Monument record 5832/0/1 - Middle Saxon burials and late Saxon/medieval ditches, The Coach House

The remains of three individuals were found in a single grave during development. Subsequent archaeological mitigation found no further burials, although two late Saxon/medieval ditches were identified.

{1} Human remains discovered at a building site have been radiocarbon dated to between the late 7th and early 9th century. The remains are of three people, an infant aged 0 to 2 years, a woman older than 45 and a man between 35 and 45. All three were in a single grave, and are believed to have died of disease and been buried at the edge of a settlement. Photos.

{2} The grave was 2.8m long and cut to a depth of c.70cm from the original ground surface. The bodies had been placed head to toe in a line with an east-west orientation with the head at the west end. The orientation is consistent with Christian burial but may equally have been dicated by the east-west orientation of the property boundaries in the area.

{3} Archaeological mitigation undertaken following the discovery of the burials found no further evidence of human remains although two intercutting ditches containing pottery dating to the 11th-12th centuries were recorded.

<1> Northamptonshire Police, 2013, Remains Date Back More Than 1000 Years, (checked) (Article). SNN109390.

<2> Cellmark Forensic services, 2013, Casework Results Report, (checked) (Report). SNN109388.

<3> Cook, Prof. G.T., 2013, Radiocarbon Dating report to Cellmark Forensic Services on 2 Bone Samples, (checked) (Report). SNN109389.

<4> Muldowney M., 2013, Archaeological mitigation at The Coach House, Main Road, Middleton Cheney, Northamptonshire, October 2013 (Report). SNN109902.

Record last edited

Jul 15 2020 12:43PM