Grave 1 (Older juvenile, c 10–12 years, F17; fig 3)

Sub-oval grave, with steeply sloping sides and relatively flat base, partially truncated at one end by a field drain, 1.87+ × 1.11m and 0.24m+ deep, aligned west to east (258 degrees). The skeleton was extended and supine, with the arms partially flexed so that the hands rested on the pelvis; the head lay to the west. The skeleton is well preserved, although most of the unfused epiphyses and small hand and foot bones are missing. Enamel hypoplasias were noted on the maxillary central incisors. Small (1mm) pits were recorded on the buccal aspects of the mandibular molars and lingual aspects of the right maxillary molars. They are not pathological but, had this individual lived, carious lesions may have been more likely to develop at these sites. The black/purple staining on the buccal surfaces of the right mandibular premolars and the bone immediately below the teeth is the result of direct contact with silver objects (see below).

Fig 3

(a) Grave 1: grave plan and grave goods

(b) Grave 1: grave goods

(b) Grave 1: grave goods (continued)

Although there is room in the jaw for the third mandibular molar, without an X-ray one cannot say if the tooth is congenitally absent or has yet to erupt.

The body was accompanied by a wooden casket, represented by both a soil stain and its numerous iron fittings. This contained a matching pair of glass palm cups and a single-sided composite comb. The upper part of the casket had been disturbed, and its associated padlock was found above the head. Around the neck of the skeleton was a necklace, whilst a silver pin with chain lay horizontally across the chest. From the belt were suspended an iron girdle-group at the right hip and an iron knife, point upwards, at the left hip. The grave backfill contained rare residual flint and pottery fragments.

Grave 2 (?female, older sub-adult, c 15–17 years, F8; fig 4)

Sub-oval grave, 1.74 × 0.59 m and 0.12m+ deep, with steeply sloping sides and a shallowly concave base, aligned south west to north east (230 degrees). The skeleton lay tight against the north-west side, with the head (displaced) to the south. The body has been badly displaced: originally interred in a supine, extended position, not only does it appear to have been dragged to the side of the grave but the skull, found in the fill and not on the base of the cut, is now close to the pelvis, the mandible (right side only) is disarticulated and up against the south-western edge of the cut and the upper vertebra and ribs have been displaced. The left upper side of the body (ribs, arm and scapula and ilium) have been inverted so that they look prone. The left arm is tightly flexed so that the hand touches the shoulder. This displacement could be the result of grave robbing or later ploughing (see discussion below). Much of the skull, including part of the maxilla, is missing, as is the left foot. The surviving skeleton is well preserved, although the cortical bone and tooth enamel have root and insect damage. Both orbits exhibit worm-like lesions characteristic of cribra orbitalia. Flecks and moderate deposits of calculus were recorded on the dentition.

Fig 4

Grave 2: grave plan and grave goods

A bag had been placed by the right leg; fastened by a copper-alloy ring, it contained a copper-alloy workbox, a curated Roman copper-alloy brooch, five amethyst beads, a spindle whorl, two hobnails, iron ring fragments and some iron nail fragments.

Grave 3 (older sub-adult, c 14–16 years, F11; fig 5)

Sub-oval grave, 1.87 × 0.50m and 0.16m+ deep, with near vertical sides and a relatively flat base, aligned west to east (282 degrees). The skeleton was laid in an extended and supine position with the left arm flexed across the chest and the head at the west end. The skeleton was well preserved, with most loose epiphyses surviving. However, the skull was fragmentary and the cortical bone was abraded. Flecks of calculus were recorded on the surviving dentition and hypoplasias were noted on the incisors and canines.

Fig 5

Grave 3: grave plan and grave goods

The skeleton was accompanied by an iron knife, located partially beneath the pelvis, which had most probably been suspended from a belt, and a copper-alloy buckle on the left hip.

Grave 4 (unsexed young adult, F14; fig 6, top)

Irregular sub-oval grave (very heavily disturbed by later ploughing), 1.37+ × 0.43m and 0.04m+ deep, with a relatively flat base (the sides were almost entirely truncated away), aligned west north west–east south east (286 degrees). The skeleton lay in an extended and supine position with the head at the west end; it was extremely fragmentary, represented only by fragments of the skull, shoulder girdle, incomplete upper and lower limb shafts, an ischium and a few vertebrae and ribs. The anterior mandible is quite square and masculine. No pathological changes were observed.

Fig 6

Plans of Graves 4 (top) and 5 (bottom)

b = root only; recent break

It was accompanied by a large iron knife, which was placed beside the right upper arm, with the point towards the head end of the grave.

Grave 5 (?male, older sub-adult/young adult, F22; fig 6, bottom)

Sub-oval grave, 2.09 × 0.74m and 0.37m+ deep with steeply sloping sides and a relatively flat base, aligned west–east (276 degrees). The skeleton lay in an extended and supine position with the head to the west and the hands resting on the pelvis; it is in excellent condition. Small holes and worm-like lesions, characteristic of cribra orbitalia, were recorded on the roof of both orbits. Enamel hypoplasias were visible on all the incisors and canines. Flecks of calculus were observed on most of the dentition and a small caries was recorded on the occlusal aspect of the right first maxillary molar.

The body was unaccompanied, although the excavator recorded a smear of degraded but potentially worked bone above the level of the skull and right shoulder.

Grave 6 (male, older middle adult, F21; fig 7)

Sub-oval grave, 1.94 × 0.71m and 0.24m+ deep, with steeply sloping sides and a relatively flat base, aligned west–east (272 degrees). The skeleton lay in an extended and supine position, with the right arm partially flexed so that the hand lay on the pelvis; the head was at the west end. The skeleton is extremely well preserved with only parts of the frontal bone and face missing. Schmorl’s nodes were recorded on the lower thoracic vertebrae with an increase in porosity and marginal osteophytes on the fifth lumbar, which also exhibits a compression fracture: the centre and posterior part of the body are compressed. Flecks to moderate deposits of calculus were recorded on all the surviving teeth. Dental wear was considerably heavier on the left side of the jaw, the result of an uneven bite.

Fig 7

Grave 6: grave plan and grave-goods

The body was accompanied by an iron knife behind the left hip and an iron belt-fitting on the right side of the pelvis, whilst a copper-alloy pin was located by the left knee.

Grave 7 (female, older middle/mature adult, F20; fig 8, top)

Sub-oval grave, 1.68 × 0.66m and 0.25m+ deep with near vertical sides but a moderately sloping side to the east, and a relatively flat base, aligned west north west–east south east (293 degrees). The skeleton lay in an extended and supine position with the head forced forward on to the chest, and the hands resting on the pelvis, with the grave barely large enough to contain it. Part of the maxilla is missing and although most of the remaining skeleton survives, it is fragmentary, and all of the long bones have fresh post-mortem breaks. A minimum of three teeth had been lost ante-mortem and medium deposits of sub-gingival calculus were recorded on the surviving molars. Marginal osteophytes and a small area of eburnation and porosity were recorded on the distal end of the left humerus. Porosity and osteophytes extending up to 10mm were recorded on the body of the fifth lumbar vertebra, with lesser changes to the costal facets. A single blue glass bead was found attached to an upper rib bone during washing, and may have been worn as a pendant.

