In Site I, ditch F272 was cut by a small round pit some 2m across, which was itself cut by a rectangular pit (F271) some 4m by 4.5m but extending westwards beyond the trench. This rectangular pit had a flattish bottom on which was a small hearth. The northern end of ditch F272/F297 was cut by a shaft (F282). This was cut on the east by a less deep and more irregular scoop (F33), and itself cut by a third pit (F284) in which was a substantial amount of burnt clay. Around the eastern end of this feature, and possibly associated with it, was a series of eight postholes representing some kind of structure.
Middle Bronze Age activity is best represented at the northern end of Site K where a series of small pits, postholes and gulleys seem to represent the remains of a structure and associated working areas. Some of the features cut the Neolithic ditch but most lie to the north (putatively outside). A dense scatter of bucket-urn style pottery was found within and around the structure. Many of the pits contained an ashy fill with abundant charcoal. One feature (F418) is interpreted as a small furnace of some kind and has been dated to 1251-993 Cal BC (2910 ±70 BP (Beta-110692). Samples of slag-like material and the clay lining are currently (1997) being examined in an effort to shed light on the exact purpose of this structure. Pyrotechnology is certainly involved; some kind of metalworking is the most likely interpretation.
Two large working hollows or pits are putatively associated with this middle Bronze Age phase. The largest of the two lies within Site L, and has been recognized as a geophysical anomaly since its discovery in 1995 (Loughlin in Darvill 1996a, 21-4; 1997, 18). Measuring 20m south-west to north-east by 12.5m south-east to north-west, this massive pit was selectively excavated to a depth of c.1.5m. The fill is locally loose and looks like a series of collapses or differential infillings. This is what accounts for the unusual nature of the geophysical anomaly. To the north-west the side appears to slope down like an access ramp; the remainder of the edges are steep. At the north-east end there is what appears to be a small pit in the side of the feature. Reddening of the walls suggests in-situ burning. Finds are few, but include some sherds of Bronze Age pottery in the upper fills.
The
second example (F350) is slightly smaller
in size, and lies to the north-east of the putative industrial area. It too
was discovered during the 1995 geophysical survey. It is roughly circular
in plan, about 7m in diameter. Again it was partly excavated to a depth of
1.5m. The sides are steep, sheer in places, with traces of collapse. No certain
bottom was reached, although an ash-rich layer at a depth of about 1.4m towards
the western side suggests the presence of a stabilization horizon. Bronze
Age pottery was found throughout the fills excavated in 1997.
Neither of these two large features
is easily explained, although it should be noted that more than a dozen
similar anomalies are represented on the geophysical survey. Further excavations
and the investigation of the samples recovered is needed before a definitive
interpretation can be offered. At present both are seen either as working
hollows prehaps later used as a midden.