Monument record TR 26 NE 1300 - Roman burials - Thanet Earth

Three earlier Roman cremation burials (G8162), two fairly richly furnished, symmetrically arrayed within enclosure 10 of the field system. One had been largely removed by truncation but sherds of pottery suggest a date of c. AD 50–150. The second appeared to have contained a small box or casket, several hobnails were identified and a South Gaulish Samian dish (c. AD 65–95; 30). The third was the most richly furnished, it contained the remains of a box with a number of grave good inside that included samian platters (c. AD 70–110; 33 and 34), a biconical beaker (c. AD 60–85, 32) a large truncated flagon (c. AD 43–150; 31), an iron tool, small jar, and two hobnail boots.

Five inhumation burials had been cut into one of the semi backfilled field boundaries. Four lay in identifiable grave cuts and all were situated in the eastern stretch of the ditch as it ran toward the buried valley. Each burial lay on an east-west alignment with the skeletons in variable states of preservation. The fifth did not appear to have been placed in a grave, although it is possible that the cut was not identified given the similarity between grave fills and surrounding colluvium in this area. The fills of the graves contained pottery fragments, animal bone, and worked flint, likely re-worked material from the ditch and surrounding area. A Radio carbon date was obtained from one skeleton (S3513) of an adult female, this produced a date of AD 132–311 at 95 per cent probability.

Nine cremation burials were uncovered close to the line of trackway 25, four situated to its south and five to the north. All the interments were shallow and truncated, and usually contained within small circular pits no more than 0.65m across. Several were within vessels and associated with further vessels, these included a bag-shaped beaker or flagon and a bag-shaped flagon (c AD 70–100), a large jar (c AD 150– 250/300), the lower part of two Dressel 20 olive oil amphora (c AD 43–250), a large sherd of Samian (c AD 120–200), a narrow necked jar (c AD 70–200), two large storage jars (c AD 150–250), an East Gaulish Samian dish (c AD 150–230) an indented beaker of Pollard type 153 (c AD 150–300+) with part of a necked and girth-cordoned jar (c AD 150–250) as a lid, a large necked jar (c AD 140–170), and a small necked jar (c AD 80–175) and finally a bowl of Monaghan’s class 5D2 (c AD 120–180).

One final focus of early to mid-Roman burial was located in the central area of the site, about 470m south of Trackway 25 (Plateaus 4 and 5). These burials were slightly more dispersed when compared to those on the northern half of the site. They were associated with vessels dated to between AD 50 and AD 250.

In addition to these earlier roman burials some later roman burials were also uncovered. A cluster of four cremation burials was found just 8m to the south of the Trackway 25, c 100m. Three were disposed in a triangular formation, with one burial set further apart than the others. All were within 10m of each other, were between 0.5 to 0.75m in diameter and approximately 0.25m deep. They appeared to have been deliberately placed in the corner of a Field (R5) but had been heavily truncated by post-depositional processes. Grog tempered wares, a jar and a beaded and flanged bowl associated with these burials suggest a date of AD 250 to AD 420. On Plateau 8 a further potentially late Roman cremation burial was identified on the eastern side of the buried valley immediately to the west of Barrow 10. It consisted of a small sub-circular pit 0.88m wide, 1.26m long and 0.16m deep, filled with clay silt containing a small quantity of disarticulated and cremated human bone along with a late fourth century coin.
(1) (information summarised from source)

note not all are shown on GIS see site records for further details

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