A single grave aligned E-W containing two supine extended adult skeletons was found sealed just beneath the turf line under the northern end of western ramp of Maumbury Rings Civil War fort. The two skeletons were laid side by side with their heads to the west, though one skeleton lacked a skull.
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A double inhumation burial found beneath the northern end of the western ramp of the Civil War fortifications at Maumbury Rings during the excavations directed by H St George Gray from 1908-1913.
A single grave containing two supine extended adult skeletons was found sealed just beneath the turfline under the northern end of western ramp of Maumbury Rings Civil War fort. The grave was very shallow aligned E-W. The two skeletons were laid side by side with their heads to the west, though one skeleton lacked a skull. Some post-medieval finds including a knife, a key and a beam to a steelyard were found in the grave filling.
The context of these burials is not known, but their form and orientation would suggest they were christian. Maumbury Rings was used for the execution of criminals at least by the eighteenth century (1) and perhaps these are the remains of buried criminals.
Sources/Archives (4)
--- SDO150
Monograph: Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England). 1970. An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 3. 592.
--- SDO9387
Article in serial: Bradley, R. 1976. Maumbury Rings, Dorchester: The Excavations of 1908-1913. 105. 1-97.
--- SDO9419
Excavation archive: Gray, H St George. 1908-1913. Maumbury Rings excavation archive.
<1> SDO9397
Article in serial: Pope, A. 1885. The Amphitheatre at Dorchester. Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club. 7. 66-69.
Legacy UID: Dorset Sites and Monuments Record: 1 041 282
Legacy UID: National Monuments Record: SY 68 NE 2
Royal Commission Inventory Reference: Dorchester 228
Record last edited
Mar 21 2011 10:08AM
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