012AD00081 | 012AD00079 | ||||||||||||
012AD00702 | |||||||||||||
012AD00420 | |||||||||||||
012AD00704 | |||||||||||||
012AD00703 | |||||||||||||
012AD00695 | 012AD00705 | ||||||||||||
012AD00706 | |||||||||||||
012AD00700 | |||||||||||||
012AD00747 | |||||||||||||
012AD00696 | |||||||||||||
012AD00748 | |||||||||||||
012AD00757 | |||||||||||||
When the environmental evidence was analysed, this feature stood out in a number of ways. Although only the 4 earliest contexts from the feature were examined in this way, a wealth of material was recovered. Overall, the feature had the highest level of cereals per litre of all 113 features examined (average of 74.18 cereal grains per litre). Fill 012AD00747 had the highest concentration of cereals per litre of all of the 653 contexts examined in detail (207 cereal grains per litre). In addition, the feature contained the highest recovered total of Brassica/Sinapis (595 fragments). The environmental evidence thus leads to the conclusion that the feature was a grain dryer, rather than a kiln. It is of note that the only other feature containing similar levels of surviving environmental samples was another elongated feature (011AB00773), with similar charcoal and clay rich fills near its base.
The feature was deepest at the southern end, and it was here that the four earliest deposits (environmentally sampled) were found. They were all sealed by the clay deposit 012AD00700 with 40% chalk inclusions(a locally derived green clay), which contained no finds, although a number of angular chalk blocks (10 -20cm in diameter were present in the south. Above 012AD00700 in the south was a further clay deposit (012AD00695, with a slightly higher 50% chalk inclusion rate). It is likely that the remainder of fills were not related to grain drying, as they do not contain burining evidence or charcoal inclusions. The upper fills contain almost all of the finds recovered from the feature, indicating it may have been used as a refuse pit after it went out of use as a grain dryer.
CUT | FILL | VOLUME | OBJECTS | AN BONE | DENSITY |
012AD00080 | 012AD00079 | 19 | 14 | ||
012AD00081 | 12 | 24 | |||
012AD00420 | 109 | 69 | |||
012AD00695 | 30 | 7 | |||
012AD00696 | 0 | 0 | |||
012AD00700 | 0 | 0 | |||
012AD00702 | 5 | 7 | |||
012AD00703 | 2 | 1 | |||
012AD00704 | 1 | 1 | |||
012AD00705 | 1 | 0 | |||
012AD00706 | 1 | 2 | |||
012AD00747 | 0 | 0 | |||
012AD00748 | 0 | 0 | |||
012AD00757 | 0 | 0 |
KEY_ID | MATERIAL | PERIOD | No |
012AD00079 | CHARCOAL |
1
|
|
DAUB |
1
|
||
GLASS |
1
|
||
IRON |
1
|
||
POTTERY | 2-4C |
1
|
|
POTTERY | 3-4C |
6
|
|
POTTERY | 4TH CENTURY |
1
|
|
POTTERY | ANGLIAN |
1
|
|
SHELL |
1
|
||
SLAG |
2
|
||
STONE |
3
|
KEY_ID | MATERIAL | PERIOD | No |
012AD00081 | CHARCOAL |
2
|
|
COPPER ALLOY | ANGLIAN? |
1
|
|
COPPER ALLOY | ROMAN/ANGLIAN |
1
|
|
POTTERY | 3-4C |
5
|
|
SLAG |
1
|
||
STONE |
1
|
||
UNFIRED CLAY |
1
|
KEY_ID | MATERIAL | PERIOD | No |
012AD00420 | CHARCOAL |
17
|
|
DAUB |
19
|
||
DAUB? |
1
|
||
FIRED CLAY |
4
|
||
FIRED CLAY | ANGLIAN? |
1
|
|
FIRED CLAY |
1
|
||
IRON |
8
|
||
POTTERY | 2-3? |
1
|
|
POTTERY | 2-4C |
1
|
|
POTTERY | 3-4C |
9
|
|
POTTERY | 4C |
1
|
|
POTTERY | ANGLIAN |
1
|
|
POTTERY | ANGLIAN? |
1
|
|
SHELL |
1
|
||
SLAG |
3
|
||
SNAIL |
1
|
||
STONE |
13
|
||
UNFIRED CLAY |
25
|
||
UTILISED STONE? |
1
|
KEY_ID | MATERIAL | PERIOD | No |
012AD00695 | CHARCOAL |
4
|
|
DAUB |
2
|
||
IRON |
1
|
||
STONE |
1
|
||
UNFIRED CLAY |
22
|
KEY_ID | SPECIES | No |
012AD00079 | Cattle |
3
|
Domestic fowl |
2
|
|
Domestic fowl/Pheasant |
1
|
|
Sheep |
2
|
|
Sheep/Goat |
6
|
KEY_ID | SPECIES | No |
012AD00081 | Cattle |
8
|
Pig |
6
|
|
Sheep |
7
|
|
Sheep/Goat |
2
|
|
