Monument record MDO19697 - South of Tinney's Lane, Sherborne; late Iron Age inhumation burial [128]

Excavations by Wessex Archaeology at the south side of Tinney’s Lane during 1997 revealed evidence for a flexed inhumation burial in close proximity to two further flexed and one crouched inhumation burial at the southern end of the site. The burial is probably of an adult female aged c. 45 years and has been radiocarbon dated to 370 BC – AD 10.

Found during excavations conducted by Wessex Archaeology during January 1997 in advance of a housing development (Knotts Paddock) south of Tinney’s Lane, Sherborne. The results of the excavation have been published in PDNHAS, 121, 53-69 (1). Numbers in square brackets below refer to context numbers given in this report.

The remains of four inhumation burials were excavated within a 12m x 5m area in the SW of the site. The grave cuts varied in depth from 0.2m- 0.55m with the shallowest [12] containing the remains of a young juvenile. All the burials had been laid on their right sides with their heads to the north. Three were flexed with the right arm extended and the left flexed across the body and one [24] was crouched. The only finds were residual fragments of early Iron Age pottery from the backfill of graves [17] and [125]. A further possible burial may be indicated by the presence of the articulated skeletal ramins of a right hand [116] on the west side of quarry pit [27] in the north of the site.

Skeleton [128] within grave cut [125] was of a probable adult female aged c. 45 years. The skeleton had fairly extensive lesions in both orbital vaults and slight lesions in the mandible. Extensive and severe lesions were also visible in many joints suggesting debilitating osteoarthritis.

In the absence of any dating material, femora from two skeletons [24] and [128] were submitted for radiocarbon dating. The calibrated results suggested that [128] dated from 370 BC- AD 10 and [24] from AD 430-660.

These vastly different dates from an apperently coherent burial group are difficult to reconcile and it is possible that one of the dates is erroneous. However, burial [24] dated to the post-Roman period, is in a slightly differnet (crouched) position to the others. This may suggest that the three flexed burials were all of late Iron Age date, with a single later insertion.

<1> McKinley, J I, 1999, Excavations at Tinney’s Lane, Sherborne, Dorset; Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society (Article in serial). SDO10368.

Record last edited

Sep 19 2007 2:48AM