Assessing the contribution of integrated geoarchaeological approaches to understand the formation and function of burnt mounds: the example of Hoppenwood Bank,North Northumberland

Burnt mounds are detrital mounds of fire-cracked rock and charcoal, deposited as the result of a prehistoric process for heating water. They are the most numerous prehistoric monument found across Britain and Ireland and have traditionally been difficult to study due to their apparent homogeneity and lack of distinguishing features. This study seeks to change the discussion surrounding burnt mounds and evaluates a large early- to mid-Bronze Age burnt mound at Hoppenwood Bank in Northumberland using an integrated microarchaeological methodology, the contribution of which is assessed. A combination of micromorphology and silicic microfossil analyses indicates that these deposits are complex and multifaceted, showing variability in their depositional sequences, microcomponents, and taphonomy. The identification of hiatuses in deposition and desiccation of surfaces beneath the burnt mound indicate that the accumulation of material may have been periodic or seasonal, and dating suggests that sequential deposition may have spanned 500–700 years. Taphonomic issues identified at the microscale highlight concerns for the interpretation of microfossils. This paper considers the implications of these observations and argues that burnt mounds should be viewed as caches of environmental and sediment-based data, indicative of sequences within landscape use-patterns and human-environment interactions.