Attitudes to Disposal of the Dead - Gazetteer Query Form

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Site name Gwithian Sites V, IX and X
Site number 225
Burial codes 4001 4005 4021 4023 4025 4028 4030 4031 4042 4048 4051 4053 4065 4071 4084 4092 4104 4111 4124 4128 4152 4153 4159 4181 4200 3005 3009 3021 3023 3025 3028 3030 3035 3043 3048 3051 3065 3075 3084 3098 3104 3109 3111 3128 3143 3152 3181
2500bc-14/1300bc A round barrow GM/V 135m north east of the main site. The original land surface was stripped and two pits dug. In the first a small shallow circular hollow contained yellow sand with a circular patch of white sand in the centre, specks of charcoal and a sherd of pottery. A larger oval hollow oriented NNE was dug 6m to the south south west, some clean sand placed within and on this was laid a skeleton, head to N, crouched on the right side, and without grave goods. At the feet was a small pile of stones. To the north of a smaller hollow a grit hone and a rim sherd had been placed on the floor. This was all covered by a large mound of clean sand. A narrow, irregular passage trench was then cut from the north perimeter, ending over the burial pit.

Over the mound a platform of 6-7.5m long timbers was laid, most EW over the axis of the trench. Stripped turf was then relaid over the timber, containing more sherds and charcoal specks. Some sand drifting had filled the trench, and covered the timber and turf. A further mound of shell-sand was built on top, and then covered by clean sand. A secondary pit was cut through the rotted timber on the north east side, empty but for charcoal specks, quartz fragments and a single basal sherd. The monument was likened by the excavator to an attempt to copy a Scillonian entrance grave. [There were 6 barrows nearby, Sites IX-XIV].

Pottery was of Middle Bronze Age type.

RC: NPL-21 1120 +/-103
14/1300bc-8/700bc On site GM/IX was found the skeletal remains of an infant burial and on Site GM/X several cremation mounds, both finds in close proximity to domestic buildings.

RC: from a cremation pit layer 5 on Site X NPL-21 1120 +/- 105
Remains/Period Y4 Y3
County Cornwall
Region SW
National grid square SW
X coordinate 682
Y coordinate 432
Bibliographic source Thomas 1956, 1958a/b, Nowakowski 1989, 1991


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Last updated: Tues Aug 10 2004