1 May 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Archaeologists find an Anglo-Saxon church at Stoke Mandeville excavation site

Archaeologists working on the HS2 project found the remains of an Anglo-Saxon church during their excavations at the former St Mary’s Church, Stoke Mandeville, Bucks.

The site is located on the new HS2 route and is being thoroughly researched by an LP-Archaeology team in collaboration with HS2’s enabling works contractor, Fusion-JV.

The researchers discovered flint walls creating a square building surrounded by a circular border and graves under the Norman levels. The foundations of the edifice are about a meter wide and have similarities to St Peter’s Saxon Church in Barton-upon-Humber.

Over the last six months, a team of more than 40 archaeologists has excavated and examined the Norman church and associated graveyard. Because the church was built on a light grey compacted foundation band placed by the Normans, any archaeological deposits discovered beneath that band would be pre-Norman.

Flint walls found by archaeologists are believed to have formed part of an Anglo-Saxon church
Flint walls found by archaeologists are believed to have formed part of an Anglo-Saxon church Photo: HS2

There is evidence of Roman roof tiles within the foundations, suggesting that the Saxons used recycled Roman material from a nearby Roman settlement to build the early church.

Dr. Rachel Wood, Lead Archaeologist for Fusion JV said: The work undertaken at Old St Mary’s is a unique archaeological opportunity to excavate a medieval parish church with over 900 years of meaning to the local community. To then find an earlier structure beneath the Norman church is outstanding. To have so much of it remaining, including the walls and even some flooring, will provide a great deal of information about the site prior to the construction of the Norman church in 1080AD. The discovery of this pre-Norman, possible Saxon Church is a once in career opportunity for archaeologists and will provide a much greater understanding of the history of Stoke Mandeville.”

A computer-generated image shows how the Norman church would have looked before it fell into disrepair
A computer-generated image shows how the Norman church would have looked before it fell into disrepair. Photo: HS2

HS2’s head of heritage, Helen Wass, said: “The discovery of a pre-Norman church in Stoke Mandeville allows us to build a clearer picture of what the landscape of Buckinghamshire would have been like over 1,000 years ago.”

A ‘flea catcher’ discovered buried with a gentleman, close to his head, was another unusual find at St Mary’s. The ‘flea catcher’ was a tiny bone pot with a bloodied cloth and a smidgeon of honey. Fleas from the gentleman’s wig would have been drawn to the blood on the rag and would have gotten stick in the honey within the pot.

Findings from the archaeological dig are being shared via a series of open weekends at a field museum on the site of Old St Mary’s Church. Following HS2’s involvement in this year’s Heritage Open days, an extra Field Museum Open Weekend will be held on Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th September.

HS2

Cover photo: Archaeologists working at the site of the old Norman St Mary’s Church have discovered what they believe was an Anglo-Saxon church beneath it. HS2

Related Articles

Are the skeletons found in the restoration of the Bukoleon Palace the victims of the Crusader army massacre in Constantinople?

29 November 2021

29 November 2021

It is thought that the 7 skeletons messy found in the Bukoleon Palace excavations may be the victims of the...

Remains of 2 houses belonging to the founding period of the city were unearthed in the ancient city of Hierapolis

5 November 2021

5 November 2021

During this year’s excavations in the ancient city of Hierapolis-Pamukkale in Turkey’s Aegean province Denizli, the remains of two houses...

1,400-year-old temple from the time of the East Anglian Kings discovered at Suffolk royal settlement

21 November 2023

21 November 2023

Archaeologists have uncovered a possibly pre-Christian temple from the time of the East Anglian Kings at Rendlesham, near Sutton Hoo...

Lost 4,000-Year-Old Bronze Age Settlement Uncovered at Khaybar Oasis in Northern Saudi Arabia

31 October 2024

31 October 2024

A team of archaeologists led by Guillaume Charloux of France’s National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) announced Wednesday the discovery...

In Poland’s “Death Valley,” new evidence of Nazi atrocities

18 August 2021

18 August 2021

In October 1939, between 30,000 and 35,000 Polish intellectuals, Polish civilians, Jews and Czechs, and German prisoners from psychiatric institutions...

Archaeologists discovered an enigmatic complex of rooms, interiors of which covered with figural scenes unique to Christian art

7 April 2023

7 April 2023

Archaeologists of the Polish Center of Mediterranean Archaeology at the University of Warsaw discovered an enigmatic complex of rooms made...

13,000-year-old Clovis campsite discovered in Michigan

10 September 2021

10 September 2021

In St. Joseph County, independent researcher Thomas Talbot and University of Michigan scholars uncovered a 13,000-year-old Clovis campsite, which is...

An inscription with the name of the ancient city was found at the excavation site in Gordion, the capital of the Phrygians

8 August 2022

8 August 2022

An inscription bearing the name of the ancient city was found at the excavation site in Gordion, the capital of...

Mothers in the prehistoric were far more skilled at parenting their children than we give them credit for

24 November 2021

24 November 2021

The death rate of newborns in ancient cultures is not a reflection of inadequate healthcare, sickness, or other issues, according...

A Second temple of the Second Temple period was discovered at Migdal

13 December 2021

13 December 2021

The University of Haifa reported on Sunday the discovery of a 2,000-year-old synagogue from the Second Temple era in Migdal,...

The oldest ceramic roof tiles ever found in land of Israel may be from Antiochus’ Lost Citadel in Jerusalem

6 December 2023

6 December 2023

The 16 ceramic roof tile fragments, from the Hellenistic period in the second century BCE, were discovered during an archaeological...

New discoveries at the Sanxingdui Ruins demonstrate ancient China’s creative ability

9 September 2021

9 September 2021

Chinese archaeologists revealed fresh important finds at the Sanxingdui Ruins site in southwest China’s Sichuan Province on Thursday, from pits...

Archeological study shows unearthed Byzantine warrior had gold-threaded jaw

30 September 2021

30 September 2021

A Byzantine warrior who was beheaded after the Ottomans captured his fort in the 14th century had a jaw threaded...

5,700-Year-old Ancient “Chewing Gum” Gives Information About People and Bacteria of the Past

4 April 2021

4 April 2021

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have successfully extracted the complete human genome from “chewing gum” thousands of years ago....

Researchers extract ancient DNA from a 2,900-year-old clay brick

6 September 2023

6 September 2023

Researchers have successfully extracted ancient DNA from a 2,900-year-old clay brick, uncovering a wealth of information about the plant life...