Project Timescape

As well as the hill fort itself, on the Wittenham Clumps the following have been found:

• large pit storage area just below the hill fort
• house(s) under the car park
• midden west of the car park
• area of enclosed raised square granaries to the south

The whole area was probably enclosed by a long curving boundary ditch. Evidence suggests a large and very organised settlement with zones for different activities.

Communal Living
The communal midden (rubbish storage area) implies that the community acted together. However, the presence of pottery, animal bones etc. around the settlement shows that the midden was not the only place where material was deposited.

Hill Fort Expansion
During the Early Iron Age, the hill fort covered a much larger area than the hilltop enclosure of the Late Bronze Age.

Settlement Functions
Geophysical surveys and limited excavations do not suggest that the Early Iron Age hill fort was continuously or densely occupied, nor that it housed an elite population.

Its functions are likely to have been the exposure and/or burial of the dead, and for seasonal gatherings or festivities such as births, marriages and deaths.

Pottery Finds
The pit in Castle Hill has evidence several partly reconstructible pottery vessels have been discovered including:

• cauldron-type pots
• red-coated drinking cups
• an inlaid lid
• well-preserved bones - predominantly lamb and piglet bones but also that of a raven
• charred spelt wheat and a worked bone gouge.

_{Early Iron Age pottery lid from Castle Hill excaviations. Copyright Oxford Archaeology.
Oxford Archaeology's Summary Report from Excavations on Castle Hill.}

The types of pot and the large number of young animal bones found suggests that feasting during ceremonies or festivals were taking place within the hill fort. The human burials and bones, and the raven (a carrion feeder) demonstrate a strong link between the hill fort enclosure and death or burial that was to persist beyond the Iron Age.

The large number of storage pits below ground and grouped storage structures above ground clearly show the increasing scale of arable agriculture.

Early Iron Age Settlement Expansion
The Early Iron Age settlement clearly expanded beyond its original boundaries as roundhouses, gullies and pits were found west of the settlemet boundary.

Animals
Animal husbandry continued to be important. Sheep were the most common animal kept, along with a few goats, cattle, horses and pigs. With animals being kept, it suggests that land clearance was still occurring.

Find out more... Archaeology - Wittenham Clumps Excavation BBC History - Life in an Iron Age Village Channel 4's Time Team BBC History Game - Iron Age Life