consist of two post-hole structures — medieval huts A and B, a small ancillary structure (north of hut A), and the cross-ditches of a possible sunk post mill. A similar feature has recently been excavated at Mucking, Essex (Jones 1979, 49). The huts, A and B, are certainly related to the presence and function of the cross-ditch, as may a sub-rectangular depression, which the excavator interpreted as another hut. Nearby and bounded by a slight chalk ‘lynchet’ were a group of curious hollows and scoops (? chalk quarries). All are probably of medieval date. In D1 a short length of narrow ditch was recorded and, though containing no finds, it is included as medieval since it reflects the same alignment as the southern segment of the larger and definite medieval ditch (lower part Fig. 3). The pottery (Fig. 7, 45—7) dates this phase of occupation broadly to the mid-late thirteenth century, though the presence of at least one shell-tempered sherd could take the dating back into the late twelfth century. THE POTTERY (Figs. 4-7). Neolithic ? 1. BD (? source). Bowl in soft black flint-tempered ware. Interior dirty dark grey-brown; exterior dirty brown-red,the oxidization process extending 3-4 mm. into the core. The clay is finely mic- aceous and relatively free of natural inclusions. The temper is predominantly coarse with little grit below 1 mm. and, mostly averaging 4-5 mm., appears dominant through the worn surfaces. Burnt out grass impressions near rim. Rim and interior smoother than outside. Early Iron Age. 2. BD (A 11). Bowl in fairly hard, crisp, black flint-tempered ware with patchy orange-red/brown/black exterior surface. Natural 136 /RON AGE FEATURES Nedievac FEnTuRes a MEDIEVAL — MODERN FEeATuREs ? NATURAL HOLLOWS BRRHAM DOWNS (971: SUFE 1 = DETAIL PF WDAILL vy@ P meDievas WoT CwMA ‘LYNCHET” m — PosT-wo1e CONCENTRATION = war wy bg r 0 9 00 Baad Rea, re? My Yee 9 © & = eee = wr | zo Vo a ~ ~ | LUNI OF ROADWORKS 5o ° 20 ee see eT (ee et rm ———| HET RES FPPROX. EDGE ORIGINAL Fla RORD Fig. 3. Site 1. Excavation Plan. ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORK ALONG THE A2: 1966-1974 3. BD (A3 1). 4. BD (A3 1). 5. BD (A3 J). 6. BD (B 11). 7. BD (B3 J). 8. BD (B 3 1). clay finely micaceous. The temper is fairly coarse and uneven (4 mm.). Roughly finished product, both surfaces wiped. Shouldered jar in fairly hard dark brown-grey flint-tempered ware with patchy dirty dark brown/dark grey surfaces. Pale brown lining below exterior surface. The flint content is moderate and fairly open-spaced (av. 2 mm. with little background material). Fabric contains a fair admixture of chaff. A poorly finished product with lumpy surfaces only roughly wiped smooth. Jar in soft, black, partially flint-tempered ware. As no. 3, the fabric contains some chaff addition and sparse flint grits. Again the finish is very rough and the interior wiped only slightly smoother than the striated exterior surface. Large bowl in fairly hard, black, flint-tempered ware. Dirty grey-brown interior surface; exterior a patchy red-brown/ dirty brown-grey. The temper is fairly coarse and ill-sorted (grits 4-6 mm. against sparse background of < 1 mm. — 1 mm. av.). Surfaces roughly wiped, horizontally inside. Shouldered jar/bowl, in fairly soft dark brown-black flint- tempered ware. The interior surface is a dirty dark grey- brown; the exterior a patchy orange-red/brown-red — the oxidization process extending 1-2 mm. into the core. The temper is fairly well-sorted and generally fine (sparse 2 mm. and rare 5 mm. grits against a fine background of < 0.01 to 0.02 mm. av.). Some occasional haematite/grog grains. Nicely moulded and finished product: interior horizontally wiped below neat bevelled rim. Neck smoothed vertically down to shoulder, body left rough below. Bowl in fairly soft buff, finely flint-tempered ware. The core is partially oxidized pale orange below a brown exterior surface. Interior dirty grey. The temper is well- mixed and open-spaced (av. 0.02 mm. with rare 2 mm. in the core). Fabric contains some maroon-red haematite grains. Exterior smooth and probably originally burnished. Worn. Two shoulder sherds from a jar. A base sherd with a foot- ring is probably from the same vessel. Shoulder: Dirty dark grey flint-tempered ware with thin brown-red sandwich to core. Interior surface dark grey, exterior patchily dirty brown/dark leather-brown. Fabric contains moderate flint (av. 1 mm.), tending to be burn- ished over on the exterior. On the round shoulder a design has been painted onto the burnished surface. As recon- structed the design consists of spaced and bordered squares — each square being filled with a diagonal cross corner-to- corner. There is no extant evidence to suggest that the units were linked. The paint remains as partially decayed raised lines, and appears originally to have had a fairly thick consistency, possibly made with a clay base. Base: Ware as shoulder sherds, but with no lining to core. Interior surface colouring is the same, but the exterior is a brown-red. The foot-ring is neat, thin-walled, deep, and burnished inside and out. 137 NIGEL MACPHERSON-GRANT Fig. 4. Site 1 — Pottery. No. 1 — possible Neolithic Bowl; Nos. 2-8 — Iron Age Pottery (4%) 138 10. 11, 12. 13. 14. 16. 17. 18. ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORK ALONG THE A2: 1966-1974 . BD (B3 J). BD (B31). BD (B 3 I). BD (C3 IV). BD (C 3 IV). BD (C 3 IV). . BD (C3 IV). BD (C 3 VID. BD (C3 VID. BD (C 3 VII). Bowl ? in hard crisp dark grey flint-tempered ware with patchy grey-buff interior surface and buff-brown/grey exterior. The fabric has a fairly high mica content; the flint temper is profuse (from 0.02 mm. to fairly dominant 3 mm.). Large shouldered jar in fairly hard black flint-tempered ware with drab dirty grey-brown surfaces. The temper is evenly mixed and fairly fine (1.02 mm. against a background of 0.03 mm. or less). However, the core contains occasional large grits (1.4 cm.). Sparse grains of haematite. Interior wiped; flat-topped rim and body above shoulder smoothed and lightly burnished. Extant body below shoulder delib- erately roughened. Large ? bowl in fairly hard black flint-tempered ware, with thin brown lining to core. Drab dark brown-black internal surface; exterior patchy dark brown-black/brown-red. The flint is fairly well sorted and moderate, av. 0.02 mm. or less. One large grit in the core — 1.5 mm. The interior surface is roughly wiped; the exterior immediately below the burnished rim is smoothed horizontally into ‘channels’, with the remainder of the body deliberately roughened, particularly towards the base. Large jar in fairly hard flint-tempered ware. Surface col- ouring and temper similar to no. 9. Fabric speckled with brown-red grog and/or haematite grains (av. 1 mm.). Interior wiped, rim-top and exterior lightly burnished. Foot-ringed base sherd (from ? bowl) in fairly hard grey flint-tempered ware. The temper is profuse (max. 1 mm., mostly 0.01 mm.). Some fine mica. Interior smoothed and originally lightly burnished — as exterior and base. Foot quite well formed, but not deep. Base sherd in soft brown finely flint-tempered ware; black surfaces. Exterior carries traces of worn burnish. The temper averages 0.05 mm. Jar in fairly soft grey flint-tempered ware with dirty dark grey interior; exterior surface patchy dirty buff-brown/ pink-buff/grey. Tempering is fairly coarse and ill-sorted (av. 4-5 mm.). The clay has a high fine mica content, together with sparse ironstone grits (5 mm.). All surfaces wiped — marked grit-drag on exterior; interior and rim lightly burnished. Jar in fairly soft dirty dark brown-black flint-tempered ware. Temper is moderate and well sorted (av. 1 mm. against finer 0.01 mm. background). Wiped exterior sur- face; rim and interior smoothed and lightly burnished. Jar in hard black flint-tempered ware with dark grey/leather- brown surfaces. Thin red-brown lining below exterior skin. The flint is moderate and open-spaced (av. 0.05 — 1 mm.). All surfaces highly burnished. Shoulder sherd from bowl/jar in fairly hard grey flint- tempered ware, with dirty grey-buff surfaces. The temper is open-spaced (1 mm. against sparse smaller background), showing more on the exterior. Clay is finely micaceous. Both surfaces burnished. Curvilinear decoration tooled and burnished into shoulder. 139 NIGEL MACPHERSON-GRANT y ae wl Te Fig. 5. Site 1. Iron Age Pottery (%4) 140 ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORK ALONG THE A2: 1966-1974 19. BD (E 3 I). 20. BD (F 2 I). 21. BD (F 3 Il). 22. BD (G 32). 23. BD (G 3 I). 24. BD (G 3 Il). 25. BD (G 3 ID). 26. BD (G 3 Il). Base in fairly hard black flint-tempered ware with dirty brown/dark grey-black surfaces. Brown sandwich to core, thicker below exterior surface. The flint is moderate and ill-sorted, tending to group (2-3 mm. av. with a finer back- ground). Interior roughly smoothed, exterior shows vertical grit-drag. Foot moderately prominent and smoothed. Flat base scraped, the grits scoring the surface. Bowl in fairly hard black flint-tempered ware. Moderate and fairly even temper (0.01 — 1 mm. background with occasional larger 2-3 mm. grits). All surfaces wiped, rim and interior lightly burnished. Base with foot-ring in soft dark brown fairly finely flint- tempered ware. Interior dirty brown-red, exterior dark grey-brown; base patchy grey-buff. The fabric contains moderate and fairly open-spaced flint mixed with finely chopped chaff, which has burnt out on the surfaces. The flint ranges from 0.01 mm. — 2 mm. with occasional larger grits up to 8 mm. (including one of chalk marl). Red-brown grog and/or haematite grains (up to 2 mm.) are also present and the fabric contains a little sand, probably natural to the clay. The inside has been smoothed, the exterior and base patchily but fairly highly burnished. The foot-ring is quite neatly moulded but not deep. Bowl in fairly hard black flint-tempered ware. Interior dirty grey; exterior brown-red, the oxidization process extending c. 1-2 mm. into core. The temper is moderate and fairly open-spaced (av. 2 mm. against sparse back- ground of 0.02 mm. or less). Clay fairly finely micaceous. Interior lightly wiped, exterior more strongly. Only the crude rim is roughly burnished. Cooking-pot in fairly soft, friable black flint-tempered ware. Interior dirty grey below, and dirty brown-red above neck angle. Exterior: rim dark leather-brown, body below incipient shoulder dirty dark-brown, neck red-brown, the oxidization extending 2 mm. into the core. The fabric contains an even mixture of moderate open-spaced flint and finely chopped chaff, giving a compact, slightly lamin- ated structure. The flint ranges from 0.01 mm. — 3 mm. max. The rim is roughly squared off, the flat top being decorated with unevenly spaced finger-tip impressions. The shoulder is similarly decorated. Lower exterior slightly sooted. Shouldered bowl in fairly hard grey flint-tempered ware with dirty grey-brown surfaces. The temper is moderate — 0.01 mm. to 1 mm. av., with sparser 2 mm. scatter. Jar in fairly soft grey flint-tempered ware with grey-brown surfaces. The temper is moderate (0.01 mm. to 1 mm. av. background with occasional larger 2 mm.). Clay is slightly micaceous. Lightly burnished surfaces. Bowl or jar in fairly soft buff-brown finely flint-tempered ware, with internally, a rich brown-orange surface and, externally; brown-grey. The temper is fine and fairly sparse (mostly 0.03 mm. with occasional larger 2 mm. grits). All surfaces, particularly internal, highly burnished. 