Monument record 15946 - Excavated pit containing BA cremation, Forest Hill Quarry

<1> TVAS North Midlands, 2023, Forest Hill Quarry Extension, Northwich, Cheshire: Archaeological Excavation, Phase 1, R4744 (Client Report). SCH9578.

In 2023 a pit containing a human cremation was excavated during the extension of Forest Hill Quarry. Pit [7] was 0.38m in diameter and 0.2m deep and filled with black-grey silt-sand with moderate burnt bone and charcoal, a piece of which was radiocarbon-dated to the middle Bronze Age (1540-1420 BC). No other finds were recovered. Osteological analysis of the bones show that, in general, the remains were well preserved. The fragments had dense textures and sharp edges, with bone surfaces that were largely uneroded or damaged. The “good” state of preservation was also reflected in the sizes of fragments recovered, with most pieces of bone measuring greater than 10mm (162.0g, 55.3% of all bone collected from 7). The maximum post excavation fragment sizes were recorded as 59.8mm for a portion of long bone shaft (humerus), and 35.7mm for a piece of cranial vault (thickness ranged between 4.9mm-5.7mm). All of the bone was uniformly white in colour, indicating the skeletal elements had been subjected to an efficient cremation process. Several fragments displayed localised patches of blue-green staining. The affected skeletal elements include portions of the cranial vault (both the ecto- and endocranial surfaces), as well as non-descript fragments of long bone shafts. This discolouration is possibly the result of the skeletal elements being in close contact with a metallic (copper alloy) object either during the burnt process, or in the burial context but no metalwork finds were recovered. The remains are thought likely to represent a middle-aged adult or one advancing in age.