PLYMOUTH & DISTRICT ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY
2007 Committee Members:
Chris Ruse Janet Cambridge Bob Thomas Peter Roberts Bob Bruce Martin Read Rosemary Rankin Di Jennings Olaf Suddaby Elspeth Alphey Co-opted: Michelle Dunn
Museum & City Representatives:
Rachel Smith/Fiona Pitt; John
Salvatore/Rachel
The Plymouth & District Archaeological Society meets on the first Monday of every month (except January) throughout the year: In the summer (May - September) at local sites & in the winter in the Devonport Lecture Theatre in the Portland Square Building, Plymouth University. Visitors or prospective members are most welcome to our meetings and but are asked to make a small donation of £3 per summer visit or winter lecture towards our costs. (It is cheaper to join!).
Annual Subscription: Ordinary: £10; Family £16; Student or under 18 £4.00.
Payment is due on the 1st October annually
PDAS
WINTER LECTURE SEASON
2007/2008
Martin Watts is one of the country’s leading molinologists and author of several books on both watermills & windmills. He works as a consultant specialising in the recording and repair of historic buildings & machinery and the interpretation of how they worked. He also trains staff & volunteers to operate restored mills. He is particularly interested in evidence for and the remains of early (medieval) mills and how topography affects their design and location.
Kimberly Monk is a Lecturer
in nautical archaeology with the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
at the
Bryony Coles is Professor
of Prehistoric Archaeology at the
Ralph Fyfe is a Lecturer in
the
Mark
Corney is an Honorary Research Fellow at the
All the above lectures are held on Monday evenings at 7:00 pm in the Devonport Lecture Theatre of the Portland Square Building, Plymouth University except the October meeting which will be in the Stonehouse LT. Non-members are welcome but are asked to contribute £3 towards our expenses. Further details of the Society's activities can be found overleaf or in our Newsletter. Our web site is having to be redone.
PDAS
WINTER LECTURES 2006/2007
LIVESTOCK AND LANDSCAPE WEST OF
Prehistoric animal exploitation in the South West of Britain
Clare Randall
Clare Randall treated us to a fascinating insight into her speciality of zooarchaeology. The enthusiasm she has for her chosen field of study was abundantly apparent as she took us through the subject with elements of biology, geology, zoology – through to ritual practise.
Sites in the Southwest
which have provided areas for study are South Cadbury Hill Fort, and the
TR19 area of
Data obtained from bones can be the key to understanding more about man and animals in prehistory. What species there were, where and when, and the age of the animal. Methods of butchery provide clues as to which animals were being cooked and eaten, and whether they were kept for milk, meat or according to seasonality.
According to the statistics that Clare showed us, sheep and goats were high on the list with 1755 identified fragments, representing 63.82% of the domestic species. Cows and pigs followed with 460 and 397 items respectively. There were 104 fragments of horse, whereas only 34 fragments of dog were identified (1.24%). At the bottom of the list were bird bones with only 14 fragments being identified.
The age of animals can be determined by looking at dentine wear in sheep, pigs, cows and horses. The fusions of epiphyses in younger animals are often fragile and tend to survive less. Older females indicate they were kept for wool and milk production. Pigs appear to have been killed as soon as they reached meat weight. There were peaks and troughs of between 6, 18 and 30 months, with seasonal culls in Autumn. Juvenile horses are rarely found on Iron Age sites but at Sigwells more horse bones were discovered than those belonging to dogs.
Larger mammal bones in the Iron Age ended up badly broken due to marrow extraction which left 72% of bone unidentified at Sigwells.
Broad indications of the local environment and seasonality in amphibians can be ascertained from remains of rodents and small creatures. A handful of buzzard bones are present, so remains of voles and woodmice could be the result of buzzard kills. There were a few corvid bones and a whole raven, a couple of sawn antler bits, one teal sized duck bone and two bits of weasel. Despite sieving, no fish bones have been found at Sigwells.
Clare pointed out a variety
of problems encountered during her research. The Southwest has been poorly
represented in comparative literature for all periods. How typical is
in the late 1960s by Alcock.) have not been published (this could be Clare’s next project). The most notable material was published in 2000 showing numerous calf burials and two cows adjacent to a late Iron Age square building – a shrine by association.
