Monument record 494/1/1 - Burial mound near Chester Rd & Euclid Ave

In Dec 1931 Mr Massey found sandstone blocks of a burial mound in his garden at 'Cranford', Chester Road, Grappenhall.The mound produced a small cinerary urn & a saddle quern (1). In 1933 a sewer trench was dug between manholes in Chester Rd & Euclid Ave. The course lay through the centre of this mound-so site was fully excavated. Excavated in March 1933 by Dunlop, Fairclough & Armstrong(2).Cairn of sandstones 36ft in diam, with a kerb of large flat slabs tilted inwards.In the centre was a cist, 4ft long a 18ins wide lined with flat stones, but no evidence of a burial (poss the urn found by Mr Massey in 1931 came from the cist).Close by was a cremation area with human remains & frags of 2 lozenge shaped arrowheads, flint scrapers & flakes.Secondary cremation burials without urns found near the crown of the mound.On the outer margin of the mound a stone 'muller' or pestle & frags of a decorated middle Bronze Age food vessel were found. To the south & east of the mound was a cemetery of numerous urnless cremation burials & an urnfield of 3 large cinerary urns (1 inverted) & frags of a third.All buried c.1ft deep (1). The pottery types consisted of two Type 2 food vessels - one anomalous, the other inverted, a Type 3 enlarged food vessel, a narrow rim urn, a tripartite urn & a decorated urn. Also a perforated bone pin & saddle quern (3). Longley illustrates some of the pottery (10).

<1> Armstrong A L, 1933, Proceedings of the Warrington Literary & Philosophical Society, /22-6 1933 (Book). SCH2739.

<2> Ordnance Survey, 1870-1982, Ordnance Survey Archaeological Record Card, 1980 SJ68NW41 (Index). SCH2487.

<3> British Archaeological Reports, 55/49+64+80 Cowie T G 1978 (Monograph). SCH461.

<4> Unknown, 1934, Proceedings of Prehistoric Society, 7/266+407 1932 (Book). SCH2727.

<5> Carter G A, 1947, Warrington Hundred, /8 (Book). SCH3688.

<6> Grealey S, 1976, The Archaeology of Warrington's Past, /25-27 (Book). SCH3046.

<7> Varley, W. J. & Jackson, J. W., 1940, Prehistoric Cheshire, /94 & fig 16 (Book). SCH2692.

<8> Bu'lock J D, 1961, List of Bronze Age Sites in North West of England (Book). SCH1943.

<9> Varley W J, 1964, Cheshire Before the Romans, /61+62+67 (Book). SCH784.

<10> Harris, B.E. (ed), 1987, Victoria County History - A History of the County of Chester: Volume I, 1/83 Longley D 1987 (Book). SCH3556.

<11> Longley D, 1977-1978, Longley Archive, /no.59 (Paper Archive). SCH2005.