Today marks the half way point of the current excavation season at the farm. Many of the pits, gully sections of roundhouses and post holes have been fully excavated and recorded. Recording of each feature through section drawing, plan drawing and photography informs the the archaeological record of the site. The superposition of contexts, summarised in a Harris matrix, reflects a relative chronology (aided by diagnostic artefacts of material culture); temporally contemporaneous human activity may be distinguished in ‘phases’ or ‘horizons’.
Currently undergoing excavation are the gullies and interior features of eight roundhouses across the two trenches. The material emerging from the lower, undisturbed contexts suggests that these roun houses are Iron Age. Hopefully these features were occupied in the Late Iron Age (to the first century A.D) as this will fulfill the brief of the excavation; a consideration of the Iron Age to Roman transition in Dorset. If so, does the continuation of roundhouse orientated settlement patterns suggest that this area of was untouched by Romanisation? Perhaps, but not necessarily; as mentioned in previous blog posts, a quantity of Roman nails were uncovered in the spoil heap (consisting of the topsoil of the trenches), suggests Roman activity nearby. Additionally, the floor levels of the roundhouses have been ploughed out of existence, taking a layer of occupational debris with it; is it possible that it included Roman material such as nails? Elsewhere four ditches are being excavated and are currently considered to be Bronze Age, alongside the large storage pits. Many of the storage or midden pits under excavation appear to abut each other. In these instances. sections have been carefully positioned so that the chronology and association of abutting features can be discerned.
An avenue for post excavation?
It has emerged, after washing, that, metacarpal and phalanges of a horse (in the North-West of Trench B) have several incisions suggesting they may have been skinned and deposited after the disarticulated long bone, perhaps in an attempt to re-articulate? Deposits of this nature have been excavated in previous seasons of the Durotriges Project, with a high density relating to the banjo enclosure. A possible avenue for post excavation study regarding the nature of these curious depositions could include a quantification of this type of deposition across all seasons. Firstly, a set of criteria would have to be established to ensure that the correct type of deposition is included. Then the deposit may be characterised by possibly considering the following:
Total number of Iron Age Pits in a phase of activity (per unit of area),
Frequency of pits without (previously established) deposit (% of total number of pits),
Frequency of pits with (previously established) deposit (% of total number of pits)
Species present (per deposit),
Species composition (% of total number of pits with deposit)
Sex – if discernible (mostly for articulated remains)
Sub-adult
Adult
Perinatal
Minimum number of individuals (if discernible) (for each species)
Frequency of osteological elements (per species):
Axial: cranial, viscerocranial, vertebra(e), rib(s), sacrum, sternum (inc manubrium)
Appendicular; pectoral girdles, humerus, ulna, radius, pelvic girdles, femur, fibula, tibia, carpals/tarsals/phalanges
Articulated (yes or no)
Partial Articulated (yes or no)
Disarticulated (yes or no)
Post-mortem re-articulation by human agency: (yes or no)
mixed species (re-articulated) assemblage:
Perhaps analysis though quantifying these lowermost deposits may give an insight into whether these remains are reflective of a ritual process or not at all, (defined as a repeated action). However, as highlighted in the previous blog post, comparison to other sites where this behavior is present can add great depth to the interpretation of this site. It may be debated whether in fact ritual is an appropriate use of terminology where the definition of ritual is often interpreted as referring specifically to religious ideology; unintentionally aggrandising a behavior and attaching to it a significance which we cannot yet be certain of.