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THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 



Table 1 : pottery totals by fabric 



Fabric 



Nos 



Weight (g) 



Roman 



1 



1 





Saxon 









Q400 



3 



9 





C400 



2 



8 





C401 



8 



128 





V400 



10 



91 





Total 



23 



236 





Medieval 









E421 



1 



2 





E441 



2 



8 





E442 



2 



8 





Q401 



1 



4 





Total 



6 



22 





Post-medieval 



6 



20 



Overall Total 



36 



279 



key to fabric types: 



Saxon 



Sandy fabric 



Q400 Hard, fine fabric containing moderate, well- 

 sorted, rounded quartz <lmm. 



Limestone/chalk-tempered fabric 



C400 Hard, fine fabric, soapy feel containing 

 moderate, moderately-sorted, rounded limestone 

 <3mm; rare rounded quartz <0.25mm 



C401 Hard, fine fabric, soapy feel containing 



common, moderately-sorted, sub-rounded limestone 

 <4mm; sparse, rounded quartz <lmm; rare iron 

 oxide. 



Organic-tempered fabric 



V400 Hard, fine fabric containing moderate to 



common organic temper; rare to moderate quartz 



<lmm. 



Medieval: sandy fabric 



E42 1 Laverstock-type fineware; see Mepham 2000b 



for detailed description. 

 E441 Kennet Valley chalk-tempered ware; see 



Mepham 2000a for detailed description. 

 E442 Kennet Valley chalk-/flint-tempered ware; see 



Mepham 2000a for detailed description. 

 Q401 Hard, moderately coarse fabric containing 



common, sub-rounded quartz 1mm; rare sub-angular 



quartz <3mm. 



lining (1 lg), three of nodular iron ore (59g) and 22 

 of probable smithing slag (292g). Residual worked 

 flints and some burnt flint were also present. 



Pit 314 produced 36 animal bones. The cattle 

 bones were mainly of the head and feet and included 



part of a large horn core, possibly from a castrate, 

 and part of the jaw of an aged animal. Several bones 

 showed butchery marks, mainly from a cleaver, and 

 some had been gnawed. The sheep/goat fragments 

 were almost all of foot bones, loose teeth and tibiae. 

 These are all elements resistant to attrition but the 

 material is quite well preserved and they are also 

 from the waste areas of the carcase. The two tibiae 

 had been chopped across the shaft and one of the 

 metatarsi was split open. 



Pit 310 offered the greatest variety of animal 

 bone, as it did of finds (Table 2). Much of the 

 material was in excellent condition though very 

 fragmentary, with some bones having an ivoried 

 appearance. In addition to the main domestic 

 ungulates there were remains of goat, roe deer, dog, 

 fowl, goose, and amphibians. 



Most of the identified bones were of sheep/goat. 

 Many of the unidentified fragments were of sheep- 

 size, but goat was certainly represented by the 

 partial horn core of a mature male. The horncore 

 of a ram was also present. In this pit the major limb 

 bones were represented as well as those of the head 

 and feet. It is not clear whether the fragmentation 

 was the result of deliberate butchery (or smashing 

 for marrow extraction) or trampling, or both. It is 

 also noted that a good many of the bones had 

 evidence of dog gnawing. Overall the bones in this 

 pit appear to have been discarded and covered after 

 a relatively short time as there is little evidence of 

 prolonged exposure to the elements. 



Cattle remains also included chopped bucranial 

 fragments of at least four animals but feet, limb 

 bones and scapulae were also present. Three of the 

 limb bones had been axially split. One bone, a 

 metatarsus, was complete, offering an estimated 

 withers height of 1 . 1 88m; it is probably from a cow. 

 A prime buck roe deer was represented by a 

 complete, but slightly abnormal, shed antler with 

 the unusually thick first tine facing inwards rather 

 than forwards. It is not worked and no other bones 

 are present. A similar sole roe antler was found at 

 Bedford (Maltby pers comm). 



The identified bird bones are of fowl, 

 representing at least two, probably female, birds. 

 Goose is represented by a scapula and matching 

 coracoid, the latter of which had been gnawed. The 

 bite marks are small and may be from a cat. 



Other features 



About 20m further down the slope from the pit 

 groups (in Block 2; Figure 2) were the remains of 



