Summary
The buried archaeological features and in-situ deposits of an Early Iron Age site, first identified and partially excavated by Maud Cunnington in 1911 and 1920-1922. Further investigations were carried out in 2003 and 2004.
Reasons for Designation
The Early Iron Age site of All Cannings Cross is scheduled for the following principal reasons:
* Period/Rarity: it dates from a significant period of rapid change in settlement and landscape organisation and in metal technology, and will contribute to our understanding of the development of the earliest Iron Age in southern Britain;
* Survival: the site survives well in the form of buried archaeological deposits, including structural features and a diverse and very rich range of artefacts;
* Potential: only a small proportion of the site has been excavated, and it is considered that it will retain further archaeological and environmental evidence which will provide an insight into the nature of occupation and activities that took place, as well as the social organisation of the area during the prehistoric period;
* Documentation (archaeological): it is one of the most-documented sites of the Late Bronze Age-Early Iron transition period and has iconic status among prehistorians for its contribution to understanding and characterising this period in British prehistory;
* Group value: its significance is enhanced by the group value it has with a number of other prehistoric and later sites nearby;
* Historic interest: Maud Cunnington, who excavated All Cannings Cross, was the first female archaeologist to be awarded a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) for her services to British archaeology.
History
All Cannings Cross is situated within a complex archaeological landscape that is populated with monuments dating from the Neolithic period through to the Iron Age and beyond. It is overlooked by the Neolithic causewayed enclosure on Clifford’s Hill and also by the Iron Age hillfort of Rybury Camp (scheduled monument). It was first identified by Maud Cunnington in 1911 with the discovery of a quantity of flint and sarsen hammerstones exposed in the ploughsoil. An excavation took place that year, followed by further excavations between 1920 and 1922 and publication in 1923. These established that the site was occupied for a comparatively short and definite period between around 800BC and 500BC; placing it in the earliest phase of the Iron Age (the equivalent periods in Europe being the Hallstatt followed by the La Tène I). No evidence was found to indicate that it had was occupied during the Bronze Age, or that occupation continued into the Later Iron Age and the Romano-British period.
This was a period of transition for metal technologies, witnessing the adoption of iron and a decline of bronze working, along with changes in settlement organisation, including the development of early hillforts (Barrett and McOmish, 2004). It was also characterised by the appearance of highly-distinctive decorated pottery. All Cannings Cross was found to have very distinctive pottery, the style of which was unlike any assemblage found at Bronze Age sites in the country. On account of this, it became the type site for the Early Iron Age in southern Britain and a pivotal site in defining this period of British prehistory. Academic studies in more recent years have indicated that social, cultural and economic factors are most likely to have led to the changes in settlement form and organisation that occurred at the beginning of the Iron Age. The presence of structural remains at All Cannings Cross provides clear evidence for occupation, although it is unclear if these were domestic buildings and if the site was ever a permanent settlement. Associated with the site is a midden (at its most basic, a place where rubbish is placed) that is visible on aerial photographs as a dark mass extending over a large area and which appears to have developed as a result of the deliberate discarding of food remains, refuse, domestic materials and animal and agricultural waste. Investigations have shown that in-situ buried archaeological deposits and artefacts do not survive across the whole of the midden as it appears on aerial photographs, but despite this it represents a very rich and substantial accumulation of material which has led to the site being interpreted as a place that may perhaps have hosted large gatherings of people, possibly for feasting, either periodically or on a more permanent basis.
Further archaeological investigations, including fieldwalking, geophysics, a series of test pits and larger excavations, were carried out in 2003 and 2004 (Barrett and McOmish, 2004) and have provided additional evidence about the occupation of the site.
Details
PRINCIPAL ELEMENTS
The monument includes the buried archaeological features and in-situ deposits of an Early Iron Age site located at the northern extent of the low-lying Vale of Pewsey. It is situated in a comparatively sheltered position on a gentle slope at the foot of a steep escarpment of the Marlborough Downs.
DESCRIPTION
All Cannings Cross extends over some 4.5 ha in total, although in-situ archaeological deposits are not necessarily present across the whole area. The site appears to have been unenclosed since no boundary bank or ditch has been identified, although Maud Cunnington considered that it may have been enclosed by a stockade. The excavations in the early C20 uncovered evidence for a number of structures, characterised by areas of compacted chalk mixed with flint and broken sarsen stone and thick layers of partly-burnt clay and chalk. Cunnington concluded that they were constructed from wattle and daub and that the chalk surfaces represented the floors of buildings and/or external yards next to them. More recent investigations have, however, demonstrated that some of the areas of chalk overlie and seal earlier archaeological deposits, and have been reinterpreted as the probable remains of collapsed or demolished walls from structures. Several groupings of post holes were also identified during the original excavations which probably represent post-built structures. Evidence of further post holes, many packed with stone and/or bone, was uncovered in 2003 and 2004. A dense concentration of some 75 pits was also uncovered during Cunnington’s excavations. These varied in size; some measuring up to 1.8m deep and 1.5 in diameter, though some were little more than shallow scoops up to 0.5m in diameter. A number of the larger pits contained entrance passages and domed roofs of hardened clay, and some were lined with stone. It was also found that some pits had been infilled and abandoned while the site was occupied. Many of the pits appear to have been used for storage, although those with evidence of being fired have been interpreted as possible corn-drying kilns. None of them were particularly artefact-rich. The geophysics survey in 2003 found evidence of further pit-like features, measuring approximately 1m or more in diameter.
The extensive midden at All Cannings Cross, which is not equally distributed across the site, is up to 1.5m deep in places. The excavations indicated that it has not only been cut by a series of features, but in places it overlies structural features. Artefacts recovered from the site have come mostly from the midden. Of particular significance is the pottery assemblage, both decorated and undecorated fine and coarse wares, which represents approximately 1000 vessels, most of which were hand-made. Among them are haematite-coated bowls which are regarded as the most characteristic and distinctive pottery type present at the site. Other finds include bronze and iron items such as brooches and pins, a considerable amount of bone and antler tools, spindle whorls, loomweights and a number of quern stones which appear to have been made on site. There was also a large quantity of domestic animal bone, mostly cattle, sheep, goat, and the possibly the earliest evidence for polled ox. The presence of iron slag, crucible fragments and metal-smithing tools revealed evidence of iron smelting taking place on a domestic scale. No burials were identified, but human skull fragments were recovered from the midden.
The investigations in 2003 and 2004 demonstrated the in-situ survival of further buried features and artefacts beyond the areas which were excavated in the early C20.
EXTENT OF SCHEDULING
The area of protection is based on available evidence about the current known extent of buried in-situ archaeological features relating to the occupation of the site. The dimensions employed here for defining the extent of scheduling are based on the limits to which the archaeological investigations demonstrated the survival of cut features. It therefore forms a roughly-rectangular shaped area, with maximum dimensions of 230m from north to south and 128m from west to east at its widest point. It is clear that the midden extends beyond the scheduled area, but at the present time we do not have sufficient evidence to demonstrate the survival of nationally important below-ground archaeology beyond those features already identified, particularly in the areas to the east and north of the scheduled area. It is not, therefore possible to justify their inclusion in the scheduling.
