This is the story of a small North Lincolnshire valley, four Anglo-Saxon cemeteries, two settlements/monasteries, a queen, and some odd boundaries. Despite the title of this article, the valley isn’t hidden, but unnoticed, set between the north–south escarpment of Lincoln Edge and, c.2.5 miles to the west, the parallel Liassic ridge, ending where it meets the Humber Estuary to the north. Along its length runs a stream, Winterton Beck, giving the valley its informal name: Winterton Vale. With good soil, an abundant water supply, and ironstone deposits, this favoured area has attracted settlement over many millennia. It contained the important Roman villa at Winterton, another villa at Roxby, and the Dragonby and Winteringham Roman settlements. This was a prosperous area with good communications, connecting to northern Europe through the Humber, the English Midlands via the Trent, and Yorkshire through the Ouse. It should not be surprising, then, that the valley had also proved popular during the post-Roman period. On the crest of Lincoln Edge, overlooking Winterton Vale, were two Anglo-Saxon cemeteries.
Between 1993 and 1996, these cemeteries were excavated by David Williams and me. Featured in CA 175 (August/September 2001), they were referred to as the ‘Sheffield’s Hill’ cemeteries but, due to confusion with a place in South Yorkshire, it was decided to call them the Sawcliffe, ‘Sheffield’s Hill’ cemeteries. They are actually in the parish of Roxby-cum-Risby, just north of Scunthorpe. Now, after a delay of 27 years, I have written up the excavation in full (see ‘Further information’ on p.25) and can offer a more detailed account of what was found there, how the site fits within its wider context, and what it adds to our understanding of early medieval England.
Setting the scene
Located on the crest of Lincoln Edge, overlooking Winterton Vale, the Sawcliffe site was discovered by two local metal-detectorists, Craig Allison and Glyn Nicklen. The importance of their find quickly became clear: the site contained not one, but two, Anglo-Saxon cemeteries, one dating to the 5th/6th century and the other belonging to the 7th-century ‘Conversion period’. As the site was being destroyed by ploughing, erosion, and epic rabbit activity, something had to be done – and so the North Lincolnshire Museum mounted an excavation, working with volunteers to recover the whole site over four seasons.
Science versus The Arts