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The Blackwater is not a Back Water: Locating the Mesolithic and its Environment at Eversley Quarry, Fleet Hill Farm, Finchampstead, Berkshire

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 September 2023

PHIL HARDING ,
ALEX BROWN  and
INÉS LÓPEZ-DÓRIGA
PHIL HARDING
Affiliation:
Wessex Archaeology, Portway House, Old Sarum Park, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP4 6EB Emails: p.harding@wessexarch.co.uk; a.brown@wessexarch.co.uk; i.lopezdoriga@wessexarch.co.uk
ALEX BROWN
Affiliation:
Wessex Archaeology, Portway House, Old Sarum Park, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP4 6EB Emails: p.harding@wessexarch.co.uk; a.brown@wessexarch.co.uk; i.lopezdoriga@wessexarch.co.uk
INÉS LÓPEZ-DÓRIGA
Affiliation:
Wessex Archaeology, Portway House, Old Sarum Park, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP4 6EB Emails: p.harding@wessexarch.co.uk; a.brown@wessexarch.co.uk; i.lopezdoriga@wessexarch.co.uk
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Abstract

Archaeological fieldwork at Eversley Quarry, Fleet Hill Farm, Finchampstead, Berkshire documented evidence of Mesolithic activity, associated with paleoenvironmental deposits, on the Blackwater River floodplain, a river for which activity of this period was previously unknown. The discovery evolved from initial recognition of worked flint artefacts across a well weathered, stripped subsoil surface in part of the site. Additional material was collected subsequently from the summit of an adjacent low knoll. The findings were of sufficient extent and importance to warrant supplementary archaeological fieldwork using a gridded test pit strategy to evaluate the Mesolithic potential in remaining parts of the site. This resulted in the identification of additional clusters of worked flints, which were preserved in situ.

The clusters were predominantly of Mesolithic date but also included Neolithic and Bronze Age artefacts, indicating prolonged use of the landscape. Concentrations were consistently located on slightly elevated sand bars flanking palaeochannels of a formerly braided river system. The contemporaneity of the palaeodrainage and Mesolithic activity has been confirmed by radiocarbon dates from peat that formed during the Holocene. The collective results mark a significant contribution to knowledge of the Blackwater River valley, a major communications artery in the Mesolithic period linking the west end of the Wealden Greensand to the Rivers Thames and Kennet. These findings also highlight the importance that river valleys can make to locations that have been less well studied but nevertheless enjoyed prolonged use.

Résumé

RÉSUMÉ

La Blackwater n’est pas une eau stagnante : localiser le Mésolithique et son environnement à Eversley Quarry, Fleet Hill Farm, Finchampstead, Berkshire, par Phil Harding, Alex Brown et Inés López-Dóriga.

Des recherches de terrain à Eversley Quarry, Fleet Hill Farm, Finchampstead, Berkshire, ont mis en évidence la présence d’activité mésolithique, associée à des dépôts paléo-environnementaux, dans la plaine d’inondation de la rivière Blackwater, où aucune trace de telles activités n’était connue auparavant. Cette découverte a commencé avec l’identification d’outillage lithique taillé réparti dans une partie du site sur une couche de sol inférieure, exposée par l’érosion. Du matériel supplémentaire fut ensuite prélevé sur le sommet d’une butte basse adjacente. La quantité et l’importance de ces découvertes étaient alors suffisantes pour justifier une intervention archéologique comprenant une série de sondages disposés en grille, afin d’évaluer le potentiel mésolithique des autres secteurs du site. Cette opération permit d’identifier d’autres concentrations de silex taillés, préservés in situ.

Ces concentrations datent essentiellement du Mésolithique mais elles comptent également du mobilier néolithique et de l’âge du Bronze, ce qui indique une longue utilisation de ce paysage. Les concentrations se situaient systématiquement sur des bancs de sable de faible élévation, situés sur les bords de paléocanaux d’un ancien cours d’eau en tresses. La contemporanéité de ces paléocanaux et de l’activité mésolithique a été confirmée par la datation au radiocarbone de matériel tourbeux formé durant l’Holocène. Ces résultats collectifs représentent une contribution importante aux connaissances sur la vallée de la Blackwater, une artère de communication majeure reliant l’extrémité ouest de Wealden Greensand aux rivières Thames et Kennet. Ces découvertes soulignent également l’importance des vallées fluviales pour des lieux qui ont été moins étudiés mais qui jouirent néanmoins de fréquentations sur le long terme.

