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No.47 - April 2001 | Contex HOME

THE SAXON CEMETERY, PARK LANE, CROYDON
Jacqueline McKinley

Readers with good memories may recall that in 1995 a proposal to build new offices in Park Lane Croydon was the subject of a controversial Planning Inquiry. The site was significant as it was adjacent to an area that had yielded numerous early Saxon grave goods in the 19^th Century and a 1992 archaeological evaluation by MoLAS had found signs of further intact burials. In the event the DoE Inspector upheld the appeal to allow development to go ahead after excavation in the ‘footprint’ of the new building, with preservation in situ of deposits under the future car park. Between October and December 1999 that excavation finally went ahead with a team from Wessex Archaeology including our Speaker Jacqueline McKinley.

The site was in south Croydon in the upper Wandle valley on gently sloping ground. During the construction of 19^th Century terrace housing in nearby Edridge Road workmen collected up to 84 Saxon items including swords, shield bosses, knifes and buckles. Unfortunately no archaeological records were made of the graves they had come from and it was even uncertain precisely where in Edridge Rd they were found. The nature of some of these objects has been reassessed over the years, but it is evident that they belonged to a 5^th to 7^th Century AD Saxon cemetery of some status.

The first stage of the excavation was the removal of a variable thickness of earth make-up left by Victorian ground terracing works, which had fortunately preserved the graves which survived in fairly regular rows underneath. In some cases the bodies were covered by as little as 5cm of the original reddish sandy silt subsoil. It was not possible to tell how deep the graves had been originally. Other features on the site were four basements of the 1900s, which had destroyed graves in that area, a post-medieval ‘cold’ store, and some odd linear fissures that turned out to be geological.

The site was a bit of a personal disappoint for Jacqueline whose special interest is in cremations. Sadly for her only two were found, one scatter of burnt fragments and one urned horse. Which was not a bizarre as it sounds. Up to half of Saxon cremation burials have been found to contain animal bones and there was probably social or ritual significance in the cremation and interment of a prestige animal. In all some 43 complete or partial Early Saxon inhumation burials were found, with further graves outside the excavation limits. The majority were aligned East/West, but some North/South, which may indicate a change over time. One characteristic feature was that most of those in the northern part of the site were lined with natural flint nodules. Unfortunately the unburnt bone survived in only 19 of the graves. The present pH of the soil is neutral but it may have been more acid at an earlier time. In many cases the estimation of the sex and age of the deceased was on the basis of their grave goods. However it was often possible to tell how the body was laid out and where the grave goods were placed on and around it, which varied considerably. Jacqueline said it was important to analysis this data, as it gave clues to the sequence of acts that made up the burial process, and perhaps the thinking behind it. Does the choice and placing of items give a indication of changing customs over time, or was it influenced by more personal factors?

Objects were found in 33 graves, 80% of the total, indicating a relatively wealthy community of 5^th to 7^th Century date. Items could be classified as weapons, personal belongings, items of adornment, containers or ‘other’. Four parallel sided, double edged, pattern welded swords were found, a rare sword ring, 9 spearheads, and 11 shield bosses. Fifteen iron blades or knives were also found, but they may be personal possessions rather than weapons. Other personal items included brooches of several types, amber beads, buckles and 4 pairs of tweezers. Actually combs, razors, shears and tweezers are often found in men’s graves, especially in cremation burials, indicating that the Saxon male was as interested in his personal appearance as in his armament. The most prestigious item was a rare bronze bowl full of hazel nuts, but wooden buckets, pottery vessels, three old Roman coins re-used in necklaces, a spindle whorl, and fabrics and organic fibres adhering to metal objects were also recovered.

Most of the buried individuals appeared to be adult, or sub-adult, with about twice as many male graves being identified compared to female. Analysis of the old finds from Edridge Road also showed a majority of masculine items. Could this reflect a genuine scarcity of women, or were objects belonging to men larger and more readily picked up by the Victorian workmen? The latest grave was in the south east of the site and surrounded by a ring ditch, which is characteristic of a 7^th- 8^th Century date, later than the others excavated. It is hoped that further analysis of the finds and the cemetery’s layout will shed more light on its chronological development.

The excavators expected to find an early Saxon cemetery and duly did so. However in accordance with a immutable archaeological law, something unexpected turned up on the last day. Namely a big rectangular grave, 10-12 metres away from the others, with a chalk in-fill and nails at the head and foot that may have secured retaining boards. This is almost certainly of late Roman rather than Saxon date, which raised the intriguing possibility that the Saxons buried their dead in the Edridge Rd/Park Lane area because of a pre-existing Roman association. The Wessex unit’s excavation had certainly answered many of the questions the protagonists of the Public Inquiry had wanted answering, but it has also raised a number of other interesting archaeological questions.