EDO1225 - Old Granary Close, Preston, Weymouth; excavation 1986

During construction of a new housing development a bank was created to form a new roadway. In September 1986 a student noticed a human skull protruding from the bank. The skull was removed by the police for coroners examination, along with practically the whole of one skeleton and the skull and main bones of the right leg of a second. Details of the mode of burial were not noted. Some days later, the site was more carefully examined by Ron Lucas and Clare Randall, who excavated the remaining bones of the second individual. The second body had been laid on its back with its legs flexed to the left, an adult, probably male, height approximately 5ft 7in. It was orientated SSW to NNE with the head to SSW. The second skeleton appeared to be that of a young teenager had been placed directly on top of the lower body with head to the north. On top of the bodies was a fill of earth and large stones but it is not possible to tell whether there was a cairn or not. The burial was within sight of bronze age barrows on the ridgeway to the north. No grave goods were recovered but some small sherds of pottery, too small for formal identification, were indicative of prehistoric and possibly bronze age.