Monument record ERL 104 - Baseball Pitch, RAF Lakenheath (Sax)

July - November 1997: An ESax cemetery was excavated on the site of the Baseball pitch at RAF Lakenheath during the summer & autumn of 1997, prior to dormitory construction. 257 burials and c.12 cremations (only 6 or 7 intact) were uncovered, including a horse (with harness fittings) and 'warrior' burial. The human bone was in varying condition depending on the subsoil which alternated between chalk and sand. The burials all appeared to be C5-C7 (with the majority in the C6 and pagan. Most were E-W aligned with heads at W end and contained grave goods. C.50% of the burials were children. The cremations were both urned and un-urned.
An IA(?) soil layer and features were also discovered under and around the cemetery - possibly substantial enough to indicate settlement (S1). Details to follow (S2). Assessment report available, publication in preperation see backlog to be HER'd (May 2009).
Also IA, Un & Rom.

2005 PXA: Extensive excavations in 1997 revealed a previously unkown Early Anglo-Saxon cemetery. The cemetery was generally well preserved. A total of 261 graves were found during the excavation and a further 6 during subsequent monitoring. Preservation of bone was variable. Most graves were E-W aligned and extended or slightly flexed in position. Finds included numerous annular, small-long and cruciform brooches, glass and amber beads, wrist clasps, girdle hangers, spears, shield bosses, knives and vessels. The majority of the burials were dated 6th century AD with an overall range of late 5th to early-mid 7th century AD. There was a general trend suggesting that earlier burials were located in the southern half of the site and that the area of burial extended northwards during the period of the cemetery's use. The most notable of the rare burial forms was that of the warrior with his horse. The presence of a bridle with gilded bronze fittings still in position on the horse's head attracted media attention and the grave was fetaures on the BBC2 Meet the Ancestors programmed in January 1999. Other burials included small children buried with spears, a male buried with a quiver of arrows, and some multiple inhumation burials. Evidence of coffins was indictaed by rectangular coffin stains. A small number of discrete cremations, mostly unurned, were found within the cemetery, and a few of the burials had cremated remains in the top of the grave fills. There was good preservation of textiles and of organics on metalwork. The north, east and south edges were found and evidence from subsequent monitorings indicates the west edge was not far from the excavation edge. The cemetery was an E-W aligned oval roughly bounded by chalk to the east south and west.

The PXA forms an assessment of the potential for analysis for 3 important Early Saxon cemeteries: ERL 046 ERL 114 ERL 104. In total, 426 inhumations and 17 cremations have been excavated and current evidence suggests that most were buried between c.475AD and 625AD. Many of the burials are furnished with personal items characteristic of the period; spears and shields with the men, beads and brooches with the women. As well as a profusion of material representing typical day-to-day life, more spectacular finds include two horses, one adorned with a splendid gilded bridle, four swords, shears, buckets and imported brooches. These sites represent the largest and best preserved Anglo-Saxon cemetery group available for modern analysis. Local geological conditions ensured that more that half the burials had good preservation of the skeletal remains and the sheer quantity and quality of artefacts recovered suggests that these people belonged to a thriving settlement. (S3)