Summary : A Neolithic ring ditch excavated in 1986, one of several Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments excavated in the area in connection with the Raunds project (see asociated records). The site comprised a sub-oval ditched enclosure up to circa 23 metres wide, with a single west-northwest-facing causeway or entrance. The ditch showed evidence for deliberate backfilling after some initial silting, and was later redefined via a shallow recut. There was no definite evidence for a bank or mound. Charcoal from the primary ditch fill produced a calibrated radiocarbon date of 3342-3036 BC, while a piece of antler from the recut was dated to 3338-2926 BC. 5 metres to the east of the ring ditch was a post-built structure circa 4 metres in diameter. No dating evidence was recovered, but it may have been broadly contemporary with the ring ditch. 30 metres to the north of the ring ditch was a pit containing Grooved Ware sherds and struck flints. Hazelnut shells from its fill produced a date of 2912-2667 BC. Another pit 10 metres further north contained two potsherds, two struck flints, and some human skull fragments. Within the excavated area and in the immediate vicinity of the ring ditch, later activity was represented by a double-ditch alignment and part of a field system of Middle Bronze Age date. Iron Age or Romano-British four- and six-post structures were also excavated. |