Chance

Details of Hyena Den cave on Pastscape

A wide low arch on the east side of the Wookey Hole ravine. The cave was originally discovered circa 1852 by workmen cutting a water channel for nearby mills. At the time, a coin hoard; consisting of silver coins of Allectus (AD 293-6) and Commodus (AD 180-92) were distributed among the workmen and ‘third brass’ coins, of Constantius II, (AD 337-61) Valentinian I (AD 364-75) and Valens (AD 364-78); probably deposited in the late 4th century AD and comprising several hundred Roman coins, mainly silver, in a broken pot was found, as was a “bone bed” featuring remains of woolly rhinocerous, hyaena and other Pleistocene mammals. Some human skeletal material was also claimed to have been found, but this has never been confirmed. William Boyd Dawkins undertook excavations from 1859 until at least 1874, uncovering further animal remains as well as Paleaolithic flint and chert implements, this representing an early demonstration of the contemporaneity of extinct fauna and human activity. Further digging occurred intermittently throughout the later 19th century and beyond. The University of Bristol Speleological Society excavated at the cave between 1966 and 1970, encountering mainly disturbed deposits, but no artefacts. Trenching by the British Museum in 1992 located some undisturbed deposits, with finds including the debris from Middle Palaeolithic tool manufacture, further animal remains, and a substantial deposit of Pleistocene fish remains.

Details of Sun Hole cave on Pastscape

[ST 4671 5404] SUN HOLE [G.T.]. (1) Cave, 120’ up the cliff, vertically over the car park, excavations 1927 and 1951/3 revealed Roman coins (AD 273-345) and pottery, a few I.A. sherds; B.A., flints and pottery (inc. a globular urn); leaf-shaped arrowhead, Ne. pottery spoon and pottery, and a hearth in a Beaker/NE. A. horizon associated with human remains. This overlaid a Pleistocene deposit which contained faunal remains and a few flint implements of typically late Creswellian facies. Finds in U.B.S.S. mus. (2-5) Sun Hole is in the cliff face on the northern side of the Gorge at ST 46735408. Positioned at 1:2500. (6) The radiocarbon date of the Upper Palaeolithic at Sun Hole is c.10428 BC. (7) Additional references. (8-10)

Details of Sugar Loaf Slitter on Pastscape

[ST 46835414] Sugar Loaf Rock [T.I.] (1) Bones of Cave Lion, Cave Bear and Hyaena and possibly Rhinoceros found in a fissure behind Sugarloaf Rock. In Goughs Cave Musuem. (2) This fissure is known as Sugar loaf Slitter and is at ST 46905415. There seems to be no record of any human remains from this site. Positioned at 1:2500. (3)

Details of Sow’s Hole rock shelter on Pastscape

A rock shelter located at the foot of the cliff on the southern side of Cheddar Gorge. It is one of two, the other known as Pig’s Hole (ST 45 SE 2). There has been uncertainty in the past as to which is which. It has been decided, rather arbitrarily, that the smaller of the two, located at ST 47845455 should be known as Sow’s Hole. Excavations in 1930 apparently recovered Iron Age potsherds.

Details of Soldier’s Hole rock shelter on Pastscape

[ST 4690 5398] SOLDIERS’ HOLE [G.T.]. (1) Rock shelter, 150’ above the road. Excavated 1925-6 and later. R.B. pottery, a coin (copy of a third brass of Claudius ii), E.I.A. material, Ne. sherds and flints, including a partly polished flint axe were found in a disturbed top layer. The bottom two layers of the deposit contained flints of La Madeleine and Solutrian type. The faunal remains in these layers were late Pleistocene. Finds in Goughs Cavern Mus. Piggott lists a B.A. Globular urn from Soldiers Hole in Wells Museum. (2-6) Soldier’s Hole is at ST 4686 5400. In addition to the finds listed above a single looped socketted axe is displayed in the museum of Gough’s Cavern. Positioned at 1:2500. (7)

Details of Pig’s Hole rock shelters on Pastscape

[ST 47755453] Pig’s Hole’ [ST 47605452] Sow’s Hole; rock shelters containing derived material (silt, etc.). Sow’s Hole was explored by R.F. Parry in 1930 and a few shards of I.A. pottery were found. (1-2) These cave shelters are at the foot of the cliff as the southern side of the Gorge at ST 47705454 and ST 47845455. The present authorities on Cheddar caves – N.R. Barrington, Oak House, Axbridge; I.W. Stanton, “Iona”, Easton, Nr. Wells; (3a) and Prof. Tratman (1) – know that these are referred to as Pig’s and Sow’s Holes by Bolch (2), but they are uncertain as to which the names should be correctly applied. For convenience it has been arbitrarily accepted that the large cave shelter at ST 47705454 should be known as Pig’s Hole, and that the small overhang at ST 47845455 should be Sow’s Hole. (3)

Details of The Slitter and Long Hole Cave on Pastscape

[Name ST 467 538]Long Hole [T.I.]. (1) ST 4667 5389. The Slitter and Long Hole Cave. The former consisted originally of a steep scree slope (part destroyed when building the Cave Man Restaurant) leading up to long Hole Cave, alias ‘The Roman Cave’ some 150’ up in the cliff face.
R.B. occupation of Long Hole cave is attested by finds made by Gough, 1887/8 and subsequently in the Slitter below. These include human remains (of at least 15 individuals, aged 4-45), iron spears, pottery, etc. and coins of late Emperors’ ‘sealed together in little heaps’. Boon lists 376 coins dating from the 1st-4th cents. found here and in Goughs Old Cave, and comments that the Bronze coins making the Valentinian total, 284, probably came from a hoard.
A post A.D. 395 coin of Arcadius and a quasi-autonomous bronze of Rome, C. A.D.500, is included in the collection, now in the museum at Goughs Cavern. It is not possible to associate the coins specifically with either find spot. (C.F. ST 45 S.E. 10, Goughs Cavern).
Before 1934 the slitter deposit yielded a bronze palstave: The human remains from here were presented U.B.S.S. Museum, 1951. (1-5)
The entrance to the Long hole is at ST 46685387. The majority of the finds from this cave are displayed in the museum at Gough’s Cavern.
Positioned at 1:2500. (6) Additional reference. (7)

