Possible Roman cemetery, Oxley Field, Chadwells Farm (EHER 6964)

Two skeletons were found laying 'arm in arm, each clasping an urn, the right leg of one laid across the left leg of the other', in 1779 by a labourer digging in a field named Oxley. Some years later, in 1792, a third skeleton with two urns was found nearer the road, 'a few rods' from the previous skeletons, though the circumstances of discovery are unknown. A sketch map my Thomas Walford who recorded the third skeleton indicates the burials were found near the Western boundary of Oxley's field. One of the urns from the first burial discovered was broken and the other was thought to be with the Revd Mr Raymond of Belchamp Walter in 1801. It is possibly this urn which is described as a 'fluted beaker' and an 'indented beaker' and was subsequently donated to the Cambridge University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in 1904. The location of the other urns and human remains is not known. The 3rd edition OS map features a label which describes Roman urns and human remains found in the field in 1860-1870. It is unclear if this is a cartographic error or if these are additional finds. When the site was visited by the OS in 1950, the land was used as allotments.

Cemetery found in 1779 in a field named Oxley, partly on the farm and partly on the glebe, 'in the former seven rods from the turnpike road and one from the hedge which divides it from the glebe-land'. Two skeletons were found 7' down with two urns. 'They lay arm in arm, each clasping an urn, the right leg of one laid across the left leg of the other, the lower urn being placed between their hips'. One urn was broken, the other was believed to be with the Revd Mr Raymond of Belchamp Walter in 1801. The surviving example, a fluted beaker, is figured in source <1>. <1> <2> <3> In 1792 one skeleton, with two empty urns, was found nearer the road, 'a few rods' from the previous find. The head was 6 ins higher than the feet, nearly due north. One urn was between the feet, the other was clasped by the left arm, mouth down. One was broken, the other was like that found in 1779 and was retained by Thomas Walford who reported the finding of many skeletons but no pottery on the adjoining glebe. <2> <3> The 1779 burial was found by a labourer digging in a field. The urn which survived was 'of lightly baked clay, 4' high and 3' wide at the top with the sides indented (this is the fluted beaker described by <3>). Several urns, two very large, were found a few rods away nearer the present Turnpike Road. The single skeleton was found near here in 1792'. From Walford's sketch map (in source <2>), the burials seemed to have been found near the western boundary of Oxley's field. <4> <5> Field shown on 6" Field Sheet known as Oxleys Field. <6> The 3rd edition OS map labels this field 'Roman Urns & Human Remains Found A.D. 1860-70'. These may be different from those described above, given the date of discovery, though see <11> (below) which suggests the date may be a cartographic error. <7> The finds from 1860-1870 are not on 6" Record Sheet. <8> <9> The indented beaker was given to Cambridge University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in 1904. Acc. No. 1914.37. <10> See aerial photograph. <11> 15 May 1950. Field visit to site of finds from 1860-1870. No information concerning the Roman urns and human remains shown as having been found in 1860-70 on the W. side of Oxleys Field. It is not improbable that an error has been made in the date of these finds and that they refer to the finds made in 1779. No surface finds in this field. From Thos. Walford's sketch map in Archaeologia it would appear that the skeletons and urns were found near the west boundary of Oxleys Field. <12> 17 May 1950. Field visit to site of finds from 1779 and 1792. This strip of land, now allotment gardens, was glebe land in 1835. No surface finds. <13> <6> OS card gives NGR for glebe where the 'third' skeleton was found as TL 7105 4280. <14> Note: The mapped polygon is a conjectural extent of the cemetery using modern field boundaries and may not represent the true extent of the archaeological remains. See also EHER 6963 for a record of human remains found to the south-west which may belong to this cemetery. Original HER entry merged with NRHE data transfer.