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Little Cressingham Barrow Cemetery

Barrow / Cairn Cemetery

<b>Little Cressingham Barrow Cemetery</b>Posted by AcheronImage © Acheron
Nearest Town:Swaffham (11km NNW)
OS Ref (GB):   TL862987 / Sheet: 144
Latitude:52° 33' 13.7" N
Longitude:   0° 44' 48.64" E

Added by Rhiannon


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Photographs:<b>Little Cressingham Barrow Cemetery</b>Posted by Acheron Artistic / Interpretive:<b>Little Cressingham Barrow Cemetery</b>Posted by Chance

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Little Cressingham, barrows (TL/867992) 0.75 mile S of Little Cressingham, on W side of Hard Clump, S of road from Clermont to Hopton House. Other barrows to W, in Seven Acre Plantation.
Grave goods in Norwich Museum.

Though levelled by the plough, the bowl-barrow at TL/867992 is important because of the unusually rich grave goods deposited with the male burial beneath it. The skeleton had been buried W of the barrow centre, its knees drawn up. It had been deposited dressed, with an elaborate amber necklace and a rectangular gold plate sewn to clothing on the chest. There were other gold ornaments together with a knife and a dagger of bronze. These grave goods are as rich as anything from Wessex: date, c. 1.700 1.400 BC.
Other bowl-barrows, probably contemporary and part of one cemetery, are N of Seven Acre Plantation. That at TL/8619S6 is enormous, being over 200 ft. in diam, and about 15 ft. high. Another to the NE is under the plough: it is about 120 ft. across and 3 4 ft. high.
Guide to prehistoric England - Nicholas Thomas 1976
Chance Posted by Chance
11th January 2012ce

This group of barrows is notable for two things. Firstly it contains probably the largest barrow still standing in Norfolk at 60 metres by 4.5 metres (be impressed!). Also as Rhiannon mentions, it has Wessex culture connections. A barrow now destroyed had a crouched skeleton buried with a grooved bronze dagger & gold sewed to his clothing. All of which shows Wessex culture had reached this far by 1700bce.

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(later) Reading the excellent Seahenge by Francis Pryor, he makes the point that the goods from this barrow were superficially Wessex, but on closer examination they were inferior in standard. Hence this area were Wessex wannabes (as it were...).
juamei Posted by juamei
20th January 2003ce
Edited 22nd January 2003ce

Daggers and jet, amber and gold jewellery were found buried with the occupants of these Bronze age barrows - pretty Wessex style for somewhere so far away Rhiannon Posted by Rhiannon
11th April 2002ce

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Details of site on Pastscape


TL 86829904 Site of (NAT) Tumulus (NR) Human Remains, Bronze Dagger & Javelin Head, Amber Beads, Gold Breastplate, & Armilla found AD 1849 (NAT) (1)
A contracted inhumation was found in 'The Triangle' (formerly known as 'Hill Field') by a workman in 1849. Grave goods included bronze weapons, gold ornaments and amber beads (see illustration) There were clear indications of a destroyed tumulus with a distinct outer circle of chalk; the burial was found west of the centre about half way towards the circumference. Finds are in Norwich Castle Museum. (3). (2-3)
St Joseph AP's (ZA 24 & 25; St Joseph AP List) show ring ditches at TL 86829904 and TL 86929906.The 1849 finds could have come from either site (Ring ditches not visible on available AP's (RAF 1955)).
Both sites were recognisable as bowl barrows when seen by R R Clarke and L V Grinsell in 1936. (4)
Objects found in 1849 represent a typical Wessex type grave group. (See Illustration) Both sites are on arable land, at
present under winter crop. No surface indications of barrows could be seen. (5-6)
No change to field report of authority 5. St Joseph's quoted APs are not available at Norwich Museum nor are they held by Norfolk Archaeological Unit. OS APs (Flights of 1975) inspected show no ring ditches in an area of intense cultivation. (7)

SOURCE TEXT
( 1) Ordnance Survey Map (Scale / Date) OS 6" 1906
( 2) General reference - Norf Arch 3 1852 1-2 illust (T Barton)
( 3) General reference - BA Metalwork in Norwich Castle Museum 1966 26
( 4) General reference - Norwich Castle Museum 6" Records
( 5) General reference - PPS 4 1938 92 fig 22 (S. Piggott)
( 6) Field Investigators Comments F1 BHS 13-DEC-73
( 7) Field Investigators Comments F2 FDC 26-JAN-76
Chance Posted by Chance
11th January 2012ce
Edited 11th January 2012ce

Google Book Search


Volume 3 (1852) of the Norfolk Archaeological society journal.

Page one of this book is a letter about the discovery of the grave and its jewellery. On the previous page is a drawing very reminiscent of the Bush Barrow finds?
Rhiannon Posted by Rhiannon
27th February 2007ce