PRISSE-LA CHARRIERE
SEVENTH SEASON OF EXCAVATIONS 2001
Second passage grave |The primary phase quarry |Area of western chamber
The primary phase mound (phase Ib) |Conclusion |Plans &
Illustrations
The seventh season of excavations at the long mound of Prissé-la-Charrière began on 16th July 2001 and continued for a period of six weeks to 25th August. The work was directed as in previous years by Dr Luc Laporte (CNRS Rennes), Dr Roger Joussaume (CNRS Paris) and Dr Chris Scarre (McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, Cambridge), and involved a team of 30-35 students volunteers and others. Thanks are due once again to the landowner, M. Bastard de Cresnay, for permission to excavate on his land. The commune of La Foye-Monjault very kindly made available a camp site and Salle des Fêtes to accommodate the team. Financial support was provided by the Conseil Général des Deux-Sèvres, the Ministère de la Culture, and the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research. Excavations from 1995-2000 had revealed a monument 100m long, 18m wide and 4m high at its taller eastern end, edged by a pair of parallel kerbs (inner and outer), containing a ruined passage grave some two-thirds of the way from the eastern terminal. At the lower and narrower western end, this phase II mound overlay the structures of a smaller earlier phase I monument.
The major discovery of the 2001 excavation was a new passage grave in sector F II/III. Several lengths of the curving wall which defined this structure were revealed, interrupted at the north-west by the parallel walls of the passage leading obliquely to the northern edge of the mound. Against this curved wall, in a subsequent phase, cell-type constructional units have been constructed, and at south-centre and north-east the curving wall disappears behind or beneath these later walls. This suggests that the passage grave in its curved surround was at one stage a free-standing feature, before other structures were built up against it; i.e. before it was integrated within the enlarged phase II long mound. The indications favour the interpretation that the passage grave was built first, and only later incorporated into the long mound. On the other hand, no great lapse of time need be envisaged between these two events. One aim of the next season of excavations will be to explore whether the passage grave could originally have been a free-standing structure.
Some light on this sequence is thrown by the relationship of the passage walls to adjacent structures. Both side walls of the passage are bonded to the curving wall which surrounds the passage grave, which would be consistent with the view that the passage grave within its circular surround was built first. The outer passage walls represent an extension to this initial structure. On the other hand, the outer part of the passage walls form a clear angle with the outer kerb of the enlarged long mound, and there is a blocking wall at the level of both the inner and the outer kerb. This indicates that access to the chamber was still desired (and maintained) after the circular tomb was incorporated in the larger mound. The passage was lengthened in order to achieve this. Thus it is not a case where the earlier monument was engulfed within and sealed by the construction of the long mound. Only further excavation will reveal whether the curving wall does indeed continue down to bedrock level, and whether it forms a complete circuit around the chamber.
The condition and form of the burial chamber remain uncertain. A hollow in the northern
flank of the mound indicated the possibility of earlier disturbance, but excavation of
this hollow revealed two or more large slabs identified as passage capstones, still lying
horizontally though laterally displaced (in that they no longer spanned the whole of the
space between the passage side walls). The chamber must lie beyond these slabs to the
south, under the axial crest of the mound where there is no evidence of later disturbance
and no hollow or similar feature to indicate old excavations. Whether the chamber is
covered by a corbelled vault or a capstone remains unclear.
Excavations in 1998-2000 revealed that the first phase of the Prissé-la-Charrière
monument had taken the form of a modest long mound, some 25 m in length, enclosing a
dry-stone burial chamber at its western end and entirely encircled by a rock-cut ditch.
While the ditch may be envisaged as the quarry from which the constructional material was
taken, its continuous nature would also have served to isolate this early long mound
symbolically and ritually from its surroundings. Two sub-phases were identified in this
primary monument: the dry-stone structure and western chamber (phase Ia); followed by the
short long mound abutting it to the east (phase Ib). The enlarged 100m long mound has been
labelled for phase II, though it also incorporates a series of sub-phases, including
notably the second passage grave whose discovery is described above.
