Eight burials thought to be of a later Iron Age or conquest period date were uncovered during excavations across plateaux 1 and 8 at the Thanet Earth site. A sub-rectangular grave 0.95m wide, 2.06m long and 0.17m deep, aligned north-north-east to south-south-west lay in the south-west corner of iron age field 4. Contained within the cut was the mostly articulated remains (SK1.26) of an adult of undetermined sex, aged 26+ years. A radiocarbon date of 44 BC–AD 73 cal BC at 95 per cent probability (at 95 per cent probability; Table 6, UBA-22934) was recovered from the skeleton indicating a probable late Iron Age or very early Romano-British date. That the body had been placed in a coffin was indicated by the presence of three iron nails.

Situated on the extreme north-west side of Plateau 1 were two isolated cremation burials. The latter was a lavishly furnished burial that contained ten vessels (one intentionally fragmented and positioned throughout the fill), fifteen amber beads, three copper alloy brooches, two brooch pins, a lead spindlewhorl and a small quantity of animal bone.

Located 560m to the south-east of the Plateau 1 burial, a loose cluster of five burials was situated on Plateau 8. These consisted of two cremation burials and three inhumations all sited in the eastern part of field IA1 in the area of the buried valley. The cremation burials were located approximately 1.7m apart. The first consisted of a sub-circular cut containing a fragmented probable Butt beaker (c. AD 40–70). The second was contained in a square cut within which were three vessels with a Butt beaker (dated c. AD 40–70), positioned just to the south of centre used as the primary cremation urn and also containing two highly fragmented iron bow brooches. The other vessels were a small Butt beaker (dated c. AD 40–70) and a Gallo-Belgic platter (dated c. AD 43–70). The first inhumation grave was located some 5.1m to the east of the cremation burials and contained the skeleton of a juvenile, positioned supine with the head at the south end of the grave facing west with a late Iron Age copper alloy bow brooch (perhaps for a shroud). The second inhumation grave lay some 17m to the north-east and contained a probable adult male that lay in a prone position with the head at the south end of the grave, turned to the east. The final grave was also orientated north–south and contained the skeleton of a juvenile. Both this and the second grave contained no grave goods but were associated with small quantities of residual Iron Age domestic material. (1-2) (information summarised from source)

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

<2> Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 2012, Thanet Earth, Plateau 1 extension, 2012: Assessment Report (Unpublished document). SKE29576.