Saxon skeletons found in graves under Croydon car park
By Tara O’Connor, Local Democracy Reporter
More than a dozen Saxon graves were discovered underneath a Croydon car park during an archaeological survey.
The Lion Green Road car park in Coulsdon is being redeveloped into 157 new homes by controversial council-owned developer Brick by Brick.
An archaeological report had to be submitted to Croydon council as part of the development after plans were approved in 2019.
Excavations of the old car park were carried out by the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) for the developer in March 2021 and again a year later.
They discovered 18 Saxon burials in the process, which was the final phase of an investigation that started in 2015.
Previous excavations found two late Roman burials, an undated dog burial, a Saxon burial and two disturbed graves.
The 2021 excavations uncovered 12 burials, with another six discovered in 2022. All are believed to be Saxon and six skeletons were found buried with iron knives in their left hand.
The report said eight of the skeletons discovered were well preserved.
The report reads: “The finds assemblage from within the inhumation burials at Lion Green Road carry potential in the dating of their contexts and in the wider discussion of Saxon burial practices in the region that will arise from this site.”
Brick by Brick was set up by the council in 2016 with the aim of building more homes in the borough. But when the council was forced to declare effective bankruptcy in 2020, auditors said £200 million given to the company contributed to the financial state of the authority.
The Lion Green Road development, which will be named Red Clover Gardens, is one of the final and largest projects to be completed by the developer as Croydon Council prepares to shut the company down.
The council made the decision to wind down the company in 2021. It agreed developments under construction would still go ahead, at the time it said the Lion Green Road would be completed by November 2022.
Pictured top: One of the skeletons found at Lion Green Road in Coulsdon (Picture: Museum of London Archaeology report submitted to Croydon council)