Publications
Excavation of a Late Bronze Age enclosure site at Gatwick Airport, 2001, by Nicholas A. Wells, published 2005 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 143, article, pp.47-69) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15610] & The Keep [LIB/500361] & S.A.S. library View Online
Abstract:In the summer of 2001, Framework Archaeology was commissioned to undertake a programme of archaeological investigations in advance of car park development in the North-West Zone of Gatwick Airport. The investigations culminated in the excavation of a partially enclosed Late Bronze Age settlement lying on the edge of the River Mole floodplain. Pollen, plant and insect remains indicated that the settlement occupied an area of previously cleared forest and woodland. An open landscape of grassland floodplain with scattered clumps of trees provided browsing and grazing for domestic animals. We can suggest that tillage occurred on the higher ground beyond the floodplain. The settlement developed and the landscape was cleared for pasture. The floodplain became drier, possibly because of modification and management of the watercourses and the increasing intensity in land-use. The excavation has demonstrated the archaeological and palaeo-environmental potential of the Mole Valley as it cuts through the Weald.