Details of Great Oons Hole on Pastscape

[ST 4675 5393] GREAT OONS HOLE [G.T.]. (1) 300’ above the road, an open hole. Ransacked, with no record of finds: but Upper pa. flints which may have come from this site, including a flint knife hafted to a bone handle, are in the Weston-super-Mare Museum. It also contains iron and bronze buckles, E.I.A. pottery and bone spindle whorls. (2-4) The entrance to Great Oons hole is at ST 4679 5393. Positioned at 1:2500. (5) Additional reference. (6) Natural cave, with modifications, used as operational base.Great Oone’s Cave – among trees on left bank at head of slope, 160 feet above coach park beside Cooper’s Hole which is 200 yards up Cheddar Gorge from Gough’s Cave on left bank at road level. (7)

Details of Gough’s Old Cave on Pastscape

Located a short distance west of the better known Gough’s (New) Cave (ST 45 SE 10), the cave was originally known as The Great Stalactite Cavern, and was on show from at least the late 18th century (when it may also have been inhabited). By 1877, the proprietor was Richard Cox Gough, whose name became associated with it. However, by the 1890s the cave had been eclipsed both as a public attraction and an archaeological site, by Gough’s New Cave. The cave clearly held a large accumulation of material, but much was removed during the 19th century with little record. The talus was removed without record in 1934. Sample excavation of what little remained in the way of cave deposits occurred between 1954-8, although the deposits proved to have been disturbed considerably. Finds included an assemblage of animal bones, including mammals and birds, from which 3 radiocarbon dates have been obtained, ranging from circa 12500 bp to 9300 bp. Iron Age and Romano-British pottery and quern fragments and features described as “hearths” were also found. Other Roman finds included a coin and a few bronze items.

Details of Flint Jack’s Cave rock shelter on Pastscape

ST 46355383 [Sic. probably 46355381] Flint Jack’s Cave: a rock shelter 50’ above the road. Explored 1893, many flint implements, upper Palaeolithic and possibly Creswellian, were found. Two skulls and bones were alledgedly found here: thought to be contemporary with the industry. Finds in the B.M.(British & Mediaeval, and Natural Hist.) and Weston-super-Mare Mus. (1-2) This cave is in the cliff face on the southern side of the Gorge, at ST 4632 5381. Positioned at 1:2500. (3)

Details of Cooper’s Hole cave on Pastscape

A cave with an entrance on the south side of the road through Cheddar Gorge. The front of the cave has been quarried back, and the interior contains substantial quantities of debris deposited during an episode of flooding in the late 1960s. Exploration in 1931-2 by RF Parry recovered Iron Age pottery from the cave and from the area of the car park immediately to the south, as well as the remains of domesticated and wild animals. One sheep bone with a hole bored through the middle was described as a “bobbin”. A female inhumation was also found in the car park area. In 1966 these finds were on display at the museum at Gough’s Cave (ST 45 SE 10). Explorations were also undertaken by the University of Bristol Speleaological Society in the late 1930s, and by several cavers subsequently, primarily in the belief that Cooper’s Hole may have led to a much larger cave system, although no evidence to support this idea has ever been found. In 1998 the cave was investigated by Channel 4’s Time Team. A flint implement and a deposit of animal bones, the latter below the stalagmite layer and thus potentially of very early, perhaps Palaeolithic, date had been found during cave exploration in the 1950s. Waterlogging prevented re-investigation of this deposit. However, a few sheep bones were found elsewhere within the cave system which have been suggested to be probably Prehistoric on the basis of probable cut marks made by a flint tool. A trench was also dug in the car park in front of the present cave entrance, but could not be taken down as far as the postulated Palaeolithic levels for safety reasons.

Details of Bone Hole cave on Pastscape

[Name ST 4820 547] Bone Hole [T.U.] (1) Bone Hole. Cave 30’ deep, human bones found include more than 12 skulls and fragments of others in a detritus of soft mud: but some were imbedded in stalactite. Also found were bones of bear, horse, wolf, boars and Bos; indicating a late period of occupation. (2-4)
The entrance to the Bone Hole is at the northern end of an open fissure at ST 48035472. Surveyed at 1:2500. (5)

Details of White Spot Cave on Pastscape

Cave, consisting of a lofty fissure. Painter tells of a tiny opening which only a boy could pass, within which, on a ledge, stood a little pot which fell to pieces when touched. (1) The pot seems to have been found in White Spot Cave. Its entrance is in the foot of the cliff a short distance up the Gorge from Priddy Hole Slitter at ST 47395442. Mr. C. Painter, the son of the late Mr. V. Painter, says that the pot was found about half way along the fissure, but he thinks that the ledge has been destroyed.

Details of Gough’s Cave on Pastscape

[ST 4666 5386] GOUGH’S CAVERN [G.T.] (Stalactite). (1) Excavations, 1903 and later, revealed an upper Paleolithic burial, hearths, bone and flint implements, a block of Baltic amber, two ‘Batons de Commandemant’ etc. The flints were of Creswellian type. The upper deposits contained E.I.A. & R.B. pottery. Goughs Old Cave, 30’ east of the above ST 4668 5388, excavated 1954-8. Much disturbed; but two hearths were found, one associated with Roman & I.A. ‘B’ pottery, and other with I.A. ‘A’. Fragments of several saddle querns were found unstratified, but parts of two upper stones were associated with the latter hearth. Finds in Goughs Cavern Museum, Weston-Super-Mare Museum, Taunton Mus, and Univ. Mus., Oxford. Roman coins, 1st-4th cent. and possibly later have been found, possibly here or at the Long Hole cave and slitter [ST 45 S.E. 9]. (2-5) The entrance to Gough’s Cavern is at ST 46705391, and the entrance to Gough’s Old Cave is at ST 46785389. Positioned at 1:2500. (6)
Two items of unusual interest from Gough’s Cave (the name which seems now to be adopted for ‘Gough’s Cavern’) are: (a). The skeleton known as ‘the Cheddar man’ which now has a radio carbon dated of 7130 BC approx, and is thought to be a deliberate interment of the very late Palaeolithic.(7). (b). A bone-point with grouped and purposeful-looking notches, which is thought to be some kind of tally or calculating device. (Good coloured illustration). (7-8) Excavations in 1927. (9) Excavations from 1928-1931. (10) Rescue excavation, 1968. (11) Additional references (12-13) Gough’s Old Cave – its history. (14)
Late Palaeolithic exploration of horse and red deer at Gough’s Cave. (15) Bird remains. (16) Human bones. (17) The remains of 2 children and at least 3 adults were found at Gough’s Cave in April-July 1987, during excavations by Lancaster University and the London National History Museum. Possible signs of cannibalism were evident, and a fine collection of artifacts. (18) Additional references. (19-23) The block of amber from Gough’s Cave is one of only three certain amber finds of Mesolithic date from Britain, the other two sites being Starr Carr and Cresswell Crags. (24)