Four new sections were excavated across the ditch of the primary quarry in 2001: at
north-east and south-east corners, and in the middle of the south and west sides. These
were cut mainly by machine, and the results complement and extend the information
available from sections cut in previous years:
a) north-east:this involved the extension and amalgamation of ditch sections A and B excavated in 1999. The south section (beneath the outer kerb of the phase II mound) revealed evidence for two recuts, the first narrow and deep, the second shallower and wider, and cutting the outer edge of the earlier cut. The effect of these two recuts was to leave a step in the ditch floor, between the deeper first recut and the second shallower recut. This step is visible in all the excavated sections of the primary ditch, even where the recuts themselves may not be clearly evident in the sequence of fills. In this north-eastern quadrant, there is also the trace of a third cut - the primary or original cut - between the two recuts.
b) south-east: a single oblique sondage some 2.5 m wide cut across the corner of the ditch. Within this was visible the lower parts of two walls projecting laterally from the central axis of the phase II mound, and descending to c.1m within the excavated fill. At the base of one of these walls is a deposit of organic fill, continued to the north-west by a thin curving dark organic layer, rising towards the base of the second wall. This dark layer appears to represent the surface of the primary ditch fill upon which the two walls were built. The conclusion follows that the yellow fill in the upper part of the ditch is an intentional deposit placed by the builders of the second phase; the fact this yellow deposit rises c.1m above the level of the old ground surface supports this contention. The builders of the phase II monument must have infilled the phase I ditch and continued to deposit yellow sediment so creating a low mound of yellow material across the width of the mound. The two dry-stone walls (together with a third, less well-preserved, further east) must represent the attempt by the builders to consolidate and reinforce the unstable infill on which they were building the phase II mound.
c) south side: a single trench some 3 m wide, cutting through the phase II structures of inner and outer kerb to reveal them in cross-section. The step in the profile of the quarry ditch was present here, but there was no clear evidence of recutting in the layers of fill.
d) west side: a trench some 2m wide on the axis of the monument,
revealing the primary quarry ditch, with its shallow step on the outer side; and beyond
this to the west the edge of a more recent rock-cut ditch probably related to the present
field boundary. Within the upper fill of the primary quarry ditch a skeleton was cut
through by the machine, leaving only upper torso and skull in position. It appears likely
that this was an extended inhumation of a young adult placed on its back. No associated
grave goods were recovered and the date of the burial is uncertain: it lay only c.40cms
below the modern ground surface in a layer of stones and loose brown earth, suggesting a
relatively recent date (e.g. Gallo-Roman or medieval). No clear trace of a grave cut was
discovered. On the floor of the quarry ditch a second body was discovered, tightly flexed
on its side and lying within the primary yellow silt. It was placed inside a curving grave
cut in the floor of the ditch, and large stones left in the section may suggest it was
covered by slabs. Only the southern half of the grave cut was excavated this year; the
remainder will be investigated in 2002. This is the first burial in this region to be
found in the ditch of a Neolithic long mound, and its stratigraphic position within the
yellow primary fill indicates that it must be related to the first phase of the quarry
ditch. Radiocarbon dating of both this and the upper skeleton will be undertaken by the
Oxford AMS facility.
Further excavation in the area in front of the entrance to the western chamber (within the dry-stone structure of phase Ia) revealed the existence of two pits cut into the bedrock. The easternmost measured 1m across and was 65 cms deep, with stepped sides to north, east and south and a vertical face to the east, suggesting that an upright had been lowered into it and then hauled into vertical position against the eastern edge. The western pit had packing stones around a triangular post-pipe some 40cms across. Above bedrock level, a low mound had been raised projecting eastwards from the chamber entrance on the long axis of the monument. This low mound overlay the packing stones of the rock-cut pits, but the post-pipes of the timber posts continued upwards through the material of this mound. This observation demonstrates that the posts had been placed in position before the low mound was built, and remained standing above it, with the mound material piled around their bases. It directly parallels the relationship between the decorated menhir and the low tertre of Le Manio II near Carnac, though whether the timber uprights at Prissé were free-standing or supported a structure of some kind is unclear.
