Director Christine Shaw
Post-holes are often found on excavations of Iron Age sites which do not fit into any likely pattern for a building. We cannot be absolutely certain what these structures represent. What we can do is to guess what they might have been for given our knowledge of the type of farming that was going on at that time, and the functions that would have needed to be fulfilled. We can then test these hypotheses in real life to see if in fact these structures would have worked.
A solitary post-hole in a shallow circular depession could be the foundation of a haystack. A floor, being a raised platform of wood would keep the base of the stack dry. A single central post supports the core of the stack
A pair of post-holes might have been the foundation of a drying rack for the leaf fodder collected in high summer and sun dried prior to storage. All the livestock prefer to eat dried ash and elm leaves rather than hay as a winter fodder. In addition, a pair of posts might have been used to stretch out animal skins for preparation and curing.
Rectangular arrangements of four, six and eight post-holes could have a multitude of purposes ranging from firewood stacks, timber and wood stacks to temporary pens for goats, sheep and chickens. One regular rectangular pattern of 4 and 6 post-holes occurs frequently. The post-holes are quite massive - often 0.4 metres in diameter and quite deep, though never deeper than the length of a man's arm. It is thought these four and six post structures were raised granaries. A storehouse set upon these posts allows circulation of air all round the stored grain. Other theories suggest they were for watch towers, the massive timbers being necessary for the height of the structure.
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Created 18 January 2002 - Updated 18 January 2002