Zusammenfassung

ZUSAMMENFASSUNG

Der Blackwater ist kein Backwater: Die Lokalisierung des Mesolithikums und seiner Umwelt in Eversley Quarry, Fleet Hill Farm, Finchampstead, Berkshire, von Phil Harding, Alex Brown und Inés López-Dóriga

Archäologische Feldforschungen in Eversley Quarry, Fleet Hill Farm, Finchampstead, Berkshire, erbrachten Nachweise für mesolithische Aktivitäten, die mit paläoökologischen Ablagerungen im Überschwemmungsgebiet des Blackwater River in Verbindung stehen, einem Fluss, für den Aktivitäten aus dieser Zeit bisher unbekannt waren. Die Fundstelle zeigte sich durch die anfängliche Entdeckung von bearbeiteten Feuersteinartefakten auf der Oberfläche eines stark verwitterten, abgetragenen Untergrundes in einem Bereich des Fundplatzes. Weitere Funde wurden später auf der Kuppe eines angrenzenden niedrigen Hügels gesammelt. Umfang und Bedeutung der Funde waren ausreichend groß, um zusätzliche archäologische Feldarbeiten zu rechtfertigen, bei denen ein Raster von Testschnitten angelegt wurde, um das mesolithische Potenzial in den übrigen Bereichen des Geländes zu bewerten. Dies führte zur Identifizierung zusätzlicher Cluster von bearbeiteten Feuersteinen, die in situ erhalten geblieben waren.

Diese Cluster datieren vornehmlich ins Mesolithikum, schließen aber auch neolithische und bronzezeitliche Artefakte ein, was eine fortgesetzte Nutzung der Landschaft anzeigt. Fundkonzentrationen befanden sich durchweg auf leicht erhöhten Sandbänken, die Paläokanäle eines ehemals verzweigten Flusssystems flankierten. Die Gleichzeitigkeit von Paläodrainage und mesolithischer Aktivität wurde durch Radiokarbondaten aus Torf bestätigt, der sich während des Holozäns gebildet hatte. Die zusammengeführten Ergebnisse stellen einen bedeutenden Beitrag zum Wissen über das Flusstal des Blackwater dar, das im Mesolithikum eine wichtige Verkehrsader gewesen war, die das westliche Ende des Wealden Greensand mit den Flüssen Themse und Kennet verband. Die Ergebnisse unterstreichen auch die Bedeutung, die Flusstäler für Räume haben können, die weniger gut erforscht sind, aber dennoch lange Zeit genutzt wurden.

Resumen

RESUMEN

Río Blackwater no es un remanso: identificando el Mesolítico y su ambiente en Eversley Quarry, Fleet Hill Farm, Finchampstead, Berkshire, por Phil Harding, Alex Brown e Inés López-Dóriga

Los trabajos arqueológicos en Eversley Quarry, Fleet Hill Farm, Finchampstead, Berkshire documentaron evidencia de actividades durante el Mesolítico, asociadas a depósitos paleoambientales en las zonas inundables del río Blackwater, un cauce cuya actividad durante este período era previamente desconocida. El descubrimiento se produjo desde la identificación inicial de artefactos líticos trabajados a lo largo de una superficie erosionada y natural en una parte del sitio. Posteriormente, se recogieron materiales adicionales en la cima de un montículo adyacente. Estos descubrimientos fueron suficientemente extensos e importantes como para garantizar una intervención arqueológica suplementaria empleando una estrategia de sondeos en una superficie cuadriculada para evaluar el potencial de las ocupaciones mesolíticas en las restantes partes del yacimiento. Esto supuso la identificación de conjuntos adicionales de útiles de sílex trabajados que fueron preservados in situ. Estos conjuntos eran predominantemente de cronología mesolítica, aunque también incluían artefactos neolíticos y de la Edad del Bronce, indicando un uso prolongado del espacio. Las concentraciones fueron consistentemente localizadas en zonas arenosas ligeramente elevadas que flanqueaban los paleocanales de un sistema fluvial previamente trazado.

La contemporaneidad del sistema de paleodrenaje y las actividades mesolíticas ha sido confirmada por las dataciones radiocarbónicas de la turba que se formó durante el Holoceno. Los resultados globales marcan una significante contribución al conocimiento del valle del río Blackwater, una importante arteria de comunicación durante el Mesolítico que unía el extremo oeste de Wealden Greensand con los ríos Támesis y Kennet. Estos descubrimientos también resaltan la importancia que los valles de los ríos pueden tener en los lugares menos estudiados pero que, sin embargo, disfrutaron de un uso prolongado.

Keywords

MesolithicBlackwater Riverflint scatterspollen analysisBayesian modelling
Type
Research Article
Information
Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society , Volume 89 , December 2023 , pp. 127 - 155
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Prehistoric Society

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