More information : [ST 5221 2289] Stone Coffins found A.D. 1834 [T.I.] (1) [Area ST 5220 2292] Roman Burial Ground in the grounds of Northover House, Ilchester, where, since the early 19th c. both stone and leaden coffins have been discovered :- A = [ST 5213 2292] Stone coffin found c.1840 with skeleton, fibula, bone comb, bronze band and gold and enamel bangle. Dated by Taunton Museum to the 3rd c. on the evidence of coins found nearby, but not in association with the burial.(2) (3) B = [ST 5220 2295] Lead coffin found by Jack Cox in 1890. (2) C = [ST 5221 2295] Two coffins, one stone and the other lead, were found c. 1933 lying parallel and only 2'3' apart. Both were in good condition, the leaden coffin has a herring bone ornament precisely similar to the fragments of another found at Northover House in 1836. (4). D = [ST 5222 2295] Lead coffin first discovered in 1906 but not excavated, until 1933. It was found to be damaged (2) (4). Finds, and fragments of lead coffins are in Taunton Museum. (5) (6). (2-6) Mr. Vaux, who was living at Northover House when the coffins were dug up c.1933, confirms that they are correctly sited by Mr. J. Stevens Cox at 'C' and 'D'. He also says that the coffin found c.1834 was dug up in the position marked by the O.S., and that it was then moved to the posiion marked as 'A' by Cox. Two stone and two lead coffins are still in the garden of Northover House. (7)
|