Monument record 133/1/2 - Burial Mound (Church Lawton North)

<1> County Historic Environment Record, 1973-1985, Cheshire Archaeological Bulletin, Issue 8, p.46-7, McNeil R, 1982 (Journal/Periodical). SCH565.

Burial Mound (Church Lawton North) - one of three barrows, only two still extant (CHER 133/1/2-3); the other (CHER 133/1/1) was levelled at the beginning of the twentieth century when a garage was built. There is an earlier record pre 1826 of urns being discovered but there was little sign of Victorian robbing. Excavation of the barrow revealed construction in two phases. The phase 1 barrow comprised simply of a mound of sand, 16m in diameter, standing to a height of 1.4m and circumnavigated by a ditch. The ditch was roughly circular and varied in depth; it is thought to be a marker ditch rather than the main source of the sand mound. Approximately at the centre of the mound was boat-shaped pit (c.1.30m by 80m by 0.50m) covered with a wooden lid. Nothing was found within the pit although it was of sufficient size to have contained a crouched inhumation; any bones could have disintergrated due to the acid sandy soil. Eighteen cremation pits were dug into the mound in an irregular manner with a concentration in the south-west quadrant. Four lay outside the ditch and could be regarded as secondary burials. Some of these cremations were foetal or infants. Two cremations had been placed in a sack/bag before being placed in a pit. Most of the cremations were unurned with cremated bones and charcoal placed in pits. Two pits contained empty food vessels. One complete biconical urn was found set upright in its pit with cremated bones intact. Stone tools were found in two of the cremations pits, including a plano-convex flint knife in three pieces and a battle axe in perfect condition which was placed in a pit behind the sack containing cremated bones.

The phase 2 barrow saw the existing mound enlarged considerably to a mound of circa 30m in diameter by the dumping of sand onto the existing mound which was then turf-capped. Only one possible cremation was found associated with this phase, although others could have been lost by recent ploughing activity. However, three bowl-shaped pits with stakes set into the bottom and the sides were recorded; they contained lumps of charcoal and ash and are thought to be fire pits for the cremations.

<2> Longley D, 1979, Prehistoric Sites in Cheshire, p.33-4 (Report). SCH2719.

<3> Ordnance Survey, 1870-1982, Ordnance Survey Archaeological Record Card, Waggott T, 1964, SJ85NW3 (Barrow B) (Index). SCH2487.

Site visit, 09/09/1964: The western slopes of the barrow are much mutilated. It is 1.4m high and grass covered.

<4> 1881-1900s, Cheshire Notes and Queries, Vol 1, p.51, item 233, Tomlinson, 1881 (Journal/Periodical). SCH558.

There are two mounds in a field near the Lawton Arms. The more easterly has been cut through by the Newcastle-Sandbach road.

<5> Longley D, 1977-1978, Longley Archive, No. 11. Record card and Site Visit Record Report (Paper Archive). SCH2005.

Site visit, 12/10/1977: The mound is c.35m in diameter and 1m in height, situated in rough pasture. The mound is spread to the north and east presumably due to ploughing, the western side appears to have been disturbed by the construction of the house and gardens.

<6> Harris, B.E. (ed), 1987, Victoria County History - A History of the County of Chester: Volume I, Vol 1, p.84, Longley D, 1987 (Book). SCH3556.

<7> McNeil R, The Barrow at Church Lawton North Alsager (Book). SCH3055.

<8> English Heritage, 1990-1993, Monuments Protection Programme Site Visit Form, Robinson K, 12/01/1993, includes photograph (Unpublished Document). SCH5222.

Site visit, 12/01/1993: Mound c.35-40m in diameter and c.0.7m in height. Excavation in 1981 totally excavated SE & SW quadrants and partly excavated NE and NW quadrants; mound appears largely reconstructed. Liaison with the site excavator, R. McNeil, confirmed that about 75% of barrow has been excavated. Not considered suitable for scheduling.

<9> Malcolm Reid et al, 2014, Once a Sacred and Secluded Place: Early Bronze Age Monuments at Church Lawton, near Alsager, Cheshire, Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, Vol. 80, p.237-277 (Article in Journal). SCH8354.

One of two round barrows excavated in the early 1980s at Church Lawton near to the eastern edge of the Cheshire and Staffordshire Plain. This barrow was principally a two-phased construction and contained urned and un-urned cremation burials. A battle-axe was placed next to one of the burials. Radiocarbon dates obtained from the cremations and associated deposits indicate that individuals were being interred from the late 3rd or early 2nd millennium cal BC, with the practice continuing until the middle of the 2nd millennium. The barrows formed part of a cemetery, consisting of three known mounds.

<10> Malcolm Reid, Amber Roy and Rob Ixer, 2024, From the heat of the fire: A biography of an early Bronze Age battle-axe from Church Lawton, Cheshire (Article in Journal). SCH9621.

The stone battle-axe found in the 1980s excavations with one of the secondary burials (cremation) in the Church Lawton North barrow has undergone further detailed analysis focusing on its petrology in relation to the rock source (Cwm Mawr, near Hyssington, Powys), its manufacture and use, and its heating. The new examination included the use of stereoscopic and metallographic microscopes.

The axe, made of picrite, was placed horizontally at the side of a pit (dug through the phase 1 mound), next to the cremated remains of an adult, possibly a woman, of about 30 + years of age, closely dated by radiocarbon to 1893-1740 cal BC (3490 ± 29 BP). The axe had been subjected to intense heat and then placed in a pit with the cremation. The heating has radically altered the appearance of the axe. Originally very smooth and dark grey-green, it now has a more granular and dusty feel, together with a mottled orange-reddish appearance. It is extremely likely that the person interred with the battle-axe was regarded as special, or exercised a degree of influence, among the local community. This may have been a position of authority, a shaman or someone who possessed a knowledge of medicines and medical procedures.

<11> McNeil R et al, 1990?, Excavation of Bronze Age barrows at Church Lawton 1981 (Draft Reports) (Unpublished Report). SCH956.

Draft reports for the excavation of the north barrow, including reports on the excavation, cremations, cremation urns (including drawings), battle axe, analysis of pollen samples, detail on radio carbon dates.