Excavations
at the Lea Quarry- Page 3 of 3DENHAM, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE
Activity on the site seems to have stopped for about 700 years, until the Roman period (AD 43 to AD 410) when large fields and enclosures were constructed. Over time, these were developed with the construction of ovens for drying harvested cereals, wells and livestock paddocks linked by trackways.
The Roman occupants buried their dead within the site. In the western part of the excavated area, the remains of a coffin were found, containing grave goods including a ring, bracelets, hairpins, a pottery vessel and this high quality necklace. The grave goods suggest that the person buried here was female; the pottery dish may have contained a meal or offering for use in the afterlife.
A highly unusual late Roman cremation cemetery was also found at the eastern edge of the site. It appears that sixteen or more bodies were burnt on pyres directly above open graves. This burial custom is known as a bustum burial. On this site, the bustum burials seem to cluster around the Bronze Age ring ditch. We do not yet understand why, but it could be that the barrow was still visible in the landscape, and remained a ritual focus long after it was constructed.
