2 - Death on the Dorset Ridgeway: A Viking Murder Mystery

Summary

In June 2009, during an archaeological watching brief that formed part of the archaeological works for the new Weymouth Relief Road, a mass burial containing the remains of a large group of decapitated individuals of late tenth- or early eleventh-century date was discovered at Ridgeway Hill, Dorset, England. Archaeological watching briefs regularly occur towards the end of large excavation programmes, often in areas deemed to have low archaeological potential. Almost as regularly, they are responsible for the discovery of highly significant sites. Skanska Civil Engineering, who undertook construction of the road on behalf of Dorset County Council, commissioned Oxford Archaeology (OA) to undertake a program of archaeological works to mitigate the impact of the scheme.

From October 2008 to January 2009, Oxford Archaeology carried out full excavation of an area measuring just over five hectares at Ridgeway Hill as part of the scheme. The site strip for this excavation stopped just short of the then unknown location of the mass burial pit because of health and safety considerations relating to the existing road. Consequently, the hedge line removal at the edge of the site was examined as part of an archaeological watching brief once protective measures were in place for traffic during the main construction phase. Topsoil and overburden were removed under archaeological supervision by a mechanical excavator using a toothless ditching bucket. Machining was stopped as soon as the existence of the feature became apparent. The results of detailed post-excavation analysis will be presented in a forthcoming Oxford Archaeology monograph.

Location and topography

The burial pit is located on the crest of Ridgeway Hill in Dorset. The Roman road that is partly fossilized in the line of the present day A354 passes very close to the site which is located in the Domesday hundred of Cullifordtree. The site is bounded by the A354 immediately to the west, the road to Broadmayne to the north, the unclassified road to Bincombe to the south, and the existing fields of Down Farm to the east.

The local geology of Ridgeway Hill is composed of Upper Chalk of Cretaceous date. Overlying the solid geology was a 0.3 m thick horizon of ploughsoil with a diffuse boundary between the two due to ploughing activity. Topographically, the site straddles the summit of the Ridgeway at approximately one hundred and forty metres.