Iron Age ditch and pit group in Stockton
A boundary ditch dating to the Iron Age identified during an archaeological evaluation. The site is 900m northwest of Stockton church.
1 A ‘territorial’ boundary ditch dated to the Iron Age by pottery which was uncovered during an evaluation. A small group of undated pits and postholes were identified mainly to the north of this ditch and a single undated pit and an undated probable field boundary gully were identified to the south.
2 Further area excavation of this ditch, recorded during geophysical survey and trial trenching. It is considered likely to have been a territorial or estate boundary. Radiocarbon dating for the ditch produced a date in the middle to late Iron Age (370BC-40BC). Settlement detritus was found in the base of the ditch, including pottery, animal bone, crop processing waste and residual flintwork. This Iron Age settlement evidence lies in an area with little previous evidence of prehistoric occupation. A linear pit group, and a small group of postholes, were likely part of the settlement. It is argued that they are unlikely to have been storage pits, instead, their position alongside a boundary ditch may point to them having contained organic material, and being invested with some form of arcane meaning.
- For the sources of these notes, see the
- Timetrail record
- produced by the Historic Environment Record.
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