Table Of Content

Reports of the Research Committee of the Society of Antiquaries of London No. XXIX Durrington Walls: Excavations 1966- 1968 By G.]. Wainwright, B.A., Ph.D. with I. H. Longworth, M.A., Ph.D. DORKING Printed by Adlard & Son Ltd for The Society of Antiquaries Burlington House, London ©The Society of Antiquaries of London, 1971 PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN CONTENTS PAGE PREFACE. Xl SUMMARY XIV CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTORY The Archaeological Environs . 3 The History of the Site . 7 The Excavations of 1951-1952 9 The Excavations of 1966-1967 1o The Excavations of 1968 12 CHAPTER II: DESCRIPTION OF THE STRUCTURES AS REVEALED BY EXCAVATION 13 The Bank 13 The Ditch 19 The Berm 22 The Southern Circle 23 The Midden 38 The Northern Circle 41 Structure A 44 Structure B . 47 CHAPTER III: THE NEOLITHIC POTTERY. BY DR I. H. LONGWORTH 48 The 1966 Excavations 48 The 1967 Excavations 49 Windmill Hill Ware 53 Peterborough Ware 55 Grooved Ware 55 Beaker . 71 Catalogue 73 CONTENTS iv CHAPTER IV: THE OTHER FINDS 156 Flint 156 Bone objects . 181 Stone . 183 Antler . 185 Baked clay 188 The animal bones 188 The human bones 191 CHAPTER V: DISCUSSION 192 The pre-enclosure settlement 192 The enclosure 193 Comparable enclosures and their origins 198 The Southern Circle 204 The Northern Circle 225 The function of the timber structures 231 CHAPTER VI: THE RINYO-CLACTON CULTURE RE-CONSIDERED (WITH DR I. H. LONGWORTH) 235 The Grooved Ware tradition and its sub-styles 236 The Clacton style 236 The Woodlands style 238 The Durrington Walls style 239 The Rinyo style 241 Distribution and unity of the Grooved Ware tradition 243 Origins and relationships of the Grooved Ware styles 244 Occurrence . 249 The non-ceramic associations 254 Radiocarbon chronology 265 Conclusions . 266 Gazetteer of sites . 268 CHAPTER VII: THE LATER SETTLEMENT 307 The Packway enclosure . 307 The Southern Circle: palisade trench 312 The Iron Age settlement north of the Northern Circle 313 The finds 3 15 The general discussion 324 CONTENTS v APPENDICES 329 I The Pre-Henge Environment. By J. G. Evans 329 II The Animal Bones. By R. A. Harcourt 338 III The Human Remains. By R. Powers 35 l IV Petrological Report on the Stones. By F. S. Wallis and E. D. Evens 352 V The Charcoals. By G. C. Morgan 354 VI The Southern Circle at Durrington Walls -A Numerical Investigation. By R. J. C. Atkinson 355 VII A Study of Possible Building Forms at Durrington Walls, Woodhenge and The Sanctuary. By C. R. Musson 363 VIII The Details of the Post-holes . 378 IX Report on the Petrological Examination of Sherds from Durrington Walls. By L. A. Finch 409 X Radiocarbon dates for the Enclosure Ditch and Phase 2 of the Southern Circle. By R. Burleigh . 4 l l BIBLIOGRAPHY 412 INDEX 418 LIST OF FIGURES PAGE 1. Location map for Durrington Walls 2 2. Excavation plan and environs of Durrington Walls 4 3. General plan of Durrington Walls facing 13 4. Section of bank and ditch in north sector facing 14 5. Plan of the bank and associated post-holes in its north sector . 15 6. Section of bank and ditch in south sector facing 16 7. Section of the enclosure bank in its south sector facing 17 8. Section of 1967 pipe-trench through the bank 18 9. General plan of the Southern Circle facing 23 10. Schematic sections through the Southern Circle facing 24 11. Plan of the Southern Circle: Phase 1 . facing 26 12. Plan of the Southern Circle: Phase 2 . facing 30 13. Southern Circle: detailed plan of the central area facing 32 14. Southern Circle: Phase 2. Plan of the post-holes and decayed timber uprights facing 34 15. Plan of the Midden . 