Data copyright © Norfolk Archaeological Unit unless otherwise stated
This work is licensed under the ADS Terms of Use and Access.
Dr
Elizabeth
Popescu
Head of Post-Excavation & Publications
Oxford Archaeology (Cambridge)
15 Trafalgar Way
Bar Hill
Cambridgeshire
CB23 8SQ
Tel: 01954 01223-850552
Fax: 01954 273376
For the purposes of digital dissemination, a new relational database has been created, incorporating each of the excavated cemetery groups at Castle Mall. This integrates data from the original site context database with data from relevant specialists, cross-referring to illustrations. The data consists of the following elements, each of which is accompanied by an appropriate health warning.
Methods of age and sex determination are generalised to give an idea of the bones used. Sexing based on the pelvis used more traits than entries might suggest. "DF" stands for discriminant function, a statistical method of determining sex, where +2.0 is very male, -2.0 very female (WEA 1980).
Teeth are recorded in the form illustrated below.
Maxilla R. 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 1 2 3 4 5 X 7 U L.
Mandible O 7 6 5 4 - - - / / 3 4 5 6 7 C
A C
Code | Meaning |
---|---|
1 2 3 etc. | Tooth present in jaw. |
X | Tooth lost ante-mortem. |
/ | Tooth lost post-mortem. |
U, u | Tooth unerupted. |
O, o | Tooth in process of erupting. |
C | Tooth congenitally absent. |
- - - | Jaw missing. |
A | Abscess present (above/below tooth number). |
C | Caries present (above/below tooth number). |
Lower case letters a-e and u/o are used for deciduous teeth. Attrition patterns are coded according to the scores suggested by Bouts and Pot (1989, modified version of Brothwell's original tooth wear chart).
A few abbreviations have been used in the catalogue for commonly occurring pathological conditions and anatomical regions. These are as follows:
OA | osteoarthritis, eburnation | MT | metatarsal |
OP | osteophytosis, osteophytes | MC | metacarpal |
C | cervical) | L. | left |
T | thoracic) vertebrae | R. | right |
L | lumbar) |
Any other abbreviations should be self-explanatory, since they are simply shortened forms of bone names or anatomical areas (prox = proximal, etc.).
The bones present for each burial are quickly assessable from the skeletal forms. Bones not belonging to the main inhumation are noted under each burial ('Additional Bones' field).
Tables of measurements for the skull and major long bones are included, along with tables of non-metric trait scores.
Each skeleton was assigned a separate context number, with an NAU Skeleton Record sheet being completed. Skeletons were not planned but were photographed in situ with two 3D co-ordinates taken, one at the skull and one at the feet; images produced for publication were recreated from TST points on the heads and feet, used in conjunction with photographs and the diagrams made on site. Where possible, each skeleton was bagged in three separate bags, one containing the stem, one the left side and one the right side. Each skeleton was washed and dried on site and none of the bones were marked.
Along with modern overburden, some 0.30m of graveyard deposits was machined off above graves at St John's cemetery (particularly to the east), leaving only the base of graves to be recorded. Elements of the resultant stratigraphic sequence in this area are therefore tentative. Numerous graves were not planned due to time constraints and had to be reconstructed during analysis from TST data.
Measurements were taken using the methods described by Brothwell (1981), together with a few from Bass (1971) and Krogman (1978). Sexing and ageing techniques follow Brothwell (1981), and the Workshop of European Anthropologists (1980), with the exception of adult tooth wear scoring which follows Bouts and Pot (1989). Stature was estimated according to the regression formulae of Trotter and Gleser (Trotter 1970). All systematically scored non-metric traits are listed in Brothwell (1981), and grades of cribra orbitalia and osteoarthritis can also be found there. Pathological conditions were identified with the aid of Ortner and Putschar (1981) and Cotta (1978). Additional details are provided in AML Reports 56/96 and 73/96. Note that the latter AML report (for St John's) was written before radiocarbon dates were available, and a medieval date was assumed for the cemetery.
