Excavations in Cranborne Chase by Pitt-Rivers Volume 4
Excavations in Cranborne Chase by Pitt-Rivers Volume 4 is in Excavations in Cranborne Chase by Pitt-Rivers.
Books, Prehistory, Excavations in Cranborne Chase by Pitt-Rivers Volume 4 Plate 253
Description Of Plate 249
Plan Of Wor Barrow, Handley Down, After The Body Of The Barrow Had Been Completely Excavated Down To The Old Surface Line, And The Ditch Re-Excavated.
The contours of 0'6 inch vertical height show the shape of the Barrow and its immediate surroundings before excavation. The Ditch was marked by a depression on the surface all round of about 2 feet. The four Causeways were also seen on the surface before excavation, by a slight rise of the ground, and were afterwards discovered to be formed of undisturbed chalk, the four detached ditches being dug between them. All the silting was taken out, which consisted in the middle of the Ditch of mould for a foot and a half to 2 feet; then fine silting composed of mixed mould and chalk for 5 feet, and large chalk rubble to the bottom, the bottom being about 13½ feet beneath the surface on the east and west, shallowing to 7 feet deep on each side of the Causeway on the north side. The two southern ditches were about 13 feet deep. The forms of the ditches after being re-excavated are shown in the photographs in Plate 253, which also show the Causeways. It may be conjectured that the use of the Causeways was simply to facilitate the transit of the Ditch during the process of excavation, when the chalk hauled up on the outside had to be carried across the Ditch to form the Barrow. The form of the Barrow before excavation, taken from the west side, the Ditch only having been dug out, is shown in the photograph, Fig. 1, Plate 252. The Barrow itself was not touched until after the Ditch had been excavated all round and its deposits carefully recorded. This was a very important part of the exploration, because as it turned out afterwards, no relics were found with the primary interments in the Barrow, a circumstance of frequent occurrence in long barrows of the Stone Age; and therefore the history of the Barrow has only been brought to light by the deposits gradually accumulated in the Ditch in the course of ages and the relics deposited there during the process of silting up. Although the Ditch varied in depth, as already mentioned, a general average section for diagrammatic purposes is shown in the two Plates 250 and 251, in one of which the depth of all the relics is shown, and in the other the position of every fragment of pottery in the silting, the classification of which is also shown in the table at the bottom of Plate 251. The section, Plate 250, also shows the position of the secondary interments found buried in the silting of the Ditch. Of these nine are shown, the seven uppermost being of the Romano-British period, buried in, or immediately belowT the surface mould, not more than 1 foot to 3\ feet at most beneath the surface, and associated with relics and coins of the Roman Age: one, No. 2, on the north side, had a coin of Constantine II. close to the forehead, and probably originally placed on the forehead at the time of the interment. No. 3 was extended, but Nos. 1 and 4 were not in sequence, but put in as bones. Nos. 5 and 6 were laid out side by side as shown in the photograph, Fig. 1, Plate 254, with the heads wanting, in the south-western Ditch at a depth of P3 feet below the surface. No. 7 appeared to have the neck much elongated, and the head turned dowm on the side, as if stretched by hanging; but this is conjectural. The only other skeletons shown in the section are Nos. 8 and 9; the former, an adult male, in a crouched position, with a child (No. 9) at its feet. Beneath the two lower ribs of the larger skeleton was found a leaf-shaped flint arrowhead, Fig. 5, Plate 260, by which it may reasonably be conjectured that the death was caused. This skeleton was 8 feet beneath the surface, buried in chalk rubble, without any mould near it. From this circumstance, and from the hyperdolichocephalic form of the head (cephalic index 685), I have assumed that this was a secondary interment of the Stone Age, that is, the age of the primary interments in the Barrow, to be hereafter described; and that it was buried not long after the construction of the Barrow, and before any mould had had time to accumulate in the Ditch. Nothing else can account for its position at a depth of 8 feet from the present surface, for such a burial after the surface has assumed its present height is improbable, all the other skeletons having been buried at a depth of from 1 to 3 feet at most, and entirely in surface mould. Of the other relics found in the Ditch, all of which are projected into the average general section, Ncs. 26, 27, 28 and 35, are flint implements found in the mixed mould and chalk silting, about half-way up the Ditch; they are represented in Plate 260, Figs. 1, 2 and 6, and Plate 259, Fig. 1. No. 35 is of remarkable form and of palaeolithic type, but not of that period. Above this, Nos. 23 and 24 are objects of the Bronze Age, the former certainly, the latter probably, although the razor, No. 23, was found at a depth of 1 foot only, but at the edge of the Ditch on the north-west side. The surface of the silting during the Bronze Age must have been concave as it is now, and objects deposited on the side of the Ditch must therefore have rested higher up than objects deposited in the middle. These two objects appear to me to be the only metallic ones found in the silting of the Ditch which represent the Bronze Age. All the other relics about and above them are of the Romano-British period, and were found in the surface mould, consisting of Roman coins, iron knife, spearhead, fibulae, bronze nail-cleaner, buckle, ring, horse-shoe and nails, spindle-whorls, &c., all of which are figured in Plates 258 and 260, and are marked with similar numbers on this Plan. No. 1, an Anglo-Saxon bronze gilt bridle ornament, Fig. 15, Plate 258, was found at a depth of 1.7 feet on the east side, but in all probability, it must have fallen down from the surface unobserved, during our excavation.
