Heysham Rock Tombs

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Five of the eight rock tombs
St Patrick's Chapel

The rock graves of Heysham , ( English Heysham Rock-Cut Tombs - also called Heysham Stone Graves or St Patrick's Rock Tombs) are located near Heysham in Lancashire in England on a headland about 10 m above St. Peter's Church. They probably come from the 10th century.

There are two groups of rock tombs carved out of the sandstone . One row consists of six vertical indentations, two with straight and four with body-shaped sides, all with foundation holes for a wooden cross. Two other rock tombs are nearby. The depressions are mostly filled with rainwater.

In 1970, south of the rock graves, a cemetery was found with 85 bone fragments, which are dated to the 10th to 11th centuries. The tombs carved into the rock were classified as "Ancient Monument".

The nearby ruined St Patrick's Chapel can possibly be dated to AD 750 or a little later. The rectangular chapel measures approximately 8.1 × 2.7 meters. The only sculpted element is the Anglo-Saxon Romanesque door arch. The masonry consists of roughly hewn sandstone masonry with finer sections in between and in the upper area.

Also nearby is the Heysham Labyrinth cut into the rock .

See also

Web links

Coordinates: 54 ° 2 ′ 50.9 ″  N , 2 ° 54 ′ 10.6 ″  W.