Soil conditions had obviously affected bone preservation in various areas of the site. The geology of the site is chalk capped with clay, sand and gravel. Grave fills were generally of redeposited natural or reworked from earlier features/deposits. Some contained frequent pebbles, charcoal or chalk, apparently disturbed from underlying deposits. Local soil conditions had clearly affected many skeletons, some of which had largely decayed and survived as little more than stains. There was often differential preservation within a single skeleton, for instance one example at St John's cemetery (sk.11402) had a marked decay variation coinciding with a change in character of the surrounding natural sand.
Having been partially sealed by a castle rampart graves in the Farmer's Avenue cemetery had suffered relatively little intercutting or truncation by later features. Those at St John's, however, were badly damaged by intercutting in antiquity and by the insertion of medieval and later features: following contraction of this area of the cemetery, which began in the late 13th century, it developed into tenements. Two apparently blank areas in the plan of this graveyard are the result of later activity.
A brief summary of the condition of the human remains is given below, with further details in the monographs (Shepherd Popescu forthcoming a).
The bones recovered from this part of the site were often in poor condition, very fragmentary or eroded. Most of the bones were clearly redeposited in rubbish pits, but it is also possible that a number had been moved around more than once. The single 'articulated' burial (sk.45210) is difficult to explain as it had clearly been disturbed. The most likely explanation is that the burial had been redeposited, but it is possible that a body with empty space around it (such as within a large coffin or chamber) could be moved around either during transportation and lowering into the grave, or whilst in the ground by animal scavengers. If it were redeposited this must have occurred within a few years of its original burial, before soft tissue decay was complete.
A macroscopic assessment of the condition of the bone from this cemetery indicates that, in general the skeletal material from this site is in average or below average condition in comparison with the ideal, but other local sites tend to produce bone in a similar or worse state of preservation (see caveats in Anderson in Shepherd Popescu forthcoming a).
Comparison with similar data from other sites suggests that the Farmer's Avenue skeletons were better preserved and more complete than those from the Ipswich (Mays 1989; 1991) and Brandon (Anderson 1990) sites, in a similar condition to those from Norwich Timberhill, and less well-preserved than the material from Thetford (Stroud 1993), Burgh Castle (Anderson & Birkett 1991; 1993), Caister (Anderson 1991; 1993) and North Elmham (Wells 1980).
The assessment of condition is again based on a macroscopic examination, and as such is very subjective. On this basis, very little of the skeletal material excavated from Timberhill was in good condition. The majority was average or below average. The Timberhill skeletons were less complete than the Farmer's Avenue group, but were in slightly better condition. Similar data from other sites suggests that the skeletons from The Hirsel (Anderson 1994) and Ipswich Blackfriars (Mays 1991) were generally more complete and in slightly better condition than those from Timberhill, whilst those from Rivenhall (O'Connor 1993), Barton Bendish (Stroud 1987) and St Helen's, York (Dawes 1980), were in similar or worse condition.
All bones recovered from the mound were in fair or good condition, presumably reflecting their recent date. Once reunited, the skeletons were fairly complete, although two lacked skulls, one lacked the pelvis and one lacked the lower legs. One individual consisted of fragments of upper torso only.
(NB: only includes main table: Burial data)
Field | Description |
---|---|
Cemetery | Indicates which cemetery a particular burial is from, drawn from the following list: Beneath barbican (Cemetery 2) Farmers Avenue (Cemetery 3) Prison (Cemetery 5) St John (Cemetery 1) St John (Cemetery 4) |
Area | Site area from which the burial came. |
Burial ID | A unique identifier for each grave/feature, or for skeletons without visible grave cuts. These numbers were generated within the database for the purposes of digital dissemination and are not used in the project archive or publication. |
Grave/feature cut no | Context number of grave cut; also used for other features containing skeletal remains (such as pits). |
Grave details | Description of grave cut. |
Grave fill no | Context number of grave fill: also used for fill of other relevant features. |
Grave fill details | Description of grave fill. |
Grave fill (2) no | Context number of secondary grave fill. |
Grave fill (2) details | Description of secondary grave fill. |
Additional skulls | Context number and position within grave of any additional skulls. |
Burial type | Details of the grave/burial type, including evidence for coffins etc. 22 categories defined. |
No of burials | Number of burials within grave (eg. single, double). 13 categories defined. |
Arm positions | Position of the arms. 21 positions defined. |
Leg positions | Position of the legs. 7 positions defined. |
Photograph | Link to on-site photograph of skeleton in situ. |
CAD plan | Link to research archive CAD plan. |
Cemetery plan | Link to publication plan. |
Additional bone/notes | Summarises any additional bone from grave fill and provides any relevant notes. |
Skeleton no | Context number of skeleton. |
Equates with | Indicates any equated skeleton, either as a result of staged excavation or when equations made during skeletal analysis. |
Skeleton details | Description of skeleton as excavated. |
Secondary skeleton no | Context number of second skeleton within same grave: NB exceptions are where there are particular issues of metrical or pathological data in relation to the secondary burial, in which case they are entered individually. |
Secondary skeleton details | Description of second skeleton. |
Tertiary skeleton no | Context number of third skeleton within same grave. |
Tertiary skeleton details | Description of third skeleton. |
Bone condition | Summary statement of condition of bone. |
Bone description | Basic summary of bones present. |
Bone diagram | Link to skeletal diagram showing surviving bones (from AML report). |
Sex Sex group. | 7 categories defined. |
Age group | 14 categories defined, qualified broadly as follows (NB: the stated ages in years are approximate only).
