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A trial trenching evaluation was carried out in 2013-14 in advance of proposed housing development. A total of 147 trenches were excavated between November 2013 and January 2014 by Cameron Archaeology (see also NJ72SE0115). Archaeological features recorded in a number of trenches included a stone-lined pit, post-holes, remains of a hearth, enclosure ditch, and a few sherds of coarse prehistoric pottery were recovered. Further excavation in March - April 2014 recorded extensive remains of a prehistoric settlement in the form of roundhouses, souterrains, an enclosure, frequent pits and a cremation cemetery. A sample from one of the cremation pits gave a radiocarbon date of 3094-2918 cal BC, the Late Neolithic period. An associated multi-tiered cremation pit may be unique, A souterrain and two further structures were radiocarbon dated to the Middle and Late Bronze Age. Over 400 finds were recovered. The pottery is of Bronze Age date, whilst industrial waste indicates use of the site into the Iron Age. Finds and environmental evidence point to a range of activities at the site, including wool spinning, cooking, bronze casting and iron working. Further excavation in March-April by Headland Archaeology (see NJ72SE0115) recorded three roundhouses along the crest of the slope, each circa 13 m in diameter, which dated between the late Bronze Age and Iron Age, and which appear to have been destroyed by fire. A fourth structure, of later date, was rectangular and may have been used for grain processing.
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Historic Environment Records (HER)