Medieval Archaeology 11

TR 29755750 (approx). This cremation burial, discovered about 1845, is unusual in having been deposited in a bronze bowl, in late 6th cent Kent, where inhumation was the general practice. Nevertheless, several other burials of this type exist, eg at Loveden Hill and Martlesham Heath, the latter apparently containing, as this burial may have done, more than one person. The lone siting of the burial, near a pagan site at Woodnesborough, and the fact of its cremation suggest the cult of Woden. Like other burials of this type, it has an aristocratic flavour; the unburnt grave goods comprise the imported Frankish bronze bowl and tripod and glass vessels, fine tablet-woven twill, and coarse plain textiles, a fragmentary square-headed brooch, beads, and a magnificent ring-sword whose elaborate silver-gilt mounts exhibit animal ornament transitional between Styles and I and II. This also indicates close continental connections which, with the combined evidence of the grave goods and mode of burial, suggests deposition in the last quarter of the 6th cent. LW

At the earliest period at which English place-names were formed there was a type of settlement called a w chám, occurring close to Roman roads and usually near small RB settlements, which derived its name from a connection with the vici of Roman Britain. This connection could be either one of geographical proximity or, possibly, functional identity. The twenty-nine occurrences of this name are discussed (one certain and one possible example in an appendix). Old English w c, long recognised as deriving from Latin vicus, may have had a meaning close to that of the Latin term when used in this appellative compound. The general distribution of the names resembles that of the laeti material mapped by S C Hawkes but there is not sufficient detailed correspondence to do more than speculate on the possibility that these names were formed when the function of a vicus was known or remembered by Germanic speakers. Appendices discuss w ct n names and, in detail, the precise localisation of W chám in Hailey (Oxfordshire) parish which is now possible from charters and archaeological evidence (see also 69/368). RNB

Five superimposed phases (excluding modern and possibly prehistoric occupation) were revealed on an uninhabited tidal islet off the SW Scottish coast. Phases V and IV (post-medieval tavern and medieval hall-house) are reported elsewhere; phases III, II and I are Early Christian. In Phase I, (?later 5th cent) extended Christian inhumations were associated with traces of a "slab shrine". Phase II was marked by the construction of a small timber oratory or chapel, and a "corner-post" shrine with further burials aligned on it. In Phase III (?early 8th cent) a larger stone-walled chapel replaced the timber structure and further inhumations were made. In ?10th-11th cents, burials were inserted in the floor of the chapel. A low bank encloses an oval area around the site showing traces of ruined circular foundations. An extensive series of grave-markers and other worked/inscribed stones and a few small finds belong to Phases II and III. There was probably an early and influential Irish settlement in Early Christian Galloway, a settlement whose nature and extent has not hitherto been realised. Au(adp)

TQ 64850492 and others. The village of Pevensey in Sussex is the shrunken remnant of a medieval port of modest importance. Between 1962 and 1966 several sites on the fringe of the present built-up area were investigated and one was excavated in some detail. At three points the original shore line was found, with traces of quays or retaining walls at two of them. The main site was adjacent to these and revealed a series of buildings from the 12th to 14th cents. Another occupation area south of the church was also explored. The pottery and other finds testify to cross-Channel and coastal trade. Au

TF 81811304. Twelve skeletons were exposed during road-widening in the area of a known leper house of c 1100-1350. The bones are morphologically compatible with the historical date. Four bodies were represented by a few damaged bones, four had lost their skulls and nearly all the foot bones were missing; these bones are important in pathological diagnosis. Despite this, evidence of possible leprosy was found in one case, whilst in three the diagnosis was probable and in another three almost certain. The dental evidence suggests mouth abscesses and a soft diet. DFR