The general picture given by Table 407 is that the south west area reflects the more general trends over time for the use of individual container types, although the degree of use may be different. The high start, fall, and rise again in the incidences of open surface disposals, with 3500-2500bc and 8/700- 100bc as the peaks, occurs also in the south west. So does the high starting incidence of mound use over 3500-14/1300bc, with a subsequent steady decline over the next three periods. In this case the decline seems to start a little earlier than the generality, the fall between 2500-14/1300bc and 8/700- 100bc being from 61-37%. Pits occur less frequently in the south west area as has been noted earlier, but the increase in their use still shows steady growth to 100bc, and then levels off. Urn use is the same as the average incidence in the peak periods covering 2500-8/700bc, but is well below the average (as is the south area) in 100bc-AD43. Cists have broadly the same overall representations as urns, their highest incidence being over 2500-8/700bc, and then 100bc-AD43.
Of the less represented types, chambers are most frequent in 3500-2500bc at 66% incidence, with following periods very low. Platforms and paving follow somewhat the same pattern starting at 23% incidence, and tailing off to 0% from 8/700bc. Cairns are most prevalent over 3500-8/700bc, peaking in the period 2500-14/1300bc at 28%. Urnfields only occur in 14/1300-8/700bc, and at 14% of sites.
Considering the distribution of a type through time, Table 408 shows that, in proportion to the number of sites, chambers are heavily represented in the south west at 61% of all incidences occurring in 3500- 2500bc. In 2500-14/1300bc of the types more often seen, mounds, cairns, cists and urns are present on more than the average number of sites. Otherwise the numbers are not significant.
Within the overall trends already described, the south area follows a similar pattern. In the two most used categories, pits generally rise in use (19-88%) and mounds fall (71-12%) over the five periods. Mounds do have their peak in 2500-14/1300bc at 85% incidence, however, before declining, and pits regress slightly in 14/1300-8/700bc before resuming their rise. Open surface disposals are very high in 3500-2500bc at 60%, but in the remaining periods are in the range 10-16%. Platform or paving like the south west is at its peak in 3500-2500bc at 26% incidence but then is low at 0-3% in remaining periods. Also like the south west, use of urns is highest over 2500-8/700bc at 32% rising to 89% (the highest of all three areas), but very low at other times. Cairn use is highest in the period 2500-8/700bc, but then drops from 11-12% to insignificance.
In terms of the distribution of types through time compared with site incidence (Table 411), the south area displays a generally more even match in the more frequently appearing types.
The area has several notable differences from the general and the other two areas. Table 413 shows the south east as having a consistently high use of pits as burial containers from 3500-2500bc onwards, culminating in the peak of 91% incidence in 100bc-AD43. Even the lowest periods, 3500-2500bc and 8/700-100bc, are at 70-72% higher than every south west period, and than two of the five south periods. The next highest incidence of container is the urn, strong over 2500-8/700bc as elsewhere, but still lowest of the three areas at 33-63%, but clearly surpassing the south west and the south in 100bc-AD43 at 52% site incidence (against 7% and 1% respectively). Open surface depositions follow no special pattern elsewhere, but are most frequent in 3500-2500bc and 8/700-100bc when other areas are strongly represented also. Finally, urnfields are represented almost solely by the 23% incidence in 14/1300-8/700bc, the strongest period for this type everywhere, and close to the south area's 24%.
Mortuary houses have not been mentioned for any area so far. The numbers of recorded instances are few: the south west has 5, the south 19, and the south east 9. They all occur in the periods covering 3500-14/1300bc except for one in the south in 14/1300-8/700bc. The majority (19) occur in 2500- 14/1300bc, with the south area having most at 9 incidences.
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