Gussage All Saints: An Iron Age Settlement in Dorset

Description

With contributions by H. C. Bowen, D. G. Buckley, A. Evans, F. E. Gale, R. Harcourt, J. S. Jefferies, M. Jones, C. Keepax, D. P. S. Peacock, V. Rigby, G. Simpson and M. G. Spratling. E-book (PDF) published 2012. A three-acre settlement at Gussage All Saints, Dorset was completely excavated and most of the archaeological deposit removed so as to provide a basis for broader interpretations. Post-holes for buildings, numerous pits, gullies and internal enclosures provided evidence that the settlement was occupied throughout the second half of the first millennium BC, and evidence was recovered for its development, material culture, economy and population. Of particular interest is a collection of bronze-founder's debris, including broken investment moulds, which was found as a rubbish deposit. The excavation was a problem-orientated project within a rescue framework, designed to look back at Dr Gerhardt Bersu's excavation of the site of Little Woodbury, near Salisbury, in 1938 and 1939, which, although a partial excavation, had for many years provided the pattern for Iron Age economy in Southern Britain. List of illustrations iv List of plates vi Summary vii Introduction and acknowledgments viii Part I. The Structures Chapter I. The Enclosure 3 Chapter II. The Pits 9 Chapter III. The Phase 1 Settlement 16 Chapter IV. The Phase 2 Settlement 21 Chapter V. The Phase 3 Settlement 25 Part II – The Finds Chapter VI. The Pottery 49 Chapter VII. The Stone 89 Chapter VIII. The Other Finds 98 Part III. Economy, Environment and Population Chapter IX. The Debris of Metal Working 125 Chapter X. The Animal Bones 150 Chapter XI. The Human Bones 161 Chapter XII. The Plant Remains 172 Part IV. Discussion Chapter XIII. Gussage in its Setting 179 Chapter XIV. General Considerations 184 Bibliography 195 Index 198