Boscombe Bowmen Finds

In 2003 Wessex Archaeology conducted excavations on the outskirts of Amesbury near Boscombe Down. The laying of a water pipe in a trench at the site, about 400m north of the Amesbury Archer, uncovered a narrow grave. Within this grave were the collective remains of five adult males, a teenager and possibly two children. No females were identified. The jumbled bones suggest the grave had been accessible over a period of time allowing new people to be added.

Within the grave were the remains of eight beakers. This is the largest number of beakers recorded from a single grave. Their decoration suggests strong links with north-west Europe. Other objects included flint scrapers, knives, barbed and tanged arrowheads, a boar’s tusk and a rare antler pendant.