Monument record BRK 020 - Darmsden Hall Farm Quarry, Iron Age (IA)

Two trial trenches, each 10m square, excavated as part of area assessment, November 1989.
Trench `E' (TM 0959 5273): produced a surface scatter of Iron Age pottery, together with a small ditch (90cm wide and 30cm deep), four small pits or post holes (the largest being 80cm in diameter and 28cm deep), and four smaller post holes. The material recovered was mainly flint gritted IA pottery, including some fine wares of Darmsden type (S1).
See also Mes, BA, Rom & Sax.
An excavation took place in 1994, which consisted of an open area approximately 30x100m and four trenches 35m x 4m. The main area produced three large linear ditches, a sub-circular enclosure ditch, which contained a posthole structre with a possible hearth, and a number of isolated pits and posthole features. The material recovered was mainly flint, grog or sand-tempered Iron Age pottery, with some later Iron Age 'Belgic' pottery. (S2)
1996: Excavation of part area followed (S2).
1995/1996, topsoil stripping over new areas, found no definate features, see (S4) for further details.
2004: An area of 3145 sqm was excavated, with a further 2770 sqm being monitored, within the area of the enclosure and further evidence of this Iron Age settlement was identified. A total of 28 features were located, the majority being of Late Iron Age date although some dated to the Late Iron Age/Early Roman period and one to the mid-late 1st Century. The features were predominantly scattered pits and postholes, with two curvilinear ditches possibly forming smaller enclosures within the larger Iron Age enclosure. The type of features and range of finds were comparable to the earlier excavation and indicate that the enclosure was an area of light occupation, although there was no evidence of structures. The enclosure fell out of use by the Late Iron Age/Early Roman period, probably replaced by a new system of field boundaries (S5).