Fig 8

Graves 7 (top) and 8 (bottom): grave plans and grave goods

Grave 8 (female, middle adult, F9; fig 8, bottom)

Irregularly sub-oval grave, 1.90 × 0.73m and 0.15m+ deep with irregular sides and shallow concave base, aligned south west–north east (230 degrees). The skeleton lay on its right side in a flexed position, with the arms brought up tightly against the chest and the head at the south-west end. The skeleton is well preserved, although most of the elements have suffered post-mortem breaks and several of the joint surfaces are missing or damaged. The third molars are congenitally absent. Flecks of calculus were recorded on all teeth. The lower vertebral bodies exhibit an increase in porosity and there is unilateral spondylolosis of the fifth lumbar vertebrae (right side) associated with a compression fracture.

The body was accompanied by an iron latch-lifter that was located beneath the pelvis and had most probably been suspended from the belt at the right side of the waist. The backfill contained rare residual worked flint flakes.

Grave 9 (unsexed, older infant/younger juvenile, F19; fig 9)

Sub-oval grave (heavily disturbed by later ploughing), 1.20 × 0.48m and 0.04m+ deep, aligned west–east (268 degrees); the sides were almost entirely truncated, and the base was partially concave. The skeleton of a young child was laid in an extended and supine position with the head at the west end. The skeleton is generally poorly preserved, with most of the skull and left side of the upper body missing. The majority of small bones from the hands and feet and loose epiphyses are also missing. Although neither jaw survived, two loose teeth were recovered; a deciduous molar and a permanent canine, the latter with flecks of calculus. The body was accompanied by two glass beads, one red and one green, which were found in the area of the head and had most probably been worn around the neck.

Fig 9

Grave 9: grave plan and grave goods

Grave 10 (female, young adult, F10; fig 10)

Sub-oval grave (partially truncated by machining during the evaluation phase), 1.37+ × 0.50m and 0.04m+ deep, with gently sloping sides and a shallow concave base, aligned west–east (266 degrees). The skeleton lay in an extended and supine position with both hands resting on the pelvis; the head was not present, having most probably been removed by later ploughing, but would have lain at the west end. The upper torso, shoulder girdles, left arm, distal lower limbs and feet have also been truncated. The surviving bone is in excellent condition. No pathological changes were observed. The body was accompanied by an iron knife, which appears to have been suspended from the belt at the left hip, and a single-sided composite antler comb, which had been placed by the left tibia. These were both lifted during the evaluation stage.

Fig 10

Grave 10: grave plan and grave goods

Grave 11 (female, middle/mature adult, F12; fig 11, top)

Sub-oval grave (partially truncated by machining during the evaluation phase), 1.80+ × 0.71m+ and 0.16m+ deep, with near vertical sides and a relatively flat base, aligned west–east (268 degrees). The skeleton lay in an extended and supine position with the right arm partially flexed so that the hand rested on the pelvis; the head was at the west end. Most of the face, including the maxilla, was missing, as were the right fibula and foot (these latter bones truncated by the evaluation trench). The cortical bone of the surviving elements is very abraded. Slight deposits of sub-gingival calculus were recorded on the surviving mandibular first premolar and molar. Two mandibular molars had been lost ante-mortem, although their sockets had not fully resorbed. The bodies of the lower thoracic and lumbar vertebrae exhibit marginal osteophytes, an increase in porosity and Schmorl’s nodes. An area of eburnation was recorded on the atlas. These are all changes characteristic of osteoarthritis.

Fig 11

Plans of Graves 11 (top) and 12 (bottom)

There was also a loose maxillary central incisor. The body was unaccompanied. The backfill contained three residual sherds of Romano-British pottery.

Grave 12 (male, younger middle adult, F18; fig 11, bottom)

Sub-oval grave, 1.80 × 0.63m and 0.20m+ deep with steeply sloping sides and a relatively flat base, aligned west–east (269 degrees). It was barely large enough to accommodate the skeleton, which was laid in an extended and supine position, with the hands resting on the femurs and the head at the west end. The skeleton is in excellent condition, although the cortical bone is abraded. The lower thoracic and upper lumbar vertebrae exhibit marginal osteophytes, a slight increase in porosity and Schmorl’s nodes. There is a well-healed, transverse fracture on the mid-shaft of the left clavicle. Slight to moderate deposits of calculus were recorded on all of the teeth.

The body was unaccompanied.

Grave 13 (?male, older middle adult, F16; fig 12)

Sub-oval grave (partially truncated by later ploughing), 1.59 × 0.57m and 0.05m+ deep, with moderately sloping sides and a partially concave base, aligned west south west–east north east (243 degrees). The skeleton lay supine but partially flexed with its knees to the right, in order to fit into the grave. The right arm was crossed above the sacrum and the head lay at the west end. Some stones at the head end may have acted as a marker or pillow arrangement. The left arm was missing, as was the skull, except for the mandible and occipital portion. The surviving skeleton is in good condition, although the cortical bone is abraded. The lower thoracic and lumbar vertebrae exhibited an increase in porosity and Schmorl’s nodes. Flecks of calculus were recorded on the surviving molars.

Fig 12

Grave 13: grave plan and grave good

There was also one loose maxillary third molar. The body was accompanied by a badly degraded iron knife that appears to have been suspended from a belt at the right hip.

Grave 14 (male, younger middle adult, 31–35 years, F13; fig 13, top)

Sub-oval grave (partially truncated by the evaluation trench), 1.45+ × 0.56m in extent and 0.10m+ deep, with moderately sloping sides and a partially concave base, aligned west–east (277 degrees). The skeleton lay in an extended supine position with the right arm crossed above the sacrum, the left hand lying on the pelvis and the head at the west end. The right side of the face and most of the maxilla are missing and the left leg and right lower leg had been machined away earlier and were not available for analysis. The surviving skeleton was in good condition, although the long bones of the arms had suffered post-mortem breaks. Slight marginal osteophytes and Schmorl’s nodes were recorded in the thoracic vertebrae. The metopic suture was retained.

Fig 13

Plans of Graves 14 (top) and 15 (bottom)

The body was unaccompanied.

Grave 15 (male, young adult, F15; fig 13, bottom)

Sub-oval grave (partially truncated by a later ditch), 1.06+ × 0.51m and 0.04m+ deep with near vertical sides and a relatively flat base, aligned west north west–east south east (288 degrees). The skeleton lay in an extended and supine position with the arms partially flexed, the hands resting on the sacrum and the head at the west end. The grave had been truncated by a later ditch; this had removed both feet and the legs below the thighs. Of the skull, only the mandible and occipital portion survived, the rest having been ploughed away. The remaining skeleton was fragmentary. The bodies of the lower thoracic vertebrae exhibited an increase in porosity and Schmorl’s nodes.

The body was unaccompanied.

Burial position of Grave 2

The position of the skeleton in Grave 2 and the disarticulation and rotation of skeletal elements are curious and could result from delayed burial, grave robbing, disturbance by plough or a combination of these factors. The body occupied only half of the available space in the cut and was wedged tight against one side, with the left shoulder, arm and pelvis turned in on themselves such that they were prone. On the right side of the body several of the ribs had also rotated to the prone position. This movement might be explained by a time-delay between death and burial (perhaps the result of death some distance from the cemetery) and by the body beginning to decompose before it was interred. Similar patterns of disarticulation in burials have been reported at Raunds, Northamptonshire, and the Jewbury cemetery in York.Footnote 22

Alternatively, it is possible that the body was rolled over on to its side soon (?weeks) after burial in order to search for grave goods that were believed to be around the neck/chest area or even below the corpse. That the bag containing amethyst beads is untouched is interesting and may suggest that the robbers were unaware of it. However, moving the corpse would have been extremely hard, especially if the body was covered in packed earth, and there was no evidence for a robber cut.

