The Poulton Research Project

During the last few days we have excavated 340 mm below the level of the foundations of the earliest phase of the chapel. To our great surprise and delight, we have found clear evidence of a prehistoric pre-cursor to the chapel. We have uncovered two post-holes, each approximately 400 mm diameter and about 1 metre apart. In the westerly one, we have found two antler fragments from a very mature red deer deliberately deposited on the base of the post-hole.

Although no pottery was present (to aid dating the post-hole), ceramic material from c. 2,300 - 900 BC, associated with human cremated bone, has been found close by.

Given that a late Neolithic Timber Circle and an Early-Middle Bronze Age Ring Ditch have been excavated to the north of the Medieval Chapel, is it possible we have found the first evidence for a prehistoric structure/burial ground directly underlying the Medieval Chapel?

The picture below shows the approximate location (highlighted) of these finds in relation to the overall chapel site. [As both these pictures are quite small, clicking either will open a full size version in a new window. Beware, though, the full size pictures are large, 320 Kbytes for the above and 1.7 Mbytes for the one below, not for dial-up users.]