Neolithic long mortuary enclosure at Appleford Farm, Rivenhall End

Summary

The buried remains of a Neolithic long mortuary enclosure situated on the flood plain of the River Blackwater at Appleford Farm, Rivenhall End, just over 2km north-east of Witham.

Reasons for Designation

The Neolithic long mortuary enclosure at Appleford Farm, Rivehall End, is scheduled for the following principal reasons:

* Survival: although no longer visible at ground level, archaeological excavation and aerial photographs have confirmed that the long mortuary enclosure survives well as a buried feature beneath the present ground surface;

* Potential: the sample excavation of the site demonstrated that the ditch remains well preserved and will provide archaeological information relating to the construction and use of the monument and environmental information relating to the landscape in which it was constructed;

* Rarity: long mortuary enclosures are an example of a monument type which is rare nationally and one of a very few monument types to offer insight into the lives and deaths of early prehistoric communities in England;

* Period: long mortuary enclosures, as one of very few monument types dating to the early prehistoric era, are highly representative of their period;

* Documentation: archaeological reports derived from trial trenching and geophysical survey along with aerial photographs provide valuable information regarding the nature, survival, condition and significance of the site.

History

Long mortuary enclosures are oblong-shaped enclosures up to 150m in length, surrounded by narrow, fairly straight ditches with slightly rounded corners, containing an open space edged by a perimeter bank set within the ditch. Characteristically there are two or more major causeways across the ditch which served as entrances. Most long mortuary enclosures are orientated within 45 degrees of an east-west alignment. Long mortuary enclosures are generally associated with human burials dated to the Early and Middle Neolithic periods (around 3200 to 2500 BC). There are approximately 35 examples recorded in England. The greatest concentration lies in Essex and Suffolk, but there are also examples along the River Thames and in Warwickshire along the River Avon, while two isolated examples have been recorded in Northumberland. Long mortuary enclosures are very rare nationally and all surviving examples are considered worthy of protection.

Although the existence of the long mortuary enclosure at Rivenhall End, Essex, was reported as a newly-discovered site in the Colchester Archaeological Group Bulletin in 1976 (see SOURCES), the monument is depicted as an oblong-shaped enclosure on aerial photographs taken by the Cambridge University Committee for Aerial Photography (CUCAP) in 1962.

Limited trial excavations in 1986 investigated each side of the enclosure ditch and revealed a 2m wide ditch which varied in depth between 1.5m and 1.7m and enclosed an area measuring 49m by 16m. Variations in ditch depth and profile were interpreted as indicative of subsequent re-cutting phases while material derived from an internal bank had become incorporated into the upper fill of the ditch. Although trial trenches were extended a short distance into the interior, no internal structures were found.
Eleven sherds of early prehistoric pottery came from the ditch fills of which one was datable as a Neolithic Mildenhall-style rimsherd. Mesolithic and Neolithic flints were also found during field walking around the site.

A magnetometer survey of the site in April 1996 by Oxford Archaeotechnics confirmed the survival of the mortuary enclosure as a buried feature.

Details

PRINCIPAL ELEMENTS: the buried remains of a Neolithic long mortuary enclosure situated on the flood plain of the River Blackwater at Appleford Farm, Rivenhall End, just over 2km north-east of Witham.

DESCRIPTION: although no longer visible as an earthwork at ground level the monument can be clearly seen as a cropmark and on aerial photographs. The cropmarks indicate the survival of infilled ditches which surround a monument which was regular in plan with parallel sides and rounded corners and measured 49m east-west by 16m north-south. No contemporary and/or associated features are visible within the enclosure or in immediate proximity to it.

A small sample of the monument was excavated in 1986 when four trenches were dug to locate the ends and sides of the enclosure. The archaeological features were found to be about 0.3m below the ground surface with the depth of the enclosure ditch varying from 1.5m to 1.7m. The ditch top measures 2.14m to 2.22m on the west side, 1.96m to 2.16m on the east side, 2.08m on the north side and 2m on the south side. The bottom of the ditch also varies in width, measuring between 0.72m to 0.83m on the west side, 0.75m on the east side, 0.5m on the north side and 0.8m on the south side. The profile of the ditch also varies, the western arm having very steep sides and a flat bottom whilst the other arms have more sloping sides. The eastern ditch is shelved at about 0.55m from the bottom. These variations in depth and profile of the ditch were caused by the re-digging of the ditch at intervals following partial silting. The existence of coarse, stonier layers in the upper ditch fills indicate the presence of an internal bank which eroded, or was pushed back, into the ditch at a late stage in the life of the monument.

EXTENT OF SCHEDULING: the area of protection, which is shown on the accompanying map, is drawn to include the known extent of the buried remains of the long mortuary enclosure as based on current evidence and understanding derived from aerial photographs. It includes a 5m boundary around the archaeological feature, which is considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

20757

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Buckley, DG, Major, H, Milton, B, Excavation of a Possible Neolithic Long Barrow or Mortuary Enclosure at Rivenhall, Essex, 1986 in Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, Vol. 54, (1988), 77-91
Cropmarks in Colchester Archaeological Group Annual Bulletin, Vol. 19, (1976), 15

Other
Cambridge University Collection of Aerial Photographs (CUCAP) oblique aerial photograph, CUCAP no. AFJ81, 14 June 1962
Oxford Archaeotechnics Limited, ‘Appleford Farm, Rivenhall End, Witham, Essex’. Gradiometer Survey: Ref: 0800496/RIE/BRI (June 1996)
Ingle, C, Saunders, H, 'Aerial Archaeology in Essex: the role of the National Mapping Programme in interpreting the landscape', East Anglian Archaeology, Vol 136 (2011), pp 22, 24, 25, 26, 177

End of official list entry

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