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Stone Worlds: Narrative and Reflexivity in Landscape Archaeology

Stone Worlds: Narrative and Reflexivity in Landscape Archaeology

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<< Our Photo Pages >> Whitehawk - Causewayed Enclosure in England in East Sussex

Submitted by Andy B on Wednesday, 06 September 2023  Page Views: 35179

Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: Whitehawk
Country: England County: East Sussex Type: Causewayed Enclosure
Nearest Town: Brighton  Nearest Village: Kemp Town
Map Ref: TQ33030477  Landranger Map Number: 198
Latitude: 50.827192N  Longitude: 0.112527W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
3 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
3 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
4 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
4

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External Links:

I have visited· I would like to visit

JohnLindsay visited on 1st Mar 2012 - their rating: Cond: 2 Amb: 3 Access: 4 Found this last week, number 1 bus to another set of tower blocks, then a short walk. There is no signing that I could find so interpretaton depends on imagination. You are on Brighton race Course so you could imagine that as a ccursus. Excavated by Curwen, Archaeology of Sussex, in the Brighton History Centre. There is a 2004 book by the Friends of Whitehawk, an organisation worth supporting perhaps. The whole area could do with a bit of loving attention. This becomes a spiral of virtue matter. I asked locally where it was, and the locals don't know. There is though a white hawk carved in the chalk somewhere or other hereabouts. How to do a good walk from here to Hollingbury I haven't worked out yet, that is a green and smart matter. The group of Whitehawk, Hollingbruy Ditchling Beacon, Devil's Dyke would seem to me to be a collection of national importance which makes it a #disKUvery matter.

Andy B have visited here

Whitehawk
Whitehawk submitted by Andy B : This chalk block was found in Whitehawk Causewayed Enclosure, It is covered in ordered scored lines. Similar blocks have been found in local Neolithic flint mines. Does this block show a link between the flint miners and those that built Whitehawk Causewayed Enclosure? Object on display in Brighton Museum where you can vote for what you think its purpose was. (Vote or comment on this photo)
Causewayed Enclosure in East Sussex. Whitehawk Camp is one of Britain’s earliest neolithic monuments. The hill was chosen some 5,500 years ago as the site for a series of circular ditches and banks which marked the hill as an area for feasting, burials and other activities of a ritual nature.

Up to five of these circular ditch rings have been traced on the hill and these have been shown to have regular interruptions in their courses.

Similar arrangements are known from other sites within Britain, all dating to the late stone age. This curious and obviously non-defensive arrangement gives these sites their name: causewayed enclosures. They represent the earliest ritual circles in northern Europe and predate later stone age enclosures like Stonehenge and Avebury by up to 1000 years. They all appear to have been built around 3500 B.C.

Archaeologists have explored only a small portion of Whitehawk Camp. Within the fill of the surviving ditches the remains of four complete burials have been found alongside huge numbers of stone age flint tools, pieces of pottery and the bones of ox, cattle, pig, deer and other fragmentary human remains. These suggest the consumption of large amounts of meat as part of the activities which took place on the hill.

Read more at Brighton & Hove Council

Note: Whitehawk Camp Neolithic Causewayed Enclosure talk/tour, Wednesday 13th September, more in the comments on our page
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Whitehawk
Whitehawk submitted by Andy B : Reconstruction of the Whitehawk causewayed enclosure in Sussex, copyright English Heritage (1 comment - Vote or comment on this photo)

Whitehawk
Whitehawk submitted by Andy B : The voting tally for what the chalk plaque was used for. What do you think? (Vote or comment on this photo)

Whitehawk
Whitehawk submitted by Andy B : Close up of the two fossil sea urchins buried with Whitehawk woman. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Whitehawk
Whitehawk submitted by Andy B : This woman was buried in a ditch at an entrance to Whitehawk Causewayed Enclosure. Small and slight, she probably died in childbirth. Her careful burial at Whitehawk may mean she was part of an important family. Buried with her were: • two small pieces of chalk with holes • two fossil sea urchins • half the leg bone of an ox and other animal remains (Vote or comment on this photo)

Whitehawk
Whitehawk submitted by Andy B : This woman was buried in a ditch at an entrance to Whitehawk Causewayed Enclosure. Small and slight, she probably died in childbirth. Her careful burial at Whitehawk may mean she was part of an important family: She grew up close to Wales, Normandy, Brittany or Spain. Her clothes were made from animal skins. She would have worked hard looking after animals, growing crops and grinding wheat into fl...

