Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (691 page)

 
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A roughly round setting of upright stones, coursed slabs, or stone rubble which represents the foundations and in some cases the walls of a building that originally had a wooden and/or turf superstructure and roof. Traces of a doorway and flooring arrangement can be seen in some preserved examples, and more elaborate cases may have annexes and forecourts of various sorts. Dating mainly to the middle and later Bronze Age in the British Isles and adjacent areas of the Atlantic seaboard of north-west Europe, these structures were mostly dwellings, but some were used for storage and as animal shelters. The majority of preserved examples are to be seen in upland areas such as Dartmoor, England, or northeast Perthshire, Scotland.

 
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See
STONE ALIGNMENT
.

 
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A sandy oolitic limestone, occurring in the Great Oolite series, which splits readily into thin slabs suitable for roofing.

 
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Pottery fired to a high temperature, usually over 1200°C, at which the fabric of the vessel vitrifies. Stoneware seems to have been produced first at Siegburg in Germany about 1200 bc.

 
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A transverse ridge moulded into the surface of early bronze flanged axes and palstaves during the European Bronze Age in order to prevent the cleft wooden haft from splitting.

 
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Large jars used for storing grain or other materials.

 
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