Monument MPM1687 - Inhumation burial, former Crows Nest Garage

The remains of an inhumation burial were observed by contractors installing a new petrol tank at the former Crows Nest Garage on Portsdown Hill in 1972. The grave was visible in section in a grass bank that was being cut back. The bones were removed by the contractors and the police and sent for forensic testing.

The grave was on a west-east alignment, the skeleton lying on its back with the skull at the west end. The bones were thin and fragile and had a brown 'pottery colour'. The legs bones were in the north-west corner of the grave, and may have been crossed. The right humerus, shoulder blade and thigh were missing, and may have been discarded on the spoil heap where the upper part of the skull had been thrown. The skull was 1/4 inch thick. One nail was removed with the bones, and measured 5mm square and approximately 60mm long. The graves fill consisted of soil and chalk.

The News reported that the bones were 400-900 years old. This information may have come from the police pathologist.

A fragment of bone from the leg end of the grave and a fragment of sandy pottery recovered from the fill at the foot of the grave were deposited with Portsmouth Museum. It is not known what happened to the skeleton.

The garage has since been demolished and the site is now occupied by a new block of flats called Portsdown Heights.


Accession No: 1972/533

1972, A grave found at Widley Walk, Portsdown Hill (Unpublished document). SPM332.