Bury St Edmunds historian Martyn Taylor tells the story of a Saxon relic found on a building site

In 1972, a building site on the west of Bury St Edmunds near Westgarth Gardens was well under way – a combination of houses and chalet bungalows were being built by Decmar Properties under the guidance of foreman Jack Gladwell.

As the site progressed on the south bank of the River Linnet a startling discovery was made, an Anglo-Saxon cemetery.

Work stopped and the archaeologists moved in. It was soon realised that this was no ordinary burial site like those that had been discovered in Northumberland Avenue and Barons Road.

Altogether, 68 graves were discovered dating from around the early 5th to the 7thC AD. Nearly all were burials as opposed to cremations, both Pagan and Christian, reflecting differing beliefs as time progressed.

One grave stood out from the rest, number 62. It contained the remains of an adult male and some remnants of assorted weapons but the most outstanding of grave goods was a beautiful pale green glass bucket in near perfect condition.

The small bucket with two handles was described as being of exquisite workmanship, similar to earlier Roman glass vessels.

The bucket went on loan to Moyse’s Hall Museum with some other finds from the site but was sold at auction in 1977; the British Rail Pension Fund, which had purchased it, kindly then let it go back to Moyse’s Hall on loan.

Eventually it went back to the saleroom in 2004 where it sold for an astonishing £116,650 including premium at Bonhams.

Appropriately, the housing site is called Saxon Rise and Long Meadow.

Questions were asked for many years after, were any graves missed or are any under some of the properties? Decmar went on to build Paddock Close just off Westley Road where, unsurprisingly, nothing was found!

Martyn Taylor is a local historian, author and Bury Tour Guide. His latest book, Going Underground: Bury St Edmunds, is widely available.