Old Yeavering Henge |
| Hob Uid: 3938 | |
Location :
Northumberland
Kirknewton
|
| Grid Ref : NT9285030430 |
| Summary : A late Neolithic henge monument visible as a cropmark on air photographs. The site comprises a sub circular ditched enclosure (internal diameter circa 16 - 19 metres) with two opposed entrances, situated approximately south-east and north-west. Excavations in 1976 encountered much Early Medieval disturbance (NT 93 SW 61: the site is close to the Old Yeavering Saxon palace site NT 93 SW 11). A stone setting covering a grave was found just outside the western entrance, the burial surviving only as a silhouette. No datable finds were present, but as the burial was contracted it is assumed to be broadly contemporary with the henge. A nearby pit contained burnt material and carbonised nut remains, and yielded a radiocarbon date of 2940+/-90 bc (uncalibrated). Just outside the east entrance was another pit, this one containing Neolithic potsherds. The ditch contained large numbers of Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age potsherds in secondary contexts. No internal features could certainly be associated with the henge. A standing stone of uncertain date stands nearby (NT 93 SW 19). The henge was recognised as a cropmark only after completion of Hope-Taylor's excavations at the nearby Saxon site. In his report, he mistakenly interpreted the cropmark enclosure as "a square structure not unlike a Romano-Celtic temple". |
More information : NT 929304: Old Yeavering Henge was discovered on air photographs 200m. east-south-east of the Anglo-Saxon palace site (NT 93 SW 11). It was found to be a double entrance henge, with the entrances aligned northwest-southeast. Subsequent excavation in 1976 revealed a 4m. wide flattish bottom ditch encompassing an elliptical area of 16 by 19m.
Outside the western entrance a grave was uncovered. It was contained in an oval pit 1.96 by 1.14m and 0.70m. deep. The inhumation burial appeared as a silhouette of buff coloured grey material in orange gravel. It lay on its right side, head to the south and was contracted.
There were no dateable finds with the burial but it was probably contemporary with the henge. A little to the north of the grave was an irregular bowl-shaped pit circa 0.80 c 0.62m. and 0.31m. deep. Radio carbon dating from a layer of burnt material in the fill gave a date of 2940 +/- 90 bc. This pit appeared to have had a domestic function. Some 6m. outside the eastern entrance of the henge was an irregularly shaped depression containing a large number of Neolithic sherds. The depression does not appear to have been deliberately constructed. The henge was sandwiched between a rectangular house and a double enclosure ditch which appear to be synonymous with the Anglo Saxon palace site. (1)
Yeavering. Sub-oval cropmark enclosure broken by two entrances. A stone setting covering a grave was found 2m outside the W entrance on the main axis of the henge, with a domestic pit a short distance to the north. 6m outside the E entrance was an irregular depression. No prehistoric features were recovered in the interior which had been extensively reused in the Saxon period. Saxon features cut into the upper ditch fill.
Dimensions, internal diameter 16-19m, ditch 3.5-4m wide. Orientation ESE, WNW. (2)
The site has been mapped from the air as part of the Milfield Geoarchaeology Project. (See archive object MD000295) |