Huntsman's Quarry, Kemerton : a late Bronze Age settlement and landscape in Worcestershire / Robin Jackson ; with contributions by Alex Bayliss [and thirteen others] ; illustrated by Laura Templeton, Carolyn Hunt and Steve Rigby.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Jackson, Robin (Robin Andrew), author.

Contributor:

Bayliss, Alex, contributor.

Templeton, Laura, illustrator.

Hunt, Carolyn, illustrator.

Rigby, Steve, illustrator.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Quarries and quarrying--England--Worcestershire.

Quarries and quarrying.

Bronze age--England--Worcestershire.

Bronze age.

Huntsman's Quarry Site (Kemerton, England).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (332 pages) : illustrations

Place of Publication:

Oxford, England ; Havertown, Pennsylvania : Oxbow Books, 2015.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Archaeological investigations at Huntsman's Quarry, Kemerton, south Worcestershire during 1995-6 recorded significant Late Bronze Age occupation areas and field systems spreading across more than 8 hectares. Limited evidence for Upper Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic and Beaker activity was also recovered together with an Early Bronze Age ring-ditch. Waterholes and associated round-houses, structures and pits were set within landscape of fields and droveways radiocarbon dated to the 12th-11th centuries cal BC. Elements of this field system probably predated the settlement. Substantial artifactual and ecofactual assemblages were recovered from the upper fills of the waterholes and larger pits. The settlement had a predominantly pastoral economy supported by some textile and bronze production. Ceramics included a notable proportion of non-local fabrics demonstrating that the local population enjoyed a wide range of regional contacts. Wider ranging, national exchange networks were also indicated by the presence of shale objects as well as the supply of bronze for metalworking, perhaps indicative of a site of some social status. Together the evidence indicates a small settlement within which occupation of individual areas was short-lived with the focus of the settlement shifting on a regular basis. It is proposed that this occurred on a generational basis, with each generation setting up a new 'homestead' with an associated waterhole. The settlement can be compared favorably to those known along the Thames Valley but until now not recognized in this part of the country. Cropmark evidence and limited other investigations indicate that the fields and droveways recorded represent a small fragment of a widespread system of boundaries established across the gravel terraces lying between Bredon Hill and the Carrant Brook. This managed and organized landscape appears to have been established for the maintenance of an economy primarily based on relatively intensive livestock farming; the trackways facilitating seasonal movement of stock between meadows alongside the Carrant Brook, the adjacent terraces and the higher land on Bredon Hill.

Contents:

Part 1. Introduction

Background

Location, geology and topography

Archaeological and historical background

Project history

Aims

Methodology / Robin Jackson and Mike Napthan

Part 2. Dating and structural evidence

Radiocarbon dating / Alex Bayliss, Robin Jackson and Christopher Bronk Ramsey

Earlier prehistoric activity / Robin Jackson and Mike Napthan

The late Bronze Age activity / Robin Jackson and Mike Napthan

Part 3. Artefactual evidence

Prehistoric pottery / Ann Woodward and Robin Jackson

Petrology / David F. Williams

Ceramic weights / Derek Hurst

Stone weight / Derek Hurst

Fired clay / Derek Hurst

The mould fragments and slag / Roger C.P. Doonan

Worked flint / Peter Bellamy

Other finds

Worked timbers / Ian Tyers

Part 4. Environmental evidence

Animal bone / Stephanie Pinter-Bellows

Human bone / Stephanie Pinter-Bellows

Cremated bone / Stephanie Pinter-Bellows

The plant macrofossils / Elizabeth Pearson

The pollen / James Greig

Molluscs / Andrew Moss

Environmental synthesis / Elizabeth Pearson

Part 5. Discussion and synthesis

Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic

Neolithic

Beaker

Early Bronze Age

Late Bronze Age

Appendices: 1. Additional pottery tables and figures

2. Pottery fabrics / Derek Hurst and Robin Jackson.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781782979951

1782979956

OCLC:

951223135