Terracing is found widely in the Mediterranean and in other hilly and mountainous regions of the ... more Terracing is found widely in the Mediterranean and in other hilly and mountainous regions of the world. Yet while archaeological attention to these ‘mundane’ landscape features has grown, they remain understudied, particularly in Northern Europe. Here, the authors present a multidisciplinary study of terraces in the Breamish Valley, Northumberland. The results date their construction to the Early to Middle Bronze Age, when they were built by cutting back the hillside, stone clearance and wall construction. Environmental evidence points to their use for cereal cultivation. The authors suggest that the construction and use of these terraces formed part of an Early to Middle Bronze Age agricultural intensification, which may have been both demographically and culturally driven.
Terracing is found widely in the Mediterranean and in other hilly and mountainous regions of the ... more Terracing is found widely in the Mediterranean and in other hilly and mountainous regions of the world. Yet while archaeological attention to these 'mundane' landscape features has grown, they remain understudied, particularly in Northern Europe. Here, the authors present a multidisciplinary study of terraces in the Breamish Valley, Northumberland. The results date their construction to the Early to Middle Bronze Age, when they were built by cutting back the hillside, stone clearance and wall construction. Environmental evidence points to their use for cereal cultivation. The authors suggest that the construction and use of these terraces formed part of an Early to Middle Bronze Age agricultural intensification, which may have been both demographically and culturally driven.
The hunter-gatherers that entered the British peninsula after ice-retreat were exploiting a dynam... more The hunter-gatherers that entered the British peninsula after ice-retreat were exploiting a dynamic, rapidly changing environment. Records of vegetation change and human occupation during the Lateglacial to Early Holocene in northern Britain are more commonly found at upland and cave sites. However, recent research highlights many areas of the Swale-Ure Washlands that preserve extensive environmental sequences in low-lying ice-wastage basins, channels and depressions. The Lateglacial-Early Holocene environment of Killerby Quarry, North Yorkshire, is investigated here using a multi-proxy approach of sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA), pollen, sedimentological (geochemistry and portable optically stimulated luminescence), and rare and well-preserved archaeology (Lavvu structures and lithics). Results show that the wetland basins and kettleholes were small lakes or ponds in the Lateglacial surrounded by sedge-fen and birch woodland. A gradual (centennial scale) succession to reed-swamp and then marsh is seen by the Early Holocene. This environment formed the resource-scape for hunter-gatherer transitory settlement in both the Lateglacial (Late Upper Palaeolithic) and Holocene (Early Mesolithic), attracted by the rich communities of pond-related flora and fauna as well as easy strategic landscape access by way of the River Swale, an arterial route through the landscape connecting the North Sea Basin with the Pennine uplands via the palaeolakes around Killerby.
The Till-Tweed river catchment areas in Northumberland contain outstanding archaeological and pal... more The Till-Tweed river catchment areas in Northumberland contain outstanding archaeological and palaeoenvironmental remains which have been in general only poorly understood. This study has assembled detailed data that will provide a platform for future landscape-based research and site-based investigation. Written from a landscape, or geoarchaeological perspective, this study develops a methodology and management tool that will allow planners, curators and developers working in the region to to easily access information across sectors, and provide a transparent and easily comprehended record of sensitive archaeological and palaeoenvironmental site
Note on a ground and polished stone axe head found during works to the west of Doddington village... more Note on a ground and polished stone axe head found during works to the west of Doddington village, Northumberland, in 2004. The axe head appears to be made from Langdale Tuff, and has flattened sides characteristic of some Langdale axe heads. From its proximity to at least two ring ditches and to finds of flints including a barbed and tanged arrowhead, and dates obtained for peat sediments in the same field, the author suggests a Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age date of before 2000 BC for the find.
