The Bronze Age Settlement at Thorny Down: pots, post-holes and patterning

Ellison, Ann

doi:10.1017/s0079497x00006290

Cited by 15 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 7 publications

(4 reference statements)

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“…Where longer term occupation is in evidence, rarely can more than two or three phases be identified Barrett et al 1991, fig. 5.28) (eg, Thorny Down, Wiltshire; Ellison 1987). Middle Bronze Age settlements can therefore be contrasted with Late Bronze Age sites such as Reading Business Park (Moore & Jennings 1992) and Hengistbury Head, Dorset (Cunliffe 1987), where lengthy sequences of rebuilding suggest occupation over several centuries.…”

Section: Architecture and Constructional Sequencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some of these conform very well to Ellison's model. For example, structure IVa at Thorny Down (Ellison 1987), produced quern fragments, burnt flint, and animal bone, the kinds of materials one might expect to find in an ancillary structure, while round-house A at Shearplace Hill, Dorset (Rahtz & ApSimon 1962), contained loomweight fragments, a bone comb, worked shale, a hammerstone, and a crucible fragment. However, the finds assemblages from many other buildings are less easy to characterise because they comprise a mixture of major-and ancillary-type objects.…”

Section: Finds Inventories From Round-housesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Three unenclosed round-houses (though a possibly 52. Thorny Down (Stone 1937;1941;Ellison 1987). Two contemporaneous linear ditch may define one side of phases identified, each comprising two separate, but the settlement).…”

Section: Greater Londonmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Houses, Lifecycles and Deposition on Middle Bronze Age Settlements in Southern England

Brück

1999

Proc. Prehist. Soc.

124

103

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This paper explores how the lifecycles of Middle Bronze Age settlements were intimately related at both a practical and metaphorical level to the lifecycles of their inhabitants. Many settlements of this date appear to have been single-generational sites. Building sequences and other changes in the use of settlement space can be understood within a framework that explores how the demographic, social, and economic circumstances of a site's occupants changed over time. However, the lifecycle of the settlement was not only related to that of its occupants in practical terms; each was also a symbolic representation of the other. For example, such acts as the deposition of whole quernstones or animal burials in pits and ditches may have been carried out at critical points in the lifecycle of a settlement, its structures, and its inhabitants. The notion that settlements had lifecycles introduces the possibility of anthropomorphic symbolism in house architecture, a suggestion that may help to explain the presence of a standardised house form during the Middle Bronze Age. Yet, despite the formality of the architecture, there was considerable diversity in how space was actually used within the roundhouse. Likewise, variability in other aspects of these settlement sites suggests that, although cultural ideals may have existed, in practice the developmental cycle of each household group depended on a particular set of social and material circumstances as well as on household members' commitment to communal tradition.

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Section: Architecture and Constructional Sequencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Finds Inventories From Round-housesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Houses, Lifecycles and Deposition on Middle Bronze Age Settlements in Southern England

Brück

1999

Proc. Prehist. Soc.

124

103

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“…They contained of one or two roundhouses and a small number of ancillary structures such as pits or multi-post constructions. Typical examples are Thorny Down (Figure 2) (Stone, 1937; Ellison, 1987), Fargo Wood (Richards, 1990), and Preshute Down (Piggott, 1942). We now know, however, that some Middle Bronze Age settlements such as Old Sarum Spur (Figure 3) (Powell et al, 2005) and Blenches Mill (Wessex Archaeology, 2004) were unenclosed, while others such as Rockley Down had both enclosed and open phases (McOmish, 2005).…”

Section: Character Of the Middle And Late Bronze Age In Wiltshirementioning

confidence: 99%

Sheep in Wealth's Clothing: Social Reproduction across the Bronze Age to Iron Age Transition in Wiltshire, Southern England

Valdez-Tullett

2017

Eur. j. archaeol.

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The circulation of bronze is considered to be the principal vehicle of social reproduction for the later Bronze Age, with significant social investment in trade networks, systems of exchange, and social alliances. Substantial social upheaval is implied by the decline of bronze, as attested by the widespread deposition of hoards towards the end of this period. This article aims to fill a lacuna between the period of peak bronze hoarding and other vectors of change such as the manipulation of grain surpluses or the creation of hillforts. The reorganization of the Wiltshire landscape signifies transformation to a transhumant regime. Animals became increasingly important at the end of the Bronze Age, with daily life revolving around their management, dictating seasonal movement, and interaction. Investment in the social value of animals beyond pure subsistence requirements was a major factor filling the social gap left by the demise of bronze. This was accompanied by changes in the mode of production and the scales of social engagement.

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“…It can be used, for example, to denote patterning of artefact distribution from site excavation (e.g. Mytum 1989a;Ellison 1987;Fisher 1985) or from field-walking (Hietala 1984;Hodder & Orton 1976). Very commonly, however, it is used to investigate architectural space (Hillier & Hanson 1984;Foster 1989a;Samson 1990;Dickens 1977).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Meaningful constructions – spatial and functional analysis of medieval buildings

Fairclough

1992

Antiquity

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Spatial analysis has enjoyed a considerable vogue in archaeological studies over the past two decades, though usually applied in prehistoric contexts. The paper applies well tried techniques to the analysis of complex high-status medieval buildings and demonstrates their superiority in terms of data (especially when used in parallel) on social function and status over subjective analysis based on notions of symbolic or functional characterization.

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The Bronze Age Settlement at Thorny Down: pots, post-holes and patterning

Cited by 15 publications

References 7 publications

Houses, Lifecycles and Deposition on Middle Bronze Age Settlements in Southern England

Houses, Lifecycles and Deposition on Middle Bronze Age Settlements in Southern England

Sheep in Wealth's Clothing: Social Reproduction across the Bronze Age to Iron Age Transition in Wiltshire, Southern England

Meaningful constructions – spatial and functional analysis of medieval buildings

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