STONEA CAMP, CAMBRIDGESHIRE: PLANT MACROFOSSILS AND MOLLUSCS FROM IRON AGE FORT DITCH FILLS
Author(s): P Murphy
Basal organic deposits from the ditch fills indicated the following sequence of events: 1. Shallow standing freshwater in the base of the ditch, with dense woodland dominated by Quercus in the immediate vicinity (cf. Caesar's references to Iron Age fortifications in woodland); 2. Continued freshwater sedimentation; increased frequencies of aquatic plant remains suggest wetter conditions; indications of more open conditions; dismembered human bodies with sword-cuts dumped in ditches; 3. Plant macrofossils and molluscs indicate brackish-water flooding of the site from the nearby roddon channel. Given the suspected historical context of these deposits - capture of the fort by Roman forces - it is suggested that brackish-water flooding may have related to a deliberate breaching of the levees of the roddon. The original basal deposits were de-watered and deteriorating prior to current management of the water-table locally : it is hoped this will arrest further degradation.
- Report Number:
- 58/1992
- Series:
- AML Reports (New Series)
- Pages:
- 13
- Keywords:
- Animal Remains Environmental Studies Mollusca Plant Remains