141 NIGEL MACPHERSON-GRANT Fig. 6. Site 1. Iron Age Pottery (%) 142 27. 28. 29. 30. 31 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORK ALONG THE A2: 1966-1974 BD (G 3 Ill). BD (G 3 VIII). BD (G 3 VIII). BD (9). . BD (9). 32. BD (MP 1). BD (11). BD (11). BD (11). BD (P 1) BD (P 1). BD (P 1). BD (P 2). BD (2P 3). Jar in fairly hard black flint-tempered ware with drab dirty grey-brown surfaces. Thin dirty buff-brown sandwich to core immediately below surfaces. The flint is moderate and fairly coarse (< 0.01 mm. — 2 mm. av. background with ill- sorted clusters of larger 3-4 mm. grits). Some ironstone grits. Clay fairly micaceous. The surfaces are roughly smoothed with only the rim, originally, lightly burnished. Worn. Thin-walled jar with ware, temper size, and finish as nos. 9 and 12. Grog or haematite speckle as no. 12, but finer. Large jar in hard grey flint-tempered ware with buff- pink/dirty buff-grey surfaces. The temper is moderate and fairly well sorted (0.01 mm. to 2 mm. av. and scattered 3-4 mm. foreground). Clay slightly micaceous. The exterior has been roughly wiped horizontally; the rim and interior bears a fairly high faceted horizontal burnish. Jar with ware as nos. 9, 12, and 28. Rim and interior roughly smoothed; exterior from rim wiped downwards, grit-drag scoring the surface. Shoulder wall markedly thin. Jar as no. 30 — but with paler fabric and harder. Jar in fairly soft, dirty dark grey flint-tempered ware. Dark grey-black surfaces. The temper is moderate (av. 2 mm.) against an uneven background of fine grains (0.01 mm.). The natural clay has a little fine mica. Both surfaces smoothed and lightly burnished — particularly the interior. Jar in fairly soft dark grey flint-tempered ware. Interior fired dirty grey-buff; exterior and rim dirty dark grey/ black. The temper is moderate (av. 2 mm.). Clay slightly micaceous with a little sand. Bowl in fairly soft dark grey flint-tempered ware with thin buff lining to core immediately below the exterior surface. The flint content is fairly sparse and open-spaced (0.03 mm. — rare 4 mm.). Base sherd in fairly soft grey flint-tempered ware, with darker grey surfaces. Moderate temper (av. 2 mm. against a finer 0.02 mm. background). The exterior including base has been smoothed and lightly burnished. The base is clearly defined with a deep groove at junction of lower body and foot. Jar in fairly hard black flint-tempered ware, with chocolate- brown interior surface and dark brown/black exterior. The flint is moderate and fairly fine (up to 1.06 mm.). Exterior wiped; rim and interior smoothed and lightly burnished. Bowl — ? same vessel as no. 2. Jar in soft dirty-brown flint-tempered ware with red-brown external surface. The temper is fairly dense (from 0.01 mm. to av. 1 mm.). Flat-topped rim neatly moulded. All surfaces lightly burnished. Large bowl in fairly hard, crisp, dirty dark grey sandy ware. Light brown interior surface; patchy dirty brown/grey exterior. The fabric is profusely sandy with additional uneven flint tempering (grits up to 5 mm.). Bowl in fairly soft, crisp, dark grey flint and chaff-tempered 143 NIGEL MACPHERSON-GRANT Fig. 7. Site 1. Nos. 32-44: Iron Age Pottery; nos. 45-7: medieval Pottery; nos. Site 3 Iron Age Pottery. (4) 144 48-9: ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORK ALONG THE A2: 1966-1974 ware. Grey internal surface; rim and exterior dirty buff- grey. The chaff and flint is well mixed; the chaff is fairly profuse — giving a partially.laminated structure. The flint grits are moderate (c. 2 mm. av.) 41. BD (P/H T). Bowl in fairly soft black flint-tempered ware with dark brown surfaces. The flint content is moderate (from < 0.01 mm. background to av. 2 mm.). Exterior wiped; interior and rim top lightly burnished. 42. BD (P/H T). Bowl in fairly soft dark brown flint-tempered ware. Interior dark grey-brown; exterior dark brown/buff. The temper is fairly fine and well sorted (with 0.02 mm. average and occasional larger 1.05 mm.). Worn interior burnish, lip and exterior quite high. 43. BD (? source). Jar, probably shouldered, in fairly soft grey flint-tempered ware with dirty dark grey-brown exterior surface; interior pale buff-orange. Moderate, well-mixed temper (2 mm. av. against 0.02 mm. or less). Clay is finely micaceous and contains occasional maroon-red haematite grains (up to 1 mm.). Interior smoothed, rim and exterior lightly burn- ished. Slightly sooted outside. 44. BD (? source). Shouldered bowl in fairly hard black flint-tempered ware. Patchy dark grey-brown interior; exterior dark grey-black above dirty brown-buff on shoulder. Temper as no. 20. Rare 2 mm. ironstone grains. Some fine mica. Interior smoothed and lightly burnished. Exterior burnish higher. Medieval 45. BD (MED X PIT). Cooking-pot in fairly brittle buff-pink sandy ware, with pale chocolate-brown surfaces. Stabbed rim. Exterior sooted. 46. BD (MED X PIT). Cooking-pot in soft dirty grey sandy ware; pink-buff interior and dirty brown/buff-pink exterior. 47. BD (MED X PIT). Cooking-pot in orange-red sandy ware, with thin grey core and orange-buff surfaces. Stabbed rim. Soot traces on exterior. Discussion In section II below (pp. 174-9) Professor Cunliffe has discussed the pottery from this site, and sites 3, 5 and 8, set the material against the wider English and Continental background and summarised the evidence. At this stage a further point should be made. Virtually nothing is known about ceramic traditions in east Kent between c. 350-100 B-C. However, amongst the Site 1 assemblage nos. 12, 28-9, 30-31 appear to form a distinctive group. They share two traits: a tendency for thin-walled shoulders surmounted by thick heavy rims and coarse heavily flint-tempered fabrics. Vessels with similar form and fabric, but generally smaller diameters have been found at Canterbury, Bridge Hill (Watson 1965), and in Thanet. In each case they preceded, or overlapped with, Belgic grog-tempered wares. 145 NIGEL MACPHERSON-GRANT (The ‘conjunction’ of flint-tempered and grogged wares will receive detailed examination in a future article). Such a late date is not claimed for these Site 1 vessels, but it is very tentatively suggested that they are related to a tradition that appears to have been current in the immediately pre-Belgic Iron Age of east Kent. The dating suggested for no. 18 (p. 178 ) goes some way towards supporting this possibility. Site 3: Barham Downs 1968. (L. Millard — Area IV). (Fig. 1). Iron Age The material from this site (Royal Museum, Canterbury Accession no. 9728, for 1968) was recovered by rescue collection during road- works. The exact location is uncertain, but it is on a chalk spur, near to the turning to Barham village at N.G.R. TR 214507. THE POTTERY (Fig. 7). 48. BD (Area IV). Bowl in black-brown fairly finely flint-tempered ware, with black internal surface and dark brown/black exterior. High external burnish; interior burnished and wiped leaving deep grit-drag scorings. 49. BD (Area IV). Carinated bowl with foot-ring in black, very finely flint tempered ware with brown exterior surface. ? Originally coated with haematite. The reconstruction is approximate only. Discussion Both pots are unfortunately unstratified, and can only be placed into a wide date bracket of c. 1000 - 200 B.C. No. 48 is typologically the earlier the two. (See section I, p. 179). Site 5: Kingston Downs 1973. (A.C. Hogarth — Area IV and Site VIII). (Figs. 1, 8-9). Iron Age During the early Spring of 1973 the whole area, likely to be affected by the second A2 carriageway and the flow-in to the by-pass proper, was mechanically stripped between Poorstart Lane and Coldharbour Lane. This excavation revealed Sites 5-7. (Site 5 N.G.R. TR ept- centre 19905228). 146 530 Sto 490 470 0 aie ar esepuonas ° O 116 400 PITS: OTH PorreRY Pirs: No PorreRy 19 Pirs wit! ROMAN OR LATER POTTERY FIOvERN PTs e°* Movern Pirs os 7) 175 16P 1 Liver OF we 1 Gre vit excavarion 1 ° 5 as KINGSTON DOWN 1973: — J reer S0FE § > BETHEL o 4 2 Le i meraes 750 730 70 690 40 650 60 ea ne eae ee oe So ee 790 _ ce tires re a is er mW © 16 © 106 EDGE oF RoRDWORKS Ons 0? 130 90 RARER VI uw? n® 6 108 9 3 ne 20107 10 fe) 15 \Y 9 195 58 54 67 % © 700 660 50 8104 ° . 50 A $3 ~ 93 @ 68 109 103 8 $ 98 S 57 . 94 o° oe) 96 © @y5e ° 99 71 Oo fe) 102 ie) - 72 (y, 100 YE Q55 & 53 ’ Qy 181 aunery OF xcavarion — =_ Fig. 9. Site 5. Iron Age Site: Excavation Plan. ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORK ALONG THE A2: 1966-1974 — ~ ° wes A2, Dover A2, BRIDGE, ay ; aS cruree suey [= B2065 ° Lireir oF \ im auc RORD WORKS ; ~~ 45 Knonerre Fig. 8. Overview 2. Site 5. Inset. No. 1: Site 6 — Anglo-Saxon Cemetery The site lies on gently sloping ground at about 275 ft. above sea level, with the land falling away fairly rapidly to the north-west and steeply south-west into the Nailbourne valley. Mechanical stripping exposed 4 small ditches (none exceeding c. 2-3 ft. (c. 61 cm. — 91.5 cm.) in depth), lying approximately parallel to each other north-east to south-west (Fig. 8). Extending beyond and overlying the north- ernmost ditch was a concentration of pits and post-holes (Fig. 9, Area VI). Unfortunately, too narrow an area was opened to determine anything significant from the pattern of features. There were, however, two phases of occupation. Ditch 8 (Area VI) is certainly cut by a later pit, and the dual line of post-holes, on the same alignment as the ditch, appears to overlie and supersede it. Their relationship with Pit 64 is not clear. Some form of token perimeter function is implied by Ditch 8 and the post-holes. The settlement appears to be more of the ‘open’ type, only making use of position and perhaps limited perimeter features for security needs. This possibility is reinforced by the lack of any definite major enclosure ditches, either to the north-west or south-east beyond Poorstart Lane. The pottery assemblage places the occupation relatively early in the Iron Age, and so favours the idea of a settle- ment established during a quiet time-setting (see below, p. 176). The presence of a few scraps of Romano-British and medieval pottery is not surprising since the area was almost certainly open farmland during these periods (Part 2: forthcoming). THE POTTERY (Figs. 10-12). 50. KD (VI. 10). Sherd from shouldered jar in red-brown flint-tempered ware, with black exterior surface. The temper is coarse. Fingernail decoration on shoulder. 51. KD (VI. 17). Jar in buff-brown flint-tempered ware. Black/brown/red 147 NIGEL MACPHERSON-GRANT AOOOCOC C fOr F 7 a a Fig. 10. Site 5. Iron Age Pottery (4) surfaces. All surfaces wiped — very marked on exterior. 52. KD (VI. 57). ? Jar in dark brown/grey coarsely flint-tempered ware with black-brown surfaces. Wiped. Single row of ? comb- impressed decoration in neck ‘hollow’. 53 KD (VI 57). Small jar/bowl in buff-grey flint-tempered ware. The temper is fine with occasional large grits. Brown lining to core beneath dull black surfaces. Exterior and rim lightly burnished. 54. KD (VI 57). Jar in buff-brown flint-tempered ware with brown-red/ dark grey surfaces. The temper is moderate and fairly coarse. 55. KD (VI. 57). Large jar in buff-brown flint-tempered ware with orange- brown surfaces. The temper is moderate. Applied cordon at base of neck. Both cordon and rim, cable-decorated. 