 |
| Image: a stone axe from Yorkshire collected by Pitt-Rivers before 1884 (Pitt Rivers Museum accession number 1884.123.326) |
General Pitt-Rivers' English Archaeology, c.1851-1881
In April, Beth
Asbury joined the Excavating Pitt-Rivers project to work on its next phase, which is funded by ESRC for one year and is run in partnership with the Portable Antiquities Scheme at the British Museum.
Beth has a BA in Ancient History and Archaeology and an MPhil in Egyptology. She worked for the Institute for Archaeologists and the Egyptian Ministry of State for Antiquities before to coming to the Pitt Rivers Museum. Beth will be building upon the work of project researchers Carlotta Gardner and Judy White, consolidating the information known so far about the English artefacts collected by Pitt-Rivers before 1881, and sharing it in a two-way exchange with Historic Environment Records officers, with the wider archaeological community, and with the public.
Beth has a BA in Ancient History and Archaeology and an MPhil in Egyptology. She worked for the Institute for Archaeologists and the Egyptian Ministry of State for Antiquities before to coming to the Pitt Rivers Museum. Beth will be building upon the work of project researchers Carlotta Gardner and Judy White, consolidating the information known so far about the English artefacts collected by Pitt-Rivers before 1881, and sharing it in a two-way exchange with Historic Environment Records officers, with the wider archaeological community, and with the public.
Approximately 10,986
archaeological artefacts have now been identified in the collections of the Pitt Rivers Museum as
having been collected, excavated or otherwise acquired by the General from at
least 269 individual named sites. What is emerging is a more picture from the c. 64 English excavation sites identified by Mark Bowden in his pioneering study of Pitt-Rivers' archaeological activities more than 20 years ago (1991: 57-94). Building on Mark's excellent study, we are using museum artefacts themselves as primary evidence of the General's archaeological activities.
 |
| Image: Map showing Pitt-Rivers’ archaeological sites up to c. 1881 as identified by Mark Bowden (1991: 59, 68). Our project is expanding by more than 200 the number of sites shown on this map. |
Our provisional
list of sites is below, ordered by English region and ceremonial county. We are now seeking to add to our understanding of these sites - their precise locations, other antiquarian activity in the areas, etc. Created through detailed collections-based research –
mainly site names, dates and other information physically written on objects –
the list is a significant expansion of our previous understanding of the
English archaeological activities of Pitt-Rivers. In the coming months, in knowledge
exchange partnerships with Historic Environment Records and the British
Museum’s Portable Antiquities Scheme, Beth will be adding detail to our
understanding of each of these sites and the circumstances of antiquarian
investigation of them.
At some sites, Pitt-Rivers actually excavated or collected objects during field walking. At others, the fieldwork may have been done by other antiquarians or others. Our project aims to add to our understanding of the assembling of this national collection during the 1850s, 1860s and 1870s, during the earliest years of Pitt-Rivers' archaeological career. In many cases, the only evidence of Pitt-Rivers' engagement with these sites is represented by the objects themselves - so we are undertaking a kind of archaeology of Pitt-Rivers' own fieldwork, looking outwards from the museum across the country.
At some sites, Pitt-Rivers actually excavated or collected objects during field walking. At others, the fieldwork may have been done by other antiquarians or others. Our project aims to add to our understanding of the assembling of this national collection during the 1850s, 1860s and 1870s, during the earliest years of Pitt-Rivers' archaeological career. In many cases, the only evidence of Pitt-Rivers' engagement with these sites is represented by the objects themselves - so we are undertaking a kind of archaeology of Pitt-Rivers' own fieldwork, looking outwards from the museum across the country.
If you are familiar
with the early archaeological investigations of any of the sites listed below,
and wish to contribute information to the project, please do send an e-mail to dan.hicks@prm.ox.ac.uk.