Whitehawk
Whitehawk submitted by Andy B : The Whitehawk Project has been repacking archaeological finds from the 1920s and 30s excavations, including some interesting scored chalk blocks like this one. Image Credit: Brighton Museum and Art Gallery (1 comment)

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"Whitehawk" | Login/Create an Account | 20 News and Comments
  
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Neolithic Cannibals art and sound project, 4th May 19th May 2024 at Lighthouse by Andy B on Monday, 04 March 2024
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A socially engaged sound art project and exhibition from the young people of Whitehawk and East Brighton, and artist Simon James, who was born and raised in Whitehawk.

Explored through the deep time history of the Neolithic in East Brighton and the contemporary soundscape of Whitehawk, the Neolithic Cannibals exhibition mixes archaeology, psycho-geography, sound art, and activism to transport audiences to a place where imaginative and fantastical sounds will invite deep listening to an area that can often be considered hidden and unheard.

Through a series of workshops the young people of Whitehawk have listened to and sounded the contemporary environment of East Brighton using the Whitehawk Hill Neolithic Camp, discovered in 1929 through a geophysical listening technique known as Bosing, as a symbolic focal point and inspiration for their sonic explorations.

The Neolithic Cannibals exhibition at Lighthouse will recreate the Neolithic Camp - a place of communion, celebration and ritual, as a compassionate listening space inviting audiences to discover Whitehawk's richness, joy, playfulness and hope, empowering local voices through rarely explored sonic expressions. Audiences will leave with a deeper appreciation for empathetic listening, and consider the power of collective effort and the part we all play in addressing complex and current social issues.

Exhibition Times:
Saturday 4th May - Sunday 19th May 2024,
Weds to Sundays. Doors: 12PM-5PM. (Closed Monday and Tuesday, except Monday 6 May or by appointment.)
More at www.lighthouse.org.uk/events/neolithiccannibals
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Whitehawk Camp Neolithic Causewayed Enclosure talk/tour, Wednesday 13th September by Andy B on Wednesday, 06 September 2023
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Fed up with Regency architecture? Come along and explore the first visible enclosing of a large communal space in our region.

Situated in a commanding position above East Brighton, close to the Race Course, lays one of Britain's earliest Stone Age monuments. The hill top here was chosen some 5,650 years ago as the site for a large ceremonial enclosure, an area for undertaking feasting, burials and communing.

Dating to c. 3,650 B.C. the monument represents one of the earliest ritual circles in the UK. A c. 60 minute guided tour of this unique part of Brighton & Hove's heritage will be given by Jon Sygrave from UCL's Institute of Archaeology. The tour will provide an introduction to the early British Neolithic in Sussex and the layout and significance of the Whitehawk enclosure.

Wednesday 13 September: 1800-1900
No booking required

Approximately 60 minutes. For updates on this event and any last minute changes, see: www.rth.org.uk/BHOD23

Meet: Corner of Manor Hill and Queensway (the roundabout at this point also connecting with Firle Road and Freshfield Road), Brighton at 17:55

More details: www.heritageopendays.org.uk/visiting/event/whitehawk-camp-neolithic-causewayed-enclosure
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Tuesday December 2nd - 2014 Big Dig at Whitehawk Camp talk by Matt Pope, Brighton by Andy B on Tuesday, 07 October 2014
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December 2nd 'The 2014 Big Dig at Whitehawk Camp' - illustrated talk by Matt Pope of University College, London

'Tuesday at Friends' meets every Tuesday between 2:30 and 3:30 pm during term-time at

The Friends Meeting House, Ship Street, Brighton BN1 1AF - tel: 01273 770258, Warden - Terry Byrne

The meetings are open to everyone, young or old - admission £1.50 at the door. There is no need to book - just turn up. We hope to entertain and inform you in a pleasant welcoming atmosphere.

http://www.tuesdayatfriends.org.uk/
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Whitehawk Hill dig and open day 2014 by Andy B on Tuesday, 07 October 2014
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From 25th August: Hundreds flocked to a heritage site hoping to discover the secrets of Sussex’s history.

