record MDR4389 - Cremation cemetery (approximate site of), King's Newton
Type and Period (4)
- RECTANGULAR ENCLOSURE (Saxon - 500 AD to 600 AD)
- URNFIELD (Saxon - 500 AD to 600 AD)
- DITCH (Saxon - 410 AD to 850 AD)
- CREMATION CEMETERY (Saxon - 410 AD to 850 AD)
Protected Status/Designation
- None recorded
Full Description
An Anglo-Saxon cremation cemetery which "must have contained many hundreds of urns" was found in 1866 in making a deep cutting for the railway through the crest of a hill about 200 yds south-east and east of the village of King's Newton. Twenty yards to the north of the cemetery [in 1868] was a rectangular earthwork 166 yds by 66 yds internally, the ditch on the north side being well preserved with traces of a bank. On the south it had been partly filled in and an orchard planted. On the east side it had been obliterated by the railway cutting (1).
The few published details suggest a 6th century date. (2)
[SK 3924 2617] Short length of ditch visible on aerial photographs. (3). Both the ditch noted by authy. 3 and that published at SK 3926 2623 have been filled in and built over. The latter was used as a drain and that may have been its sole purpose. No other earthworks are to be seen in the area, and no recent finds have been made. (4)
An Anglo-Saxon cemetery at King's Newton, Melbourne, was discovered in 1866. The urns were of dark clay and were mostly placed upright with the tops covered by thin, flat stones. Many of the urns were destroyed by workmen but Briggs (Authy 1) records about thirty. Massey (Authy 1) found urns in groups of three or five and a small piece of shaped flint, charcoal, and a fragment of a metal ring. Jewitt (Authy 1) illustrated the accounts with drawings of twelve urns. Remains of two of the urns - the upper part of a biconical urn with chevron and stamp pattern and a shouldered urn with hangeride Bogen decoration - are in the Ashmolean Museum, Acc. 1886-1663. Corpus No. 58-59. (5-6)
Sources/Archives (7)
- <1> SDR541 Article in serial: Briggs, JJ, Massey, W & Jewitt, L. 1868-9. 'Notice of a discovery of ancient remains at King's Newton, Derbyshire', The Reliquary. Volume 9, pp 1-8, illust..
- <2> SDR3409 Article in serial: RHM Dolley & RG Hughes. 1955. Brit Num J 28 1955. Volume 28. p176-7.
- <3> SDR1395 Aerial Photograph: 1950. APs (541/445/3102-3 01-MAR-50).
- <4> SDR6134 Bibliographic reference: F1 BHS 27-JUN-66.
- <5> SDR6903 Bibliographic reference: Meaney, A. 1964. A Gazetteer of Early Anglo-Saxon Burial Sites. p76.
- <6> SDR4050 Bibliographic reference: JNL Myres. 1977. Corpus of AS Pottery of Pagan Period Vol 1. Volume 1. p90, 316, 342.
- <7> SDR17779 Index: TPAT. 2233. 2233.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | SK 3935 2615 (point) Centre |
|---|---|
| Civil Parish | MELBOURNE, SOUTH DERBYSHIRE, DERBYSHIRE |
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Events/Activities (1)
- EDR1435
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External Links (0)
Record last edited
Feb 8 2024 10:01AM