Death road to canada skeleton3/3/2023 ![]() The left and right arms were also slightly out of position, possibly after being disturbed when the jaw was removed. While the body was mostly articulated when buried, the jaw had been removed and placed in the north-west corner of the ‘coffin’. Interred in a foetal position (known technically as semi-flexed), he had been placed on his left side, facing east towards the path of the rising sun. The skeleton belonged to a 25- to 30-year-old male. Note one or two of the bones are just starting to appear. The ‘coffin cut’ as first revealed within the primary grave in the ring ditch. The proximity of this structure to the burial monument suggests it may have been where cadavers were temporarily laid after death, either in the form of a shielded morgue-style building or an excarnation platform where the deceased would be exposed to the elements, and any passing carrion birds. While the presence of a nondescript set of postholes might seem ambiguous at best, careful study of the human remains has revealed that the bodies were not simply buried and left to rest in peace immediately after death. Nine postholes lie directly north-west of the rings, representing a structure around 3m square. The recent reconstruction of a burial monument on Down Farm emphasises the dramatic nature of such a mound: the brilliant, gleaming white sepulchre clearly demonstrates the powerful visual impact of earthworks cut from fresh chalk. These rings are often the only surviving traces of quarry ditches cut to win material for a prominent burial mound, long since obliterated by the plough. Such shallowness underscored the need for excavation before the feature was lost forever. Both were very shallow, with the outer one about 0.4m deep and the later, inner ditch that cut it only surviving to 0.1m. The 2009 excavations revealed two phases of ditch. The site of the Canada Farm ring ditch is marked with a cross, while an Iron Age ‘banjo’ enclosure is visible at the bottom left. Together these discoveries are challenging preconceptions of the treatment of the dead in these periods within Britain.Īn aerial view looking north-east along the course of the Cursus. This work produced evidence for remarkable post-mortem treatment of the bodies, along with a surprisingly early radiocarbon date. The catalyst for this work was provided when Martin’s latest excavation revealed the remains of seven further individuals at the Canada Farm ring ditch, ranging in date from the Beaker period (c.2,500-1,700 BC) through to the Middle Bronze Age (c.1,500-1,150 BC).ĭetailed osteological studies of the primary burial by Francine O’Malley and of secondary interments by Lauren Bailey were undertaken as Master’s Degree dissertation projects at Bournemouth University, supervised by anthropologist Martin Smith. While many of the published explorations have focused on monuments, artefacts, and environmental evidence, with the help of staff and students at Bournemouth University Martin is now re-examining the human remains. He has spent several decades investigating archaeological features, many prehistoric in date, on his farm (CA 67 and 138). Longstanding readers may well be familiar with Martin Green.
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