Monument record 5940/1 - Probable late Roman cemetery, north of Weekley Wood Lane

A rescue excavation undertaken during road widening in 1992 recovered 32 undated inhumations. The burials pre-dated the medieval ridge and furrow so are likely to be Roman or Saxon in date (most likely to be late Roman).

{1} Minor rescue excavation undertaken in March 1992 by G.Cadman. The remains of 32 burials were recorded in an area 50m long x 12m wide along the road corridor; all were aligned east to west. Many had been damaged by later ridge and furrow ploughing. There were no finds but the burials must have been earlier than the overlying medieval cultivation, and possibly Roman.

{2} Letter from B.Dix to J. Kilford. It talks of finding 32 skeletons of which less than half was intact-most had been damaged by recent earthmoving or previous agricultural ploughing. The site appears to be part of a burial ground extending northwards. Only those burials within the road corridor were excavated. No objects accompanied the skeletons and their dating is therefore uncertain, beyond being earlier than the ridge-and furrow cultivation which overlay them. The individual burials were roughly orientated and at least two graves contained more than one internment.

{3) Newspaper article on the burials found.

{4} The cemetery plan suggests that it continues northwards into the adjacent pasture where an associated building may have existed.

<1> Cadman G., 1992, A43 Improvements: Weekley, (checked) (SMR Report Form). SNN48826.

<2> DIX B., 1992, Letter to J.Kilford, 10/4/92 (checked) (Correspondence). SNN43793.

<3> 1992, The Evening Telegraph, 07/04/92 (checked) (Journal). SNN43794.

<4> Cadman, G, 1992, M1-A1 Contract 5(N): Individual Site Reports- Weekley (Report). SNN112855.

Record last edited

Jan 7 2022 10:31AM