The Whitehawk Dig, which had everything from an archaeological excavation to a deer-carving exhibition, took place in Brighton on Saturday. The banks at the top of Whitehawk Hill Road sit on top of ancient Stone Age ground.

Archaeologists Owen O’Donnell and John Spiller believe the area could be one of the most important for Neolithic times.

Mr O’Donnell said: “It’s an amazing piece of land and so much history lies in these banks. This area is one of the most important in Britain and maybe even Europe in terms of the Neolithic times.

“It shows the first initial signs of proper farming, in terms of people identifying a piece of land and taking residence there as opposed to harvesting everything there is to take and moving on.

“It's a really fascinating place and proves there were people here 5,000 years ago.”

More at
http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/11430276.Digging_up_city___s_Neolithic_past/

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    Re: Whitehawk Hill dig 2014 - video and audio by Andy B on Tuesday, 07 October 2014
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    Project manager for Archaeology South East Jon Sygrave explains how they’re exploring a nationally-significant site, older than Stonehenge.

    https://audioboom.com/boos/2406289-find-out-who-lived-in-brighton-5000-years-ago
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    Re: Whitehawk Hill dig and open day 2014 by Andy B on Tuesday, 07 October 2014
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    19 June 2014: A geophysical survey of Whitehawk Causewayed Enclosure has revealed previously unknown archaeological features.

    The work was undertaken by the Centre for Applied Archaeology (CAA) and the Brighton and Hove Archaeological Society (BHAS) as part of the Whitehawk Camp Community Archaeology Project which aims to connect Brighton's communities with the nationally important Whitehawk Causewayed Enclosure, the burial place of Brighton's first residents.

    The team used magnetometry to ’map’ magnetic anomalies in the soil, rock and bedrock. The survey was undertaken to find out more about the extent and nature of this nationally significant Stone Age site and also, importantly, to help the project team to decide on the location of a community excavation set to take place on the site from 11-29 August 2014.

    The survey detected several possible archaeological features, which could dramatically extend the size of the monument (currently the size of 8 football pitches) and/or provide further detail as to the lives of the Neolithic or Stone Age people who constructed it. The archaeological excavation during August will target these potential features and assess whether they relate to the monument.

    Meanwhile, work on the archive of archaeological finds from the 1920s and 30s excavations has commenced at Brighton Museum and Art Gallery and it is hoped that some more archaeological revelations will be discovered in the archives!

    For further information please visit the Whitehawk Camp Community Archaeology Project website or via our social media:

    http://www.ucl.ac.uk/caa/whitehawk-hlf

    http://www.ucl.ac.uk/caa/whitehawk-hlf/media

    http://digwhitehawk.tumblr.com/

    http://mockduck.livejournal.com/1102828.html

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    Archaeology teaching resources by Andy B on Tuesday, 07 October 2014
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    New set of Neolithic teaching resources focusing on dig Whitehawk - free downloads from Brighton Museum

    Brighton Museum Archaeology Teacher Pack
    Brighton Museum Bronze Age classroom resource
    Brighton Museum Iron age classroom resource
    Brighton Museum Neolithic classroom resource
    Brighton Museum Mesolithic classroom resource
    Brighton Museum Palaeolithic classroom resource

    http://www.heritagelearningbrighton.org.uk/resources
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Whitehawk Camp - Neolithic Causewayed Enclosure or Stone Age circle? Thurs 12th Sept by Andy B on Tuesday, 03 September 2013
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Come along and explore the first visible enclosing of a large communal space in our region. Situated in a commanding position above East Brighton, close to the Race Course, lays one of Britain's earliest Stone Age monuments. The hill top here was chosen some 5,500 years ago as the site for a ceremonial enclosure, an area for undertaking feasting, burials and communing.

