Whilst tramlining a field to help drainage a farmer dislodged the large cap stone of a Bronze Age Burial cist.
At first the farmer thought it was a fox hole and was about to refilling it when he noticed a pottery vessel within the stone lined pit. Following a telephone call to the Conservation team, Jessica Turner went out to excavate and record the burial.
The enormous cap stone was only about 30cm below the surface and the inhumation was in a crouch position within the stone lined pit. The cist and position is typical of a Bronze Age (2000-700BC) Burial. The vessel is known as a Beaker pot and dates to about 1500BC and the ostological evidence suggest the burial is male and was around 20 years of age at the time of death.
Some of the bones were covered in a remarkable fungal growth probably associated with tree roots. The University of Derby is carrying out more analysis of the bones including isotopes and facial reconstruction so hopefully we will eventually know what he looked like and where he came from.
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