Stone boxes from Summerhill
The stone boxes of Summerhill ( English called Summerhill Cists , Image Hill or Summerhouse Hill ) are located in Path Head, near Blaydon-on-Tyne in the Metropolitan County of Tyne and Wear in the north of England .
A group of six stone boxes were discovered in the 1930s on and around Summerhill, a promontory over the valley of the River Tyne. The local sandstone slabs make Summerhill an attractive burial place. The six stone boxes consist of a group of five (No. 1–5) and one outlier (No. 6). The locations of No. 2, 3 and 4 were disrupted or destroyed during the construction of the A695 road. The whereabouts of some of the stones, the grave goods and human remains are mostly known.
Stone box 1
Stone box 1 was found by boys in 1930 at the top of Summerhill. It contained the remains of a man and a woman with a mug and a knife. These can be seen in the Great North Museum, formerly the Hancock Museum.
Stone box 2
In 1937, stone box 2 was found in a sand pit a few meters south of the hill. It was excavated by GW Temperley, GM Scott, and W. Bulmer. They dated it around 1500 BC. About 50 cm below the earth, four 75 mm thick sandstone slabs formed a 53 cm deep cavity of about 90 × 65 cm. The (or the) capstones were broken. The box contained a skeleton in a crouched position with its head facing north. Behind the skull was a knife about 50 mm long and 25 mm wide made of dark blue-gray flint .
Stone box 3
In 1938, stone box 3 was found nearby and excavated by TR Goddard. It consisted of four thin, irregular sandstone slabs and the broken capstone. They formed a 67 cm deep, rectangular room about 100 × 60 cm. This contained the remains of a person with fragments of charcoal and burned bones as well as a broken yellow-brown vessel with a dark gray core. It was 150 mm high, 166 mm in diameter at the mouth and 68 mm in diameter at the base, and had groups of horizontal and vertical lines on the neck and shoulder.
Stone box 4
Shortly afterwards the fourth box was found. It was built similarly to boxes 2 and 3. It was 45 cm deep and had internal dimensions of about 105 × 60 cm with particularly large and thick side stones and a 10 cm thick top plate of about 165 × 90 cm. The floor consisted of three 25 mm thick, carefully joined together sandstone slabs. The joints between the stones were closed with small stones or with clay. On a sand and pebble stone floor it contained a skeleton in a crouched position, a ceramic vessel, and some fragments of charcoal and burned bones. The ceramic vessel was a 184 mm high beaker with a rim diameter of 153 mm. The neck was decorated with five horizontal grooves, the rest of the body, below a zigzag line, had indented horizontal bands, rafters, hatching, herringbone and zigzag patterns .
Stone box 5
In 1939 the fifth box was found. Described as empty by a local historian, it was moved to his garden at Lilac Cottage, Barmoor, Ryton. The original location of this box is poorly recorded, but is said to be north of the A 695.
Stone box 6
Two days later, stone box 6 was found about 500 meters southwest. It is now on the grounds of the Newcastle Oil Company and was excavated by GW Temperley. The underside of their capstone shows a scratched U-shaped groove, about 50 mm wide and 75 mm from the edge of the stone. The box contained a burial, a ceramic vessel and a flint chip. The jar was 210 mm high and had a rim diameter of 180 mm and a base of 90 mm. It had a bulbous body with a concave neck without a collar. The neck and body were decorated with hatching.
See also
Web links
Coordinates: 54 ° 57 ′ 54 ″ N , 1 ° 43 ′ 30 ″ W.