The Siege of Colchester

Archaeological excavations in advance of quarrying at Cheviot Quarry, Northumb. have produced important evidence for Neolithic, Late Bronze Age and Dark Age settlements. Neolithic pit features containing domestic midden material including broken pottery, lithics and cereal grains from two distinct parts of the quarry have provided evidence for what is interpreted as settlement and subsistence activity from the Early and Later Neolithic periods. Together with the Neolithic remains from the nearby sites at Thirlings and those recently excavated at Lanton Quarry, it provides evidence for significant, and perhaps intensive, settlement on the sand and gravel terraces of the Milfield Plain throughout the Neolithic. Indeed, these sites provide the precursors to the better known ceremonial and henge complex located nearby which probably dates to the Beaker period. Radiocarbon determinations associated with the full sequence of Neolithic pottery have been obtained from Cheviot Quarry and analysis of the residues adhering to the ceramics has provided some of the earliest evidence for dairy farming in the region, as well as information relating to other dietary and subsistence practices. Two substantial roundhouses with porches, internal hearths and pits containing domestic refuse, provide the first evidence for Late Bronze Age lowland settlement in the region. The botanical macrofossil and faunal evidence, together with the pottery residues, show clear evidence for arable and pastoral activity in a small, unenclosed farming settlement. A detailed programme of radiocarbon dating and the application of Bayesian modelling has shown that these two buildings are contemporary and date to the tenth century cal. BC. In addition to this prehistoric archaeology, three Dark Age, rectangular, post-built buildings were also discovered on the site and have been radiocarbon dated to the fifth or early sixth century cal. AD. These substantial, although heavily truncated, structures are thought to represent the homesteads of a small farming community, although the lack of material culture makes understanding their use and cultural attribution problematic. Because of their early date these buildings could have belonged to either post-Roman British inhabitants or perhaps early Anglo-Saxon mercenaries or settlers. A reconstruction of one of these buildings has been built close to the site at the nearby Maelmin Heritage Trail where it can be visited by the public.