Monument record 1783/1 - Possible Romano-British Cemetery, The Laundes

A Romano-British stone coffin was ploughed up in 1893. A second coffin and skeletal remains may have also been found here.

{1} 'Stone Coffin found AD 1893'.

{2} Stone sarcophagus.

{4} Stone sarcophagus found at TL03657064. Fieldname: The Lowndes. It is the belief of C.R.Berwick of Hargrave that another was found nearby and re-buried.

{6} Found at NGR TL03357228. In 1893 Roman pottery and a stone coffin were found, as well as coins and 'relics of a settlement'. More pottery and a coin were discovered in 1965. Another coin now in Huntingdon Museum may also have come from the same site. Roman and Iron Age pottery have more recently been found on the site.

{7} Stone coffin and skeleton found November 1893 'near Raunds'. The stone is said to be Weldon rag, but is unconfirmed as Roman.

{9} Inhumation found in 1893; a large stone coffin containing a man's skeleton and in a good state of preservation; the head lay to the east. There was no associated dating material but the form is late Roman and Romano-British coins have been found in the same field. The lid of the coffin was sealed with cement and placed in Hargrave churchyard in 1894; its current location is at TL03657064. C.R.Berwick of Hargrave believes that a second coffin was also found and re-buried nearby.

{10} Inhumation and burnt area located; a skeleton was recovered from ploughing; Romano-British pottery, burnt soil and other bone was observed.

{11} Mr Berwick has suggested that a second stone coffin was found but reburied. Pottery, coins and ston scatters were also identified by Mr Berwick together with an almost complete skeleton and 'charred fragments of human bone'.

{12} The massive coffin is almost certainly Roman and is still in the churchyard. Mr C R Berwick of Hargrave, a retired farmworker with a knowledgable interest in local archaeology agrees with the published site, believes that another coffin was found nearby and reburied. He himself has found Roman material there, including one coin. A perambulation of the area produced, at TL 03457229, a scatter of building debris, pottery (including
grey, colour coated and coarse wares) and bones, possibly human.

<1> 1958, OS 6 INCH MAP, TL07SW (checked) (Map). SNN7699.

<2> Woodfield P., 1978, Roman Architectural Masonry From Northamptonshire, p.85 (unchecked) (Article). SNN101140.

<3> Baker R.S., 1894, Associated Architectural Societies Reports, p.82-7 (unchecked) (Series). SNN60726.

<4> HALL D.N.; HUTCHINGS J.B., 1972, The Distribution of Archaeological Sites Between The Nene and The Ouse Valleys, p.14 (part checked) (Article). SNN35780.

<5> 1955, THRAPSTON, RAUNDS & OUNDLE JOURNAL, (unchecked) (Journal). SNN60728.

<6> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1975, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.48 (checked) (Series). SNN77379.

<7> Ryland, W, Adkins, D, and Serjeantson, R M, 1902, The Victoria History of the Counties of England: Northamptonshire, p.218 (checked) (Series). SNN100368.

<8> Salzman L.F.(ed), 1937, The Victoria History of the Counties of England: Northamptonshire, p.20 (unchecked) (Series). SNN100371.

<9> Ordnance Survey, 1950s/1960s, Ordnance Survey Record Cards, TL07SW1 (part checked) (Index). SNN443.

<10> 1955, Journal of Northants Natural History Society and Field Club, p.84 (unchecked) (Uncertain). SNN48309.

<11> Parry S. et al, 2006, Raunds Area Survey: An Archaeological Study of The Landscape of Raunds, Northamptonshire 1985-94, p. 266-268 (Book). SNN105780.

<12> Seaman, BH, 1969, Field investigators comments, F1 BHS 26-NOV-69 (Notes). SNN111907.

Record last edited

Jan 16 2024 4:35PM