THE story of human remains uncovered in an archaeological dig became front-page news this month.
Archaeological Research Services Ltd excavated an Early Bronze Age ring ditch with a sequence of human burials in 2019 at Ponteland School and Leisure Centre.
The Centre is located 12km northwest of Newcastle, and the area was excavated in advance of upgrading and developing the Centre's outdoor facilities.
A report on the excavations' results was published on the front-page of the Current Archaeology issue 399 for June 2023.
The earliest remains revealed during excavations comprised an Early Neolithic post and wall-slot structure radiocarbon dated to 3947-3715 BC. A pit containing fragments from a Beaker vessel and radiocarbon dated to 2398-2146 BC was found east of the ring ditch.
The initial ring ditch was centred on an oval burial pit containing a female of about 15 years of age dating to 2026-1896 BC, with a second burial in the form of a cremated adult laid over the first burial’s feet. Remains of a child around nine years of age dating to 1869-1621 BC was also found in the grave.
A rectangular building dating to 2133-1938 BC was found south of the ring ditch, which could have been the foundations of a charnel house, which is for storing human remains, or part of a house.
An adult dating to approximately 1965-1773 BC was placed with a copper alloy dagger at the waist, in a pit cut into the infill on the southern side of the ring ditch.
As with the first grave, this individual also had a cremated adult laid on their feet. A third grave containing an older female of 36-45 years of age dating to 2022-1828 BC was dug into the south side of the ring ditch, with a Vase Food Vessel placed adjacent to her skull.
At least a millennium later, a Middle-Late Iron Age farmstead was established. This comprised several unenclosed circular structures which were replaced by a rectilinear timber palisaded enclosure, the western half of which was centred on the location of the Early Bronze Age ring ditch, and a subsequent adjoining enclosure.
Multi-isotope and DNA analyses are in process on the skeletal remains recovered from the ring ditch to discover the origins and ancestry of the individuals.
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