More than 1,400 years ago, a teenage girl and a child were buried side-by-side in eastern England. Now, a construction project has unearthed their grave along with the ancient treasures it held.
Treasure-Filled Tomb
Since 2020, experts from British company Wessex Archaeology have excavated 50 sites along a planned onshore cable route in Lincolnshire. According to them, their most striking discovery is the remains of an Anglo-Saxon cemetery that dates back to 1,400 years ago.
The team uncovered the remains of over 20 people and 250 grave goods, such as jewelry, knives, and pottery vessels. Since the burials were focused in a "Bronze Age ring ditch," it was assumed that the cemetery was "long established." The experts calculated that the cemetery dates to the 6th and 7th centuries AD.
The vast amounts of wealth recovered from the site sheds light on life across rural south-east Lincolnshire from the prehistoric times to the present day, with highlights on a Bronze Age barrow and a Romano-British farmstead. However, the most striking discovery is the remains of a teenage girl and a child. They were lying on their sides, with the child tucked in behind the older girl.
The burial contains two sets of small gold pendants with garnets and a delicate silver pendant with an amber mount. These were found near the teenager's head or chest. Meanwhile, two translucent light turquoise glass beads shaped like a doughnut and a broach were also discovered in the treasure-filled grave. The research team plans to explore the relationship between the child and the teenager.
According to Jacqueline McKinley from Wessex Archeology, many Anglo-Saxon cemeteries in Lincolnshire have been unearthed decades ago. However, most of the excavations focused on the grave goods, instead of the people buried there. In this project, the experts use several scientific advancements, like isotopic and DNA analyses, to gain better understanding of the population. They also plan to examine other artifacts and the layout of the cemetery to learn more about the Bronze Age community, particularly their mobility, genetic background and ancient diet.
READ ALSO : Bronze Age Mound Cemetery Discovered Near Historic Stonehenge; Over 20 Barrows Found at the Area
Viking Link Interconnector Project
The discoveries were made during the excavations for National Grid's Viking Link, a submarine power cable designed to connect the United Kingdom and Denmark. This project is considered as the longest land and subsea electricity cable in the world. On December 29, 2023, the National Grid announced the commercial operations of the record-breaking interconnector.
Stretching for 475 miles (764 kilometers) under land and sea, the Viking Link joins Bicker Fen substation in Lincolnshire with Revsing substation in southern Jutland, Denmark. This 1.7-billion pound (2.17 billion US dollars) project is a collaborative effort between National Grid and Danish System Operator, Energinet.
The interconnector has a capacity of 1.4 GW, enough to power up to 2.5 million homes in the UK. Since the imported power from Denmark is cheaper, the project is expected to bring over 500 million pounds (637 million US dollars) of cumulative savings for British consumers over the next decade.
Check out more news and information on Bronze Age in Science Times.
