Monument record MDO37225 - Iron Age 'Durotrigian' burial (7372) on Southdown Ridge, Weymouth

An uncoffined inhumation burial recorded during excavations in 2008-2009 in advance of construction of the Weymouth Relief Road, one of nineteen excavated in the area of an Iron Age settlement. This grave contained the remains of three individuals: the crouched burials of an adolsescent and a young male, buried at around the same time, and the slightly later burial of a young person aged around 15 years old.

A grave cut into the filling of a ditch at a point where it was intersected by a short gully. The grave cut was roughly oval, 1.1m long, 0.8m wide and 0.3m deep, and aligned NNE-SSW. It contained the remains of three individuals.

Two skeletons seem to have been buried at about the same time. One (7384) lay in a crouched position on its left side, facing east and with the head to the north. It was the almost complete skeleton of an adolescent between 12½ and 14 years of age, of uncertain sex. Examination of the bones revealed evidence of periostitis and a dental anomaly. The second (7383) had its head to the south, in a crouched position facing west with the left arm underneath, and was an adult male. The skeleton was nearly complete, missing part of the legs and the right arm, and with the mandible disarticulated. Examination of the bones revealed evidence of vertebral osteophytosis and disc herniations.

The third skeleton (7371) seemed to have been buried later than the others, and was disturbed by later ploughing. The skeleton was less than 25% complete and comprised the lower legs and feet of an individual around 15 years old. The sex of this individual could not be determined. Examination of the bones revealed evidence of periostitis, possibly due to muscle trauma.
There was no osteological evidence to indicate that any of these individuals were related. Analysis of a soil sample taken from the filling of the grave produced a range of charred crops and probable weeds; these suggested that the burial took place in an area that was previously used to dump domestic refuse, rather than the plant material being deliberately deposited at the time of burial. {1}

<1> Brown, L, Hayden, C and Score, D, 2014, 'Down to Weymouth town by Ridgeway'. Prehistoric, Roman and later sites along the Weymouth Relief Road, 190-192 (Monograph). SDO14013.

Record last edited

Jun 29 2015 11:09AM