In partnership with the land owners, Graham and Jill Nicol, and Historic England, the Project Team hope to undertake further investigations of the hillfort and its environs over the next few years. 

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We are currently preparing our research objectives.  The first area we will focus on is the land to the east of the Scheduled Monument (the fort). There are several interesting features in the landscape that we intend to investigate with geophysical survey. Following this, we hope to undertake an investigation of the settlement in the south west corner of the hillfort. Limited excavation, targeted on the probable round houses and ditches, will hopefully provide archaeological information that will indicate when the site was settled and the nature of that settlement. There are a lot of questions to be answered; How many houses are there? How were the houses constructed? Did people live in them or were they used for another purpose? 

 

In December 2021, we located two boxes of finds from the 1955 test pit investigation in Bristol Museum.  The pottery is currently being assessed by a specialist and an update on this will be provided shortly. The pottery and bone excavated in 1955 shows that deposits are well preserved at the site. The method of making pottery changed frequently during prehistory and comparisons can be made with other archaeological sites which have already been dated. Animal bones can not only tell us about diet, but also how livestock was raised and butchered. Perhaps the inhabitants hunted wild animals in addition to farming? What cereals were grown?  Scientific analysis of organic remains, including food residues from pots, can also provide a detailed picture of the way the inhabitants lived. Perhaps activities such as weaving or metal working also took place at Burledge? 

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Archaeology shows us that Iron Age people possessed a very different world view than we do today. A key source of information comes form the study of funerary remains from archaeological sites. The evidence shows that Iron Age people treated their dead very differently to most modern societies but there is great regional and temporal variation.  The study of funerary remains can also tell us where people came from. Through DNA analysis,  we are starting to have a much better understanding of the movement of people. In the last few years there have been tremendous advances  through DNA studies. The transition between the Bronze Age and the Iron Age is a key focus of ongoing research and Burledge represents a well preserved site from this period.

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On a wider scale, the results of archaeological investigations could tell us a lot about the Mendip region during the early Iron Age. We can compare information on the other hillforts and settlements and learn about the similarities and differences to build up a picture. Is there any evidence for trading links? Of  particular relevance on a local scale, will be the archaeological work conducted by Philip Rahtz and Arthur ApSimon at Chew Park, in the mid -1950's prior to the construction of Chew Valley Lake. 

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The scale and focus of research is currently being agreed but this may well change over time depending on findings.  We think that the Project presents an exciting and rare opportunity to contribute to national research and will help us to develop a local and regional narrative for the early Iron Age.

 

 

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