We recently completed an excavation at Breedon’s Leyburn Quarry in North Yorkshire which revealed some very exciting, and rare, archaeological discoveries.
The quarry, which produces limestone aggregate, lies within an area of Wensleydale with known archaeology dating from the Mesolithic through to the post-medieval and modern periods. Specifically, there is extensive evidence for Bronze Age activity in this part of the Yorkshire Dales, including field systems, settlements, burial sites and even metal hoards.
Before beginning the five-week excavation we carried out fieldwalking across the targeted area which measured around 1.5ha. The fieldwalking produced 66 individual finds, and while this included modern objects, there were several chipped flint flakes indicative of Stone Age activity on the site.
Following the fieldwalking, the overlying soil was stripped off to reveal a total of 27 archaeological features, all of which were clustered together and consisted of pits and two linear ditches which met at a ‘T’ junction.
At the southern side of the cluster of features was a pit which had small pieces of cremated bone sat within its fill at the surface. Further investigation revealed that the pit contained a very compact and substantial deposit of cremated human bone. The bone was carefully excavated and will be analysed by our osteoarchaeologist. The practice of burying human cremations in pits was common during the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods, but radiocarbon dating will allow us to pinpoint the date of this burial.
Along the eastern edge of the excavation area, a pit was found to contain an upside-down, or ‘inverted’, large pottery vessel known as a ‘collared urn’. While no bone was visible initially, cremated human remains being deposited within inverted urns is very typical of the Bronze Age period, so we were fairly confident we would encounter another burial. Past farming practices had damaged the base of the pot, and it had collapsed in on itself but our team of archaeologists managed to ‘block-lift’ the entire vessel, wrap it securely and transport it to our laboratory where the human cremation deposit inside was able to be meticulously excavated, washed and dried. During this process a beautiful and symmetrical perforated stone axe hammer was found deposited amongst the cremated bone! The tool measured around 10cm in length and was made from an exotic volcanic rock with a socket through the centre to fix a handle, or ‘haft’. The axe hammer had been expertly shaped and honed, and its inclusion within the urn indicates that it was perhaps a personal, treasured item belonging to the deceased person, who was also most probably of high-status. It had clearly come some distance and indicates access to widespread exchange networks for prestige objects by this Bronze Age community
The pottery vessel, which measures around 40cm high and 30cm wide, is in the process of being conserved which will result in its consolidation and reconstruction where appropriate.
A report on the excavation will be compiled following the scientific analysis and dating of the remains and this will be made available on this website.