The disarticulation, particularly the ‘lengthening’ of the right arm and the displacement of the hand, suggests dragging, again possibly by a plough. However, the articulation of the bones in the right hand suggests that this movement must have occurred before the body had totally decomposed, and ploughing of the cemetery area so soon after burial seems improbable. Later medieval ploughing might account for the displacement of the skull, mandible and upper vertebrae. The skull lay to the right of the body within the grave fill (ie not on the base of the cut) and this, combined with the position of the cervical vertebrae ‘following’ the skull, suggests that the body and skull were articulated at burial and that the skull and upper vertebrae have been dragged with some force. Whatever the cause(s) of the strange body position, at least some of the disturbance of the body occurred when it was still partially articulated. The position of this body closely resembles a number of other graves where disturbance has been interpreted as near-contemporary grave robbing, such as Worthy Park G41 (a male) and Finglesham graves 139 and 162 (both female).Footnote 23 (ND)

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes and indications of diet

Dietary reconstruction using stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes is dependent on the fact that different food sources differ in isotopic ratios and that they can be distinguished.Footnote 24 Due to bone turnover rates, stable isotope analysis of bone collagen reflects the average isotopic composition of dietary protein consumed by an individual over their adult life.Footnote 25 Carbon isotope ratios differentiate between diets based on C₃ plants (trees, shrubs and temperate/shady grasses) and C₄ plants (sub-tropical grasses), as well as marine versus terrestrial resources.Footnote 26 Nitrogen isotopes reflect trophic level – that is, where an individual is placed in the food chain – because the nitrogen isotopic values of consumer tissues are enhanced relative to diet.Footnote 27 Like δ¹³C, nitrogen isotope ratios can also be used to identify the consumption of marine resources, but, when examined in conjunction with carbon isotope ratios, δ¹⁵N can also indicate consumption of freshwater resources.Footnote 28 Studies show that δ¹⁵N ratios can also be affected by physiological factors such as breastfeeding/weaning and pregnancy/lactation.Footnote 29

Stable oxygen isotopes and indications of mobility

In archaeology, stable oxygen isotopic analysis has been successfully applied to understanding past climatic and environmental conditions and the movement of animals and humans.Footnote 30 Oxygen isotopes in water vary systematically based on differences in climate and geography.Footnote 31 For example, it has been seen that the δ¹⁸O of precipitation decreases with decreasing temperature, distance from the coast, increasing altitude, latitude and atmospheric relative humidity.Footnote 32 These climatic and geographic factors result in variation in the δ¹⁸O in local water sources (eg groundwater and recycled water sources such as springs, wells, rivers and lakes) where meteoric water accumulates.Footnote 33

Animals and humans ingest local meteoric water both directly, through drinking water, and indirectly, through food consumption, but the isotopic composition of body water is predominantly determined from drinking water.Footnote 34 Any contribution from fresh food, as long as it is sourced locally, will be similar to that from drinking water. Teeth are formed at particular stages of life and the enamel is not remodelled once formed. Therefore, the oxygen isotopic ratio found in a tooth sample represents only the specific time when that tooth was formed.Footnote 35 If an individual’s early childhood was spent in a region that has a different oxygen isotope signal from that of the region where they died, this will be apparent through comparative oxygen isotope analysis of teeth.

Results and discussion

The isotopic results of all human samples with relevant excavation data are shown in table 3. Rib and femur samples were analysed in triplicate. Collagen from every sample was successfully extracted and produced a sufficient yield (>3%) to be analysed.Footnote 40 The ribs gave a higher collagen yield (mean rib collagen yield = 9%) than the femurs (mean femur collagen yield = 5%). The atomic C/N ratios calculated for all samples are within 3.11–3.27, well within the 2.9–3.4 range indicative of well-preserved collagen.Footnote 41 Tooth samples were analysed once, and all but one produced a successful mass spectrometer analysis (a total of thirteen).

The carbon and nitrogen isotopic values of the individuals at Westfield Farm cluster tightly, with a δ¹³C range of between −21.0‰ and −19.7‰, and a δ¹⁵N range of 10.5–12.7‰ (table 3 and fig 14). There is no obvious patterning in either carbon or nitrogen isotopic values with age or sex. The group of males and possible males (n = 6) has a slightly wider range of carbon and nitrogen isotopic values than the females and possible females (n = 5), but as a whole, the two groups have similar mean carbon and nitrogen isotopic values. The small sample size hinders any such sex or age comparison.

Fig 14

δ¹³C versus δ¹⁵N of bone collagen for Westfield Farm individuals

Two of the individuals, Graves 1 and 2, were buried with significant grave goods, suggesting a high degree of wealth. Both were on the fringes of the group isotopically: Grave 1 had the lowest δ¹⁵N of the whole group; Grave 2 had the lowest δ¹³C. However, neither was obviously an isotopic outlier, suggesting that wealth did not have a significant isotopically visible impact on daily diet.

Rib and femoral samples from each individual were analysed to explore whether that individual’s diet had changed over his or her lifetime. Owing to differing bone turnover rates (slower for femurs, faster for ribs), an isotopic change in diet should be visible as a difference between the carbon and nitrogen isotopic values of the rib and femur. For all but three individuals, there was no significant carbon or nitrogen isotopic difference between the two samples, but for Graves 2, 4 and 10 there was a difference in carbon, nitrogen or both isotopic values of 0.5‰ or more (table 3). These were not systematic differences, and thus it is hard to conclude what such differences represent. But since all three are young adults, a dietary change most probably occurred in early adolescence. Grave 2 has significant grave goods, Grave 4 contained a knife, and Grave 10 contained a knife and a bone comb, but these were not the only graves to contain grave goods.

Since it is a cemetery site, there were no fauna at Westfield Farm with which to compare the human values, so we have used the faunal data from the Anglo-Saxon sites of Berinsfield, Oxfordshire, Bloodmoor Hill, Carlton Colville, Suffolk, and West Stow/Westgarth Gardens, Suffolk, as a baseline for comparison.Footnote 42 At Berinsfield the δ¹³C values for herbivorous animals (pig, horse, cow, sheep or goat) range between −21.0‰ and −22.5‰, whilst the δ¹⁵N values were 4.5–6.0‰ (with one outlier at 7.5‰). At Carlton Colville, the fauna (cow, pig, sheep) all have δ¹³C values between −23.1‰ and −20.3‰ and δ¹⁵N values of 1.4–6.7‰. The sites of West Stow/Westgarth Gardens and Spong Hill, Norfolk, are relatively close to Ely, not in the Fenlands but more towards the east in chalk hills. The δ¹³C values of the herbivorous fauna at West Stow/Westgarth Gardens are between −23‰ and −20‰, with δ¹⁵N values of 3.5–8‰. For Spong Hill, the δ¹³C values of herbivorous animals range between −22.7‰ and −21‰ and the δ¹⁵N values are 4–6.5‰. Whilst there are small inter-regional differences in animal carbon and nitrogen isotopic values across southern Britain (Hampshire, Thames Valley, East AngliaFootnote 43), these are of the order of 1‰ in both carbon and nitrogen, so we do not expect any major differences between measured isotopic values for East Anglian Anglo-Saxon fauna, and those of the fauna available for consumption to the individuals buried at Westfield Farm.