56. KD (VI. 58). Jar in orange-buff flint-tempered ware. Coarse flint temper. Diam. c. 25.4 cm. 57. KD (VI. 101). Bowl in dirty buff/grey flint-tempered ware. Moderate temper. Brown-red surfaces burnished. Traces of haemat- ite coating. 148 ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORK ALONG THE A2: 1966-1974 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. KD (VI. KD (VI. KD (VI. KD (VI. KD (VI. KD (VI. _ KD (VL. 111). 111). 111). 111). 111). 111). Fig. 11. Site 5S. Iron Age Pottery (%) Jar/bowl in brown/black flint-tempered ware. Temper fairly sparse and coarse. Black-brown surfaces. Finger- smoothed. Small bowl/cup in black partially flint-tempered ware. The temper is fine and sparse. Brown-red lining to core. Black burnished surfaces. Neat, internally bevelled rim. Jar in buff-grey flint-tempered ware with grey/brown-red surfaces. Worn. ‘Cup’ in grey-black finely flint-tempered ware, with orange- brown lining below exterior surface. The temper is a fine flint ‘dust’. Worn exterior burnish. Finely incised hatched decoration on upper shoulder. Bowl? in grey/black flint-tempered ware. Lip and interior highly burnished including the grooves; exterior only roughly smoothed. The deeply tooled and burnished grooves are not accidental. Large shouldered jar in dark grey/brown flint-tempered ware. Temper is coarse. Both surfaces wiped. Large bowl in dark grey/brown flint-tempered ware. Red- 149 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70. 71. 72. NIGEL MACPHERSON-GRANT KD (VI KD (VI KD (VI. KD (VI. KD (VI. KD (VI. KD (VI. KD (VI. 111). 11). 120). 120). 120). 168A). 168B). 168B). Fig. 12. Site 5. Iron Age Pottery (4) brown exterior surface. Interior wiped. Large jar in grey flint-tempered ware with buff-brown sur- faces. Coarse temper. Bowl in brown-red finely flint-tempered ware. Light over- all burnish. Haematite coated. Jar in brown flint-tempered ware. Grey-brown surfaces. Wiped. Base in black flint-tempered ware. Coarse burnt flint (blue) filler. Vertical grit-drag. Side added to thick base roundel. Large bowl in buff-brown flint-tempered ware. Red lining below black exterior surface. Temper is fine. Light burnish. Jar in red-brown flint-tempered ware. The temper is coarse. Spaced finger-tip decoration on rim. Shouldered jar in buff/red flint-tempered ware with red/ black surfaces. Light exterior burnish. Deep bowl in dark grey/buff flint-tempered ware with black surfaces. Medium temper. Slab built. Grit-drag on wiped exterior surface. 150 ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORK ALONG THE A2: 1966-1974 73. KD (VI. 168B). Bowl in buff-grey finely flint-tempered ware. Very thin red-brown lining to core. Black-brown burnished surfaces, high internally. Neat flat-topped rim. 74. KD (VI. 168B). Bowl/jar with flaring rim; buff finely flint-tempered ware. Black/dark brown burnished surfaces — interior strongly. Rim pinched outward. 75. KD (VI. 169). Jar in fairly coarse flint-tempered ware. The firing has produced a bipartite core: brown-black inside; red-brown outside. Dirty buff-brown exterior surface. Both surfaces wiped. Thin rim internally decorated with finger-tipping. 76. KD (VUI. 115). Bowl in dark grey/black flint-tempered ware. Light over- all burnish. 77. KD (X. 184). Jar ? in dirty chocolate-brown flint-tempered ware. Orange- red lining to core below outer surface. Coarse temper. The upward pulled finger-drags outside are prominent enough to suggest intentional decoration. Discussion The archaeological evidence for Site 5 suggests two phases of occupation. However, the pottery does not confirm this, indicating only a short period of activity between c. 1000 — 800 B.C. (Section II, p. 174 and pp. 175-6). It is possible that Ditch 8 might belong to an earlier phase of occupation, but for the time being both the pottery and features must be viewed as contemporary. Sites 8 and 9: Bridge By-pass 1974. (N. Macpherson-Grant — BBP 74). (Figs. 1, 13). Topsoil stripping for the by-pass covered two main sections: the by-pass proper, in a broad curve to the north and east of Bridge (Fig. 1), and a length on the northern side of the A2 Canterbury— Dover road, between the Bishopsbourne and Kingston turnings. The latter section, complementing the findings of Mr. Hogarth in 1973 will be discussed in Part 2, as will Sites 10 — 12. Fig. 13 shows the main group of sites exposed in 1974 a series of minor features (nos. 4-6), an enclosed Iron Age settlement and adjacent compound (Site 8 and no. 2) and Site 9, two Bronze Age ring-ditches. Briefly: no. 4 is a large probably Iron Age/Belgic enclosure ditch; no. 5 is an Iron Age/Romano-British field- boundary ditch and possibly part of a system that included the ditch cutting Barrow 1 — Site 9; and no. 6 is a medieval/post-medieval cart track, still retaining part of its original flint metalling. Ruts and horse-shoe imprints were clearly visible. These features will be re- appraised in Part 2. The function of Ditch 4 is to be discussed in an article re-examining the Iron Age and Belgic pottery from Bridge Hill (Watson, 1965). 151 NIGEL MACPHERSON-GRANT BRIDGE 1974: SITES B FMP os ope rc 9? Af P36 896 A2, CRNTERBURY, BRIDEE HLL HERD BRICKENRTH Se Linrr oF Ronpusonns \ 15 nue = ob °F knoneree Fig. 13. Overview 3. Site 8 — Inset (Fig. 14); Site 9 — Insets (Figs. 22 and 24). Nos. 1 — Possible Late Bronze Age Barrow. 2 — Iron Age Enclosure — adjunct to Site 8. 3 — Iron Age Pottery found 1964. 4 — Iron Age/Belgic Enclosure Ditch. 5 — Iron Age/Romano-British Field-boundary 6 — Medieval Cart-track. Iron Age. Site 8: BBP 1974 (Grant — Site 1). (Figs. 13, 14). The main enclosure (N.G.R. TR 19555325) was exposed during stripping for Messrs. Mears’ office and caravan compounds, and though much of the interior beneath the office area was lost before being adequately recorded, clearance for the adjacent caravan compound made available the north-western perimeter (Fig. 14 and inset). Further stripping downslope for a maintenance and machine assembly area revealed the ditches of a second enclosure (Fig. 13, no. 2). Sited on chalk downland at 250 ft., the settlement overlooked the north-west to south-east ridgeway, and the Nailbourne valley to the south-west. In siting the enclosure the builders appear to have avoided an area of Head Brickearth which backs onto the occu- pation area (Fig. 13). This is a stiff soil which has resisted erosion, and formerly may have carried a thick belt of trees. This possibility is enhanced by the northern arm of the second enclosure which was traced as far as the Brickearth, but no further. Certainly no surviving re-commencement or return was observed within the Head area, most of which was exposed. The ditches forming this ‘secondary’ enclosure varied between 3-4 ft. (91.5 cm. — 1.22 m.) 152 ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORK ALONG THE A2: 1966-1974 wide, with a remnant depth below ploughsoil of c. 5 in. (12.5 cm.) or less. Though an entrance/gap, c. 8 ft. (c. 2.44 m.) wide, existed in the southern corner, the terminals were badly eroded. No post- bases or other entrance settings were observed. The whole area within was examined, but only two small pits (Fig. 14, inset) were found near to the main enclosure. In the latter, Ditch 8-9 is unlikely to be related to the lower enclosure. Unfortunately, the junction area was destroyed before observation, so it is impossible to determine whether the two enclosures supersede each other or are contemporary. Excavation of the available area showed a two-phase sequence for the main enclosure: Phase I — a semi-continuous series of irregular hollows, averaging 1-2 ft. (30.5 — 61 cm.) in depth, subsequently cut in Phase 2 by a continuous steep-sided ditch. The Phase 1 hollows are a puzzle; too little was exposed to check whether they continued or whether they even had a specific function. They could represent an initial pre-ditch tree-clearance phase, or quarries. Whatever the cause, the hollows were intentionally backfilled with hard compact, ‘rammed’, layers of chalky loam and clean chalk (Section 3, Figs. 14, 15). A few small scraps of flint-tempered pottery were found in this backfill. If Features 11, 12, 16, 18, 19 and possibly 13 (Fig. 14, inset) are also placed into Phase 1, by virtue of their irregular shapes, it is interesting to note that their lower fills, though similar, are looser, and that the compaction noted above may have been a pre-requisite/side-effect of the Phase 2 ditch construction. As Fig. 15 shows, the Phase 2 ditch was steep-sided. The width varied between 3 ft. (91.5 cm.) at its narrowest to c. 6 ft. (1.83 m.) (Section 3), an effect probably caused by the Phase 1 presence. Depth: 3-4 ft. (91.5 cm. — 1.22 m.). This ditch (10-15) continued northwards where it was observed in a GPO service trench and a trial trench (Fig. 14, inset: Section 4) in a nearby orchard. Before excavation of Section 4 the area was dowsed with copper dowsing rods. The positive excavated result is used as ‘confirmation’ of reactions traced eastwards through the orchard (Fig. 13). More positively, the ditch could be seen in ploughed ground on the other side of Coldharbour Lane. Ditch 8-9 is probably of Phase 2 also, and apparently cut in two separate sections, then joined. Width: c. 2 ft. 6 in. (76 cm.) and depth averaging 20 in. (50.8 cm.).? A fence bedding-trench. Other probable Phase 2 features are Pits 6, 14 and 20. Pit 6 cut 5, which contained parts of a child’s skeleton (see Appendix I, p. 180). Pit 14 was square, c. 4 ft. (1.22 m.) deep and entirely filled with orange/yellow burnt clay. The adjacent circular Pit 20, of similar depth, contained three successive layers of burnt clay, ash and burnt flints, interspersed with deposits of domestic 153 NIGEL MACPHERSON-GRANT SivTé 8:07 20 Ny 272% Beoww Loan Bvawr FuinTs CHAR OML FLOCKED STIFF LOAre STIFF DARK BRO tw Sold Buanr aay C? DB) — CoA FLECHED L00SE, Lia@etT BRON CNML Me FLéCKED $O1L PS RBOVE, WITH CHRLA Lurch Ss PRIM FRY CHALK S1LT- ANd RUBBLE ae CWA RCORL dd LOOSENED CHALK SUBSOIL Fig. 16. Site 8. Iron Age Enclosure: Pit 20 — section (see Fig. 14 inset). rubbish, accretions of loam and weathered chalk (Fig. 16). The obvious periodicity of 20 may have applied to Pit 14. (Pit 20 small finds, p. 165 and Fig. 21). In all the Phase 2 ditch sections the main finds of pottery come associated with tips of burnt flint, ash and iron ‘dross’. This ‘late’ phase of activity is reflected identically in Ditch 8-9 and Features 12, 16 and 18. In summary, at least three phases of activity appear: Phase 1: The pre-ditch excavation and ? infill of irregular hollows. Phase 2: The Phase 2 Ditch (10-15), ? Ditch 8-9 and Pits 6, 15 and 20. External Pits 1 and 2 probably belong here, as may the second enclosure. Phase 3: A ‘late’ and ? semi-industrial phase, possibly associated with iron-working, the residue and contemporary occupation debris being dumped into convenient hollows such as the partially infilled Phase 2 Ditch. Finally, though not examined, the find of Iron Age pottery in 1964 at N.G.R. TR 19455313, is almost certainly related. 