Further work on pottery recovered from domestic-type pits during evaluation trenching in 1992 has... more Further work on pottery recovered from domestic-type pits during evaluation trenching in 1992 has shown it to be Neolithic rather than Iron Age as previously thought. The pottery was Grimston Ware -- the earliest pottery tradition known in Britain -- and Late Neolithic Meldon Bridge Ware, and along with the pits and associated gully and postholes suggests this was an area of Neolithic settlement. Includes a referenced list of `Neolithic pottery sites in Northumberland'.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2022
Significance The Orcadian Neolithic has been intensively studied and celebrated as a major center... more Significance The Orcadian Neolithic has been intensively studied and celebrated as a major center of cultural innovation, whereas the Bronze Age is less well known and often regarded as a time of stagnation and insularity. Here, we analyze ancient genomes from the Orcadian Bronze Age in the context of the variation in Neolithic Orkney and Bronze Age Europe. We find clear evidence for Early Bronze Age immigration into Orkney, but with an extraordinary pattern: continuity from the Neolithic on the male line of descent but immigration from continental Europe on the female side, echoed in the genome-wide picture. This suggests that despite substantial immigration, indigenous male lineages persisted for at least a thousand years after the end of the Neolithic.
Present-day people from England and Wales harbour more ancestry derived from Early European Farme... more Present-day people from England and Wales harbour more ancestry derived from Early European Farmers (EEF) than people of the Early Bronze Age1. To understand this, we generated genome-wide data from 793 individuals, increasing data from the Middle to Late Bronze and Iron Age in Britain by 12-fold, and Western and Central Europe by 3.5-fold. Between 1000 and 875 BC, EEF ancestry increased in southern Britain (England and Wales) but not northern Britain (Scotland) due to incorporation of migrants who arrived at this time and over previous centuries, and who were genetically most similar to ancient individuals from France. These migrants contributed about half the ancestry of Iron Age people of England and Wales, thereby creating a plausible vector for the spread of early Celtic languages into Britain. These patterns are part of a broader trend of EEF ancestry becoming more similar across central and western Europe in the Middle to Late Bronze Age, coincident with archaeological evidence of intensified cultural exchange2-6. There was comparatively less gene flow from continental Europe during the Iron Age, and Britain's independent genetic trajectory is also reflected in the rise of the allele conferring lactase persistence to ~50% by this time compared to ~7% in central Europe where it rose rapidly in frequency only a millennium later. This suggests that dairy products were used in qualitatively different ways in Britain and in central Europe over this period.
This paper reports the results of the excavation of an Early Bronze Age cist cemetery on the mid-... more This paper reports the results of the excavation of an Early Bronze Age cist cemetery on the mid-Northumberland coast at Howick. The Bronze Age site was discovered during the investigation of a Mesolithic hut site, the latter having been published separately as a monograph. A ...
Terracing is found widely in the Mediterranean and in other hilly and mountainous regions of the ... more Terracing is found widely in the Mediterranean and in other hilly and mountainous regions of the world. Yet while archaeological attention to these ‘mundane’ landscape features has grown, they remain understudied, particularly in Northern Europe. Here, the authors present a multidisciplinary study of terraces in the Breamish Valley, Northumberland. The results date their construction to the Early to Middle Bronze Age, when they were built by cutting back the hillside, stone clearance and wall construction. Environmental evidence points to their use for cereal cultivation. The authors suggest that the construction and use of these terraces formed part of an Early to Middle Bronze Age agricultural intensification, which may have been both demographically and culturally driven.
Terracing is found widely in the Mediterranean and in other hilly and mountainous regions of the ... more Terracing is found widely in the Mediterranean and in other hilly and mountainous regions of the world. Yet while archaeological attention to these 'mundane' landscape features has grown, they remain understudied, particularly in Northern Europe. Here, the authors present a multidisciplinary study of terraces in the Breamish Valley, Northumberland. The results date their construction to the Early to Middle Bronze Age, when they were built by cutting back the hillside, stone clearance and wall construction. Environmental evidence points to their use for cereal cultivation. The authors suggest that the construction and use of these terraces formed part of an Early to Middle Bronze Age agricultural intensification, which may have been both demographically and culturally driven.
