Pegswood Moor, Morpeth: A Later Iron Age And Romano-british Farmstead Settlement (pre-construct Archaeology Monograph)

Pegswood Moor Farm lies on the Northumberland Coastal Plain in an area which until relatively recently was thought to have been sparsely occupied during later prehistory. However, as this publication clearly demonstrates, this area was as densely settled in these periods as any other part of the region. Sporadic visiting of the site occurred from the Mesolithic/early Neolithic into the Bronze Age, but significant habitation commenced at the site in the Later Iron Age when a small unenclosed farmstead was established. The site was succeeded by occupation on a much larger scale, with associated field systems, stock enclosures, smaller stockyards and a droveway were identified. The final phase of occupation recorded at the site was characterised by the construction of a rectilinear timber enclosure, and associated field system built over the remains of the preceding habitation area, in places directly through the middle of earlier dwellings. Occupation continued only until the 2nd century AD, however, when the area reverted to moorland. It remained as such into the post-medieval period when it came into agricultural use. This volume is the first of these recently excavated sites to be published in detail, presenting the archaeological, finds and environmental evidence, with a concluding chapter, which places the Pegswood settlement in a much broader regional context. Lying 8km Inland On The Northumberland Coastal Plain Pegswood Moor Seems To Have Attracted Its First Permanent Settlers Around The 4th Century Bc. Initially A Small And Apparently Isolated Farmstead, By The 2nd Century Bc This Had Expanded Into An Organized Enclosed Settlement With Areas Set Aside For Stock-keeping, Habitation, Manufacturing And Processing Activities, Including Pottery Production. Evidence Suggests A Mixed Agricultural Economy, Whilst A Droveway Leading Towards The Coast And Field Systems Extending Away From The Focus Of Habitation Point To Extensive Exploitation Of The Wider Landscape. Towards The End Of The 1st Century Ad There Was A Fundamental Change In The Management Of This Landscape, With New Boundaries Established On Different Alignments. Most Striking Was The Construction Of A Substantial Timber Enclosure Built Through The Line Of Several Roundhouse Dwellings - A Seemingly Deliberate And Pointed Statement. Tantalizingly, No Associated Focus Of Habitation Was Found Within The Area Of Excavation And, As With The Majority Of Other Excavated Settlements In The Area, Evidence For Occupation After The 2nd Century Was Absent. The Impetus For This Sudden Yet Short-lived Change Can Only Be Speculated On - But The Arrival Of Vast Numbers Of Roman Troops In The Region With All Their Attendant Requirements Must Surely Be In Part Responsible.--jacket. By Jennifer Proctor ; [edited By Victoria Ridgeway]. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 106-111) And Index. Contributors Foreword Figures Tables Summary Acknowledgements Chapter 1. Introduction Planning Background Methodology Results of the Investigation Geology and Topography Archaeological and Historical Background Chapter 2. The Archaeological Remains Phase 1: Natural Sub-Stratum Phase 2: Earlier Prehistoric Phase 3: Unenclosed Later Iron Age Settlement Phase 4: Enclosed Later Iron Age Settlement Phase 5: 1st- to 2nd-Century AD Romano-British Activity Chapter 3. Specialist Reports Lithics Pottery Briquetage Residues from Activities Involving Heat Quernstones and Other Stone Objects Glass Objects Palaeoenvironmental Remains Animal Bone Chapter 4. Discussion Development and Form of the Settlement The Social Landscape Roundhouse Structures The Economy of the Settlement Manufacturing, Processing and Trade Ritual Activity The Settlement in its Regional and Wider Setting Concluding Remarks French and German Summaries Bibliography Index