Site record MDR22959 - Burnt Mound (BM03), Stretton Extension, Willington Quarry, Egginton

One of two burnt mounds were excavated in 2013 as part of the Stretton Extension of the Willington Quarry, Egginton. The smaller and northerly of the two was identified as a irregular crescent-shaped deposit of black silt and silty-clay mixed with charcoal and heat cracked and shattered pebbles. It measured c8m by c5m. Radiocarbon dates from the lowest part of the deposit produces dates of 2200-1950 cal BC and 2200-1970 cal BC. Three sherds of Peterborough ware were recovered from the same deposit, but additional finds were also recovered from other contexts. The mound curved around two small pits. One pit was rectangular c1.04m by c0.68m wide and c0.3m deep, with vertical sides and a flat base, and contained traces of a timber lining and filled by what the excavators thought to be redeposited material. The other pit was curvilinear with vertical sides and a flat base and was c2.4m by c0.54m and c0.13m deep. The fill appeared to have accumulated naturally. To the east there was a large area of burned sediment. A number of pits, and indeterminate features were also recorded in close proximity to the remains of the burnt mound. (1)