Site and Post-Excavation Data from an Excavation at Hartnell's Farm, Monkton Heathfield, Taunton, Somerset 2018-2019

This collection comprises images, GIS, and a database from an archaeological excavation undertaken by Cotswold Archaeology on land at Hartnell's Farm, Monkton Heathfield, Taunton, Somerset between November 2018 and February 2019. This work examined an Early Neolithic pit, and Early Bronze Age pit and two Middle Bronze Age enclosures. The Early Neolithic pit contained pottery, flint and charred food remains and the Early Bronze Age pit little except charcoal, and both features were dated by radiocarbon. The Middle Bronze Age enclosure ditches and associated pits contained Trevisker-related pottery (broadly 1500-1000 BC), but there was an absence of material for absolute dating. One enclosure was sub-rectangular with two entrances and postholes for a possible gate structure, while the other, of a different form, appeared to demarcate the corner of a much larger enclosure the overall extent of which was not discoverable. The non-survival of bone and the sparseness of cultivated plant remains make an assessment of the farming economy problematic, but a consideration of the evidence from this and nearby sites suggests a pastoral emphasis to be likely. The noteworthy discovery of most of a single vessel from an enclosure ditch is compared with the intentional deposits of Middle Bronze Age vessels found elsewhere in the region.