Archaeologist Dr Sam Lucy has excavated several fascinating burials in the Cambridge area. She explores what information archaeologists can extract from unpublished archival sources, as well as what modern scientific analysis can contribute to our understanding of how people lived in the past.
Since the 1880s a number of archaeological sites, both cemeteries and settlements, have been recorded in the areas to the west of the river in Cambridge. From early excavations by the University Librarian in the 1880s, to modern developer-funded work, we now have a rich sequence of burials spanning the fourth to ninth centuries, including cremation, inhumation and execution burial, plus more limited evidence for settlements. These include the antiquarian excavations at Girton College and St John’s cricket pitch and more modern work at King’s Garden Hostel, the Criminology Building, Bridge Street, Trumpington and most recently at Croft Gardens on Barton Road. This talk will illustrate the different types of burial present in the Cambridge area and how the latest scientific techniques are shedding light on these discoveries.
Dr Sam Lucy
Archaeologist Dr Sam Lucy (NC 1991) has been analysing early medieval cemeteries for 30 years, is the author of The Anglo-Saxon Way of Death (2000) and has published a series of major excavations throughout East Anglia. She is a Fellow and Admissions Tutor of Newnham.