Bewes Hill, cist with skeleton and Food Vessel

A cist burial was found on 15 Nov. 1939 on the site of the petrol station at Bewes Hill near Blaydon and emptied by G.W. Temperley of Hancock Museum. Photographs of the cist show that the underside of its capstone bore an incised U-shaped groove, c. 2" wide and set about 3" from the edge of the stone. The cist probably contained a single skeleton with a pottery vessel and flint flake. The cist was eventually erected in the grounds of the Ryton UDC offices and there is an unconfirmed report that it passed to the Museum of Antiquities on 5 June 1972. The Food Vessel is described as in pink buff fabric, 210 mm high, and with the diam of rim 180 mm, of base 90 mm. it has a bulbous body with a carination and concave neck but no collar. The neck and body are decorated with scored cross-hatching, the rim with whipped cord. Its present location is uncertain: possible locations include the Museum of Antiquities, the Hancock Museum and Sunderland Museum.