Shropshire Hist Archaeol 71

Reports nineteenth-century discovery of three bodies and the contemporary reports. One body is dated to the EBA--MBA, but the other two cannot be dated with certainty. The circumstances of their deaths and comparison with other British bog bodies are discussed.

Excavations in advance of building work uncovered remains of a number of medieval buildings belonging to the Franciscan Friary that occupied this terraced, riverside, location between the thirteenth century and the Dissolution (1538). Identification of the functions of the excavated buildings suggests that they may represent the eastern end of the friary church and part of the dormitory range on the east side of the cloister, with a reredorter behind. An open stepped passageway linked the riverside to the upper terrace. At the Dissolution, building materials deemed unfit for reuse were stripped from many of the friary buildings and dumped in the passageway. Excavation of this unique deposit recovered dozens of architectural fragments, thousands of decorated floor tile fragments, painted window glass and roof tiles. There are separately authored reports on: `The medieval and post-medieval pottery' by S Ratkai (58--61); `The medieval floor tiles' by D Redhouse & I M Ferris (62--5); `Medieval window glass' by L Bevan (66--70); `Architectural stonework' by David Kendrick (70--3); and `Human remains' by I M Ferris & T F Jones (74) with an extract/summary of the report by T F Jones (74).

A large, high-quality example, found in 1993, fails to throw additional light on the function and period of use of these implements.