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Summary

An archaeological field evaluation recorded the presence of a large number of pits associated with activity dating to the Neolithic period. A couple of the pits are thought to represent post-holes.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• PIT CLUSTER (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2201 BC)

Full description

AC Archaeology, 2013, AC Archaeology in Devon (Article in Serial). SDV360666.

Recent excavations on the outskirts of Ottery St Mary carried out ahead of a forthcoming housing development have recorded rare evidence of early Neolithic occupation. Around 40 pits and post-pits some of which were arranged in arcs, were present on the site. Over a thousand flint artefacts including a fragment of a flaked and polished axe head as well as hundreds of pottery sherds, many of which are from carinated bowls were recovered.

Pink, F., 2013, Early Neolithic Pits and Prehistoric Land Division, at Butts Road, Ottery St Mary, Devon: Summary Archaeological Statement (Report - Evaluation). SDV352295.

A total of 23 evaluation trenches was excavated which revealed the presence of archaeological features in some parts of the site, including several pit features and finds of early Neolithic pottery and worked flint were recovered from their fills.
Several pit features were also identified within the evaluation trenches in the southern part of the site and finds of early Neolithic pottery and worked flint were recovered from their fills. These finds date to around 3,500 BC.
Excavation Area 1 contained a total of 39 pit features.
Approximately half of the pit features excavated in this area contained very abundant quantities of early Neolithic pottery and worked flint flakes and tools (see Figure 7), many of which had been deliberately deposited within the pits. Soil samples were collected throughout the excavation and these will be analysed for seeds or plant remains which may help to reconstruct the environment at the time that the finds were deposited. The pits varied in size and shape, and also in the amount of finds they contained. Some of the pits were little more than a shallow spread of material, although even these features contained abundant quantities of finds. It is possible that a number of the shallower features have been affected by ploughing over many hundreds of years and therefore only the very base of the features survive within the archaeological record. At least two of the pits excavated are believed to have contained large wooden posts (see Figure 4), and it is likely that these formed marker posts within the landscape.
The pits identified on the site are likely to represent ‘structured’ or ‘special’ deposits, which are thought to be where artefacts such as pottery and worked flint have been deliberately placed within pits or ditches as possibly religious offerings, suggesting that either the objects themselves or the ‘place’ was somehow special. The early Neolithic period is the time of the first farming communities and it was also the earliest period of pottery manufacture. The pottery placed in the pits would therefore have been important and rare objects for people at that time. Early Neolithic pits have been recorded on other sites in the South West, but normally in clusters of six to eight, as opposed to the 47 pits excavated here. In all, over a thousand flint artefacts were recovered, as well as hundreds of pottery sherds, many of which have been brought in to the site from other parts of the country, including ‘gabbroic’ wares from the Lizard Peninsula in Cornwall.
The artefacts from the site are currently being processed and quantified and the results will be incorporated into a more detailed report to include the findings from the forthcoming watching brief during the construction phase.
Map object based on this source.

Pink, F. + Valentin, J., 2016, Land adjacent to Butts Road, Ottery St Mary: Evaluation (Report - Excavation). SDV360020.