The nearby specialist site at Sigwells has revealed evidence of metalworking and feasting in the Middle Bronze Age. Odd combinations of material have been discovered in postholes – human, quern, etc. An unearthed cooking pit produced the best part of two sheep – remains of a feast? Large chunks of fine pot were recovered and other pots from the site have been interpreted as ‘cauldrons’.
Geophysics can reveal tracks, field patterns, pits and settlement, indications of a farming landscape. The size of fields and arrangements are important and evidence of tracks and gates can give an idea of what animals and how many are being handled and how many people would be involved.
Much of the Southwest has little bone but plenty of evidence of landscape division. In understanding the interaction of both in one location can we draw conclusions? Bronze Age land division on Sigwells shows large parcels of land on upland, possible stock management of cattle and sheep. There are several cases where the project has identified Bronze Age erosion by hillwash, deforestation and possible ploughing.
Smaller Iron Age fields in valleys and hills make more sense as arable land. Again, this raises more questions. How was stock being managed and how does this relate to settlement? Who farmed what and how? Can we assume that everything occurred outside? What scale of fencing would be needed for control of different animals? Would pigs for instance be housed in pens or contained in working hollows?
With regard to arable agriculture, evidence from charred plants and macrofossils, imply that crops were processed at Homeground. Grain and fewer weeds at Sigwells could point to the crop being cleaned by the time it arrived there.
In the past pits have been
assumed to contain accumulated rubbish. Patterns
discovered by J.D Hill indicate they were more organised, with contents
often being deliberately placed, this study has tended to concentrate on
sites in
During the period of Clare’s research she had access to the site, material and the people doing the work. A different perspective from the Excavator/Project Director extended the ways of addressing overarching research questions.
What does the combination of animal bone groups and posts with visibility on the skyline mean? Is this evidence of totemic animals and association with the Gods in Roman Britain?
Clare aims to pull together
the results of her research so that people can use it. By characterising
animal husbandry and the attitudes and relationships with animals over time,
comparison can be made with other areas and environments. How similar is the
Southwest or parts of the Southwest to
I am sure that other members present that evening will agree that Clare gave us an interesting and most enjoyable presentation.
BCT
PDAS Summer outings
MORWELLHAM QUAY
LEADER:
ROBERT WATERHOUSE
Robert Waterhouse led the first of our summer evening meetings. He has been the Archaeologist for Morwellham since 2002 and has undertaken a number of excavation investigations as well as historical research. Many of us had visited the site in the past and were pleasantly surprised to see how much more was now known about the Quay.
Morwelham Photo: Chris Ruse
This
little river port has a documented history of at least 800 years
initially just serving the local community. Mining on an
industrial scale seems to have begun in the late 18th
century. The subsequent boom in demand for copper led to
the development of the major mines in the
A sucession of rail & tramways were built to link Morwellham to the mine areas and a 4½ mile canal was constructed as a link to Tavistock. This canal provided water to power the many water wheels. Robert’s excavations over recent years have investigated the rail and tramway links. He and the volunteers have found a range of unexpected well preserved finds. These included various types of early ‘plateway’ cast iron rails, granite built turntable pits and one completely intact turntable with cast iron plate rails bolted to pitch pine planks making the wooden deck. Plateway rails were made of flanged cast iron. The trucks had flangeless wheels.
Robert gave his usual high standard tour packed with information on the history and development of this most important site. He has an ongoing program of excavation and survey work at Morwellham. Some of our members are part of his volunteer group. Robert would welcome any more volunteers (Tel: 01364 652963).
Robert
is currently researching a book on the
The lime kilns
Chris Ruse
HOUND TOR
Leader: DEBBIE GRIFFITHS
With 55 present, our first stop en-route to the Hound Tor settlement was an example of a cist burial (4000-5000yrs old) of a crouched inhumation, this type would possibly be accompanied by a pot containing some food, there are no rich burials found on Dartmoor as in Wessex. It would have been originally covered by a stone slab then covered with soil and a large circular curb set around it somewhat like a pudding bowl.
