NHER 68302 (Monument record) - Undated cremation burial

September 2023. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of proposed development site.
The 33 trenches excavated revealed only two pits, both of which lay within a single trench at the western edge of the area examined. The smaller of these features was a probable unurned cremation burial - being filled with a black, charcoal-rich deposit that contained fragments of calcined human bone. The small assemblage of cremated bone recovered is likely to represent the remains of a single adult of indeterminate sex, with the total weight suggesting the skeleton was very incomplete. A sample taken from the fill of the adjacent pit produced material of a very different character to that from the cremation – with bone and charcoal scarce but black porous and tarry concretions abundant, along with small pieces of coal. It is therefore likely that this a modern feature and its proximity to the cremation burial coincidental.
No unstratified finds were recovered during this work.
See report (S1) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 28 April 2024.

March 2024. Excavation.
This final phase of archaeological mitigation prior to the construction of a new school saw the excavation of a small area at the location of the cremation burial identified by the preceding evaluation.
No additional archaeologically-significant remains were uncovered.
See report (S2) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 28 November 2024.