Information for record number MWA9091:
Pit alignment, Wishaw Hall Farm, Wishaw

Summary An Iron Age pit alignment uncovered near Grove Lane, Wishaw during site excavations connected with the Birmingham Northern Relief Road project.
What Is It?  
Type: Pit Alignment, Burial
Period: Early Iron Age (800 BC - 301 BC)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Wishaw
District: North Warwickshire, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 17 95
(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 A pit alignment comprising a single line of square holes 1.5m wide and 2.5m apart ,centre to centre, and aligned north-south, were revealed halfway down the slope adjacent to a Medieval lynchet (MWA9089). One pit contained a human skull and sherds of middle Iron Age pottery.
2 Fuller report on the pit alignment, including conclusions on its regional importance. The pit alignment is described as slightly sinuous ENE-WSW aligned. 30 pits were fully or partially exposed during excavation, and the alignment almost certainly continued to both the east and west of the limits of excavation. Individual pits varied in shape from near-circular to oval, and square or rectangular, and up to 0.70m deep.There were no obvious changes of direction within the alignment, which might indicate sectional or 'gang' working during construction. Stones, two sherds of Middle Iron Age pottery and the partial remains of an inverted human skull appeared to have been deliberately placed at the base of pit 191221. The radiocarbon date retrieved from the skull indicated that it was of significantly older date than its deposition in a Middle Iron Age context might otherwise suggest.
 
Sources
Source No: 2
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: The Archaeology of the M6 Toll 2000-2003
Author/originator: A Powell, B Powell, P Booth, A P Fitzpatrick and A D Crockett
Date: 2008
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Birmingham Northern Relief Road
Author/originator: Oxford-Wessex Archaeology Joint Venture
Date: 2001
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
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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period Iron Age About 800 BC to 43 AD

The Iron Age comes after the Bronze Age and before the Roman period. It is a time when people developed the skills and knowledge to work and use iron, hence the name ‘Iron Age’ which is given to this period. Iron is a much tougher and more durable metal than bronze but it also requires more skill to make objects from it. People continued to use bronze during this period.
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period Medieval 1066 AD to 1539 AD (the 11th century AD to the 16th century AD)

The medieval period comes after the Saxon period and before the post medieval period.

The Medieval period begins in 1066 AD.
This was the year that the Normans, led by William the Conqueror (1066 – 1087), invaded England and defeated Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings in East Sussex.
The Medieval period includes the first half of the Tudor period (1485 – 1603 AD), when the Tudor family reigned in England and eventually in Scotland too.

The end of the Medieval period is marked by Henry VIII’s (1509 – 1547) order for the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the years running up to 1539 AD. The whole of this period is sometimes called the Middle Ages.
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monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument STONE * Use only where stone is natural or where there is no indication of 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 PIT ALIGNMENT * A single line, or pair of roughly parallel lines, of pits set at intervals along a common axis or series of axes. The pits are not thought to have held posts. back
monument SQUARE * An open space or area, usually square in plan, in a town or city, enclosed by residential and/or commercial buildings, frequently containing a garden or laid out with trees. back
monument BURIAL * An interment of human or animal remains. Use specific type where known. If component use with wider site type. Use FUNERARY SITE for optimum retrieval in searches. back
monument LYNCHET * A bank formed at the end of a field by soil which, loosened by the plough, gradually moves down slope through a combination of gravity and erosion. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record