Unstratified
An adjective applied to any object found out of context so that it is not known to which soil layer or feature it belongs. Such objects may be of very limited value as pieces of information to the archaeologist.

Urns for cremation
At certain times, such as in the later Bronze Age, and in the Dark Ages in some areas, bodies were disposed of by cremation rather than burying (inhumation) and then the ashes were placed in a pot and buried in the ground, usually in a sacred place along with other burials. Specialists are able – even from fragments of cremated bone – to describe the sex, age and condition of the once-living person.