154 BRIDGE 1974: SITE B — BETHEL eaee sre OFFICES ComPoonrD d UNEXCRYATED ‘oe ExcavareD : Pirs [ PosrnoLes CPM) EXCAVATED : PHASE 1 HOLLOUS, PHASE 2 DITCHES Secrion 2 gin, See7v0N PHASE 2 ° Feer ° Meraes o! EXTERNAL PITS C -f ° 1 a oO, METRES Fig. 14. Site 8. Iron Age Enclosure: Excavation Plan. Inset: Overall Plan and Phase 2 Features. A A \\\ Taw own ES ) \ \\ \ WW o”“ sar i ot Ts ; HVT Nerve WT HE ORS Se BIS OWN Ry : nee sion HRT a Di Men = pit a AN \Y uae a DARA BRON LOR? t BvRNT FLinrs wl mw g CHR RUBLE Sore ©: DITELH SECTIOLW’ Z COMA Came PHASE 2 DITCH A Be Beg ° ‘ Ss MANMED wad «A Sri P aided haa det l= ae ett ——a——ee ee ETRE ’ STIR R OMALMY COR WITH CLERN CHALK LENSES Fig. 15, Site 8. Iron Age Enclosure: Ditch — Section 3 (see Fig. 14). 78. 79. 80. 81. 82. 83. 85. 86. bata] ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORK ALONG THE A2: 1966-1974 BBP (5). BBP (5). BBP (6). BBP (6). BBP (6). BBP (8/9). . BBP (8/9). BBP (8/9). BBP (8/9). . BBP (8/9). BBP (8/9) THE POTTERY (Figs. 17-20). Jar with flat-topped rim in soft black flint-tempered ware, with red-brown lining below exterior surface. Surfaces dirty dark brown/brown, the oxidization process extend- ing 1-2 mm. into core. Moderate temper with c. 2 mm. grits against finer background. Jar/bowl in fairly soft black-brown flint-tempered ware with dark leather-brown surfaces. The temper is fairly sparse (grits quite large — av. 1 mm. — 2.05 mm.). Fabric also contains some ironstone grits. All surfaces wiped, rim and exterior lightly burnished. Jar in fairly hard black flint-tempered ware; rim and exterior fired to a dirty brown-red. Blue burnt flint-temper is fairly coarse (1-2 mm. against moderate finer back- ground). Structure angular and brittle. Shouldered bowl in fairly soft black flint-tempered ware, with dirty brown-grey interior and orange-red exterior. The oxidization process is consistent — extending 1 mm. into core. The temper is well sorted and fairly fine (0.02 mm. av. with sparse 1-2 mm. grits in foreground). Fabric contains occasional rounded ironstone grits c. 2-3 mm. Exterior with worn dirty maroon-red haematite coat. Worn. Base in fairly soft dark brown flint-tempered ware. Surfaces dark grey-brown. The temper is moderate and fairly fine (0.02 mm. av. with sparse 1-2 mm. grits in the core). Fabric also contains stone grits and moderate rounded ironstone grains — latter 2-4 mm. All surfaces, including base with incipient foot-ring, roughly burnished. (Not illustrated). Bowl — rim top decorated with spaced finger-tip impressions. Ware and temper close to 78. Body sherd in fairly soft dark grey flint-tempered ware with light-brown lining below exterior surface. The temper is well-sorted and fine (av. < 0.01 — 0.02 mm. with mod- erate 1-2 mm. foreground grits). Exterior decorated with horizontal rows of neat finger-nail impressions. Body sherd from same vessel in BBP (17). Thin-walled ? bow] in fairly soft black flint-tempered ware. The grits are profuse (from 0.01 — 2 mm. av.). Light burn- ish on all surfaces. Worn. Bowl in fairly soft dirty dark brown flint-tempered ware with dark grey/black surfaces. Thin ochre-brown lining below exterior surface. Temper is moderate with dominant 2 mm. grits against sparse finer background. Some iron- stone grains present. Surfaces wiped, with grit-drag on exterior. Foot-ringed base in fairly hard black flint-tempered ware with dark grey interior and dirty grey/light brown exterior surface. Temper moderate with sparse < 0.01 mm. to open-spaced 1 mm. foreground. All surfaces burnished. Foot-ring is neatly formed Lut not deep. Base in soft black flint-tempered ware with dirty buff interior and lining to core in body wall. Pink-red oxidiz- ation below pale orange-brown exterior surface. Grits are 155 ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORK ALONG THE A2: 1966-1974 89. BBP (8/9). 90. BBP (8/9). 91. BBP (8/9). 92. BBP (8/9). 93. BBP (8/9). 94. BBP (8/9). 95. BBP (8/9). 96. BBP (10/15). 97. BBP (10/15). 98. BBP (10/15). 99. BBP (10/15). fairly well sorted (0.02 mm. — 1.03 mm. mix). Structure friable and slightly laminated. Bowl in fairly soft black flint-tempered ware with patchy dirty dark grey/brown surfaces. Temper generally open- spaced (0.01 mm. — 1 mm. av. with rare 5 mm.). All surfaces wiped. Jar/bowl with upright rim in fairly soft black flint-tempered ware with dark grey-brown burnished surfaces. The temper is sparse (< 0.01 mm. - 1 mm.). Bowl in crisp fairly hard black flint-tempered ware, with dirty dark grey-brown exterior. Temper is moderate (< 0.01 mm. - 1 mm. av. with larger 2-4 mm. foreground). Rim and interior wiped — rim with light burnish. Base — slab built, in fairly soft dirty grey flint-tempered ware with lighter grey/dirty buff-grey surfaces. Thin ochre- brown lining below exterior surface. Temper fairly fine (< 0.01 mm. — 1 mm. av.). Fabric contains occasional chalk and haematite grains. Both surfaces originally burnished. Large thin-walled jar with heavy rim in fairly hard dirty buff-grey flint-tempered ware. Grey surfaces. The temper is coarse (1-3 mm. av.) and profuse with a tendency to cluster. Fabric also contains occasional chalk grains. Rim-top lightly burnished. Jar in same tradition as 93, though rim not as heavy. Fairly hard dirty grey flint-tempered ware; dark grey internal surface, dirty chocolate-brown exterior. The temper is fairly profuse and ill-sorted (0.01 mm. — 1 mm. av. with larger 2-3 mm. tending to cluster). Fabric contains occasional ironstone grains. All surfaces roughly wiped with marked grit-drag on exterior. Rim very lightly burn- ished. Slight exterior sooting. Shouldered jar in fairly hard dark brown-black flint- tempered ware. Part surface and original fracture refired (after breakage) to deep red-pink. Temper is open-spaced with 1-2 mm. av. and sparse finer background. Light ripple burnish internally below rim/neck angle, fairly strong burnish above and on exterior. Body below carination wiped only. Base in soft chocolate-brown flint-tempered ware with dark grey/chocolate-brown surfaces. The white and red temper is fairly profuse (<< 0.01 mm. - 1 mm., with ill- sorted but dominant 1.03 mm. — 2 mm. foreground). Deep well-formed foot-ring. Lightly burnished. Base in fairly hard ochre-buff flint-tempered ware with grey surfaces. Moderate temper (1-2 mm. with sparse finer background). Neatly moulded foot-ring. Worn burnish on all surfaces. Bowl with ware and temper as 91. Dirty grey surfaces. Bowl/jar in soft dirty dark brown flint-tempered ware with dirty dark grey-brown surfaces. Temper moderate with 0.01 mm. — 1 mm. av. and sparse 1-2 mm. fore- ground grits. Fabric also contains brown-red ironstone grains (varying 1-2 mm.). Interior and rim lightly burnished, exterior wiped. 157 NIGEL MACPHERSON-GRANT SIL (4) Atonog eB Uor] “gOS “ST “Bld pit ebb de Jou 1 LLL OLL 158 100. 101. 102. 103. 104. 105. 106. 107. 108. ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORK ALONG THE A2: 1966-1974 BBP (10/15). BBP (10/15). BBP (10/15). BBP (10/15). BBP (10/15). BBP (12). BBP (14). BBP (14). BBP (14). Shoulder sherd from bowl in fairly hard black finely flint- tempered ware with dark grey surfaces. The temper is fairly sparse and fine (< 0.01 mm. — rare 2 mm. max.). Interior wiped, exterior with traces of light burnish. Small jar in fairly soft dirty grey flint-tempered ware with dark grey surfaces. Thin brown lining below both surfaces. Temper is fairly profuse (0.01 mm. — 1 mm. av. with sparse 2 mm. foreground), showing strongly on rim-top. Both surfaces lightly burnished. Bowl in fairly soft dark brown-black flint-tempered ware with dark grey interior; exterior dark dirty grey-brown. Fairly coarse temper (ill-sorted 2 mm. av. against finer background). Fabric also contains moderate quantities of ironstone grains (up to 3 mm.). Roughly wiped. Rim lightly burnished. Foot-ringed base in fairly hard black flint-tempered ware with black/dark grey surfaces. Thin ochre-brown lining below exterior surface of foot-ring only. Temper is fine and fairly sparse (av. 0.01 mm. — 1 mm., with occasional 2 mm. grit). Good, but worn burnish on all surfaces (vertical on exterior towards foot). Fairly neat foot-ring. ? Bowl in fairly soft dark grey finely flint-tempered ware with dirty grey surfaces. Thin dirty brown-grey lining below exterior surface. The temper is profuse (av. 0.02 mm.), but well-sorted, giving a fine even speckle to the core and worn surfaces. Interior is very worn. Traces of a good, but not high burnish on exterior. The bowl is decorated with two broad horizontal grooves below the rim; appended to the lowest groove is an incomplete design of fine incised lines. The reconstruction is very tentative. If the design were repeated, the diameter of the bowl would suggest that originally there were two, just possibly four groups. Bowl? round-based. Deep bowl/plain-rimmed jar in fairly hard black-dark brown flint tempered ware. Temper is fairly open-spaced (coarse 24 mm., with 0.01 mm. — 1 mm. background). Fabric contains occasional ironstone grits (up to 4 mm.). Rim and interior wiped and lightly burnished, lumpy exterior wiped only. Base in fairly hard grey flint-tempered ware with grey- dirty buff surfaces. The fabric contains an ill-sorted mixture of fine and coarse flint (< 0.01 - 1 mm. and 3 mm. with rare 9 mm.) and rounded ironstone grits (0.05 m. — 3/6 mm.). Both surfaces with fairly high burnish. The untreated base has been added separately. Shouldered jar in fairly hard crisp black flint and chaff- tempered ware. The surfaces are a uniform dirty buff-pink, the oxidization process extending 1-2 mm. into the core. The flint temper is moderate (varying 0.02 — 1 mm. av. with occasional 4mm.). The chaff admixture is fairly high, giving a slight laminar tendency and elongated voids on the surfaces. Rim burnished. Exterior wiped only. (Not illustrated). Small sherds from jar with neat, shallow foot-ring and ? chevron decoration tooled into a burnished 159 NIGEL MACPHERSON-GRANT 134 Fig. 19. Site 8. Pit 20 — Iron Age Pottery (%) 160 109. 110. 111. 112. 113. 114. 115. 116. 117. 118. 119. ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORK ALONG THE A2: 1966-1974 BBP (17). BBP (18). BBP (18). BBP (18). BBP (18). BBP (18). BBP (18). (BBP (18). BBP (20). BBP (20). BBP (20). surface. All sherds worn. Soft dirty buff flint-tempered ware with dark grey surfaces. Temper is sparse (0.02 mm. — 1mm. max.). The clay appears to contain some fine sand and a little sparse mica. Shouldered jar in fairly hard red-brown partially flint- tempered ware with brighter coloured linings below dirty brown-red surfaces. The temper is very sparse (varying from 0.01 mm. — 5 mm.). Body above shoulder, rim and interior wiped smooth. ? Traces of worn dark red-brown haematite coat. Jar in fairly hard black flint-tempered ware with dirty buff-pink surfaces. The temper is moderate and fairly open-spaced (0.01 mm. — 1 mm. av.) with a tendency for larger grits (up to 5 mm.) to be concentrated on the rim. Though worn, the surviving rim surface shows the sub- sequent finishing treatment gave intentional ‘bevelled’ facets. Form shows general similarities to 93, 94 amd 101. Jar rim in fairly hard dirty dark grey flint-tempered ware with buff-brown/dark grey surfaces. Though temper is finer than 110, it is probable that the vessel is in the same tradition. Jar in ware and temper as 101. Rim-sherd from jar in fairly soft dirty dark grey flint- tempered ware. The temper is moderate and ill-sorted (grits 0.01 mm.