When comparing the isotopic values of the individuals at Westfield Farm with the available East Anglian faunal data, we find a difference between herbivorous fauna and humans of approximately 1–2‰ in δ¹³C and 5–7‰ in δ¹⁵N. Typical human–faunal δ¹⁵N differences of 4–6‰ are observed for populations consuming only terrestrial diets, and the Westfield Farm humans are at the upper extreme of this value.Footnote 44 In comparison with other East Anglian Anglo-Saxon human populations, those from Westfield Farm typically have higher δ¹⁵N, but not δ¹³C values (table 4).Footnote 45 Our interpretation of these results is that these people primarily had a C₃ terrestrial plant- and animal-based diet, probably with a small amount of freshwater resource input. Freshwater resource consumption is less common than might be expected in Britain, even for sites in riverine locations,Footnote 46 but has been proposed as an explanation for the isotopic results of some individuals from the early Anglo-Saxon site of Berinsfield.Footnote 47 There is little other evidence, isotopic or otherwise, for freshwater resource use in the early Anglo-Saxon period.Footnote 48 Yet some freshwater fish consumption at Westfield Farm fits with the isotopic data and the fenland location, and suggests that the fish were caught and consumed locally, rather than imported as dried marine fish. Since Westfield Farm is an early Anglo-Saxon site, it pre-dates the general increase in fish exploitation that has been noted at many locations around the North Sea from the ninth century ad (and that has been attributed to the development of a market economyFootnote 49), which is the likely cause of higher nitrogen and carbon isotopic values observed in the middle Saxon populations of sites such as Caistor-by-Yarmouth and South Acre.

Table 4

Westfield Farm isotopic results in comparison with East Anglian human and animal isotope data

Notes

a: sites of Bergh Apton, Burgh Castle, South Acre, Caistor-by-Yarmouth, Swaffham, Spong Hill and Morningthorpe

b: sites of Bloodmoor Hill, Carlton Colville, and Westgarth Gardens

c: data taken from Hull and O’Connell forthcoming

The oxygen isotopic values of the tooth carbonate samples from Westfield Farm have a wide degree of scatter ranging from −6.5‰ to −1.9‰ (table 3), with a mean of −4.8‰ (1 s.d. of 1.5‰). The δ¹³C_{carbonate(PDB)} ratios vary between −15.9 and −14.1‰ (mean of −15.0 ± 0.5‰). For the oxygen isotopic values, this converts to a δ¹⁸O_{phosphate(SMOW)} mean of +17.0 ± 1.5‰ (range of 15.2 to 19.9‰), which in turn translates to drinking water δ¹⁸O_SMOW values ranging from −9 to +1‰ (fig 15). Drinking water δ¹⁸O_SMOW values for Britain are currently between c −4.0 and −9.0‰, with Cambridgeshire having δ¹⁸O_SMOW values of −7.0‰ to −8.0‰. According to Budd and colleagues,Footnote 50 the climate in Britain during the Anglo-Saxon period was similar to that of the modern era and thus the oxygen isotope values obtained from modern drinking water are thought to be comparable with Anglo-Saxon period values. Although the amount of intra-population variation in δ¹⁸O values that might be expected in an indigenous population is unclear,Footnote 51 for individuals buried at the Roman necropolis in Isola Sacra, Italy, Prowse and colleagues interpret a population with a range of 2‰, clustering round the mean δ¹⁸O_SMOW of expected drinking water as indicative of local origins.Footnote 52 In a small study of a Roman population at the site of Babraham, Cambridgeshire, the mean drinking water δ¹⁸O_SMOW value calculated from tooth enamel carbonate measurements was −7.1 ± 1.6‰ (n = 24), within the expected range for Cambridgeshire and cautiously interpreted to indicate that the majority of the population was comprised of locals who were buried in the region where they were born.Footnote 53

Fig 15

Results for δ¹⁸O_dwSMOW for all individuals measured

If a similar range is used for the Westfield Farm population (−6.5‰ to −8.5‰), it appears that the values observed are more widely scattered than the expected range for individuals born and brought up locally. Only three fall within this range (Graves 2, 5 and 11); two fall just below it (Graves 13 and 12, at −8.8 and −9.1‰); six just above the upper limit (−3.5 to −6.3‰); and two have very high values (Graves 4 and 14, at +1.0 and +0.7‰). A possible interpretation is that the majority of the population came from outside the local area, and at least four from outside Britain, with the two individuals with the highest isotopic values from a very warm area such as North Africa. An alternative explanation is that the analyses are flawed. Unlike those available for collagen, there are no independent techniques to assess the preservation condition of enamel samples prior to, or during, sample preparation and analysis, and when the data are as scattered as we have found, there is a strong possibility that they are incorrect, due to the diagenetic alteration of the teeth. Repeat analyses may yield acceptable results, and other methods of investigation could be explored to assess the possibility that the oxygen isotope values are correct.

The glass palm cups (Grave 1)

The most striking find from the cemetery was a pair of blue-green glass palm cups, both complete and undamaged. Glass is in general an unusual find in burials, and is usually interpreted as a sign of wealth. To find two items is rare; that they were complete and unbroken is even more so. These vessels belong to Evison’s phase ii, ad 550–700; within that they can be assigned to group 57: plain with out-folded rim, dated seventh century and later.Footnote 54 Of thirty-four vessels in group 57, sixteen are from Kent, five unprovenanced, with others widely scattered from Northamptonshire to Hampshire. There are also five from Suffolk, from two cemeteries near Ipswich, at Hadleigh Road and Buttermarket. Pairs of palm cups (though not group 57) were found in the rich female burials at Swallowcliffe Down, Wiltshire, and Kingston Down, Kent (grave 146).Footnote 55 Each of the Ipswich cemeteries, however, includes a pair of group 57 (as does a burial – though not the rich burial with elaborate necklace – at Desborough, NorthamptonshireFootnote 56). Those in grave 85 from Hadleigh Road, found at the feet of a female skeleton, were probably stacked one inside the other (and were both smashed by the workman’s pick); the skeleton also had a buckle at her waist, two small double-toothed combs on either side of her feet and a ‘pot hook’ (ie girdle-hanger) hanging from the waist; two slip-knot rings and fragmented pottery are also noted.Footnote 57 At the Buttermarket cemetery a pair of palm cups (again, one inside the other) came from a well-equipped male grave, grave 1306, which also contained a seax, shield boss, two spearheads and a buckle set of continental type. Continental chronologies put this grave into the period Franken AG Phase 8 (ad 640/50–670/80).Footnote 58 A third palm cup of the same kind was found in grave 4955. The Westfield palm cups are remarkably similar to the pair from Buttermarket, although the former are very slightly deeper, and perhaps slightly finer in quality. Plain palm cups such as these fall into Geake’s group D, dated to between ad 650 and 725. They may possibly have been manufactured in Kent.Footnote 59 (SL and CH)

Necklace components and composition (Grave 1)

