Information for record number MWA1786:
'Pipe' Burial found in Mancetter.

Summary The remains of a rare 'pipe' burial, dating to the Roman period, were found 300m south west of Barn Farm.
What Is It?  
Type: Burial
Period: Romano-British (43 AD - 409 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Mancetter
District: North Warwickshire, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 33 96
(Data represented on this map shows the current selected record as a single point, this is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent an accurate or complete representation of archaeological sites or features)
Level of Protection National - Old SMR PrefRef (Grade: )
Sites & Monuments Record
Picture(s) attached

  
Description

  
Source Number  

1 The remains of a rare and unusual method of treating the dead known as a 'pipe burial'. They were found in 1980 in a drainage trench 30m from and parallel to the A5 south of Mancetter. Although site visits were made, it has not been possible to identify the exact location of the burial. The burial consisted of fragments of a wide necked grey ware jar, c. 2nd century AD.; eight fragments cremated bone, a length of lead pipe 49cm long with a deliberately hammered over end, an iron nail and several nail holes, indicating a perishable cover; and a small glass bottle.
2 March 1980: Machine excavations for field drains uncovered a small intact bluish-green jar, 110mm high with rim diameter varying from 54-56mm. This jar contained fragments of burnt human bone, probably of a young adult. A large piece of lead pipe, maximum length c492mm was also found.
3 The glass of the jar is a pale bluish-green in colour; vessels of this type were probably not being made much after AD 125-30. Close parallels from Mancetter are not forthcoming and the vessel seems unlikely to have been made there. The occurrence of the pipe suggests a comparison with the small number of 'pipe burials' known from Roman Britain. In these a pipe, usually of lead, was used to provide communication between the ground surface and the burial itself for the purpose of admitting libations.
4 Further photographs.
5 Note about the find.
6 Correspondence about the find and about 'pipe' burials.
7 Noted.
 
Sources
Source No: 6
Source Type: Correspondence
Title: Roman Pipe Burial, Mancetter.
Author/originator: Various
Date: 1980
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Note
Title: Roman Pipe Burial, Mancetter
Author/originator:
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Photograph
Title: Mancetter Pipe Burial
Author/originator:
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Photograph
Title: SMR Card
Author/originator:
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: PRN 1349
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Serial
Title: TBAS vol 92 (1982)
Author/originator: Birmingham and Warwickshire Archaeology Society
Date: 1988
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 92
   
Source No: 7
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Roman Mancetter (notes and site gazetteer)
Author/originator: Scott K?
Date: 1983?
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Human Bone from the Mancetter Pipe Burial
Author/originator: A. Stirland
Date: 1980
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
Roman finds from a burial found in Mancetter, North Warwickshire
Copyright: Warwickshire County Council
Date: 1980
Click here for larger image  
 
Roman pottery jar from a burial found in Mancetter, North Warwickshire
Copyright: Warwickshire County Council
Date: 1980
Click here for larger image  
 
A Roman glass jar found as part of a pipe burial to the south of Mancetter
Copyright: Warwickshire County Council
Click here for larger image  
 
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
source SMR Card Sites and Monuments Record Card. The Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record began to be developed during the 1970s. The details of individual archaeological sites and findspots were written on record cards. These record cards were used until the 1990s, when their details were entered on to a computerised system. The record cards are still kept at the office of the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. back
source TBAS Transactions of the Birmingham and Warwickshire Archaeological Society is a journal produced by the society annually. It contains articles about archaeological field work that has taken place in Birmingham and Warwickshire in previous years. Copies of the journal are kept by the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. back
technique excavation Archaeologists excavate sites so that they can find information and recover archaeological materials before they are destroyed by erosion, construction or changes in land-use.

Depending on how complicated and widespread the archaeological deposits are, excavation can be done by hand or with heavy machinery. Archaeologists may excavate a site in a number of ways; either by open area excavation, by digging a test pit or a trial trench.
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period Roman About 43 AD to 409 AD (the 1st century AD to the 5th century AD)

The Roman period comes after the Iron Age and before the Saxon period.

The Roman period in Britain began in 43 AD when a Roman commander called Aulus Plautius invaded the south coast, near Kent. There were a series of skirmishes with the native Britons, who were defeated. In the months that followed, more Roman troops arrived and slowly moved westwards and northwards.
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monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument TRENCH * An excavation used as a means of concealment, protection or both. back
monument BURIAL * An interment of human or animal remains. Use specific type where known. If component use with wider site type. Use FUNERARY SITE for optimum retrieval in searches. back
monument BARN * A building for the storage and processing of grain crops and for housing straw, farm equipment and occasionally livestock and their fodder. Use more specific type where known. back
monument FIELD DRAIN * An unsocketed earthenware or porous concrete pipe laid end to end unjointed so as to drain the ground. 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