39 16. Sections of the Midden 40 17 . Plan of the Northern Circle facing 42 18. Plan of Structure A . 45 19. Sections of Structure A 46 20. Rim forms 57 21. Frequencies of rim forms 58 22. Forms of base angle . 58 23. Decorative components used on top of rims . 60 24. Components used in internal decoration 61 25. Types of decorated vertical cordons 64 26a. Components of incised external decoration 66 26b. Components of incised external decoration 67 2 7. Components of grooved external decoration 68 28. Components of twisted cord decoration 69 29. Spiral and concentric circle decoration 71 30. Middle Neolithic pottery . 74 31. Middle Neolithic, Peterborough Ware and Grooved Ware 76 32. Grooved Ware 77 33. Grooved Ware 79 LIST OF FIGURES Vil 34· Grooved Ware 80 35· Grooved Ware 82 36. Grooved Ware 84 37· Grooved Ware 86 38. Grooved Ware 88 39· Grooved Ware go 40. Grooved Ware 92 4I. Grooved Ware 94 42. Grooved Ware 96 43· Grooved Ware g8 44· Grooved Ware JOO 45· Grooved Ware 102 46. Grooved Ware 106 47· Grooved Ware 108 48. Grooved Ware I IO 49· Grooved Ware 112 50. Grooved Ware I 14 5I. Grooved Ware II8 52. Grooved Ware 120 53· Grooved Ware 124 54· Grooved Ware 128 55· Grooved Ware 130 56. Grooved Ware 132 57· Grooved Ware 136 58. Grooved Ware 138 59· Grooved Ware 140 60. Grooved Ware 142 61. Grooved Ware 144 62. Grooved Ware 148 63. Beaker 152 64. Beaker and related wares 154 65. Flint artifacts 157 66. Flint artifacts 159 67. Diagram to illustrate the dimensions of flakes 160 68. Diagram to illustrate the dimensions of flakes 163 69. Flint artifacts 165 70. Flint artifacts 166 71. Diagram to illustrate the dimensions of scrapers 167 LIST OF FIGURES Vlll 72. Diagram to illustrate the relative thickness of scrapers 168 73. Flint and stone artifacts 170 74. Flint and stone artifacts 172 75 . Flint and stone artifacts 173 76. Flint and stone artifacts 175 77. Flint and stone artifacts 177 78. Flint and stone artifacts 178 79. Bone artifacts . 182 80. Bone artifacts . 184 81 • Antler artifacts . 186 82. Baked clay spindle-whorl 189 83. Comparative plans of Late Neolithic enclosures in Wessex 199 84. Reconstruction of the Southern Circle: Phase 2 205 85. Plan of Woodhenge . 208 86. Distribution map of stone and timber circles in Britain 215 87. Reconstruction of the Northern Circle 227 88. Distribution map of stone and timber avenues in Britain 229 89. Sites producing sherds in Clacton sub-style . 238 go. Sites producing sherds in Woodlands sub-style 239 91. Sites producing sherds in Durrington Walls sub-style 241 92. Sites producing sherds in Rinyo sub-style 243 93. Decorative components of the Rinyo sub-style compared with those represented in the other sub-styles from sites in southern England 245 94. Distribution map of henge monuments in the British Isles 253 95. Analysis of the transverse arrowheads associated with Grooved Ware 258 96. Distribution of Grooved Ware sites in Britain 267 97. Distribution of the Grooved Ware sub-styles in Britain facing 268 98. Packway Enclosure: excavation plan . facing 308 99. General plan of the Packway Enclosure 309 JOO. Sections of ditches and pits of the Packway Enclosure 3 I I JO 1. Plan of the Iron Age settlement north of the Northern Circle 314 J02. Pottery from the Iron Age structures 317 J03. Pottery from the Iron Age structures . 319 J04. Pottery from the Iron Age structures . 321 J05. Objects of metal, bone, stone and baked clay from the Iron Age structures 323 J06. Objects of stone from the Iron Age structures 325 1 07. Molluscan histogram 330 J08. Frequency diagrams of bone dimensions of domestic cattle and aurochs from the Neolithic levels . . 340, 341