Appendix B item (stones wrongly associated with pre-Conquest period)

Small cross, carved from oolitic limestone, presently in a display case in the site museum at Chedworth Roman Villa. It is straight-sided and free-standing, with a secondary incised cross on the front face. The leading edges of the straight-sided cross are chamfered. The ends of the arms of the incised cross flare outwards (like a B1 form) and are open-ended. This piece is described on the museum label as a 'small grave cross with a Saxon style incised cross'. However, the fact that the stone, though broken, is almost unweathered suggests that this was probably an internal fitting rather than a grave-marker or a gable cross. It is possible that the stone has been re-cut and that the incised cross is older than the present cross upon which it is carved, but this cannot be proven. The flared arms are uncommon and, while it is possible that the incised cross is late tenth or eleventh century, a later date seems more likely. The chamfered leading edges of the straight-sided cross itself might be an indication of a later medieval date for the cross in its final form. The cross is definitely not Anglo-Saxon.