Description

Summary: The ceramic assemblage from Trench B, East Chisenbury, Enford. Excavated by Wessex Archaeology.

Research results

Carbonised residues from sherds in this group were sampled for radiocarbon dating by Waddington et al. (2019). Despite the radiocarbon calibration 'plateau' of the early Iron Age, which reduces the precision of radiocarbon dating in this period, the well preserved stratigraphy at East Chisenbury allowed for the application of Baynesian modelling to radiocarbon dates from a variety of contexts in order to help refine the chronology of the site. The study identified two distinct phases of occupation at the site as well as demonstrating that it both took much longer than initially thought to build up, as long as 500 years, but also that this process continued much later than assumed, with the latest phases of the midden possibly contemporary with the construction of some Hillforts.

The ceramic assemblage from Trench B, East Chisenbury, Enford. Excavated by Wessex Archaeology, East Chisenbury represents one of a number of Late Bronze Age to Early Iron Age midden sites in the vale of Pewsey. These sites, sometimes meters deep and covering multiple hectares, represent huge collections of waste deposited from periodic feasting events. Recent radiocarbon dating has shown that East Chisenbury built up over the course of around 500 years, and with two distinct phases seperated by a brief window of agricultural use.