Marden Cemetery

Ash Grove Quarry, HER no. 6544

On 23rd September 1943, an anonymous recorder visited the site with a Miss Wight after the latter had received a report of the discovery of some bones at the quarry (which became disused in the same year). They found the centre of the excavation and the surrounding dumps strewn with human bones. In the quarry face they could make out fourteen graves with V-shaped sections at a depth of 3ft and positioned 6ft apart. The graves appeared to be oriented east-west.

The recorder commented that the bones appeared to be large. One of the workmen mentioned that when he had tried a lower jawbone that had been found against his own jaw it went round easily; the recorder commented that this man had a "quite a beefy" face. The teeth of the only skull found were examined and found to be very worn but strong.

One skeleton that was uncovered was found to be extended on its back, arms crossed with the hands at the groin (the finger bones having been found between the legs). Some of the vertebrae appeared to have been dislocated. Another skeleton which could be examined from the quarry face seemed to be extended with arms crossed and hands low (this time the finger bones were found in the pelvis). No weapons or ornaments were found with the skeletons, but workmen said that some weapons had been found and buried under a dump.

From the characteristics of the graves the recorder came to the conclusion that the site was that of a Saxon cemetery, possibly a battle cemetery which would account for the lack of a church nearby and for there being no children's skeletons. The workmen at the quarry said that in one pit "a lot" of skeletons had been found together: if this was a battle cemetery then it may be that the enemy bodies were all thrown in together and the bodies of allies given separate graves.

In 1950-51 the site was excavated as part of a school project. The author of the report was traced and it would appear that at this time seventeen graves on an east-west alignment were found.

The orientation of the graves on this alignment would point to their being of the Christian era. However, radiocarbon dating of two of the skeletons was un-successful, whilst a third produced a date of AD 340-540 (Oxford University Radiocarbon Laboratory, November 2001).

[Original author: Miranda Greene, 2005]