Caenby Barrow
7th Century Chamber Burial — Lincolnshire
Caenby Barrow
A high-status burial site on the Ermine Street, second largest in England after Sutton Hoo.
The Burial
The Caenby Barrow is a high-status 7th century chamber burial. Its diameter at 29.5m is the second largest in England after the Sutton Hoo Mound 1 at 31.7m.
Excavated by Edwin Jarvis in 1849, he describes the body to have been in a sitting position at burial, with a sword to the right and a shield at the knees. The shield had silver and alloy decorated mountings and bronze edging. There were horse bones and teeth along with the remains of an iron bridle and horseshoe, showing this warrior was buried with his horse, as seen in other burials from the period.
21 items or boxes of items are held in storage in the British Museum. These show additional grave goods including clay storage jars and the remains of wooden furniture. The human remains held by the British Museum are believed to be male, aged circa 25.
A small fragment of die-impressed silver sheet depicting a jacketed figure wearing a headdress terminating with bird heads and holding a ring pommel sword is possibly decoration from a helmet — similar in appearance to the helmet foils from the Sutton Hoo Burial and Staffordshire Hoard helmets. The metal decorated items are all style II, giving a late 6th or 7th century date.
Key Facts
Grave Goods
Location and Significance
The location of the mound is significant. It sits on top of a natural raised platform just to the east of the Ermine Street, from which it would be visible, and is clearly meant to be politically symbolic on a major logistical route.
Just to the north of the site is the Newell Spring, which possibly had religious significance — Roman coins have been found around the well. There are later records of water being taken from the spring to wash a sculpture of the Virgin Mary supporting the dead Christ in the local church at Glenham, the effigy being placed there by the Tourney family of Caenby.
To the east of the Ermine Street, at the crossroads, is another natural spring that would have had earlier religious significance. Spital itself is recorded in the later medieval period as a meeting place and market. While we know for certain that the Ermine Street was in use at this time, it is also probable that the crossroads existed with the east/west route being an ancient trackway.
West, the modern road is the boundary between the parishes of Hemswell and Harpswell and leads to Gainsborough. While there was no bridge or causeway crossing the Trent here in this period, it is the first point on the river when sailing on to the Trent from the Humber that the river meets solid ground rather than marsh. To the east the road is the parish boundary between Glenham and Caenby; the road crosses the Ancholme at Bishopbridge before connecting with the important settlements at Caister and Market Rasen.
"The Barrow has not survived; it has been ploughed out and is only visible on LiDAR and by aerial photography."
British Museum Collection
21 items or boxes of items are held in storage in the British Museum. Additional information and some images are available on the BM Collection Website.
| # | Catalogue No. | Category | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | OA.4967 | Animal | Fragment of animal tooth, possibly horse. |
| 2 | OA.4960 | Artefact | Iron strip, curved & broken in two; traces of wood on one side, grain running diagonally across strip. |
| 3 | OA.4968 | Artefact | Iron corrosion, 2 lumps. |
| 4 | OA.4970 | Artefact | Iron piece, curved, tapering towards one end; flat section. |
| 5 | OA.4961 | Artefact | Iron fragments (×7) of flat section. |
| 6 | 1851,1011.6 | Box | Wood from box; incised and rebated for pelta mount. |
| 7 | 1851,1011.3 | Box | Wood from box; incised; a circular copper alloy gilt mount with animal ribbon interlace, cable pattern and central "pearl" or paste setting, over a stud. |
| 8 | 1851,1011.4 | Box | Wood from box; incised and rebated; plus fragmentary copper alloy gilt mount with animal ribbon interlace, cable pattern and setting. |
| 9 | 1851,1011.5 | Box | Wood from box; incised and rebated; plus copper alloy gilt pelta mount fragment with animal ribbon interlace and bird heads. |
| 10 | 1851,1011.2 | Box | Wood from box; incised; a circular copper alloy gilt mount with animal ribbon interlace, cable pattern and central "pearl" or paste setting. |
