Monument record MDO18095 - Maumbury Rings post-medieval burials

A single grave aligned E-W containing two supine extended adult skeletons was found sealed just beneath the turf line under the northern end of western ramp of Maumbury Rings Civil War fort. The two skeletons were laid side by side with their heads to the west, though one skeleton lacked a skull.

A double inhumation burial found beneath the northern end of the western ramp of the Civil War fortifications at Maumbury Rings during the excavations directed by H St George Gray from 1908-1913.

A single grave containing two supine extended adult skeletons was found sealed just beneath the turfline under the northern end of western ramp of Maumbury Rings Civil War fort. The grave was very shallow aligned E-W. The two skeletons were laid side by side with their heads to the west, though one skeleton lacked a skull. Some post-medieval finds including a knife, a key and a beam to a steelyard were found in the grave filling.

The context of these burials is not known, but their form and orientation would suggest they were christian. Maumbury Rings was used for the execution of criminals at least by the eighteenth century (1) and perhaps these are the remains of buried criminals.

Gray, H St George, 1908-1913, Maumbury Rings excavation archive (Excavation archive). SDO9419.

Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 3, 592 (Monograph). SDO150.

Bradley, R, 1976, Maumbury Rings, Dorchester: The Excavations of 1908-1913, 1-97 (Article in serial). SDO9387.

<1> Pope, A, 1885, The Amphitheatre at Dorchester. Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club, 66-69 (Article in serial). SDO9397.

Record last edited

Aug 22 2024 7:26PM