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Excavation of the Late Saxon and Medieval Churchyard of St Martin's, Wallingford, Oxfordshire (Paperback)
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Excavation of the Late Saxon and Medieval Churchyard of St Martin's, Wallingford, Oxfordshire (Paperback)
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MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology) undertook excavations over
2003-4 at the former St Martin's churchyard, Wallingford,
Oxfordshire. St Martin's, one of perhaps eight churches of late
Saxon Wallingford, was located in a prominent position in the
centre of the burh. No middle Saxon activity was found and the
earliest remains consisted of a layer sealing the natural subsoil
which contained a probable late Saxon lead cross. Earliest use of
the churchyard has been dated to the late 10th to early 11th
century by radiocarbon dating, and burials continued until the end
of the 14th century, serving a dwindling parish population, before
the cemetery rapidly fell out of use thereafter. No burials
post-date 1412. Part of the cemetery has not been disturbed by the
present development. The unexcavated areas and previous
post-medieval and modern disturbances has meant the original size
of the cemetery remains unknown. A late Saxon mortar mixer found on
the site has added to a growing number of this distinctive early
constructional feature. While its presence indicates the vicinity
of the late Saxon church, no foundations of St Martin's church
appear to have survived cellar digging and quarrying for gravel
that occurred in the early 18th century. Osteological analysis of
187 of the 211 excavated skeletons of the cemetery has depicted a
lay population which was almost equally split between males and
females, with only a slight bias towards males. Their distribution
showed no observable cluster within the churchyard by age or
gender. A high proportion of children is notable but newborns and
very young children were comparatively rare. The significance of
this is unclear since so many disarticulated remains were also
present due to later disturbance. Both degenerative pathologies and
inherited conditions affecting bone were noted, as were a high
frequency of trauma, some of it violent. Generally the population
could be shown to have led healthy early lives compared to other
urban assemblages, although evidence of tuberculosis and iron
deficiency suggest that living conditions and diet at the heart of
medieval Wallingford were far from ideal. Within the excavated area
of the cemetery, a number of the burials demonstrated known
pre-Conquest burial rites and there are some aspects which may be
peculiar to the area, suggesting local variations to common rites.
Eight pre-Conquest burials had their heads supported mostly by
stones, but one had his head supported by two disarticulated
skulls. One 30-40 year old male was buried wearing a pierce
scallop-shell, presumably a pilgrim badge from Santiago de
Compostella. Four burials were interred in stone-built cists and
these ranged from a c1 year old to adults of both sexes. A further
six burials lay in stone-built cists without a cover. All
post-Conquest burials were earth-cut examples.
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