Low Plains Quarry, Lazonby, Cumbria- Post-Excavation Assessment

In May 2004, during the course of sand and gravel extraction at Low Plains Quarry, Lazonby, Cumbria (NY 4997 4166), three small circular burnt patches were noticed by quarry workers. Oxford Archaeology North was contacted by the quarry owners, Tarmac Northern Ltd, and requested to investigate these features, which proved to be three cremation burials. This work was undertaken in accordance with a verbal brief from Cumbria County Council Historic Environment Service. Manual cleaning in the immediate vicinity of these features revealed a further probable cremation.
Cremation 1 comprised an inurned burial, whilst Cremation 2 contained both broken pottery and cremated remains. Cremation 3 was aceramic, but did contain the largest amount of bone, whilst Cremation 4 contained only very small amounts of bone and charcoal. Assessment of the pottery associated with the cremations indicated a Bronze Age date. Cremation sites from this period are not commonly recorded in Cumbria, and that from Low Plains Quarry, albeit small, has the potential to contribute to a wide range of research aims. These will include an examination of the nature and absolute date of the cremation cemetery; osteological and bioarchaeological analysis of the skeletal remains in order to further an understanding of Bronze Age life and mortality and to try to understand the geographical origins of those buried at Low Plains Quarry; a study of funeral ritual and practice; typological, fabric, and lipid residue analyses of the pottery from the cemetery in order to further an absolutely dated understanding of production methods, resources and stylistic patterns in pottery manufacture, along with the uses to which these vessels were put; a reconstruction of the local environment along with the evidence for, and nature of, human ecological interaction.
This assessment examined the results of the excavation, and assessed the potential for further analysis of each category of data with regard to the project’s research aims. The process has been designed to correspond to the objectives laid out in the guidance document Management of Archaeological Projects 2nd edition (MAP 2; English Heritage 1991). An updated project design is presented, and an appropriate programme of analysis outlined. It is recommended that, after analysis, the results are published in an appropriate archaeological journal.