Monument record MLI81404 - Neolithic occupation site, south of High Farm
Summary
Neolithic occupation site, south of High Farm. Two large pits with stakeholes in their bases appear to have been used for ritual deposition of selected items. All stages of flint core reduction also took place on site.
Type and Period (6)
- LITHIC WORKING SITE (Early Neolithic to Early Bronze Age - 4000 BC to 1501 BC?)
- PIT (Early Neolithic to Late Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)
- STAKE HOLE (Early Neolithic to Late Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)
- ARTEFACT SCATTER (Early Neolithic to Late Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)
- LITHIC SCATTER (Early Neolithic to Late Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)
- POST HOLE (Undated)
Protected Status/Designation
- None recorded
Full Description
PRN 43943
A geophysical survey and a scheme of trial trenching and boreholing carried out on this site revealed two pits with stakeholes in their bases. These pits contained what are thought to be ritual deposits. A large quantity of lithics were also collected from trenches, boreholes and the surface of the field. The two pits were intercutting, one being sub-oval, the other sub-oval to sub-rectangular. Both pits had their long axis oriented west-north-west/east-south-east, and were elongated and bowl-shaped. The eastern pit had 14 fairly randomly distributed stakeholes in its base, while the western pit had 13 stakeholes in its base. The apparently random distribution of the stakeholes makes it difficult to suggest what kind of superstructure they may have supported, and it is possible that they may have been created in separate events. However, as some stakeholes were angled while others were vertical, they may have been components of a frame of some kind. The fills of the pits contained quantities of worked lithics, pottery (including mid- to late Neolithic Clacton-style Grooved ware), potboilers, fired clay and some small fossils. These finds appear to have been carefully selected for deliberate deposition; the pottery, potboilers and lithics were fresh and unabraded, sometimes appearing to have been deliberately broken, and the fossils (no fossils were found on the site generally) appeared to have been selected because they had eroded out of their lithic matrix, and thus resembled the original fauna. Large quantities of comminuted charcoal were also found in the pit fills, and much of the lithic assemblage from the site in general was burnt, attesting to the presence of hearths or fires. Burnt flint is a feature of Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age sites, although there is a notable absence of thumbnail scrapers and barbed and tanged arrowheads, both characteristic of the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age. Most, or all, of the flint cores must have been brought to the site, but once there, all stages of core reduction took place, and in general the cores were worked to exhaustion, with flakes rather than blades being removed.{1}{2}{3}
It should also be noted that a possible small barrow cemetery is located on site (PRN 43944), while another lies circa 350m north-east of the site (PRN 42929), and further possible barrows lie circa 350m to the north-west (PRN 43215).{2}
Sources/Archives (3)
- <1> SLI6246 Report: Pre-Construct Archaeology. Nov 2000. Land south of High Farm, Halton Holegate. HAH00.
- <2> SLI6465 Report: Pre-Construct Archaeology. Feb 2001. Land to the south of High Farm, Halton Holegate. HAH01.
- <3> SLI6466 Archive: Pre-Construct Archaeology. Feb 2001. Land to the south of High Farm, Halton Holegate. LCNCC 2001.19.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred TF 4132 6562 (125m by 125m) |
|---|---|
| Civil Parish | HALTON HOLEGATE, EAST LINDSEY, LINCOLNSHIRE |
Related Monuments/Buildings (3)
Related Events/Activities (3)
External Links (0)
Record last edited
Mar 21 2021 8:35PM
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