182 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 
(sheep/goat) bone was recovered from the basal fill 
of the ditch. 
Few land snails were recovered from the sample 
column, especially when compared to the potential 
aeolian deposits from other sites mentioned above. 
Snails were predominantly open country species 
(Table 10) and those catholic species that occurred 
(Trichia hispida) are common in open grassland and 
arable environments. The deposit probably 
accumulated during a prolonged phase of arable 
al ieheet 1 } 
tee) te 
soll ie 
us al 
; eben 
a inate 
yey 
tdi a ut 
ost" 
in 
Vlg ii 
Bot ara ti Sat 
233.59m0.D 
Ww n 
activity resulting in deflation of local soils and 
deposition of wind-blown silts in the ditches. This 
assemblage seems to be more typical of Bronze Age 
rather than Neolithic hilltop environments. 
Mere Down Linear Ditch 
A second linear ditch (SAM 417) lies to the east of 
the hillfort, towards the Beaker pit (Figures 1 and 
2). As with the Whitesheet Hill Linear, there are 
1500 
KEY 
Y 
Vf) Concrete 
Aeolian silts 
0 3 
— aaa PE m 
Fig. 15 Whitesheet Hill Linear and Mere Down Linear 
