Information for record number MWA13086:
Bronze Age Cremation pits at Birch Coppice, Baddesley Ensor

Summary A group of five small pits containing cremated bone and charcoal dating to the Middle Bronze Age were discovered at Birch Coppice.
What Is It?  
Type: Cremation Pit, Funeral Pyre?
Period: Middle Bronze Age (1600 BC - 1201 BC)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Baddesley Ensor
District: North Warwickshire, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 26 99
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Level of Protection Local
Description

  
Source Number  

1 Five small pits containing cremated bone and charcoal were found. A radiocarbon date from one the human bone fragments dated to 1495-1319 Cal. BC. They are likely to represent redeposited pyre debris rather than formal cremation deposits.
 
Sources
Source No: 1
Source Type: Observation Report
Title: Lower House Farm, Birch Coppice Phase II, Warwickshire: Archaeological Watching Brief Report
Author/originator: Sykes, D
Date: 2011
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
period Bronze Age About 2500 BC to 700 BC

The Bronze Age comes after the Neolithic period and before the Iron Age.

The day to day life of people in the Bronze Age probably changed little from how their ancestors had lived during the Neolithic period. They still lived in farmsteads, growing crops and rearing animals.

During the Bronze Age people discovered how to use bronze, an alloy of tin and copper (hence the name that has given to this era). They used it to make their tools and other objects, although they continued to use flint and a range of organic materials as well. A range of bronze axes, palstaves and spears has been found in Warwickshire.
more -> 		back
monument CREMATION PIT * A pit over which a corpse has been cremated on a pyre into which the remains and debris, and sometime grave goods, collapse and are buried. Generally confined to the Roman period. back
monument CREMATION * A funeral rite in which the human body is burnt, usually on a pyre, leaving fragmentary charred or completely combusted remains. Often found buried, occasionally in a container associated with grave goods. back
monument HOUSE * A building for human habitation, especially a dwelling place. Use more specific type where known. back
monument FUNERAL PYRE * A structure consisting of combustible material, typically wood, on which a body is placed and then cremated, sometimes with accompanying grave goods. Use only when evidence of structure exists. back
monument PIT * A hole or cavity in the ground, either natural or the result of excavation. Use more specific type where known. back
monument COPPICE * A managed small wood or thicket of underwood grown to be periodically cut to encourage new growth providing smaller timber. back
monument FARM * A tract of land, often including a farmhouse and ancillary buildings, used for the purpose of cultivation and the rearing of livestock, etc. Use more specific type where known. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record