The hunter-gatherers that entered the British peninsula after ice-retreat were exploiting a dynam... more The hunter-gatherers that entered the British peninsula after ice-retreat were exploiting a dynamic, rapidly changing environment. Records of vegetation change and human occupation during the Lateglacial to Early Holocene in northern Britain are more commonly found at upland and cave sites. However, recent research highlights many areas of the Swale-Ure Washlands that preserve extensive environmental sequences in low-lying ice-wastage basins, channels and depressions. The Lateglacial-Early Holocene environment of Killerby Quarry, North Yorkshire, is investigated here using a multi-proxy approach of sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA), pollen, sedimentological (geochemistry and portable optically stimulated luminescence), and rare and well-preserved archaeology (Lavvu structures and lithics). Results show that the wetland basins and kettleholes were small lakes or ponds in the Lateglacial surrounded by sedge-fen and birch woodland. A gradual (centennial scale) succession to reed-swamp and then marsh is seen by the Early Holocene. This environment formed the resource-scape for hunter-gatherer transitory settlement in both the Lateglacial (Late Upper Palaeolithic) and Holocene (Early Mesolithic), attracted by the rich communities of pond-related flora and fauna as well as easy strategic landscape access by way of the River Swale, an arterial route through the landscape connecting the North Sea Basin with the Pennine uplands via the palaeolakes around Killerby.
The Till-Tweed river catchment areas in Northumberland contain outstanding archaeological and pal... more The Till-Tweed river catchment areas in Northumberland contain outstanding archaeological and palaeoenvironmental remains which have been in general only poorly understood. This study has assembled detailed data that will provide a platform for future landscape-based research and site-based investigation. Written from a landscape, or geoarchaeological perspective, this study develops a methodology and management tool that will allow planners, curators and developers working in the region to to easily access information across sectors, and provide a transparent and easily comprehended record of sensitive archaeological and palaeoenvironmental site
Note on a ground and polished stone axe head found during works to the west of Doddington village... more Note on a ground and polished stone axe head found during works to the west of Doddington village, Northumberland, in 2004. The axe head appears to be made from Langdale Tuff, and has flattened sides characteristic of some Langdale axe heads. From its proximity to at least two ring ditches and to finds of flints including a barbed and tanged arrowhead, and dates obtained for peat sediments in the same field, the author suggests a Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age date of before 2000 BC for the find.
Further work on pottery recovered from domestic-type pits during evaluation trenching in 1992 has... more Further work on pottery recovered from domestic-type pits during evaluation trenching in 1992 has shown it to be Neolithic rather than Iron Age as previously thought. The pottery was Grimston Ware -- the earliest pottery tradition known in Britain -- and Late Neolithic Meldon Bridge Ware, and along with the pits and associated gully and postholes suggests this was an area of Neolithic settlement. Includes a referenced list of `Neolithic pottery sites in Northumberland'.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2022
Significance The Orcadian Neolithic has been intensively studied and celebrated as a major center... more Significance The Orcadian Neolithic has been intensively studied and celebrated as a major center of cultural innovation, whereas the Bronze Age is less well known and often regarded as a time of stagnation and insularity. Here, we analyze ancient genomes from the Orcadian Bronze Age in the context of the variation in Neolithic Orkney and Bronze Age Europe. We find clear evidence for Early Bronze Age immigration into Orkney, but with an extraordinary pattern: continuity from the Neolithic on the male line of descent but immigration from continental Europe on the female side, echoed in the genome-wide picture. This suggests that despite substantial immigration, indigenous male lineages persisted for at least a thousand years after the end of the Neolithic.
Present-day people from England and Wales harbour more ancestry derived from Early European Farme... more Present-day people from England and Wales harbour more ancestry derived from Early European Farmers (EEF) than people of the Early Bronze Age1. To understand this, we generated genome-wide data from 793 individuals, increasing data from the Middle to Late Bronze and Iron Age in Britain by 12-fold, and Western and Central Europe by 3.5-fold. Between 1000 and 875 BC, EEF ancestry increased in southern Britain (England and Wales) but not northern Britain (Scotland) due to incorporation of migrants who arrived at this time and over previous centuries, and who were genetically most similar to ancient individuals from France. These migrants contributed about half the ancestry of Iron Age people of England and Wales, thereby creating a plausible vector for the spread of early Celtic languages into Britain. These patterns are part of a broader trend of EEF ancestry becoming more similar across central and western Europe in the Middle to Late Bronze Age, coincident with archaeological evidence of intensified cultural exchange2-6. There was comparatively less gene flow from continental Europe during the Iron Age, and Britain's independent genetic trajectory is also reflected in the rise of the allele conferring lactase persistence to ~50% by this time compared to ~7% in central Europe where it rose rapidly in frequency only a millennium later. This suggests that dairy products were used in qualitatively different ways in Britain and in central Europe over this period.