These burial humps were important landscape features and there must have been a relationship between them. Debbie requested we turn with our back to the cist and scan along the horizon. We could discern three distinct bumps along Hameldon Ridge.
Mrs Minter who had
previously excavated Wharram Percy wanted to
carry out a similar excavation on
There were eleven stone buildings found, dated to approximately 1250AD (date supported by pottery finds). Mrs Minter was sure there had been an earlier phase and found a sequence of ‘brown spots’ in the soil; these were excavated with a teaspoon and it was decided they represented the line of a wattle fence and deduced there had been a series of twelve turf houses replacing each other with an average life of twelve years, reaching a conclusion the site started about 900AD
In the 1990’s more excavations took place at Hutholes (the sister site) and re-examined more closely some similar ‘brown spots’ found above the floor of stone houses; some were found to be made by animals, some were root holes and others just brown spots!
So with the turf house phase ruled out 1250AD became the start date of the Hound Tor site once more.
Debbie explained that with the warming of the climate, the lowland population increased, and with better conditions some people would have been forced to live in the upper marginal areas.
The site was part of the Manor of Hundatora and it went out of use by 1400AD. Worsening weather and Black Death had decimated the population which meant people could move back to lowlands. There is a line of springs further down the slope. Debbie handed out a plan of the site showing the various buildings of the small medieval settlement
We were shown the remains
of corn-drying barns used to dry cereal crops which are very rare in
The low walls of various buildings were visible including four longhouses one of which had later been turned into a barn. The houses had gardens and paddocks associated with them.
The houses cannot have been comfortable, they must have been very smoky and smelly and cows lived inside some!
Longhouse no 7 was the most complicated building; It contained a flat stone with burn marks and a drain at the lower end. A series of stake holes could have been the site of a tether. At the top end there was an inner room which although a common feature, its use is unknown, it would have been cool and damp. It had an unusual additional wing with no heating but was comparatively large, maybe a granny flat? It also had a porch and a lean-to against the lower end.
Hut 7
Just before we left the site, the sun set spectacularly behind Hound Tor and long shadows subtly revealed the position of medieval field lynchets. A perfect end to a captivating evening! Thank you once again Debbie.
R A R
The whole area is a scheduled ancient monument and is cared for by the Dartmoor National Park Authority.
St. Neot Church
Leader: Dr Joanna Mattingly
Photos:Elspeth Alphey
It was a dark and rainy evening when twenty-seven PDAS members set off for a talk at St Neots. (OS SX 1867). They travelled from afar on perilous journeys, but all arrived safely for what turned out to be a most interesting and beautiful evening.
St. Neot is thought to be a Saxon saint d. 877 A.D. and was said to be a friend of King Alfred. The origins of St. Neot are uncertain but we find an entry in Bishop Asser’s, “The Life of King Alfred”, to the relic of St. Neot. Bishop Asser is commenting on how Saint Gueryr healed King Alfred of an illness while in the area hunting. Above the commentary, someone has penned that the relics of St. Neot can be found in the same area. It was the practice to make the most of relics as a means of income for the church and a place of pilgrimage. Not long afterwards in A.D. 974 the relics were stolen by Earl Aelric and his wife Ethelfleda and taken to found a religious house in Huntingdonshire.
The
The first to arrive were
shown the crosses in the churchyard. Unfortunately these have
been removed from the surrounding countryside and so their significance has
been lost. The oldest is probably 10th century with
intricate interlacing Celtic patterning. It is not considered as well
decorated as others in the north of
Next, members took a short walk (300yds) from the church to find the Holy well, reputed to cure sickly children. The well has been heavily restored and dates from 1862. Anyone thinking of visiting the well should take wellington boots, as the field gets very muddy.
We retraced our steps back
to the church and rejoined Dr. Joanna Mattingly who explained
the interior of the building. We were shown a very faint
wall painting within a tomb-like structure once thought to be a
shrine to St. Neot. However it is now
thought more likely to be an Easter Sepulchre. It used to be
the case that on Maunday Thursday the
host was kept there and guarded by two men whose services were paid for
in food and drink. Also within this area can be found a squint
hole, this allowed lepers to watch the priest
celebrate the Eucharist. Records state that in 1313 vicar Sir
Philip became a leper and the then Bishop Stapleton of
St.
