Early Iron Age pit and ditch, Tenterfield Road (EHER 16761)

A prehistoric east-west running ditch was identified in the north of the site together with a pit in the west. These were tentatively dated to the Early Iron Age from the pottery.

January-February 1996. Trial trenching. Prehistoric activity was identified in the north of the site, in Trenches E and F, where two lengths of a boundary or enclosure ditch were recorded. Both of these produced a small amount of pottery which is probably dated to the Early Iron Age. The only other feature which might also be dated to the Early Iron Age is a small pit in the west of the site, in Trench C. Residual Early Iron Age pottery was also found in a later pit in Trench C. Other features in Trench C (a gully and pit), Trench E (pit), Trench F (ditch) and Trench G (pit and two ditches) produced no dating evidence, but may have been contemporary with the dated Early Iron Age features. Most of the undated features seem to be clustered together with the dated features, and none reflects any obviously medieval or post-medieval alignment. Features without dating evidence are more likely to be prehistoric in date than Roman and medieval, since these later periods tend to produce much larger quantities of pottery. <1>