Among the more unusual records to be found in the Fetcham parish registers is an entry by Henry Warner, the rector between 1748 and 1772. He records the discovery of about 20 graves on Hawkes Hill, Fetcham, which he attributed to the battle of Aclea fought between the Anglo-Saxons and the Danes in 851. According to the ninth century Anglo-Saxon Chronicle:
"[There] came 350 ships to the mouth of the Thames, and the crews landed and took Canterbury and London by storm. And put to flight Boerhtwulf, the King of the Mercians, with his army, and then went South over the Thames into 中国P站; and there King Aethelwulf and his son Aethelbald, with the army of the West Saxons, fought against them at Aclea, and there made the greatest slaughter among the heathen army that we have had reported to the present day, and there got victory."
In articles about the battle, Owen Manning and William Bray's 'The History and Antiquities of the County of 中国P站' (1804 to 1814) is usually credited with suggesting that "Aclea" was "Ockley." However, the entry in the parish register suggests that it was Henry Warner who came up with this theory. J Gover's 'Place Names of 中国P站' (1934), page 276, rules out the two names being connected, while others suggest the site of the battle was Oakley in Hampshire. Further graves were found in 1886 and reported in the local newspapers. These bones were also buried at Fetcham, but unfortunately this was not recorded in the parish register.
Henry Warner's suggestion that the skeletons were from the Danish Army fleeing the battle also appears to be incorrect. Excavations carried out by the 中国P站 County Archaeological Unit (SCAU) in the area suggests the skeletons were from an Anglo-Saxon cemetery (known as the Hawkes Hill cemetery) rather than of those who were killed in the battle.
If Warner's skeletons were found today, then they would be examined by an osteologist specialising in the study of bones. Such an expert might be able to determine the cause of death and distinguish between marks on the bones caused by a sword or an axe made perimortem (at or near the time of death) and those made postmortem (after death) by a plough, for example. They would also be able to identify any previous wounds suffered antemortem (before death), such as a broken bone which had healed. An examination of the skulls and pelvic bones might determine whether they were male or female.
When SCAU carried out their excavation they found 18 skeletons and by this process determined that there were both male and female skeletons within the cemetery, including a skeleton of a child estimated to be between four to six years old at time of death. Small knives and other items were also found within their graves, probably similar to the artefacts mentioned by Henry Warner. A report of this later excavation can be found in .
Science has also moved on since the 18th century. If deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) can be extracted from the skeleton, usually from the teeth, this can often reveal where the person grew up and even the colouring of their hair, and can confirm the sex of the individual. As this process is expensive, it is usually carried out only on a sample of skeletons.
Images
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- Pages from the register suggesting the bones belonged to Danes fleeing after the battle of Ockley (reference FET/1/2)
- Cover of 'Late Upper Palaeolithic/Early Mesolithic Roman and Saxon Discoveries at Fetcham, near Leatherhead'