Durrington Walls: Excavations 1966-1968

476 Pages·1971·23.467 MB·English

by  Geoffrey J. Wainwright, Ian H. Longworth

Reports of the Research Committee
of the
Society of Antiquaries of London
No. XXIX
Durrington Walls:
Excavations 1966- 1968
By
G.]. Wainwright,
B.A., Ph.D.
with
I. H. Longworth,
M.A., Ph.D.
DORKING
Printed by Adlard & Son Ltd for
The Society of Antiquaries
Burlington House, London
©The Society of Antiquaries of London, 1971
PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN
CONTENTS
PAGE
PREFACE.
Xl
SUMMARY
XIV
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTORY
The Archaeological Environs . 3
The History of the Site . 7
The Excavations of 1951-1952 9
The Excavations of 1966-1967 1o
The Excavations of 1968 12
CHAPTER II: DESCRIPTION OF THE STRUCTURES AS REVEALED BY
EXCAVATION 13
The Bank 13
The Ditch 19
The Berm 22
The Southern Circle 23
The Midden 38
The Northern Circle 41
Structure A 44
Structure B . 47
CHAPTER III: THE NEOLITHIC POTTERY. BY DR I. H. LONGWORTH 48
The 1966 Excavations 48
The 1967 Excavations 49
Windmill Hill Ware 53
Peterborough Ware 55
Grooved Ware 55
Beaker . 71
Catalogue 73
CONTENTS
iv
CHAPTER IV: THE OTHER FINDS 156
Flint 156
Bone objects . 181
Stone . 183
Antler . 185
Baked clay 188
The animal bones 188
The human bones 191
CHAPTER V: DISCUSSION 192
The pre-enclosure settlement 192
The enclosure 193
Comparable enclosures and their origins 198
The Southern Circle 204
The Northern Circle 225
The function of the timber structures 231
CHAPTER VI: THE RINYO-CLACTON CULTURE RE-CONSIDERED
(WITH DR I. H. LONGWORTH) 235
The Grooved Ware tradition and its sub-styles 236
The Clacton style 236
The Woodlands style 238
The Durrington Walls style 239
The Rinyo style 241
Distribution and unity of the Grooved Ware tradition 243
Origins and relationships of the Grooved Ware styles 244
Occurrence . 249
The non-ceramic associations 254
Radiocarbon chronology 265
Conclusions . 266
Gazetteer of sites . 268
CHAPTER VII: THE LATER SETTLEMENT 307
The Packway enclosure . 307
The Southern Circle: palisade trench 312
The Iron Age settlement north of the Northern Circle 313
The finds 3 15
The general discussion 324
CONTENTS v
APPENDICES 329
I The Pre-Henge Environment. By J. G. Evans 329
II The Animal Bones. By R. A. Harcourt 338
III The Human Remains. By R. Powers 35
l
IV Petrological Report on the Stones. By F. S. Wallis and E. D. Evens 352
V The Charcoals. By G. C. Morgan 354
VI The Southern Circle at Durrington Walls -A Numerical Investigation.
By R. J. C. Atkinson 355
VII A Study of Possible Building Forms at Durrington Walls, Woodhenge
and The Sanctuary. By C. R. Musson 363
VIII The Details of the Post-holes . 378
IX Report on the Petrological Examination of Sherds from Durrington Walls.
By L. A. Finch 409
X Radiocarbon dates for the Enclosure Ditch and Phase 2 of the Southern
Circle. By R. Burleigh . 4
l l
BIBLIOGRAPHY 412
INDEX 418
LIST OF FIGURES
PAGE
1. Location map for Durrington Walls 2
2. Excavation plan and environs of Durrington Walls 4
3. General plan of Durrington Walls facing 13
4. Section of bank and ditch in north sector facing 14
5. Plan of the bank and associated post-holes in its north sector . 15
6. Section of bank and ditch in south sector facing 16
7. Section of the enclosure bank in its south sector facing 17
8. Section of 1967 pipe-trench through the bank 18
9. General plan of the Southern Circle facing 23
10. Schematic sections through the Southern Circle facing 24
11. Plan of the Southern Circle: Phase 1 . facing 26
12. Plan of the Southern Circle: Phase 2 . facing 30
13. Southern Circle: detailed plan of the central area facing 32
14. Southern Circle: Phase 2. Plan of the post-holes and decayed timber uprights facing 34
