It was uncovered at Trumpington Meadows by Cambridge Archaeological Unit. “The Trumpington bed burial does seem to belong at that transition between the two religions. In a field three miles south of Cambridge, the bones of a mysterious Anglo-Saxon princess who died thirteen and a half centuries ago have been discovered. She has written for the Guardian and other publications on Pagan themes, and is a member of various Pagan organisations, including the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids. The Trumpington Cross and gold pins found with the body of the Anglo-Saxon teenager. The site is just behind the village church, which is first documented over 400 years later. One of the earliest Anglo-Saxon Christian burial sites in Britain has been discovered in a village outside Cambridge. Only 12 other "bed burials" have been found. “The Trumpington bed burial does seem to belong at that transition between the two religions. The grave of a teenage girl from the mid 7th century AD has an extraordinary combination of two extremely rare finds: a ‘bed burial’ and an early Christian artefact in the form of a stunning gold and garnet cross. In 2012 archaeologists working on the Trumpington Meadows site discovered a 7th-century Anglo-Saxon bed burial for a young woman aged about 16 years old, in a field on the outskirts of the village. Just 12 inhumations were identified during the excavation, with ten skeletons lying in reused pits, and the other two in more formal, purpose-dug graves. At the United Kingdom Census 2011, its population was 123,867, including 24,488 students. (previous page) 18 ... Pins from the Trumpington Bed Burial in the Cambridge University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.jpg 2,423 × 3,571; 5.06 MB. Did she have a formal role in the church? Media in category "Trumpington" The following 200 files are in this category, out of 255 total. Local pupils visiting the Trumpington meadows site, as part of the newspaper project, May-June 2012. The Trumpington Cross was discovered in an Anglo-Saxon 'bed burial' Many parts of Trumpington are very new, and the area is undergoing another wave of … This bed burial and associated jewellery is undoubtedly a female grave. The occupant of the grave had been buried on a wooden bed, and had an ornate gold pectoral cross inlaid with garnets on her breast. In 2012 archaeologists discovered a 7th century Anglo-Saxon bed burial for a young woman aged about 16 years old, in a field on the outskirts of the village. “The Trumpington bed burial does seem to belong at that transition between the two religions. A bed burial is a type of burial in which the deceased person is buried in the ground, lying upon a bed. There seemed to be two possible explanations for the burial at this location: the girl was passing through when she died or she was meant to be here, on the edge of the new settlement. All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the Creative Commons CC0 License; all unstructured text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. Liz Williams is a professional writer and, with her partner, runs a witchcraft supply business and bookshop in Glastonbury, England. The girl, aged between 14 and 18, was interred between 650 AD and 680 AD in a rare "bed burial" - one of just 15 found in the UK. She died at the age of 16 and was buried with a small solid gold Christian cross encrusted with garnets on her chest, lying on a special high-status funerary bed. As well as the highly unusual 'bed burial' (less than 20 have ever been found), the mysterious teenager was also laid to rest with a stunning gold cross. Ploughed field at Trumpington - geograph.org.uk - 179252.jpg 640 × 480; 89 KB. The site is just behind the village church, which is first documented over 400 years later. Gold and garnet link pins were also found by the head which were used to fasten a veil or headdress. This fascinating medieval site contained four burials, three females and one unknown, all aligned west to east. The occupant of the grave had been buried on a wooden bed, and had an ornate gold pectoral cross inlaid with garnets on her breast. The Trumpington burial was of a young girl with a cross whose body was lain on a bed. ADVERTISEMENT “The Trumpington … A Saxon Bed Grave reveals a time of great change in England’s past Our story begins with a very rare discovery, the beautiful gold cross inlaid with cut garnets shown at the top of this article was discovered during excavations nearby in Trumpington Meadows. [3]KAYM-brij) is a university city and the county town of Cambridgeshire, England, on the River Cam about 50 miles (80 km) north of London. The girl’s grave was found in 2011 by University of Cambridge archaeologists only a few miles from the museum, on land at Trumpington being developed for housing. Scraps of textile found under the … In 2012 archaeologists working on the Trumpington Meadows site discovered a 7th-century Anglo-Saxon bed burial for a young woman aged about 16 years old, in a field on the outskirts of the village. An Anglo-Saxon gold and garnet cloisonné pectoral cross from a