Ann Woodward

Beads and Beakers: heirlooms and relics in the British Early Bronze Age

During extended biographies, some artefact types may have functioned at times as heirlooms or relics. It is possible to illustrate this process by studying fragmentation, and two case-studies involving British Beaker pottery and amber spacer plate beads are presented. Wider social and chronological implications are also considered.

Dedicating the town: urban foundation deposits in Roman Britain

The foundation and birth of a Roman town would have been an important occasion, as well as a political event, both for the local tribal leaders and the imperial government. The processes of urban foundation and development are here explored by examining structured dedicatory deposits within Romano-British urban centres. Following the re-definition of a series of shaft deposits within the town of Dorchester (Durnovaria) as ritual, such repetitive deposits are considered within the context of the symbolism of Roman urban planning, and the dedication rites of the ancient world.

Ritual in some Early Bronze Age gravegoods

This systematic study of selected ‘Wessex’ Early Bronze Age burial assemblages was undertaken to reassess the original purpose of the artefacts deposited and their significance in the burial ritual. Use-wear analysis and fragmentation assessment has been undertaken on daggers, whetstones, bone objects and beads. Lithological and physical analysis was also undertaken on the stone objects. The results show a remarkable disparity in use and fragmentation between certain artefact types. Some objects and groups might be seen as symbolic depositions placed by mourners, or as parts of ceremonial costume, rather than as possessions of the deceased.

Beaker age bracers in England. Sources, function and use

The authors review the significance of bracers by undertaking a detailed examination of their morphology, fragmentation, manufacture and wear. The results have a number of implications regarding their use and value and this is supported by the use of petrographic and geochemical analyses which suggest discrete patterns of raw material acquisition. A description of the technical methodology and appropriate data tables are available at http://www.antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/woodward.

Ceramic Petrology and prehistoric pottery in the UK

Initial compilation of a digital record of petrological thin-sections prepared from ceramics found in the United Kingdom, the English Heritage UKTS database, was completed in 1994. This paper was commissioned by English Heritage as one of a series of period studies designed to synthesise and review the contents of the database. From the total of c. 20,000 thin-sections recorded, c. 5500 (28%) relate to prehistoric pottery. Within the prehistoric entries, coverage varies both by period and by region. The main results are summarised by region, and a series of general discussion points are highlighted. The themes of technology, production, and exchange, the movement of pottery in the earlier prehistoric period, and the potential symbolic significance of inclusions such as rock, bone, and grog are all considered. Finally, recommendations for the minimum standardisation of petrological reports on prehistoric ceramics, and for further research, are outlined.

Pagans Hill Revisited

This report reviews and updates the evidence from the Roman temple site of Pagans Hill, Chew Stoke, North Somerset, which was partly excavated between 1949 and 1953. This includes a revised terminus post quem for the initial building of the temple complex of c. A.D. 262 and an emphasis of the importance of the location of the well on the axis of a planned layout. This is accompanied by a resume of a reassessment by George Boon of the sculpture of the torso of a dog found in the well in 1951; this was formerly dated to the sixteenth century, but is now redated to the Roman period, and assigned to a group of temple sculpture. This has also stimulated discussion about the dedication of the temple, possibly to Apollo Cunomaglus. There is also a new review by Professor Vera Evison of the Anglo-Saxon glass jar from the temple well and other comparable vessels.A further excavation in 1986 clarified certain ambiguous points in the earlier work, and added some new data, notably of prehistoric (Neolithic/Early Bron...

The Clandon Barrow Finery: a Synopsis of Success in an Early Bronze Age World.

The famous assemblage of finery excavated by Edward Cunnington from Clandon Barrow, Dorset, in 1882 is usually held to be archetypal of the ‘Wessex culture’ and rich graves. Meticulous examination of the six artefacts and re-appraisal of comparative material casts a new light on the significance of the group. It does not represent a definable cultural package and instead points to a complex set of inter-relationships with ‘foreign’ lands achieved, above all, by plying varied maritime networks. Connections are shown to have run up the east coast of Britain, west towards the Irish Sea, and across the Channel to both Armorica and the Frisian coast. By contrast, links with inland Wessex were rather insubstantial. Questions are raised about the utility of the ‘Wessex’ label. Although uncertain whether it was a grave group or some other ritual deposit, the assemblage can be seen in a positive light as a record of great exploits in distant travel. The material assembled came to stand for the success of the south Dorset community and its key personages as judged against the prime concerns of Early Bronze Age society. Its paramount importance is emphasised by the choice of site – a focally positioned, yet relatively isolated barrow within a dense monumental landscape and, moreover, a barrow that saw recurrent rejuvenation as part of a cycle of remembrance.

New narratives for lost landscapes in middle EnglandJan Harding & Frances Healy. The Raunds Area Project: a Neolithic and Bronze Age landscape in Northamptonshire . xviii+324 pages, 160 bw 978-1-873592-99-1; paperback (copy available as print-on-demand from ehsales@gillards.com or download from http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/ConWebDoc.13537)

In archaeological terms, the English midlands county of Northamptonshire is truly blessed. Although lacking the upstanding monuments and nineteenth-century antiquarian tradition of the southern Pennine counties, during the mid twentieth century the county received the full attention of the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments for England, with the publication of six major volumes between 1975 and 1982. The RCHME project also published, in 1980, an A3 volume of distribution maps, inventively presented as loose transparent overlays. Meanwhile the County Council initiated one of the better funded and most innovative of the fledgling Sites and Monuments Records. Furthermore, a substantial programme of rescue

David Thomas Yates. Land, Power and Prestige: Bronze Age Field Systems in Southern England . xii+204 pages, 56 figures, 8 plates, 24 tables. 2007. Oxford: Oxbow; 978-1-84217-231-5 hardback £ 30.

Though this volume has some minor drawbacks, it provides much detail on the ceramic assemblage and the accompanying socio-cultural changes at Khok Phanom Di. This book, the sixth volume in the series devoted to the results of research at Khok Phanom Di’ follows Excavation, chronology and human burials (vol. 1, Higham & Bannanurag 1990), The biological remains part 1 (vol. 2, Higham & Bannanurag 1991), The material culture part 1 (vol. 3, Higham & Thosarat 1993), Subsistence and environment the botanical evidence, the biological remains part 2 (vol. 4, Thompson 1996), The people (vol. 5, Tayles 1999), and is now completed by Summary and conclusions (vol. 7, Higham & Thosarat 2004). Whether read singly or as part of the set, Vincent’s study further contributes to the detailed and nuanced picture that is emerging from this prehistoric coastal site.