Evaluate the evidence of Bronze Age human presence and activity in the Weald of Hampshire, Sussex, Surrey and Kent

Principal investigator: Liam
Level: Personal research project

The purpose of this research project is to collate and evaluate the evidence of Bronze Age human presence and activity in the Weald of Hampshire, Sussex, Surrey and Kent. The collected data will form the basis to establish settlement patterns and land use; did the differing geological areas restrict or define this land use. My definition of the research area is the entire area bounded by the chalk of the North and South Downs. This research follows on from and supersedes my University of Sussex MA dissertation that looked at the Bronze Age activity in the central Weald.

The focus of Bronze Age research concentrates on the Downs (Garwood, 2003), and where research into the Weald occurs this is either site specific (Tebbutt, 1974) or has glossed over the Bronze Age (Gardiner, 1990). The Late Neolithic transition to the Bronze Age is very much an artificial construct, part of the ‘three-age classification system’ (Stone, Bronze and Iron Ages), and it is proposed that this project will look for evidence of which cultural activities continued in use and which activities changed post transition. Can the evidence reveal whether a chalcolithic period (the use of copper tools prior to the introduction of alloying metal) is significant during this transition period? A large proportion of the metal artefacts collected have only a generic identification (“Celt”), so part of the proposed research will be to locate and examine as many of these artefacts as possible and to positively identify and date them using the latest theories on Bronze Age metalwork (Needham, pers. comm.). The pottery will be treated in the same manner, again using the latest pottery dating theories (Seager Thomas, 2008). A further research aim is to evaluate whether these find and activity sites indicate communication links within the Weald. My MA dissertation highlighted the movement of hunting parties onto the Weald Forest Ridge from the areas around Reigate and Sevenoaks through the trail of discarded Barbed and Tanged arrowheads. This larger area of study may pinpoint the settlements from which those hunting parties originated. As all metallic items were imported into the area, can the source/s of the various Bronze Age metal tools and weapons be identified to show the influence of the regions surrounding the Weald (Wessex, the Thames Valley and the Continent)? As copper and tin do not occur naturally in the Weald, communication routes are likely to exist, used in part to import the resultant alloys; boats are a known means of transport dating from the Early Bronze Age (Wright, 2004), therefore, rivers may form a branch of an extensive communication network that also includes trackways.

The Historic Environment Record contains a number of possible trackways, MES4875 a ridgeway routing Newenden-Hawkhurst-Ticehurst-Wadhurst for example, although positively assigning a date to a trackway is problematical as dating evidence is usually eroded through use and resurfacing. Linear patterns of artefact and activity spots along these proposed prehistoric trackways may be an indicator of their use during the Bronze Age.

Methodologies Data collection

The following sources will form the basis for data collection:

The Historic Environment Record.
Portable Antiquities Scheme.
Museum records within the region will also be checked.
Museums will be visited in order to photograph the known artefacts and to facilitate identification and dating.
The various south-east England county archaeological publications will be checked for all mentions of the Bronze Age in the Weald. This survey will provide an historical background to the artefact accumulation and research that has taken place in the past.
Excavation reports from commercial archaeological companies (grey literature) Evaluation The analysis of find spots will be undertaken with the aid of GIS systems in relation to the geology/topography and will be used to show areas of Bronze Age activity. Whether regional groupings of find and activity spots have significance or relate to a random collection. Visits to the various Bronze Age sites will develop an insight into the landscape and environmental aspects of monuments and find spots (Bradley, 2000). The phenomenological aspects presented by the position of barrows and other sites will be explored in relation to their location in the landscape (Hamilton & Whitehouse, 2006; Tilley & Bennett, 2008) Outcome The projected outcome of this research is a comprehensive analysis of human activity across the Weald throughout the Bronze Age Period. Through studying the evidence in detail, a clearer picture of settlement and activity throughout the Bronze Age period in the Weald should emerge and whether geology had an effect on the areas preferred by the Bronze Age population. As a by-product of this research, a comprehensive data base of finds and site locations will be available for future use by other researchers and interested parties.
Bibliography
Barber, M. (2003). Bronze and the Bronze Age: Metalwork and Society in Britain c2500-800 BC. Stroud: Tempus Publishing Ltd.
Bradley, R. (2000). An Archaeology of Natural Places. Abingdon: Routledge.
Brück, J. ed (2001). Bronze Age Landscapes Transitions and Transformation. Oxford: Oxbow Books.
Ellison, A. (1978). The Bronze Age. In P. L. Drewett, Archaeology in Sussex to AD1500 (pp. 30-37). London: Council for British Archaeology.
Gardiner, M. (1990). Archaeology of the Weald - a Survey and a Review. SAC Vol 128, 33-54.
Garwood, P. (2003). Round Barrows and Funerary Traditions in Late Neolithic Bronze Age Sussex. In D. Rudling, The Archaeology of Sussex to AD2000 (pp. 47-68). King's Lynn: Heritage Marketing and Publication Ltd. Hamilton, S., & Whitehouse, R. (2006). Phenomenology in Practice: Towards a methodology for a ‘subjective’ approach. European Journal of Archaeology Vol. 9, 31-71.
Rudling, D. ed (2003). The Archaeology of Sussex to AD2000. King's Lynn: Heritage Marketing and Publicatio Ltd. Seager
Thomas, M. (2008). From Potsherds, to People: Sussex Perhistoric Pottery. SAC Vol 146, 19-52.
Tebbutt, F. (1974). The Pehistoric Occupation of the Ashdown Forest Area of the Weald. SAC Vol 112, 34-43.
Tilley, C., & Bennett, W. (2008). Body and Image: Explorations in Landscape Phenomenology 2. Walnut Creek: Left Coast Press, Inc.
Wright, E. (2004, July 4). Retrieved January 28, 2011, from ferribyboats: http://www.ferribyboats.co.uk/dating/index.html Time scale: The research project is expected to last approximately 3 years.

Audit data

• Created: 11 years ago
• Created by: D P