Tree-Ring Studies in the Somerset Levels: The Honeygore Area, 1983 and 1985

Author(s): R A Morgan

Five neolithic trackways in the Honeygore area, running east-west between Westhay and Catcott Burtle, were examined briefly in 1983 and 1985; three were already known and two were new discoveries. Four of the tracks were made of birch brushwood bundles and the fifth, Honeybee, of hazel hurdles. Tree-ring studies of the birch (Betula) wood showed that a wide range of materialhad been collected, probably from nearby woodland, to build the Honeygore, Honeydew and Honeypot tracks. However, the slightly later Honeycat track was made of stems of more uniform age and size, largely 20-25mm in diameter, which may suggest an origin in previously cleared woodland. The Honeybee hazel stems were uniformly 10-15mm in diameter and 2-4 years old; they almost certainly came from stools which had been cleared before, whether once or many times. Hurdles B and C were made of rods of very regular age and size, whilst those of Hurdle A were much more varied. The rods were much slighter, and hurdles more delicate, than later examples in the Levels.

Report Number:
51/1987
Series:
AML Reports (New Series)
Pages:
16
Keywords:
Dendrochronology

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