Dating to c. 3,500 B.C. the monument represents one of the earliest ritual circles in northern Europe and predates later Neolithic enclosures like Stonehenge and Avebury by up to 1,000 years.

A c.60 minute guided tour of this unique part of Brighton & Hove's heritage will be given by Jon Sygrave from UCL's Institute of Archaeology. The tour will provide an introduction to the early British Neolithic in Sussex and the layout and significance of the Whitehawk enclosure.

Opening Times Thursday 12th September: 1730 - 1830
Booking Details Free activity but to assist us meet expectations, please pre-book this event.

Booking Contact: RTH BHOD 13
Call: 01273 206306
Email: nick@rth.org.uk
Go to: http://www.rth.org.uk/opendoor13
Additional information Max 20 people per tou

Directions Meet: Corner of Manor Hill and Queensway (the roundabout at this point also connecting with Firle Road and Freshfield Road),
Website http://www.rth.org.uk
Organised by Institute of Archaeology (UCL) and The Regency Town House
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Guided walk around Whitehawk Hill Wednesday12th September by Andy B on Tuesday, 04 September 2012
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There is a walk around the site with Paul Gorringe, the ranger on Wednesday 12th September 5:30pm – 7pm (meet at the top of Manor Hill)

Earlier on Wednesday 12th September Paul the ranger will be manning a consultation stall at the Whitehawk library between 2pm and 4pm.

http://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/index.cfm?request=c1251676
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Consultation on the future management of Whitehawk Hill - loss of access land by Andy B on Tuesday, 04 September 2012
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Brighton Council are undertaking a consultation until the end of September on the future management of Whitehawk Hill. Here’s the link to it and to their brochure explaining some excellent and well-overdue management plans for this neglected but valuable Downland site, which was excluded from the National Park. http://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/index.cfm?request=c1251676

There are some suggestions of great concern and below is the initial response from Dave Bangs, author of A Freedom to Roam Guide to the Brighton Downs and ex chair of Friends of Whitehawk Down.

Dave Bangs writes:

This area was correctly scheduled under the original LNR Management Plan for reversion to a mosaic of grassland and scrub.

It is a critically important wild play area for adjacent communities, and should be managed to enhance that informal function, which provides a universal benefit for all visitors, not just fenced-off allotmentees.

It is a critically important viewpoint over Brighton and the Bay of Sussex. Indeed, it is the best viewpoint on the whole racecourse landscape. It should be managed for all Brighton folk, not just for allotmentees.

It is a critically important buffer for the neolithic camp, and a key component in preserving what is left of the camp’s damaged landscape context.

One of the most important issues is the the proposal for expanding the allotments onto the west side of Whitehawk Hill, which involves the destruction of our statutory right of open and free access across the whole of that slope (bar the existing fenced allotment) under the CROW Act 2000.

Dave continues "Consultation brochures have gone out widely to locals, with no mention that the proposed allotments would be on Access land. I am prepared to take direct action against any attempt to till this land – fenced or unfenced – and I will do all in my power to halt these proposals."

Read more about the issues here
http://stravaigerjohn.wordpress.com/2012/09/04/whitehawk-hill-access-land-loss/

Recently Brighton and Hove City Council was offered government funding to conserve the ancient chalk grassland on Whitehawk Hill and to improve the hill as a public space.

They would like to know your views about the plans for conserving Whitehawk Hill. You can read the management plan ideas and let them know what you think through their online questionnaire.

Whitehawk Hill management plan (PDF 724KB)
http://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/downloads/bhcc/cityparks/management_plans/Whitehawk_Hill_booklet_final.pdf

Whitehawk Hill survey
http://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/whitehawkhillsurvey

With thanks to Coldrum for the links.
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‘The Domestication of Britain’- Dating the Early Neolithic by Andy B on Sunday, 13 May 2012
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‘The Domestication of Britain’- Dating the Early Neolithic (4000 – 3500BC) in Britain

In the July August 2011 edition of British Archaeology magazine, there is an exciting article on research that is helping to shed light on new perspectives of the early neolithic in Britain.