Turning now to the position of the classified fragments of pottery, the positions of which are shown in the section and table, Plate 251, we find that they tally completely with the evidence afforded by the relics, all the Roman and Romano- British pottery being clustered together at the top in the surface mould, below which nothing but Bronze Age pottery was found, but a few fragments of the latter were found, as is usually the case, mixed up with the Roman pottery above. No pottery of distinctly Neolithic quality could be satisfactorily determined, but quite on the bottom on the south-west side, a few fragments corresponded to a fragment found with the primary interments in the Barrow, afterwards to be described, of close compact texture, mixed with grains of chalk only, and having no pieces of quartz in it. These may very probably be pieces of Neolithic pottery, but they were not in sufficient quantity to make certain of the point. I have little or no experience of Neolithic pottery in this neighbourhood, and do not like to hazard a conjecture upon insufficient data, but I have little doubt that this pottery, differing as it does from the coarsest quality of bronze age British, will turn out to be Neolithic. The pieces have been carefully preserved for future comparisons.
Turning now to the position of the classified fragments of pottery, the positions of which are shown in the section and table, Plate 251, we find that they tally completely with the evidence afforded by the relics, all the Roman and Romano- British pottery being clustered together at the top in the surface mould, below which nothing but Bronze Age pottery was found, but a few fragments of the latter were found, as is usually the case, mixed up with the Roman pottery above. No pottery of distinctly Neolithic quality could be satisfactorily determined, but quite on the bottom on the south-west side, a few fragments corresponded to a fragment found with the primary interments in the Barrow, afterwards to be described, of close compact texture, mixed with grains of chalk only, and having no pieces of quartz in it. These may very probably be pieces of Neolithic pottery, but they were not in sufficient quantity to make certain of the point. I have little or no experience of Neolithic pottery in this neighbourhood, and do not like to hazard a conjecture upon insufficient data, but I have little doubt that this pottery, differing as it does from the coarsest quality of bronze age British, will turn out to be Neolithic. The pieces have been carefully preserved for future comparisons.
The excavation of the mound commenced on the south side, excavating down to the old surface line, which, as in all earthworks in a chalk district, was marked by a very distinct line of the old mould, showing the surface before the chalk from the Ditch was thrown over it. The commencement of the excavation is shown in the photograph, Fig. 2, Plate 255. Blocks of the material of the Barrow, with the mould and turf on the top of them, were left at intervals to facilitate the measure- ment of the depths from the surface of the objects found, as shown in the photograph, Fig. 2, Plate 255. Ten secondary interments, Nos. 10 to 19 inclusive, were found on the top of the Barrow on the west side (none on the east of the central line) in addition to those found in the Ditch, buried at a depth of 0-9 foot to l-8 feet from the surface. Of these, two were fully extended on the line of the Barrow, six irregularly extended, one crouched, and one in fragments. Six were buried in couples, the heads, or upper portion in the absence of heads, being, in two cases, in opposite directions. Four of these secondary interments in the Barrow were with heads and six without, including amongst the former. Nos. 13 and 15, Fig. 2, Plate 254, which had evidently been decapitated, and the head placed on the left side touching the hand of the left extended arm. In the others, Nos. 10, 12, 16, 17, 18 and 19, the heads were entirely wanting, except the lower jaw of No. 19, which was found with the body. So that it appears obvious that for some reason or other decapitation had been the cause of death in the case of probably seven out of the ten.
In the secondary interments buried in the Ditch, as already mentioned, two out of the nine appeared to have certainly been decapitated. One of the two found together in the Ditch, viz., No. 6, had also the feet cut off, as shown in the photograph Fig. 1, Plate 254. Of the nineteen secondary interments found in the Ditch and Barrow, two, Nos. 8 and 9, have always been stated to be of the Stone Age for the reasons given. Of the remaining seventeen, eight of the skulls of which could be measured, that of a young person, No. 11, being excluded, seven wrnre dolichocephalic, and one. No. 1, mesaticephalic, corresponding very nearly with those of the Romano-British skulls found elsewhere in the neighbourhood. They were also short people. The average estimated stature was 5 feet 5 inches, which is slightly higher than the Romano-British skeletons of the district. They were everywhere associated with pottery and relics of the Homan age, coins of Trajan, Tetricus, Gallienus, Constantine I, Constantine II, Constans and Magnentius, being included in the same surface mould in which they were buried. A piece of red Samian pottery was found touching the tibia of Skeleton No. 13, Fig. 2, Plate 254, and Fig. 7, Plate 257.