Details of barrow on Pastscape

(ST 52376546) Large bowl barrow 75ft diameter 3-4 ft high, apparently undisturbed, no berm or ditch visible. (1) Scheduled. (2)
Situated at ST 52396549. Surveyed at 1:2500. (3) Situated in the bottom of a shallow valley, currently under pasture, lies a well-preserved bowl barrow. It has an overall diameter of 23.0m and stands up to 1.3m high. there is no visible ditch. 1:2500 survey transferred to MSD. (4)

Details of barrows on Pastscape

ST 51786475; ST 51956480; ST 51946482; Tumuli [GT] [3 shown] (1) Four mounds are described by Tratman in 1925: T.28,29 [ST 51956480 and ST 51946482] are described as flat-topped tumuli; both surrounded by ditches which are confluent. The northernmost has been disturbed and the spoil thrown onto the second mound. The other mounds,T27 & 30 [ST 51786475 and ST 52106479 recorded as such in 1925, were described by Tratman as almost certainly recent mining-mounds in 1953. (2-3) T28 and T29, at ST 51966480 and ST 51956482, are twin bowl barrows with confluent ditches. Both appear to have been disturbed. Surveyed at 1:2500. The other features indicated by Tratman, T27 and T30, are not antiquities. (4)

Details of barrow on Pastscape

[ST 5164 6484] Long Barrow [GT]. (1) A chambered long barrow – T 26 – on Felton Hill, is oriented slightly east of north. It measures 58 feet long and 43 feet wide, and is 4 feet high. The centre is depressed due to disturbance or a collapsed burial chamber. At the north end two stones probably mark one of the chambers. There is no trace of a surrounding ditch. In 1946 a number of large stones were thrown onto the mound. (2-4)
The feature described by Prof. Tratman is at ST 51626490. It is a disturbed, slightly oval, mound 1.0m high. It is difficult to differentiate between stones that have been dumped on its surface and those that are an integral part of its structure. A small earthfast slab set on edge at S.S.W. perimeter of the top of the mound appears to be an original feature, but it must be regarded as extremely doubtful evidence of a chamber.
The feature is probably a bowl barrow, but it could be windmill mound. It is certainly not a long barrow. Surveyed at 1:2500. (5)

Details of barrows on Pastscape

[Group centred ST 5065 6390] A group of at least six barrows is plotted by various authorities in this area (4), Four are described as simple bowl barrows, T 32-5, in 1925, and were from 40-65 feet in diameter and 1-3 feet high (1) A fifth barrow T 194, was described in the 1930s (3a), and a sixth, T 35A in 1934-5 (2), the latter as a soil-mark visible from the air only. All were gradually destroyed by ploughing and are reported as completely gone by 1946 (3). (1-4)
T32 has been completely destroyed. It was identified by Prof. Tratman when a trench for a telephone cable was cut through it, and sited to ST 5055 6391.
T33 is a bowl barrow which lies astride the hedge between two modern fields at ST 5074 6389. The western part of the mound has been spread by ploughing and is now 0.8m high. The east side has been completely destroyed.
T34 has been completely destroyed and its site cannot be identified on the ground. Prof. Tratman sites it to ST 5057 6386, and says that a large flat stone c. 4ft. square was formerly exposed in its centre.
T35, at ST 5076 6391, has been almost ploughed out but its site is marked by a very slight rise.
T35A is sited to ST 5092 6391 by Tratman but to ST 5083 6383 by Grinsell. Nothing is visible at Tratman’s siting but there is a low, circular, rise in a crop of kale in the position indicated by Grinsell.
T194, at ST 5061 6391, has been almost ploughed out, but its site is marked by a very low rise.
T33, 35, 35A and 194 surveyed at 1:2500. (5)

Details of Burial Chamber on Pastscape

[ST 5006 6439] Burial Chamber [GT]. (1) The Water-stone Dolmen, first described in 1896, comprises the collapsed chamber of a presumed long barrow. The mound was visible but with vague edges, in 1924. There are two fallen uprights with the remains of a third and the cover stone which contains a natural hollow and gives the feature its name. A number of large stones in the garden wall of Cornerpool Farm are said to have come from this site. (2-5)
There are now no traces of a mound and in all other respects the above description is correct. (See GP. AO/65/245/5) Surveyed at 1:2500. (6)

Details of Long Barrow on Pastscape

[ST 4995 6360] Long Barrow [G.T.]. (1) A long barrow – T 31 – oriented E-W, and 154 feet long. The wider and higher end is at the east and is 45-50 feet wide and 3-3 1/2 feet high. Some large stones are visible and a hedge crosses the mound 20 feet from the west end. Both ends are rounded but there are no traces of a surrounding ditch. There is no local name for the barrow or the field. (2-3) This feature appears to be a long barrow, 1.4m high at the east end and 0.3m at the west. Its east end has been planted with trees and used as a dump for stones from field clearance. The rest of the mound has been spread by ploughing. No stones can be seen that appear to be an integral part of the structure. Surveyed at 1: 2,500. (4)

