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Summary

Six post holes were identified during an archaeological investigation on land adjacent to Alswear Old Road. The post holes are thought to define an Iron age rectangular structure.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• STRUCTURE (Middle Iron Age - 300 BC (Between) to 101 BC (Between)) + Sci.Date

Full description

Webb, P. + Balmond, F. + Morris, B. + Walls, S.H., 2018, Land adjacent to Alswear Old Road, South Molton: Excavation, South Molton Rugby Club's New Pitch (Report - Excavation). SDV364652.

South West Archaeology Ltd. (SWARCH) was commissioned the South Molton Rugby Club (the Client) to undertake an archaeological excavation prior to the creation of a new rugby pitch on land adjacent to Alswear Road, South Molton, North Devon. This work was undertaken in fulfilment of a planning condition, and follows on from a programme of geophysical survey (Bampton 2015) and evaluation trenching (Webb 2015). The archaeological excavation was carried out as part of a HLF-funded community project which involved members of the community and local school children in the excavation, post-excavation processing and other archaeologically-themed activities.

The work identified and excavated a total of 46 features, including ditches, gullies, pits and postholes, that reflect the Prehistoric and historic use of the site. The pottery indicates activity as early as the Bronze Age, although the principal features are all likely to date to the Iron Age, with early medieval re-use of an enclosure

The six postholes to the south-east appear to define a structure that straddles the gully complex, indicating it pre- or post-dates that complex. This would have been a rectangular structure c.8×4m across and, if we suppose the south-western part was truncated or disturbed by gully [255], could be interpreted as an Iron Age four- or six-post structure. A single scrap of Middle Iron Age South West Decorated Ware was recovered from posthole [111], and a C14 date from [109] was returned as 396-350/307-209 calBC (95.4%, SUERC-78027). This is not the first instance of successive structures on the same site: at Middle Burrow Farm, East Worlington, a four-post structure was built on the site of a large Middle Iron Age roundhouse (Gillard et al. 2012). It is of interest that the charcoal from these postholes is similar to that of pits [139] [141] [143], with low taxonomic diversity (oak, hazel/alder) and vitrification. This might imply contemporaneity or (given the divergent C14 dates) continuity of use or function.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments: none recorded

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV8756 - Excavation: Land adjacent to Alswear Old Road, South Molton (Ref: 181123)

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