During the past five years the Bestwall Quarry Archaeology Project had metamorphosed from a fairly leisurely summer excavation session followed by autumn post excavation work to a year-round fieldwork programme. Undergraduate placements gave students an insight into the practicalities of large-scale site work and in return provided much needed extra help. The project also welcomed other volunteers who brought enthusiasm and dedication.

The 1989 Wessex Archaeology evaluation had indicated the presence of a possible round house in the north west corner of Field E. In the depths of winter a small area was stripped to find this structure and after much work a circular gully was exposed. As the remainder of the site was cleared other associated features were located. The round house was sited in the corner of a prehistoric field, which was delineated by north-south, and east-west ditches and immediately north of this was a small urnfield cemetery. The cremations, however, had long since been destroyed by ploughing and only fragments of pottery and charcoal remained. Of enigmatic significance was a hearth and a complete quern. Copious pottery fragments dated these features to the Middle Bronze Age.

One hundred metres to the south was an area of contemporary occupation consisting of postholes and a gully indicating the presence of a hut. Close by were two rubbish pits with large deposits of pottery. In one of the pits were the remains of an almost complete bucket urn, which the excavators initially thought was a modern drainpipe!

The first evidence for early Iron Age activity came from pottery found in pits in Field P.

A further 127 charcoal-filled pits were investigated and as before were randomly distributed all over the two fields. Several overlay earlier Middle Bronze Age features, indicating a long time span for activities associated with this type of feature.

By the end of October, work was almost complete, however, one of the last features to be investigated produced intriguing finds. A small insignificant pit contained some large fragments of Early Iron Age pottery together with a dozen or so pieces of worked flint in the form of small narrow blades. The flint was identified as Mesolithic - rare finds on any site. Further careful investigation produced large numbers of flint, and a strategy was devised for investigating this remarkable area. It was obvious that excavation would have to continue throughout the winter.

Those involved:

• CAMAS Aggregates Doug Barrowman (Area Manager), Peter Stone (Quarry Manager)
• Bestwall Quarry Archaeology Project Lilian Ladle (Project Director), Carol O'Hara, Janet Bartlet
• Other Volunteers DaveGreenhalf, Justin Travers, Karen Wright (W&DA&LHS), Chris Copson, Rachel Reason, Wesley Keir, Shanon Baker, Gareth Thomas, Delia Sargent, Simon Cleggitt, Sarah Carr (Bournemouth University)
• Metal Detecting Dr Ken Wheatley, John Hunter, Sid Cross
• IT Input Dr Mike Ladle, Dan Ladle

Advisers
• Prehistoric Pottery Dr Ann Woodward - Birmingham University
• Worked Flint Julian Richards

• Consultant Peter Cox (AC Archaeology)