Attitudes to Disposal of the Dead - Gazetteer Query Form

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Query

Site name Amesbury 61a
Site number 417
Burial codes 4005 4009 4021 4023 4025 4028 4030 4031 4043 4044 4051 4052 4065 4075 4083 4092 4094 4098 4104 4105 4108 4110 4111 4121 4122 4127 4130 4143 4152 4153 4181
2500bc-14/1300bc A disc barrow, oval in shape and oriented NNE/SSW. Unburnt bones were deposited in a natural pit in the north east quadrant c8m from the centre point. The pit infill was of loam containing numerous weathered flint pieces and 13 sherds of Mortlake, Grooved ware and Beaker pottery. The bones were of a child c4, an adolescent c13-16, and a young adult. Many of the bones were weathered and rotted. They had been deposited in order - femora, trunk, tibiae, fibulae and smashed skull, and all were placed on a 'causeway' between two ovate irregular natural pits within the whole pit.

A rectangular cremation grave with loose chalky infill was just south of the barrow centre, and contained the bones of an adult, and a small globular vessel upright at the north end of the pear shaped heap. Beside the vessel was an amber coloured beaver incisor beneath which was an oblate amber bead. By the vessel was also: a bronze awl, an amber bead, 2 blue segmented faience beads, and 2 cowrie shells. Inside the vessel was a small oblate amber bead, a fossil crinoid stem ossicle, and two small waste flint flakes. At the centre of the barrow was an empty grave like pit with a charcoal flecked loam infill.
Remains/Period Y4
County Wiltshire
Region S
National grid square SU
X coordinate 175
Y coordinate 423
Bibliographic source Grinsell 1957a, 1974, Ashbee 1984b


Query

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Last updated: Tues Aug 10 2004