Probable site of an Anglo-Saxon cemetery evidenced by the finding of Saxon artefacts and skeletal remains. Two groups of objects datable to the first half of the 5th century were discovered with the aid of a metal detector by Mr Michael Cuddeford in the vicinity of the rampart immediately outside the north-east corner of the walled area of the town. The first group, found in late 1971 or early 1972, consisted of a well preserved early cruciform brooch, seven beads, a silver finger ring and a siliqua of Valens dated AD 367-378 pierced twice for suspension. With the second group were found fragments of the skull and left arm of a woman of 50 to 70 years of age. Mr Cuddeford is sure that the groups were from different burials no more than 12m apart and that the remains had been disturbed since burial. In 1935, about 75m west of the find spots of Mr Cuddeford's groups, excavation for a new bowling green revealed a very large number of human bones in either partly articulated or wholly disturbed states (MCC8607).<1><2> The grave-goods (reported on by Mrs S.C. Hawkes) included late Roman military belt fittings which are usually found in 5th century Saxon graves. The cruciform brooches belong to the end of the Witmarsum phase and are imports probably from Schleswig-Holstein; Hawkes dates them to the first half of the fifth century. The beads comprised five glass beads and one large globular amber bead.<1>
Further human skeletal remains were found in 1978 to the north but there was no artefactual evidence to positively date them to the Saxon period and a Roman date is preferred.

NB. This is the same as MCC2130.