Information for record number MWA680:
Anglo-Saxon Cemetery 300m N of Lighthorne Church

Summary The possible site of an Anglo Saxon cemetery, dating to the Migration or Early Medieval period. Two skeletons, one of a woman and one a child, were found to the north of the church at Lighthorne.
What Is It?  
Type: Cemetery, Burial, Inhumation
Period: Anglo-Saxon (410 AD - 1065 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Lighthorne
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 33 56
(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 In Mill Field, near the Rectory, some curious Roman and Druidical antiquities have been found. Skeletons, coins and beads have been found in various parts of the parish.
2 A plan of the estates of Lord Willoughby de Brooke shows 'Great Mill Field' centred on SP3356.
3 Some years ago two skeletons were discovered on the N side of the church. They were embedded in some curious dark substance, and their skulls were protected by three limestones.
4 Some information was given to Chatwin on the site in 1923. The person who provided the information recalled being told that skeletons had been found in this place. In addition he remembered the skeletons of a woman and a child being found on the brow of the hill. In 1923 the hollow of the quarry in which they were found was still visible. The woman was wearing a necklace and the beads were removed to make hat pins.
5 Inhumation burials. Ante 1846. Some hanging bowl escutcheons,erroneously recorded as from Chesterton, were found on the brow of the hill at about SP3355. In Warwick Museum there are three circular enamel escutcheons from the side of the bowl and two larger similar escutcheons from the base.
6 The whereabouts of the brooches and amber beads are unknown.
7 Reference
5 suggests that the escutcheons came from the cemetery S of the church (PRN 676). However, Saxon material has definitely been found at the cemetery N of the church, while the S cemetery is undated. As there is no more accurate information on the location of the finds this cemetery appears to be more likely.
8 Relates the discovery of skeletons of a woman & child in Mill Field, placed in a foetal position. Claims these dated to the Neolithic. The woman wore a necklace of amber beads that were removed and fashioned in to hat pins by a villager. Also refers to five escutcheons from a ceremonial cauldron being found near the site of the present church in a pagan Anglian, rather than Saxon, cemetery.
9 Correspondence from 1969 about Roman finds.
 
Sources
Source No: 3
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Shakespeare's Land
Author/originator: Ribton Turner C J
Date: 1893
Page Number: 274-275
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: A Gazetteer of Early Anglo Saxon Burials
Author/originator: Meaney A
Date: 1964
Page Number: 217
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: History, Directory and Gazetteer of Warwickshire
Author/originator: White F
Date: 1849
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: Lighthorne
   
Source No: 9
Source Type: Correspondence
Title: Lighthorne
Author/originator: Shields, J.
Date: 1969
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Descriptive Text
Title: Lighthorne
Author/originator: Chatwin P B
Date: 1923 & 1956
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Map
Title: Lighthorne and Kingston
Author/originator:
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: Z2228U
   
Source No: 7
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: SMR card : text
Author/originator: JMG
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: OS Card 25NE6
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1968
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 8
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: The Incomplete History of Lighthorne
Author/originator: Hinman, P
Date: 2000
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
source OS Card Ordnance Survey Record Card. Before the 1970s the Ordnance Survey (OS) were responsible for recording archaeological monuments during mapping exercises. This helped the Ordnance Survey to decide which monuments to publish on maps. During these exercises the details of the monuments were written down on record cards. Copies of some of the cards are kept at the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. The responsibility for recording archaeological monuments later passed to the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historic Monuments. back
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
period Neolithic About 4000 BC to 2351 BC

The word ‘Neolithic’ means ‘New Stone Age’. Archaeologists split up the Neolithic period into three phases; early, middle and late. The Neolithic period comes after the Mesolithic period and before the Bronze Age.

People in the Neolithic period hunted and gathered food as their ancestors had but they were also began to farm. They kept animals and grew crops. This meant that they were able to settle more permanently in one location instead of constantly moving from place to place to look for food.
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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 HOLLOW * A hollow, concave formation or place, which has sometimes been dug out. 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 MILL * A factory used for processing raw materials. Use more specific mill type where known. See also TEXTILE MILL, for more narrow terms. back
monument CHURCH * A building used for public Christian worship. Use more specific type where known. back
monument FIELD * An area of land, often enclosed, used for cultivation or the grazing of livestock. back
monument MUSEUM * A building, group of buildings or space within a building, where objects of value such as works of art, antiquities, scientific specimens, or other artefacts are housed and displayed. 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
monument QUARRY * An excavation from which stone for building and other functions, is obtained by cutting, blasting, etc. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record