Prehistoric activity at Worthy Down, Winchester

Oxford Archaeology carried out a programme of archaeological investigation between 2014 and 2016 at Worthy Down Camp near Winchester. Apart from worked flint of possible Mesolithic date, the earliest archaeological evidence belonged to the late Neolithic period in the form of a pit, which contained finds that appeared to consist of mixed midden material relating to everyday subsistence and a specialised focus on pig-keeping. Two pits were dated to the middle Bronze Age. One pit contained the remains of at least five pottery vessels in Deverel-Rimbury style. The results of organic residue analysis suggest that some of the vessels had been used to process dairy products. Occupation resumed in the late Bronze Age after a hiatus. The features assigned to this period were dispersed but relate to settlement and farming activity. Parts of a large ditch shown by cropmarks to extend for several kilometres were uncovered in the excavation. Dating evidence suggests that the ditch continued to receive material into the late Roman period or beyond, but it is possible that the ditch was originally dug as a boundary or trackway in the Iron Age or earlier.