Attitudes to Disposal of the Dead - Gazetteer Query Form

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Note that there may be a few slight discrepancies between counts given in the text and the returned results in the gazetteer. This is a result of corrections and amendments (not updates) made to the gazetteer since the research was published in BAR. This does not materially affect the picture presented but does add more detail.

Site name Dibble's Farm, Christon, Loxton

Site number 1182

Burial codes 2003 2009 2021 2023 2026 2028 2030 2035 2036 2042 2047 2051 2065 2072 2075 2084 2093 2098 2103 2104 2105 2106 2107 2108 2109 2110 2111 2121 2122 2126 2127 2128 2129 2143 2153 2181

8/700bc-100bc A settlement site containing 68-70 recorded pits with domestic refuse of Early-Middle Iron Age date. There were also 25 post holes, possibly some for a fence separating the habitation area from the pits.

Fifteen pits contained human remains as burials or stray bones. In several cases bodies appeared to have been deposited in partly filled pits, and in another the body was put in a partly excavated pit. Overall 21 individuals have been identified from the collection of human skeletal remains. Twelve were adult, six sub-adult, 2 juvenile and one an infant. Twelve pits contained single deposits, and three contained three individuals each. The burials were disposed as follows (not all details are available as the original records were largely lost preventing full publication):

Pit 10 a crouched female c45-60 with a bronze hook near the head, head facing right
Pit 13a a neonate without grave goods
Pit 13b an unsexed person c17-20 without goods
Pit 13c an unsexed person c17-25 without goods
Pit 16 a crouched male c30-50, head to right, without goods
Pit 17 a male c35-45 face down, thrown into a deep pit, head to NE, with an iron spiral armlet on the right upper arm
Pit 21 a female c45-60 with a plain local pottery vessel
Pit 27 an infant or juvenile without goods
Pit 30 a male c21-4 with a penannular brooch in a fairly deep pit
Pit 36 an unsexed adult without goods
Pit 39a a female c35-45 with a perforated boar's tusk in a deep pit, on right side, right arm up, left straight, legs running
Pit 39b a male 35-45 without goods, at a shallow level in the pit, facing left, left arm over legs to left of spine
Pit 39c an unsexed person c12-14 without goods
Pit 44 a male c25-35 in a deep pit with two dogs one overlying the other at his feet on the east side
Pit 46a an unsexed person older than c30 without goods
Pit 46b a female c35-45 without goods deep in the pit
Pit 46c an unsexed person c15-18 with a broken bone needle and a brooch spring/pin, crouched near the top of the pit
Pit 62 an unsexed person less than c40 without goods
Road pit an adult without goods
Pit A an unsexed person c16-18 without goods.

The burials seem to have taken place without much regard for the bodies. In all but two cases the burials were in a crouched posture, sometimes tightly compressed, but it did not seem to matter in which direction or on which side they were placed. Of the other two, one was in a much looser but still flexed position, but the second seems to have been flung into a deep pit to land face down, legs bent right back at the knees. The bodies were also buried in any convenient pit even though it was sometimes already part full of rubbish.

There were five further examples of human bone deposits represented by only fragments of a body.

Remains/Period Y2

County Somerset

Region SW

National grid square ST

X coordinate 384

Y coordinate 575

Bibliographic source M5 Research Committee 1971, Clarke 1977, Whimster 1981, Morris 1988

Query

Site name	Dibble's Farm, Christon, Loxton
Site number	1182
Burial codes	2003 2009 2021 2023 2026 2028 2030 2035 2036 2042 2047 2051 2065 2072 2075 2084 2093 2098 2103 2104 2105 2106 2107 2108 2109 2110 2111 2121 2122 2126 2127 2128 2129 2143 2153 2181
8/700bc-100bc	A settlement site containing 68-70 recorded pits with domestic refuse of Early-Middle Iron Age date. There were also 25 post holes, possibly some for a fence separating the habitation area from the pits. Fifteen pits contained human remains as burials or stray bones. In several cases bodies appeared to have been deposited in partly filled pits, and in another the body was put in a partly excavated pit. Overall 21 individuals have been identified from the collection of human skeletal remains. Twelve were adult, six sub-adult, 2 juvenile and one an infant. Twelve pits contained single deposits, and three contained three individuals each. The burials were disposed as follows (not all details are available as the original records were largely lost preventing full publication): Pit 10 a crouched female c45-60 with a bronze hook near the head, head facing right Pit 13a a neonate without grave goods Pit 13b an unsexed person c17-20 without goods Pit 13c an unsexed person c17-25 without goods Pit 16 a crouched male c30-50, head to right, without goods Pit 17 a male c35-45 face down, thrown into a deep pit, head to NE, with an iron spiral armlet on the right upper arm Pit 21 a female c45-60 with a plain local pottery vessel Pit 27 an infant or juvenile without goods Pit 30 a male c21-4 with a penannular brooch in a fairly deep pit Pit 36 an unsexed adult without goods Pit 39a a female c35-45 with a perforated boar's tusk in a deep pit, on right side, right arm up, left straight, legs running Pit 39b a male 35-45 without goods, at a shallow level in the pit, facing left, left arm over legs to left of spine Pit 39c an unsexed person c12-14 without goods Pit 44 a male c25-35 in a deep pit with two dogs one overlying the other at his feet on the east side Pit 46a an unsexed person older than c30 without goods Pit 46b a female c35-45 without goods deep in the pit Pit 46c an unsexed person c15-18 with a broken bone needle and a brooch spring/pin, crouched near the top of the pit Pit 62 an unsexed person less than c40 without goods Road pit an adult without goods Pit A an unsexed person c16-18 without goods. The burials seem to have taken place without much regard for the bodies. In all but two cases the burials were in a crouched posture, sometimes tightly compressed, but it did not seem to matter in which direction or on which side they were placed. Of the other two, one was in a much looser but still flexed position, but the second seems to have been flung into a deep pit to land face down, legs bent right back at the knees. The bodies were also buried in any convenient pit even though it was sometimes already part full of rubbish. There were five further examples of human bone deposits represented by only fragments of a body.
Remains/Period	Y2
County	Somerset
Region	SW
National grid square	ST
X coordinate	384
Y coordinate	575
Bibliographic source	M5 Research Committee 1971, Clarke 1977, Whimster 1981, Morris 1988