Ancient human remains unearthed by ANU archaeologist

To find an intact clay urn buried 4,000 years ago just centimetres beneath the surface is nothing short of a miracle. An ANU archaeologist has hailed her excavation of a Bronze Age burial mound in south west England a huge success with the discovery of an intact 4,000 year old human cremation as well as evidence of unaccountable activity from the medieval period on the same site. Dr Catherine Frieman recently excavated an untouched ancient barrow near the town of Looe in South East Cornwall. Her 14 day-dig over Easter was the first time such a site in the area has been excavated to modern archaeological standards. She said when digging began, local farmers told her they'd ploughed the field in their childhood, so she didn't expect the site to be so well preserved. "We were so excited to find such a lot of archaeology on the site despite scores of generations of ploughing, but to find an intact clay urn buried 4,000 years ago just 25 centimetres beneath the surface is nothing short of a miracle," said Dr Frieman. This and other evidence from the site has led her to conclude there was most likely a large mound over the burial which existed from prehistory well into the middle ages protecting the centre of the barrow.