— 2/4 mm.). Slight internal burnish. Rim probably decorated with spaced finger-tipping. Worn. Drawn as a shouldered bowl, but the unusual thickness of body and the short rim-to-shoulder distance could suggest a lid. Fairly soft dirty buff-grey flint-tempered ware, with dirty grey-brown surfaces. Pink-buff lining below exterior surface, the thickness increasing downward. The temper is fine (< 0.01 mm. — 1 mm. av. with rare 2 mm.) and open-spaced with an exterior tendency to ‘gather’ at the rim and shoulder. Both surfaces burnished. Bowl in fairly soft black ware with dark grey surfaces. The temper is a mixture of very sparse flint (1 mm. av.) and fine chaff. The fabric also contains some ironstone grains. Both surfaces wiped; rim lightly burnished. (Not illustrated). Worn jar rim in soft dark brown flint- tempered ware. Bowl in hard dark grey finely flint-tempered ware, with darker grey burnished surfaces. The temper is fine (< 0.01 mm. up to sparser 1 mm.) and fairly well sorted. High ripple burnish on rim and exterior, moderate streak burnish inside. Base in fairly hard dirty brown-grey flint-tempered ware with dark grey/dirty brown-grey surfaces. The fabric contains very little flint (a sparse scatter 0.01 mm. — 4 mm.) but much angular ? grog. The harsh fracture and core colouration is very reminiscent of some Belgic coarse wares. Clay has much fine mica. Interior and base lightly burnished. Bowl in hard black flint-tempered ware. The temper is fairly fine (< 0.01 — 1 mm. av. background and occasional 161 120. 121. 122. 123. 124. 125. NIGEL MACPHERSON-GRANT 138 BBP (20). BBP (20). BBP (20). BBP (20). BBP (20). BBP (20). 135 141 136 140 \ 142 a ea ©. Fig. 20. Site 8. Pit 20 — Iron Age Pottery (%4) larger 2 mm. grits). A little fine mica in clay. Irregular overall burnish. Bowl in fairly hard dark brown flint-tempered ware; dark grey surfaces. Temper is moderate (0.01 mm. — 0.05 mm. av. with sparser 1-2 mm. foreground grits). Rim and interior only, lightly burnished. Shoulder sherd from carinated bowl (large diam.) in fairly hard black finely flint-tempered ware. Exterior surface dirty grey-brown; interior, dirty brown-grey. The temper is fine (< 0.01 mm. — 1 mm. rare max.). Both surfaces with medium burnish. Jar with large diam. in hard crisp, light grey flint-tempered ware with darker grey-brown surfaces. Temper is fairly coarse (1 mm. av. background with larger 2-5 mm. max.). Medium burnish on rim and exterior. Bowl/jar in crisp black hard flint-tempered ware with light brown-grey surfaces. Temper moderate but ill-sorted (< 0.01 mm. — 1 mm. av. with larger 3-4 mm. foreground grits). All surfaces wiped; rim-top lightly burnished. Body sherd from shouldered bowl in fairly hard dark grey flint-tempered ware. Dirty grey interior surface; exterior dark brown-grey above carination, dirty brown below. Moderate and ill-sorted temper (< 0.01 mm. — 1 mm. av. with clusters of 2-3 m.). Exterior above carination lightly burnished. Base in fairly hard dirty grey-brown flint-tempered ware with grey interior surface and exterior dirty brown-grey (dirty pink where surface has worn). The temper is mod- erate and fairly well sorted (0.01 mm. — 1 mm. av.). Fabric noticeably micaceous. Light interior burnish; exterior wiped, with vertical grit-drag. 162 126. 127. 128. 129. 130. 131. 132. 133. 134. ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORK ALONG THE A2: 1966-1974 BBP (20). BBP (20). BBP (20). BBP (20). BBP (20). BBP (20). BBP (20). BBP (20). BBP (20). Jar in fairly hard dirty grey flint-tempered ware. Thin brown lining below exterior surface. Temper is moderate (with av. as 125, and rare 2-3 mm. grits). Wiped. Little or no burnish. Thin-walled bowl in fairly hard brown flint-tempered ware with dark grey/leather-brown surfaces. 2 mm. orange- brown lining below exterior. Temper is moderate, but surprisingly coarse for thickness of vessel (up to 1 mm.). Surfaces only roughly smoothed and then hard burnished. Jar/bowl in crisp black chaff and flint-tempered ware with near black surfaces. The chaff content is moderate and mixed with coarse flint grits (1-3 mm.), giving the fractures a confused angular and partially laminated structure. Some rounded stone grits. Both surfaces wiped. Bowl in fairly soft dirty grey-brown flint-tempered ware, with lighter dirty-grey surfaces. Temper is ill-sorted with 0.01 mm. — 1 mm. av. background, with sparser 2-3 mm. flint. Flat rim, smoothed. Bowl with large diameter in fairly soft, brittle, black flint- tempered ware. Dark grey surfaces. Slight chaff content gives a partially laminated structure. Some rounded stone grits. Both surfaces wiped, marked grit-drag outside. The temper is fairly profuse (< 0.01 mm. — 0.03 mm. av. with 1+ mm. foreground). Decorated body sherd from bowl in fairly hard dirty grey flint-tempered ware with darker grey surfaces. The temper is fairly profuse with strong 0.01-0.03 mm. background and less well sorted 1-2 mm. scatter. The fine temper ‘sparkle’ shows clearly in the zone of horizontal decoration where the grooves have cut the smoothed surface. Fabric contains several plates of mica (up to 0.01 mm.). Bowl in fairly soft dirty grey-brown sandy ware with drab dirty grey surfaces. Thin dirty buff-pink lining below surfaces. The fabric contains fine black sand (0.02 mm. max.) mixed with fine mica, and occasional grains of buff ? grog, red-brown haematite and sparse stone and chalk grits. Surfaces wiped with light burnish on rim and neck ‘hollow’. Jar in fairly hard, crisp, black chaff and flint-tempered ware with dirty buff-grey surfaces. The chaff temper is fairly profuse giving a tightly laminated structure; the additional flint grits are an ill-sorted scatter (varying widely from 0.01 mm. — 3-4 mm. av., with large obtrusive grits up to 1.5 cm.). The clay is micaceous with plates up to 0.02 mm. Surfaces pitted with linear voids where the chaff has burnt out. Lumpy exterior body virtually untreated; light internal wiping. Exterior heavily sooted. Shouldered jar in fairly hard dirty dark brown flint-tempered ware. Exterior: dirty grey-brown above and dirty buff below shoulder. Interior dirty brown-red where burnished, dirty orange-brown on untreated surface. The temper is fairly coarse, the 0.01 — 4 mm. being open-spaced. Exterior only roughly wiped. Rim and interior down to shoulder- angle rough burnished. 163 NIGEL MACPHERSON-GRANT 135. BBP (20). Shouldered jar in fairly hard, crisp, dark grey flint-tempered ware with dirty grey, orange-and chocolate-brown surfaces. The temper is fairly sparse with a thin < 0.01 mm. — 1 mm. background and an irregular scatter of larger grits (up to 5 mm.). Both surfaces are only roughly smoothed. The sherd is virtually unworn, and has a peculiar ‘dry’ appear- ance. External body above shoulder slightly sooted. Possibly re-burnt after breakage. 136. BBP (20). Jar in fairly soft dirty grey-buff flint-tempered ware; dirty buff/grey surfaces. Temper is moderate and open-spaced (0.01 mm. - 3 mm. max. range) with clustering at shoulder. The fabric also contains moderate, ill-sorted brick-red and buff grog grains. Surfaces wiped. Worn. One fracture ? refired. 137. BBP (20). Shouldered jar. Same fresh state and ‘dry’ appearance as 135. Fairly soft dark brown flint-tempered ware, with variable thickness brown lining to core. Dirty dark grey surfaces. The temper is moderate and ill-sorted with thin 0.01 mm. - 1 mm. background and scatter of 2-3 mm. grits. Fabric also contains some haematite (grains up to 3 mm.). 138. BBP (20). Jar in hard dark brown flint-tempered ware; richer brown lining below dirty dark grey surfaces. Moderate temper (grit sizes and habit as 137). Surfaces roughly wiped. 139. BBP (20). (Not illustrated). Sherd from bowl with maroon-red haematite coat. Hard dark grey finely flint-tempered ware, with orange-red exterior, and interior burnished black. The temper is fine, a < 0.01 mm. dust with sparse larger grits up to 1 mm. max. Haematite coat originally burnished. 140. BBP (20). Jar in fairly soft dark brown flint-tempered ware with dark brown-grey/black surfaces. Chocolate-brown lining of varying thickness below exterior surface. Moderate but ill-sorted temper (normal grit size range, with occasional larger 2-3 mm.). Fabric includes an irregular scatter of maroon-red haematite grains. Rim and both surfaces with light ripple burnish. 141. BBP (20). Bowl/small jar in fairly soft dark brown partially flint- tempered ware; dark grey interior, patchy dark grey/light brown exterior. The temper is sparse and ill-sorted, 0.01 mm. — 1 mm. and occasional 2 mm. Mixed with the flint is a little chaff (burning out both on the surfaces and in the core), and buff/red-brown grog. Fabric also contains some maroon-red haematite grains, and is noticeably micaceous (up to 0.02 mm.). The shoulder is neatly decorated with finger-tipping. All surfaces with fairly high partial burnish. 142. BBP (Ext. 1). Bowl in soft dirty brown flint-tempered ware with dark grey interior and dark dirty brown exterior. 2-3 mm. orange-brown lining below outer surface. Temper is fairly light and ill-sorted (0.01 mm. — 2 mm. range). Surfaces smooth, but worn. No apparent trace of burnishing. 143. BBP (Ext. 1). (Not illustrated). Several body-sherds from small bowl with dirty brown-red haematite coat. Fairly soft black flint- tempered ware, with brown exterior surface. Temper is 164 ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORK ALONG THE A2: 1966-1974 moderate, ill-sorted and occasionally very coarse, with large obtruding 1 cm. grits. A little chaff also present in the fabric. Both surfaces burnished. NOTE: The clay used for the above pots consistently contains very fine mica, in varying quantities; only where it is visually obvious has its presence been mentioned. Fig. 21. Site 8. Pit 20. No. 1 — Pottery Spindle-whorl. No. 2 — Bone Tool (stipple = polished surfaces). No. 3 — Bronze Object (1/2) THE SMALL FINDS. PIT 20. (Fig. 21). 1. ‘Star’-shaped pottery spindle-whorl, the points being roughly pinched into shape. Worn, with traces of original light burnish. 2. Bone tool, from animal limb bone; one end shaped to a point and polished through use — ? weaving. 