EDO6495 - Whithill Quarry Extension, Lillington; excavation 2016

An archaeological excavation was undertaken commissioned by Nick Dunn of Land and Mineral Management on behalf of Sherborne Stone Ltd. A condition of planning had been attached to approval of a proposal to expand the quarry due to the discovery of three undated inhumation burials prior to the extraction of an earlier phase of the quarry and subsequent archaeological evaluation. Two areas of archaeological potential had been identified and the report refers to an excavation in part of the first of those areas where burial remains had been found. An area of approximately 1720 m2 was stripped by machine fitted with a toothless grading bucket. Twenty graves containing 20 individuals were revealed, set out in an organised pattern running SW-NE with 3 slight exceptions. The graves were all rectangular in plan with steep sides and flat bases and ranged in dimensions. Bone preservation was not ideal however results showed that a wide variety of ages was present and that their pathologies were dominated by degenerative joint disease. There were also signs of habitual strenuous work, respiratory infections, and poor dental health. There was no convincing dating evidence and there were no grave goods other than 1 copper alloy finger ring in 1 grave and 1 nail in another grave but radiocarbon dating of two individuals indicates the cemetery was in use between c. AD560-AD646 and AD585-AD681, and strontium isotopic analysis suggests the people were local. A length of field boundary ditch was uncovered in the south west of the area containing 1 fragment of floor tile dated only as medieval or later and 5 sherds of brown bottle glass of post 1891. Two postholes were found in the NW of one grave but contained no artefacts. The assemblage of finds which included pottery and ceramic building material was part of the residual fills and some were Roman.