Monument record MDO37410 - Beaker Pit 71002, Corfe Mullen to Salisbury Water Transfer Scheme Evaluation Trench 71, Pimperne

A single small pit containing Beaker pottery, some worked flint and carbonised hazelnut shells was found on Pimperne Down during the evaluation excavation of the proposed route of the Corfe Mullen to Salisbury Water Transfer Scheme. The record for this monument has been created with support from Wessex Water.

A pit (71002) containing Beaker pottery was found in Trench 71 of the evaluation of the proposed route of the Corfe Mullen to Salisbury Water Transfer Scheme in 2012. The location of this pit corresponded to a discrete geophysical anomaly (part of 212) identified during the preceding geophysical survey of the route. [1][2]

The pit was circular with a round base measuring 0.8m in diameter and 0.4m deep and contained two fills. Twenty-two sherds of Beaker pottery were recovered from both fills of the pit. The sherds were a fine grog-tempered fabric with sparse flint inclusions with at least two vessels being represented. A large quantity of worked flint, consisting of mainly knapping debris, but also including two scrapers, was recovered from the pit. A large number of carbonised hazelnut shells and abundant charcoal of alder/hazel, ash, ), oak and hawthorn/rowan/crab apple was found in the lower fill of the pit. This appears to represent debris from a domestic fire. [1]

The record for this monument has been created with support from Wessex Water.

<1> Havard, T and Nicholl, M, 2013, Corfe Mullen to Salisbury Transfer Scheme, Wessex Water, Dorset and Wiltshire: Archaeological Evaluation, 18-19 (Unpublished document). SDO14094.

A single pit 71002 (Fig. 48, Section 36) was located towards the south-eastern end of Trench 71 and correlated with one of several discrete anomalies identified during the geophysical survey. A total of 22 sherds of Neolithic Beaker pottery were recovered from both the primary fill 71003 and secondary fill 71004. The sherds were a fine grog-tempered fabric with sparse flint inclusions with at least two vessels being represented. A large quantity of worked flint flakes, including a scraper and several cores, were also recovered from the same contexts. An environmental sample (SS 9) from the primary fill 71003 contained firing debris, including hazelnut shells from suspected discarded domestic waste.

<2> Marsh, B and Biggs, M, 2012, Geophysical Survey Report Corfe Mullen to Salisbury WTS, 24 (Unpublished document). SDO14089.

Record last edited

Jan 13 2016 12:16PM