Wild/domestic goose |
1
|
KEY_ID | SPECIES | No |
012AD00420 | Cattle |
19
|
Domestic fowl |
5
|
|
Domestic goose |
1
|
|
Pig |
5
|
|
Sheep |
15
|
|
Sheep/Goat |
23
|
|
Wild/domestic goose |
1
|
KEY_ID | SPECIES | No |
012AD00695 | Cattle |
2
|
Sheep |
3
|
|
Sheep/Goat |
1
|
|
Wild/domestic goose |
1
|
KEY_ID | SPECIES | No |
012AD00702 | Cattle |
4
|
Sheep/Goat |
3
|
KEY_ID | Wheat | Barley | Oat | Rye | NFI cereals | Brassica | Erica caps | Carex | TOTAL REMAINS | Soil vol/l | Frag per litre |
012AD00696 | 60 | 90 | 188 | 4 | 694 | 275 | 16 | 1364 | 10 | 136.4 | |
012AD00747 | 7 | 67 | 37 | 7 | 296 | 54 | 2 | 477 | 2 | 238.5 | |
012AD00748 | 29 | 333 | 90 | 9 | 651 | 126 | 51 | 45 | 1380 | 18 | 76.67 |
012AD00757 | 20 | 563 | 73 | 33 | 753 | 140 | 107 | 31 | 1761 | 24 | 73.38 |
Totals | 116 | 1053 | 388 | 53 | 2394 | 595 | 158 | 94 | 4982 | 54 | 92.26 |
KEY_ID | TYPE | SHAPE | L | B | D | PROFILE | NOTES |
012AD00079 | PIT FILL | OVATE | 178 | 98 | 12 | FLAT | CONTAINED LARGE AMOUNT OF ANIMAL BONE. SOME POT. DAUB FLECKS. UNFIRED CLAY. EQUALS FILL 81. |
012AD00080 | PIT CUT | OVATE | 287 | 102 | 106 | U-SHAPED | CUT OF PIT. CONTAINS 14 FILLS. CUT INTO SOLID CHALK BEDROCK AND NATURAL WHITE/GREEN LAY ON BASE. ELONGATED PIT SHALLOWER AND THINNER N END. POSSIBLY A KILN |
012AD00081 | PIT FILL | OVATE | 110 | 101 | 24 | FLAT | CONTAINED LARGE AMOUNT OF ANIMAL BONE. SOME POT. DAUB FLECKS. SLAG. EQUALS FILL 79. |
012AD00420 | PIT FILL | COMPLEX | 167 | 82 | 20 | IRREGULAR | FILL IN PIT 80. DAUB AND CHARCOAL FLECKING. 10% CHALK INCLUSIONS 1-5CMS. BONE IRON AND CHARCOAL FOUND. |
012AD00695 | PIT FILL | COMPLEX | 124 | 97 | 15 | FLAT | FILL IN PIT 80. CLAYEY FILL.50% UNFIRED GREEN CLAY. DAUB AND CHARCOAL INCLUSION. BONE CHARCOAL AND CLAY FOUND.5% CHALK INCLUSION 5-10CMS. |
012AD00696 | PIT FILL | OVATE | 93 | 66 | 9 | FLAT | DAUBY ORANGE LAYER IN PIT 80. BENEATH ASHY 747 ABOVE CHARCOAL 748. DAUB AND CHARCOAL FLECKING. 10 % CHALK INCLUSIONS. NO FINDS. ASH AND CLAY INCLUSION |
012AD00700 | PIT FILL | OVATE | 254 | 63 | 5 | UNDULATING | CLAY LINING FOR ELONGATED PIT 80. NO FINDS IN THE CLAY. SOME DAUB AND CHARCOAL FLECKING. 40% CHALK INCLUSIONS TO S OF PIT ANGULAR BLOCKS 10-20CMS. |
012AD00702 | PIT FILL | OVATE | 90 | 86 | 10 | IRREGULAR | FILL IN PIT 80. DAUB AND CHARCOAL FLECKING. 10% CHALK INCLUSIONS ANGULAR STONE 5-10CMS. BONE FOUND. |
012AD00703 | PIT FILL | COMPLEX | 75 | 19 | 30 | IRREGULAR | FILL IN PIT 80. DAUB AND CHARCOAL FLECKING. 30% CHALK INCLUSIONS LARGE STONES 10-15CMS. BONE FOUND. |
012AD00704 | PIT FILL | COMPLEX | 88 | 80 | 10 | IRREGULAR | FILL IN PIT 80. ORANGY FILL WITH CHARCOAL FLECKING ESPECIALLY TOWARDS BASE OF LAYER. LESS THAN 5% CHALK INCLUSIONS < 3CMS. BONE FOUND. |
012AD00705 | PIT FILL | COMPLEX | 104 | 84 | 10 | IRREGULAR | FILL IN PIT 80. STONY LAYER. NO DAUB OR CHARCOAL FLECKING. 70% CHALK INCLUSIONS 1-3CMS WITH A COUPLE OF STONE 5-10CMS. NO FINDS. |
012AD00706 | PIT FILL | COMPLEX | 119 | 80 | 20 | IRREGULAR | FILL IN PIT 80. 10% CHALK INCLUSIONS < 5CM. DAUB AND CHARCOAL FLECKING. BONE FOUND. SITS ON LAYER OF CLAY 700. |
012AD00747 | PIT FILL | OVATE | 75 | 66 | 1 | FLAT | ASHY FILL IN PIT 80. VERY THIN LAYER ON TOP OF DAUBY DEPOSIT. NO FINDS. NO CHALK INCLUSIONS. SOME DAUB AND CHARCOAL FLECKING. 10% CLAY INCLUSIONS. |
012AD00748 | PIT FILL | OVATE | 152 | 66 | 8 | FLAT | CHARCOAL-RICH DEPOSIT IN PIT 80. CHARCOAL MIXED WITH 30% DECOMPOSED CHALK. NO FINDS. NO DAUB FLECKING. PATCHES OF PURE CHARCOAL. ABOVE MIXED LAYER 757 |
012AD00757 | PIT FILL | OVATE | 157 | 66 | 6 | FLAT | MIXED LAYER BENEATH CHARCOAL LAYER 478 IN BASE OF PIT 80. MIX OF CHARCOAL DAUB MATERIAL ASH AND CLAY. NO FINDS.5% CHALK INCLUSIONS. |