The contractor had uncovered 1 in situ coffined burial approximately 2m down at the bottom of the trench dug for the tank. The coffin edge was visible but no grave cut could be seen in plan unless it was very tight to the coffin. The burial was a supine inhumation and had not been disturbed previously. The bones were inspected in situ with no excavation other than uncovering them for viewing and minimal disturbance. Preservation of the remains was differential, likely due to the decomposition of the surrounding coffin and the acidity of the sandy soil. The more durable long bones were in good condition. The sternum, scapulae and pelvis were light and thin but mostly complete. The hyoid and ossified thyroid were discovered which are not common finds. There are no feet, but these could have been deeper. No excavation was carried out to ascertain this. They could have been pushed down by the end of the coffin falling in which would have truncated the body at the distal tibia and fibula. There was no mandible or maxilla visible so no teeth available. Both of these elements could have been underneath the other remains or under soil.

This was a single coffined inhumation burial which had been missed during the prior clearance of the known cemetery at the site. The date of the burial is uncertain, but the shirt buttons and known use of the site indicates that it is modern. If the burial is associated with the first chapel on the site, it must be post-1824. The remains represent an adult male. No teeth or pelvic elements were available for ageing but epiphyseal fusion suggests 25+. Stature was calculated at 5’5” to 5’8”. Pieces of the wooden coffin and coffin furniture were preserved, as were shirt buttons from burial clothing and a possible pillow beneath the head.

The man had been laid out in his coffin with some kind of pillow under his head. What now looks like wood shavings could have been the remains of feathers. Some of the wood of the coffin was preserved but it was spongy and in poor condition.

Coffin handles and possibly a badly corroded and fragmented name plate was recovered. There were shirt buttons from burial clothing lying in the chest area of the skeleton and some fragments of textiles. A piece of decorative edging had come from the spoil but this could have been from within the grounds rather than directly associated with this burial.

Lorraine Horsley, 2017, Baptist Church, Cross Street, Arnold: Site Visit May 2017 (Unpublished document). SNT5815.