More burials found near Stonehenge

The remains of four adults and two children were found at a site in Amesbury, close to where the Amesbury Archer was discovered last year. The Archer was dubbed the King of Stonehenge because it is thought he had a major role in creating the monument.

Dr Andrew Fitzpatrick, of Wessex Archaeology, said: "This new find is really unusual. It is exceptionally rare to find the remains of so many people in one grave like this in southern England. "The grave is fascinating because we are seeing the moment when Britain was moving from the Stone Age into the Bronze Age, around 2,300BC."

The latest bones discovered are some 4,500 years old - the same age as the Archer. Radiocarbon tests will be carried out to find more precise dates for the burials but the people are believed to have lived during the building of Stonehenge.

From the BBC. There's also a bit more detail in the Scotsman:

. . . the grave, which is about three miles from Stonehenge, had narrowly missed being damaged by trench digging for electric cables and a water pipe.

The grave contained four pots in the Beaker style that is typical of the period, some flint tools, one flint arrowhead and a bone toggle for fastening clothing. . .

The number of Beaker pots in the grave, four, is only exceeded by the grave of the Amesbury Archer, where there were five. . .

The large number of bodies placed in this grave is something more commonly found in the Stone Age, but the Beaker style pottery is found in Bronze Age burials.

The new discovery was found almost exactly a year after the Amesbury Archer was found during excavation for a housing scheme at Boscombe Down, Amesbury, three miles from Stonehenge. His grave was the richest found in Britain from its time, containing about 100 items, more than ten times as many objects as any other burial site from this time, and included hair tresses that are the earliest gold in the country.

Posted by David on May 21, 2003 1:49 PM