The Needles Eye Enclosure: North Road Industrial Estate, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland
Pre-Construct Archaeology undertook a major excavation - funded by Berwick-upon-Tweed Borough Council - on land adjacent to the North Road Industrial Estate, Berwick, during the spring and early summer of 2005. The excavation covered an area of c. 0.6 hectares and was undertaken by a team of 10 archaeologists.
The site lies to the west of sheer cliffs of Needles Eye on a dramatic, craggy stretch of coastline extending northwards from Berwick. Behind the cliffs the land rises steadily to the west to form Halidon Hill, some 2km distant. The hill was the site of a bloody and decisive battle between the English and the Scots in 1333, leaving the much fought over town of Berwick in English hands, but it had been the site of prehistoric activity long before. A possible Iron Age hill fort lies at the summit of the hill, commanding views eastwards over Needles Eye and southwards over the River Tweed and onwards to the Cheviots.
An oval-shaped prehistoric enclosure had been identified from cropmarks seen on aerial photographs in the fields above the Needles Eye cliffs. (Image 1 left column) The enclosure, bisected by the East Coast mainline railway, forms one of a number of possible prehistoric enclosures in the wider Berwick area, although relatively few have been investigated through archaeological excavation. The planned extension of the industrial estate at North Road would certainly impact upon at least part of the enclosure and, therefore, the Borough Council funded a programme of archaeological works to investigate the site ahead of the construction works.
Although approximately only 10% of the enclosure was available for investigation - the remainder lying to the east of the mainline railway - the excavation revealed significant evidence of Iron Age activity and suggested two distinct phases of occupation, the first enclosed within the boundary ditches of the enclosure, the second, an unenclosed phase which continued after the enclosure ditches had fallen into disuse. An important assemblage of finds was also recovered at the site, including one of the largest assemblages of Iron Age tradition pottery recovered to date from a site in Northumberland and the largest and earliest assemblage of ceramic associated with salt processing (known as briquetage) from the region.
The enclosed settlement
The excavation revealed a series of substantial ditches, which would have formed the boundary of the enclosure as identified on the aerial photographs. (Images 2 & 3) The ditches measured up to 3m wide and over 1m deep and generally had broad 'V-shaped' profiles. Iron Age pottery in the ditches was of a type associated with domestic activity, suggesting that the features formed a defensive barrier around a settlement. Pottery of this date is generally scarce on sites in the Tyne-Forth region (although is rarely completely absent) and is not always closely dateable. However, a radiocarbon date was obtained from food residue on one of the sherd, suggesting that it had been used between 380-500 BC, effectively providing a date for the enclosure. This would place the origin of the enclosure within the earlier Iron Age for North East England.
Image 2: Enclosure ditch being excavated.
Image 3: Enclosure ditch terminal (scale 2m).
Two entrances into the enclosure were identified within the excavation area, there were almost certainly others around its circuit, beyond the limit of excavation. In the northernmost of the two entrances, there was evidence that the enclosure ditches had been re-dug on at least five occasions. On each occasion the ditch had almost completely silted-up before being re-defined, probably due to the site being abandoned on a regular basis. It is possible that the enclosure was not inhabited on a year round basis and may have been a seasonal or intermittent camp, with ditches silting-up during periods of abandonment.
During the later phases of the enclosure, a substantial outlying ditch was added to the northern entrance, extending away from the enclosure. It was notable that the fills of this ditch were largely sterile, containing no pottery or charcoal, in contrast to those within the main circuit of the enclosure. This is probably because the outlying ditch extended away from the settlement area within the main enclosure. The outlying ditch could have formed an annexe around a further area of settlement but was more likely added for the control of livestock. Its addition appears to have coincided with the culmination of successive attempts at widening the northern entrance, which had originally been rather narrow, probably too narrow to allow livestock to be easily driven through. The outlying ditch was therefore perhaps added to allow livestock to be directed into the entrance against the outlying ditch.
No direct evidence was encountered of domestic activity within the enclosure during this phase and it is likely that such evidence exists beyond the limit of the excavation area.
Unenclosed settlement
When the enclosure fell into possibly permanent disuse, activity at the site continued nevertheless. A number of features within the area previously internal to the enclosure are likely to have originated during an unenclosed phase of settlement post-dating usage of the enclosure.
A large 'hollow' was recorded a short distance inside the northern enclosure entrance. Although originally a natural feature, it had certainly been modified and then utilised, probably as it afforded shelter from the elements. A number of features, including gullies and pits, had been cut into its base and the feature as a whole had been significantly altered by the excavation of a ditch around the perimeter of its base. This would have transformed the sides of the hollow from gentle to steeply sloping and would have effectively made the feature into a substantial obstacle which, due to its position, would have inhibited use of the nearby enclosure entrance. On this basis, alterations to the hollow and the northern enclosure entrance are unlikely to have been contemporary.
Other features likely to post-date the enclosure included two wide, shallow pits filled with stone, which may represent collapsed structures. (Image 4) A third, similar feature was revealed in the base of the aforementioned hollow. A radiocarbon date obtained from charcoal recovered from one of the pits produced a date of 170-380BC and it is suggested that the enclosure had fallen out of use by this date, with settlement at the site continuing in the unenclosed form. Further pits were assigned to this unenclosed phase and include a number of shallow, clay-lined pits or basins. (Image 5) Part of a cobbled yard surface was also revealed, extending beyond the limit of excavation. There was no evidence of houses at the site during this unenclosed phase, although the presence of domestic type pottery suggests that settlement continued, probably beyond the limit of excavation.
