TerrACE Project Excavation in Northumberland

ARS Ltd has excavated an evaluation trench running down a sequence of prehistoric agricultural terraces within the Northumberland National Park below the hillfort of brough law in the Upper Breamish Valley and has contributed towards the pan-European TerrACE Project.

The TerrACE project is a European Reseach Council-funded project combining archaeological, geomorphological, palaeoecological, aDNA and scientific dating data from this excavation, as well as parallel excavations in Greece, Norway, Belgium, France and Italy, in order to contribute towards our understanding of ancient agricultural terrace systems.

The prehistoric agricultural terraces in the Breamish Valley, thought to date to the Early Bronze Age and possibly earlier, are one of only a handful of well-preserved sites in Britain. They are an important, but poorly-understood, feature but which hold the potential to inform our understanding of the technological capabilities of prehistoric communities during different climatic, economic and socio-political conditions as well as the science of how terraces worked and enabled cultivation in ‘marginal’ landscapes.

Our excavation in Northumberland was undertaken in partnership with specialists from across Europe, including the University of Tromsø Museum, and the Universities of Louvain and Padua. During the excavations samples were taken in order to identify the types of crops which were grown within the terraces. Additionally, we wanted to know whether they were being grown constantly as part of a permanent agricultural system, or whether the terraces were periodically abandoned and then reconstructed when the need arose.

Though we are still awaiting the results of much of our work, our initial findings from the excavation have shown that there were in fact seven agricultural terraces rather than six, as had previously been understood. We have sent off two samples of charcoal to acquire reliable dates for the construction and use of the terraces.

Keep checking our website for updates on this exciting and pioneering project!