3. Bronze object, of two rectangular plates of sheet bronze pierced at either end by a pin with square-sectioned shank and flattened ends. Traces of an iron object, possibly a knife, were also found in the lower pit fill, but disintegrated on exposure. Discussion The pottery from this site is fully discussed in Section II (pp. 175, 179), but some comments should be made here. Bowl no. 104 from Ditch 10/15 and small find no. 1 (the spindle-whorl) from Pit 20, with their Continental Urnfield parallels are the earliest dateable items, broadly to between c. 1000 — 800 B.C. As argued below, this is uncomfortably early, particularly since the bulk of the pottery 165 NIGEL MACPHERSON-GRANT should be placed into the bracket c. 500 — 300 B.C. Even if the spindle-whorl was not residual at deposition, it is associated with pottery that is only marginally different from the remaining Site 8 material. So the Pit 20 group is tentatively placed near the end of the period c. 1000 — 800 B.C., if not slightly later. The pottery evidence does, therefore, suggest a significant gap in occupation. How does this affect the stratigraphic sequence outlined above? (p. 154). Pit 20 could now equally well belong to either Phase 1 or 2. Unfortunately, the Phase 1 hollows and the primary fills of the Phase 2 Ditch 10/15 contained little useful pottery that can be linked to the group from Pit 20. If indeed the dating for Pit 20 is correct, then the apparent disparity in the ceramic sequence is emphasized by the noticeable lack of pottery (or finds of any type) in the primary fills of the Phase 2 features. Most of the pottery dated to c. 500 — 350 B.C. comes from the postulated ‘late’ Phase 3 infills only. If so, no. 104 is, in this context, probably residual. Late Bronze Age. Site 9: BBP 1974 (Grant — Site 3). (Fig. 13, insets). Fortunately this site was found early, before Messrs. Mears had assembled the bulk of their machinery. Stripping revealed two barrow ring-ditches, one certainly of the Late Bronze Age. Both lie on a flat shoulder of chalk, between the 200 and 225 ft. contours, near the eastern slope of the Nailbourne valley. A third probable barrow, marked on Ordnance Survey maps, remains unexcavated, lying just off the by-pass route. (fig. 13, no. 1). Barrow 1 and Iron Age features: N.G.R. TR 19295324. (Fig. 22). The ditch diameter (outer edge to outer edge) was 45 ft. (13.72 m.), the surface width of the ditch, and its depth, averaging 4 ft. 6 in. (1.48 m.) and 2 ft. 3 in. (67.6 cm.), respectively. The ditch was flat-bottomed. The ditch sections (Fig. 23) are self-explanatory, the points to emphasize being the presence of carbon flecks in the primary silt, the bevelled profile of the outer ditch-edges, and in the late fill of Section 1 the ? Iron Age pottery (see p. 173 and Fig. 25.144). The interior of the barrow was thoroughly examined for features, but none were found. A narrow flat-bottomed ditch (10), c. 1 ft. (30.5 cm.) deep, cut the barrow. It was traced west towards the A2, and east to a terminal a short distance beyond the barrow. Near the terminal was a group of large post-holes, four being paired, two of which were internally stepped (Fig. 22, 5 and 6, 3 and 4 respectively, and inset). 166 ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORK ALONG THE A2: 1966-1974 30 (9) A & 7 4 N Oss i ee ull 6 a 18) A_ a> 1 secrioy sregren [e) 5 2 ° ’ | ae Fear 9 ° 4 METRE BARROW 1 BRIDGE 197%? SOTA 9 - DETHIL Section 1 A Porscarrer Fig. 22. Site 9. Late Bronze Age Barrow 1 and Iron Age Features. (see Fig. 13 and Sections — Fig. 23). The ditch and post-holes are probably related, with the ditch being part of a field-system (see p. 151). When Ditch 10 was cut the barrow mound (if there were one) was probably much eroded, a residual tump perhaps serving as a boundary marker. Small scraps of Iron Age pottery were found in the ditch, post-holes and the upper fill of the barrow ditch. 167 NIGEL MACPHERSON-GRANT SIE J : BALROLIS 0 AN® 2% — SECTIONS YY SEEKS \\ WES Lu secrsonr Saath Fine CHRLA RUBBLE ee Funrs STIFF ORANGE - BROWN CLAY SECTION BRRROW 1 CORRSE CHALK RUBBLE Fin€ S127: PReMRRY 1 BRRROW DITCHES ; | CRERRTION © CHARCORL AND RSH crated Por ScATreR ( | CREMATION Pir F BARROW 2 Fig. 23. Site 9. Late Bronze Age Barrows — Ditch Sections. (see Figs. 22, 24). Barrow 2: N.G.R. TR 19265331. (Fig. 24). This barrow was larger with a diameter of 60 ft. 9 in. (18.53 m.) and ditch width averaging 7 ft. (2.14 m.). Its depth varied from 3 ft. (91.5 cm.) to 3 ft. 6 in. (1.06 m.). Surveying showed considerable vari- ation between the two ‘perfect’ ditch circles and their surviving shapes. The ‘original’ and excavated circles are both figured — intentionally. The ditch sections show that the edges ‘fit’ or nearly fit in several places. This fact alone is enough to assume fairly safely that the original ditch demarcation lines were ‘drawn’ near perfectly. It is a simple act. Any imperfection in cutting (the ditch bottom did not have the regularity found in Barrow 1 — Fig. 23) would be enhanced, during erosion, by the soft nature, here, of the Upper Chalk. Weathering has produced a marked stepped or bevelled profile, which appears in all the ditch sections, with a similar uniformity of fill lines. Therefore, only one section is illu- strated (Fig. 23 —- lower, Section 2 A-B). The degree of discrepancy between the ‘drawn’ and excavated diameters could also be used as an indicator of the prevailing ‘bad weather’ directions post-con- struction. No diameter variations were recorded with Barrow 1 ditch. Section 2 explains itself, the notable points being, again, the carbon-flecked primary silt, the alternating coarse and fine chalk 168 ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORK ALONG THE A2: 1966-1974 BRIDGE 1974: SITEG fanroces fon BARROW 2 - DETAIL ©So, & ro) 2 © CREMATION PITS @ © “renariows ww Pors XxX [@) UNCERT RIN suanr a Fins Sacrronw 1 UNEXCA VATED ; . : 5 ¥ XN \ - Z ‘ a SUGGESTED \ Sy Fs , Diren EDGES . a 2 : : . : Fig. 24. Site 9. Late Bronze Age Barrow 2. (see Fig. 13 and Section-Fig. 23). rubble fili-lines, and the concentration of flints at the base of the long-term loam infill. Crushed among these flints was a small pot (Fig. 26.149). A ‘hearth’, or deposit of burnt flints and ash, was recorded on the south-eastern side of the ditch, and flush with the chalk surface, the event occurring at a late stage of the infill process. The barrow contained ten primary cremations laid out on or within an arc approximately 6—7 ft. (1.83-2.14 m.) within the ditch. Five cremations were in pots and five in pits. The latter were 169 NIGEL MACPHERSON-GRANT probably placed in organic containers (skin or wood) before depos- ition. This is partially supported by Cremation 7 (Fig. 23). The section can only be adequately explained by the cremation being placed in a container type whose contents would spill out and settle as it decayed, the partial ‘vacuum’ created in the pit subsequently being replaced by fine chalky soil from the barrow mound. The five potted cremations had all been plough-damaged. Apart from Cremation 2 all the pots had been inverted and fitted tightly into their respective pits, only Cremation 8 collapsing in on itself. The cremation pit depths varied from 14 in. (35.5 cm.) (Cremation 10) to 6 in. (15.3 cm.) (Cremation 1), the presence of a pot not being a factor governing depth. Only Cremation 6 was markedly shallow at 2 in. (5.1 cm.). A group of six secondary external cremations was found a short distance away to the north-east. They were badly plough-damaged, three being virtually destroyed with only slight traces of ash remaining, and External Cremation 1 had only the base of its pot left. Mr. T.P. O’Connor, of the Ancient Monuments Laboratory, has reported on the analysis of the cremation deposits (Appendix II, pp. 180-2). The main points recorded by him were that the majority of cremated individuals were adults, and that the degree of cremation for the primary burials was more complete than that of the external secondaries. Two cremation samples were submitted by the Ancient Monuments Laboratory to Harwell for C'* analysis. These were from Cremation 7 and External Cremation 5 (with a depth of 14 in. (35.5 cm.), the only ‘intact’ burial from this group). The results gave an overall mean date of 980+60 B.C.(Otlet and Walker, 1979, 376). Finally, two geological ‘phenomena’ were noticed during excav- ation of this barrow. First, near the centre was a large 2 ft. (61 cm.) long flint embedded in the chalk surface; second, during excavation of Cremations 9 and 10, their pits were enlarged to facilitate field- conservation and lifting of the pots. In each case, encircling the pit- bases were tight-packed flints, their arrangement following the curve of the pits so exactly as to appear very intentional. However, their positions were such that, originally, they would have been neither visible from the surface nor during digging of the pits. No seams of flint were recorded in the ditch sections of either barrow. THE POTTERY (Figs. 25-26) 144. BBP (3/1. S1). Rim from jar in fairly soft, but crisp, black flint and chaff- tempered ware with drab dark brown surfaces. Fairly 170 ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORK ALONG THE A2: 1966-1974 144 145 SBaB28eq7agduvdaaee 146 Fig. 25. Site 9. Pottery: no. 144 — Barrow 1. nos. 145-6 — Barrow 2, 145. BBP (CREM. 4). 146. BBP (CREM. 8). Cremations 4 and 8 (4) even mixture of fine chaff and moderate flint (< 0.01 mm. to 12 mm. with sparse occasionally clustered 3-4 mm. fore- ground). Lip slightly smoothed. Angle of sherd uncertain. Urn in crumbly dark grey flint-tempered ware, with dull orange-buff exterior. Temper is fairly coarse with 34 mm. grits against finer 0.01-2 mm. background. Exterior wiped with marked grit-drag on lower body; neck and shoulder smoothed horizontally. The rim has been pinched into shape, then roughly rounded off. Immediately below it, holes have been neatly made, pushed through from the outside. Urn in dark grey/black coarse flint-tempered ware. Fabric description as 147 below. The rim top had been decorated with close-set, irregular, finger-nail impressions, lightly 171 NIGEL MACPHERSON-GRANT 147 - Fig. 26. Site 147. BBP (CREM. 10). 9. Pottery: Barrow 2, no. 147 — Cremation 10. nos. 148-9: Barrow Ditch (4). impressed. Below the rim a series of fairly large holes had been pierced through the wall, again outside to inside. On the incipient shoulder a neat, but rather loosely applied cordon was fixed, decorated with finger-tip impressions. Interior roughly wiped, little external treatment with the applied cordon barely being smoothed into place. Large urn in crumbly dark grey flint-tempered ware. Exterior surface a dull orange-buff, the uneven oxidization process extending 6 mm. into the core. The temper is coarse with the 0.01 mm. — 2 mm. background completely dominated by profuse 3-6 mm. grits. The latter give the fractures an angular appearance. Slight laminar tendency 172 ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORK ALONG THE A2: 1966-1974 towards the rim. The rim top is decorated with small finger-tip impressions. A series of unevenly placed holes pierce the body from the outside, immediately below the rim. A single, applied, and finger-tip decorated cordon was placed a little below the ‘shoulder’. Exterior roughly smoothed. 148. BBP (3/2. S4). Rim sherd from urn in fairly hard dirty buff-grey flint- tempered ware; dirty buff interior surface, exterior patchy dirty grey/buff-pink. The temper is fairly profuse and moderately coarse (fairly even 0.01 mm. — 1 mm. back- ground with ill-sorted 2-4 mm. foreground, with a tend- ency to cluster). The grits obtrude. Neat regular finger- tip impressions immediately below the flat-topped rim. 149. BBP (3/2. S1). Small pot in soft, friable black flint-tempered ware with buff-orange interior surface, and pale dirty buff exterior. The temper is coarse, the finer 0.01 mm. — 1 mm. back- ground showing mostly on the wiped exterior. The coarser 2-4 mm. grits are confined to the core and the interior surface; they are fairly profuse and tend to cluster. Neat, flat base. Some sherds have been lightly fired after breakage Discussion Dr Tan H. Longworth, M.A., Ph.D., F.S.A. The pottery from Barrow 2 makes a welcome addition to our knowledge of later Bronze Age pottery from east Kent. The urns 145-7, are of considerable interest in having parallels not so much with pottery from Sussex or the lower Thames region as from across the Thames estuary in Essex. In particular the form of no. 145 can be closely parallelled by a vessel from Ardleigh Ring Ditch III (C.A.G.B., 1961), and it is worth noting that the vast majority of vessels from that site, as is the case with the urns under discussion, carry a row of perforations beneath the rim. This is likely to be a functional rather than purely decorative attribute, and may reflect the initial use of these vessels in some specialised farming activity, perhaps connected with dairy products. The use of finger-nail/tip impressions on the rim and cordon is also a recurrent feature in the decorative range of the vessels from this Essex site. Parallels for the vessels from the ditches can be found both locally in east Kent and in Sussex. The vessel with wide everted rim, no. 144, can be matched from Newhaven, Sussex, while the small jar, no. 149, has parallels among the material from Mill Hill, Deal, and Worth as well as from Lower Halstow (material from all four sites unpublished, British Museum collection). The pottery recovered from Barrow 2 can all be ascribed to a later Bronze Age date and that recovered from the two ditches need not necessarily be much later than the urns from the cemetery. 