Information for record number MWA2539:
Site of Possible Saxon Religious Site at Blacklow Hill

Summary An arrangement of pits, post holes and two burials were discovered during excavations on Blacklow Hill. The site may represent an Anglo Saxon religious site dating to the Migration period.
What Is It?  
Type: Pit, Post Hole, Burial
Period: Migration (410 AD - 800 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Leek Wootton and Guys Cliffe
District: Warwick, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 29 67
(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
Description

  
Source Number  

1 Excavations in advance of the Kenilworth bypass have revealed a series of enigmatic circular pits 1.2m in diameter cut into the sandstone bedrock at the E end of Blacklow Hill. They extend over the whole of the crest of the spur and appear to have been contained within two parallel arcs of square post holes. In a central situation immediately W of the inner arc were two inhumations. These were orientated E-W with feet to the W. The most N grave, that of a male, contained a scramaseax with a blade 30cm long. The site had been disturbed by a quarry-like feature cut into the side of the hill. Dating and interpretation present problems. It is possible that the site was a pagan Saxon grave.
2 Correspondence from 1972.
3 By May 1972 over 200 pits had been excavated, together with 100 slots and post holes.
4 Plan.
5 The project design for Excavation of the various sites to be affected by the by-pass.
6 Brief report by volunteer.
7 Review of costings.
8 Note.
9 Newspaper report on the Excavation.
10 Correspondence about possible conservation of the site.
11 Correspondence from 1974.
12 Excavation report of the work done in 1971-2.
 
Sources
Source No: 2
Source Type: Article in serial
Title: Medieval Archaeology: Medieval Britain in 1971
Author/originator: LE Webster and J Cherry
Date: 1972
Page Number: 147-212
Volume/Sheet: 16
   
Source No: 10
Source Type: Correspondence
Title: Blacklow Hill
Author/originator: Sunley H
Date: 1972-3
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 11
Source Type: Correspondence
Title: Blacklow Hill
Author/originator:
Date: 1974
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Correspondence
Title: Saxon site, Blacklow Hill
Author/originator: Ford, W J
Date: 1972
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Descriptive Text
Title: Blacklow Hill
Author/originator: Member of Kenilworth Historical Society
Date: 1971
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Excavation Report
Title: WMANS
Author/originator: WJF
Date: 1971
Page Number: 31
Volume/Sheet: 14
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Evaluation Report
Title: Archaeological Site Survey: Kenilworth East Bypass
Author/originator: Ford,W.J
Date: 1971
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 8
Source Type: Note
Title: Blacklow Hill
Author/originator:
Date: 1971-2
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 9
Source Type: Newspaper/Magazine Article
Title: Blacklow Hill
Author/originator: Coventry Evening Telegraph
Date: 1972
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Plan
Title: Blacklow Hill
Author/originator:
Date: 1971-2
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 7
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Blacklow Hill
Author/originator: Ford, W J
Date: 1972
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 12
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Account Rendered
Author/originator: Kenilworth History & Archaeology Society
Date: 1983
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
source WMANS West Midlands Archaeological News Sheet, a publication that was produced each year, this later became West Midlands Archaeology. The West Midlands Arcaheological News Sheet contains reports about archaeological work that was carried out in the West Midlands region in the previous year. It includes information about sites dating from the Prehistoric to the Post Medieval periods. It was produced the Department of Extramural Studies at Birmingham University. Copies are held at 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 Medieval 1066 AD to 1539 AD (the 11th century AD to the 16th century AD)

The medieval period comes after the Saxon period and before the post medieval period.

The Medieval period begins in 1066 AD.
This was the year that the Normans, led by William the Conqueror (1066 – 1087), invaded England and defeated Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings in East Sussex.
The Medieval period includes the first half of the Tudor period (1485 – 1603 AD), when the Tudor family reigned in England and eventually in Scotland too.

The end of the Medieval period is marked by Henry VIII’s (1509 – 1547) order for the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the years running up to 1539 AD. The whole of this period is sometimes called the Middle Ages.
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monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument INHUMATION * An interment of unburnt, articulated human remains. Use specific type where known. back
monument FEATURE * Areas of indeterminate function. back
monument GRAVE * A place of burial. Use more specific type where known. 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 SQUARE * An open space or area, usually square in plan, in a town or city, enclosed by residential and/or commercial buildings, frequently containing a garden or laid out with trees. 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 QUARRY * An excavation from which stone for building and other functions, is obtained by cutting, blasting, etc. back
monument POST HOLE * A hole dug to provide a firm base for an upright post, often with stone packing. Use broader monument type where known. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record