Aerial view showing cropmarks of West Plain henge. Photo © Tim Gates.

[NT 94053308] Henge. (1)

Class II henge monument discovered by Dr J K St Joseph, consisting of an oval bank with internal ditch and opposing entrances. The diameter of the bank, which is best preserved on the west is 310ft. Inside, the ditch appears as a shallow depression with a depression in height between ditch and bank of about 2ft. Aerial photographs show two narrow ditches, forming a droveway which passes through the entrances of the site. The ditches are not visible on the ground, but must be of later date than the henge. (2)(3)

Surveyed at 1:2500. Ploughing has considerably reduced the remains which are now barely discernible. (4)

As described. Published survey (25 inch) revised. (5)

Sub-oval enclosure, known from crop marks and formerly surviving as a slight earthwork. The external bank has been destroyed on the east by a road and appears to have been damaged by quarry pits in the north-east sector (cropmark splodges). Measures c.63-68m internally, ditch c.4-5m wide, causeways c.16m wide. Classic henge. (6)

Henge at West Plain tested by resistivity survey in 1978. Results awaited. (7)

Work at the Coupland enclosure by Clive Waddington has involved survey, soil phosphate survey and trial trenching. The work was undertaken to try and establish the monument's date and function and test the hypothesis that it may have been a stock enclosure and droveway.
Survey revealed the outer bank still visible as an upstanding earthwork although suffering plough damage. A trench 23m by 13m was opened (26/8 - 8/9/1995) across the north entrance in order to examine the ditch terminals of the henge and the ditches of the cursus or droveway. The 'droveway' ditches contained a central slot interpreted as a palisade slot for a low fence. Two pits were found within the entrance of the henge and are interpreted as possible gatepost settings. The 'droveway' ditches and shallow pits within and adjacent to it, yielded sherds of Grimston ware early Neolithic pottery. As the droveway is later than the enclosure, the enclosure appears to be earlier than the late Neolithic/early Bronze Age date normally ascribed to it.
Phosphate analysis showed little difference in the inorganic phosphate count across the droveway compared to areas outside it. Results of radiocarbon dating are awaited to secure an early Neolithic date. If the dating is correct and the monument is still interpreted as a henge, its function is still unclear. (8)(9)

The results of radiocarbon dates from the 1995 excavation were 3000+/- 70bc and 3090+/-70bc, calibrated to c.3800-4000BC. These dates provide a construction date of the monument complex and show the monument to be the earliest of its type in Britain. (10)

Two further radiocarbon dates have been obtained from two of the rubbish pits within the enclosure. The pits contained Grimston Ware pottery, charcoal and hazelnut shells and are interpreted as the truncated remains of domestic rubbish pits, into which waste from cooking was buried. The two dates are 5090+/-60BP (OxA-6832) and 5060+/-60BP (OxA-6833) which calibrate to c.3880BC making them marginally earlier than the enclosure dates. This appears to confirm the conclusion that the pits relate to a slightly earlier Early Neolithic temporary settlement on the site which was later occupied by the enclosure. The original samples taken for phosphate analysis proved to be contaminated and a fresh sample was taken from near Cheviot View Cottage; the results show a significant rise in phosphate counts from the area of the droveway. This supports the claim that the droveway was used, probably amongst other things, for the movement of livestock. (11)

A Class II henge stands on nearly level ground at 45m OD. The monument consists of a massive, sub-circular ditch, up to 10m broad, and measures 75m in diameter from NW-SE by 70m SW-NE. The circuit of the ditch is broken by opposed entrance causeways, 15m wide, in the NNW and SSE sectors. Outside the ditch on the N side are what appear to be two large pits or gravel quarries. On some air photographs (eg CUCAP BDE 37-8), the course of an external bank can just be made out as a soilmark.

An `avenue' or droveway (SMR 2039), here marked by two very slight side ditches, runs through the henge on an N-S alignment. Where it passes through the two entrances, there is a perceptible narrowing of the side ditches which can most readily be explained on the assumption that the `avenue' post-dates the henge. (12)

A hand drawn sketch of the site by Henry MacLauchlan exists in the form of an annotated extract taken from the first edition of the OS 6' map (1866). Here the site is shown as a double pecked ring, 90m in diameter, accompanied by the legend `Camp'. The extract has been bound into a copy of MacLauchlan's Notes not included in the memoirs already published on Roman Roads in Northumberland belonging to the Newcastle Society of Antiquaries. In the accompanying printed text the site is referred to as Meldon Camp. (13)

Full description of excavation in detail. (14)

Environmental analaysis of bulk samples of sediment showed hazelnut shell fragments dominated all three samples. Several bundred were retrieved from a domestic pit (027) dated to 5090+/-60bp. Of greater interest are remains of emmer wheat and barley, which although not abundant or especially well preserved, do demonstrate the local processing and use of this cultivated cereal. The presence of domesticated cerals is an exciting find for this site. Radiocarbon dates are early (around 5000 bp range, calibrating to about 3800-4000 BC) and cover a period often accepted as simply non-agricultural. (15)

NT 940 330. Site of henge 1000yds (910m) SE of Milfield. Scheduled No ND/505. (16a)

Additional bibliography (16b-c)

Aerial photograph references. (3, 16d-af)

The site has been mapped from the air as part of the Milfield Geoarchaeology Project. (See archive object MD000295) (16)

Is referred to by HER 2039. (16)