Monument record MDR5061 - Possible inhumation cemetery, Overton Hall, Ashover
Type and Period (2)
- INHUMATION (Roman to Saxon - 43 AD? to 1065 AD?)
- INHUMATION CEMETERY (Roman to Saxon - 43 AD to 1065 AD)
Protected Status/Designation
- None recorded
Full Description
Area centred: SK 3470 6220. Five human skeletons were found in February, 1887, in digging the foundations of a new boundary wall for an extension of the lawn on the south-east side of Overton Hall. The skeletons were about 15 inches below the surface; four had their feet to the east and the other lay with its head to south. The locations of individual skeletons were measured from an angle in the new wall. All the skeletons lay within 16 feet south-west of it and underlay the line of the wall. Two skeletons appeared to have been placed one on the top of the other. Only one skeleton was removed under Kerry's direction; it lay on its left side in a grave "too short" for it. Beneath the skeleton were fragments of sparkling grey and white lead ore (from which Kerry concluded that the burials were of Britons working in Roman lead-mines.) (1, 2)
Included in "Anglo-Saxon Remains" and compared to a similar group of burials at Calver Low. (3)
An account in Bulmer's Directory, presumably garbled, refers to 26 skeletons being found at Overton Hall in 1887, 'a few inches below the sward' while making 'a tennis ground'. Nothing else was found with the skeletons but about 30 yards away some coins 'bearing the date 1742' were also turned up. (4)
No further information was gained in field investigation and nothing of significance was seen in the area. (5) Listed as a doubtful Anglo-Saxon site. (6)
Mentioned as a probable Anglian flat-grave cemetery. (7, 10)
Sources/Archives (10)
- <1> SDR13494 Article in serial: Kerry, C. 1887. 'On the discovery of skeletons at Overton Hall, Ashover', Reliquary. N.S. Vol. 1, pp 111-112.
- <2> SDR13306 Personal Observation: R1 WW 16-MAY-60.
- <3> SDR19743 Bibliographic reference: 1905. 'Anglo-Saxon Remains', in The Victoria County History of Derbyshire, Volume 1. pp 265-277. p 272.
- <4> SDR3507 Bibliographic reference: Bulmer, T and Co.. 1895. History, Topography and Directory of Derbyshire. p42.
- <5> SDR6511 Personal Observation: F1 WW 24-MAY-60.
- <6> SDR6903 Bibliographic reference: Meaney, A. 1964. A Gazetteer of Early Anglo-Saxon Burial Sites. p77.
- <7> SDR12503 Article in serial: Ozanne, A. 1962-3. 'The Peak Dwellers', Medieval Archaeology. Volume 6-7. p34.
- <8> SDR6597 Personal Observation: F2 FRH 26-JUL-66.
- <9> SDR10849 Index: North Derbyshire Archaeological Trust (NDAT). North Derbyshire Archaeological Trust Index: 0099. 0099.
- <10> SDR8643 Bibliographic reference: Marsden, B. 1977. The Burial Mounds of Derbyshire. p116.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred SK 3470 6222 (12m by 11m) (Centre) |
|---|---|
| Civil Parish | ASHOVER, NORTH EAST DERBYSHIRE, DERBYSHIRE |
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Events/Activities (1)
- EDR1358
Please contact the HER for details.
External Links (0)
Record last edited
Nov 21 2016 4:28PM