8 Council Reports work revealed a small Middle Bronze Age cemetery consisting of one definite and two probable cremation burial pits in a small cluster to the south—southeast of two prehistoric ring-ditches. All three burials contained the disturbed remains of cremation urns, but only one included a small quantity of cremated human bones. Carbon dating of this produced a period of 1374—1125 BC. Unfortunately no carbon dating evidence was found in the two ring ditches. Both ditches were laying extremely shallow and consequently had been damaged, “truncated” by disturbance. One ditch was not a continuous circle, having a gap or entrance in its eastern side. The other ditch formed a complete circle. Although neither had radio carbon dateable evidence, pieces of worked flint, Middle Bronze Age pottery and a small piece of later Medieval pottery was found. All three of the burial pits contained broken urns, but only one contained the cremated human bone that was carbon-dated. It is thought that the broken pieces of urns constituted three in total and are identified as being of the ‘Ardleigh Type’. Some decoration on the urn remains consisted of finger-tip impressions and a few random nail impressions on one area and small rows of fingernail impressions on other urn fragments. It is considered that as these finger and nail impressions are quite small — it is probable they were made by a woman or child, or both. It is fascinating to see the imprints of prehistoric Myland residents on the cremation urns. We might assume, if they are of a woman and child that the urn contained the remains of a husband and father. How very lucky are those archaeologists, who found the pottery, to be the first to place their fingers over those markings for over 3,000 years.
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