Kingsborough 2 Causewayed Enclosure |
| Hob Uid: 1538807 | |
Location :
Kent
Swale
Eastchurch
|
| Grid Ref : TQ9757072300 |
| Summary : A Neolithic causewayed enclosure with a single circuit, known as Kingsborough 2. It was discovered in 2004 during excavation by Wessex Archaeology prior to housing development. Only a small portion of this was exposed within the development area, but it seems to have a D-shaped plan opening over the scarp slope. No internal Neolithic features were identified. The ditch was generally steep-sided and flat-bottomed, and up to 1.70 metres wide and 1.20 metres deep. A small amount of pottery was retrieved from Kingsborough 2, and they concentrated in or near the bottom of the ditch. Iron Age and Saxon features were also present within the enclosure. A further causewayed enclosure lies to the south (Kingsborough 1). The topography is significant in that Kingsborough 1 lies on the southern slope, below the crest, with a southerly aspect, and Kingsborough 2 is at the crest, and has a northerly aspect. The Kingsborough enclosures were included in recent research into the dating of early Neolithic enclosures. A series of six radiocarbon determinations indicated that the ditch was almost wholly infilled by the Middle Bronze Age. It was probably constructed in the 37th century cal BC or in the first decades of the 36th century cal BC (around 3710 to 3635 cal BC), and was probably built before Kingsborough 1. Both enclosures seem to have gone out of use in the 36th century cal BC if not before, (estimated as 3645-3435 cal BC) and it is possible that both were used for only a generation or two. |
More information : A Neolithic causewayed enclosure with a single circuit, known as Kingsborough 2. It was discovered in 2004 during excavation by Wessex Archaeology prior to housing development. Only a small portion of this was exposed within the development area, but it seems to have a D-shaped plan opening over the scarp slope. No internal Neolithic features were identified. The ditch was generally steep-sided and flat-bottomed, and up to 1.70 metres wide and 1.20 metres deep. A small amount of pottery was retrieved from Kingsborough 2, and they concentrated in or near the bottom of the ditch. Iron Age and Saxon features were also present within the enclosure.
A further causewayed enclosure lies to the south (Kingsborough 1). The topography is significant in that Kingsborough 1 lies on the southern slope, below the crest, with a southerly aspect, and Kingsborough 2 is at the crest, and has a northerly aspect. (1-2)
The Kingsborough enclosures were included in recent research into the dating of early Neolithic enclosures.
A series of six radiocarbon determinations were determined from Kingsborough 2. The results indicated that the ditch was almost wholly infilled by the Middle Bronze Age. A chronological model constructed on the basis of the results suggests that Kingsborough 2 was constructed probably in 3710-3635 cal BC. The enclosure is estimated to have gone out of use in 3645-3435 cal BC. Overall use of the enclosure was found to have spanned up to 315 years, but was more likely to have been over the course of one or two generations.
The Kingsborough enclosures were both probably constructed in the 37th century cal BC or in the first decades of the 36th century cal BC, Kingsborough 2 probably being built earlier than 1. Both enclosures seem to have gone out of use in the 36th century cal BC if not before, and it is possible that both were used for only a generation or two. The sections and rapid natural silting observed especially at Kingsborough 2 may suggest that use-lives were even shorter. (3)
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