Anglo-Saxon Oxfordshire bones mystery may now be solved

A team from the University of Reading, Cranfield University and Oxfordshire Museum Service are learning more about the skeletal remains of a man and woman thanks to new scientific techniques.

The pair were discovered at Lowbury Hill, Oxfordshire, in 1913 and 1914.

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The remains of the man are currently on display at the Oxfordshire Museum in Woodstock, but the woman’s bones have been in storage up until now.

Late last year, both sets of remains were taken for detailed laboratory analysis and the results are due back in 2023. 

Analysis from previous investigations suggests the man was a seventh-century warrior who lived in Cornwall or western Ireland before being buried on Lowbury Hill.

His grave contained an array of items, including a sword, shield, enamelled spearhead, knife, shears, a bronze hanging bowl and a bone comb.

His discovery within an Early Medieval barrow and the items with which he was buried indicate he was a high-status individual from the Early Medieval (Anglo-Saxon) period, with some experts suggesting he may have been a soldier.

He was discovered near a woman, who was buried in line with the wall of a Roman-era enclosure on the hilltop. From her skeleton, she is believed to have been about 40 years old.

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Her remains have been radiocarbon dated to about 550 to 650 AD.

But as she was buried without grave items, less is known about her.

Late last year, both sets of remains were taken for detailed laboratory analysis.

Summer Courts, who studied the remains as part of her PhD research at the University of Reading, and Professor Amy Smith, her supervisor and Curator of the University’s Ure Museum, are hoping the modern analysis will confirm the pair’s sex, their ancestry and relations, their health, and where and how they lived.

PhD candidate Summer said: "It is perhaps understandable that previous generations of researchers focused on Lowbury Man and not Lowbury Woman.”

“The archaeologists of a century ago focused on the man and the high-status objects he was buried with.

“Today, we can use the latest scientific techniques to uncover more about both people.

“While the woman was buried without any significant items, her remains may still reveal her story and tell us something new about the past.”

She added: “This is a fascinating site with a thrilling history.

“We hope that with the latest archaeological techniques, and with the help of the local community, we can find out more about the lives of these two people and the Lowbury Hill site.

“We would like to know more about how the site was used by past communities, who the two individuals buried on the hill were, and why their communities felt it was appropriate to bury them there.”