Thirlings: A Neolithic Site in Northumberland

Abstract

Excavation at Thirlings, Northumberland revealed very extensive pit and post-pit features of Neolithic date. Some were suggestive of circular, trapezoidal and possibly rectangular structures. Radiocarbon dates indicate activity commencing around the beginning of the fourth millennium BC and continuing intermittently until at least the mid-third millennium BC. The pottery assemblage was substantial, and included Early Neolithic Carinated Bowl, and later Neolithic pottery in a variety of impressed styles that include Peterborough Wares as well as Grooved Ware. This collection adds considerably to the pottery record from the period in Northumberland. There was some evidence for cereal cultivation. Spatial analysis of deposition on the site was undertaken alongside the abrasion analysis of the pottery sherds. Mechanisms to explain the findings are discussed, and the nature of occupation on the site is interpreted in light of recent thinking on the nature of the British Neolithic.