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Summary

Enclosure with possibly ritual arrangement of pits, and other features

Monument Types

• ENCLOSURE (Earlier Iron Age to Middle Iron Age - 800 BC to 101 BC)
• PIT (Earlier Iron Age to Middle Iron Age - 800 BC to 101 BC)
• POST HOLE (Earlier Iron Age to Middle Iron Age - 800 BC to 101 BC)

Associated Finds

• CAULDRON (Earlier Iron Age to Middle Iron Age - 800 BC to 101 BC)

Protected Status

• Area of Archaeological Significance 17

Full description

Excavations during the development at Blackhorse Road in 1958-67 revealed the remains of an extensive Iron Age settlement including four enclosures, post holes and associated storage pits <1, 2, 3>. Finds included Iron Age pottery, animal bones, loomweights and an iron cauldron rim <4>. Further work in 1972 revealed more pits and occupation debris <5>. The excavations also produced evidence of Neolithic, Bronze Age, Roman occupation [348, 1288] and an early medieval cemetery [1618].
'Excavations to the north in 1988 revealed a cluster of shallow circular pits. They were arranged in a wedge, the pointed end towards an enclosure, becoming broader to the north-west. Although we do not know what they were used for, they never held posts and were not for rubbish or storage: they probably had a religious significance. There was also a long field boundary ditch, running for over 500m' <7>.
For Iron Age burials, see [1618].
The cauldron rim is a significant find, and would have had a body of copper alloy. These cauldrons are of large capacity and required great skill to make, and many were repeatedly repaired, implying long use. They 'derive much of their significance from their use at feasts, making them socially powerful objects, likely to be selected for special deposition' <8>. Another was used in a rich late Iron Age grave [1868] at Baldock. These are Joy's Group II, of Globular form, and are the type found in southern Britain. They date to the later Iron Age, although the earliest known (from Chiseldon, Wiltshire) has been dated by radiocarbon to the mid 4th to early 2nd century BC <8>.

Anon, 1962, (Recent discoveries in Herts); CBA Regional Group 10 Bulletin (1962), 11-18, - p11 (Article in serial). SHT2372.

<1> Moss-Eccardt, John, 1963, Letchworth (Herts). Blackhorse Road, 1961 (Unpublished document). SHT3535.

<2> Moss-Eccardt, John, 1967, The prehistoric and Roman site at Blackhorse Road, Letchworth; N Herts Antiquary vol. 4, p5-7, 10 (Article in serial). SHT8455.

<3> Moss-Eccardt, John, 1968, The prehistoric, Roman and Saxon site at Blackhorse Road, Letchworth; North Herts Antiquary 5, p7-10 (Article in serial). SHT3920.

<4> Moss-Eccardt, John, 1965, An iron cauldron-rim from Letchworth, Herts; Antiquaries J 45, 173-7 (Article in serial). SHT7268.

<5> Moss-Eccardt, John, 1972, Blackhorse Road, Letchworth; HMSO Excavations 1972 (Article in serial). SHT8936.

<6> Moss-Eccardt, J, 1988, Archaeological investigations in the Letchworth area, 1958-74; Procs Cambs Antiquarian Soc 77, 35-103 (Article in serial). SHT5445.

<7> Fitzpatrick-Matthews, Keith J, & Fitzpatrick-Matthews, Tony, 2009, The archaeology of Letchworth Garden City, Summary, p22-3 (Bibliographic reference). SHT1698.

<8> Joy, Jody, 2014, 'Fire burn and cauldron bubble': Iron Age and early Roman cauldrons of Britain and Ireland: Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 80, 327-62, No.27 (Article in serial). SHT8843.

Sources and further reading

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