Phil stays above ground

Four hundred metres away from the cave entrance, a burial mound was excavated by Phil Harding and his crew of regular Time Team and volunteer local diggers. The barrow was fairly flat in profile and constructed of clay, capped with turfs. Additional soil was then added on top. Antiquarian-style 'through the centre' excavations had been attempted in the past by unknown excavators, but this didn't ruin the archaeology for Phil.

Evidence of child burial was discovered in the top and then to one side a fantastic Bronze-Age burial urn was discovered containing the crushed bone of one or more individuals. 'This cremation was put in the ground in an inverted urn,' says Phil. 'That's quite common in the Bronze Age, but it is difficult to excavate. You need to be very careful removing the fragments of pot caused by the collapse of the bottom of the vessel. It's very exciting and hopefully a bones expert will be able to tell a lot from the cremated bone we have found.'

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