seventh-century bed burial at Trumpington, Cambridgeshire is the fifth such example to be found. The occupant of the grave had been buried on a wooden bed, and had an ornate gold pectoral cross inlaid with garnets on her breast. Research uncovers how Christianity changed Anglo-Saxon burial practices. At Trumpington the evidence suggests the bed was lowered first into the ground, and then the body, uncoffined, laid on it. Cambridge (Script error: No such module "IPAc-en". The Anglo-Saxon gold and garnet 'Trumpington Cross' found in 2011 during the Trumpington Meadows excavation has been donated to the Museum of Archaeology and Ant hropology in Downing Street. Details of the contextual associations of the five crosses are used to argue that these artifacts, and other high status cross-shaped pendants, were overt Christian symbols, strongly associated with high status female burials of … Perhaps there was a monastery – even a nunnery – there before that we don’t know about. image copyright University of Cambridge/PA The occupant of the grave had been buried on a wooden bed, and had an ornate gold pectoral cross inlaid with garnets on her breast. The cross was part of a rare discovery indeed, a young woman buried in the 7th century in a Saxon bed grave. Trumpington bed burial. The cross is only the fifth to be discovered in the UK. The site is just behind the village church, which is first documented over 400 years later. Did she have a formal role in the church? The site is just behind the village church, which is first documented over 400 years later. Beginning with the Trumpington Cross, which is a modern and well recorded excavation, we find that the reverse of this cross contains small brackets which were used to sew the cross on to a garment at the neck. It had been thought that burials with grave goods were not Christian, but this view was now changing. Photo: Contains Ordnance Survey data CC BY-SA 3.0 Photo: Contains Ordnance Survey data CC BY-SA 3.0 Supposedly some elements of these elaborate jewels have been identified to originate from faraway countries such as Turkey, which might indicate the existence also of interesting, previously unknown, trade routes at the time. Did she have a formal role in the church? Saxon bed burial – jewel and mosaic A Saxon bed burial was found during excavations for Trumpington Meadows. This page was last edited on 17 December 2019, at 01:03. Script error: No such module "about". In 2012 archaeologists working on the Trumpington Meadows site discovered a 7th-century Anglo-Saxon bed burial for a young woman aged about 16 years old, in a field just to the south of the church. Its owner, a teenage girl, had been buried in an extremely rare ‘bed burial’: laid to rest along with treasured possessions in her own bed. Anglo-Saxon bed-burial is rare; only 16 other examples have been found in Great Britain. One was a very rare bed burial with the remains of a young girl aged between 14 and 18. Trumpington bed burial. The burial was just south of Trumpington church and a jewelled cross (“The Trumpington Cross”) was found on the body of a lady lying on her back. Currently, the cross and other artifacts from the Trumpington bed burial are on display at Cambridge University’s Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (MAA). This identifies her as one of England's earliest converts to Christianity – and makes the settlement one of the oldest Anglo-Saxon Christian burial sites in Britain. Perhaps there was a monastery – even a nunnery – there before that we don’t know about. Perhaps there was a monastery – even a nunnery – there before that we don’t know about. Trumpington bed burial is located in Cambridgeshire. Did she have a formal role in the church? Main article: Trumpington bed burial. They were donated to the museum by Grosvenor, the developers of the Trumpington Meadow housing project. archaeological find of the bed burial on the site and is currently planning an avenue of willow trees along the embankment, which will hide a stone or tiled carpet depicting the bed burial, perhaps featuring designs based on the crops grown at the PBI or the archaeology found on the site. It is a burial custom that is particularly associated with high status women during the early Anglo-Saxon period (7th century), although excavated examples of bed burials are comparatively rare. Saxon Christian burial sites in Britain, at Trumpington, near the Park and Ride to Cambridge. They seem to have been most suitable for young, relatively wealthy women who were interred in the second half of the seventh century. Intact burial seems to have been a rite that was only accorded to a small portion of Trumpington’s early Iron Age population. Files are available under licenses specified on their description page. The burial site at Trumpington Meadows, a village near Cambridge, indicates Christianity had already taken root in the area as early as the middle of the 7th century. Trumpington bed burial; UK; About Liz Williams. Perhaps there was a monastery – even a nunnery – there before that we don’t know about. 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