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Historiography & Fieldwork: Wyman Abbott's Great Fengate Ring-Ditch (a Lost Manuscript Found)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 October 2018

Christopher Evans  and
Grahame Appleby
Christopher Evans
Affiliation:
Cambridge Archaeological Unit, Dept. Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Downing St, Cambridge CEl 3DZ
Grahame Appleby
Affiliation:
Cambridge Archaeological Unit, Dept. Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Downing St, Cambridge CEl 3DZ
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Abstract

This paper presents findings within Wyman Abbott's long-missing notebooks and other allied archival sources relating to his Fengate fieldwork during the early decades of the 20th century. Largely focusing upon its monuments, we here publish a manuscript concerned with his extraordinary, multiple-interment 'great' ringditch which is otherwise known from a paragraph's description in Hawkes and Fell's Antiquaries Jourual paper of 1945. Not only do these sources contribute to the further reconstruction of Fengate's renowned Bronze Age landscape, but, it is argued, the centralised multiple-lineage interment evident at his main ring-ditch site may well reflect upon the social organisation which also gave rise to Pryor's equally 'special' Flag Fen platform.

Résumé

Cette étude présente les découvertes des carnets de Wyman Abbott, perdus depuis longtemps, et d’autres sources d’archives associées ayant rapport à son arpentage de Fengate pendant les premières décennies du 20ème siècle. Essentiellement centré sur ses monuments, nous publions ici un manuscript qui s’intéresse à son extraordinaire grand fossé annulaire à enterrements multiples qu’on connaît par ailleurs par la description qu’en font Hawkes et Fell dans un paragraphe d’un article du Journal des Antiquaires de 1945. Non seulement ces sources contribuent à un avancement dans la reconstruction du célèbre paysage de l’âge du bronze de Fengate, mais, propose-t-on, l’enterrement centralisé de multiples lignées, évident sur le site du principal fossé annulaire pourrait bien refléter l’organisation sociale qui a également donné naissance à la plateforme Flag Fen de Pryor tout aussi ‘spéciale’.

Zusammenfassung

Dieser Artikel präsentiert Befunde und anderes damit assoziiertes Archivmaterial, die mit seiner Feldarbeit in den frühen Jahrzehnten des 20. Jahrhunderts in Fengate zusammenhängen, und aus den lange verloren geglaubten Feldtagebüchern von Wyman Abbott stammen. Wir konzentrieren uns dabei weitgehend auf seine Bodendenkmäler, und veröffentlichen in diesem Beitrag ein Manuskript, das sich mit seinem außergewöhnlichen, ‘großen’ Ringgraben mit Mehrfachbestattung beschäftigt, der sonst nur in einer kurzen Beschreibung in Hawkes und Fells Artikel im Antiquaries Journal von 1945 erwähnt ist. Diese Quellen tragen nicht nur zur weiterführenden Rekonstruktion der bekannten bronzezeitlichen Landschaft von Fengate bei, sondern liefern auch neue Argumente für die These, dass die zentrale Mehrfachbestattung mit mehreren Abstammungslinien aus seinem Hauptringgraben sehr wahrscheinlich die soziale Organisation widerspiegelt, die wir auch in Pryors ‘speziellen’ Flag Fen Plattform sehen können.

Résumen

Este trabajo presenta los hallazgos contenidos en unos cuadernos de Wyman Abbott que habían desaparecido hace tiempo, y en otras fuentes de archivo relacionadas. En ellos se relata su trabajo de campo en Fengate durante las primeras décadas del siglo XX. Centrado principalmente en sus monumentos, publicamos aquí un manuscrito que se ocupa de su extraordinario, gran foso anular con varios enterramientos, conocido también a través de su descripción en un párrafo de un artículo de Hawkes y Fell aparecido en el Antiquaries Journal en 1945. Estas fuentes no sólo contribuyen a la mejor reconstrucción del famoso paisaje de la Edad del Bronce de Fengate, sino que también sugieren que el enterramiento centralizado y de múltiple-linaje, evidente en este yacimiento de foso anular, bien pudo repercutir en la organización social que también dio origen a la igualmente “especial” plataforma de Flag Fen de Pryor.

Type
Research Article
Information
Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society , Volume 74 , 2008 , pp. 171 - 192
Copyright
Copyright © The Prehistoric Society 2008

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