Wasous

Archaeologists have made an "unparalleled" discovery in East Yorkshire of a chariot buried with two horses, which look as if they "were leaping upwards out of the grave."

The chariot with its ponies [Credit: David Keys]

The pair had been carefully positioned in the Iron Age grave at Pocklington with their back legs bent and hooves just off the ground - ready to spring into the next life.

The chariot - with a man aged in his late 40 upwards in a fetal position inside - had also been buried upright, as though the vehicle was ready to roll on "into any future life."

Archaeologists say the horses may have originally been buried with their heads sticking out of the grave, although when found they were headless.

The discovery comes just a year after another Iron Age chariot and two well-preserved horses were discovered on another building site in the town, David Wilson Homes’ Pavilion Square development.

The horses were buried with a "highly regarded member of the community" who was in his late 40s or older, whose head was surrounded by the bones of six piglets, believed to be an offering, along with a well-preserved shield and a highly decorative brooch.

East Yorkshire is known for its chariot burials but Paula Ware from MAP Archaeological Practice said the type of burial rite had “no British parallel."

The excavation of an Iron Age chariot burial near Pocklington, Yorkshire [Credit: David Keys]

She said: "We couldn't tell how they were placed in the grave. Both were still upright and they were placed as though in motion as if they were leaping out of the grave. It looked as though their skulls were removed centuries ago.

"Possibly the heads were coming out of the graves. Did they go in alive who knows? There's no evidence of a ramp. This is a new burial rite which has never been seen before.

"How spectacular this is - and what time and effort must have gone into it and the people who must have taken part in this burial process, digging this 4.7m by 3.9m grave.

"There is more pig bone in this burial than there has been seen in burials across the Wolds.

"He is honoured with at least six piglets - normally there would be a quarter of a jaw. He was someone so significant."

Nearby was another amazing find - a young man aged 17 to 25 - who had been "ritually speared" with 10 iron and bone spears.

The excavation of the remains of a speared Iron Age man near Pocklington, Yorkshire [Credit: David Keys]

He had suffered blunt force trauma indicative of being in a conflict. It has been suggested by other experts following similar discoveries that it could be a ritual to ensure the corpse remained dead.

But Ms Ware believes it was to release the youngster's spirit, and was a sign of respect from the community.

Ms Ware said: "We will never know because there was no written word and we can only speculate." Simon Usher, managing director at Persimmon Homes Yorkshire, said: “Everyone has been absolutely thrilled by the finds.

"Keeping the news under wraps while the excavation was completed has been a real challenge, but so important to ensure the integrity of the site.”

Author: Alex Wood | Source: The Yorkshire Post [December 09, 2018]

A mysterious male skeleton, lying face-down deep in the Thames mud, with a pair of in-situ thigh-high leather boots has been discovered by MOLA archaeologists working on one of the sites being used to build London’s super sewer in Bermondsey.

The booted man discovered on the Tideway site at Chambers Wharf in London [Credit: MOLA Headland Archaeology]

The skeleton was discovered at Tideway’s Chambers Wharf site in Bermondsey, where work is currently underway to build the Thames Tideway Tunnel to stop sewage pollution in the River Thames.

Jack Russell, Archaeology Lead for Tideway, said:  “The Tideway archaeology programme has allowed us to gather really interesting new evidence for how Londoners have used the river throughout history. As we work towards our goal of cleaning up the Thames and reconnecting London with it, it’s really important to acknowledge the lessons we can learn from significant discoveries like this.”

The river was a hazardous place even in the late 15th century, so perhaps his occupation was the cause of his death and the reason he came to be discovered. Could he have been a fisherman, a mudlark or perhaps a sailor? Was he climbing the Bermondsey Wall when he fell into the water? Did he become trapped in the mud and drown? The discovery has sparked an investigation by a team of archaeological and osteological experts who are unravelling the mystery of the booted man in the mud. So what does the evidence tell us?

The boots

Specialists studying the boots believe they date to the late 15th or early 16th century. Leather was expensive and often re-used at this time and experts believe it is unlikely that someone would have been buried wearing such a highly-prized item. The boots would have reached thigh height when fully extended therefore would have been ideal for walking out into the river and through the sticky Thames mud, so were perhaps waders.

Boots during the conservation process [Credit: MOLA Headland Archaeology]

They were built to last: conservators revealed that they were reinforced with extra soles and stuffed with an unidentified material (possibly moss) perhaps to make them warmer or improve the fit. This research suggests the person wasn’t buried deliberately and the clues also indicate the owner may have made his living from the river, which could well have led to his untimely demise.

Beth Richardson, Finds Specialist at MOLA Headland, said: “By studying the boots we’ve been able to gain a fascinating glimpse into the daily life of a man who lived as many as 500 years ago. They have helped us to better understand how he may have made his living in hazardous and difficult conditions, but also how he may have died. It has been a privilege to be able to study something so rare and so personal.”

The bones

It’s not unusual to find burials on the foreshore, but the booted man’s position was unusual: face-down, with one arm above his head with the other bent back on itself to the side. These clues could suggest that he fell or drowned and was covered quickly by the ground as it moved with the tide. Osteological experts have not identified evidence of any injuries at the time of death or a cause of death.

