Archaeologists working on HS2 have made discoveries of national significance, uncovering an Anglo-Saxon burial site in Wendover, Buckinghamshire. Almost three quarters of the graves contained high quality grave goods, suggesting the site was the final resting place of a wealthy Anglo-Saxon community.
The items uncovered are dated to the 5th and 6th century, a period in which there are gaps in historical and archaeological record. The discoveries made by HS2 archaeologists will contribute a significant amount to the understanding of how people in Anglo-Saxon Britain lived their lives, and what culture and society was like at that time.
The team of around 30 field archaeologists from INFRA JV, working on behalf for HS2’s Enabling Works Contractor, Fusion JV, completed the field work in 2021, at the site which they knew was in use over a long period of time. Evidence of Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age and Roman activity was all discovered but it was the presence of the Anglo-Saxon burial ground that was most significant for the archaeologists working on the site. The site contained 138 graves, with 141 inhumation burials and 5 cremation burials – one the largest Anglo-Saxon burial ground ever uncovered in Britain.
Artefacts found include:
Over 2,000 beads
89 brooches
40 buckles
51 knives
15 spearheads
7 shield bosses
Read more: archaeological-discoveries-illuminate-the-anglo-saxon-dark-ages
