! 
| 
| 
INVESTIGATION OF THE WHITESHEET DOWN ENVIRONS 1989-90 157 
with voids are likely to also belong to this group, 
the voids apparently representing shell, calcite, 
ooliths, and possibly chalk or limestone, which 
have been leached out. The local soil conditions are 
not naturally acidic, thus the survival of calcareous 
inclusions in some sherds and not in others, even 
from within the same features (Table 2), indicates 
that this leaching occurred before the pottery 
entered the features rather than after deposition in 
the excavated contexts. 
Most of the inclusions, including the ooliths 
and the beef calcite, can be found within 20km of 
the site, and may occur naturally in clay deposits. 
Beef calcite occurs in the Purbeck Beds, in 
particular in the Middle and Upper Beds which are 
exposed c. 15~20km east of the site. Limestones of 
the Great and Inferior Oolite Series outcrop c. 7km 
to the west. It is possible that some of the voids in 
the fabrics represent chalk and such fabrics could 
therefore be very local to the site, but none were 
noted in situ. 
The shell inclusions in the shelly fabrics S1 and 
S2 is fossiliferous (archive) and a local source is 
likely, probably one of the Jurassic formations in 
the area. The black grains noted macroscopically in 
S2 were identified as glauconite and a derivation 
from the Greensand is suggested. Only two fabrics 
(Fl, F2) contained flint, in both of these it is likely 
to be an added rather than a natural inclusion. F2 
shows slightly greater attention to temper 
preparation than F1, as the size of the inclusions is 
more closely controlled, and it also contains a 
greater proportion of sand than F1. Of the three 
fabrics (Q1, Q2, Q3) which contained only quartz 
sand, Q] appears to contain such infrequent and 
fine grains that they seem likely to be natural 
inclusions in the clay whilst the other two may 
contain added sand. No dark grains likely to be 
glauconite were noted macroscopically or at x20 
magnification. 
Only one vessel was recovered in a gabbroic 
fabric (El). The identification has not been 
confirmed by petrological analysis due to the 
certainty of the macroscopic identification. In 
addition to the characteristic appearance of the 
fabric along the break, the surfaces show the black, 
burnished finish also characteristic of much 
gabbroic ware. This has been interpreted as paint 
(Smith 1981, 170), but may be the result of 
‘smudging’, in which the atmosphere of firing is 
made carbon-rich, generally towards the end of the 
process, resulting in very dark grey to black 
surfaces (Rice 1987, 158). The source of this fabric 
is thought to be the Lizard Peninsula in Cornwall, 
250km south-west of the site (Peacock 1969). 
A single sherd (fabric V1) certainly contained 
organic inclusions represented by linear and 
irregular voids. This fabric also included voids 
which likely to represent leached out calcareous 
material, and a single seed impression of Triticum 
dicoccum (emmer wheat). 
Abbreviated fabric descriptions (all Neolithic 
unless otherwise stated; p = petrological ana- 
lysis): 
Cl. Soft fabric with beef calcite, quartz sand and iron 
oxides (p). 
C2. Hard fabric with beef and non-beef calcite, quartz 
sand and flint (p). 
C3. Hard fabric with beef and non-beef calcite, shell and 
quartz sand (p). 
C99. Calcareous inclusions, fabric unidentifiable. 
D1. Soft fabric with voids (probably ooliths) and quartz 
sand (p). 
D2. Soft fabric with voids (possibly calcite) and mica (p). 
D3. Soft fabric with voids (probably shell) and quartz 
sand (p). 
D4. Soft fabric with voids (possibly mixed: shell, calcite, 
ooliths?) and glauconite (p). Peterborough Ware. 
DS. Soft fabric with voids (sub-angular) and quartz sand. 
Indeterminate prehistoric. 
D99. Voided, fabric unidentifiable. 
El. Gabbroic ware. 
F1. Soft fabric with flint, quartz sand, iron oxides and 
mica (p). 
F2. Soft fabric with flint, quartz sand and mica. 
F99. Flint-tempered, fabric unidentifiable. 
Q1. Soft fabric with some quartz sand. 
Q2. Hard fabric with quartz sand. 
Q3. Hard fabric with quartz sand (intermediate in sandi- 
ness between Q1 and Q2). 
Q99. Sand-tempered, fabric unidentifiable. 
S1. Soft fabric with shell and calcite (p). 
$2. Hard fabric with shell, quartz sand, glauconite and 
iron oxides (p). 
S99. Shell-tempered, fabric unidentifiable. 
V1. Soft fabric with voids (probably organic material). 
Fabrics Q100, Q101 and Q102 are considered to be Late 
Iron Age/ Romano-British in date. 
Using a division based on that of Whittle 
(1977), and the presence or absence of carination, 
the following types have been identified: carinated 
closed bowls (Figure 9, P16, P18), uncarinated 
closed bowls (P13, P9, P10, P14), and a neutral 
