Monument record ERL 114 - Former Hospital Car Park; RAF Lakenheath (Sax)

2001: Excavation of large portion of ESax cemetery first discovered in 1950s (see ERL 008) identified further 67 burials (in addition to 33 discovered in 1950s) centred around probably BA round barrow (see BA). Summary in (S1). Details to follow see backlog to be HER'd.
Also BA and Med.

2005 PXA: Excavations in 2001 revealed burials dating to the Early Saxon and Bronze Age periods. The burials indicate a continuation of the cemetery identified by Grace Lady Briscoe and otheres in the 1950s. A total of 65 Saxon burials were foundin addition to the 33 excavated in the 1950s. These were predominantly E-W aligned and lying supine and extended or flexed. Many were buried with grave goods including a sword, spears, shields, knives, beads and brooches. In the centre of the Early Saxon burial area was a roughly circular area c.20m in diameter found to be devoid of burials. This is interpreted as the approximate location of turf mounds which survived as standing monuments into the Early Saxon period. No ring ditch was apparent to accurately define the limits of the mound. A badly truncated probable Bronze Age burial was found on the north side of the cemetery. Early Bronze Age pits were found in the centre of the eastern end of the site. A scattering of probable Bronze Age pits and postholes were dispersed across the site. The focus of this Saxon cemetery appears to have been one of more Bronze Age burial mounds.

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. (S2)

Assessment of the potential for the analysis and publication of the archaeologicial finds at RAF Lakenheath (S3).