Monument record 1301/11 - Probable C6th Cremation Cemetery, St Peter's Church

Ten cremations in shallow pits, three within cremation vessels. Grave goods accompanied some of the cremations.

{1} Trial excavation 1989, part of The Raunds Survey. 15 shallow oval pits, some containing cremated bone and early-middle Saxon pottery. A copper alloy and iron vessel was recovered from one pit. Possible early Saxon cemetery; no contemporary boundaries were located.

{2} Anglo-Saxon cemetery containing 10 cremations. All cremations very incomplete, possibly due to disturbance of area with later activity. 4 cremations with greatest amount of bone were for 1 adult, 1 child and 1 infant (age at death 18 months to 3 years) and 1 of unknown age. Grave goods associated with cremations suggests C6th date for cemetery. Metal vessel associated with infant burial. Remainder of grave goods suggest female remains.
Pottery recovered from the cemetery is one of the few definite early Saxon pottery assemblages in the Raunds area. The pottery originates in C6th. Early Middle Saxon, Late Saxon and medieval sherds were also found. Assemblage quite different from the other main early Saxon site at Langham Road. It suggests different points of manufacture in Raunds area.

{4} The cremations were contained within shallow oval pits measuring up to 0.6m by 0.5m. Only small quantities of cremated bone were present, presumably because of the poor survival of the featues. Similar small pits nearby may have contained cremations in their now truncated upper fills. Although the pits were discretely clustered no contemporary boundaries were located. Any continuation of the pits to the south and east will have been removed by the construction of a garage and by Park Road.
Later ditches, possibly forming subsequent plot boundaries, can be dated to the late Saxon period. Their NNE to SSW orientation is not respected by the modern line of Park Road. Large pits dug in the late Saxon or early medieval period may have been opened to extract the Blisworth Clay.

<1> Parry, S., 1991, Raunds Area Project: Park Road, (checked) (SMR Report Form). SNN48954.

<2> Parry S., 1993, Raunds Area Survey Report, p.210-20 (checked) (Draft). SNN1175.

<3> Parry S., 1989, Excavations at Park Road, Raunds, (checked) (Report). SNN56946.

<4> Parry S. et al, 2006, Raunds Area Survey: An Archaeological Study of The Landscape of Raunds, Northamptonshire 1985-94, p.225 (checked) (Book). SNN105780.

<5> Dix B., 1992, Recent Work in Northamptonshire Archaeology, 24/123 (Checked) (Article). SNN104441.

<6> Pike A. (Editor), 1990, South Midlands Archaeology: CBA Group 9 Newsletter (20), 20/42 (checked) (Journal). SNN39962.

<7> 1990, Medieval Archaeology (34), 34/204 (checked) (Journal). SNN3795.

<8> Mays, S A, 1993, Cremated human bone from Park Road, Raunds, Northamptonshire (excavated 1989) (Report). SNN111420.

Record last edited

Feb 10 2025 8:01PM