Clearance of later structures around the circular dry stone mass containing the western
chamber revealed further details of its irregular construction. In some places it was
built on a layer of brown earth with small stones, some 40cms thick; on the south-west
side the base is formed of two large slabs of non-local limestone (the same material as
was used for the orthostats within the chamber); at the south-east angle a break in
construction and stratigraphic relationships together indicate that this angle was built
before the section of wall immediately to the west. These details will become clearer once
further work is completed next season. It is striking to note that the irregularity of
construction which is a feature of the whole monument is apparent even in what at first
sight appears to be a coherent structure such as this.
The primary phase mound (phase Ib)
Excavation in sectors I II and I III revealed further details of the structure of the northern and southern sides of the phase Ib mound respectively:
northern side: here the narrow section excavated in 2000 was extended to give a longitudinal 4m section along the centre-line of the mound. The irregularity of the fills was striking: while the majority were inclined upwards towards the west, there was a pronounced dip in the middle which corresponded either to a hollow left by the process of construction, or to a pit dug into the surface at a later period. At the western end, this 4m section ran up against a sloping north-south dry-stone revetment. The revetment did not stand on the bedrock or the old ground surface but rested in top of a primary core composed largely of red earth. This had two separate layers: an initial mound some 2 m wide and 40 cms high (a continuation of that already referred to above); followed by a later enlargement to an estimated 5m width and 80 cms height. The wall itself had not been built in a single phase; i.e. it did not mark an initial sealed full-height compartment to the west (in front of the western chamber), but had been heightened at least once, suggesting that the Ib mound to west and east had been constructed synchronously.
southern side: the later structures built up against the face of the primary mound were removed. The façade so revealed may be divided into three segments:
i) at the west, from the point at which the wall joins the southern inclined wall of the phase Ia monument, a length of 2.2m is preserved to a height of only one or at most two courses. This course rests not on bedrock or the original red soil but on a layer of pale yellow sediment. This suggests that this part of the wall was built (or rebuilt) after the lengths to either side had been completed. Whether this arrangement is connected with access to the western chamber, or the area with pits and post-holes in front of it, is difficult to determine. It could simply be evidence of a structural collapse followed by repair.
ii) the next 2m length of the outer wall is preserved to a height of over 80cms, but it could be argued that further courses, higher up (1.2m to 1.8m) and set back c.40cms from the line of the wall, are indeed its upper part. These would correspond to the upper inward-leaning part of the southern inclined wall. On the other hand, between the lower courses and the set-back upper courses there is an area of disturbance which would be consonant with the view that the upper wall had collapsed in its entirety. In this event, the supposed upper courses might belong to a later structure (perhaps phase II) built on top of the mound.
This segment of the wall represents the point of junction with the inclined dry-stone facing noted in the northern section, which runs across the width of the mound.
iii) the easternmost part of the outer wall survives to only 60cms or less. Above and
behind it, the surface of the phase Ib mound is marked by capping of large slabs, laid
irregularly but in places resembling a fish-scale effect. This may be the original surface
of the primary mound in this sector; but it does not appear to have continued west beyond
the line of the inclined dry-stone facing.
The excavations of the 2001 season emphasised once again the multiphase nature of the monument. The primary quarry ditch appears to have been dug in at least two, if not three phases. There may indeed have been still more phases if the short phase Ia monument was accompanied by its own small quarries which were only later incorporated into the continuous quarry ditch. The pits cut into the bedrock in front of the entrance to the western chamber may represent the earliest activity on the site, and while one (from its packing stones) appears to have held a timber post, the other may have held either a post or a standing stone. The closing of the western chamber was followed by the construction of a low primary mound running eastwards, in which at least two post-holes were cut. This primary was later doubled in width and height, before the full-size phase Ib mound was constructed over it.
The burials in the western quarry ditch - especially the burial on the ditch floor - add an unexpected new dimension to the funerary activity at the site. The western sondage will be extended in 2002 to explore more fully the nature of the ditch floor burial.
The primary focus of excavation over the next three years will however be the newly discovered passage grave in sector F II, approximately midway along the length of the monument. Indications that the chamber has not been disturbed give this a special importance and significance. The limestone geology ensures that skeletal remains will be well-preserved. Preparations are in hand for a systematic investigation of the structure with the aid of appropriate technology and equipment.
Note: a report on the first six seasons of excavation at
Prissé-la-Charrière 1995-2000 will appear in volume 44 of Gallia Préhistoire (2002).
