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3.1. Period 1, c. 50 - 15 BC

Assemblage composition (see Tables 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9 & 10)

Not unexpectedly for the late Iron Age, the bulk of the period assemblage was dominated by jar forms, at over 75%. The individual vessel classes, cups, jars, pedestal jars and tazze, all occurred at their highest proportions at the site. This would appear to represent the basic fundamentals of everyday domestic consumption, with jars and lids being used as cooking pots (Evans 1993; 2001, 27) and beakers and pedestal jars as drinking vessels. The emphasis on wheel-thrown pedestal jars, tazze and cups in grog-tempered fabrics is also paralleled in other contemporary domestic and funerary sites in the region, and formed part of a consumption style deriving from the longer term diffusion of continental ideas (Pitts 2005a; 2005c) as part of the Aylesford-Swarling La Tène III 'culture' (Hawkes and Hull 1947; Thompson 1982). A small but significant proportion of imports included Italian wine amphorae, samian cups (probably intrusive), central Gaulish flagons, and Gallo-Belgic platters and butt-beakers. Depositional practice for such large groups of pottery favoured pits and then linear features for the disposal of ceramic material. All the stratified groups were predominantly composed of jar forms, although a few had significant quantities of drinking vessels and table wares.

Correspondence analysis: excavated area (see Figures 2a and 2b)

CA of pottery deposition by area revealed that all the imported forms were concentrated in the south-east corner of the site (at this time of dispersed settlement morphology), with all the Gallo-Belgic imports in area P, and the wine amphorae in area N (although areas E and P appeared close in CA, this resulted from both assemblages having high proportions of storage jars, not Gallo-Belgic forms). The highest proportion of locally made beakers, cups, tazze and pedestal jars also occurred in area N. These observations seem to suggest some form of drinking practice located in the south-east corner of the site, possibly involving the consumption of imported wine. Similarly high concentrations of indigenous butt-beakers, bowls, platters and pedestal tazze were noted in the north-west corner of the site (areas D and G), whereas area H was notable for its relatively high proportion of bowls.

Correspondence analysis: assemblage/feature (see Figures 9a and 9b)

The most striking feature of CA of pottery deposition by assemblage was the apparent clustering of drinking vessel types (cups, tazze, beakers and pedestal-jars) and wine amphorae sherds corresponding to three pits in area N (11745, 11774 and 11342). After pit 8786 (also from the south-east corner of the site, corresponding to Gallo-Belgic butt-beakers and platters) these three pits also contained the largest assemblages of the period, all with significant proportions of drinking vessels (ranging from 20-55%). Such a concentration of imported wares, drinking vessels and wine amphorae further clarifies trends noted in CA by excavated area, strongly hinting at high-status drinking practices taking place in the vicinity of the south-east corner of the site.

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Last updated: Tue May 08 2007