Neot is renowned for its spectacular stained glass windows and is the
second oldest in
One of the most impressive windows depicted the life of St. Neot showing how he gave up a noble background to become a monk. His lifestyle may not have been too austere as he had a servant. The manservant was depicted as a dwarf. Some say that St. Neot was a dwarf but, at that time, it was not acceptable to depict him as such. In the tradition of Saintly people a miracle is revealed returning cooked fish back to life and the same theme can also be seen depicted in a roof boss.
Many members were unable to attend due to the bad weather and as the members who did attend were so impressed with their visit, Joanna Mattingly has generously volunteered to repeat the talk at a future date.
Elspeth Alphey
PDAS Summer Outing
Cothay
Manor and Gardens
The society was again treated to an interesting coach trip. After turning off the motorway the roads became single lane and the hedges closed in. We all prayed not to see another vehicle coming in the opposite direction, none more so than the driver of our large coach. Cothay Manor is not open to the general public; entrance is only by way of advanced group bookings. It has only been in the ownership of the Robb family since 1993 and their good stewardship can clearly be seen in both the house and gardens. As we approached the house from the coach park the views through the trees were stunning. The Manor House was moated in the mediaeval period, but now only a small portion of the original moat could be seen at the side of the house. The pond in front of the manor reflected both the beauty of the buildings and the garden.
We were met by Alastair Robb, who was to conduct us around the house and point out historical features. The beauty of this privately owned house is its warm lived in feel with personal effects in evidence like a normal home. I couldn’t help but notice the contrast with many other stately homes which appear more like stuffy museums. We started out in The Great Hall, the heart of any Manor House in the medieval period. It consisted of plastered stone walls with wingless Angel corbels to take the roof trusses. Each of these Angels carried a shield and would have been painted with coats of arms reflecting the families of the time e.g. the Bluetts and the Everys. However what would have impressed guests were the reverse wind-braces, a very expensive method of construction for the time and a clear representation of ostentation. At the North end of the room was a small step that seemed unimpressive to us. This was a dais and would have been for the high table. This status of the high table would have been further enhanced by the families white table linen and silver plate. The windows were high in the walls, contrasting to modern day architecture, and were for light and security not views. The walls looked a little blank but would, in their time, have been decorated with paintings or hung with expensive tapestries. We were shown, on the western wall, the faded outline of a medieval wall painting reputed to be the funeral of Raynard the fox. This painting was discovered in the 1930’s and depicts Raynard the fox being hung by two Geese. A morality tale that would have been known and identified by people of the time maintaining an orderly society. Listening to Alastair explaining the features of the room with the smell of wood smoke from the fireplace was quite evocative of the long gone period.
Next we moved to the dining room which had been added to the house by William Every in 1609. A low dark room with linen fold design oak panelling and fire place. The fireplace was surmounted by the Haydon coat of arms with a number of blank panels as head of the household died without issue. In the middle of the stone fire mantel was a very rare carving of a six pointed star. This was to ward off witches. The ceiling was unique and of local plasterwork. In each corner there were figures, possibly depicting the craftsmen. Another notable room was the visitors’ bedroom with original frescoes and painted freeze. The freeze was heavily restored by an enthusiastic previous owner and looked a little garish for it. In the corner of the room was an interesting 15th century fresco of an Annunciation. It shows the Christ child arriving on a beam of light to the Virgin Mary. This would have been considered a heresy and was probably painted over after the decree by Pope Benedict XIV banning it. It remained hidden until its discovery in 1920.We were shown another wall painting on the stairway that had deteriorated in recent years due to damage possibly caused by the vibration from low flying aircraft shaking the very plaster from the wall.
Despite the dreadful weather conditions of previous days we were again lucky when walking around the gardens. The entrance to the house was approached along a brick path bordered by low lavender hedges and box topiary trees, all very in keeping with the medieval time. At the rear of the house were small formal gardens, all with enclosed tranquil areas for contemplation. It would be easy to write more about the house but time and space does not permit. Once again we were very fortunate to have the opportunity to see a fascinating building that is not open to the general public.
