Monument record MLI82124 - Iron Age features at South Witham quarry
Summary
Iron Age features including a ditched trackway or droveway on land at South Witham quarry, South Witham.
Type and Period (7)
- DITCH (Iron Age - 800 BC to 42 AD)
- DROVE ROAD (Iron Age - 800 BC to 42 AD)
- TRACKWAY (Iron Age - 800 BC to 42 AD)
- BOUNDARY DITCH (Iron Age - 800 BC to 42 AD)
- PIT (Iron Age - 800 BC to 42 AD)
- POST HOLE (Iron Age - 800 BC to 42 AD)
- GRAIN STORAGE PIT (Iron Age - 800 BC to 42 AD)
Protected Status/Designation
- None recorded
Full Description
A geophysical survey in 2000 and trial trenching in 2001 recorded a double-ditched feature, heavily recut and aligned north-east/south-west to east/west, thought to be a trackway or droveway leading towards an Iron Age farmstead of unknown location. This feature was recorded in Trenches 1, 8 and 9, and contained pottery thought to date to the Middle Iron Age, as well as animal bone and worked flint. A cluster of pits (MLI82125) were also recorded within the track/droveway, however, and also contained pottery of the same date and in the same condition. These pits were unlikely to have been in use at the same time as the track/droveway, making the dating of the pit cluster and the track/droveway tentative at best. Other ditches were also recorded on the same alignment and on an east/west alignment. One of the east/west ditches contained fragments of daub. The pottery and flint were thought to be secondary or residual finds. {1}{2}{3}
A range of Iron Age features were identified during subsequent excavations between October 2002 and August 2004. The majority of these dated to the mid-late Iron Age although a small quantity of early Iron age style pottery was found which may indicate an earlier date for some features, although this material may well be residual. A number of ditches were uncovered, many of which appear to be boundary ditches, although some later examples may represent trackways. Pits and post holes were also identified, although no definite structures were observed. The pits include two large bell-shaped pits of a distinctive type used for grain storage. Animal bones were deposited in these pits after they stopped being used for grain storage, and it is suggested that this activity represents structured deposition rather than simply waste disposal. Pottery from the site includes scored ware, and a large amount of material datable only as 'Iron Age'. Daub fragments were also present. Small finds include items associated with textile working, antler working, bronze smithing and cereal farming as well as a miniature copper axe blade probably used as a votive offering. The small finds may also be the result of structured deposition rather than casual loss or waste disposal. Several undated features were also present which likely date to the Iron Age but may be later. {4}
A subsequent geophysical survey detected a southwesterly continuation of the Iron Age (possibly Romano-British) trackway recorded in the earlier evaluation. Its magnetic response was less well defined; traces of the flanking ditches were present, albeit fragmented. Groups of pit-like anomalies lie within the putative track, particularly towards the north eastern part of the survey. This apparent relationship may be circumstantial - the discrete features possibly being natural features or quarrying activities. {5}
Trial trenching undertaken in 2016 confirmed the presence of the trackway or droveway, and Iron Age pottery was recovered from the fills of one of the flanking ditches. Several pits within the trackway were also excavated with one producing pottery of Iron Age and Romano-British date. {6}{7}
A small section of the trackway was detected by a further programme of geophysical survey conducted in April 2017. This confirmed that the two sections of flanking ditches identified in the 2000 and 2007 geophysical surveys formed a single continuous trackway. {8}
Sources/Archives (8)
- <1> SLI6235 Report: Pre-Construct Geophysics. Nov 2000. Survey on land at South Witham. SWTH00.
- <2> SLI7094 Report: Hertfordshire Archaeological Trust. Jan 2001. Land at South Witham. HAT498.
- <3> SLI7095 Archive: Hertfordshire Archaeological Trust. Jan 2001. Land at South Witham. LCNCC 2001.16.
- <4> SLI10892 Report: Archaeological Solutions. 2006. Excavations at South Witham Quarry. -.
- <5> SLI11740 Report: Pre-Construct Geophysics. Dec 2007. Geophysical Survey: Proposed Site of Quarry, South Witham. -.
- <6> SLI18857 Report: Cotswold Archaeology. 2016. South Witham Quarry Western Extension: Archaeological Evaluation. CA Site Code: SWIT 16.
- <7> SLI18858 Archive: Cotswold Archaeology. 2016. South Witham Quarry Western Extension: Archaeological Evaluation. LCNCC: 2016.139.
- <8> SLI18859 Report: Pre-Construct Geophysics. 2017. Archaeological Geophysical Survey: South Witham Quarry Western Extension. -.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred SK 9133 1873 (328m by 403m) Estimated from sources |
|---|---|
| Civil Parish | SOUTH WITHAM, SOUTH KESTEVEN, LINCOLNSHIRE |
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Events/Activities (6)
- Event - Intervention: Archaeological excavation at South Witham Quarry (ELI7038)
- Event - Survey: Geophysical survey at South Witham Quarry Western Extension, South Witham (ELI14560)
- Event - Survey: Geophysical survey on land at South Witham (ELI1469)
- Event - Survey: Gradiometery survey on land at South Witham Quarry (ELI8392)
- Event - Intervention: Trial trenching at land at South Witham (ELI2500)
- Event - Intervention: Trial trenching at South Witham Quarry Western Extension, South Witham (ELI14559)
Please contact the HER for details.
External Links (0)
Record last edited
Mar 17 2025 9:51AM
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