Four Thousand Years of Pre-History: Excavating the Neolithic, Bronze, and Iron Ages at Street House, UK with Dr. Stephen Sherlock
On Wednesday, October 9th the DRAGEN Lab hosted the first free lecture of the 2024/2025 academic year with an exciting summary of Dr. Stephen Sherlock’s archeological work in the United Kingdom. The Environments of Change project and DRAGEN Lab sent five graduate students to England for hands-on experience beginning at Sherlock’s new excavation at Streethouse.
Evidence of early neolithic saltworking operations led Sherlock and his colleagues to excavate various sites dating back to 3,900 BCE, according to radiocarbon data. Streethouse, Sherlock explained, is the earliest salt manufacturing site in Western Europe because of its proximity to the sea to transport brine to furnaces that evaporated the salt out of the water. At 2 metres below ground, these furnaces produced 600℃ of heat for large-scale salt manufacturing. Furthermore, pottery kilns were found which Sherlock associates with the trays and vessels required in a salt manufacturing operation. An impressive 40 tonnes of soil were removed for Sherlock and his colleagues to uncover the neolithic operations that occurred at Streethouse.
Streethouse also provides evidence of ceremonial activities from the Neolithic, Iron, and Bronze ages. Sherlock’s geophysical data and excavations uncovered a bronze-age timber circle from 2,200 BCE between 6 to 8 metres in diameter. Iron Age roundhouses were also found in 2005 about 10 inches under the soil surface. Interestingly, Anglo-Saxon graves also occupied this site, highlighting the enduring historical importance of Streethouse. Smaller artifacts and objects also help archeologists piece together the various human activities present at Streethouse over the past 6,000 years. For example, rock art depicting human faces indicated to Sherlock and his colleagues that the site provided ceremonial or ritualistic value to its inhabitants. In this sense, Sherlock describes Streethouse as a “time capsule” of 6,000 years of British pre-history.
Sherlock’s archeological work continues after discoveries made by University of Waterloo students this past summer sparked interest from neolithic experts, historians, and local citizens. The team set about digging five trenches using geophysical data to best estimate the possibility of uncovering a new excavation site at Streethouse. One such trench crossed over an undiscovered stone circle which became their new target. Sherlock emphasized the promising potential for this site as they found antler tines, beads, charred grain, and more. These finds suggest ceremonial purposes for this stone circle. Sherlock and his colleagues are in the process of “making a monument” as future archeological work needs to be done to understand this site. Perhaps most exciting is the high presence of phosphorus in the centre of the stone circle, which could indicate a burial ground for human remains.
Stay tuned for exciting opportunities and updates on this collaboration with Dr. Stephen Sherlock and the Environments of Change project!