Image 4: Stone lined feature, possibly related to saltmaking (scale 2m)
Shallow pit being excavated.
Industry
An assemblage of distinctive pottery, known as briquetage, was recovered from a number of features and deposits associated with the abandonment of the enclosure and the unenclosed phase of settlement. Briquetage was used in the processing and transport of salt and its presence indicates the use of salt at the site. Salt was often traded within briquetage vessels during the Iron Age and occasional fragments of briquetage are found at sites from the period across the North-East of England. However, the quantity of material at this site suggests that production or processing of salt was being undertaken, in addition to trade. Further evidence for salt production is provided by the presence of two possible rods within the briquetage assemblage. Such rods have been directly associated with salt production in the Lincolnshire Fens, where they are likely to have been used to secure containers
during the evaporation stage of the salt making process. Numerous fragments of pottery were also recovered which had been affected by exposure to salt and these may have also been associated with the salt processing industry.
Given this evidence, the location of the Needles Eye site, atop sheer cliffs, is intriguing, since there is (and almost certainly was during the Iron Age) no easy access to the sea from the site. Transport of sea water up the cliffs to the site for evaporation would have been laborious and inefficient and it is perhaps likely that a two stage process would have been in operation to avoid the transport of large quantities of water to the site. For example, primary evaporation of seawater may have been undertaken at sea level, close to the shore, with semi-processed, wet salt then being transported to the site for refining or drying. The possible collapsed stone structures within shallow pits and the clay-lined pits or basins encountered at the site could have been part of the refinement/drying process.
The evidence for of salt processing at Needles Eye is of considerable significance. A tradition of salt processing along the eastern seaboard of northern England has been suspected for some time, although no evidence of it has come to light so far north until these investigations.
Why did ancient settlers occupy this particular location?
At first sight, the Needles Eye enclosure appears to have been located in a rather unfavourable position. The enclosure ditches suggest defence was a priority for the people occupying the enclosure, although this particular location has few apparent defensive advantages. It was overlooked from the west, where the ground rises up steadily towards Halidon Hill. The whole of the interior of the enclosure could be viewed from ground less than 100m away and, although situated on a slightly raised plateau, there are numerous, more easily defensible, hillocks in the immediate area. The nature of the underlying ground may be the answer. The majority of the wider area is poorly drained, with heavy clay soils lying on clay rich sub-soils. However, the small plateau on which the enclosure was sited has a sandy free draining sub-soil and it seems probable that this was an important attraction to settlers,
irrespective of its generally poor strategic location.
How did the Iron Age occupants of the site live?
No traces of houses were revealed during the excavation, possibly because they were located beyond the limits of the excavation area. However, artefacts and environmental material in samples recovered from the site have given some insight into the subsistence patterns of the Needles Eye community.
One particular finding of note were the large quantities of limpet shell recovered from ditch fills, indicating that the inhabitants utilised the coastal resources as a source of food. Fragments of fish bone were also recovered from Iron Age features and fish may have formed an important part of the diet.
Animal bone was generally poorly preserved at the site, although preservation was better where bone had lain in close, physical association with limpet shells. As ditches had seemingly been dug to control the passage of animals, livestock probably played a relatively important role in the lives of the Iron Age community and meat probably formed a substantial component of the diet.
Fragments of rotary quernstones, used for milling grain, within features of the unenclosed phase of settlement, demonstrate that cereal crops formed part of the subsistence economy at Needles Eye. Environmental samples also indicate that cereals, mainly barley with some wheat, played a part in the diet at the site, although it is uncertain to what extent these arrived through trade or were farmed by the inhabitants. Foraged, wild plants, such as hazelnuts, were also recovered from the site in small quantities.
The inhabitants at Needles Eye would therefore appear to have had a fairly mixed diet, including meat, cereals and seafood, supplemented perhaps by foraged food.
Finds
Iron Age pottery is generally scarce on sites in the North-East of England and the assemblage of pottery recovered from the Needles Eye enclosure is highly significant. A total of 152 sherds of Iron Age tradition pottery were recovered along with 90 sherds from ceramic containers used to dry and transport salt (known as briquetage). This is one of the largest ceramic assemblages dating to the Iron Age recovered from a site in Northumberland and it represents the earliest evidence for salt processing in the county and is the largest assemblage of briquetage.
The ceramic assemblage has the potential to provide considerable further information regarding trade links between the Needles Eye community and other Iron Age groups. It may also provide information about links between salt processing communities elsewhere along the coast.
A number of quernstones were recovered from Iron Age ditches and re-used in later features as building stone. (Image 6) Although these prove that cereal grain was being processed at the site, it is uncertain whether grain was grown as a crop at Needles Eye or whether it arrived at the site through trade.
Quernstone being excavated in enclosure ditch
Other stone objects found during the excavation include spindle whorls used during the spinning of wool and a slate ring which most likely dates to the early Roman period. Fragments of two glass bangles may also date to this later period, along with a single, very small sherd of Roman Samian ware.
A post-excavation assessment report on the work on the Needles Eye enclosure was submitted to Northumberland County Council and Berwick Borough Council earlier this year.
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