Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine, vol. 97 (2004), pp. 89-94 
An Early Anglo-Saxon Cross-roads Burial from 
Broad Town, North Wiltshire 
by Bob Clarke 
A single unaccompanied burial located at a cross-roads at Broad Town, North Wiltshire, has recently been radiocarbon 
dated to the 6th-7th Century AD. Its excavation forms part of the ongoing investigation, by the University of Bath in 
Swindon, into settlement patterns in Kingsbridge Hundred, North Wiltshire. The results open up the possibilities of an 
earlier date than hitherto supposed both for the practice of cross-roads burial and for the burial of criminals near 
boundaries. The landscape context of the burial is further discussed, considering the potentially early date for what later 
became a hundred boundary marked by the Broad Town escarpment. 
INTRODUCTION 
Project Background 
On Thursday 12 October 2000 Tony and Leigh 
Lucas discovered the partial remains of a human 
skeleton protruding from a bank overlooking the 
village of Broad Town, North Wiltshire. Broad Town 
Archaeological Project (BTAP) was informed by the 
County Archaeologist of the discovery and the site 
was visited by two members of BTAP who reported 
their findings to him. The County Archaeologist 
gave full support to excavation, which took place on 
11-12 November 2000. 
The burial site is located on the north-west 
facing chalk escarpment of the lower Marlborough 
Downs, overlooking the village of Broad Town, 
North Wiltshire (Figure 1), on the 175 m. contour 
line at NGR SU 0955 7765. 
THE BURIAL: RESULTS 
Prior to excavation, a record was made of the 
initially visible remains and other finds that had 
eroded out of the bank. That record forms the first 
part of this report. 
Visible Remains in Section 
The left side of the individual was exposed to the 
north due to a number of factors, primarily natural 
erosion and cattle interference. No grave cut was 
visible in the section, but there was a slight soil 
change immediately around the bones. The visible 
remains were exposed for a length of 72 cm. in the 
section. Depth from surface at the final visible 
thoracic vertebrae was 20cm., at the femoral head 
25 cm. 
Protruding from the naturally formed section 
were a number of bones, including seven 
articulated thoracic vertebrae and the left pelvic 
bone and femur, both articulated. Overlying the top 
of the femur were three bones from the left hand, 
probably metacarpals. 
From the disposition of the bones in the section 
it was possible to suggest that the head of the burial 
would have lain to the south-west and that the 
burial was not made in a coffin. 
The Excavation 
The grave cut was extremely difficult to locate as it 
was not visible in the eroded section and only a 
Bob Clarke, c/o Qinetiq, Boscombe Down, Amesbury, Salisbury SP4 7RE 
