Throckley, pit containing Late Bronze Age pottery and a flint

A small bowl-like pit was found in an evaluation trench at Throckley Middle School in July 2002. It measured 60cm x 50cm and was 20cm deep. Its primary fill was greenish sandy silt with flecks of charcoal. An assemblage of Late Bronze Age pottery was recovered from this deposit along with a flint tool. The 18 sherds of pottery were examined by Steve Willis of Durham University, who concluded that the fabric is consistent with material found at Hastings Hill in Sunderland. The surface is orange brown and the interior black. No trace of sooting. No trace of decoration. The material is from a handmade vessel, probably a large jar-shaped vessel or cauldron. Its diameter was circa 350 metres. The flint flake or thermal pebble fragment was examined by Barry John Bishop of Durham University. It is of matt, very light grey, cherty flint. It measures 40 metres x 29 metres x 13 metres. The scalar flaking or retouch is rather crude but suggests that it was used as a convex scraper-type tool. It is suggestive of a later prehistoric date, probably post-dating the EBA and certainly compatible with the LBA pottery recovered from the same pit. It is considered probable that this is an isolated feature, possibly not associated with extensive settlement remains.