Attitudes to Disposal of the Dead - Gazetteer Query Form

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Site name Amesbury 70, Beacon Hill, Earls Farm Down
Site number 471
Burial codes 4001 4005 4021 4023 4025 4028 4030 4035 4041 4046 4051 4065 4075 4084 4091 4098 4104 4106 4112 4128 4143 4152 4153 4181
2500bc-14/1300bc A round barrow with ditch, and a laid turf mound with chalk revetment covering a central round cremation pit cut into bedrock 0.45m wide x 0.6m deep. It contained a large quantity of incompletely cremated bones of an adult (?)male c20-35, and a little charcoal at the bottom. Clay sods covered the cremation, filling the pit and forming a slight dome at the old land surface.

Immediately north of the pit was a deep post hole cut 0.6m into bedrock. Packing of compact chalk and chalk rubble extended 0.23m above the old land surface in a cone shape to support the post that had stood in the hole. The hole was sealed 0.7m from its bottom by a band of unburnt wood and chalk rubble, and was empty.

Two fossil beads were found, one in a ditch, one in the turf stack. The pottery sherds were found in and under the turf mound, and were not numerous, but could be grouped. They included Western Neolithic, Beaker, collared urn, and a miniature vessel sherd. A bronze brooch of the 1st Century AD was found in the upper ditch filling.
Remains/Period Y4
County Wiltshire
Region S
National grid square SU
X coordinate 184
Y coordinate 419
Bibliographic source Christie 1964


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Last updated: Tues Aug 10 2004