The article, by Alasdair Whittle, Frances Healy & Alex Bayliss, details how the team have commissioned new radiocarbon dates from various monuments of the early neolithic in Britain. This has helped to produce a detailed and clearer chronology of how farming and new associated technologies & monuments (in this case causewayed enclosures) first spread throughout these isles.

For the first time in British archaeology the results have shown in depth how prehistoric events can be discerned at the generational level in the archaeological record.

http://thesebonesofmine.wordpress.com/2011/06/19/the-domestication-of-britain-dating-the-early-neolithic-4000-3500bc-in-britain/
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Whitehawk Enclosure tour, Saturday 10th September 2011 by Andy B on Saturday, 03 September 2011
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The Whitehawk Enclosure (Archaeology)
Brighton & Hove, East Sussex

Fed up with Regency architecture? Come along and explore the first visible enclosing of a large communal space in our region. Situated in a commanding position above East Brighton, close to the Race Course, lays one of Britain's earliest Stone Age monuments. The hill top here was chosen some 5,000 years ago as the site for a ceremonial enclosure, an area for undertaking feasting, burials and activities of a ritual nature. Up to five circular ditches have been traced on the hill and these have been shown to have regular interruptions in their courses.

Similar arrangements are known from other sites within Britain, all dating to the late Stone Age. This curious and obviously non-defensive arrangement gives these sites their name: causewayed enclosures. Dating to 3,500 B.C, they represent the earliest ritual circles in northern Europe and predate later Neolithic enclosures like Stonehenge and Avebury by up to 1,000 years. They also represent the first visible enclosing of large communal spaces in the archaeological record of the region and therefore mark the step-change in the development of Stone Age monumentality and architecture. A 90-120 minute guided tour of this unique part of Brighton & Hove's heritage will be given by Dr Matt Pope from UCL's Institute of Archaeology. The tour will provide an introduction to the layout and significance of the Whitehawk enclosure.

Directions
Meet at Corner of Manor Hill and Queensway (the roundabout at this point also connecting with Firle Road and Freshfield Road).

Public Transport Details
BUS - Area accessible by bus routes: 2, 2A, 21, 21B, 37, 37B.

Opening Times
Saturday 10th September: Tour 1400

Pre-Booking Required. Max 30 people. No children under 16 years. Please wear stout shoes, some uneven terrain. For up to the minute information about this event visit:

http://www.rth.org.uk/opendoor11/details.php?id=1958183981.
Organised By

Dr Matt Pope, UCL and The Regency Town House
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Re: Archaeology dating technique uncovers 'property boom' of 3700 BC by MikeAitch on Thursday, 09 June 2011
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BBC article with some aerial photos here.
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Re: Archaeology dating technique uncovers 'property boom' of 3700 BC by h_fenton on Tuesday, 07 June 2011
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So my impression is that its not really a new dating technique as such where finds have some sort of analysis done on them to produce a date. The researchers have looked high and low for all the possible dates they can find from a variety of sources.
Inputed all the dates along with the co-ordinates of where things were found into the computer, then done a bit of filtering and statistical analysis before plotting the data onto the map and drawing lines between dates of the same value, which has produced contour lines which indicates spreading of particular categories of datable evidence.
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Re: Archaeology dating technique uncovers 'property boom' of 3700 BC by coldrum on Tuesday, 07 June 2011
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Interesting article but I was under the impression that other dating techniques are used in conjunction with Carbon 14 any-way.
It's good to see that as technology advances we are learning more about our ancestors.
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Archaeology dating technique uncovers 'property boom' of 3700 BC by Andy B on Tuesday, 07 June 2011
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A new scientific dating technique has revealed there was a building spree more than 5,500 years ago, when many of the most spectacular monuments in the English landscape, such as Maiden Castle in Dorset and Windmill Hill in Wiltshire, were built, used and abandoned in a single lifetime.

Article interviewing Alex Bayliss, archaeologist and dating expert at English Heritage in the Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/jun/06/archaeology-dating-property-boom-3700bc
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3,700BC Britain's First Construction Boom by Andy B on Tuesday, 07 June 2011
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A ground-breaking scientific dating project led by English Heritage and Cardiff University has succeeded in dating prehistoric features down to a margin of decades instead of centuries. By applying this method to a type of early Neolithic earthwork called causewayed enclosures, it has revealed that Britain experienced a frenetic period of monument building in the decades after 3,700BC, with the country's first big monuments being erected some 1,000 years before Stonehenge was created.

