Introduction
Background
Excavation
Burial
Finds
Companion
Bronze Age
Images
(off site)

Stonehenge
Missgien.net

The Excavation

Wessex Archaeology is a practice of commercial archaeologists based near Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. It provides a wide variety of archaeological services for clients including housing developers and heritage organisations.
On Friday May 3 2002, a team of archaeologists were excavating in advance of a housing scheme at Amesbury, Wiltshire, for developers Bloor Homes and Persimmon Homes South Coast. It is a requirement under planning regulations that developers have the land they are building on surveyed for archaeological remains and have these excavated.
The archaeologists were expected remains from Roman times from a cemetery at the site which had yielded some interesting finds.
Work in the area was drawing to a close when they began investigating the far corner of what would be a school built for the housing development. Work started in the morning and soon a grave was found containing Beaker pottery dating to 2,500 years before the Romans. Immediately all staff began concentrating their efforts on the grave. Other staff from head office began arriving, and the moments were captured on camera and video camera (see photographic and video section).
By mid-afternoon they found a gold hair tress. Excitement grew and the archaeologists pressed on, knowing they could not leave the site unattended over the weekend (a bank holiday) in case it was interfered with. They finally finished the excavation by car headlights at just before 2am. The Amesbury Archer had made a dramatic reappearance above ground.

Source: Wessex Archaeology

Next: The Burial