Elspeth Alphey
ARCHAEOLOGY WORKSHOPS
POLLEN ANALYSIS
With Ann Kelly
An excellent PDAS training
day was held at the
Pollen was first recognised at the beginning of the 20th century by Lennart von Post, using a simple microscope with a natural light source, and pollen analysis was later to be used by a wide range of people from archaeologists, apiarists and geologists to environmental scientists, paleoenvironmentalists and forensic scientists.
In archaeology, pollen analysis is used as a tool to estimate an approximate date of sequence, and to help reconstruct the context of an environment surrounding a site looking at the type and number of samples found.
In soil, preservation of pollen is often poor owing to the air content within the soil, but in anaerobic conditions such as a peat bog, pollen is relatively well preserved. To be able to define a stratigraphical sequence of a site, samples may be taken by using a variety of coring methods which vary according to the condition of the ground being tested, but surface samples can be taken merely by using a spatula. Very often, samples from the surrounding ground may also be taken for analysis, as pollen is easily transported by wind or animal movement across the ground surface.
Once samples have been collected, they are removed to the laboratory for analysis. Very often the core sample may be described by the Troels and Smith (1955) method whereby the core is sampled according to the visible evidence it contains, for instance, an obvious over-burden at the top (youngest) level, leading through a middle sequence, and finally a base level sequence representing the oldest level. Sometimes a decision can be made on this simple sampling strategy, whereas cores of homogenous material may be sampled at arbitrary levels. Stratified cores are sampled both within the stratified units and the point of change above and below these stratifications.
The samples removed from the cores then go through a series of chemical preparations which are quite complex. Once suspended in solution, the solution is passed through a series of sieves, in which microfossils are separated from the pollen and spores, and a marker dye saffronin added to make pollen identification easier. The prepared pollen is then suspended in glycerol or silicon oil and mounted on a microscope slide in preparation for identification and counting the grains.
Photo: Chris Ruse
The macrofossils are also analysed using a low powered microscope and which contain such material as cereal grain, twigs, bone or seeds. This material is crucial; in that it is in-situ and has not blown into the site as have pollen and spores. Cereal grain, for instance, is important in that although there may be very few samples on a particular site, the grain - which is heavier than pollen, has probably dropped from the plant, indicating the presence of a crop having been deliberately planted in that spot in antiquity. Cereal pollen is often un-represented in a pollen diagram.
There are factors, however, which can affect pollen readings. Contamination of the site, as for example, the red dust that covered the country some years ago that had travelled many hundreds of miles, upsets a pollen sequence. Pollen in bogs may have been blown in from some distance; not all plants produce a lot of pollen; and differences between the aquatic pollen and wind borne pollen in a lake, can have a skewed result, with an increase in the number of aquatic pollens outweighing the airborne ones.
During the afternoon
session at the University, class members underwent a crash course on how to
use a microscope and read pollen diagrams. This was quite an intensive
session, and examples of pollen collected from
We have much to thank Ann Kelly for. Her knowledge and enthusiasm rubbed off on most of us and we all gained an enormous amount from this day.
Janet Cambridge
Archaeology workshops
Look out for the application form!
ALL TAKE PLACE ON A SATURDAY
COST £12
Swarthmore Centre
GARDEN ARCHAEOLOGY
‘The History and Archaeology of Gardens’
Todd Gray and Rob Wilson-North
A look at the development of planned formal and informal gardens and the methods whereby archaeologists can unravel the hidden features of past garden-scapes.
Swarthmore or Education Room, Museum
(To be confirmed)
IDENTIFYING PREHISTORIC POTTERY
Henrietta Quinnell
We will consider some of
the
Swarthmore
AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY
Frances Griffith
We will consider the history and development of aerial photographic technology. We also aim to look at the photographic record in conjunction with maps and other documents and determine how archaeological work on the ground follows this through.
