Pits from two foundation periods

Abstract

Sarup. Two pits from two foundation periods

In Sarup, south-western Funen, a large fortified camp of the Funnel Beaker culture is currently under excavation, and has already been mentioned in KUML 1973/1974 (1). The investigations have so far revealed two phases of fortification. The oldest fortified structure, which encloses an area of about 4 hectares, runs north-south and consists of a 250m long palisade ditch, in front of which there is a double system of rampart ditches interrupted at intervals by causeways. This oldest system is dated from finds from the bottom of the rampart ditches and in the palisade ditch to the transition between Early and Middle Neolithic Funnel Beaker culture. The younger system of fortifications runs almost east-west over the first (2). The fortification consisted here of merely a double row of rampart ditches, interrupted like their predecessors by causeways. This system is tentatively dated to Middle Neolithic, Period II, and the fortified area is only half the size of the earlier one, about 2 hectares.

It is remarkable that some of the rampart ditches have been filled up in several stages, showing a series of culture layers with artefacts, separated by sterile sand (3). It is thus possible to distinguish several settlement phases, the relative dating of which is apparent from the stratigraphy.

By means of this stratification it has been possible in one ditch alone to distinguish four culture layers presumably representing a similar number of building phases (4), which are now being sought inside the fortified area. So far only a small area has been exposed by means of south-north trial trenches and a surface excavation at the northern part of the site, but it is the intention to expose the whole area during the coming years in order to reveal the character of this so far unique structure.

Two pits of many located at the southern end of the structure were investigated in 1974 (5,6). These two pits have a form and content which justify their presentation now. The small pit (A 212) contained a large funnel beaker containing other vessels which were contemporaneous with the finds at the bottom of the rampart ditches in the oldest fortification system, and the large pit (A 258) almost exclusively contained pottery wasters contemporaneous with the next oldest layer in the rampart ditches (7) and with the younger fortification system. It is hoped that in time a clearly defined phase division of the Sarup find will be possible, related to the stratigraphy of the rampart ditches.

In the following each of the two pits with contents will be described. In the appendix p. 33 there is also a catalogue in Danish of all the vessels found. The pottery is shown at the scale of 1:3, apart from the vessels no. a, 6-9 and 16-29, which are shown 1:5.

THE SMALL PIT (A 212)

The large vessel filled practically the whole pit (fig. 1) (8) and proved during the subsequent excavation and reconstruction to be a complete funnel beaker (fig. 2) (vessel a, see Appendix). An excavation of this vessel exposed, at a level with the neck, sherds of three other vessels (d-f) (fig. 3), 9 single sherds and a flint chip. Further excavation of the large vessel revealed surfaces of a decorated funnel beaker (vessel b (fig. 2), and a lugged beaker (vessel c) (fig. 2). In addition there were som few burnt bones and a considerable amount of carbonized corn (9).

The large vessel with its content of a further complete vessel, 4 fragmented vessels, 9 sherds, bones and corn, constitutes an integral find deposited as a single unit (12). Why it was permitted to remain or why it was deposited is guesswork. It may be a storage vessel, the contents of which were never used; but there is much to suggest that it was an offering of some kind.

The finds from the small pit (A 212):

The large vessel (vessel a) (fig. 2) is a funnel beaker which on its shape should be referred to Becker 's type C (13), but on its rim ornament of horizontal triple chevrons should be assigned to Becker's type D. On the neck is the rather unusual ornament of vertical chevrons. The small funnel beaker (vessel b) (fig. 2), which like all the following vessels lay inside the large one (vessel a), must on the evidence of shape and decoration be referred to Becker's C-type (20). The lugged vessel (vessel c) (fig. 2), of which only part is preserved, has two lugs placed just beneath the rim. The beaker has the same ornament on the neck as on the belly, of large chevron bands executed in wrapped cord. Parallels to this beaker are found in Schwabedissen's weakly defined Fuchsberg phase (21). The remaining vessels (d-f) (fig. 3) comprise i.a. an open bowl decorated with a horizontal wavy line under the rim and two funnel beakers.

Dating of the pit:

On the evidence of vessels a-c the pit must be given a dating synchronous with the Fuchsberg phase, which is placed late in the Early Neolithic (24). It should be pointed out, however, that the large funnel beaker (vessel a) (fig. 2) is of the D­type dated by Becker to the Middle Neolithic (25, 26). The Fuchsberg phase must be considered as transitional between Early and Middle Neolithic. A C14 dating of the carbonized corn yielded a date of 2630± 70 B.C. (K-2628) (81).

