| Summary : A probable round barrow discovered in 1869 following demolition of St Mary's Church, Fimber, and during the rebuilding of its replacement. Some of the workmens' discoveries were investigated by Mortimer. The building work also showed that an earlier, larger church had stood upon the barrow mound. The principal barrow-related finds were as follows. At the western end was a pit, probably pre-dating the mound, containing sherds of Grooved Ware, animal bones, part of a bone skewer pin, a boar's tusk, a pecten shell and some worked flints including a flaked chisel with a partly polished edge. Nearby Mortimer noted a length of ditch containing some animal remains. Some distance east, workmen found an adult skeleton, while excavations by Mortimer uncovered a crouched adult inhumation with a Food Vessel in an oval grave beneath the mound. Also uncovered were what appears to have been a Roman pottery kiln or possibly a smelting furnace, plus two probable Saxon inhumations. |
More information : SE 89436062 St Mary's Church on site of (NAT) Tumulus (NR) (1)
A Bronze Age barrow (apparently oval) was found under old Fimber Church when it was demolished in 1869 to build a new church. The charred debris of an earlier church was also exposed. Two graves at 1 and 2 (plan) were Bronze Age, and two burials at A and B (plan) were possibly Anglo-Saxon. At 3 (plan) was a "dome shaped cavity" with clay lined flues (illustration) searched by intense heat. It contained burnt wood, "apparently Roman or Romano-British pottery "representing three kinds of ware and a "considerable quantity of vitreous slag-like substance in which were small pieces of what seemed to be fused bronze" (doubtfully a kiln or ? smelting furnace). (2)
Pit with Neolithic pottery, bones and flints. (3)
Yorkshire Ware food vessel and arrowhead from barrow C33. (4)
Additional reference. (5)
A probable round barrow discovered in 1869 following demolition of St Mary's Church, Fimber, and during the rebuilding of its replacement. Some of the workmens' discoveries were investigated by Mortimer. The building work also showed that an earlier, larger church had stood upon the barrow mound. The principal barrow-related finds were as follows. At the western end, 5 feet below the modern ground level, was a pit, probably pre-dating the mound, containing sherds of Grooved Ware, animal bones, part of a bone skewer pin, a boar's tusk, a pecten shell and some worked flints including a flaked chisel with a partly polished edge. The pit had already been discovered by workmen before Mortimer's arrival, and he completed its excavation. He clearly regarded it as a grave, although he noted only "a doubtful trace of human bone". The Grooved Ware pottery was identified by him as Food Vessel, Beaker and Incense Cup sherds. Although details are few, it seems likely that this pit was not a grave as such, was beneath the mound, and probably preceded construction of the barow mound, rather than representing the remains of a primary Neolithic interment. Nearby Mortimer noted a length of ditch containing some animal remains. Building work onthe church prevented proper investigation. 45 feet east, workmen found and destroyed an adult skeleton in Mortimer's absence. Once informed, he examined the ground beneath and found a few burnt human bones. Subsequently Mortimer explored an undisturbed part of the mound, finding worked flints, before encountering an oval grave measuring 7 feet by 4.5 feet. Within or above the grave fill was a flint arrowhead, while the grave itself contained a crouched adult inhumation with a Food Vessel. The body lay in what Mortimer described as a "trough" made of flat pieces of chalk. Also uncovered were what appears to have been a Roman pottery kiln or smelting furnace. Mortimer described a dome-shaped cavity with two clay-lined flues. Quantities of charcoal and Roman pottery were present, but he also referred to a considerable quantity of "a vitreous slag-like substance, in which were small pieces of what seemed to be fused bronze". Finally, building work for the church also uncovered two inhumations which appear to be of Anglo-Saxon date. One was "near" a bronze buckle, while the other was accompanied by a "curious article of bronze or copper". (2, 4, 6, 7). |