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Unique Yorkshire burial unearthed

Submitted by PaulM on Tuesday, 17 June 2003  Page Views: 3743

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Kettlewell Ringcairn excavation
Kettlewell Ringcairn excavation submitted by Vicky : The 3,000 year old Bronze Age ring cairn at the site near Kettlewell in Upper Wharfedale excavated by Dr Martlew and students from the school of continuing education at the University of Leeds. Photos courtesy of Hannah Love of Leeds University Press Office. (Vote or comment on this photo)
As reported by Yorkshire Today and the BBC archaeologists from Leeds University excavating a ring cairn in Wharfedale have revealed burials and artefacts leading them to state that “The site is full of features which have not been found together in one place before.”

The Bronze Age ring cairn located near Kettlewell in Upper Wharfedale contained the bones of a child aged around four in one of eight stone-lined hollows along with prehistoric cattle bones, pottery and an arrow head.

Dr Roger Martlew who led the dig said "We have taken a quick look, and the bones seem to be of a child aged four although we haven't determined yet whether it was a boy or a girl. There is a suggestion elsewhere that children were offered as human sacrifices and that is a possibility here.”

Thanks to external funding the site will continue to be excavated in the coming year.

For the full story see
Yorkshire Today or the BBC

Photos of the excavation are available in the eGallery

Note: Update, body of second child found , see comments
Contributor Bio for PaulM: Based in Macclesfield, contributing since 2002. Favourite site: Hordron Edge. Occupation: Something in waste and recycling.

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"Unique Yorkshire burial unearthed" | Login/Create an Account | 1 comment
  
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Re: Unique Yorkshire burial unearthed by Andy B on Sunday, 15 June 2003
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THE remains of a second child who could have been a human sacrifice have been unearthed in an ancient burial ground in the Yorkshire Dales.

The bones of the child, believed to be aged about four, were discovered last week by Leeds University archaeologists near Kettlewell, in Upper Wharfedale.

It is the second skeleton found at the site, following the discovery late last year of a child's remains in a stone-lined hollow – one of eight sets in the ring cairn at Kettlewell.

And following the latest find, experts believe the site could date back as far as 4,000 years – 1,000 years later than previously thought.
Roger Martlew, a Leeds University archaeological lecturer, said the discovery would help shed light on life during the neolithic period.

"It is tremendously significant because it's the first time that a site of this kind has been excavated in the Yorkshire Dales and there is a lot of evidence to be analysed," he said.
"In terms of dates the site could be a lot older than we thought."

Dr Martlew said it was likely that the site had been used for ceremonial purposes for up to 1,000 years.
The remains were found with a hair pin along with pebbles placed deliberately next to the body's head and feet.

"We can only speculate the reasons for them being there. They could have been the children of the local chieftain and there's some evidence of disease in the first skeleton and there may be some connection.
"But we can't rule out sacrifice. I think these burials were made for very significant reasons," he said.

Dr Martlew, who unearthed the skeletons along with a team of students, admitted he had not expected to find the remains of children because it was usual for Bronze Age ring cairns to be ceremonial rather than actual burial sites.
The discoveries come at the end of a two-year project by Dr Martlew and his students which started out as a field survey of the area.
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