Enclosures in Neolithic Europe by G. Varndell Peter Topping

Enclosures in Neolithic Europe by G. Varndell Peter Topping

Author:G. Varndell,Peter Topping
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Casemate Publishers & Book Distributors, LLC
Published: 2017-05-15T00:00:00+00:00


Stone-filled pits of the same type are also a feature of Neolithic Italy (Mileto (Sarti & Martini 1993), and St Andrea di Travo (Bernabo Brea et al 1994), etc) (Barfield in press). These again have been seen as cooking sites, although Mileto has been interpreted unconvincingly as a pottery kiln (Sarti & Martini 1993). Unlike the Chassey sites cited earlier these usually occur singly or in smaller groupings and are not in linear lay outs. The Rivoli features, because of their small size, would not have been suited to be cooking pits, nor were fire-cracked stones found in them.

The alignment of the ditch line at Rivoli, approximately north-south, is probably not significant. Although some of the pits at Villeneuve-Tolosane are on the same alignment others are not (Fig. 6.2).

If we stick to the interpretations we have just discussed between Rivoli on the one hand and St Michel du Touch and Villeneuve-Tolosane on the other, we see different functions yet a comparison in the linear arrangement and spacing. If at Rivoli we do have a fence the problem of its interpretation remains. Most probably it was been a boundary feature. It is very straight and regular, whereas the disposition of the pits is irregular, and its line also runs through the pits at the same time as respecting them. It also cuts the settlement area into two equal halves. So may this be a symbolic boundary, perhaps a linear boundary into two moieties within the settlement.

The main purpose of this article has been to describe and discuss the unique ditch alignment at Rivoli. There may be no link between this, the Chassey stone pits and causewayed camps, yet they all encapsulate the same concept of an interrupted ditch and all are Neolithic. It is hoped that comparison can illuminate interpretation or at the very least stimulate discussion.



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