| 11 | 1851,1011.1 | Box | Wood from box; incised and rebated for circular mount; 2 copper alloy gilt pelta mounts with interlace, setting and bird heads. |
| 12 | OA.4962 | Human | Portion of human mandible; left side; young adult (c.25 years); teeth p², m¹ and m² present (p² loose). Teeth are worn, but no caries. |
| 13 | 1851,1011.7 | Mount | Silver repoussé circular mount, originally pinned to a wooden base. An outer border of diagonal billets frames an inner zone with a procession of crouched Style II quadrupeds, the jaws of each locked about the hindquarters of the beast in front. A convex disc occupies the centre. |
| 14 | 1851,1011.10.a | Mount | Silver mount, with repoussé Style II decoration and impression of helmeted warrior. |
| 15 | 1851,1011.8 | Mount | Silver fragments of (perhaps 4) triangular mounts with repoussé Style II decoration. |
| 16 | 1851,1011.10 | Mount | Silver mount fragments, three, with repoussé decoration. |
| 17 | OA.4963 | Sample | Clay fragments (×4), one with scrap of sheet bronze adhering. |
| 18 | OA.4969 | Sample | Stone, small, red & circular. Probably garnet. |
| 19 | OA.4966 | Vessel | Small pottery sherd of buff-black fabric. |
| 20 | OA.4965 | Vessel | Pottery sherd of black/pink fabric with shell inclusions. |
| 21 | OA.4964 | Vessel | Pottery rim sherd of orange ware, groove beneath rim. |
Publication Details
Edwin Jarvis wrote an article containing several sketches on his excavation of the Caenby Barrow in 1849. This was published in the Archaeological Journal, Volume 7 (1850). The full report is available via Wikisource.
Edwin sought permission to carry out the excavation to "ascertain if it contained early British or Saxon remains" — showing he had clearly identified the barrow as being man made and possibly from the correct period.
Given there were no standards, training or formal structure in archaeology at this time, Edwin's work and recording of his excavation at Caenby is remarkable. Edwin's intellect and character are evident in his donation of the material from Caenby Barrow to the British Museum in 1850.
Report Details
Key Dates
Biography
Edwin George Jarvis was born in Dover on the 19th February 1816. His father was Lt-Col George Ralph Payne Jarvis, born 13th May 1774 at St Johns, Antigua. At the age of 21, in 1792, his father went into the British Army as an Ensign. He served in the Peninsula War 1808–9 in the 36th Foot, was promoted to Major in 1810 and Lt-Col in 1819, and was made Commandant of Dover Castle. He became manager of the Fector Bank in Dover. George befriended Mrs. Sarah Gunman while in Dover, and on her death in 1825 he inherited her estates including Doddington Hall in Lincolnshire, which became the Jarvis family home. In the 1840s George Jarvis served as a magistrate and Deputy Lieutenant of Lincolnshire. He died 21st of June 1853, aged 77.
Edwin George Jarvis was one of five sons and two daughters born to George Jarvis and Philadelphia Blackwell. Edwin was educated at Winchester College Hampshire; he graduated at Trinity College Cambridge in 1840 and became the Vicar at Hackthorn in Lincolnshire. Edwin married Francis Amcotts, daughter of Lt-Col Robert Amcotts, at Hackthorn in Lincolnshire on the 26th of June 1841. Edwin became Rector at Cold Hanworth Lincolnshire in 1844. He died aged 60 on the 11th of November 1876.
"If it wasn't for Edwin Jarvis, the contents of Caenby Barrow and their historical significance would be lost."
Edwin was clearly well educated for his time. As well as his role in the church he was a keen antiquarian. He built up a considerable collection of antiquities including local finds. His collection remains at Doddington Hall, recorded in six catalogues with items photographed along with descriptions. Edwin clearly regularly visited the British Museum in London; in the catalogues many items are compared to similar items in the Museum. These catalogues are available online through Doddington Hall.
Reading Edwin's report of his excavation of Caenby Barrow, in September and October of 1849, it shows that Edwin sought permission to carry out the excavation to "ascertain if it contained early British or Saxon remains." Given there were no standards, training or formal structure in archaeology at this time, Edwin's work and recording of his excavation at Caenby is remarkable. The Barrow has not survived; it has been ploughed out and is only visible on LiDAR and by aerial photography.