Bergh Apton Anglo-Saxon cemetery

Reconstruction of the lyre from the Sutton Hoo ship-burial. A similar instrument was excavated at Bergh Apton.

Bergh Apton Anglo-Saxon cemetery is a late-5th to late-6th century Anglo-Saxon burial site discovered at Bergh Apton, Norfolk.[1] The site was excavated in 1973 and 63 graves were found.[2] The south and west portions of the site had previously been destroyed.[3] The state of preservation of the skeletal remains was described as "very poor" due to the acidity of the soil and the sex of individuals was determined by grave goods.[2][4][5] Grave goods found at the site included weapons, shields, spears and jewellery. One grave, possibly of a minstrel-poet, was found to contain a lyre similar to that found at Sutton Hoo.[2] Twelve of the graves were those of children aged under 12 years.[4] No evidence for an Anglo-Saxon settlement adjacent to the cemetery has been found.[5][6]

The artefacts are currently held by Norwich Castle Museum.[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Penn, Kenneth; Brugmann, Birte; Høilund Nielsen, Karen (2007). Ayers, Brian; Glazebrook, Jenny, eds. "Aspects of Anglo-Saxon inhumation burial: Morning Thorpe, Spong Hill, Bergh Apton and Westgarth Gardens". East Anglian Archaeology Reports (Dereham: Norfolk Museums and Archaeology Service) (119). ISBN 978-0-905-59445-3.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Bergh Apton Anglo-Saxon cemetery collection". Museums, Libraries and Archives Council. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  3. ↑ Green, Barbara; Rogerson, Andrew (1978). "The Anglo-Saxon Cemetery at Bergh Apton, Norfolk: Catalogue". East Anglian Archaeology Reports (Gressenhall: Norfolk Archaeological Unit) (7). OCLC 13595544.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Buckberry, Jo (2000). "Missing, Presumed Buried? Bone Diagenesis and the Under-Representation of Anglo-Saxon Children". Assemblage: The Sheffield Graduate Journal of Archaeology. Sheffield: University of Sheffield. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Spooner, Sarah (16 August 2005). "Parish Summary: Bergh Apton". Norfolk Heritage Explorer. Norfolk Historic Environment Service. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  6. ↑ Hoggett, Richard. The Archaeology of the East Anglian Conversion. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press. p. 120. ISBN -978-1-843-83595-0.

Coordinates: 52°33′01″N 1°24′06″E / 52.5502°N 1.4017°E