Late Bronze Age
Late Bronze Age (1250 - 800 BC)
During the Late Bronze Age, deteriorating climate led to the flooding of the river and more extensive farming led to soil exhaustion.
These factors may have encouraged the local community to move from the valley floor to higher ground below Castle Hill.
Evidence of Late Bronze Age Settlement on Castle Hill
The hilltop enclosure at Castle Hill dates back to the Late Bronze Age period. Late Bronze Age metalwork, particularly weaponry, has been found in the River Thames below the hill. These finds may be evidence of the site being a regional seat of power.
Discovery of used weapons, and the unusual find of a skeleton with an arrowhead embedded in its spine, may be evidence of a ritual sacrifice, or direct evidence of conflicts. Conflict could have arisen as a result of climatic deterioration.
This may have been the reason for the construction of defended hilltop sites and the village on the sheltered side of Castle Hill, out of view from the river.
Offerings to an increasingly volatile river are also possible reasons for the metalwork found in the Thames. A tradition of deposition in rivers is known from the start of the Neolithic at least. Two Neolithic bowls have also been found in the river at Wallingford.
Long Distance Contacts
Evidence found suggests that settlers in the Late Bronze Age had contacts with people across the rest of the country.
A reconstructible vessel from the ditch is similar to those type found at other enclosed sites, mostly considered of high status, in the Thames estuary and along the east coast of England.
A fragment of granite came from the top of the ditch, possibly traded from the extreme south-west, again suggesting long-distance contacts.
Settlement Size
The size of the Late Bronze Age hilltop enclosure (only c. 1 hectare) is quite small in comparison with the other Neolithic monuments in the area. This could be an indication that the settlement had a more local significance, or a different function.
There is a considerable level of Late Bronze Age activity in the area surrounding The Clumps. Another settlement is only 500m below the Brightwell Barrow, another settlement at Appleford and an island in the river at Wallingford.
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