THE WOMAN IN THE CHALK Cranborne Woman

Four skeletons lay huddled within a small earthen pit-grave. On the left is Cranborne Woman, on the right the children. — The grave shared by “Cranborne Woman” and three children.

Evidence of human life in the Stone Age is incredibly rare, so when Martin Green uncovered a Neolithic burial site on his Dorset farm, the whole world took notice. The skeletons inside were astonishingly well-preserved: one woman and three children were nestled in together. What can these bones tell us about life in Stone-Age Britain for the mysterious “Cranborne Woman”? Our guest Professor Janet Montgomery has developed lab techniques that reveal surprising biographical details, showing that even 5,000 years ago, this woman’s saga was a familiar human tale.

More information on the dig site and the discovery of Cranborne Woman can be found in this article by Martin Green.

Our Lost Women of England Tour visited Down Farm, the site of Cranborne Woman’s burial, in September 2021. Hear audio highlights from that visit – including “insider info” from archaeologist Martin Green and our visit to Cranborne Woman herself at the Salisbury Museum – in our Lost Women of England Bonus Episode. (“Cranborne Woman” content begins at about 4:57.)

Reconstruction portrait of Cranborne Woman. She has dark hair, lightish skin, a long thin nose, full lips, and wears a simple leather shift and carries a pot. — Reconstruction Portrait of Cranborne Woman by Mera MacKendrick
no other use permitted without written permission from the artist

Archaeologists excavating and photographing the excavation site on Martin Green's farm where Cranborne Woman and three child skeletons were discovered. — Martin Green & excavation crew at the dig at Monkton Up Wimborne
photo courtesy of Martin Green

Aerial photo of crop marks showing a large light circle surrounded by a ring of 20+ small light circles showing through the dark green crops. This is the burial site of Cranborne Woman. — Cranborne site, aerial photo showing the ring of pits as “crop marks”
photo courtesy of Martin Green

Aerial photo of excavation site, showing a large circle which is the large central pit, surrounded by a ring of 20+ small circle pits. This is the burial site of Cranborne Woman. — Cranborne site, aerial photo
photo courtesy of Martin Green

Martin Green stands in the center of the large dark circle in the center of the first-level excavation. Aerial photo at an angle. This is the burial site of Cranborne Woman. — Cranborne site, aerial photo
photo courtesy of Martin Green

A man in brown clothing, covered in white chalk, walks carrying two large yellow buckets full of earth. He is smiling. — Martin Green in “Meet the Ancestors”
photo by Katie Nelson

Martin Green shows us around Down Farm, where he discovered the neolithic burial of Cranborne Woman as well as dozens of other significant archaeological finds.

Our tour members visiting the remains of Cranborne Woman at the Salisbury Museum.

A large stone bridge crosses a river and on the opposite bank, a tall white building stands on the shore. A castle stands in the distance on top of a hill surrounded by green trees. — Durham, England
photo by Katie Nelson

A woman with blonde hair, wearing a lab coat, and a woman with coat and scarft, with red hair and glasses, stand in a science lab smiling at the camera. — Janet Montgomery and Katie Nelson in Dr. Montgomery’s lab
photo by Marc Nelson

Dr Montgomery in a scientific lab. She wears a white lab coat and is smiling at the camera. — Professor Janet Montgomery in her lab
photo by Marc Nelson

Janet Montgomery is Professor of Archaeology at Durham University. She was the first archaeologist to apply combined radiogenic lead and strontium isotope analysis to British archaeological humans and she is currently working on a wide range of archaeological projects of humans and animals ranging in date from the Neolithic to the 19th century. In addition to archaeological case studies, her research continues on the two main themes of her NERC fellowship which are fundamental to a better understanding of how isotope analysis can be applied to archaeological questions of diet and mobility.

THE WOMAN IN THE CHALK Cranborne Woman

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