The Poulton Research Project

The 2004 excavations have unequivocally been the most successful to date. Both the Bronze Age burial ground and the Medieval Chapel graveyard were further excavated, each site providing new, and unexpected insights into Poulton's and Cheshire's past.

There was also a new partnership established with Cheshire CSI Unit (Crime Scene Investigation). Throughout June-July, 20 of its professional investigators worked on the site as part of the regular excavation team.

This unique partnership proved of great mutual benefit. It was a quite an eye-opener to see how the approach to retrieving, recording and understanding of Archaeological data had marked similarities to those techniques employed by Scene of Crime Investigators.

Feedback from the CSI has been very positive and complimentary. The archaeology team, likewise, felt it was a great experience. It is envisaged that the partnership will continue next year (pending funding) not just with Cheshire, but with other neighbouring CSI forces.

Particular thanks must go to Alan Wilmshurst. His supervision of both the CSI and undergraduates from Newcastle University was a major contributory factor to the success of the partnership and the excavation.

Further thanks are also extended to Alan Brown of Daresbury Laboratories, Warrington, who gave up a lot of time to initiate the CSI and Newcastle students into the mysteries of Geophysical Survey.

The Medieval Chapel Graveyard

63 complete, or partial, skeletons were excavated to the west of the chapel tower. All were located and recovered within a 6 square metre area.

Many were superimposed, or cut into, previous burials, but there were several complete and extended skeletons which were remarkably well-preserved. Others, towards the graveyard perimeter, were badly decayed within a localised area of dense boulder clay.

One group of burials, located close to the south-west buttress of the tower, was particularly poignant.

Provisionally dated to the 14th century, the group consisted entirely of children. One burial contained the remains of 5 children buried at the same time. Nearby were the graves of several more, all dating to the same burial phase. Pathological analysis will hopefully give some clue as to cause of death, though disease or epidemic can be notoriously difficult to detect.

Several graves produced nails providing evidence that at least some originally contained wooden coffins.

One burial stood out in that it was placed in the ground on a reverse alignment. All the burials, so far, have followed the standard Christian practice of an east-west position, with the head at the western end. This particular grave had the head placed at the eastern end.

Thanks to Ray Carpenter and Steve Crane for all their skeletal analysis and general survey work.

One exciting development came from just within the tower foundations. Bill Evans investigated a short, linear feature (1 metre long) that originally appeared as a 'natural' geological striation of red sand and boulder clay.

In fact, he managed to prove that it was a slot containing decayed sandstone blocks. Within them he recovered several fragments of Roman pottery, similar to that found throughout the chapel and graveyard.

As a possible structural foundation it is not substantial, but it does suggest a possible Roman outbuilding associated with the, as yet singularly elusive, Roman structure that would appear to lie quite close by.

Close by were the truncated remains of a pit containing only Roman pottery. Given the large quantities of Roman building material, window glass, pottery and high status artefacts that continue to be recovered from all over the medieval site, it can only be a matter of time before it is located.

Several of the nearby graves also contained fragments of Roman Samian and Black Burnished Ware. One burial fill yielded up a Roman bronze ring. Throughout the winter, a series of test-pits and more extensive geophysical surveys are planned to pinpoint the focus of Roman activity.

This will get under way just as soon as the Bronze Age site has been completed, some 60 metres to the north of the medieval Chapel excavations.

Bronze Age Burial Ground

Work on the 'ring-ditch' continued throughout the summer and is now complete.

It is now apparent that, initially, it was not a complete circle but had an entrance-way from the south-east. That the site was 'visited' over a long period of time. Within the interior, several areas evinced marked concentrations of charcoal associated with cremated human bone and pottery.

Significantly, the greatest concentration of finds were deposited either side of the causeway; other sections cut through the ditch were conspicuously barren of material remains.

The south-east sections, flanking the early entrance, had carefully lain deposits of human cremated bone, coarse hand-made pottery, ash and charcoal fragments, burnt stone and animal bones.

The deposits were not randomly thrown in; horse skull fragments were carefully placed alongside deposits of human cremated bone, before being carefully sealed by a layer of burnt stones.

Other animal bones were present, primarily wild pig. These may well represent the remains of feasting associated with a funeral rite.

From the base of one ditch section a set of red deer antlers was recovered. This suggests that the farming community was still hunting on a minor scale. Antler bone is hard and resilient; it can be used for tools and a variety of other 'domestic' purposes.

It is also possible, given its careful positioning, that the antler was used in some form of ritual practice ('ritual' being a convenient term for archaeologists not too sure as to the function of a particular object!).

The positioning of the major deposits, along the south-east arc of the ditch, may have some astronomical significance. The entrance-way is aligned to the position of Orion's Belt in the summer sky. It also aims unerringly for a gap in the Cheshire Sandstone Ridge.

Unfortunately, the mound that must have once covered the site, has been totally ploughed out, leaving only the ditch still surviving, albeit in a truncated form.

However, it is now evident that it was part of larger 'barrow' group; at least 3 others have been positively identified through trial excavation and survey work. The sites of another 3 will hopefully be confirmed in the near future.

The importance of such a burial group in south-west Cheshire cannot be underestimated. In the Early Bronze Age round barrows were the most widely occurring funerary sites in Cheshire. Practically all contain cremations, pottery and grave goods, such as personal ornamentation.

The Poulton ring-ditch is Late Bronze Age and contains no grave-goods. An earlier burial tradition appears to have been practiced for much longer than elsewhere in the county.

Excavation of the ring-ditch has further proved that there was earlier activity on the site. A series of post-holes, two of which are 'cut' by the ditch form a sub-rectangular shape that enclose an, as yet, unexcavated compacted feature.

These features, as with the Late Bronze Age complex, are truncated but human cremated bone and ash are associated with them.

Is there an earlier funerary tradition present on the site? A Neolithic Enclosure?

The next few weeks should provide the answer to yet another unexpected question raised by the excavations at Poulton.

Poulton could not exist without the invaluable contribution, and unfailing enthusiasm, of a wonderful group of people that have made this summer such a singular success. Their collective spirit and dedication demonstrates the important role Community Archaeology has to play in the understanding of our collective past. Many thanks to you all.

The Poulton Team

Jordan Baxter, Jack Beetson, Debi Biggs, Shane Callaghan, Chris Caroe, Jo Dodd, Richard Charlton, Kevin Cootes, Gary Crawford-Coupe, Shirley Curtis, Bill Evans, Jenny Gilbertson, Hilary Kirk, Helen Leftley, Tonnie Richmond, Kate Roberts, Pat Roberts, Mark Saunders, Colin Todhunter, Sarah Viner, Alan Wilmshurst, Val Wright and of course the Fair family for their continued support without which, we would not be here!!