Prehistoric Settlement in West Yorkshire: Early Bronze Age Activity and an Iron Age Enclosure

CFA Archaeology is excited to share our latest article published in Volume 63 of Prehistoric Yorkshire. Prehistoric Settlement and Landscape Utilisation in the West Yorkshire Pennines: Early Bronze Age Activity and An Upland Iron Age Enclosure at Bradley Villa Farm, Huddersfield, by Nicolas R. Jones and Christina Hills, discusses our 2021-2022 excavations of a prehistoric settlement in West Yorkshire.

Six sherds of Bronze Age pottery and two small Mesolithic flints were recovered from a scattering of pits on the site, suggesting that there was some sparse human activity in the area during these periods.

#TeamCFA archaeologists recorded much more substantial evidence for human activity during the Iron Age. The site featured an agricultural system, comprised of at least two enclosed fields bounded by ditches, alongside a small settlement evidenced by a roundhouse (seen as a ring gully), grain store (seen as pits), other pits, and post holes. One of the enclosed fields was adjacent to the settlement and its edge curved slightly in respect of it – suggesting that the fields and settlement may have existed at the same time and represent both work and domestic aspects of prehistoric life.

Left, an overview of the site, including field boundary ditch and settlement. Right, an up close image of the roundhouse ring gully and internal pits.

The roundhouse, seen as a ring gully, with other pits and post holes related to the settlement above.

While most roundhouses of this time have entrances to the southeast, in order to enjoy, among other things, the benefits of the morning sun, our ring gully showed an entrance to the southwest. This was, perhaps, a response to the sloped topography of the site and reflective of an effort to maximise the shelter provided by the building. A possible grain store, seen as a square four-post structure, was excavated immediately to the northwest of the roundhouse, although only a single grain of barley was found within any of its pits. One of the corners of this structure was made of two pits, which we have interpreted as evidence of the replacement of one of the posts. From this, we can assume the structure was in use for a relatively long period of time. Other pits in this area contained cereal grains and charcoal, and the pits and post holes have been interpreted as functioning as structural features, fire pits, and scoop hearths. It’s likely that there were other roundhouses and post-built structures in the settlement, some of which survive as these pits and post holes, but ploughing and exposure over time have truncated and obscured the remains. Altogether, these provide an insight into the domestic activities taking place on the site, with cereal grains (including wheat and barley) being processed, stored, and, presumably, cooked over hearth fires both within and outside of roundhouse buildings.

Archaeologists working at Bradley Villa Farm.

Geophysical survey of the area has shown that the field system continues outside of CFA’s excavation area, including two additional enclosed fields to the south, and that there is a trackway north of our main enclosure. This conforms to known patterns of Iron Age settlement in West Yorkshire, which often comprise rectilinear fields enclosed by ditches with large trackways or boundaries nearby, and were used for mixed farming with an emphasis on rearing livestock.

For access, see the Yorkshire Archaeological & Historical Society’s webpage for their journal Prehistoric Yorkshire.