Information for record number MWA7229:
Late Bronze Age pits and mini Ring Ditch, near Broom

Summary Excavation in advance of road development uncovered Bronze Age pits, pottery, a small ring ditch containing a funeral pyre, and fragments of bronze cauldrons. The site was 300m north west of the weir at Broom.
What Is It?  
Type: Pit, Ring Ditch, Funeral Pyre, Cremation
Period: Late Bronze Age (1200 BC - 601 BC)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Salford Priors
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 08 53
(Data represented on this map shows the current selected record as a single point, this is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent an accurate or complete representation of archaeological sites or features)
Level of Protection National - Old SMR PrefRef (Grade: )
Sites & Monuments Record
Description

  
Source Number  

1 Trench 5 of the evaluation in advance of the building of the A435 Norton-Lenchwick Bypass revealed a pit which contained 499 sherds of Bronze Age pottery. This is an important find suggesting some abnormal function for the pit.
2 An open area excavation was carried out over the site of Trench 5 . The later Bronze Age was represented by two unusual features. A large quantity (over 600) of unabraded sherds was recovered from a single clay lined pit which also contained many pot-boilers. It seems that this represents a ritual deposit. The second feature was a small ring ditch which enclosed the remains of a collapsed funerary pyre. Fragments of at least two bronze cauldrons were also found. There was no evidence for either a mound or an outer bank. The discovery of a pyre associated with cauldrons is unique in Britain, and indicates a high status cremation event.
3 Short interim report.
4 Late Bronze Age date given.
5 It is possible there were two episodes of Bronze Age Activity at Area E. The pit was found in virtual isolation and is therefore unconvincing as part of a settlement. Its specialised group of pottery forms is suggestive of feasting, and the absence of decoration and the inclusion of the smaller bowls indicate a date immediately post Deverel-Rimbury. The radiocarbon dates for the site believed to be a pyre are later in the middle of the 1st millenium BC therefore it is probable that a number of centuries seperated the events. The fragments of cremated bone collected probably came from a single individual.
6 Short report in WMA 37.
 
Sources
Source No: 2
Source Type: Excavation Report
Title: A435 Bypass: Excavations in the Arrow Valley: Interim Report and Post Excavation Proposal
Author/originator: Palmer S C
Date: 1994
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Evaluation Report
Title: A435 Bypass Phase 2 Part II: Archaeological Field Evaluations.
Author/originator: Palmer S C
Date: 1993
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Serial
Title: WMA vol 36 (1993)
Author/originator: White, R (ed)
Date: 1994
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 36
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Serial
Title: TBAS vol. 103
Author/originator: Birmingham and Warwickshire Archaeology Society
Date: 2000
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 103
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Serial
Title: WMA vol 37 (1994)
Author/originator: White, R (ed)
Date: 1995
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 37
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Verbal communication
Title: Aggregates Assessment
Author/originator: Stuart Palmer
Date: 2006
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
source TBAS Transactions of the Birmingham and Warwickshire Archaeological Society is a journal produced by the society annually. It contains articles about archaeological field work that has taken place in Birmingham and Warwickshire in previous years. Copies of the journal are kept by the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. back
source WMA West Midlands Archaeology. This publication contains a short description for each of the sites where archaeological work has taken place in the previous year. It covers Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands and Worcestershire. Some of these descriptions include photographs, plans and drawings of the sites and/or the finds that have been discovered. The publication is produced by the Council For British Archaeology (CBA) West Midlands and is published annually. Copies are held at the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. back
technique excavation Archaeologists excavate sites so that they can find information and recover archaeological materials before they are destroyed by erosion, construction or changes in land-use.

Depending on how complicated and widespread the archaeological deposits are, excavation can be done by hand or with heavy machinery. Archaeologists may excavate a site in a number of ways; either by open area excavation, by digging a test pit or a trial trench.
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technique Open Area Excavation When archaeologists carry out an open area excavation they uncover large areas for excavation. This technique is used on sites where archaeological deposits of a single period lie close to the surface of the ground. Open area excavation enables archaeologists to look at how artefacts and features of the same period relate to each other. back
period Bronze Age About 2500 BC to 700 BC

The Bronze Age comes after the Neolithic period and before the Iron Age.

The day to day life of people in the Bronze Age probably changed little from how their ancestors had lived during the Neolithic period. They still lived in farmsteads, growing crops and rearing animals.

During the Bronze Age people discovered how to use bronze, an alloy of tin and copper (hence the name that has given to this era). They used it to make their tools and other objects, although they continued to use flint and a range of organic materials as well. A range of bronze axes, palstaves and spears has been found in Warwickshire.
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monument CREMATION * A funeral rite in which the human body is burnt, usually on a pyre, leaving fragmentary charred or completely combusted remains. Often found buried, occasionally in a container associated with grave goods. back
monument WEIR * A dam constructed on the reaches of a canal or river designed to retain the water and to regulate its flow. back
monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument SETTLEMENT * A small concentration of dwellings. back
monument FUNERAL PYRE * A structure consisting of combustible material, typically wood, on which a body is placed and then cremated, sometimes with accompanying grave goods. Use only when evidence of structure exists. back
monument BUILDING * A structure with a roof to provide shelter from the weather for occupants or contents. Use specific type where known. back
monument FEATURE * Areas of indeterminate function. back
monument ROAD * A way between different places, used by horses, travellers on foot and vehicles. back
monument PIT * A hole or cavity in the ground, either natural or the result of excavation. Use more specific type where known. back
monument FIELD * An area of land, often enclosed, used for cultivation or the grazing of livestock. back
monument RING DITCH * Circular or near circular ditches, usually seen as cropmarks. Use the term where the function is unknown. Ring ditches may be the remains of ploughed out round barrows, round houses, or of modern features such as searchlight emplacements. back
monument TRENCH * An excavation used as a means of concealment, protection or both. back
monument MOUND * A natural or artificial elevation of earth or stones, such as the earth heaped upon a grave. Use more specific type where known. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record