MEM23811 - Possible Mesolithic pits on Lanacombe (Monument)

The earliest in a complex of intercutting excavated features measured c. 1.3 metres wide and 0.26 metres deep. It contained a lens of humic material including charcoal dated to c.6400 BC (later Mesolithic); this may have been residual.

A complex of intercutting features was identified during excavation in 2014. The earliest cut in this sequence was a truncated feature measuring c.1.3 metres wide and c.0.26 metres deep, and was largely filled with re-deposited natural substrate. It did, however, contain a lens of humic material towards the base of the feature, from which a radiocarbon date was obtained. This gave a calibrated date of c.6400 BC (later Mesolithic), which is unexpectedly early; unless corroborated by subsequent radiocarbon dates, it is probable the charcoal was residual. It was thought that the features were probably pits rather than linear ditches, but the narrow extent of the trench made this difficult to determine. [1]