SDO14916 - Whithill Quarry, Lillington, Sherborne, Dorset. Human remains discovery November 2010

In November 2010 Bournemouth University archaeology staff were contacted by Dorset Police to attend a site of a human remains discovery at Whithill Quarry, Lillington, made in the course of quarrying. Three grave cuts were observed, one with human remains evident in the exposed section. Limited recording was carried out. No artefacts were recovered but the burials were situated at a depth of approximately 1m and so were deemed to be archaeological rather than recent. The skull and mandible of an adult individual were identified, along with the majority of the vertebrae. These were the only in-situ remains from this individual. Fragments of femur and tibia were also identified ex-situ beside the in-situ remains and had been removed and damaged by quarrying activity. The grave cut was not very clear but appeared to have been cut in to the stony natural subsoil. The burial was interpreted as being crouched due the length of the grave cut. The remains were preserved in-situ pending further investigation in advance of further expansion of the quarrying activity.