Details of barrow on Pastscape

[ST 5173 6374] A simple bowl barrow, T36, 72 feet in diameter and 2 1/2 feet high (1). This is said to be a traditional burying place and as recently as 1905 a horse was buried in it. (1-2)
This is a circular mound 0.7m high, at ST 5173 6375. There is a strong local tradition that horses were buried in it, but it is impossible to tell from the appearance of the mound whether it is completely modern or a re-utilised bowl barrow. Surveyed at 1:2500. (3)

Details of barrow on Pastscape

[ST 5122 6026] A small mound T 292, 33 feet in diameter and 3 feet high. (1) This mound, 1.1m high is situated at the western end of a narrow ridge, at ST 51236024. It is certainly artificial and is probably a bowl barrow. Surveyed at 1:2500. (2)
A Bronze Age round barrow, probably a bowl barrow, is visible as an earthwork on aerial photographs. The site is centred on ST 5123 6024 and comprises a sub circular mound which measures 8 metres in diameter (4-5). Tumulus (NR). (3)

Details of barrow on Pastscape

[ST 76855969] Tumulus [O.E.] (1) A round barrow 0.9m. high in a pasture field. There is no trace of a ditch. Surveyed at 1/2500. (2)

Details of barrow on Pastscape

[ST 7709 5920] Tumulus [G.T.] (1) This barrow, 74 yds. in circumference and 4-5 ft. high is an O.S. trig. station and has been hollowed to ground level. There are four conifers in the hollow. Skinner calls it “Beacon Barrow”. Three Roman coins of Gallienus, Probus and Constantine were found when firs were planted on the barrow, they were shown to Skinner by Capt. Symonds. (2) Scheduled. (3) A ditchless barrow 1.2m high hollowed in the centre to a depth
of 1.0m. No ground evidence could be found to suggest that this was a beacon. Surveyed at 1/2500. (4)

Details of cists on Pastscape

Skinner notes 2 ruined cists, locally known as The Giants Graves, near the Wellow Brook at Twinhoe. Sites identified from his sketch (as at ST 75905943 and 76135953). (Skinner’s Journals 1819-20, BM Add MSS 33653, 33694, 33663, 33656. Rec 6” O G S Crawford 1927)

Details of Long Barrow on Pastscape

[ST 52056179] Fairy Toot [TI] Long Barrow [GT]. (1) Fairy Toot comprises the remains of a long barrow with transepted gallery. In 1788 it was 150 feet N-S and 75 feet E-W and 40 feet high. It was being destroyed for road metalling and T. Bere describes a port-hole stone which led to a gallery with several chambers containing skeletal remains. Only a single human cranium is now in Bristol City Museum. The bulk of the barrow was made of small white stones covered with 5-6 inches of soil. [See AO/62/302/6 for an 18th C. view of the barrow.] The barrow is now divided into two mounds, ten feet in diameter and four feet high; a cowshed occupies part of the site. (2-4) The most obvious remains of this long barrow is a small tree covered mound 2.5m high. This is composed of small limestone slabs and it would seem that the old lime kiln immediately to the south used stone from the barrow. To the north of the mound a crescentic scarp, maximum height 0.9m, almost certainly represents the northern extremity of the barrow. Surveyed at 1:2500 (See AO/65/237/2 for an 18th/19th century illustration of the gallery) (a). (5) References to a lost cave at Burrington, containing not less the 100 skeletons, possibly due to confusion in early sources with Fairy Toot long barrow, although there is no suggestion that as many as 100 skeletons were found here (6-7)
The aerial photographs of this area were examined as part of the Mendip Hills AONB project of the National Mapping Programme. No evidence for this site was seen on the available aerial photographs (8).

Details of hoard on Pastscape

[Area: ST 757710] An M/LBA hoard of many ornaments, weapons and implements was found in 1894 in making the conduit immediately due south of the Monkswood reservoir, St. Catherine at a height of 366 feet. Some of the objects were dispersed but the remainder are exhibited at the Pump Room Bath. A detailed description (3) and typological analysis (4) of the hoard show it to be one of a number of hoards with continental analogies. [Broken objects suggest a founder’s hoard.] Contents include whole or fragmentary quoit-headed pins, sickles, bracelets, torcs plus sickles, a spearhead, a knife and an awl. Also present was a small cone of thin sheet bronze plus two hollow conical terminals. (1-4) The majority of this hoard is in the Roman Baths Museum, Bath.

Details of barrows on Pastscape

A group of five round barrows in Tumpy Field, Charmy Down, were excavated before their destruction in 1940. Four of them were confluent forming a composite mound 150 ft. long. Barrow 3, the most westerly, contained a cremation, shale bead and ring of shale. Barrow 4, the third from the west and 5, between 3 and 4, each contained a cremation. Barrow 6 at the east end contained a probable cremation in a cist, several 3rd/4th cent. Roman coins and R.B. pottery, also some I.A or Saxon pottery and late Roman or post Roman secondary inhumations. Barrow 7 a few feet to S.E. was too badly damaged to assess.
A circular pit 8 ft. west of No. 3 produced Ne. A. pottery, flints suggesting a working floor, and animal bones. (1)

Details of site on Pastscape

[ST 75547033] Two barrows on Charmy Down, 1/4 mile E.S.E. of Hartley Farm, were excavated by M.O.W. (Mrs. A. Williams) in 1941. The site appeared as a low mound which proved to contain two separate, and apparently contemporary, Tumuli: (a small cairn to the north, and a composite, disturbed barrow to the south). Within the cairn was a Food Vessel cremation and a Beaker (Abercromby A.2) burial, Both barrows were destroyed in 1942. (1-2)

