Denton, cist

In 1936 a cist was found during road making on a new housing estate west of Denton Burn. The precise find spot is described as "on the line of the pavement on the west side of Legion Road, 20 yards south of the road called West Vallum which runs along the Vallum ditch and on the crest of the slope which leads down to the bank of the burn". The cist had an east-west axis, and was sunk into the gravelly subsoil. Its cover stone, broken on discovery, was 2 feet 2 inches below the line of the original topsoil. Its side slabs were 3 feet 10.5 inches long x 1 foot 9 inches – 2 feet 1 inch deep, x 4-5 inches thick. The slab at the east end was 1 foot 10 inches x 1 foot 3 inches deep. A few human bones were recovered from it and presented to the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle by T. Wake.