Hemispherical bulla pendants are widespread across England, and have been dated most commonly to the second half of the seventh century.Footnote 60 Gold examples are rare, however: in a recent study just two gold examples in a study group of seventy-one were reported, and were said to be ‘not out of place on the finest necklaces known from Anglo-Saxon England’.Footnote 61 The silver bulla pendants from Buttermarket grave 4275 were part of a necklace that also included coins with a suggested terminus post quem of ad 660/680.Footnote 62

Gold and garnet pendants have been found in many other seventh-century burials, especially in Kent, but also in East Anglia – for example at Boss Hall, Ipswich, where they were associated with a sceatt of around ad 700.Footnote 63 Their chronology suggests use throughout the seventh century, and they tend to be found in high-wealth graves, being associated only with females and children.Footnote 64

The cross-shaped pendant is missing the fourth arm, but otherwise takes the shape of a ‘Celtic’, or tau-like, cross, similar to other more elaborate gold and garnet pendants, such as that from Ixworth (although without its expanded terminals).Footnote 65 Cross pendants are usually taken as indicators of the Christianity of their owner and so dated by association with historical accounts of the date of conversion of the relevant region of England. There are several weak points in this argument, but it is clear that most such pendants do belong to the seventh century, and that some, if not all of them, had an original connection with Christianity.

There are a number of parallels for these various pendant types that have been dated by coin evidence or association with other datable objects. As well as the Buttermarket and Boss Hall parallels cited above, at St Mary's Stadium, Southampton, grave 4202 contained a necklace similar to that from Westfield, with four silver bulla pendants, a few glass beads and crescent-shaped pendants that, though not like the cross from Ely, would none the less have presented a similar composition; this grave was dated from coin evidence to around ad 685–90.Footnote 66 At Bloodmoor Hill, Suffolk, grave 11 contained a simpler necklace, comprising five silver bulla (hemispherical) pendants and a silver foil cross (all of which may have been gilded). This grave was dated no earlier than ad 675 on the basis of the silver composition of the bar and disc in the same grave.Footnote 67 At Winchester, a more complex necklace was found, comprising silver rings and glass beads as well as one gold and two silver bullae, and also three other gold pendants, two with garnet settings, similar to the gold/garnet pendant from Grave 1 at Westfield Farm.Footnote 68 At Butler’s Field, Lechlade, grave 187, a female in a seventh-century grave surrounded by a ring-ditch had a necklace with a silver equal-armed cross.Footnote 69

The most elaborate necklace yet recorded from Anglo-Saxon England is that from Desborough.Footnote 70 This is far more elaborate and complete than the others mentioned here, but one feature it shares with Westfield Farm Grave 1 is the central gold cross pendant. At Desborough this was a simple gold cross, while at Ely it is a pendant that may have once had settings in its arms and centre. The symmetrical nature of both necklaces also invites comment. While the Desborough cross is clearly surrounded by alternating bullae and cabochon garnet pendants, the Westfield necklace also displays clear patterning, at least in the material composition of its pendants. At each end of the necklace are two silver bullae; next come the gold and cabachon garnet pendant on the left half and the unedged gold bulla pendant on the right, then further single silver bullae either side of the central cross pendant. It seems that the gold bulla pendant was being used as an equivalent for the cabochon pendant; this perhaps supports arguments for a decline in the availability of garnets in the later seventh century.Footnote 71 (SL and CH)

Silver pin and chain (Grave 1)

Silver or copper-alloy pins linked by chains are known from mid- to later seventh- and eighth-century burial and settlement contexts.Footnote 72 At Harford Farm, linked pins were found in grave 18, together with a workbox, pendants and coins dating to ad 690–710, while a single pin with a remnant of a chain was found in grave 1, demonstrating that these sets were sometimes broken up before burial.Footnote 73 This seems to have been the case at Westfield, where its location on the chest suggests that it may have been used to fasten an overdress or head-covering, perhaps attaching the latter to the former, as argued for Bloodmoor Hill grave 22.Footnote 74 (SL and CH)

The casket (Grave 1)

The hardwood casket was represented by iron bindings, an iron handle and a displaced iron barrel padlock, all with associated mineral-preserved wood remains. The form of the casket is difficult to reconstruct, as it had suffered considerable disturbance (the padlock – with preserved wooden remains – was found near the head of the skeleton, having presumably been displaced either by ploughing or by animal activity). While little can be interpreted of its superstructure, the distribution of the lower fittings, along with a distinct stain in the grave base, suggests dimensions of approximately 400 × 220mm. The nature of the fittings – generally oval plates with a rivet in each end – might suggest construction from smaller pieces of wood, although it is equally likely that the plates were decorative. The length of the rivet shanks suggests a wood thickness of up to 8mm. There was no evidence for any metal hinges (unlike the elaborate copper-alloy hinges from the caskets in Bloodmoor Hill grave 15 and at Swallowcliffe Down).Footnote 75 This seems to have been one of the plainer caskets with iron fittings, assumed to have flat lids, examples of which are known from other seventh-century cemeteries in Cambridgeshire.Footnote 76 It may, however, have had an angled, rather than flat, lid, to judge by the form of fitting no. 20. It is uncertain whether the padlock had locked the casket, but this is assumed to be the case, especially as the padlock key formed part of the girdle-group.

Remains of caskets and/or their fittings have been found in a number of seventh-century burials; these are generally wooden caskets with iron fittings, measuring on average 300 × 200 × 200mm.Footnote 77 Sometimes grave goods are contained in the casket, as in Grave 1 here, with combs a common inclusion, along with jewellery, beads, tools, shells and other personal items; textiles are also sometimes in evidence.Footnote 78 Barrel padlocks are found more rarely,Footnote 79 but are all dated to the middle or later seventh or early eighth century when found in Anglo-Saxon graves. The inclusion of the padlock key with the girdle-group emphasizes, along with the locking of the casket, the personal ownership of the items buried inside it; this is also possibly seen at Harford Farm, where grave 18 may have had a padlock key (8f) as part of the girdle complex, and at Bloodmoor Hill, where the exact location of the padlock key (whether inside or just outside the casket) could not be definitively established.Footnote 80 (SL and CH)

Combs (Grave 1 and Grave 10)

Two single-sided composite combs came from separate graves. The comb from Grave 1 is incomplete and survives in poor condition, but the principal elements of its design can be recognized. The end segment has straight edges and rises to a sharp point. Its outer edge is angled slightly inwards. The tooth segments are set a little above the line of the back of the comb and are scored with a continuous diagonal line pattern, whilst the connecting plates are sparsely decorated with paired framing lines and double vertical lines, defining a series of panels. These particular elements of design are characteristic of a series of combs from East Anglia of late seventh- to early eighth-century date. They include examples from Burwell grave 121, Ipswich and Bloodmoor Hill, Suffolk.Footnote 81 In each case the connecting plates are decorated in a series of panels, which contain little except for iron rivets. The upper edges of the tooth segments are decorated either with scored diagonal lines or hatching, and the end segments are winged, with a long, curved graduation in the length of the teeth. This comb includes a suspension hole drilled through the end segment, which retains a copper-alloy wire ring. Suspension holes are rarely found on Anglo-Saxon combs, although there are several on combs of seventh- to eighth-century date, including single-sided composites from Barrington, Burwell (grave 83), Ipswich, Polhill and York.Footnote 82 It is very rare to find a suspension hole with a copper-alloy wire loop still present.