Details of settlement on Pastscape

[ST 76 70] Prior to 1940 an Iron Age field system covered the plateau of Charmy Down [see plan AO/55.57/32:34] Both lynchetted and walled enclosures were present indicating a mixed economy. (1) The field system can still be traced over most of the area indicated on Grimes plan. The banks and lynchets are up to 0.5m. high. ST 754697: Small rectangular fields on Charmy Down shown on AP. The fields, which were divided by low stony banks were probably of Iron Age or Roman date. The area was levelled for airfield construction during WWII (3)
An area of 4.5 ha was surveyed at the request of Wessex Water and Bath Archaeological Trust. The earthworks which are located at the northern end of Charmy Down and comprise elements of field system intergrated with a trackway and settlement features. Construction of an airfield on Charmy Down during the Second World War prompted salvage excavations by W F Grimes, which indicated a broad chronological range of archaeological activity which included extensive areas of prehistoric field system (1). Much of the extant archaeology was destroyed by the wartime building works, leaving only a narrow band of earthworks around the plateau periphery, including the area surveyed by RCHME. The survey is bounded to the N by the escarpment edge of the plateau, and to the S by the remains of Second World War shelters and the airfield perimeter track. The most prominent feature recorded is an embanked trackway, approximately 130m in length and aligned E-W. It is relatively well preserved, with the defining banks surviving to a height of 0.3m and up to 6m wide. To the N and S are a series of rectangular, embanked fields intergrated with the trackway. Similarities of dimensions and constructional techniques strongly suggest that the trackway and fields are broadly contemporary, although there are suggestions of alternatons which indicate a lengthy period of use with phases of sub-divisions and, perhaps, minor re-alignments. The form of the field system would, on analogy with other examples in southern England, suggest an origin sometime in the first millennium BA. Three main areas of potential settlement were noted, all of which appear to post date the initial laying out of the field system. Further isolated rectangular depressions may indicate the presence of further structures. Settlement ‘A’ is defined by a curvilinear bank, partly encompassing a former field corner and may be associated with the possible structure at ‘D’. Settlement ‘B’ is defined by an L-shaped bank with access from the main E trapezoidal enclosure at ‘C’, measures 20m by 16m, has an internal sub-division and may overlie the northernmost elements of the field system. Much of the surveyed area is overlain by ridge and furrow cultivation of medieval date, aligned N-S; the gaps between the furrows averaging 9m. At least one of the probable settlement areas (’B’), is overlain by the ridge and furrow, suggesting a prehistoric or Roman date. (4)
A rapid examination of air photography (5a) shows the field system on Charmy Down. (5)

Details of site on Pastscape Pastscape

[Area: ST 7933 6865] (1) A ‘sepulchre’ shown in an unpublished sketch by Aubrey, in the Bodleian Library, is a long barrow on Banner Down, Bath.(1-2)
There is no trace of a long barrow on Banner Down. (3) Aubrey describes two uprights supporting two capstones. The monument was broken circa 1655 but some remains were left in 1669. (4a)

Details of site on Pastscape

(Area ST 74116255) A ‘camp’ called Berwick, Berewyke, or Berewyck, adjoining Cottage Crescent and near Barrack Farm, was described in the early 19th century as surrounded by a strong ‘vallum’ (1) (2). More recent authorities (3) (4) (5) refer to scarping of the edge of the plateau and other traces of
the camp but too mutilated by stone quarrying to be identifiable with certainty.
The areas indicated by Phelps is now occupied by housing estates, playing fields and old quarry workings used as a dump. There are no recognisable remains of an earthwork.
Near the Wansdyke on the western part of Widcombe and Lyncombe parish “... is a lofty eminence, called the Barracks, on which are several tumuli. Underneath the hill stood the ancient village of Berewyke, or Berwick, where according to tradition was a church, the site of which was near the only remaining house, called Barracks Farm. The tithes of this place belonged to the vicar of St Mary de Stall in Bath” (ST 76 SW : 35).
A possible multivallate contour fort set on the plateua of Odd Down. The area is now occupied by a factory and playing fields, and there are no certain traces of earthworks of hillfort type. Visited 16.4.73

Details of Hillfort on Pastscape Pastscape

(ST 58205850) Camp (GT). (1) A promontory-type hill-fort with double defences on the east. Both the inner and outer banks are mainly of stone, with indications of walling. The original entrance was probably on the east. (2-3) Surveyed at 1:2500. (4)

Burledge Hill-fort is at the end of a spur and is univallate except at the E. end where there is an additional rampart. The N. side has been largely obliterated by quarrying, which has also caused a scarp connecting the inner and outer ramparts. The original entrance is on the W., with modern gaps in the E.and S. sides. In 1955 test cuttings in the platform within the hill fort produced post-holes, pits, possible paving, gullies and a ditch. Pieces of iron slag with clay adherent suggested a local iron smelting furnace. Pottery of the second Phase I.A. was similar to that from Chew Park (ST 55 NE 3) and included grooved, decorated ware. The only other finds were a saddle quern rubber, the spring from an iron brooch, abd bones of ox, pig and sheep.
A cutting across the main rampart showed it to be formed of lias blocks. The ditch produced First Phase I.A. pottery in the lower levels and Second Phase in the upper filling. (5) Published survey (1:2500) correct.
Burledge Camp was “discovered” in the 1940s but is shown as an ‘ancient fortification’ by Strachy, and is the “Bow Ditches” mentioned by Stukeley. (6)
Published excavation report with information as per Authority 6. See plan.
The finds and records have been placed in the University of Bristol Spelaeological Society Museum. (7) Earthworks and former house sites discovered on and around Burledge hillfort during a landscape survey in 1983 (9)
The hillfort referred to by the above authorities is visible as an earthwork on aerial photographs and has been mapped as part of the Mendip Hills AONB NMP project. The hillfort is as described though only the southwest and south side were visible due to dense vegetation cover. The south side comprises of an internal bank and external ditch with an outer south facing scarp slope. In the southwest corner only the main rampart and a slight external ditch is visible. The outer defence on the eastern side of the hillfort is visible as a ditch extending from ST 5839 5840 to ST 5840 5853, the bank presumably covered by the dense vegetation. The hillfort earthworks are still visible on the south and west sides on aerial photographs taken in 2000. (11-12)

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[MARGINAL] A round barrow on Claverton Down, about 1/4 mile N.W. of Bath Statutory Hospital, was discovered in 1926 or 1927 by J.P.E. Falconer and reported to A.T. Wicks. Fragments of calcined bones, probably human, and a few small worked flints, were found on the surface in 1927 when the barrow was under the plough.(1) Falconer has the annotation ‘barrow’ at ST 77386313. (a) This spot has recently been ploughed but there is no visible soil mark or surface feature that may indicate a barrow. the farmer does not remember a mound anywhere in the vicinity. (2)