This paper reports the results of the excavation of an Early Bronze Age cist cemetery on the mid-... more This paper reports the results of the excavation of an Early Bronze Age cist cemetery on the mid-Northumberland coast at Howick. The Bronze Age site was discovered during the investigation of a Mesolithic hut site, the latter having been published separately as a monograph. A ...
Excavations at Low Hauxley (Northumberland, Great Britain) uncovered a remarkable archaeological ... more Excavations at Low Hauxley (Northumberland, Great Britain) uncovered a remarkable archaeological site where layer upon layer of human history had survived on a discrete parcel of land as sediments accumulated during the Holocene. Associated with the archaeological remains was a rich palaeoenvironmental record of vegetation and land use change that could be correlated with archaeological events. The archaeological remains date from the Mesolithic through to the modern period and are generally well-preserved thanks to their burial under metres of calcareous dune sand. The site is subject to severe coastal erosion and this volume disentangles the complex archaeological stratigraphy and places it in its local and wider North Sea setting. The comprehensive radiocarbon dating programme was supported by detailed artefact analyses and in-depth analysis of palaeoenvironmental evidence. The Low Hauxley site makes an important contribution to knowledge of key historical processes affecting the wider North Sea Basin, including the arrival of Mesolithic groups from 'Doggerland' , the presence of Early Neolithic farming groups, the arrival of the first Beaker-using people to the region and farming intensification in the Bronze Age, together with Iron Age and Roman farmers who had access to Roman material culture despite being north of Hadrian's Wall. Important environmental events are documented, including the development and subsequent burial of peat deposits, catastrophic sand inundation following the Bronze Age relative sea level high-stand and further episodes of catastrophic sand inundation in the early medieval period and in the late or post-medieval period that may be linked with the ‘Little Ice Age’.
25 Terraces and lynchets are ubiquitous worldwide, and particularly within Europe, can provide 26... more 25 Terraces and lynchets are ubiquitous worldwide, and particularly within Europe, can provide 26 increasingly important Ecosystem Services (ESs) which may be able to mitigate aspects of climate 27 change. They are also a major cause of non-linearity between climate and erosion rates in 28 agricultural systems as noted from alluvial and colluvial studies. New research in the 'critical zone' 29 has shown that we must now treat soil production as an ecologically sensitive variable with 30 implications for soil carbon sequestration. In this review and synthesis paper we present a modified 31 classification of agricultural terraces, review the theoretical background of both terraces and 32 lynchets, and show how new techniques are transforming the study of these widespread and often 33 ancient anthropogenic landforms. Indeed the problems of dating terraces and also the time-34 consuming nature of costly surveys has held back the geomorphological and geoarchaeological study 35 of terraces until now. The suite of techniques available now, and reviewed here, includes Digital 36 Terrain Models (DTMs) from Structure from Motion (SfM) photogrammetry, Airborne and Terrestrial 37 Laser Scanning (ALS-TLS); the use of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL and pOSL), portable x-ray 38 fluorescence (pXRF), Fourier-transform infra red analysis (FTIR), phytoliths from plants, and 39 potentially environmental DNA. Three process-related geomorphological questions arise from using 40 this suite of methods; a) can they provide both a chronology of formation and use history, b) can we 41 identify the sources of all the soil components? And c) can terrace soil formation and ecosystem 42 services be modelled at the slope to catchment scale? The answers to these questions can also 43 inform the management of the large areas of abandoned and under-used terraces that are resulting 44
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Papers by Clive Waddington
For an independent review of the book, see: http://www.prehistoricsociety.org/publications/reviews/