Information for record number MWA7454:
Neolithic Features found in Area E, northwest of Broom.

Summary Excavation in advance of road development, uncovered signs of Neolithic activity, including pits, cremation pits, worked flint and polished stone axes. The site is to the northwest of Broom.
What Is It?  
Type: Pit Cluster, Cremation Pit, Pit, Findspot
Period: Late Neolithic (3000 BC - 2201 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 An open area excavation, Area E, carried out in advance of the A435 Norton Lenchwick Bypass revealed Neolithic activity. The later Neolithic was represented by at least one cremation pit and two other pits. Two polished stone axes and a broad range of flintwork were also recovered from these pits. An environmental sample from the cremation pit revealed considerable quantities of hazel and apple, with no sign of cultivated plants.
2 Mentioned in a short report in WMA vol 37.
3 A small group of pits contained Grooved Ware pottery and/or distinctive flintwork. Cremated bone from context 839 was mostly animal with a few fragments of human bone. Six late Neolithic samples of charred plant remains, taken from context in four pits, were analysed, and two hazelnut shells were radiocarbon dated. The collection of food material consisted of hazelnut shells and fruit fragments. There was no evidence of cereal cultivation.
 
Sources
Source No: 1
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: 3
Source Type: Serial
Title: TBAS vol. 103
Author/originator: Birmingham and Warwickshire Archaeology Society
Date: 2000
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 103
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Serial
Title: WMA vol 37 (1994)
Author/originator: White, R (ed)
Date: 1995
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 37
   
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
technique Environmental Sample Plant and animal remains, such as fish bones, seeds, snails and even beetles, are organic materials. They can survive in the ground for hundreds of years given the right conditions. Archaeologists collect these environmental remains from archaeological sites to find out about the past environment and activities such as farming.

Seeds, pollen, insects and wood all survive well in waterlogged soil, whilst shell and bone survive well in chalky soil. If seeds get accidentally burned, for example in an oven, they will survive for hundreds of years. It is difficult to spot these tiny remains in the soil so archaeologists take soil samples from archaeological sites. The soil particles are then washed in a special tank so that they can be separated from any seeds, pollen and insect remains. The environmental remains are kept in glass tubes and are taken to the laboratory to be identified and analysed.
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period Neolithic About 4000 BC to 2351 BC

The word ‘Neolithic’ means ‘New Stone Age’. Archaeologists split up the Neolithic period into three phases; early, middle and late. The Neolithic period comes after the Mesolithic period and before the Bronze Age.

People in the Neolithic period hunted and gathered food as their ancestors had but they were also began to farm. They kept animals and grew crops. This meant that they were able to settle more permanently in one location instead of constantly moving from place to place to look for food.
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monument CREMATION PIT * A pit over which a corpse has been cremated on a pyre into which the remains and debris, and sometime grave goods, collapse and are buried. Generally confined to the Roman period. back
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 FINDSPOT * The approximate location at which stray finds of artefacts were found. Index with object name. back
monument PIT CLUSTER * A spatially discrete group of pits usually containing artefactual material with little or no accompanying evidence for structural features. 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 SIGN * A board, wall painting or other structure displaying advice, giving information or directions back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record