Four isolated early Bronze Age burials were discovered across the Thanet Earth Excavations. Three were associated with sherds of beaker pottery, some of which were complete or near complete. Two radio carbon dates were obtained from the human bone: 2137–1907 cal BC for one and 2108–1895 cal BC for the other.

In detail: Grave G2000 was located at about 27m OD on the eastern side of Plateau 2. It was subrectangular, 0.47m wide by 1.1m long and 0.22m deep with steep, concave sides and a flattish base, aligned a few degrees off north–west/south-east. It contained a poorly preserved inhumation, probably of an adult female 36–45 years in age, crouched on its right side with the head positioned at the north end of the grave facing south-west. Isotope analysis of the skeleton suggested that she was not local, but that she grew up elsewhere in Britain, probably further west but well away from the coast. There were no grave goods apart from a copper alloy pin situated close to the skull. The grave was filled with silty clay which yielded two sherds of early Bronze Age pottery and some fragments of unidentified animal bone.

Grave G3004 was located on Plateau 3 at an elevation of just over 24m OD. It was subrectangular, 1.28m long by 0.91m wide and 0.44m deep, with vertically inclined sides and a flat base, orientated near north-south. In the north-western corner, a small step, no more than 0.1m in breadth, and about 0.4m long had been cut in the side, 0.27m down from the surviving top of the grave. The grave contained a single, crouched adult inhumation representing a female between 28 and 38 years old with her head to the south, facing east. The skeleton was radiocarbon dated to 2195–1977 cal BC. Isotope analysis of the skeleton suggested that she was not local, but that she grew up elsewhere in Britain, probably further west. The burial was accompanied by a near complete East-Anglian style beaker. in the south-west corner of the grave, placed above the shoulder. The grave contained two fills, a deposit of crushed chalk sealed by yellow brown silty clay.

Grave G4043 was located on Plateau 4 at an elevation of just over 30m OD. It was subrectangular, 1.40m wide, 2.40m long and 0.30m deep, with steep sides and a flat base, aligned close to north-east to south-west. It contained a single, poorly preserved articulated adult inhumation. lying crouched in the grave, facing south-east with the head at the south-west end; the arms appeared to have been placed across the chest. Age was determined as 36–45 years but the sex could not be gauged. The skeleton was radiocarbon dated to 2108–1895 cal BC. Isotope analysis of the skeleton suggested that she was not local, but that she grew up elsewhere in Britain, probably further west. A decorated long necked beaker was placed at the south-west end of the grave behind the skull. The grave was filled with light brown clay silt with lenses of chalk, from which a few flint flakes were recovered.

Grave G10003 was located on Plateau 1 at an elevation of about 18m OD. It was sub-circular, about 1.6m in diameter and 0.58m deep with steeply inclined sides, sloping more shallowly at the western side, and a wide, flattish base. Sporadic patches of burning, in the form of pinkish coloured chalk, were noted on the base of the cut, indicative of scorching within the pit prior to its infilling. The grave contained the poorly preserved skeletal remains of a single articulated inhumation (SK 1.2), possibly a female aged 26–35, lying crouched in the grave, facing south with the head at the north-west end. The skeleton was lying on the base of the grave, on its right side with legs flexed and the lower right arm on the chest area. Bone survival was poor, with mainly the limb and skull elements surviving. The skeleton was radiocarbon dated to 2137–1907 cal BC. It was accompanied by two complete Beaker vessels; a small finely decorated beaker placed by the front of the head, and a small, long necked Barbed-Wire Beaker in front of the skeleton by the elbow. The grave contained two fills, the lower of which consisted of erosion deposits of chalk and silt which lay at the edges of the cut. This suggests that the grave cut may have been left open for some time before being backfilled with a uniform bulk fill of silty clay and abundant charcoal, the latter concentrated around the skeleton. Animal bone, a few scraps of pottery and worked flint were also retrieved from this fill, the latter a small assemblage of almost entirely residual early Neolithic material.

<1> Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 2023, Beneath the Seamark: 6000 Years of an Islands History (Monograph). SKE55405.