A Massive, Late Neolithic Pit Structure Associated with Durrington Walls Henge (Internet Archaeology 55)
A series of massive geophysical anomalies, located south of the Durrington Walls henge monument, were identified during fluxgate gradiometer survey undertaken by the Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes Project (SHLP). Initially interpreted as dewponds, these data have been re-evaluated, along with informat...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of York
2020-06-01
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| Series: | Internet Archaeology |
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| Online Access: | https://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue55/4/index.html |
| _version_ | 1797281103110733824 |
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| author | Vincent Gaffney Eamonn Baldwin Martin Bates C. Richard Bates Christopher Gaffney Derek Hamilton Tim Kinnaird Wolfgang Neubauer Ronald Yorston Robin Allaby Henry Chapman Paul Garwood Klaus Löcker Alois Hinterleitner Tom Sparrow Immo Trinks Mario Wallner Matt Leivers |
| author_facet | Vincent Gaffney Eamonn Baldwin Martin Bates C. Richard Bates Christopher Gaffney Derek Hamilton Tim Kinnaird Wolfgang Neubauer Ronald Yorston Robin Allaby Henry Chapman Paul Garwood Klaus Löcker Alois Hinterleitner Tom Sparrow Immo Trinks Mario Wallner Matt Leivers |
| author_sort | Vincent Gaffney |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A series of massive geophysical anomalies, located south of the Durrington Walls henge monument, were identified during fluxgate gradiometer survey undertaken by the Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes Project (SHLP). Initially interpreted as dewponds, these data have been re-evaluated, along with information on similar features revealed by archaeological contractors undertaking survey and excavation to the north of the Durrington Walls henge. Analysis of the available data identified a total of 20 comparable features, which align within a series of arcs adjacent to Durrington Walls. Further geophysical survey, supported by mechanical coring, was undertaken on several geophysical anomalies to assess their nature, and to provide dating and environmental evidence. The results of fieldwork demonstrate that some of these features, at least, were massive, circular pits with a surface diameter of 20m or more and a depth of at least 5m. Struck flint and bone were recovered from primary silts and radiocarbon dating indicates a Late Neolithic date for the lower silts of one pit. The degree of similarity across the 20 features identified suggests that they could have formed part of a circuit of large pits around Durrington Walls, and this may also have incorporated the recently discovered Larkhill causewayed enclosure. The diameter of the circuit of pits exceeds 2km and there is some evidence that an intermittent, inner post alignment may have existed within the circuit of pits. One pit may provide evidence for a recut; suggesting that some of these features could have been maintained through to the Middle Bronze Age. Together, these features represent a unique group of features related to the henge at Durrington Walls, executed at a scale not previously recorded. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T16:51:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0e155214d3524090a0fff60952e20cbb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1363-5387 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T16:51:42Z |
| publishDate | 2020-06-01 |
| publisher | University of York |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Internet Archaeology |
| spelling | doaj.art-0e155214d3524090a0fff60952e20cbb2024-03-03T04:41:10ZengUniversity of YorkInternet Archaeology1363-53872020-06-015510.11141/ia.55.4A Massive, Late Neolithic Pit Structure Associated with Durrington Walls Henge (Internet Archaeology 55)Vincent Gaffney0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7918-0494Eamonn Baldwin1Martin Bates2C. Richard Bates3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9147-7151Christopher Gaffney4Derek Hamilton5Tim Kinnaird6https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6530-314XWolfgang Neubauer7https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2597-3979Ronald Yorston8Robin Allaby9https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5046-002XHenry Chapman10https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8677-7950Paul Garwood11Klaus Löcker12Alois Hinterleitner13https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7037-8779Tom Sparrow14Immo Trinks15https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9447-7691Mario Wallner16https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7006-8367Matt Leivers17University of BradfordUniversity of BirminghamUniversity of Wales Trinity Saint DavidUniversity of St AndrewsUniversity of BradfordSUERC Radiocarbon Dating LaboratoryUniversity of St AndrewsLudwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual ArchaeologyUniversity of BradfordUniversity of WarwickUniversity of BirminghamUniversity of BirminghamLudwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual ArchaeologyLudwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual ArchaeologyUniversity of BradfordLudwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual ArchaeologyLudwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual ArchaeologyWessex ArchaeologyA series of massive geophysical anomalies, located south of the Durrington Walls henge monument, were identified during fluxgate gradiometer survey undertaken by the Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes Project (SHLP). Initially interpreted as dewponds, these data have been re-evaluated, along with information on similar features revealed by archaeological contractors undertaking survey and excavation to the north of the Durrington Walls henge. Analysis of the available data identified a total of 20 comparable features, which align within a series of arcs adjacent to Durrington Walls. Further geophysical survey, supported by mechanical coring, was undertaken on several geophysical anomalies to assess their nature, and to provide dating and environmental evidence. The results of fieldwork demonstrate that some of these features, at least, were massive, circular pits with a surface diameter of 20m or more and a depth of at least 5m. Struck flint and bone were recovered from primary silts and radiocarbon dating indicates a Late Neolithic date for the lower silts of one pit. The degree of similarity across the 20 features identified suggests that they could have formed part of a circuit of large pits around Durrington Walls, and this may also have incorporated the recently discovered Larkhill causewayed enclosure. The diameter of the circuit of pits exceeds 2km and there is some evidence that an intermittent, inner post alignment may have existed within the circuit of pits. One pit may provide evidence for a recut; suggesting that some of these features could have been maintained through to the Middle Bronze Age. Together, these features represent a unique group of features related to the henge at Durrington Walls, executed at a scale not previously recorded.https://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue55/4/index.htmlarchaeologydurrington wallsstonehengegeophysicslate neolithicmiddle bronze agelandscape archaeologydurringtonpits |
| spellingShingle | Vincent Gaffney Eamonn Baldwin Martin Bates C. Richard Bates Christopher Gaffney Derek Hamilton Tim Kinnaird Wolfgang Neubauer Ronald Yorston Robin Allaby Henry Chapman Paul Garwood Klaus Löcker Alois Hinterleitner Tom Sparrow Immo Trinks Mario Wallner Matt Leivers A Massive, Late Neolithic Pit Structure Associated with Durrington Walls Henge (Internet Archaeology 55) Internet Archaeology archaeology durrington walls stonehenge geophysics late neolithic middle bronze age landscape archaeology durringtonpits |
| title | A Massive, Late Neolithic Pit Structure Associated with Durrington Walls Henge (Internet Archaeology 55) |
| title_full | A Massive, Late Neolithic Pit Structure Associated with Durrington Walls Henge (Internet Archaeology 55) |
| title_fullStr | A Massive, Late Neolithic Pit Structure Associated with Durrington Walls Henge (Internet Archaeology 55) |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Massive, Late Neolithic Pit Structure Associated with Durrington Walls Henge (Internet Archaeology 55) |
| title_short | A Massive, Late Neolithic Pit Structure Associated with Durrington Walls Henge (Internet Archaeology 55) |
| title_sort | massive late neolithic pit structure associated with durrington walls henge internet archaeology 55 |
| topic | archaeology durrington walls stonehenge geophysics late neolithic middle bronze age landscape archaeology durringtonpits |
| url | https://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue55/4/index.html |
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