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Summary

Excavation revealed a middle to late Iron Age settlement in Billingborough parish.

Full description

PRN 32860
Iron Age pottery and some saltern material was found on a slight mound in 1971 {1}.
Excavations on this site in Billingborough parish revealed evidence of a middle to late Iron Age settlement. The site had previously been used for salt-making in the late Bronze Age to early Iron Age (PRN 32862). In the middle to late Bronze Age there had been a previous settlement on the same site (PRN 33304). After the late Iron Age settlement was abandoned, a new field system was laid out in this area, during the Romano-British period (PRN 35515).
The settlement began about a century so after the end of the previous salt-making phase of activity. Two enclosures were identified (recorded in the excavation report as enclosures 2 and 3) part of a broader pattern of enclosures and field systems visible as cropmarks in aerial photographs. Enclosure 2 was roughly trapezoidal and about 1020 square metres in size. Only the eastern edge of enclosure 3 was excavated, this was a slightly longer edge than that of enclosure 2 and so enclosure 3 maybe slightly larger. Within enclosure 3 was a hearth and aerial photographs show a ring ditch, maybe evidence of a roundhouse, to the west of the excavated area within this enclosure.
Few features were found within enclosure 2 although tentative evidence for gullies was found that suggested there may have been a gateway at the three metre wide entrance to this enclosure. There were two ditches aligned on enclosure 2 which may have been part of a field system associated with this enclosure.
A smith’s poker was found in an earlier Bronze Age enclosure ditch on the site (see PRN 33304 for the Bronze Age settlement). This item was in a shallow feature, perhaps a re-cutting of the Bronze Age ditch or perhaps a pit dug into a still recognisable old boundary for a formal votive deposit.
The start of occupation of these enclosures is uncertain given the current knowledge of middle to late Iron Age pottery development but may have been as early as the third century BC. The occupation site appears to have gone out of use in the middle of the first century BC.
There was evidence for iron working on the site and possibly iron smelting too. There was a clay mould for casting a piece of horse harness suggesting bronze smelting also took place.
Animal bone from the site indicated that greater numbers of sheep and goats were kept than in earlier periods on the site and there were few pigs. The sheep appear to have been kept more for meat than for fleeces.
Twenty-three fragments of human skull were found from a number of individuals. Almost all show signs of post mortem cutting or polishing of the bone. One fragment from a juvenile showed evidence of decapitation with a sharp weapon. The evidence from other fragments shows that at least some of the skulls were cut to form ‘bowls’ and this activity was occurring on the site. This is rare evidence for post mortem, functional use of human remains. It has been suggested that the fragments may relate to ‘head hunting’ activity and subsequent ritual use of the skull vaults as bowls. {2}{3}

<1> Lincolnshire County Council, Sites and Monuments Record Card Index, TF 13 SW: X (Index). SLI2881.

<2> Peter Chowne, Rosamund Cheal and A.P. Fitzpatrick, 2001, Excavations at Billingborough, Lincolnshire, 1975-8: a Bronze-Iron Age Settlement and Salt-Working Site, pp.16-20, 21-4, 42-5, 67, 73-8, 93-5 (Bibliographic Reference). SLI7301.

<3> South Lincolnshire Archaeological Unit, 1996, Excavations at Billingborough 1975-78, LCNCC 173.1996 (Archive). SLI7302.

Monument Types

• BRONZE WORKING SITE (Middle Iron Age to Late Iron Age - 300 BC to 50 BC)
• DITCH (Middle Iron Age to Late Iron Age - 300 BC? to 50 BC)
• ENCLOSURE (Middle Iron Age to Late Iron Age - 300 BC? to 50 BC)
• FIELD SYSTEM (Middle Iron Age to Late Iron Age - 300 BC? to 50 BC)
• HEARTH (Middle Iron Age to Late Iron Age - 300 BC? to 50 BC)
• HUT CIRCLE (Middle Iron Age to Late Iron Age - 300 BC? to 50 BC)
• IRON WORKING SITE (Middle Iron Age to Late Iron Age - 300 BC to 50 BC)
• SETTLEMENT (Middle Iron Age to Late Iron Age - 300 BC? to 50 BC)

Associated Finds

• LOOMWEIGHT (Iron Age - 800 BC to 42 AD)
• ANIMAL REMAINS (Middle Iron Age to Late Iron Age - 400 BC to 42 AD)
• BOWL (Middle Iron Age to Late Iron Age - 400 BC to 42 AD)
• HUMAN REMAINS (Middle Iron Age to Late Iron Age - 400 BC to 42 AD)
• MOULD (Middle Iron Age to Late Iron Age - 400 BC to 42 AD)
• POKER (Middle Iron Age to Late Iron Age - 400 BC to 42 AD)
• QUERN (Middle Iron Age to Late Iron Age - 400 BC to 42 AD)
• SLAG (Middle Iron Age to Late Iron Age - 400 BC to 42 AD)
• SPEAR (Middle Iron Age to Late Iron Age - 400 BC to 42 AD)
• SHERD (Middle Iron Age to Late Iron Age - 300 BC to 50 BC)
• BROOCH (Middle Iron Age to Late Iron Age - 125 BC to 50 BC)
• BROOCH (Middle Iron Age to Late Iron Age - 125 BC to 75 BC)

Associated Events

• Excavation at Billingborough

Sources and further reading

Related records

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