Monument record TR 36 SW 470 - Early Bronze Age Barrow 3 - Cliffsend Farm, Ramsgate, Thanet

Summary

Excavations ahead of the development of a site at Cliffsend Farm, Ramsgate, revealed a wide variety of interesting features and finds. The features included a group of Early Bronze Age barrows. Barrow three was heavily disturbed by later activity but comprised a single ring ditch with a central rectangular pit which may have been a grave (but no human remains remained). (location accurate to the nearest 1m based on available information)

Location

Grid reference Centred TR 3477 6431 (28m by 17m) (7 map features)
Map sheet TR36SW
County KENT
District THANET, KENT
Civil Parish CLIFFSEND, THANET, KENT

Map

Type and Period (1)

Full Description

Barrow three lay to the north of and almost adjacent to barrow 2, the edges of the ditches of the two barrows being separated by no more than 1.5m. only the southern half of the barrow lay within the limits of the excavation, and this portion had been much disturbed by later features so the form and the dimensions are uncertain, although the barrow appears to have been similar to barrow with a single ditch open on the eastern side. The ditch was flat bottomed between 0.6 and 0.8m wide at the base, approximately 1.3m wide at the top and between 0.72 and 0.82m in depth. No ceramics were recovered from the fills and only a small quantity of struck flint. Towards the western limits of excavation, a series of intercutting ditches, pits and other features lay were the ditch for barrow 3 would be expected. If the ditch represents the western side, the barrow has an external diameter of 27.5m. at the approximate centre was a sub rectangular pit, probably a grave, aligned south-west to north-east. The cut measured 1.65m by 1.1m with a maximum surviving depth of 0.15m an irregularity at the eastern corner may have been the remains of a post hole similar to those discovered in barrow 2. The only find was a chisel arrowhead which was quite worn, suggesting that it may have been of some age when it was interred. (information summarised from sources) (1-4)


<1> Wessex Archaeology, 2005, Cliffs End Farm, Ramsgate, Kent: Archaeological Assessment Report (Unpublished document). SKE13692.

<2> Jacqueline I. McKinley, Jörn Schuster and Andrew Millard, 2013, Dead-sea connections: A Bronze Age and Iron Age ritual site on the Isle of Thanet (Bibliographic reference). SKE24068.

<3> Wessex Archaeology, 2014, Cliffs End Farm, Isle of Thanet, Kent: a mortuary and ritual site of the Bronze Age, