Roman and Early Medieval Crickley Hill: 2009

Friday 20 November 2009

Volunteer achievment

Massive thanks to Mark for finishing entry of photos on the finds photographic database (and for making this a more cohesive and accessible document) - this was completed some time ago now (and very speedily), so I must apologise for the delayed gratitude.

This database requires a little more work from me (to fill in a few details from my research notes), but in the mean-time, please let me know if you would find it useful to take a look at it.

I'm hoping online access can soon be achieved...

K

Sunday 19 July 2009

Volunteer update

Yeh - another volunteer joins the team!

Welcome Mark - hope you enjoy getting involved!

Friday 12 June 2009

Crickley buckle

The main dating evidence for the rampart settlement (providing a late 4th century - but more probably 5th century, consideering the wear and repair tpq) is the type IV buckle (bottom)

This is very similar to the only other example of this type from Britain, found at Catterick (top: photo taken through the cabinet at the BM). They also seem to have the same metallurgical composition. The crickley version has no frame, however, which may have been removed at some point - microscopic analysis would possibly demonstrate this

Friday 24 April 2009

Volunteer update

Another volunteer has joined the team - welcome Mandy, who will be helping create a period 4 context database for the webpage!

Thursday 2 April 2009

Grog / clay pellet tempered pot

Grog or clay pellet tempered sherds from the rampart settlement (top and middle), and one from a midden deposit near to the western (palisade enclosed) settlement (bottom). In an area of Period 4 activity, but possibly prehistoric.

The bottom sherd might be later 'soft pink grog tempered ware', but there a a few problems with this interpretation. For one, they felt handmade, not wheel-made. The bottom sherd felt soapy, the others more sandy; I can't recall micaceous fabric. In either case, I don't recall the inclusions being particularly angular (they may instead be clay pellets), or the presence of other inclusions, and the sherds were thick-walled. No grey core, either. Although within the distribution zone for 'pink grog tempered', it is outside that of 'late Roman grog tempered' (which is mainly S/SE); though the latter type is often described as 'soapy', the fabric is more commonly dark (grey, brown, or black). Possibly they're (or at least the sandy, buff sherds) earlier (C1) local grog tempered ware? Any ideas?

Saturday 28 March 2009

Crickley buildings - in 3D!

Henry has agreed to produce some 3D reconstructions of the P4 buildings - can't wait!

Take a look what Henry can do, on his own website:

http://www.digitaldigging.co.uk/

3D building reconstructions will really help show how buildings related to one another on the site, as well as visually represent hypotheses of the types of buildings that were in use during this time. This will tell us a lot about how people lived and interacted during the post-Roman period on this site

Henry will be using the data and interpretations from the initial report, as well as consulting previous CAD plans. Google SketchUp may be used to illustrate these buildings, and hopefully they will be publically accessible on a future website

When doing my previous interpretations, I consulted architects and civil engineers, as well as looking at previous building reconstructions, to try and determine the forms of the building superstructures, but there's still much unknown. It is hoped that we might use these computer models in future experimental archaeology

Thanks Henry!

PS there's still more CAD of the ground plans to be done, if anyone would like to volunteer for this task - training will be given. This would really help in producing the 3D illustrations

Sunday 8 March 2009

Volunteer update

Welcome aboard Kathy!

Kathy's going to interpret the initial report to help complete the dark age context database (which will go in the appendix of the new report), and then (re-)produce some matrix diagrams for the report and a possible site website - thanks Kathy!

Friday 30 January 2009

Saxon loom weights?

These fragments of grass-tempered loom weights come from the settlement activity in the area of the hillfort entrance, and look to me suspiciously like the Saxon examples from Bourton.

This of course alters the interpretation of activity within that particular area - particularly as sporadic middle Saxon metal work has been found on site

Or maybe the Crickley locals were so enthused by immigrant weaving techniques that they undertook a little industrial espionage?!

Does anyone know of other local parallels?

Sunday 11 January 2009

Volunteer update

Welcome aboard Henry & Amanda!

Henry has already dispensed some good IT advice. We now have a Google Group - this provides greater storage capacity to make data more easily accessible to volunteers etc.

Pete is presently grappling with recreating the matrices in a readable format (I remember dealing with the matrices as a pretty intense job!)

Thanks to Steve for his recent proof-reading, and for trying to keep me on the grammatical straight & narrow!

