Monument record MDO47846 - Roman inhumation cemetery, Charborough Park, Morden

A Roman inhumation cemetery was excavated in Charborough Park in 1864 during the erection of an enclosure fence for a plantation towards the west end of Charborough Down. Between fourteen or sixteen inhumations were recorded, arranged in a row running north/south, with the feet of the skeletons to the east. No grave goods were recovered, but a sherd of pottery was found beneath the head of one inhumation. The exact location is not known.

A series of well-defined coffin-shaped excavations, cut into the chalk and containing inhumation burials, was found in Charborough Park (SY 9298) in 1864 during the erection of an enclosure fence for a plantation towards the west end of Charborough Down, about 100 yards north of a large barrow (perhaps one of the mounds on the west side of the park). The fourteen or sixteen burials which were examined were arranged in a row running north/south, with the feet of the skeletons to the east. No grave - goods were found, but beneath the head of one was a piece of unglazed reddish ware, apparently a portion of a small patera. (1-2)

<1> Shipp, W (ed), 1868, The History and Antiquities of the County of Dorset. 3rd edition. Volume 3, 505-6 (Monograph). SWX3207.

<2> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 3, 602-3 (Monograph). SDO150.

<3> National Record of the Historic Environment, 457325 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Mar 7 2024 2:24PM