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 Dorchester-on-Thames, Site VIII

Site number 869

Burial codes 5001 5005 5021 5023 5025 5028 5030 5035 5042 5045 5051 5065 5075 5084 5092 5098 5104 5112 5128 5143 5151 5181

3500bc - 2500bc A sub-rectangular enclosure 63m x 22m cut across by the south ditch of the Cursus (Dorchester Site III, Site 872) towards its northern end, and by smaller paired ditches. The enclosure may have had a bank on its inner side, but its ditch was interrupted on each side and at one end. There was virtually no evidence for the use of the site, and the only human material was part of a human jaw belonging to an adult found within the site at surface level. There were Peterborough sherds (Ebbsfleet and Mortlake affinities), and leaf, oblique and pointed arrow heads in the upper fill of the ditch.

The excavator suggested that this enclosure was a mortuary enclosure, associated with mortuary practice and planned similarly to long barrows. It was probably the earliest site of the Dorchester-on-Thames complex.

[Order suggested by Whittle et al 1992: Dorchester Site VIII, 1, III, XI, II, I, IV, V, VI, 2, 3, XIV, XII, XIII, 4, VII, IX].

Remains/Period Y5

County Oxfordshire

Region SE

National grid square SU

X coordinate 570

Y coordinate 958

Bibliographic source Whittle, Atkinson, Chambers and Thomas 1992

Query

Site name	Dorchester-on-Thames, Site VIII
Site number	869
Burial codes	5001 5005 5021 5023 5025 5028 5030 5035 5042 5045 5051 5065 5075 5084 5092 5098 5104 5112 5128 5143 5151 5181
3500bc - 2500bc	A sub-rectangular enclosure 63m x 22m cut across by the south ditch of the Cursus (Dorchester Site III, Site 872) towards its northern end, and by smaller paired ditches. The enclosure may have had a bank on its inner side, but its ditch was interrupted on each side and at one end. There was virtually no evidence for the use of the site, and the only human material was part of a human jaw belonging to an adult found within the site at surface level. There were Peterborough sherds (Ebbsfleet and Mortlake affinities), and leaf, oblique and pointed arrow heads in the upper fill of the ditch. The excavator suggested that this enclosure was a mortuary enclosure, associated with mortuary practice and planned similarly to long barrows. It was probably the earliest site of the Dorchester-on-Thames complex. [Order suggested by Whittle et al 1992: Dorchester Site VIII, 1, III, XI, II, I, IV, V, VI, 2, 3, XIV, XII, XIII, 4, VII, IX].
Remains/Period	Y5
County	Oxfordshire
Region	SE
National grid square	SU
X coordinate	570
Y coordinate	958
Bibliographic source	Whittle, Atkinson, Chambers and Thomas 1992