I'm currently trying to convince Tom to do a reconstruction of the Dark Age village in oils, before he goes off to Ruskin - he's still reluctant (being a portrait, rather than landscape, man!). Maybe he thinks it'll be worth too much in a few years time?! ; )

Thanks again to all!

PS. from next week I'll be teaching for a few months, so may not be able to respond as rapidly as usual to enquiries, though will respond ASAP

LPRIA, Roman and Early Medieval Crickley: Summary

Crickley Hill is an Iron Age hillfort in Gloucestershire that, like many in the west, probably had some late pre-Roman Iron Age activity after a period of abandonment, with sporadic activity during the early Roman period. It was perhaps during this time that occasional buildings were built on the top of the silted-up rampart ditches, and near to the main rampart entrance, although these structures alternatively belong to the later Roman period. A prehistoric ritual monument on the site - the 'Long Mound' - received votive deposits during the Roman period. There was also a possible rectangular Roman masonry structure near the western end of the hill.

During the later Roman period (or possibly during the early 5th century), the hill was once again occupied, perhaps initially within the entrance for industrial activity (although again, this may belong to the earlier Roman phase). A village was built behind the rampart, mainly consisting of 'scooped' buildings arranged in rows; there was also evidence for industrial activity in this area. Buildings were sub-rectangular and sub-circular (perhaps in some cases, polygonal), and would perhaps have been built of cob or turf, with low thatch or turf roofs, and were only single roomed, although perhaps had some form of partition in one case.

On the western end of the hill, a second, probably contemporaneous, settlement was built. This settlement was enclosed by a palisade fence (which perhaps had a 'guard-house' at the entrance), and contained a granary (itself enclosed within a separate fence), suggesting its higher status. The buildings of this settlement were more substantial, and probably timber-framed (sitting directly on the ground-surface), or post-built, resting upon post-pads. They were mainly circular, although the central building was rectangular, and partitioned. This building had a substantial hearth, as well as a number of cooking pits nexts to the front walls.

At some point during or after the Roman period, a monument was built on the north-west terrace of the hill - a scaled-down version of the Long Mound (hence known as the 'Short Mound'). Strangely, the buried features of the Long Mound were replicated. The Short Mound didn't receive votive deposits during the Roman period (perhaps suggesting its later date), and therefore dating is difficult. However, it was stratified over the LPRIA path down the tip of the hill to the Vale, upon which and embedded within was a near-complete local grey ware bowl, imitating BB1, giving an early Roman TPQ (although the bowl may even date to the 5th century). Near to this mound was a structure, possibly associated with worn later Roman ceramics.

Both settlements were burnt down, and re-built to similar plans to, and nearby, the earlier buildings. However, they were burnt down again, and the settlement abandoned. After a period of abandoment, sporadic finds indicate activity in the mid Saxon period.

Publication of research

Previous publications about Crickley include:

Dixon, P.W 1970 Excavations at Crickley Hill: Interim Report, 1970 (Gloucester College Monographs)

Dixon, P.W 1971 Excavations at Crickley Hill: Interim Report, 1971 (Gloucester College Monographs)

Dixon, P.W 1976 ‘Crickley Hill 1969-1972’ in Harding D.W. 1976 (ed.) 1976, Hillforts: Late Prehistoric earth works in Britain and Ireland London Academic Press, pp 162-176

Dixon, P.W 1988 ‘Crickley Hill 1969-1987’ in Current Archaeology 110, 73-78

Dixon, P.W. 1994 Crickley Hill: The Hill-Fort Defences University of Nottingham

Parry, Charles 1994 Crickley Hill Country Park, Badgeworth / Coberley, Gloucestershire. An Archaeological Survey English Heritage, Gloucester C.C., National Trust

Savage, Richard 1988 Village, Fortress, Shrine Crickley Hill Gloucestershire 3500BC- AD 500 Cheltenham

Vol. 6 of the Crickley Hill reports, covering the Roman & Early Medieval phase, is currently in preparation. Contact me if you require interim information on this phase of the site, and I'll do what I can to provide this. Although under major revision, I have already presented much of my research as an MA: Jarrett, K 1999, The Late / post-Roman Settlement at Crickley Hill, Gloucestershire, University of Nottingham. If a summary is required, contact me for details.