THE LARGE PIT (A 258)

This pit had an elongated oval shape, 118x 190 cm, and was dug about 30 cm into the subsoil sand. (fig. 4). The bottom 6 cm consisted of a thick, sticky, black culture layer containing 10 small burnt bone fragments, 1 charred bone implement (fig. 18), a couple of hazelnut shells, a few cobbles and a quern rubber. Above this was an up to 24 cm thick layer consisting of a compact pottery material (fig. 4). In the south-eastern half of the pit, where the pottery was not so evident, was a layer with large fragtments of clay daubing. The pottery layer comprised 2434 sherds of at least 44 vessels (vessels 1-44). In addition it contained a large fragment of a thinbutted axe (fig. 17), a smaller polished chip, a B-blade and 8 pieces of flint swarf, 5 of which are fire-cracked. This pit differs from the large number of rubbish pits and culture levels in the ditches (29) so far investigated in Sarup in that there are hardly any flint chips, which predominate in other pits. It also differs in that a large part of the pottery consists of wasters, in some cases so deformed and washed out, that they were impossible to recover. This pit with its large pile of pottery is interpreted as the remains of a single abortive firing, which probably occurred in the vicinity.

The finds from the large pit (A 258):

The pit contained 2434 sherds, which may be assigned to 44 vessels (see Appendix). The vessels are described according to the system worked out for the treatment of the Sarup pottery, which is most often highly fragmented. This system is based on a division of pots into un- and polysegmented vessels. To the un­segmented vessels belong the bowls (vessels 1-9) (fig. 5-7). Morphologically, these have a rim diameter which is 1.5 times the height of the bowl and a narrowing towards the base, which has a diameter of 113 of the rim (37). Five of the bowls are decorated. The outer surface of these bowls consists ornamentally of a horizontal field under the rim and vertical bands down the side, alternately plain.

The polysegmented vessels are divided into neck, belly and often in between overbelly or shoulder (33). They are then divided again according to whether and where there are one or more marked transitions between these segments.

Vessels 10-12 (fig. 8) belong to the group with a marked transition between neck and shoulder, a group to which funnel beakers, for instance, also belong. These three vessels differ from one another.

Three vessels 13-15 (fig. 9) have a marked junction between belly and shoulder and between shoulder and neck and therefore belong to the group termed shouldered vessels. All three are decorated.

Vessels 16-20 (fig. 10-11) are allotted to the group with a sharp transition between shoulder and belly. Four of the vessels have a conical neck (16-19). Vessels 17-19 are large, decorated vessels with the greatest width at the shoulder/belly junction of 39-45 cm. The height is between 34 and 38½ cm. The vessels are decorated with applied mouldings which may have the form of a chevron, festoons or a row of vertical lines. Vessel 20 differs from the other vessels in having two sets of opposed lugs with vertical perforations.

To the group of vessels without sharp junctions are allotted vessels 21-29 (fig. 12-13), which are again sub-divided according to whether the neck has a concave or conical form. The vessels have a rim diameter of about 20 cm and their greatest width at the belly. Only two of these vessels are decorated (no. 21 and 28). The ornament is a stab row below the rim.

No. 30 (fig. 14) is a convex open bowl with a foot with convex sides.

Vessel no. 31 (fig. 14) is cylindrical and is of a type which is not common in the Danish islands (60).

The remaining vessels (no. 32-44) (fig. 15-16) are in each case represented by only one or a few sherds. It is not certain whether they belong to the above­mentioned abortive firing or whether they have accidentally found their way into the pit. Two sherds (vessels 42 and 44) (fig. 16) seem subjectively to derive from an earlier settlement. Of these remaining vessels, no. 32-35 (fig. 15) can be assigned to the group of clay discs. One of these is decorated with a row of cylinder stabs along the rim (66).

In addition to pottery the pit contained the remains of a quern rubber with a slightly convex surface. There are also remains of a fire-fractured flint axe (fig. 17) of the thin-butted type with polished raised face and slightly polished, convex narrow side (76). Finally, there are the remains of a small bone chisel (fig. 18) found beneath the pottery. The bone chisel is thought to be a decoration tool.

The pit pottery exhibits a general similarity to the pottery from the Blandebjerg find (72), which is dated to Middle Neolithic Period II.

In addition to the functional difference between the two pits, where the small one must be a storage or votive pit, while the large one is probably a refuse pit for wasters, there is also a chronological difference. The small pit is dated to the transition between Early Neolithic and Middle Neolithic or the first phase of the Middle Neolithic, depending on the definition of the beginning of the period, whereas the large pit should be assigned to Middle Neolithic Period Il.

In the rampart ditches each of these periods is represented by almost identical pottery. The oldest is found in the bottom layers of the first established ditch row, and the small pit thus represents the earliest period of fortification. The material corresponding to that from the large pit occurs in the ditches of the later fortification, however, and also in the upper layers of the ditches of the earliest, at a period when these were almost completely covered.

The finds presented here are naturally too small to give a complete picture of the pottery material from the various periods, but as excavation progresses, there is reason to hope that there will through the correspondences between the stratigraphy of the ditches and the finds from pits in the area limited by the fortifications be found an almost complete series of the pottery of the period in its various varieties within closely defined periods. This will provide an excellent opportunity to determine the age of other finds and not least to understand the character and purpose of the fortification.

Niels H. Andersen