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    • Upcoming events in Greenwich Park
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    • The Meridian Line
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Saxon cemetery footpath project: 10 key dates

Origins

6th to 8th Centuries

The barrows were first constructed, with coffin inhumations suggesting pagan rather than Christian burials. They were possibly associated with the Saxon Royal riverside hunting estate at Greenwich.

0500

First excavations

c.1714

First note of excavations at the barrows. A Mr Hearne “dug on the spot.” This man is an enigma, described later by antiquarian (an early archaeologist) Rev James Douglas as a ‘park keeper’. However, research by the Friends of Greenwich Park History & Research Group suggested he could be the assistant keeper of the Bodleian Library- one of the oldest libraries in Europe.

1714

Antiquarian discoveries

1784

January; the Rev James Douglas explored at least 20 barrows. He described eight burials in detail, in his published work Nenia Britannica, and noted items including an iron spearhead, knife, shield boss, woollen textiles and glass beads.

1784

Desire line

1830s

Greenwich Park opened to the public. The Barrows could be visited for the first time. We think a path bisecting the ancient site, running from Crooms Hill to the Royal Observatory – known as a desire line – was turned into a formal route by the Victorians: first as gravel and then as tarmac in the twentieth century.

1830

Public outcry

1844

Victorian scandal! Several of the mounds were flattened by construction works for a new reservoir in the park. Following a public outcry, the matter was brought to the House of Commons. Work was halted and the reservoir was moved to the south. An early example of a public campaign to protect archaeology.

1844

Queens House

1860s

Archaeological work in the vicinity of the Queen’s House revealed several more burials and grave finds including a hanging bowl.

1860

Published history

1902

Park superintendent A.D. Webster wrote about the mounds in his seminal book: Greenwich Park: its history and associations. He noted the presence of 25 barrows. Evidence from 1899 shows the path even had iron railings!

1902

Modern survey

1993-4

The Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England conduct the first modern survey of the site, recording 31 barrows. They suggest the original cemetery may have numbered as many as 40 mounds.

1993

Changes

2020

Greenwich Park Revealed project begins!

2020

Restoration

2022

The tarmac path is scheduled to be removed from the barrow site.

2022

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