Archaeologists revisit Hampshire medieval site where hundreds of graves were discovered

This article originally appeared on Culture24.

Large ratio of infant burials reflected high infant death rate during the medieval period, say archaeologists in Hampshire

A photo of a skeleton inside a brown archaeological trenchOne of the child burials found in Basingstoke more than 30 years ago© Hampshire Archaeology
More than 30 years ago, during the winter of 1984, an Iron Age enclosure at Brighton Hill South, in Basingstoke, surprised archaeologists by giving way to a medieval church and churchyard.

Nine graves were discovered within the church building, producing six burials from five excavated graves. In the wider enclosure, 37 excavations revealed “at least” 46 burials from around 258 graves.

A photo of some sort of circular grey artefact within an archaeological pit full of rubbleA pewter chalice and paten from the 'priest’s grave' at the site© Hampshire Archaeology
“There were a number of double burials, several graves had been re-used and inter-cutting was common,” says Dave Allen, the Keeper of Archaeology at Hampshire County Council.

“More than half the burials were of children. This is a high ratio, but the infant mortality rate would have been high in the medieval period - 100 per 1,000 live births - compared with current UK figures, where the rate is just four.

A photo of a human skeleton within an archaeological trenchSome of the skeletons had suffered plough damage© Hampshire Archaeology
“Not all the graves were deeply cut and some skeletons had suffered plough damage.

“One of the graves was of a mature adult male accompanied by a pewter chalice and paten and an iron buckle – this was presumably the grave of a priest.

A photo of a circular dark brown buckle found within an archaeological trenchAn iron buckle© Hampshire Archaeology
“Another earlier grave, of an immature male, was accompanied by two silver farthings of Edward I, minted between 1280 and 1300.

“Two of the burials from inside the church were of infants, one of whom had been buried in a coffin.”
A photo of a series of large outdoor archaeological trenchesThe excavated graves© Hampshire Archaeology
The evidence demonstrated that this had been Hatch, a deserted medieval village with an ancient manor and church.

“It was probably quite a high status settlement in the 12th and 13th centuries, when high-class imports such as pottery from Saintonge were being used,” says Allen.

A photo of archaeologists peering down into a pit at an outdoor excavation site© Hampshire Archaeology
“By the time of Edward III, between 1327 and 1377, 300 acres in the parish were recorded as ‘untilled and unsown’, and by 1380 it was exonerated from paying tithes and merged with Cliddesden.”

The name had survived in Hatch Warren Farm, but it took the expansion of Basingstoke and the work of archaeologists to rediscover the settlement, with pottery studies suggesting three phases of occupation between the mid-11th and late-15th centuries.

A photo of archaeologists peering working with equipment at a snowy outdoor siteHatch is thought to have been a high-status settlement during the 12th and 13th centuries© Hampshire Archaeology
“The church, of simple nave and chancel form, was built of flint and mortar and stood at the centre of a large graveyard,” says Allen.

“It was a two-phase structure, the second phase involving the enlargement of the chancel.

“The date of construction is not certain, partly because the preservation scheme agreed with the developers meant that no in situ walls or floors were removed.

“It may be pre-Norman Conquest in origin, but is perhaps more likely to be an early Norman structure.”

The village buildings were made of timber, while the later examples used more sophisticated framing techniques.


What do you think? Leave a comment below.

More from Culture24's Archaeology section:

Archaeologists investigate mystery of young Civil War woman buried in unusual grave in Oxford

Skeleton of high-status girl was one of dozens of burials at Hampshire Saxon cemetery, say archaeologists

Bone fragments and burial goods of "wealthy and cosmopolitan" Roman found in North Hertfordshire village


Source: http://www.culture24.org.uk/history-and-heritage/archaeology/art528315-archaeologists-revisit-hampshire-medieval-site-where-hundreds-of-graves-were-discovered


You might also like

Miklavž

Slovenski šolski muzej v letu 2019

Summer at the Museum

III. Kongres slovenskih muzealcev