SOUTH-EAST ENGLAND
East Sussex and West Sussex
East
Sussex: Mount Caburn
East
Sussex: Ranscombe Camp
East
Sussex: Seaford
East
Sussex: Castle Hill Hillfort, Newhaven, Lewes
East
Sussex: “One mile west of Newhaven”, Lewes
East
Sussex: Plumpton Plain
East
Sussex: Mount Harry
East
Sussex: Southerham
East
Sussex: Newmarket Hill, Kingston near Lewes
East
Sussex: Telscombe
East
Sussex: Bishopstone
East
Sussex: Blackcap
East
Sussex: ‘Downs at Falmer’
East
Sussex: Southease [Southese]
East
Sussex: Hillfort near Bel Tour Lighthouse, Birling Gap and Beachy Head
East
Sussex: Seven Sisters
East
Sussex: Beachy Head
East
Sussex: Wealden
East
Sussex: Hollingbury Castle Camp Hillfort
East
Sussex: Long Barrow at Beacon Hill
East
Sussex: Sedlescombe Hoard
East
or West Sussex: South Downs
West
Sussex: Cissbury Ring
West
Sussex: Highdown Hill
West
Sussex: Forty Acre Farm
West
Sussex: Worthing
West
Sussex: Lancing
West
Sussex: Lancing Hill
West
Sussex: Black Burgh Barrow
West
Sussex: Chanctonbury Ring
West
Sussex: Wolstonbury Hill
West
Sussex: Bramber
Kent
Castle
Hill (Caesar’s Camp), Folkeston
East
Wear Bay
Brickearth
Pit at St Peter’s
Fieldwalking
near Broadstairs
Minster
in Thanet
Reculver
‘Pudding
Pan Rock’
Bigbury
Wood, Canterbury
Kit’s
Coty House
Chatham
Richborough
Castle
Hampton
on Sea, Herne Bay
Knockholt
Beeches, Sevenoaks
Kentish
Knock Buoy, Thames Estuary
Surrey
Postford
Farm
St
Martha’s Hill
Warren
Farm and St. Catherine’s Hill
White
Lane Farm
Whitmoor
Common
Merrow
Down
Peasmarsh
Stoke
Quarry
Stoke
Park
Guildford
New
Barn Farm
St.
Giles’s Church
Tangley
Farm, Guildford
Uplands
Reigate
Redhill,
Reigate
Wanborough
Manor
Chinthurst
Hill, Wonersh
Opposite Hampton Court Palace,
East Molesey
River
Thames at Chertsey, Runnymede
Oxfordshire
Standlake
Ditchley
Devil’s
Pool, Ditchley
Callowhill,
Stonesfield
Shipton-under-Wychwood
Dorchester
Dykes
Dorchester
on Thames
Sinodun
Hill Camp
Little
Wittenham
Long
Wittenham
79-84
High Street, Oxford
Wayland’s
Smithy, Ashbury
Hampshire
St
Catherine’s Hill Hillfort
South
Wonston Long Barrows, Winchester
South
Wonston
Andover
Weyhill,
Andover
Moody’s
Down Long Barrows
Barton
Cliff, Barton on Sea
Hayling
Island
Hill
Head, Stubbington
Southampton
Berkshire
Worlebury
Camp Hillfort
Kintbury
GREATER LONDON
London Wall
Gooch
and Cousens Wool Warehouse
London
Wall
Great
Winchester Street
Palaeolithic Material from the Thames Valley, West London
London
Borough of Ealing: Acton
London
Borough of Ealing: Acton Green
London
Borough of Ealing: Acton Main Line Railway Station
London
Borough of Ealing: Acton Village
London
Borough of Ealing: Brown’s Orchard
London
Borough of Ealing: Church Field
London
Borough of Ealing: Friar’s Place Lane
London
Borough of Ealing: Mill Hill
London
Borough of Ealing: Acton Station
London
Borough of Ealing: West Ealing (Ealing Dean)
London
Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham: East Acton
London
Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham: Brick Field at Shepherd's Bush
London
Borough of Lambeth: Clapham Rise
London
Borough of Wandsworth: Battersea Rise
“Thames
Valley”
Other Sites in the City of London
Holborn
Viaduct (EC1)
Smithfield
(EC1)
Bishopsgate
(EC2)
Broadgate
(EC2)
Tokenhouse
Yard, Lothbury (EC2)
Moorfields
(EC2)
Old
Jewry (EC2)
Mansion
House Street, Poultry (EC2)
Bartholomew
Lane (EC2)
Cripplegate,
London Wall (EC2)
Finsbury
Circus (EC2)
Lombard
Street (EC3)
Brewer’s
Quay, Lower Thames Street (EC3)
Minories
(EC3)
Birchin
Lane (EC3)
Cannon
Street (EC4)
Cannon
Street Station (EC4)
Bucklersbury
(EC4)
Clement’s
Lane (EC4)
Bell
Yard, Fleet Street (EC4)
Mansion
House (EC4)
Walbrook
(EC4)
Billingsgate
(E14)
Queenhithe
Dock, Thames Street (SE1)
Other sites in Greater London
London
Borough of Southwark: Southwark
London