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ST 637692. Earthwork on Durley Hill. An apparently circular earthwork cut by the road. It is much ploughed down and the eastern half cannot be traced. The bank is low and wide and the ditch is inside. Its diameter is estimated at 100m. It is best seen south of the road. The site has no defensive value. It is possible that this is a remnant of a henge monument. The two visible ends are at ST 636266900 (sic, and besides the 9 figures the northings are evidently wrong) and ST 63646925. (1)
Only small-scale OS APs available. They show what is clearly the feature, centred at ST 63656920 and astride the road. But it bears little resemblance, other than in the approximate dimension, to the description above, and appears to be sub-rectangular and decidedly indistinct south of the road. (2)

Details of Barrows on Pastscape Pastscape

[ST 5372 5375, ST 5376 5365] TUMULI [GT] T.68 and T.69 (2) two simple bowl barrows. T.68:- 60ft. across and 9ft. high: disturbed by four filled-in trenches.
T.69: 54ft. across and 5 1/2ft. high: partley destroyed. Scheduled. (2-5)
T.68 (Grinsell’s West Harptree 11) is a bowl barrow 2.6 metres high. T.69 (Grinsell’s East Harptree 1) is a bowl barrow, 2.1 metres high, which has been mutilated on its southern side by the course of a wall. Surveyed at 1:2500 (6)

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[ST 7725 6085] Earthwork [GT] A roughly quadrilateral shaped enclosure, with rounded corners, at Hayes Wood, Freshford, was excavated by Stone and Wicks in 1934, four cuttings being made. Only the eastern side, consisting of a ditch (cut out of solid rock) and outside bank remains, but most of the rest of the silted-up ditch can be traced. A simple entrance is on the east side.
The enclosure, possibly a cattle kraal, is dated by the pottery to the Early Iron Age, between the 4th and 1st centuries B.C with an apparent Belgic occupation up to 50.70 A.D., the whole occupation possibly continuous. An isolated R.B. cooking pot of 3rd c. A.D. was also found whilst flint imps. and four sherds of pottery pre-dating the enclosure may be Early Bronze Age or earlier and Neolithic ‘B’ respectively. [See AO/61/234/5]
The east end of this enclosure falls within woodland and survives, but all certain traces of its continuation in the field to the west have been destroyed by ploughing. Surveyed at 1.2500. (3) The western portion of the enclosure is visible as cropmarks on aerial photographs taken June 24th 2003. (4)

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(Area: ST 568583) An IA/RB agricultural settlement of some 15 acres was excavated between 1953-55 by E. Greenfield at Herriotts Bridge. The site, on land sloping from SW to NE, comprised two 10 acre fields which lay between the West Harptree – Bishop Sutton Road and Stratford Lane.
The earliest finds from the site are a number of NE/BA patinated flints. They are not suggestive of settled prehistoric occupation.
The excavation revealed a complex system of drainage ditches whose purpose was both domestic and agricultural. Many post holes were found and although no distinct timber house or hut plan was identified the various post hole groups suggest that there were habitation structures as well as supports for corn drying racks etc. Two enclosures were found in the SW half of the site. A large triangular cattle pen was of the 2nd c. and, to the south, was a 3rd/4th c. pen probably used for sheep.
Access to the site was doubtless from Stratford Lane (R.R. 540) but no path or roadway was found.
The occupation of the site was one of continuous development from its inception in the I.A. third phase until the late 1st/early 2nd c. During the 3rd c. it began to decline. The finds are in Bristol Museum and include:- ......... four inhumation burials. Fragments of Quern stones, pottery, a coin of Claudius II, brooches, a bronze bracelet, a shale bracelet, a spoon, a small pewter bowl and glass beads. (1)
This site is now beneath Chew Valley Lake. (2)
A Roman settlement on the bank of the River Chew during the 1st to early 4th centuries AD. There was considerable occupation, particularly by the river bank, and it was extensively drained by superimposed ditch systems.
No stone buildings occurred but traces of minor timber structures were found over the whole of the area examined. No signs of industrial use of the site were found, except for some domestic lead smelting. The evidence suggests a farming community throughout its occupation, living in difficult conditions. (3)
One flint blade found at Herriots Bridge, possibly Late Upper Palaeolithic. (4-5)

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Poss site of barrow shown on archaelogical map of Englishcombe Manor (NGR correlated from map to ST 712628 ) Hist Landscape Study of Manor of Englishcombe 1983 29 map Avon CC

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[Area centred ST 72456335] High Barrow Hill [NAT] Round Barrow or Barrow Hill, Englishcombe, is 800 yards in circumference with a top 36 yards, east to west, and 28 yards, north to south. It is 100 feet high. It is a barrow, though generally considered natural. ST 7248 6334: Possible round barrow, High Barrow Hill, Bath. Visited by Grinsell in August 1964. 7 paces diameter and 6 inches high. The mound has a hollow in the centre. (5) ST 7248 6334: Highbarrow Hill, formerly known as ‘Bury Hill’, was known as a hundred meeting point by E Strachey. (6-7)

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[ST 57706143 to ST 57906134] A Romano British occupation site was discovered in 1953 at Knowle Hill in excavating for the pipe line from the Chew Valley Reservoir to the Stowey Treatment works. Features revealed comprised shallow depressions, ditches, hearths and occupation levels. The finds included sherds of Roman and earlier pottery and a cremation burial, probably Roman or earlier, at ST 57896135. Occupation continued until the 4th century. (1)
There are no surface features and the farmer has not noticed anything of significance. (2)

The absence in the pipe-trench of thick occupation levels, roof tiling, brick, mortar and lias makes it unlikely that this is a ‘villa’ type of site, unless the building is some distance away. It seems probable that this is an ‘open’ type of site similar to Herriott’s Bridge (ST 55 NE 5); one possible post-hole was seen, and a stake-hole in a hearth, see illustration, and these are the only suggestions of habitations: the hearths alone do not prove habitation.

