Somerset's Peatland Archaeology by Richard Brunning;

Author:Richard Brunning;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: SOCIAL SCIENCE / Archaeology
ISBN: 9781782970668
Publisher: Casemate Publishers & Book Distributors, LLC
Published: 2013-05-30T16:00:00+00:00

Figure 121. Harding Alignment 1997 pollen diagram.

Figure 122. Reconstruction picture of the Harding Alignment, looking north towards Harter’s Hill (Peter Lorimer).

The pollen record from the Harter’s Hill 1997 site supports the interpretation of the pollen data from the 2003 site in suggesting that oak-hazel woodland was growing on Harter’s Hill in the mid–late Bronze Age. Quercus and Corylus-type are the principal dry land tree taxa in the pollen diagram and, as would be expected, the frequencies are less at the 1997 site than at the wetland margin location. The period of mid Bronze Age agricultural activity, seen in the Harter’s Hill 2003 pollen diagram, cannot be identified at the 1997 site. Plantago lanceolata and cereal-type pollen occur at low frequencies throughout, with the former increasing slightly towards the end of HH97 2. However, the major peak of pollen of clearance herbs, found in LPAZ HH03 3, is not seen in HH97 1, which represents some of the same time period. This emphasises the very local nature, and probably also the small-scale, of the farming on Harter’s Hill. It is significant that the silty, colluvial component found in the peat at the 2003 site is absent at Harter’s Hill 1997, below 4.64m OD. It seems that the colluvial activity that brought both silt and cereal-type pollen down from the hill onto the wetland margin did not extend the 50m across to the 1997 site. However, post 1130–920 cal BC, at Harter’s Hill 1997, there is evidence of increased human activity in the wider area, as microscopic charcoal frequencies increase markedly.

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