Peterborough Ware from West Amesbury Farm, Wiltshire

Small-scale archaeological evaluation at West Amesbury Farm, just east of Stonehenge, revealed five Middle Neolithic pits which produced sherds of Peterborough Ware in the Fengate sub-style. Representing some thirty-six vessels this is the largest assemblage of such pottery from Wessex. An area disturbed by badgers, including a linear feature, in close proximity to the pits yielded further sherds of Peterborough Ware in both Mortlake and Fengate sub-styles. Petrographic and organic residue analyses have elucidated, respectively, likely sources of raw materials used in pot-making and the uses to which the vessels were put, including the first evidence from organic residue analysis for reuse of a broken pot in food preparation. Scientific dating, including Bayesian modelling, sets the assemblage in its chronological context. The pottery is discussed within its site, local and regional context highlighting the importance of decorative technique in discriminating between otherwise stylistically similar assemblages, particularly in the Fengate sub-style. The synthesis of specialist analytical results from this assemblage allows important conclusions to be drawn about the lifecycle of Peterborough Ware at the site, and the care taken in its selective deposition.