Bronze Age pits at Park Farm, Bulls Lodge Quarry (EHER 80634)

Trial trenching in 2020 recorded a scatter of pits of probable Bronze Age date in evaluated Areas 1, 2 and 3, in Trenches 62, 73, 122 and 162. Of note is a pit in Trench 122 which contained 148 sherds of Late Bronze Age flint tempered pottery, along with two spindlewhorls made in the same fabric. Earlier prehistoric activity in the area was also indicated by a small assemblage of worked flint including two scrapers, a backed knife and retouched flake.

August 2020. Trial trenching. Evaluation recorded a scatter of pits of probable Bronze Age date in evaluated Areas 1, 2 and 3, in Trenches 62, 73, 122 and 162. Bronze Age pottery was recovered from four features, with some likely occurring as residual material in later features. Four sherds of flint tempered pottery recovered from a pit in Trench 73 were associated with fragments of burnt bone and probably date to between 1500BC and 1150BC. While undated, three pits in Trench 5 contained a similar fill to the pit in Trench 73 and are probably contemporary. Later Bronze Age material was recovered from a pit in Trench 122, which contained 148 sherds of flint tempered pottery, including rim sherds suggesting jars and bowls of Post-Deverel-Rimbury tradition. The sherds represent at least four vessels and are suggestive of the Late Bronze Age date range of 1150-800 BC. The pottery was found along with two spindlewhorls made of the same flint tempered fabric and considered to be of the same Late Bronze Age date. A single sherd of Bronze Age pottery was also recovered from within a ditch in Trench 162. This was found alongside a pottery sherd of medieval date and is likely residual in nature. The general dispersed nature of the Bronze Age material across site suggests isolated use, though the quantities of pottery recovered from Trench 122 may indicate further activity in the vicinity. This scattered distribution of single Bronze Age pits is typical of this landscape, as demonstrated by the previous Bulls Lodge Quarry investigations. Earlier prehistoric activity in the area was also indicated by a small assemblage of worked flint including two scrapers, a backed knife and retouched flake. While these could not be accurately dated, they are thought to be broadly of pre-Bronze Age date, with the backed knife from Trench 62 thought to be of Mesolithic to Early Bronze age date. <1>