Attitudes to Disposal of the Dead - Gazetteer Query Form

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Site name City Farm Site 3, Eynsham
Site number 1035
Burial codes 4005 4009 4021 4023 4025 4028 4030 4032 4041 4048 4051 4065 4075 4082 4083 4085 4092 4098 4102 4104 4105 4111 4124 4128 4141 4153 4161 4173 4181 4200
2500bc-14/1300bc An oval ring ditch oriented EW with a set-back outer bank containing a cremation cemetery in the southern sector with burials mostly in pits with accessory vessels (collared urns), dated to the close of the Early Bronze Age or onset of the Middle Bronze Age. There were some intrusive Anglo-Saxon burials.

In the south east ditch section there were 2 deposits of cremated bone in small pit 3/21 and area 3/22. Pit 3/21 also contained charcoal dust, and small fragments of fired clay. In Cutting III (through the southernmost point of the outer ditch) Layer 3 was reddish brown loam as elsewhere, but featured in 3/22 a run of pebbles extending from the inner face and a spread of cremated bone and charcoal in a matrix of brown loam extending eastwards from the section for c0.85m. The matrix was slightly reddened in places, and small crumbs of collared urn and a fire altered flint fragment were found with the cremation. The matrix appeared to have been placed under turf sods, not buried in a pit or spread on the surface.

A 7.5cm deep miniature inner ring ditch near the southern inner border held pits 3/2-4 and 3/9, a stakehole. In the main ring interior area pits 3/1-20 were set, three of these (3/15, 19 and 20) being Anglo-Saxon in date. Pits 3/1, 2, 5, 6 (sherds of two fairly complete vessels, a collared urn and a biconical vessel), 12, 13 and 14 (fragment of stone axe-hammer) contained cremations accompanied as shown. Pits 3/7 and 11 contained an upright collared urn and two sherds of collared urn respectively. Pit 3/3 contained a collared urn on its side. All these pits were dated to the Bronze Age, and Pit 3/3 produced the radiocarbon date below. Some of the pits had linings of rammed topsoil. Most appeared to contain pyre scrapings in the form of blackish brown loam. Most were c0.5m in diameter x 15cm deep, but 3/10-11 were exceptionally large being 1m across x 0.7m deep and 2.2m across x 0.8m deep respectively. Other pits appeared to have been stake holes, of which other un-numbered traces also appeared elsewhere in the ring ditch area.

Pit 3/1 contained the remains of a probable adult, possibly female. Pit 3/2 contained an adult probably young c18-24. Pit 3/5 contained an adult, pit 3/6 an adult, pit 3/8 an unidentifiable person, pit 3/12 an adult, pit 3/21 an unidentifiable person. All these were presumed Bronze Age by the excavator.

RC: from loam in pit GrN-1686 1490 +/- 60
Remains/Period Y4
County Oxfordshire
Region SE
National grid square SP
X coordinate 430
Y coordinate 111
Bibliographic source Case, Bayne, Steele, Avery and Sutermeister 1965


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Last updated: Tues Aug 10 2004