Archaeological investigations, comprising a trench evaluation, targeted excavation and watching brief, were carried out by AC archaeology between April 2013 and August 2014 on land adjacent to Butts Road, Ottery St Mary, Devon.
The work established the presence of two areas containing pits of Early Neolithic date, some of which contained deliberately placed pottery and stone artefacts. At least three pits are likely to represent structural post-pits of similar date, perhaps landscape markers.
Archaeological features and deposits were exposed in Trenches 3, 5, 7, 8, 9-16, 18-20, and 22-23. Following initial investigation and identification of Early Neolithic pit, Trenches 5, 7, 8 and 23 were not fully recorded as part of the initial evaluation phase, but were further investigated as part of a phase of excavation works knows as Area 1 and 2. Area 1
Excavation Area 1 was located within the southern half of the middle field and concentrated around Trenches 5, 7 and 8. There was a noticeable variety in the shape and size of the pits, as well as in the quantity of finds they contained. Some of the pits were little more than a shallow spread of material, although many of these features still contained an abundant quantity of finds. Of the 38 pits exposed within this area 12 pits contained a significant number of artefacts which are characteristic of structured deposition.
Some of the pits had steep sides and regular profiles indicating that they had been deliberately dug, while others had fairly diffuse and undulating profiles. For some of the pits this may be a result of the sand geology into which they were cut, as well as the subsequent effects of root disturbance, whereas others are likely to have originated as vegetation features formed through natural processes associated with the collapse or uprooting of a tree or shrub. There was no apparent uniformity in profile between the 12 pits containing the largest concentration of artefacts. Fourteen of the excavated vegetation features did not contain any finds, but had a similar colour and consistency of fills, as well as similar shape in plan to many of the other pits excavated within this area, indicating that they are likely to have been contemporary. A further 11 features of this nature contained sherds of Neolithic pottery and worked flint. Two pits within the southern part of this area proved to be of medieval/post-medieval date.
Pit F129 had a noticeably different profile to the other pits within this area. The feature had steep almost vertical sides and a flat base, while no finds were recovered from the fill. The contrast in profile of this feature compared to the surrounding pits indicates it may have served a different function, possibly as a posthole, although there was no further evidence for additional postholes within this area indicating it is unlikely to relate to a wider structure.
Area 2
A smaller area (Area 2) was excavated around the southern end of Trench 23, within the southwest corner of the eastern field. The pits exposed within Area 2 had a similar composition of fills and shape in plan to those exposed within Area 1, but appeared to be set within a more formal arrangement. A total of eight pits were exposed within Area 2. The three pits on the eastern edge of the semi-circular arrangement (F617, F619 and F621), together with the single pit within the far northwest corner of Area 2 (F607) were generally shallow pits that were subcircular in plan and contained a single fill. F603 is the exception to this as it contained seven fills with evidence of burning within a number of these fills. These features also contained a significant quantity of prehistoric pottery and worked flint. F629 was located on the northwest edge of the semi-circular arrangement and is likely to represent a vegetation feature with no finds. The form and profile of pit F623 was similar to that of the other pits within the eastern part of the semi-circular arrangement, but only a single piece of worked flint was recovered from the fill of this feature. Pits F605 and F615 had a noticeably different profile to all of the others within this area, with steep almost vertical sides and a flat base. The pits were also deeper than any of the other features on the site. It is possible that these features may represent two phases of post-pits,
supporting posts that may have acted as marker posts within the landscape.
Some of the pits sampled from this site, particularly in Area 1, have produced rich assemblages of charred plant remains which are unusual for the Early Neolithic period. While wild resources like hazelnut fragments are generally well represented in early deposits, finds of apple, especially such exceptional preservation as in the core remains from Pit 145 are rarer. Remains of cultivated cereals are more often found in low concentrations with relatively sparse evidence from the South West of England. The presence of up to 200 hulled wheat grains in some of the fills of pit F128, likely at this early period to be emmer wheat (Triticum dicoccum), is also rare.
The charred plant remains recovered here will provide good material for radiocarbon dating where appropriate and this should be a priority from a selection of the pit fills before further analysis is carried out. The results from this site will provide a significant addition to current knowledge for the Early Neolithic period. In view of this it is also recommended that selected unprocessed samples from other pit fills containing deliberately-placed artefacts should be assessed and/or analysed during the next stage of work to allow full consideration to be made of the distribution of groups of plant remains across the site.
The charcoal from Ottery St Mary is consistent with a growing body of data indicating the exploitation of native oak-hazel woodland, so further work on these samples is limited. However, assemblages of Neolithic date are of importance, and a record should be included in the final publication. As a minimum, it is recommended that some minor additional work is undertaken in order to confirm the identifications at high magnification and to produce a report largely based upon this assessment. If
discrete activities relating to the pits or a closer sequence of phasing can be established during the post-excavation analysis, then there may be some scope for additional analytical work on the charcoal.
A single fleck of burnt bone was recovered from context 131, Feature F128. It is not possible to determine if this is animal or human bone. Several other very tiny pieces of unburnt bone were retrieved from context 614, pit F605. It is again not possible to determine if these are animal or human.
The large concentration of pits present in the excavation areas show this site to have been of importance within the Neolithic landscape. The act of digging a pit and subsequent deposition of artefacts in the Neolithic period was a way of assigning significance to a location (Thomas 1999, 72). Although there are a number of sites within the local area which have produced evidence for pits of Early Neolithic date, there are no close comparisons within the SouthWest in terms of the quantity of pits exposed.
Many of the pits excavated within Areas 1 and 2 were shallow features with diffuse edges. It is possible that this is the result of them having been left open and therefore susceptible to weathering, but as the features are cut into the sand geology it is considered more likely to be a result of later water movement and plant disturbance. Following the initial stripping of the ploughsoil and subsoil from these areas by machine, a number of artefacts were visible within the top of these pit features. It is therefore considered possible that a number have been affected by ploughing and therefore only the very base of the features survive within the archaeological record.
Many of the pits containing artefacts at Butts Road have proved to have similarities in their colour and composition of fills indicating that these may reflect a prompt backfilling following the deposition of artefacts. A number of the pits contained evidence for burnt wood and charred plant remains within their fills, but there is little evidence to suggest in situ burning has taken place.
A possible post-hole and two possible post-pits were exposed by the excavation. The small quantity of post-pits on the site indicates that they are unlikely to relate to a larger post-built structure, and it is therefore considered that they may have supported marker posts that allowed this location to be revisited during the Early Neolithic period.
For evaluation results, trenches 3, 9-16, 18-22 see full report.
Map object based on this source.

Pink, F. + Rainbird,P., 2019, Early and Middle Neolithic Pits from Land Adjacent to Butts Road and Higher Ridgeway, Ottery St Mary, 56, 74 (Article in Serial). SDV364820.

Of the 38 pits exposed in Area 1, 11 contained a significant number of Early Neolithic pot and lithic artefacts.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments: none recorded

Associated Finds

• FDV6413 - BONE NON SPECIFIC (Undated)
• FDV6411 - CEREAL GRAIN (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2201 BC)
• FDV6412 - Charcoal (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2201 BC)
• FDV6405 - FLINT (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2201 BC)
• FDV6410 - PLANT MACRO REMAINS (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2201 BC)
• FDV6406 - SHERD (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2201 BC)

Associated Events

• EDV6249 - Archaeological Evaluation on Land at Butts Road, Ottery St Mary (Ref: ACD667)
• EDV7197 - Post-excavation assessment report on the result of archaeological investigations, Land adjacent to Butts Road, Ottery St Mary (Ref: ACD698/1/1)

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