15. Plan of the Midden . 39
16. Sections of the Midden 40
17 . Plan of the Northern Circle facing 42
18. Plan of Structure A . 45
19. Sections of Structure A 46
20. Rim forms 57
21. Frequencies of rim forms 58
22. Forms of base angle . 58
23. Decorative components used on top of rims . 60
24. Components used in internal decoration 61
25. Types of decorated vertical cordons 64
26a. Components of incised external decoration 66
26b. Components of incised external decoration 67
2 7. Components of grooved external decoration 68
28. Components of twisted cord decoration 69
29. Spiral and concentric circle decoration 71
30. Middle Neolithic pottery . 74
31. Middle Neolithic, Peterborough Ware and Grooved Ware 76
32. Grooved Ware 77
33. Grooved Ware 79
LIST OF FIGURES
Vil
34· Grooved Ware 80
35· Grooved Ware 82
36. Grooved Ware 84
37· Grooved Ware 86
38. Grooved Ware 88
39· Grooved Ware go
40. Grooved Ware 92
4I. Grooved Ware 94
42. Grooved Ware 96
43· Grooved Ware g8
44· Grooved Ware JOO
45· Grooved Ware 102
46. Grooved Ware 106
47· Grooved Ware 108
48. Grooved Ware I IO
49· Grooved Ware 112
50. Grooved Ware I 14
5I. Grooved Ware II8
52. Grooved Ware 120
53· Grooved Ware 124
54· Grooved Ware 128
55· Grooved Ware 130
56. Grooved Ware 132
57· Grooved Ware 136
58. Grooved Ware 138
59· Grooved Ware 140
60. Grooved Ware
142
61. Grooved Ware
144
62. Grooved Ware
148
63. Beaker 152
64. Beaker and related wares 154
65. Flint artifacts 157
66. Flint artifacts
159
67. Diagram to illustrate the dimensions of flakes 160
68. Diagram to illustrate the dimensions of flakes 163
69. Flint artifacts 165
70. Flint artifacts 166
71. Diagram to illustrate the dimensions of scrapers 167
LIST OF FIGURES
Vlll
72. Diagram to illustrate the relative thickness of scrapers 168
73. Flint and stone artifacts 170
74. Flint and stone artifacts 172
75 . Flint and stone artifacts 173
76. Flint and stone artifacts 175
77. Flint and stone artifacts 177
78. Flint and stone artifacts 178
79. Bone artifacts . 182
80. Bone artifacts . 184
81 • Antler artifacts . 186
82. Baked clay spindle-whorl 189
83. Comparative plans of Late Neolithic enclosures in Wessex 199
84. Reconstruction of the Southern Circle: Phase 2 205
85. Plan of Woodhenge . 208
86. Distribution map of stone and timber circles in Britain 215
87. Reconstruction of the Northern Circle 227
88. Distribution map of stone and timber avenues in Britain 229
89. Sites producing sherds in Clacton sub-style . 238
go. Sites producing sherds in Woodlands sub-style 239
91. Sites producing sherds in Durrington Walls sub-style 241
92. Sites producing sherds in Rinyo sub-style 243
93. Decorative components of the Rinyo sub-style compared with those represented in the
other sub-styles from sites in southern England 245
94. Distribution map of henge monuments in the British Isles 253
95. Analysis of the transverse arrowheads associated with Grooved Ware 258
96. Distribution of Grooved Ware sites in Britain 267
97. Distribution of the Grooved Ware sub-styles in Britain facing 268
98. Packway Enclosure: excavation plan . facing 308
99. General plan of the Packway Enclosure 309
JOO. Sections of ditches and pits of the Packway Enclosure 3 I I
JO 1. Plan of the Iron Age settlement north of the Northern Circle 314
J02. Pottery from the Iron Age structures 317
J03. Pottery from the Iron Age structures . 319
J04. Pottery from the Iron Age structures . 321
J05. Objects of metal, bone, stone and baked clay from the Iron Age structures 323
J06. Objects of stone from the Iron Age structures 325
1 07. Molluscan histogram 330
J08. Frequency diagrams of bone dimensions of domestic cattle and aurochs from the
Neolithic levels . . 340, 341