ANGLO-SAXON OXFORDSHIRE

LONG WITTENHAM ANGLO-SAXON CEMETERY

The Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Long Wittenham was first discovered in 1848 in a field known as Freeacre whilst foundations for a new house were being dug. A skeleton with weapons and shield fittings was uncovered.

In 1858 J.Y. Akerman and Rev. J. Clutterbuck, the vicar of the parish, excavated the area and discovered a further three graves. The following year, Akerman excavated 188 inhumations and 46 cremations.

Artefacts found in grave 85 including two iron knives, an iron spearhead, a copper alloy earscoop and an iron buckle (Click on the images to see a larger version)

In a field west of Freeacre field, on the eastern side of Manor Ditch, another skeleton was discovered in 1861, and in 1862 J.Y. Akerman excavated a further 10 burials. What is more interesting is that most of these burials were female.

The finds from this site suggest it was in use from the fifth to the early seventh centuries.

Record sheets created by E.T. Leeds of finds from Long Wittenham now in the British Museum (click on the images to see a larger version).

Many of the finds from these excavations are now in the British Museum. However the finds from the 1858 excavation are also held by the Ashmolean Museum.

Artefacts found in grave 63 including a pair of copper alloy small long brooches and a ferrule (Click on the images to see a larger version)

REFERENCES:

A. MacGregor and E. Bolick (1993) A Summary Catalogue of the Anglo-Saxon Collections (Non- Ferrous Metals), BAR British Series 230.