Abingdon (causewayed Enclosure)
A causewayed enclosure was found at Abingdon in Oxfordshire in 1926. Causewayed enclosures are a form of early Neolithic earthwork found in northwestern Europe; they were built in England from shortly before 3700 BC until about 3300 BC and are characterized by the full or partial enclosure of an area with ditches that are interrupted by gaps, or causeways. Their purpose is not known; they may have been settlements, or meeting places, or ritual sites.Oswald et al. (2001), p. 154. The enclosure was found in 1926 while quarrying for gravel, and was partly excavated in 1926 and 1927 by E.T. Leeds. Subsequent excavations took place in 1954 and 1963. The site was probably constructed in the 37th or 36th century BC.Healy et al. (2011), pp. 418-420. References Sources * * * {{Cite book, last1=Oswald, first1=Alastair, title=The Creation of Monuments: Neolithic Causewayed Enclosures in the British Isles, last2=Dyer, first2=Carolyn, last3=Barber, first3=Martin, publisher=Engli ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Causewayed Enclosure
A causewayed enclosure is a type of large prehistoric earthwork common to the early Neolithic in Europe. It is an enclosure marked out by ditches and banks, with a number of causeways crossing the ditches. More than 100 examples are recorded in France and 70 in England, while further sites are known in Scandinavia, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Ireland and Slovakia. The term "causewayed enclosure" is now preferred to the older term, causewayed camp, as it has been demonstrated that the sites did not necessarily serve as occupation sites. Construction Causewayed enclosures are often located on hilltop sites, encircled by one to four concentric ditches with an internal bank. Enclosures located in lowland areas are generally larger than hilltop ones. Crossing the ditches at intervals are causeways which give the monuments their names. It appears that the ditches were excavated in sections, leaving the wide causeways intact in between. They should not be confused with segmented, or ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Abingdon-on-Thames
Abingdon-on-Thames ( ), commonly known as Abingdon, is a historic market town and civil parish in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Oxfordshire, England, on the River Thames. Historic counties of England, Historically the county town of Berkshire, since 1974 Abingdon has been administered by the Vale of White Horse district within Oxfordshire. The area was occupied from the early to middle British Iron Age, Iron Age and the remains of a late Iron Age and Roman people, Roman oppidum, defensive enclosure lies below the town centre. Abingdon Abbey was founded around 676, giving its name to the emerging town. In the 13th and 14th centuries, Abingdon was an agricultural centre with an extensive trade in wool, alongside weaving and the manufacture of clothing. Charters for the holding of markets and fairs were granted by various monarchs, from Edward I to George II of Great Britain, George II. The town survived the Dissolution of the Monasteries, dissolution of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Earthworks (archaeology)
In archaeology, earthworks are artificial changes in land level, typically made from piles of artificially placed or sculpted rocks and soil. Earthworks can themselves be archaeological features, or they can show features beneath the surface. Types Earthworks of interest to archaeologists include hill forts, henges, mounds, platform mounds, effigy mounds, enclosures, long barrows, tumuli, ridge and furrow, mottes, round barrows, and other tombs. * Hill forts, a type of fort made out of mostly earth and other natural materials including sand, straw, and water, were built as early as the late Stone Age and were built more frequently during the Bronze Age and Iron Age as a means of protection. See also Oppidum. * Henge earthworks are those that consist of a flat area of earth in a circular shape that are encircled by a ditch, or several circular ditches, with a bank on the outside of the ditch built with the earth from inside the ditch. They are believed to have been used as mo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Edward Thurlow Leeds
Edward Thurlow Leeds (29 July 1877 – 17 August 1955) was an English archaeologist and museum curator. He was Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum from 1928 to 1945. Biography He was born in Eyebury, Peterborough on 29 July 1877, the second son of Alfred Nicholson Leeds, palaeontologist and Fellow of the Geological Society, and his wife Ferrier. He was educated at Uppingham School and then as a classical scholar at Magdalene College, Cambridge. After graduation in 1899, his first position was as cadet in the Federated Malay States Civil Service. He spent two years in China to learn the language. In 1903, ill health forced him to abandon this career path. In five years of convalescence, he spent much time on geological work in the gravel pits at Eyebury, where his interest in archaeology developed. In 1908, he was appointed an Assistant Keeper at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. Later that year, the museum was reorganised, and he became Assistant Keeper of the Department of Anti ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |