SDO11365 - Three Cist Burials at Herston, Swanage; Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society

In 1973 Poole Museums were informed that pottery and a possible burial had been discovered near the Priest's Way Caravan Park, Swanage. The site was subsequently excavated prior to its destruction by an extension to the caravan park. A machine removed up to 0.8m of topsoil revealing three cists, areas of limestone rubble and a drystone wall alignment. The graves were of the short cist type, N-S aligned and composed of large slabs of Purbeck limestone. None contained grave goods and the bone was in poor condition. Cist 1 contained the burial of an adult female aged 25-35. The grave had been disturbed because the ribs were scattered. The head lay to the north and the skeleton was arranged with its legs crossed and contracted in a foetal position. Cist 2 contained the burial of an adult female aged 35-45. The disarticulated long bones and skull were grouped together on the south east side of the cist and the lower jaw lay isolated on the opposite side. It is unclear if this was the original position of the burial or if the bones had been rearranged by grave robbers. Cist 3 contained the burial of an adult male aged 35-45 but had been totally disturbed in recent times. The capstone survived but was broken in pieces. The rubble layer may have had a metalled surface and contained 1st century AD pottery. In total the site yielded 600 sherds of LIA/ ERB coarseware suggesting that the burials might be early Romano-British in date. This date is in keeping with what is known of other short cist burials in Dorset.