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AN ANGLO‐SAXON EXECUTION CEMETERY AT WALKINGTON WOLD, YORKSHIRE
Author(s) -
BUCKBERRY J.L.,
HADLEY D.M.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
oxford journal of archaeology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.382
H-Index - 31
eISSN - 1468-0092
pISSN - 0262-5253
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-0092.2007.00287.x
Subject(s) - anglo saxon , radiocarbon dating , archaeology , crania , context (archaeology) , celtic languages , cult , history , ancient history
Summary. This paper presents a re‐evaluation of a cemetery excavated over 30 years ago at Walkington Wold in east Yorkshire. The cemetery is characterized by careless burial on diverse alignments, and by the fact that most of the skeletons did not have associated crania. The cemetery has been variously described as being the result of an early post‐Roman massacre, as providing evidence for a ‘Celtic’ head cult or as an Anglo‐Saxon execution cemetery. In order to resolve the matter, radiocarbon dates were acquired and a re‐examination of the skeletal remains was undertaken. It was confirmed that the cemetery was an Anglo‐Saxon execution cemetery, the only known example from northern England, and the site is set into its wider context in the paper.