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 Saxton Road, Abingdon

Site number 979

Burial codes 4005 4009 4021 4023 4025 4028 4029 4035 4042 4046 4051 4043 4065 4072 4074 4085 4093 4098 4103 4104 4109 4111 4112 4128 4143 4152 4153 4157 4181

2500bc-14/1300bc A round barrow with ditch and a mound topped with dark topsoil, covering successive layers of rammed gravel, dark tough earth, gravel and then the natural gravel subsoil. The gravel layers were of a red imported type.

There was a central grave c1.8m x 1m x 0.5m deep oriented NE/SW, containing the skeleton of an adult male, crouched, on its left side, facing south east, and with no accompanying grave goods. The right hand was raised to the face, a common trait in such inhumations. Above the grave, higher in the mound, was a cremation of an adult with some carbonised material in a small pit, and 0.6m to the north of that deposit was the inhumation of a child, neither accompanied by grave goods.

There were three other deposits, two of them inhumations, and one the placing of a broken food vessel in a shallow hole in the natural gravel. In the lower band of rammed gravel was the skeleton of a female, on its left side, legs lightly flexed, oriented WNW/ESE, facing south, both hands up to the face, and with the remains of an infant in the pelvic region. In another grave cut into the rammed gravel was the skeleton of an adult female, very contracted, legs tightly flexed, on its left side, oriented ESE/WNW, facing south, and with the traces of a coffin. There were no grave goods.

Remains/Period Y4

County Oxfordshire

Region SE

National grid square SU

X coordinate 490

Y coordinate 970

Bibliographic source Leeds 1936

Query

Site name	Saxton Road, Abingdon
Site number	979
Burial codes	4005 4009 4021 4023 4025 4028 4029 4035 4042 4046 4051 4043 4065 4072 4074 4085 4093 4098 4103 4104 4109 4111 4112 4128 4143 4152 4153 4157 4181
2500bc-14/1300bc	A round barrow with ditch and a mound topped with dark topsoil, covering successive layers of rammed gravel, dark tough earth, gravel and then the natural gravel subsoil. The gravel layers were of a red imported type. There was a central grave c1.8m x 1m x 0.5m deep oriented NE/SW, containing the skeleton of an adult male, crouched, on its left side, facing south east, and with no accompanying grave goods. The right hand was raised to the face, a common trait in such inhumations. Above the grave, higher in the mound, was a cremation of an adult with some carbonised material in a small pit, and 0.6m to the north of that deposit was the inhumation of a child, neither accompanied by grave goods. There were three other deposits, two of them inhumations, and one the placing of a broken food vessel in a shallow hole in the natural gravel. In the lower band of rammed gravel was the skeleton of a female, on its left side, legs lightly flexed, oriented WNW/ESE, facing south, both hands up to the face, and with the remains of an infant in the pelvic region. In another grave cut into the rammed gravel was the skeleton of an adult female, very contracted, legs tightly flexed, on its left side, oriented ESE/WNW, facing south, and with the traces of a coffin. There were no grave goods.
Remains/Period	Y4
County	Oxfordshire
Region	SE
National grid square	SU
X coordinate	490
Y coordinate	970
Bibliographic source	Leeds 1936