Skip to content

Rare Anglo-Saxon sibling burial proven by DNA test

Danielle HuntGloucestershire
Neil Emmanuel An artist's impression of how the children were placed in the grave depicts an older girl laying on her right side in a long, one-piece tunic. She has shoulder length straight hair and she has a belt on with a workbox attached to it. A small boy is lay in front of her also on his right side and has a long sword between his arms that is the length of his shoulders to his ankles. They both have what looks like filled sacks supporting their heads.Neil Emmanuel
The two children are thought to have been from a high status Anglo-Saxon family because of the items they were buried with.

DNA analysis has revealed that two children buried together in an Anglo-Saxon grave at Cherington, Gloucestershire, were brother and sister.

Archaeologists say it is rare in Anglo-Saxon cemeteries to find that two people were buried together in the same grave at the same time.

The arrangement of the grave appeared to reflect a close and caring relationship between the two children, according to Cotswold Archaeology, who completed the excavation.

Testing then carried out by the Francis Crick Institute proved the familial link between the siblings, whose remains were uncovered in 2024.

The grave contained a young boy buried with a sword and an older girl buried with a workbox. Both children had been placed on their side, with the older girl facing the younger boy.

Archaeologists say the positioning of their bodies indicates they were buried at the same time, which is rare, and may also suggest death from a fast-acting infectious disease.

Matt Nichol, senior project officer at Cotswold Archaeology and lead archaeologist on site, said it "really brings the human side of our Anglo-Saxon past much closer".

He added: "It becomes more poignant, in a way we very rarely experience."

Cotswold Archaeology In the foreground is a small trench of about 1.5 meters in length and 40 centimetres in width. Leant over the trench is a woman. From the side profile her short dark grey hair, blue glasses, and silver dangly earrings are visible. Her right hand is delicately touching the bottom of the trench where there is soil covering what we know to be bones. There is a clear plastic specimen bag sat in the trench with the word 'teeth' written on it as well as the date and catalogue or reference codes.Cotswold Archaeology
The grave of the siblings, not pictured, was discovered on a site of previous significant Anglo-Saxon findings in the Cotswolds

An Anglo-Saxon sword was found at the site in Cherington, near Tetbury, in 2016.

Subsequent excavation in 2019 revealed a "princely burial" of a young boy buried with elaborate grave goods.

In 2024, further excavation showed the cemetery extended beyond the previously investigated area, and the discovery of a second sword burial led to the uncovering of the double grave.

Archaeologists worked alongside volunteers from Operation Nightingale, an initiative which assists the recovery of wounded, injured and sick military personnel and veterans by getting them involved in archaeological investigations.

Richard Osgood MBE, senior archaeologist for the Ministry of Defence and founder of Operation Nightingale, said: "The results show how important scientific advances have been for archaeology.

"The work has revealed an astonishing, if tragic family story."

Follow BBC Gloucestershire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.

Related internet links