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Bronze Age Cremation Cemeteries in the East Midlands

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 February 2014

Carol S. M. Allen ,
Mary Harman  and
Hazel Wheeler
Carol S. M. Allen
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, University of Nottingham
Mary Harman
Affiliation:
42 West High Street, Lauder
Hazel Wheeler
Affiliation:
Formerly Trent Valley Archaeological Research Committee, University Park, Nottingham
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Abstract

Two Bronze Age cremation cemeteries excavated between 1968 and 1975 are reported and discussed. At Coneygre Farm, Notts., fifty-one cremations were excavated, thirty-one in pots, six in cists, and fourteen uncontained. Cremations were deposited in a roughly linear arrangement and no barrow was found. At Pasture Lodge Farm, Lincs., twenty-seven pots were found, of which twenty-five had associated cremations, and fifteen further sherds could represent burials. Vessels in this cemetery form a small cluster. Pottery from these two cemeteries is broadly similar to Deverel-Rimbury ware and with vessels from other sites in the region is considered to form an East Midlands group of Bronze Age pottery. Vessels of this type from Frieston and Grantham, Lincs., are illustrated for the first time. Examination of thin sections of the pottery from the two cemeteries suggests that most, although not all, of the materials used could have been found locally. Organic remains found in thin sections provide environmental information. The effect of soils on durability of pots and their probable function is discussed. A direct relationship is noticed for the first time between the age of the cremated individual and the capacity of the pot in which the cremation was deposited.

Type
Research Article
Information
Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society , Volume 53 , Issue 1 , 1987 , pp. 187 - 221
Copyright
Copyright © The Prehistoric Society 1987

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