Whitby Abbey Headland Project - Southern Anglian Enclosure UPDATE: June 1999
CONTENTS Excavation discoveries so far The Cemetery Other Features Finds Artefacts Ecofacts Further work Acknowledgements	Click on "Whitby" on the map to see a more detailed location plan of the excavation. (65K image)	Excavation of a grave

Between 1993 and 1995 archaeological fieldwork on Whitby Headland revealed evidence for an enclosure, a cemetery, and structures. Excavation on the cemetery area began on May 19th this year, when topsoil was stripped from the southern half of Area 1, the northern half was left covered to protect the buried features and will be stripped later in the season. To date a total of 18 graves have been revealed, as have other features, including several post holes and a prehistoric pit. This update will provide the reader with brief details of the results of the excavation so far.

Excavation discoveries so far

The overlying soil, comprising an upper layer of modern topsoil and a lower layer of medieval plough soil, was stripped down to the natural boulder clay by machine under the careful supervision of an archaeologist. Archaeological features appeared at approximately 50 centimetres below the modern ground surface.

Medieval ridge and furrow ploughing has clearly crossed the site, and the remains of several furrows have cut through some of the archaeological features. The direction of the furrows changes, from running east-west, to running on a north-south alignment within the area under excavation (see plan below).

Initial plan of excavation area

The Cemetery

A total of 18 graves have so far been revealed in the southern half of Area 1. The graves appear to lie in rows, implying that the cemetery was well organised, though no evidence for grave markers, such as crosses or headstones, has yet been identified. The burials all appear to lie on an east-west alignment, with the head at the west end, indicating that they are all Christian. The narrowness of the graves suggests that the bodies were placed in the graves wrapped in shrouds, rather than in coffins.

Plan of grave and skeleton

Several of the skeletons have now been lifted, unfortunately the acidic nature of the boulder clay has meant that they are in a poor state of preservation. Two intercutting graves have already been excavated, the earlier one containing an adult, the later a child. The disarticulated bones of the adult had been pushed to one end of the grave when the child was buried, suggesting the adult was already a skeleton at that time.

The boundaries of the cemetery have not yet been established, the graves certainly continue southwards beyond the area under excavation. It is possible that excavation in the northern half of Area 1, and in subsequent seasons may help to establish the extent of the cemetery.

So far very little dating evidence, in the form of artefacts, has been recovered from the graves. The alignment of the burials, and the lack of grave goods indicate that they are Christian and they certainly pre-date the medieval ridge and furrow. A small coin, called a sceatta, dating to c700-740, was recovered from the cemetery area during the evaluation in 1995, suggesting that the cemetery may date to the Anglian period, between the 7th and 9th cemeteries and may be associated with the earliest monastery on Whitby headland. At present it is impossible to tell how long the cemetery was in use, but further analysis of the bone and the stratigraphic relationships between the graves may answer some of these questions.

Other Features

A number of post holes have been revealed during the excavation, including a line of three in the south-western corner of the site, and a group of four close to the southern edge of the trench. No dating evidence has been recovered from any of these features.

Possibly the most unexpected feature from the excavation so far is a pit at the western end of the trench, number [50045], which produced finds of late Neolithic/early Bronze Age date, approximately four thousand years ago, (see section on finds in this leaflet). This is the clearest indication so far of the span of human activity on Whitby Headland.

Finds

Collard urn

The finds from the site are broken down into artefacts (that is anything made or used by humans, including pottery, ceramic building material, metalwork and clay pipe etc.) And ecofacts (that is natural materials, including animal bone, marine shell, seeds, insects, such as those recovered from the soil sampling, and indicative of the natural environment). Further information on finds and finds processing can be obtained by reading the leaflet 'Rubbish from the Past'. (Hopefully on-line in the near future - Ed.)

Sorting finds

Artefacts

Gaming piece (approx 17mm diam.)

Few finds have so far been recovered from the site. Several sherds of pottery from a late Neolithic/early Bronze Age collared urn, decorated with rope markings, were recovered from pit [50045]. A saddle quern, used for grinding grain into flour was also found in this feature. Anglian finds have comprised a shroud pin from one of the graves and a small circular glass gaming piece, possibly indicating the number five, from beneath the child burial. No diagnostic pottery has so far been recovered from any feature. The human remains are in a very poor state, most of the bone is badly fragmented, though the teeth appear to survive relatively well. Several of the graves have produced white quartz pebbles of varying sizes, this was noted in the burials uncovered during the evaluation in 1995 and appears to be a rite associated with early Celtic Christianity. The practice has also been recorded in cemeteries in Scotland and Ireland. A small display of the types of artefact we hope to encounter during the course of the excavation has been set up for the interest of visitors to the site.

Using a saddle quern

Ecofacts

Large animal bones and shells are collected by hand excavation, others are recovered from soil samples taken from the fills of features on the site. The soil samples are then wet sieved through a series of meshes to collect small animal and fish bones, seeds, insect remains, and charcoal. This process will be ongoing during the excavation and further information is available from the display that has been set up in the site finds processing area.

Wet Sieving

Further work

All artefacts, ecofacts, and human remains from the site will be subjected to further analysis by appropriate specialists. This information will give an insight into the past environment of Whitby Headland, and the lives of those who lived here, including what they ate, where their pottery came from and how they utilised the land.

The written and drawn records from the excavation will also be studied and a report on what was found will be prepared.

Acknowledgements

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