SPRING 2008
Dr Graeme Taylor
from the
GENERAL PROGRAMME FOR THE DAY
10.15 AM Registration and coffee
Morning session
One hour lunch break (usually about
Afternoon session with tea break
4.30 PM finish
PLYMPTON KILN SITE UPDATE
In Newsletter No 7 we
reported that there had been an unexpected find of kiln waste pottery at
Plympton. The site was at
Unfortunately there was not thought to be any archaeology on the site so nothing had been built into the planning process to cover the cost of archaeological investigation. PDAS volunteers spent 4 very wet days in February rescuing what we could from the top 10 to 20cm surface area of 21 metre squares. We rescued some 44 half filled rubble sacks of pottery which was then stored in a rather derelict Museum building at Camden St.
This presented a problem for John Salvatore, City Archaeologist and for Fiona Pitt at the Museum. Neither have suitable premises nor the budget that would be needed for proper processing, analysis and archiving such a large quantity of pottery. The Developer has been very helpful about access. John Salvatore is trying to negotiate some financial support. Hopefully they will have some change after constructing and selling some 120 retirement homes in a prime location!
The
decision was that PDAS volunteers would wash, dry
and sort as much of the pottery as possible and then the situation be
reviewed in the autumn. Only a selection can eventually be deposited in the
Museum. Working in very unsatisfactory conditions at Camden St we have
washed and sorted about half the rubble sacks. Separately, Shirley Ryan has
been doing sterling work analysing some of the pottery at her home. Her
front room houses an amazing display of sorted rims, bases, handles etc
covering a wide range of vessel types. These include sugar moulds. We also
have roof tiles decorated with white slip patterns. Shirley will be
displaying some of these at the
The current situation is that we want to restart washing & sorting at Camden St before the winter sets in and attempt to finish the preliminary washing & sorting of the rescued pottery. Volunteers will be needed and asked for at our meetings. The City Archaeologist will then have to assess what can be done when this stage is finished. CJR
Eileen Wilkes directed another season at Mount folly, Bigbury on sea.. She planned a 2 month campaign which would bottom the large platform/terrace area in the southern of the two enclosures. She also planned for very extensive geophys work and trial investigation trenches to see what was going on in other areas of Ludgate Field not so far investigated.
Unfortunately the poor weather foiled these ambitious plans. We were unable to work on the more sensitive areas when they were wet and much work time was lost. This sizable platform (20m x 15m at least) is terraced into the shillet surface. Up hill of the terrace bank is a splendid area of exposed shillet the surface of which has been frost heaved and shows signs of downhill flow. It is unusual to have such a large area of periglacial features like this carefully excavated and exposed This area has a number of pits & gullies which now been fully investigated.
We were able to concentrate on investigating the relationship of the various features (post holes, gullies & pits) discovered as the excavation progressed. Better weather towards the end of the allowed some progress to be made in the main areas of interest but we look forward to 2008 and bottoming this enigmatic site to natural. All may then be revealed
Eileen does not know the dates for her 2008 season but she will be seeking volunteers. This will be another valuable opportunity for members to get some real hands on excavation experience.
CJR & BB
Photos: courtesy of E Wilkes
STOKENHAM – UPDATE
Howard William’s has reported that the third season at Stokenham has been a success and there is a possibility of a fourth season of excavations.
‘The student training and community activities were fully achieved with the help of an excellent bunch of University students and superb supervisors.
We were also helped by numerous school and college students as well as lots of volunteers. Thanks also the Devon Archaeological Society and Derek Gore for their support in encouraging visitors to the site. Special thanks to John Baverstock and the Brookings (especially Jean, Mark and Oliver) for their hard work and unswerving enthusiasm. Thanks also to our funders: The Univeristy of Exeter and the Heritage Lottery Fund.
On the research side, some very important questions have been answered about the medieval and Tudor manor house and its environs. Excellent work was also done in recording the churchyards at Stokenham and Slapton to a high archaeological standard.
Just a reminder to you all that the 2005 and 2006 field seasons have produced substantial interim reports that have been submitted to Devon County Council for their consideration. Electronic versions of these are available on the Stokenham research web pages’
Dr Howard Williams
Senior Lecturer in Archaeology
Dept. of Archaeology