173 NIGEL MACPHERSON-GRANT II. OVERALL DISCUSSION OF THE IRON AGE POTTERY Professor Barry Cunliffe, M.A., Ph.D., F.B.A., F.S.A. The pottery from the sites here described presents an unusually interesting series of assemblages from an area of the country not previously noted for prehistoric finds. The groups are, however, small, not always securely stratified and without a body of compar- able local material. For these reasons an extended discussion is not called for here, but several general points should be made to demonstrate the significance of the collections and to serve as introductory remarks to a future, more extended, consideration of the later prehistoric pottery of the area. The earliest pottery groups The most distinctive, and probably the earliest, group is that recovered from Site 5 (nos. 50-77). There is nothing in the pottery itself and little in the archaeology of the site to suggest occupation of anything other than a short duration. Indeed, the pottery shares technological and typological characteristics which suggest that it may well be of one period. Broadly speaking seven types can be defined, though there is considerable variation within each and a number of sherds are too generalized (or too small) to attempt to classify typologically. The first, and most distinctive, type is represented by the two open bowls (nos. 62 and 77). These vessels are well known on the Continent where they are called assiettes tronconiques. The fluting on the outside of no. 77 and the deliberate rilling inside no. 62 are characteristics of the type and can be paralleled widely among the late Urnfield material of northern France and the Low Countries. Bowls (or lids) of this kind are totally alien to the British indigenous tradition and must represent direct influence from the adjacent Continent. Much the same can be said of the hemispherical cups (e.g. nos. 59, 66 and possibly 73) a type well represented among the Continental Urnfield material. A third type for which Continental parallels can readily be quoted is the small bowl (no. 61), probably with an angled shoulder, with a short everted rim and decorated with carefully incised geometric motifs just below the rim. In addition to these fine wares, four somewhat coarse vessel types can be recognised: large biconical jars with everted rim (nos. 75 and 56) and the rather less tightly moulded variants represented by nos. 63, 53, 71, etc.; the large jar with neck cordon (no. 55); the vessel with the widely flared rim (no. 74); and simpler barrel-shaped vessels like 174 ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORK ALONG THE A2: 1966-1974 nos. 51, 58 and 72. These four types, though sufficiently distinct for definition, tend to merge one with another. While the general range of shapes can be found among Continental Urnfield assemblages, they are equally common among the contemporary British material. Before considering the wider implications of this Site 5 assemblage, it is worth looking at the other sites to see if comparable material occurs. Amid the more heterogeneous collection from Site 8 (where three phases of occupation are indicated by the stratigraphical evidence) two distinctive items deserve note, the hemispherical bowl (no. 104) and the facted spindle whorl (SF 1).The bowl, if such it is, is comparable to those from Site 5 for which Continental Urnfield parallels are close. While the faceted spindle whorl, unknown in Britain, is also a comparatively common Continental type. Since the spindle whorl came from Pit 20 (Site 8), it is worth asking if any of the associated material is of exotic style. The answer would appear to be no. With the possible exception of the rilled sherd (no. 131) the rest of the vessels are all comparatively simple jars and bowls, some with shoulder angles and slightly flaring rims, others of plain barrel or bucket shape. A comparison of this group with the forms and fabrics of the assemblage from Site 5 suggests a significant difference which, given the sites are so close, is more likely to reflect chronological rather than cultural factors. The writer would therefore tentatively suggest that the two sites had different but perhaps overlapping periods of occupation. For various typological reasons, which will become apparent later, Site 5 is likely to be earlier than Site 8, Pit 20. The other pottery from Site 8, particularly the groups from Ditches 8/9 and 10/15 displays traits suggestive of a later phasing and will be discussed below. Thus, the two items selected on typological grounds as of possible Urnfield type (pot no. 104 And small find no. 1) appear to be isolated but, bearing in mind the complex stratigraphical history of the site, the suggestion of an early phase, ill-represented in the ceramic record, is not unreasonable. The Continental elements reflected in the Site 5 and, less substan- tially, in the Site 8 assemblages are quite distinctive and can be widely paralleled among Urnfield material found in northern France, the Low Countries and Germany in contexts of Late Hallstatt A and Hallstatt B date, that is broadly from just before 1000 — 700 B.C. but with the emphasis more on the period 1000 — 800. Parallels are too numerous to quote in detail but a convenient corpus of Urnfield material has been brought together by Desittere (1968), covering the area of the Lower Rhine, the Meuse and the Scheldt, from among which all the principal Site 5 types can be found. Detailed citation would be tedious and unnecessary but one might perhaps draw attention to the groups from Roitzheim 175 NIGEL MACPHERSON-GRANT (Euskirchen) (Desittere 1968, figs. 21-3) where most of the principal types occur together on the same site as a faceted spindle whorl (op. cit., fig. 21, B). A similar spindle whorl was found at Lens-Saint-Servais (Limburg) (op. cit., fig. 103,5). Comparative material from northern France is less readily accessible, but a recently excavated group from Gironville (Ile-de-France) (Tarrétte 1979, 447-50) provides a full range of comparative material dating from Bronze final b/Ill. Sufficient will have been said to show that the pottery assemblage from Site 5 shared enough characteristics in common with the Urnfield groups of the adjacent Continent to imply close contact between the two regions in the period 1000 — 800 B.C. It is now necessary to consider very briefly how widespread is evidence of this contact in the south-eastern England. One site of crucial importance was found in 1933 at Mill Hill, Deal, only 18 km. from Site 5. Here a large ditched enclosure of circular plan produced a collection of pottery of undoubted Urnfield type (unpublished, but preserved in the cellars of the British Museum) paralleling many of the types found on Site 5 but including, in addition, biconical jars with handles, a shouldered jar with diagonal fluting below the shoulder and a fine bipartite bowl with its shoulder decorated with a band of excised triangles infilled with white paste in the Kerbschnitt technique. All these traits are typical of the Continental Urnfield assemblages. There can be little doubt that Mill Hill, Deal, is culturally and chronologically identical to Site 5. The third site in east Kent producing a related range of pottery is Minnis Bay, Birchington (Worsfold 1943). Until the collection has been published in full lengthy discussion is impossible, but suffice it to say that the Minnis Bay assemblage bears certain similarities to that from Site 5. However, considered as a whole, the two groups are sufficiently dissimilar to suggest a difference in date. If, as seems likely, the Minnis Bay pottery is of the same date as the bronze hoard found on the site, then the pottery might be assigned to the middle of the eighth century which lies a little later than the range allowed for the Site 5 assemblage. Further afield three other sites deserve mention. Assemblages of pottery sharing some of the characteristics of the east Kent group have been found at occupation sites at Runnymede Bridge, Surrey (Longley 1976), St. Mary’s Hospital, Carshalton, Surrey (Lowther 1946) and Sandown Park, Esher, Surrey (Burchell and Frere 1947). At Runnymede Bridge radio-carbon dates suggest that the site was occupied in the eighth-ninth centuries. No independent dating was obtained for the St. Mary’s Hospital site, but the ceramic forms are similar to those at Runnymede and, moreover, the pottery was found associated with a circular ditched enclosure comparable to 176 ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORK ALONG THE A2: 1966-1974 that recorded at Mill Hill, Deal. The Sandown Park pottery is a rather more varied collection, but has much in common with the Runnymede pottery. Three of the vessels, however, deserve special note (Burchell and Frere 1947, fig. 16, no. 5; fig. 18, nos. 29 and 39). No. 5 is the base of a carinated jar decorated with shoulder bosses and vertical grooving while nos. 29 and 39 are urns with upright, or cylinder, necks. All three have a Continental Urnfield ancestry. This brief list by no means covers all the sites with which the pottery of Site 5 has similarities but is sufficient to show that parts of south-eastern England, particularly Kent and the Thames Valley, shared in the cultural developments of the adjacent Continent. How close were these contacts is a matter for further detailed study. It would be interesting, for example, to carry out a programme of petrological examination of selected pottery fabrics to see if any of the vessels are actual imports. The assemblage also raises the problem of the origin of the technique of coating vessels with haematite. Two sherds, nos. 66 and 57, from Site 5 were haematite coated. Two small sherds were also found at St. Mary’s Hospital (Lowther 1946, 65) and one from Sandown Park (Burchell and Frere 1947, fig. 16, no. 10 and pp. 43-6, for a discussion of other haematite coated sherds from Surrey). It seems, therefore, that the technique was probably first introduced into Britain in the period 1000 — 300 B.C., and, although it recurred sporadically in the east of England, only in the Wessex area did it flourish. To summarize these brief remarks, we may tentatively divide the early material here considered into two chronological phases. To the first belong Site 5, Mill Hill, Runnymede Bridge and, probably, Sandown Park and St. Mary’s Hospital. The pottery from these sites and particularly from the east Kent group, shares clear links with Continental Urnfield groups of the period 1100 — 800 B.C. The second phase, represented by Minnis Bay probably comes in the next century or two, say 800 — 600 B.C. The group of pottery from Site 8, Pit 20 is difficult to place, but in all probability lies towards the end of the first phase (but see below, p. 179). The later groups The pottery from Site 1 includes vessels typologically later than the material previously discussed. Three vessel forms can be selected for discussion: (a) onion-shaped jars with pedestal bases (e.g. nos. 8, 13, 21, 32) (b) flower-pot shaped situlae (nos. 37, 39, 11, 2, 5, 22, 40) (c) jars with thickened rims (nos. 28, 30/1, 29, 9, 12). 