Causewayed enclosures are known prehistoric features, but up to now it has been thought that they spread slowly across Britain over five centuries. But this research reveals that this new class of huge monuments spread rapidly all over southern Britain in a short span of 75 years, starting from the Thames Estuary through Kent and Sussex, and then west, on an intense scale that was not apparent before.

REVOLUTIONISING THE PERCEPTION OF PREHISTORY

The new knowledge that this happened in a flurry within two to three generations will revolutionise the way prehistory is understood and studied not only in Britain but around the world.

Dr Alex Bayliss, scientific dating expert at English Heritage, said: "Until now, because of imprecise dates and long time-scales, prehistory has been dominated by processes rather than events. By dating these enclosures more accurately, we now know that something happened quite specifically some 5,700 years ago; the speed with which it took place has completely overturned our perception of prehistory.

"What is more interesting is that we found that some enclosures, such as Maiden Castle in Dorset were used only for a few decades, while others such as Hembury in Devon and Windmill Hill near Avebury in Wiltshire were used repeatedly over several centuries. For the first time, this allows important questions about choice and behaviour to be asked. By giving early human societies this level of detail and generational perspective, we are beginning to get a sense of prehistory in terms of who did what when."

PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES OF RADIOCARBON DATING

This is the remarkable result of a dating technique that analyses each radiocarbon date of organic materials collected at a particular site within a complex and exacting statistical model that takes into account the sequence of archaeological deposits obtained from the site.

This has yielded much more precise construction dates of around 40 enclosures, some even narrowed down to decades. Windmill Hill near Avebury in Wiltshire, for example, was previously thought to be built circa 3700 - 3100 BC, but this new technique reveals that it was constructed in 3700 - 3640 BC - narrowing the span from six centuries down to six decades.

WHAT ARE CAUSEWAYED ENCLOSURES?

Causewayed enclosures, made up of concentric rings of ditches and banks, the largest of which can span 300 metres in diameter, are most common in southern Britain but they are also found in Ireland and in Europe. They are best described as special arenas where large communities gathered and feasted from time to time.

Some 90 causewayed enclosures are known to exist in Britain but traces of them are now hard to detect; among the more visible ones are at Windmill Hill and Knap Hill near Avebury and Whitesheet Hill near Salisbury.

The research also shows that causewayed enclosures were created when Neolithic society had advanced beyond the pioneering phase.

The vast amount of labour and resources involved in their construction could indicate that they were social symbols of an increasingly connected but also competitive society that emerged around 3,700BC along with more intensive exchange networks, perhaps larger cattle herds and social hierarchy.

Evidence for violence like burnt ramparts and people killed by arrowheads typical of the time has also been uncovered by the research in some enclosures, such as Crickley Hill in Gloucestershire and Maiden Castle and Hamble

Read the rest of this post...
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New introductory guide to Causewayed Enclosures, free download by Andy B on Tuesday, 07 June 2011
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See also: An introductory guide to Causewayed Enclosures

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/publications/iha-causewayed-enclosures/causewayedenclosures.pdf
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Re: Whitehawk by coldrum on Tuesday, 30 March 2010
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Links to more information on this site by coldrum on Wednesday, 23 July 2008
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Links to information on this site:

http://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/index.cfm?request=c1189614

http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/cbaresrep/pdf/029/02904001.pdf
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We would like to know more about this location. Please feel free to add a brief description and any relevant information in your own language.
Wir möchten mehr über diese Stätte erfahren. Bitte zögern Sie nicht, eine kurze Beschreibung und relevante Informationen in Deutsch hinzuzufügen.
Nous aimerions en savoir encore un peu sur les lieux. S'il vous plaît n'hesitez pas à ajouter une courte description et tous les renseignements pertinents dans votre propre langue.
Quisieramos informarnos un poco más de las lugares. No dude en añadir una breve descripción y otros datos relevantes en su propio idioma.