Osteologist Niamh Carty examines the booted mans skeleton [Credit: MOLA Headland Archaeology]

However, they have uncovered some clues about how he might have made his living, evidence of the damage to his physical health from the extreme physical demands of his work on his body, and why he might have ended up in the silty deposits of the River Thames where he lay undisturbed for more than 500 years.

MOLA osteologists think it’s possible he was under the age of 35 at the time of death, by then he had already led an active life which left its mark on his skeleton. His daily life wouldn’t have been comfortable – he would have felt pain and discomfort from osteoarthritis. Possibly the biggest clues about his life, are deep grooves found on his teeth. They were caused by a repetitive action like passing rope between his teeth as a fisherman might – which may also suggest that he made his living from the river.

Niamh Carty, Human Osteologist at MOLA Headland, said: “Studying a human skeleton provides incredible insights that allow us to create osteo-biographies of a person’s life.  With the booted man, examining his teeth has given clues about his childhood and marks on his skeleton have allowed us to proffer ideas about the aches and pains he may have suffered from on a daily basis, the toll his job took on his body and even a little about what he might have looked like.”

The discovery location

It may be that his discovery location – at a bend in the river downstream from the Tower of London at Chambers Wharf close to where the medieval Bermondsey Wall stood – is a natural confluence where materials accumulate in the river.

Archaeologists on the tideway site at Chamber's Wharf in London [Credit: MOLA Headland Archaeology]

The skeleton was uncovered during the construction of a shaft at Chambers Wharf, where one of the main tunnel boring machines digging the super sewer is due to start tunneling later next year.

We may never know the answer to exactly how the booted man came to rest in the river, but his untimely death has offered an incredible opportunity to learn from him: to explore the relationships between the people of London in the past and the river Thames and how this dangerous and powerful natural resource was used by so many as a means of making a living.

Source: MOLA Headland Archaeology [December 04, 2018]

Archaeologists from the University of Sheffield have uncovered a previously unknown Anglo-Saxon cemetery.

Female burial unearthed at Anglo-Saxon cemetery in Lincolnshire [Credit: University of Sheffield]

Excavations have revealed more than 20 burials at the extraordinary cemetery in the Lincolnshire Wolds dating back to the late fifth to mid sixth centuries AD.

The dig at the site in Scremby, Lincolnshire was led by Dr Hugh Willmott and Dr Katie Hemer from the University of Sheffield's Department of Archaeology in collaboration with Dr Adam Daubney, the Lincolnshire Finds Liaison Officer for the Portable Antiquities Scheme.

The cemetery was first brought to light when a local metal dectorist began to discover a number of Anglo-Saxon artefacts, including copper gilded brooches, iron shield bosses and spear heads.

The finds were typical of those found in early Anglo-Saxon burials therefore it was necessary to excavate the site to ensure any further artefacts were retrieved, recorded and preserved before they could be destroyed by agricultural activity.

International volunteers, students from the University of Sheffield, and members of the RAF from nearby stations took part in the excavation which is the first to have been extensively investigated since the 19th century.

The cemetery was first brought to light when a local metal dectorist began to discover a number of Anglo-Saxon artefacts, including copper gilded brooches, iron shield bosses  and spear heads [Credit: University of Sheffield]

Dr Hugh Willmott, Senior Lecturer in European Historical Archaeology from the University of Sheffield, said: "Almost without exception, the burials were accompanied by a rich array of objects, in keeping with the funerary rites adopted during the early centuries of the Germanic migrations to eastern England.

"What is particularly interesting is the significant proportion of very lavish burials which belonged to women. These women wore necklaces made from sometimes hundreds of amber, glass and rock crystal beads, used personal items such as tweezers, carried fabric bags held open by elephant ivory rings, and wore exquisitely decorated brooches to fasten their clothing.

"Two women even received silver finger rings and a style of silver buckle commonly associated with Jutish communities in Kent. Furnished burials belonging to males were also identified, including a number buried with weaponry such as spears and shields.

Dr Willmott added: "Children were notably absent in the parts of the cemetery excavated this year, however, one of the most striking burials was that of a richly-dressed woman who was buried with a baby cradled in her left arm.

"The preservation of the skeletal remains, as well as the many grave finds, provide an exciting opportunity to explore the social and cultural dynamics of the community who chose to bury their dead on this chalky outcrop."

Brooch found at Anglo-Saxon cemetery [Credit: University of Sheffield]

In order to understand as much as possible about the site and those buried there, a series of scientific investigations are underway at the University of Sheffield by the Department of Archaeology.

The human remains are undergoing a complete osteological assessment, whilst stable isotope analysis of teeth and bone will identify where the individuals grew up as children and what food resources they ate.

Dr Katie Hemer, Lecturer in Bioarchaeology at the University of Sheffield, said: "Analysis also extends to a number of the finds, including the amber beads, which are being provenanced in collaboration with colleagues from Sheffield's Department of Physics; we will analyse the elemental composition of the metalwork and identify the elephant species which produced the ivory rings.

"The project's multi-faceted investigation which incorporates cutting-edge scientific techniques will enable Sheffield archaeologists to ask and answer significant questions about early Anglo-Saxon communities in eastern England."

Source: University of Sheffield [November 27, 2018]