177 NIGEL MACPHERSON-GRANT The rest of the pottery, excluded by this simple classification, is composed of barrel-shaped vessels (e.g. nos. 20, 27), large bipartite jars (e.g. nos. 10 and 15), small bipartite bowls (e.g. nos. 4, 24) or forms with outcurved rims (e.g. nos. 3, 23). All these forms are comparable to those found in the earlier groups. Two explanations are possible: either this collection reflects earlier occupation on the site or the basic forms, once introduced in the earlier period, continued to be used for a long time. The two explanations are not mutually exclusive, but, in the absence of large well-stratified groups for study, it is impossible to be more precise. Of the three new and distinctive forms the onion-shaped jars with pedestal bases are particularly interesting. Several vessels of this type, probably wasters, were found together in a pit at Eastbourne (Budgen 1922) and have been the subject of detailed discussion by Hodson (1962) who concluded that the type evolved locally under influence emanating from the Continent and is most likely to date to the period 500-400 B.C. The Site 1 vessels conform with the Eastbourne group: our no. 8, with its painted rectilinear decoration on the shoulder, is a close match for Hodson’s Urn no. 1 which has painted lozenges in a similar possition. The Eastbourne assemblage can reasonably be regarded as a closed group. Associated with the onion-urns were a number of simple flower-pot-shaped situlae, which are therefore likely to be contemporary. The same types occur on Site 1. In his discussion of the Eastbourne group Hodson allowed the possibility that the types represented might have continued to be made after the fifth century, a wise reservation which still remains valid. Some such explanation would be helpful in explaining the thickened rimmed jars of Site 1 which, on typological grounds, one might expect to be later than the onion urns if only by a century or so, but once more the absence of suitable closed groups renders firm conclusions impossible, and it must remain a possibility that this supposedly later type developed earlier than it is conventionally believed and perhaps as early as the fifth century. One further sherd deserves note. No. 18 is part of a jar decorated with a shallow-tooled decoration against a burnished surface: it is comparable to types found further west, particularly in Sussex and Surrey, which on present dating are thought to be no earlier than the third century B.C. If the sherd is relevant to the main occup- ation of Site 1, then it would support the view that the site was in use during the period say 500 - 200 B.C. This would allow time for an evolution in ceramic form. Some of the finds from Site 8 have already been considered above. It remains now to comment on the rest of the material and in 178 ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORK ALONG THE A2: 1966-1974 particular that found in Ditches 8/9 and 10/15. Both groups conform to the assemblage from Site 1, all three major types, the pedestal- based urns, the flower-pot situlae and the thickened-rimmed jars occurring together. Although the quantity of material is not great, it is sufficient to suggest a broad date bracket in the fifth—third centuries. This does raise a slight problem. If our suggested dating for these groups and for the material from Pit 20 is correct (above p. 177), then we are forced to accept a gap of 100 — 200 years in the occupation of this part of the site. While there is no inherent reason why this should not be, it might hint that the suggested dating of the Pit 20 assemblage is too early. The problem demonstrates well our present difficulties in constructing a dating scheme for pottery. Finally the two vessels from Site 3 should be mentioned. Bowls with sharp shoulder-angles are difficult to date but the foot-ring of no. 49 would suggest that it belonged to the fifth-third century bracket. No. 48 could be of a similar period, but perfectly good parallels exist for this form in Continental contexts of Hallstatt B and Hallstatt C date (1000 — 600 B.C.). The spot dating of sherds without context or association is notoriously difficult. Summary The pottery from the series of sites described above provides a long awaited (and much needed) insight into the first millennium ceramic development of east Kent. The earliest groups, with their close Continental Urnfield parallels, suggest that the sequence could begin as early as the period 1000 — 800 B.C. The assemblage from Minnis Bay would come next, in the period 800 — 600 B.C., to be followed by the groups from Sites 1 and 8, which best fit in the bracket 500 — 350 B.C. It should, however, be stressed that while the sequence, and its cultural implications, is not in serious doubt, the dating offered here should be regarded as highly tentative. As more material recovered under controlled conditions of excavation becomes available, it will be possible to refine considerably the generalized and rather crude scheme offered here. 179 NIGEL MACPHERSON-GRANT APPENDIX I Human bone from Pit 5, Site 8. J.E. Eley. Nineteen fragments of cranium were examined. These consisted of the majority of the occipital bone (with both lambdoid sutures), the lower part broken off just below the occipital crest; the majority of the right parietal bone, with the occipital, saggital, and part of the coronal, sutures present. Majority of the frontal bone, together with both orbits — lost. The existing sutures, though distorted, were well defined; there were two ossicles on the left lambdoid suture and three on the right. The metopic suture was closed. The occipital crest was small and smooth; there were no supra orbital ridges. Conclusion: possibly the remains of a girl, aged c. 10-15 years (Cornwall 1974). APPENDIX II Site 9, Barrow 2. Late Bronze Age: Cremation Report. T.P. O’Connor (Ancient Monuments Laboratory Number 749850) A total of twelve cremation deposits were submitted for examin- ation. Ten of these came from within a round barrow, and two from outside the area of this barrow. Of these twelve, eight contained adult remains; one (Cremation 7) representing at least two individuals. Three were classed as immature, although the exact age could not be determined. Another was clearly juvenile, the dentition suggesting an age in the region of five years. A minimum of thirteen individuals was therefore present, nine adult, three immature, and one juvenile. The sex of these individuals was indeterminate. This is often the case with cremations. The remains were generally quite well calcined, although a few showed signs of charring. In particular, the two cremations found outside the barrow (External Cremations 5 and 6) showed only a moderate degree of charring. The fragments ranged up to 8 cm. in length, but the average was about 2-3 cm. Again, the external cremations differed in having somewhat larger fragments. These observations suggest that in most cases, the burning was fairly efficiently carried out, possibly with deliberate breakage of the bones. In the case of the external cremations, the fire was less efficient (probably cooler), and deliberate breakage seems less likely to have occurred. 180 I8t Cremation number Cremation CoOIDHWABWNL S Average internal External 5 External 6 Average of all cremns Unburned (approx. average) Minimum number l 1 1 1 1 1 2 Table 1: Si a &5 aS 2 55 aa mass 2 Immature 2 12 3 Adult 4 428 sf} Adult 2 230 = Immature 7 128 1 Adult 2 24 2 Immature 2 21 5 Adult/Adult 2/2 880 2 Juvenile 27 2.9) Adult 2 105 5 Adult a 400 247.9 8 Adult ? 687 4 Adult 2 52 249.5 (Note: * Percentage of identified bone) LONG BONE * 63.8 73.3 76.2 54.2 (100) 63.6 63.1 42.9 69.7 60.7 62.8 60.2 84.6 59.83 40 NIGEL MACPHERSON-GRANT Each cremation was divided into different anatomical groups of bones, and each group was weighed. The intention was to identify any cases of partial or preferential cremation (see Table 1). A comparison of these results with the corresponding figures of an unburned human skeleton shows, not unexpectedly, an over- representation of the long bones and skull. In no case does there appear to have been cremation of an incomplete body. Pathology Cremation 2 showed lesions of an arthropathic nature on several vertebral centra, and on the odontoid process. This took the form of small osteophytoses at the margins of the centra, and at the tip of the odontoid process. Cremation 4 showed some dental pathology. The posterior part of the right maxilla showed no distinguishable tooth sockets. The bone in this area was rather spongy, probably caused by inflamation. The lack of sockets shows the teeth to have been lost well before death. The infection which caused bone changes may have been the original cause of the tooth loss, or may have been subsequent. No teeth were found in this cremation. Discontinuous traits External Cremation 5 contained an intact wormian bone. Wormian bones are additional bones which form in the skull, along the lines of the cranial sutures. They can be very numerous, over one hundred having been recorded from a single skull. This example was quite large, being about one centimetre square, and probably came from the posterior part of the skull, in the lambdoid suture. The significance of such bones is far from clear. They are quite common, and may be an inherited trait. 182 ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORK ALONG THE A2: 1966-1974 Budgen, W. 1922 Burchell, J.P.T. and Frere, S.S. 1947 Desittere, M. 1968 C.A.G.B. 1961 Cornwall, I.W. 1979 Hodson, F.R. 1962 Jones, W.T. 1979 Longley, D. 1976 Lowther, A.W.G. 1946 Otlet R.L. and Walker, A.J. 19 Tarréte, J. 1979 Watson, M.B. 1965 Worsfold, F.H. 1943 Bibliography ‘Halstatt Pottery from Eastbourne’, Antiq. Journ., (1922), 354-60. ‘The Occupation of Sandown Park, Esher, during the Stone Age, the Early Iron Age, and the Anglo-Saxon period’, Antig. Journ., xxvii (1947), 24-46. De Urnenvel denkultuur in het gebeid tussen Neder-Rijn en Noordzee (Brugge 1968). Colchester Arch. Group Bulletin, TV.4 (1961), 60-3, Fig. 18. Bones for the Archaeologist (1974), 222, Fig. 11. ‘Some Pottery from Eastbourne, the ‘Marnians’ and the pre-Roman Iron Age in Southern England’, PPS, xxviii (1962), 140-55. ‘The Mucking Windmill’, Panorama, The Journal of Thurrock Local Hist. Soc., 23 (1979), 42-6. ‘Excavations on the Site of a Late Bronze Age Settlement at Runnymede Bridge, Egham’, London Archaeologist 3, no. 1 (1976). ‘Report on Excavations at the Site of the Early Iron Age Camp in the Grounds of Queen Mary’s Hospital, Carshalton, Surrey’, Surrey Arch, Coll., xlix (1944-5), 56-74. Harwell Radiocarbon Measurements III. Radiocarbon 21 (1979), 376. ‘Circonscription d’Ile-de-France’, Préhistoire, 22 (1979), 445-70. ‘Iron-Age Site on Bridge Hill’, Arch. Cant., Ixxx (1965), 185-8, Fig. 14, no. 1. ‘A Report on the Late Bronze Age Site excavated at Minnis Bay, Birchington, Kent, 1938-40’, PPS, ix (1943), 28-47. Gallia 183