Attitudes to Disposal of the Dead - Gazetteer Query Form

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Site name Amesbury 39
Site number 467
Burial codes 4005 4009 4021 4023 4025 4028 4030 4035 4036 4043 4045 4048 4051 4053 4065 4075 4084 4092 4098 4101 4104 4105 4111 4121 4128 4143 4151 4152 4181 4200
2500bc-14/1300bc A round barrow with ditch. There was large oval central area 5.4m x 4m on and west of the central axis of the barrow which was covered in fine charcoal, with larger pieces in two patches and the remains of carbonised planks (HAR-1237) on the north fringe. Three areas within it showed intense burning. A cremation burial of a young adult male was at the north west edge of the oval area, a convex almost circular heap in a matrix of soil, with some scattering around, and placed as found on loam core material. It had possibly been removed and replaced by Cunnington. The (?)1802 excavation found with the cremation 'a cone of jet, two oblong beads, eighteen amber beads and a very small cone of amber', but there seems to be no directly associated pottery.

The barrow core was of loam interspersed with numerous patches of black greasy soil containing fine charcoal, small potsherds, broken animal bone and bone points. There was also in the fill one fragment of cranium, and 2 fragments of femur from human remains. A chalk envelope covered the loam core. There were many worked flints from the ploughsoil of the barrow, but few in the mound material.

There were 2 post holes 0.3m in diameter and 1.3m apart on the inner lip of the ditch at the east side, and another north north east of the centre in the ditch bottom, which was generally wide and flat.

RC: HAR-1237 1670 +/- 90
Remains/Period Y4
County Wiltshire
Region S
National grid square SU
X coordinate 131
Y coordinate 420
Bibliographic source Hoare 1812, Grinsell 1957a, Ashbee 1981


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Last updated: Tues Aug 10 2004