The indications extend in the trench for 600ft. on almost level ground and there was no evidence for which side of the pipe-line the major part of the settlement lies; there are no surface or air photograph indications. The limited amount of pottery found covers most of the Roman period, and the end of the preceding one. This long, but not intensive, occupation points to a native settlement established in pre-Roman times continuing along similar lines until the 4th century. The aerial photographs of this area were examined as part of the Mendip Hills AONB project of the National Mapping Programme. No evidence for this site was seen on the available aerial photographs.

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(ST 768679) CAMP (NR) Solsbury Hill is a univallate hill fort of I.A. ‘A’ date, scheduled. Excavations in 1955, 1956 and 1958 show that the site was first
occupied by post-hole huts possibly for the I.A. ‘A’ builders of the rampart of the hill fort. This rampart was faced with a dry-stone wall and had no ditch as such. It is not more than three feet high. After the collapse or probable destruction of the rampart occupation was continued c. 150 B.C. by South Western ‘B’ people in stone based huts. The site was completely abandoned before the Roman period c. 100-50 B.C. and the main occupation can be dated as 2nd c. B.C. A number of finds from extensive collecting within the hill fort for many years are in Bath Royal Lit. & Sci. Inst. Museum. (See AO/61/232/7 and AO/61/328/6 for plans of the hill-fort.) (2-5)
The hill-fort consists mainly of a single scarp with vestiges of a bank on the north. On the south there is a section of ditch with a counterscarp bank. The inturned entrance is in the NW. There is evidence of quarrying all around the earthwork and the scarp has been cut into on the west side. Surveyed at 1/2500.
Within the earthwork there is a good example of low Md strip fields with small stones marking the terminal points. (6)
Flint implements were found in the camp in 1866 by J Evans. During the period 1896-1904 surface finds have included leaf shaped fling arrowheads, scrapers, a spindle-whorl, worked bone and horn, and pottery sherds, some decorated, a few pieces of bronze, and numerous iron artifacts, the latter in association with burnt clay, charcoal, & iron dross. In 1902 a shallow cist was found enclosing two skeletons. (ST 768679) Fort (NR). Two inhumations, one fairly complete and contracted and the other only fragmentary, were discovered in 1906 on one of the quarry ledges. Now the property of the National Trust. (9-11)
ST 768680: Solsbury Hill camp, listed under Camps and Settlements. A rapid examination of air photography (16a) shows the hillfort with the Medieval strip fields and the quarrying.

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A barrow to the east of the Stowborough – Foxcote road (the Braysdown Barrow) was opened by Skinner (i) on May 11th 1815. It was some 60ft. long, and had a cruciform cist 8ft. long and 6ft. wide (Skinners illustration is suggestive of a chambered long barrow). Evidence of both cremation and inhumation burials were found, also two flint arrowheads.
Wedlake (b) has located what he believes to be this barrow at ST 70915619, an opinion shared by Grinsell.

The barrow is now a low, circular, ditchless mound, not identifiable, in its present form, as a long barrow. There is a quantity of stone littered about the area. Surveyed at 1/2500.

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(ST 68585920). The capstone and two supporting stone of a burial chamber were noted by Skinner, before March 1821, 20 yards from the back gate of Tunley Farm, on the highest point to the east of Tunley Camp, and close to the road to Timsbury (but Priston must be meant). By June the same year the capstone and one of the supporting stones had been broken up for road mending and the surviving stone, which measured 6 ft x 2 ft, had been incorporated into a corner of the farm court wall. “Search and enquiry at the farm were both fruitless” O G S Crawford 1927.

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[ST 684 592] CAMP [G.T.] Tunley Camp – presumably of Iron Age date (2), was probably much larger than shown on the map, most likely following the hedgerow
‘c’ [see 6” sheet ] as far as Priston Colliery with the present Tunley Farm – Priston Colliery road forming its southern boundary.
[Note: both Wedlake and the F.I. (4) stated that there was no trace of the slopes “A” “D”, but this was contrary to the opinion of the S.S. Reviser. (5)]. (2-5) ST 684592 – Iron Age univallate hill-fort of 3 – 15 acres. (6)
This feature appears to be the remains of an Iron Age hill-fort, centred at ST 683591. It has been considerably ploughed down and only its western side, consisting of a scarp up to 4.9m. high, is well defined. The eastern perimeter is less certain, but it is probably indicated by a very slight scarp in the fields to the north and west of Tunley Farm. There is no ground evidence to support the contention that the hill-fort extended a considerable distance further to the east. The slopes shown on the O.S. 6” 1961, are merely scarps associated with modern field boundaries. Published 1:2500 survey revised. (7)

The remains of this hillfort are now so meagre that it is difficult to assess its original form, and the whole area has been ploughed. The north defences have been ploughed flat, although a very slight scarp could be traced running across the middle of the field. On the south and west sides the present hedge sits on a scarp about 2m high and on the west a low wide bank is present immediately west of the hedge.

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A chambered tumulus 60 paces in circumference and about 10ft. high made of local stone, situated at the northern extremity of Camerton Parish bordering on Farmborough Down at a place called Wall Mead, was opened by Skinner on January 16th, 1818.
Near the centre was a collapsed cist 3 1/2ft. square, judged to have been nearly 6ft. high, and containing a 7”-long bronze spearhead or dagger, a small unbaked clay vessel (with chevron and dot ornament), a round headed bronze pin, a perforated whetstone, and a cremation. The side walls continued for some
fifteen feet beyond the track of the chamber forming a passage, in which many pottery fragments were found, some apparently lathe-turned of Roman origin.
Outside the cist was a probable secondary inhumation burial. Fragments of baked and unbaked clay – some of the former of Roman appearance and two denarii of Julia Mammaea and Alexander Severus.

The remains of another barrow of similar dimensions situated 10 paces to the east of the first, was reported by Skinner to have been opened and robbed 60 years before, and the interments destroyed.

The barrow excavated by Skinner was re-excavated by Mr. W. J. Wedlake and the Bath and Camerton Arch. Soc. in 1964. The barrow, called Wallmead I, proved to be 67 feet in diameter and to have a revetment wall still standing to a height of up to 2 feet. Wedlake considers that the primary cremation was in a central rock cut pit, and refutes Skinner’s chamber. In all other respects his excavation confirmed Skinner’s results. The finds included many beaker fragments from the original turf line, traces of a primary cremation, bones from a secondary inhumation, five 2nd – 3rd centruy Roman coins, and Roman
pottery. The barrow is now marked by a low unsurveyable mound at ST 6756 5967.