The second comb, from Grave 10, survives only as several fragments forming a segment located towards one end. In some respects it is quite unlike any other comb of this date. It includes no less than seven rivets spaced across the extant 69mm, three of which are antler, whilst four are iron. There are faint traces of paired vertical lines at several points, as well as an indication of paired framing lines, but it is not possible to identify the original decorative scheme with certainty. However, it does appear to be another example of a comb with a series of panels defined by vertical lines. The closely spaced antler rivets fasten two antler tooth segments at their centres. The comb was a single-sided composite, which may or may not have been winged.

Antler rivets are not a feature of Anglo-Saxon combs, virtually all of which are fastened by rivets of iron. This is the case, for example, with all of the combs from excavations at Coppergate in York.Footnote 83 A middle Saxon single-sided composite comb from Westgate Street in Ipswich includes a single antler rivet and several occur on a double-sided composite comb from Whitby.Footnote 84 They can also be seen on two late Saxon combs from Hereford.Footnote 85 They are much more commonly seen on combs of Irish origin, particularly those of the early Christian period, several of which have been found in England, including a fragmentary comb from Thetford.Footnote 86 At the same time it has to be noted that the only single-sided composite combs to be produced in Ireland before the Viking period are those with distinctive high backs rising above the connecting plates, which are quite different in shape from this comb.Footnote 87 It is more likely that in this case the closely spaced antler rivets represent a repair to the comb. The surviving tooth segments are unusually narrow and each is fastened by an antler rivet through its centre. At one end of the comb a tooth segment with an antler rivet appears to have been a direct replacement for a previous example. Further along, two narrow tooth segments fastened in the same way may have replaced a single tooth segment.

Repairs to composite combs are not unduly common, but can be seen across the Anglo-Saxon period. A double-sided composite comb from Hamwic has been shortened and repaired with a copper-alloy rivet, whilst a similar comb from Ipswich has had all of the teeth of one side removed, effectively reducing it to a single-sided composite. The antler rivet on the comb from Westgate Street in Ipswich may also be a repair.Footnote 88 The use of antler rivets in this way, quite possibly influenced by Irish practice, as well as the presence of replacement tooth segments, indicates that the repair was carried out by a comb maker. Antler rivets are unobtrusive, unlike iron rivets, and are almost undetectable on some combs. (IR)

Spindle whorl (Grave 2)

The fragmentary antler object is cylindrical in form and the surviving pieces are undecorated. Its shape is redolent of spindle whorls of Walton Rogers type B1,Footnote 89 but its diameter is half of that recorded for the smallest antler spindle whorl from Ipswich, and its original weight would only have been around 10g. It could therefore be described as a bead, but is more likely to have been a spindle whorl, given that it is comparable in terms of its material, shape and size with several antler whorls from Spong Hill.Footnote 90 Moreover, it came from the grave of a probable female, which also included a workbox. The association of spindle whorls and workboxes has been previously noted by Geake.Footnote 91 Both antler beads and spindle whorls came from Spong Hill, but the former are largely confined to cremation burials and tend to be earlier in date, belonging largely to the sixth century. The weight of a spindle whorl can be related in general terms to the fineness of yarn spun on it, and small, lightweight whorls would have been used to spin wool or linen intended for fine fabrics.Footnote 92 (IR)

Beads (Grave 2, 7 and 9)

Amethyst beads, as found in Grave 2, occur in Kent from the late sixth century and continue throughout the seventh century, but probably were most popular towards the end of that century.Footnote 93 At Dover Buckland, they were found in graves from Phases 5 to 7 (the second half of the seventh to the eighth century).Footnote 94 Such beads are most common in Kent, with scattered finds elsewhere; outside Kent usually just one or two are found in a grave,Footnote 95 so a collection of five as here is unusual. This would currently appear to be the highest number of amethyst beads found in a single grave in the east of England.Footnote 96 These were definitely beads, pierced longitudinally, and would have been worn on a necklace or festoon, although they were clearly part of a bag collection when buried in Grave 2. They seem to be associated only with female graves, and it is possible that they carried symbolic associations: amethyst is traditionally used in episcopal rings, and Audrey Meaney has suggested that such beads may have been worn ‘by Christian ladies who thought of them as amulets appropriate to the new religion’.Footnote 97

Opaque glass wound spiral beads such as those found in Grave 9 belong to Brugmann’s Phase C (ad 650–725),Footnote 98 while the monochrome blue glass bead from Grave 7 is not closely datable. Their location in both graves suggests use as pendants (strung singly or as a pair around the neck), as is typical of the later seventh century.Footnote 99 (SL and CH)

Workbox (Grave 2)

The copper-alloy workbox is a type of artefact that has been variously interpreted as a relic box/reliquary or as a practical workbox, partly based on recorded finds of textiles and pins inside the boxes, although the example here yielded no such finds (even on sieving). They are small cylindrical copper-alloy boxes decorated either (as here) with rows of punched dots, or with more elaborate linear and even zoomorphic designs. The lids of some have cruciform patterns that could be of Christian significance, while one from Burwell has Style ii animals. They have been dated mostly to the second half of the seventh century.Footnote 100 Recently excavated examples in association with sceattas put their deposition (if not manufacture) towards the end of that century or even into the early eighth century. Recently published examples include that from Harford Farm, south of Norwich, which was decorated with rows and zigzag lines of punched dots.Footnote 101 It was found in grave 18, associated with two coins (sceattas struck around 690 and likely to have been deposited not later than 710), box-fittings, a bracelet, a purse mount, a gold and garnet pendant and a complex of objects inside the workbox, including silver pins. A second example comes from burial 4202 at St Mary’s Stadium in Southampton,Footnote 102 which was accompanied by two sceattas of c 685–90, a box or casket, a silver disc, a knife, gold and silver bulla pendants and glass beads. Both of these graves are good parallels for Westfield Farm Grave 1 (although the workbox itself comes from Grave 2). Both have coins that provide secure dating for deposition in the late seventh or early eighth century. The closest parallel for the Westfield workbox currently seems to be that from grave 121 at Burwell, Cambridgeshire – of very similar construction, and closely related decorationFootnote 103 – but that in grave 14 at Butler’s Field, Lechlade is also very similar.Footnote 104 Meaney has argued strongly for their identification as Christian reliquaries (suggesting that the scraps of textile recovered are saintly relics), possibly associated with healing.Footnote 105 They are invariably found with adult females. (SL and CH)

Bag-group (Grave 2)

The only clear bag-group from the cemetery came from Grave 2, associated with a flat copper-alloy ring, which probably served as a bag-ring. Along with the workbox, antler spindle whorl and amethyst beads (discussed above), the bag in Grave 2 contained a number of other items, as is typical. In this case, the collection also comprised a copper-alloy Hod Hill brooch, dating to the mid-first century ad, two iron hobnails (presumably also of Roman date) and some iron ring and nail fragments. This represents quite a typical mixture of materials and artefacts: Meaney has suggested that such collections comprise: ‘A piece of broken glass. Rings of iron and bronze, often linked. Something at least a hundred years old. Something of animal substance. A mixture of materials.’Footnote 106 Even the inclusion of an early Roman brooch is not unique: the female burial in G53 at Polhill, Kent, also carried a bag containing one.Footnote 107 (SL and CH)

Latch-lifter (Grave 8)

