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Summary

Archaeological investigations recorded a ring ditch characteristic of a former barrow of Neolithic or Bronze Age date. The finds recovered include Neolithic pottery, worked flint, chert flake and a bone fragment.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• BARROW (LANEBA to Late Bronze Age - 2500 BC (Between) to 701 BC (Between))

Full description

Valentin, J., 2009, Tiverton Eastern Urban Expansion Area. Archaeology and Cultural Heritage Assessment and Evaluation, 6, 9 (Report - Assessment). SDV345204.

Strong ring ditch anomaly, as well as other potential enclosures indicating prehistoric activity recorded on geophysical survey (Area 11). Linear features were also recorded in the vicinity which may represent ditches from former fields. The circular anomaly was proved by subsequent excavation (Trench 12) to be the ring ditch of a probable former barrow. The ditch (F1206) was found to be 3.6 metres wide and 0.4 metres deep with moderately sloping sides and a concave base. A prehistoric chert flake, two sherds of Neolithic pottery and a fragment of bone were recovered form the lower fill of the ditch. At the south-west end of the trench another ditch (F1203) was located, 0.33 metres wide and 0.06 metres deep, which coincided with one of the linear anomalies. No finds were recovered but it is one of a series of linear features likely to represent the remnants of medieval fields.

Edwards, M. + Trick, S., 2020, Land at Hartnoll's Farm, Tiverton Devon: Magnetometer Survey (Report - Survey). SDV364453.

A magnetometer survey was selected to provide a relatively fast and cost-effective evaluation of any buried archaeology across the Survey Area. 22 anomaly groups were identified of which 21 were characterised as representing possible buried archaeological deposits.

A known, and previously excavated ring ditch of prehistoric date (MDV 79309) was successfully located at the eastern end of the Survey Area. Subsequent excavation by Cotswold Archaeology found
archaeology across a broad date range (Cotswold Archaeology 2015). A concentration of post holes contained a Neolithic fill. An almost complete pot of Middle Bronze Age date was excavated in what appears to be a cremation context. These discoveries suggest the locale was a focus for later prehistoric occupation

Etheridge, T., + Rainbird, P., 2023, Land at Hartnoll Farm, Tiverton, Mid Devon: Trench Evaluation (Report - Evaluation). SDV365716.

An archaeological trench evaluation was undertaken by AC archaeology during July 2023 on land at Hartnoll Farm, Tiverton, Devon. The evaluation comprised the machine excavation of 33 trenches. Trenches were positioned to target anomalies identified by a previous geophysical survey, as well as in what were thought to be blank areas.The site is located where previous investigations nearby had identified evidence for late prehistoric settlement, funerary and agricultural occupation.

The main archaeological features identified during the present work were comparable to previous results and comprised two probable cremation pits representing potential evidence for an Early Bronze Age flat cemetery in the southwest part of the site, as well as part of a ring ditch of a probable ploughed-down former barrow to the southeast.

The ring ditch was identified as a clear anomaly on the interpreted results of the geophysical survey extending beyond the limits of the site into the adjoining field to the southeast.
The ring ditch was exposed in two places within the Trench 32. Three sherds of prehistoric pottery and seven pieces of prehistoric worked flint can be associated with the ring ditch which has an extrapolated estimated diameter of over 20m. Although a substantial example, the ring ditch is characteristic of a former barrow of Neolithic or Bronze Age date and typically used for funerary purposes. The trench crossed close to the centre of the ring ditch, with no internal features such as burial or cremation pits identified. A previous geophysical survey and trench evaluation was undertaken in 2009 (AC archaeology 2009) and included an area adjacent to the southeast boundary of the site. A single trench excavated in this area revealed the northeast extent of the same ring ditch. In the 2009 intervention a prehistoric chert flake, two sherds of late Neolithic pottery and a fragment of bone were recovered from the lower fill of the ring ditch.

An environmental bulk sample was recovered from the fill of this feature. The samples were processed by flotation and sieving in a siraf-type tank, using standard AC archaeology methods. Charcoal and rare weed seed was recovered. The wood charcoal could provide evidence for the local taxa present in the vicinity and being exploited for fuel and construction materials. Any short-lived species present would be suitable for radiocarbon dating.

Round barrows are usually considered to be for the marking of funerary deposits, although excavated examples often do not contain evidence of mortuary remains (Historic England 2018a). Some doubts have been expressed as to whether such funerary remains were ever more than a token deposit in some Bronze Age barrows (Jones and Quinnell 2008). An upstanding example is protected as a Scheduled Monument at Craze Lowman some 1.3km to the north of the Hartnoll Farm ring ditch (National Heritage List for England ref. 1017132). Other than being prehistoric the more specific dating of ring ditches can be difficult. In east Devon there is an example of Middle Neolithic date at Newton Poppleford (Rainbird and
Lichtenstein 2018) and an Early Bronze Age Beaker period one at Cranbrook (Hood and King 2019). The majority of others known around Exeter fall more within the ‘earlier’ Bronze Age, broadly the first half of the second millennium BC (Caine and Valentin 2011; Quinnell and Farnell 2016; Flaherty and Wells 2020; and see particularly the discussion in Wells and Newton 2020).

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments: none recorded

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV4893 - Archaeology and Cultural Heritage Assessment, Tiverton
• EDV4957 - Targetted Magnetometry Survey and Evaluation, Tiverton
• EDV8729 - Magnetometer Survey: Land at Hartnoll's Farm, Tiverton, Devon (Ref: 2011HARE-R-1)
• EDV9145 - Trench Evaluation: Land at Hartnoll Farm, Tiverton, Devon (Ref: ACW1537/3/1)

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