Information for record number MWA5504:
Excavation of Anglo Saxon Cemetery at Wasperton

Summary An Anglo Saxon cemetery dating to the Migration period was discovered during an archaeological excavation. It contained at least 116 burials and 24 cremations. Finds included spears, knives, brooches and beads. The site is located south of Wasperton.
What Is It?  
Type: Cemetery, Inhumation, Cremation, Burial
Period: Anglo-Saxon (410 AD - 1065 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Wasperton
District: Warwick, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 26 58
(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: )
Scheduled Monument (Grade: )
Sites & Monuments Record
Picture(s) attached

 
Description

 
Source Number  

1 Roman/Anglo Saxon cemetery (MWA5503) excavated between 1980 and 1985 in advance of gravel extraction. This lay within a subsquare enclosure, although it overlapped the enclosure on all sides. There were a total of 200 inhumations and 24 cremations. 40 inhumations appeared to be Roman, 116 inhumations and all the cremations were Anglo-Saxon, 44 inhumations were undatable. Bone preservation was very poor. Anglo Saxon inhumations were characterised by the presence of weaponry - spears, shields and knives, jewellery such as brooches and beads, a N-S or in some cases W-E orientation. From grave goods it would appear that of the 80 inhumations with grave goods 45 were female and 35 male.
2 Scheduled as Warwickshire Monument No 143.
7 Interim excavation report.
8 Textiles recorded from metal grave-goods of twenty-seven graves. Report discusses the fibre identifications.
 
Sources

Source No: 8
Source Type: Archaeological Report
Title: Textiles: Wasperton, Warwickshire
Author/originator: Crowfoot, E
Date: 1988
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 6/88
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Article in serial
Title: Medieval Archaeology: Medieval Britain in 1981
Author/originator: S M Youngs and J Clark
Date: 1982
Page Number: 164-227
Volume/Sheet: 26
   
Source No: 7
Source Type: Article in serial
Title: Britannia: Roman Britain in 1983
Author/originator: S S Frere, MWC Hassall and R S O Tomlin
Date: 1984
Page Number: 265-356
Volume/Sheet: 15
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Article in serial
Title: Britannia: Roman Britain in 1981
Author/originator: N B Rankov, M W C Hassall and R S O Tomlin
Date: 1982
Page Number: 327-422
Volume/Sheet: 13
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Article in serial
Title: Medieval Archaeology: Medieval Britain and Ireland in 1983
Author/originator: S M Youngs, J Clark and T B Barry
Date: 1984
Page Number: 203-265
Volume/Sheet: 28
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Article in serial
Title: Medieval Archaeology: Medieval Britain and Ireland in 1982
Author/originator: S M Youngs, J Clark and T B Barry
Date: 1983
Page Number: 161-229
Volume/Sheet: 27
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Scheduling record
Title: Wasperton
Author/originator: DoE
Date: 1960s
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Wasperton
Author/originator: G.Crawford BUFAU
Date: 1980s
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: Wasperton 1
   
Images:  
An Anglo Saxon brooch found at Wasperton
Copyright: Warwickshire County Council
Click here for larger image  
 
Migration period beads from Wasperton
Copyright: Warwickshire County Council
Click here for larger image  
 
An excavation of a Migration period burial at Wasperton
Copyright: Warwickshire County Council
Click here for larger image  
 
A Saxon saucer brooch from Wasperton
Copyright: Warwickshire County Council
Click here for larger image  
 
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
none Scheduled Monument Scheduled Ancient Monuments (SAMs) are those archaeological sites which are legally recognised as being of national importance. They can range in date from prehistoric times to the Cold War period. They can take many different forms, including disused buildings or sites surviving as earthworks or cropmarks.

SAMs are protected by law from unlicensed disturbance and metal detecting. Written consent from the Secretary of State must be obtained before any sort of work can begin, including archaeological work such as geophysical survey or archaeological excavation. There are nearly 200 SAMs in Warwickshire.
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source Britannia Britannia, the journal of the Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies which contains articles about the archaeology of Roman Britain. It is published annually and 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 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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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 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 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 GRAVE * A place of burial. Use more specific type where known. back
monument ENCLOSURE * An area of land enclosed by a boundary ditch, bank, wall, palisade or other similar barrier. Use specific type where known. back
monument CEMETERY * An area of ground, set apart for the burial of the dead. 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

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record