In seventh- and eighth-century graves, latch-lifters (found both on chatelaines and, as here, suspended from a belt) seem to be functional, and to be made of iron. This is in contrast to girdle-hangers of sixth-century date, which tended to be of copper alloy, decorated, and were presumed to be symbolic artefacts.Footnote 108 Artefacts similar to this were recovered from later seventh-century graves at Shudy Camps, Cambridgeshire, and Polhill, Kent,Footnote 109 with that in grave 179 at Butler’s Field, Lechlade, dated from coin evidence to the 670s or later.Footnote 110 (SL and CH)

Firesteel (Grave 1)

The tool in Grave 1 appears to be a functional ‘firesteel’;Footnote 111 it is clearly triangular, with no associated buckle. Those with pronounced loops, as here, tend to be later seventh century in date.Footnote 112 Although its attachment to a ring might be thought to imply use on its own, rather than as part of the framing of a tinder pouch, textile evidence here stands to the contrary. Penelope Walton Rogers adds: ‘Underneath the firesteel there was at least one layer of a mineral-preserved skin product, probably the remains of a tinder pouch. The skin resembled parchment and was considerably finer than the deerskin pouch found with a firesteel at Snape grave 32, Suffolk.’Footnote 113 Firesteels are found with both male and female graves.Footnote 114 (SL, PWR and CH)

Knives (Graves 1, 3, 4, 6, 10 and 13)

Small iron knife blades are a long-lived artefact type, mostly not diagnostic as to date. However, the six knives found at Westfield are all typical seventh-century types.Footnote 115 There appears to be some correlation of size with the age and gender of the person buried. The younger individuals in Graves 1 and 3 were both accompanied by knives in Härke’s ‘small’ category, as was the young adult female in Grave 10 and the older middle adult ?male in Grave 13, while the older middle adult male in Grave 6 had one of ‘medium’ size. The ‘large’ blade with a length of 140mm in Grave 4 would strongly suggest that this burial was of a male, as knife blade lengths in excess of 130mm would appear to be exclusively male-related.Footnote 116 All six knives seem to have been worn at the waist, as is often seen. (SL and CH)

Buckle (Grave 3)

The solitary buckle from the site belongs to a type commonly found in seventh-century Anglo-Saxon burials, one that is often associated with a knife. These small simple buckles are the most popular type in conversion-period burials.Footnote 117 In use throughout the seventh century, these are distributed widely across England. A recent classification would identify this buckle as type ii.24a, with a date range of the late sixth to early eighth centuries.Footnote 118 (SL and CH)

Cemetery date

All the artefacts found at Westfield Farm are known from other burials dated to the seventh century ad. Geake’s recent seriation of finds from conversion-period graves identifies five groups (A–E).Footnote 119 Group D, distinguished clearly from preceding groups and dated ad 650–720/30, includes several of the artefact types found at Westfield: the hump-backed comb, bulla pendants, plain palm cups, workboxes and linked pins. On Geake’s classification these burials are likely to belong to the later part of the seventh century, and the independent dating for individual artefact types discussed above confirms that. Provisional results from the new Anglo-Saxon chronologyFootnote 120 would place the bulla pendants and linked pin in Grave 1, the workbox in Grave 2 and the beads in Grave 9 into a phase broadly spanning the three decades either side of the mid-seventh century. We would argue for the very latest part of that range, based on the wider coin associations of similar graves discussed above. (CH and SL)

Costume

The costume of seventh-century Anglo-Saxon women has been reconstructed as a full-length, long-sleeved dress, fastened by a woven girdle or sash, and a long veil or mantle reaching to the hip or below.Footnote 121 Men will have worn either a wrap-over warrior jacket or a knee-length, long-sleeved tunic over close-fitting trousers.Footnote 122 Although the textiles in the Westfield graves were poorly preserved, and few technical details could be recorded, folds of fabric and different weights of cloth could be recognized in Graves 1, 4, 8 and 10, and the position of costume accessories in Graves 1, 3 and 6 helps to amplify the picture.

The costume evidence in Graves 1, 8 and 10 was typical of female burials of the period. In Grave 1, the metalwork at the right hip was sandwiched between a lightweight fabric, almost certainly a long veil or mantle, and a heavier wool textile, probably the fabric of a dress. The lightweight textile was arranged in close folds, although it was not as tightly pleated as some of the veil/mantle fabrics found in other seventh-century graves in East Anglia.Footnote 123 The purpose of the short silver pin with chain on the upper chest is uncertain, but it may have been to secure the veil/mantle. There was a similar combination of fabrics in Grave 8, where the latch-lifter below the waist lay between a fine textile, 16 × 16 threads per cm, and a heavier one in wool, while in Grave 10 there were fine folds of material running across the knife at the left hip.

The pendants in Grave 1 lie in an arc at the front of the neck, which suggests that they were mounted on a cord or thong that passed around the back of the neck, the cord being hidden by the veil. This arrangement had been used for earlier strings of bucket pendants and contrasts with the necklace from the barrow burial at Desborough, Northamptonshire, where the pendants would have encircled the whole neck.Footnote 124

Buckled belts were mostly the preserve of men in the seventh century, but small buckles sometimes appear low down on the hip in women’s burials (cf Grave 3), where they may have been used to attach accessories. A buckle-plate at the centre pelvis of the man in Grave 6 probably represents the remains of a belt, although there was no textile to indicate the quality of the garment it clasped. A medium-weight twill on a knife from the right waist in Grave 4 possibly comes from a man’s tunic, since the length of the blade, over 130mm, is typical of men’s knives, and supports the tentative identification of male sex in the skeleton.Footnote 125 (PWR)

Historical context

In the most recent summary of the historical evidence for Anglo-Saxon settlement on the Isle of Ely,Footnote 138 the first documentary reference records the foundation of a monastery by Etheldreda (or Æthelthryth) around ad 673; this was a double house (for both monks and nuns) and she was its first abbess. The history of the monastery and of the church at Ely, from its foundation until the tenth century, is given in Book i of Liber Eliensis,Footnote 139 a work compiled between 1131 and 1174 by one of the monks of Ely. This records that Etheldreda established her monastery on a new site a mile away from an existing settlement at Cratendune, where ancient objects and coins were still being found. The locations of Cratendune and of this first monastery have both been the subject of much debate,Footnote 140 but the best candidate remains the area to the south of Ely, near Bedwell Hay Farm and Ely Fields Farm, in the vicinity of which early Anglo-Saxon burials (at Witchford Aerodrome) and evidence of Roman and later settlement have been recovered (fig 17).Footnote 141

Fig 17

Westfield Farm and surrounding sites. Reproduced by permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of HMSO; © Crown copyright 2009–10. All rights reserved. Ordnance Survey Licence no. 100048686

No direct archaeological evidence of Etheldreda’s monastery has yet been found. One possibility is, of course, the location of the present cathedral, but the parish church of St Mary’s and the site of St John’s Hospital are both viable options.Footnote 142 The arguments in favour of any of these are weak, however. Recent excavations in the cathedral grounds uncovered a pit containing an extensive deposit of mid-Saxon pottery of the eighth century and later, but no earlier material was recovered.Footnote 143 There is no archaeological evidence for an early date for St Mary’s, but it does occupy an unusually dominant position adjacent to the cathedral. An Anglo-Saxon origin for the St John’s hospital site (now St John’s Farm) rests primarily on the discovery of a fragment of stone sculpture in one of the barn walls, which has been tentatively identified as part of an eighth-century frieze, and therefore possibly a remnant of the first stone church at Ely.Footnote 144 This site also lies at the highest point on the Isle of Ely,Footnote 145 and has been noted as unusual, as it saw the amalgamation of the two hospitals of St Mary Magdalen and St John the Baptist, in c 1240, and was clearly significant when the open fields were laid out.Footnote 146 The Bedwell Hay Farm site lies approximately 2.5km to the south south west, which might strengthen this argument.