Adult >18 years Child <18 years Infant <2 years Juvenile c.2-12 Mature >35 years Middle Aged c.25-35 Middle Aged? Middle Aged + Middle Aged/Old c.35-50 Neonate late pre-term foetal to 3months Old 50+ Sub-adult 12-18 Young c.18-25 Young/Middle Aged 18-35 |
Age (years) | Age in years, as indicated by osteological analysis. |
Determin of sex | Means used to determine sex. |
Determin of age | Means used to determine skeletal age. |
Height | Height cm. |
Height estim from | Specific bones used to estimate height. |
Cranial index | Cranial index measurement in cm. |
Cranial type | Cranial type. 4 categories defined. |
Leper? | Relates to burials from St John's (Cemetery 4). 3 categories defined. |
DNA | Tick indicates DNA studied. |
Any discrepancies in the data included have been addressed in the published material. Some discrepancies in totals for burial type and various data by male/female graves result from the fact that burials are recorded under the context number for the main burial (e.g. where additional bones, particularly skulls, were reburied within later graves). The published skeletal analysis calculates totals from all excavated remains, including disarticulated remains from the relevant cemeteries where appropriate.
For double/multiple burials, skeletons are usually recorded as secondary or tertiary burials in the same database entry. Exceptions are where there are particular issues of metrical or pathological data in relation to the secondary burial, in which case they are entered individually.
Most burials are assigned individual skeleton numbers, although in instances where additional individuals were identified by the osteologist during post-excavation analysis, these have a letter suffix (e.g. 10208a).
As a result of the complexities of the excavation programme in separate areas, some graves were excavated in stages, resulting in two or more skeleton/grave numbers being assigned. Such graves are equated in the database (as above, where there are particular issues of metrical or pathological data in relation to the secondary burial, skeletal data is entered individually).
The CAD images included here originated as on-site drawings which developed throughout the analytical process to form drafts for the illustrated plans. These have not been revised prior to dissemination and may therefore contain errors of labelling etc.: should any anomalies arise the published plans should be consulted.
Outputted data from the skeletal/grave sections of the project's context database (produced in Foxbase; this complex relational database is no longer accessible) was formatted during post-excavation analysis into word-processed tables for each cemetery by area group. This data has been copied into the new database presented here, with only minimal editing. It may therefore contain errors. In particular, the finds concordance for each grave has not been re-checked and some finds may have been omitted. All major items are, however, included.
The skeletal catalogues produced by Sue Anderson which form part of the research archive (AML Reports 56/96, 68/96 and 73/96) have been translated into the new cemeteries database without editing.
The skeletal data files (produced in Excel) are those from the project archive; again, these have not been edited.
Skeletal diagrams from the relevant archive reports have been scanned from the originals included in the AML Reports: occasionally, elements of the drawings have not reproduced well or were not included in the original copies.
Slide/Photograph Scans
Photographs of each grave have been included wherever possible. These are site record shots, most of which were not intended for publication. The quality is therefore very variable. Many of the images demonstrate various site conditions, including excavation after heavy rainfall, speed of excavation being essential to the successful achievement of project targets.