Excavation continued in 1965 and the second barrow mentioned by Skinner, Wallmead II, was located. Although it had previously been levelled it was found to have a revetment wall still standing to a height of 2 feet. at the centre of the barrow was a large burned area surrounded by a stone kerb. Finds included a bronze dagger, a bead, and fragment of an Ogbourne cup very similar to that found by Skinner in Wallmead I(a). There is no surface indication of this barrow, which was at ST 6761 5966. A trial trench dug to the east of Wallmead II disclosed four cremation burials at ST 6763 5966. They were in cists. but had no associated barrow. Three of the burials were accompanied by food vessels and in the fourth the uncremated skull was placed over the ashes.
Iron age occupation is indicated by a single pit, at ST 6758 5971, containing E.I.A and Glastonbury ware. Excavation of this site is due to continue in 1966. (ST 67565966, ST 67625966) Tumuli (NR) (sites of) (NAT).

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Crickley Hill is a multiperiod site with occupation ranging from the early Neolithic until the fifth century AD. Features include a Neolithic causewayed enclosure, two phases of hillfort occupation, and Iron Age/Roman and sub Roman settlements.
It is a roughly triangular promontory projecting westwards from the Cotswolds edge. Excavations occurred at the site between 1969 and 1993, initially as part of a project focused on hillforts on the Cotswolds edge. The Crickley excavations uncovered evidence for a long sequence of intermittent activity on the hilltop ranging from the earlier Neolithic until the 5th century AD, with some more sporadic use after that date. The Neolithic and Early Bronze Age activity is described in SO 91 NW 43, the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age phases in SO 91 NW 44, and the Roman and Early Medieval occupation in SO 91 NW 45. During the Medieval period the northern slopes of Crickley Hill were used for grazing by Brinkworth parish. A small rectangular stone-walled building situated within the parish boundary may have been used as a shepherd’s hut. Post Medieval features on the hill include 17th century pits for limeburning, and activity which may have destroyed about an acre of the prehistoric settlements. Quarrying also removed substantial areas of the hill. Beginning in the 18th century, it had produced steep cliffs by the early 19th. Although in decline by the 1930s, the quarrying continued until the 1960s. An additional possible medieval or later feature is the long mound regarded by the excavator as being of Neolithic date, but suggested by some to be a pillow mound.

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Details of lake village on Pastscape

[ST 492 407] Lake Village (site of) (GT) (1) Glastonbury lake village covers an area 400 ft. N S 300 ft. E W, about 1 mile NNW of the town [See AO/LP/64/56] it was excavated by Bulleid and Gray from 1892 – 1908 and was found to have consisted of a timber and brushwood platform resting on peat, surmounted by clay-floored wattle and daub huts, indicated by low mounds. The foundations of at least sixty mostly circular huts of 14’ – 40’ diameter were examined. There was also evidence of rectangular huts, not in situ, believed to be earlier. The perimeter of each of the circular huts was bounded by vertical piles driven into the substructure, and each contained a central clay hearth, often much rebuilt. Stone paths were found connecting various huts whilst the whole village was surrounded by a wooden palisade (from one to four posts deep), and on the east side had a causeway 158’ long, leading to a timber landing stage, with a stone embankment nearby. The finds which were extremely numerous, represented all aspects of village life e.g. weaving, fishing, agriculture, metallurgy, personal adornment etc. An enormous amount of pottery was found, but currency was only represented by two iron currency bars and part of a tin coin of 100 – 75 B.C. A flint industry, probably contemporary was noted. Dug-out boats were found in and near the village, and just outside the palisade a fine bead-rimmed bronze bowl. Two Neolithic polished stone axes were also found, probably brought to the site in the Iron Age. R.B. material consisting of pottery and metal objects found overlying the site. Most of the finds are in Taunton and Glastonbury Museums.
Hawkes dates this village to the South Western Province third B of the Iron Age, and remarks that it has become a nearly complete La Tene III culture. (2-4)
There are many hummocks in the area of the lake village but they cannot be accurately interpreted. The northern edge of the settlement is marked out by stones. (5)

A re-assessment of Glastonbury Lake Village from the existing evidence:
The site was occupied in succession by two distinct groups of people who had different cultural affinities. The first group were woodworkers who built an undefended settlement of small rectangular timber-framed houses on oak piles. They had lathes, wheeled vehicles and ploughs, and to them should be assigned the ‘sceptre’, the Glastonbury bowl, the currency bar, the iron key and the iron plough-share. They probably occupied the site from C150 to 60BC.
The second group probably occupiedd the site after the first village had been abandoned. They destroyed the rectangular houses and instead built round huts on crannogs, surrounding the settlement with a palisade. They had little use for wood, but had much pottery. They used looms, smelted bronze, and worked bone. They did not use wheeled vehicles or ploughs. The site was probably deserted c 50 AD because of a rise in the water level. Contrary to a widely held
belief there was no terminal massacre and no destruction by fire. See Plan (which distinguishes between the two postulated occupations). (6)
ST 493408: Glastonbury Lake Village, scheduled. (7) Logboat from Glastonbury Lake Village. Glastonbury Lake Village – models and source criticisms. (10)
Report on excavations, 1984. (11)

Details of dug-out canoe on Pastscape

(ST 49804173) A dug-out canoe found here in 1892 is in Glastonbury Museum (1) This canoe is in Glastonbury Museum (2) ST 49804173: An oak logboat found in the Summer of 1884, in a ditch a few fields away from Glastonbury Lake Village (ST 44 SE 5), was damaged during ditch cleaning. In 1892 it was extracted and given by Bullied to the Glastonbury Antiquarian Society. Remains are now fragmentary, the sides almost detached and much has been lost since Bulleid photographed the boat in 1894. The boat was undoubtedly associated with the lake dwellings and therefore dates from c100 BC. (3) Photo. (4)