Recent archaeological work has revealed a number of settlements and cemeteries belonging to this period, which can help set the Westfield Farm cemetery in context. While the settlement at West Fen Road was probably not established until the second quarter of the eighth century,Footnote 147 a small number of possibly early Anglo-Saxon sherds was found to the east, at 2 West End.Footnote 148 Otherwise, the early Anglo-Saxon settlement record from Ely is rather blank. A small number of cemeteries is known: at Witchford Aerodrome a cemetery of around thirty skeletons was observed being levelled during construction work;Footnote 149 grave goods recovered (including saucer brooches, a square-headed brooch, an annular brooch, spearheads and a sword) suggest that it dated to the sixth century. This could be the cemetery associated with the Bedwell Hay Farm site (and, indeed, the finds were labelled ‘Cratendune’ at the time of discovery). To the north of the city, further probable sixth-century burials were recorded during the construction of the Newbarns Road housing estate in 1959.Footnote 150 Nearer to the site, excavation in 2003 to the south of Witchford Road revealed a mass of disarticulated and partly articulated human bone, together with a range of artefacts suggestive of ploughed-out sixth-century burials.Footnote 151

It is worth attempting greater precision in dating the Westfield Farm cemetery because of the historical accounts relating to Ely. Bede records that Etheldreda, wife of Ecgfrith of Northumbria, left him to become a nun, and founded a monastery at Ely, her home province.Footnote 152 This was in the 670s, and she died in 679, from a tumour on her neck that, Bede says, she regarded as punishment for having worn necklaces when younger. The search for a suitable sarcophagus in which to re-inter her (seventeen years after first burial) led the monks to the ‘civitatulum … desolatum … Grantacaestir vocatur’, a statement that is usually interpreted as the first documentary reference to Cambridge.Footnote 153 Do the Westfield Farm burials belong to the 670s, in which case they would have been contemporary with Etheldreda, or to the end of the seventh century, a generation after her death? In either case the burials took place close to a Christian community living on a limited area of land in the fens. This is known to have been a mixed-sex community with a nucleus of nuns residing under a royal abbess, with continental contacts with Frankish religious communities near Paris, as well as strong links with the Kentish, Northumbrian and East Anglian royal houses.Footnote 154

We might expect members of the monastic community to have been buried near the church, which these seem not to be (although they do lie just a few hundred metres south west of the possible monastic site at St John’s Farm), but, given the variety of burial forms and locations current at the time, even that cannot be ruled out. We should remember that there is no evidence from England, outside of Kent and Northumbria, that the Christian laity expected burial in holy ground near churches before the 670s, at the very earliest. This only became common from the 680s (and perhaps accounts for the documented translation of Etheldreda herself).Footnote 155 Palm cups have been reported from minster cemeteries at Peterborough, Faversham and Minster-in-Thanet,Footnote 156 perhaps suggesting that such vessels were thought appropriate for burials with ecclesiastical associations. Those buried in Graves 1 and 2 were elite females, the type of women who joined nunneries founded by royalty, one of them wearing a necklace of the kind Etheldreda blamed for her illness, which included a Christian cross pendant. One of the most intriguing aspects of this cemetery is the youth of both of these burials: Grave 1 is aged between ten and twelve years of age, while the ?female in Grave 2 is a little older, at fifteen to seventeen years old.

The elaborate burial of young (presumably female) members of the community, while other older female and male individuals are barely furnished, or are buried unaccompanied, is intriguing, but not without parallel. At the sixth- to seventh-century settlement at Bloodmoor Hill, Suffolk,Footnote 157 a small mid- to later seventh-century cemetery was established in the middle of the occupied area. This contained a variety of grave furnishings, including one grave with an elaborate casket and another with a silver foil cross pendant on a necklace with silver bulla pendants; the graves were ordered into rows and orientated west–east. Well-furnished female graves at Bloodmoor Hill did not, however, have a male counterpart: these were accompanied at most by a tool and knife, even though other contemporary cemeteries see highly furnished male graves.Footnote 158 One interpretation considered for the Bloodmoor Hill cemetery is that it represented an establishment housing a small, short-lived, religious female community.Footnote 159 A possible intriguing parallel comes from Kent, where a tradition relating to Minster-in-Thanet relates that the late seventh-century princess Eormengyth chose her own place of burial a mile to the east of the minster; it has been argued that this tale is simply too odd to represent hagiographical invention, and that perhaps she could not bring herself to forsake a traditional barrow burial for the sake of her abbess sister.Footnote 160 John Blair has argued that these late seventh-century burial practices mark a transitional stage, being both a Christianization of the princely barrow and a prelude to elite minster burial.Footnote 161

It seems highly likely that the burials excavated at Westfield Farm represent people associated with the religious community in later seventh-century Ely. The lack of high-status male graves, and the burial wealth displayed in Grave 1, and to a lesser extent Grave 2, suggest aristocratic connections with the monastic institution. The skeletal and isotopic results are particularly intriguing. Evidence for fish consumption is higher than the norm for early Anglo-Saxon populations, and this was an unusually ‘healthy’ population for the time, with very low rates of dental decay. No infants are represented (although this in itself is not unusual). Although the oxygen isotopic results have been identified as possibly flawed by Dekker and O’Connell (see above), purely on the basis of their diversity, it is not beyond the bounds of possibility that they reflect a real pattern of diverse childhood origin for the population buried here. Aristocratic and ecclesiastical connections in the later seventh century were far-reaching, extending across Europe and beyond, and early documentary sources depict people constantly on the move, between kingdoms, countries and continents.Footnote 162 Bede reports, for example, that Abbot Hadrian, a North African, came to Canterbury from Italy via the Frankish kingdom in ad 664.Footnote 163 Moreover, two of Etheldreda’s own sisters became abbesses of the Frankish nunnery of Faremoutiers in Brie, to the west of Paris.Footnote 164

Whether or not we accept the isotopic results at face value, the high-status graves evident at Westfield Farm must surely give added weight to the arguments for the early religious establishment at Ely being located on the higher ground to the south of the current cathedral (fig 17). Excavations at other early religious sites – such as Hartlepool (and perhaps Brandon, Suffolk) – suggest that such establishments were diverse in nature, extensive, and often possessed more than one area for burial; indeed, historical and archaeological sources for Whitby suggest that seventh- to ninth-century occupation, presumably monastic, spread right across the headland.Footnote 165 The natural topography of hills and islands may, indeed, have been one of the ways in which some monastic precincts were defined.Footnote 166 It could conceivably be the case that the monastic precinct at Ely occupied the hilltop, with an extensive settled area (perhaps even encompassing the site of the present cathedral) and multiple cemetery areas, for both lay and ecclesiastical members of the community. The Westfield Farm cemetery may represent one such cemetery. (SL and CH)