CEMEX donates 2000 year old artefacts

A Bronze Age 'logboat coffin', including the remains of a Roman woman, and two swords from a similar period have been donated by CEMEX UK, the building materials supplier, to Reading Museum.

The artefacts were unearthed in active CEMEX sand and gravel quarries in the Reading area during operations approximately 30 years ago.

The 'logboat' coffin dates back to 50 -150AD and was found in 1982. It is a hollow tree trunk made into a canoe shape with the hollow extended to accommodate the body of a woman in her fifties. The lid had collapsed in the coffin, resulting in the skeleton and lid being in pieces when uncovered.

The two Bronze Age swords were found in 1979 and 1980 in the same area of a quarry at Wraysbury.

It is planned that the artefacts will soon be on display in the Museum for local people to see and learn more about their heritage and one of Reading's earlier residents.

The donation is an intrinsic part of CEMEX UK's ethos of sustainability and continued work with communities which are touched by its operations.

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Notes to Editors:

• For further information and photographs contact Elizabeth Young t.01932 583214 e.elizabeth.young@cemex.com
• CEMEX is a global building materials company that provides high-quality products and reliable service to customers and communities in more than 50 countries throughout the world
• In the UK, as well as ready mixed concrete, cement and aggregates, CEMEX also produces asphalt, and has a significant share of the roof tile, rail sleepers, concrete-block paving, and concrete-block segments. CEMEX has a national supply network in the UK to ensure that quality building materials are available to customers locally. For more information, see www.CEMEX.co.uk or www.CEMEX.com