After the top surface of the Barrow had been dug over, the remaining materials of the Barrow were entirely removed, and on the old surface line beneath the Barrow was found an oblong trench cut in the solid chalk, 1|- to 3^ feet wide by 3 feet average depth, enclosing an oblong area 93 feet long by 34 feet wide, with an opening on the south side 8|- feet wide. The opening appeared to have been defined by a ditch on each side, of the same dimensions, but that on the east side was destroyed by the workmen before its form could be seen. The trench had perfectly upright sides all round, and was filled with loose nodules of flint, 1,370 in number, and 8 small fragments of sandstone. The use of these nodules of flint was shown in the soil above, in which traces of wooden piles were discovered, three of which were seen sticking into the trench. One of them is shown in the photograph at D, Fig. 1, Plate 255. It is evident that for some purpose, an oblong enclosure of wooden piles was formed on the surface of the ground before the Ditch was dug and the soil thrown over the primary interments. This may, in all probability, be a wooden version of the stone chambers so often found enclosing the interments in long barrows in other districts where stone has been more easily obtained than wood. Only one large block of Sarsen stone was found in the Barrow at the corner of the entrance on the south side, F, Fig. 1, Plate 255, and Plan, Plate 249. Nodular flints are not found in the chalk of this hill. None were found in the sides of the Ditch and none in the body of the Barrow, so that those found in the trench of the oblong enclosure must have been imported from a little distance.
On clearing the old surface line within the above-mentioned oblong enclosure, we at last came to the primary interments, two photographic views of which are shown in Figs. 1 and 2, Plate 256. These were buried beneath a small mound of turf or mould 2'3 feet high, and resting on the old surface line, no excavation having been made in the surface except for two small oval pits, 10 inches and 3 feet deep respectively on the north and south of the primary interments, filled with mould, but containing nothing except a flint flake and a small fragment of coarse pottery, Fig. 19, Plate 257, to which I have already alluded as resembling fragments found on the floor of the south-western ditch, and which from their containing fragments of chalk only and no hard substances, I have conjectured may be pottery of the Neolithic age. The primary interments, six in number, were included in an oblong space 8 feet in length by 3^ feet in width, and were lying on the surface of the original turf, beneath the small mound of turf already spoken of, as shown in the accompanying woodcut. There wras a small collection of nodular flints on the west side, laid out like the foundation of a wall. Nos. 1 and 2 had their bones in sequence crouched on the right side with the heads to the southward. No. 6 was also in sequence to the north-west of Nos. 1 and 2, crouched on the right side with the head to the southward and legs to the north. The skull of this skeleton was broken in fragments and decayed, and could not be restored. The other three skeletons, Nos. 3, 4 and 5, were not in sequence, but put in as bones on the north-east corner of the space allotted to the interments, the long bones being laid out in some cases parallel to one another by the sides of the skulls. This is an occurrence not at all unfrequent in early interments, and has been noticed and described several times in the Roman and Bronze Age interments of this district and in interments of other countries, including Egypt and elsewhere. Whether they were the bones of relatives exhumed and re-interred with their relatives, or whether the result of other causes, cannot now be determined with certainty. All we can do is to record the fact. The absence of relics with these primary interments is not at all a matter for surprise, judging by the results of other explorations in Neolithic graves. The primary interments are well shown in the two photographs, Plate 256, which are representations of them taken after the bones had been laid bare and the soil carefully removed from them. The distinction between the skeletons in sequence and the collection of skulls and bones is well shown, as also the dark soil of the little mound of mould or turf above them. The centre of the primary interments was about 20 feet to the south-east of the centre of the Barrow, and we could not find any trace of a corresponding primary interment on the north-west side.
Plan of Wor Barrow on Handley Down after Excavation by General Pitt-Rivers in 1893-4 showing the Ditch re-excavated and the barrow removed.
Description Of Plate 253.
Two Views Of The Ditch Of Wor Barrow After The Silting Had Been Completely Removed From It, And The Body Of The Barrow Not Yet Touched.
Fig. 1. This view was taken from the west corner of the Barrow, looking towards the south-western Causeway, which is seen at the further end of the Ditch, with the man holding a pick and shovel standing on it. The Ditch was 13 feet deep at the furthest point, where the man with the levelling rod is standing. The sides of the Ditch are irregular, but must have dis-integrated a good deal when it was open. It has already been mentioned, that the depression showing the mark of the Ditch on the surface before excavation, was not more than 2 feet all round. The two pickets on the top of the mound on the left, mark the central ridge of the Barrow. The sides and bottom of the Ditch shown in the photograph are of hard undisturbed chalk, all the chalk rubble and loose silting having been removed, and thrown up outside the Barrow to the right of the photograph.
Fig. 2 represents the eastern Ditch of the Barrow, taken from the northern corner of the Barrow, looking- towards the eastern C'ausewav, on which two men are standing, and showing part of the top of the south-eastern Ditch beyond. This Ditch was also about 13 feet deep at the spot where the man with the levelling rod is standing; but it shallowed a good deal towards the north, where the upper part of it is seen in the foreground. There was a ledge all along to the right, where two men with shovels are standing, which looked as if the Ditch had been originally marked out wider on that side and subsequently narrowed. The body of the Barrow is seen untouched on the right. The two pickets on the top to the right, mark the central ridge of the Barrow. The position of the town of Cranborne is seen in the far distance.
