A fragmented middle Bronze Age urn (07E245:304:7) was recovered from a cremation pit. A saddle quern (07E245:244:1) was also recovered from a pit located in close proximity to the ring ditch. As well as the burial activity, an enormous pit or well of probable Bronze Age date

was also excavated in the level ground to the north of the ridge (Area E).  A number of earth-cut troughs filled with burnt stone were identified in its vicinity.  The pit was extraordinarily large measuring 10m by 16m, by 2.8m deep. The eastern side of the pit sloped gradually down to the base allowing access into and out of the pit.  The pit was filled initially with layers of silty clay, above this lay a layer of burnt stone. It is likely that the burnt stone represents waste cleared from the smaller pits on the upper slope and from the surrounding area.  Once the dumping of heated stone in and around the large pit had ceased, a thick layer of organic-rich silt began to build up, thick with wood and timber of a range of sizes.  It is in this context that an exceptionally well-preserved middle Bronze Age palstave (07E245:138:1) and numerous enigmatic bundles of straw were deposited. The palstave and the bundles of straw appear to have been deliberately and consciously deposited at a time after the water heating activity had ceased. 

The pit may have acted as a well, as it was constructed to be easily accessible and it would have provided a constant source of water.  Alternatively the pit may have acted as a pool, filling naturally with water from the spring evident on the eastern edge.  The number of earth-cut troughs identified in the pit's vicinity and the large quantities of burnt stone recovered from it suggest that attempts had been made to heat the water it contained, perhaps for bathing.  Could it be related to feasting and/or bathing, or even treatment of the dead, associated with the funerary activity on the hill above?

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