Borough of Southwark: Railway Works, Southwark
London
Borough of Southwark: Southwark Street
London
Borough of Southwark: Borough High Street
London
Borough of Waltham Forest: Peat bog, Lee Valley, Walthamstow
London
Borough of Waltham Forest: Walthamstow
London
Borough of Camden: Queen Square
London
Borough of Camden: Lincoln’s Inn, Serle Street
London
Borough of Camden: British Museum
London
Borough of Camden: Grays Inn Road
London
Borough of Richmond: Hampton Court
London
Borough of Hounslow: Yeading Brook, Hounslow Heath
City
of Westminster: Charing Cross Station
London
Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham: Wormwood Scrubs
London
Borough of Barnet: Mill Hill
London
Borough of Croydon: Sanderstead
London
Borough of Hackney: Cesspool at Homerton
London
Borough of Wandsworth
River Thames in London
City
of London: Queenhithe Dock, Thames Street (SE1)
City
of London: Cannon Street Station (EC4)
London
Borough of Wandsworth: Battersea
London
Borough of Wandsworth: Wandsworth
London
Borough of Wandsworth: Old Swan Wharf
London
Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham: Hammersmith
London
Borough of Richmond: Hampton Court
London
Borough of Lambeth: Westminster Bridge
London
Borough of Southwark
London
Borough of Tower Hamlets: River Thames at Limehouse
YORKSHIRE AND THE HUMBER
North Yorkshire
Ganton
Wold
Ganton
Wold or Sherburn Wold
Willerby
Wold
Grimston
Moor
Weaverthorpe
Kirby
Grindalythe
Sherburn
Sleights,
Scarborough
Unnamed
house, Scarborough
Sharp
Howe
York
Richmond
Yorkshire
Wolds
East Riding of Yorkshire
Bridlington
Metlow
Hill Round Barrow, Bempton
Rudston
Fordon
North
Burton
North
Burton or East Burton
Langtoft
Wold
West Yorkshire
St
Helen’s Well, Thorp Arch
Breary
Marsh
EAST OF ENGLAND
Suffolk
Brandon
Icklingham
Warren
Hill
Mildenhall
Santon
Downham
Lakenheath
Elveden
Snape
Anglo-Saxon Cemetery
Aldeburgh
Hazelwood
Common, Aldeburgh
Hundred
River
River
Alde
Cretingham
Dunwich
Sutton
Westleton
West
Stow Anglo-Saxon Village
Lackford
Euston,
St Edmundsbury
Stanton,
St Edmundsbury
Wangford,
Waveney
Warren
Farm
Hoxne
Stonham
Aspal or Earl Stonham
Norfolk
Shrubhill
Farm Gravel Pits
Little
Ouse River Valley
Thetford
Grimes
Graves
Broomhill
Gravel Pit
Larling
Worstead
Common
Eaton,
Norwich
Trowse
Newton, Norwich
Bedfordshire
Maiden
Bower Hillfort
Bedford
Essex
Wallbury
Camp
Colchester
Pitchbury
Ramparts, Great Horkesley
Cambridgeshire
Swaffham
Prior or Swaffham Bulbeck
Wicken
Whittlesey,
Fenland
Hertfordshire
Unlocated
SOUTH-WEST
Dorset
Jordan
Hill, Weymouth
Weymouth
Portland
East
Burton
Wiltshire
Stonehenge
Unnamed
tumulus near Stonehenge
Milford
Hill, Salisbury
St
Andrew’s Church, Bemerton
High
Field, Salisbury
Roundway
Cranborne
Chase
Gloucestershire
Uley
Bury Hillfort
Fairford
Devon
Hopes
Nose, Torquay
Hawkchurch
Railway Ballast Pit
Guildhall,
Exmoor National Park
Grimspound,
Teinbridge
Spinsters
Rock, Drewsteignton
Somerset
Somerset:
Wookey Hole
Somerset:
West Buckland Bronze Hoard
Bath
and North-East Somerset: Little Solsbury Hill Fort
North
Somerset: Banwell Bone Cave
Cornwall
Lanyon
Quoit
Men-an-Tol
Chun
Quoit
Beacon
at Camborne
Trethery
Quoit, St Cleer
Merry
Maidens Stone Circle
NORTH-WEST
Cheshire
Alderley
Edge
Chester
Cumbria
Cliburn
Blencow
Beacon, Penrith
Wath,
Silloth
Longlands,
Hekset Newmarket
Ambleside,
Westmoreland
Merseyside
Calderstones Chambered Tomb,
Calderstones Park
WEST MIDLANDS
Shropshire
Wroxeter
Corvedale,
Much Wenlock
Petton
Shrewsbury
EAST MIDLANDS
Derbyshire
Miller’s Dale
Lincolnshire
Unnamed barrow(s)
Northamptonshire
Raunds or St.
Peter’s Church, Northampton
Reference
Bowden, M. 1991. Pitt Rivers: The Life and Archaeological Work of Lieutenant-General
Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt Rivers, DCL, FRS, FSA. Cambridge University
Press: Cambridge.