Editing Causewayed enclosure (section)

==Function==
[[Archaeology|Archaeological]] evidence implies that the enclosures were visited occasionally by Neolithic groups rather than being permanently occupied. The presence of human remains in the banks and ditches of the enclosures has been seen as an attempt by the builders to connect their ancestors with the land and thus begin to anchor themselves to specific areas. [[Archaeological section|Longitudinal sections]] excavated along the ditches by archaeologists suggest that the builders repeatedly redug the ditches and each time deliberately deposited pottery and human and animal bones, apparently as a regular [[ritual]]. [[Environmental archaeology]] suggests that the European landscape was heavily forested when the enclosures were built; they were rare clearings in the woodland that were used for various social and economic activities.

In the 1970s the archaeologist [[Peter Drewett]] suggested seven possible functions for the sites:

* [[Town|Settlement]]
* [[Fortification|Defence]]
* [[Cattle]] compounds or [[kraal]]s
* [[Trade]] centres
* Communal meeting places for [[meal|feast]]ing and other social activities
* [[Cult]]/[[ritual]] centres
* [[Burial]] sites

Other interpretations{{Which|date=October 2012}} have seen the causeways as symbolic of multi-directional access to the site by scattered communities, the enclosures as funerary centres for [[excarnation]] or the construction of the site being a communal act of creation by a fragmented society.

Animal remains (especially cattle bone), domestic waste and [[pottery]] have been found at the sites, however there has been limited evidence of any structures.  In some locations, such as [[Windmill Hill, Avebury]], evidence of human occupation predates the enclosure.  Generally, it appears that the ditches were permitted to silt up, even while the camps were in use, and then re-excavated episodically.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/|title=Search All Publications | work = Historic England}}</ref> It is unlikely that they had a strong defensive purpose. The earthworks may have been designed to keep out wild animals rather than people. The sequential addition of second, third and fourth circuits of banks and ditches may have come about through growing populations adding to the significance of their peoples' monument over time. In some cases, they appear to have evolved into more permanent settlements.

Most causewayed enclosures have been [[plough]]ed away in the intervening millennia and are recognized through [[aerial archaeology]].