In July 2018, Mark Casswell, the owner of Tetney Golf Course, was extending a pond next to one of the fairways when he made an unexpected discovery. As the mechanical digger stripped away a thick gravel layer, it accidentally disturbed a remarkably well-preserved wooden coffin, scattering its contents. Mark immediately informed the Environment Agency, which, in turn, alerted Historic England and then Adam Daubney, who was then the Portable Antiquities Scheme Finds Liaison Officer for Lincolnshire. On visiting the site, Adam immediately recognised its significance: what had been revealed was an exceptionally rare Bronze Age burial that had originally been interred beneath a now-eroded mound. Adam also retrieved the only artefact found to be associated with the burial: a decorative stone axe, which still retained its perfectly preserved handle. That July was a hot one, and it was clear that not only would the fragile wooden coffin start to decompose in the open air, but the remains of the mound would quickly deteriorate.
Coincidentally, Hugh Willmott from the University of Sheffield was working at the Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Scremby, only a few miles away, when the burial was discovered (see CA 347). Aware of this, Adam and Tim Allen, the Inspector for Ancient Monuments, paid him a visit, and the next day Hugh and his team went to Tetney to undertake the recovery of the exposed coffin wood, as well as to excavate and record the immediate burial context. They were able to accurately identify the original burial cut and reconstruct the profile of the surviving mound above, finding that the coffin had been sunk into heavy clay – which had been responsible for its preservation – before a gravel mound was constructed over the top of it. In the subsequent centuries alluvium had built up against the mound, causing it to become obscured until its accidental rediscovery in 2018. Hugh’s team also recovered the partial remains of the occupant of the burial, as well as samples of organic-rich deposits from within the coffin.
Logging the results
Following a year of cold storage, the coffin and axe were transported to the specialist care of Ian Panter at the York Archaeological Trust, one of the few facilities equipped to handle the conservation of such large wooden objects. Once safely stabilised, Ian and Mike Bamforth, a specialist in ancient wood technology, were able to take the first proper look at the coffin. Measuring approximately 2.5m long and 1m wide, the coffin had originally been created by carving a large, single, fast-growing oak tree. A ‘split timber’ construction technique was used, where the tree trunk was first split lengthways to create a half, or slightly larger log for carving, rather than hollowing out a whole tree from scratch. It then had a separate planked lid, part of which also survived. In total, it is estimated to have weighed at least half a tonne.
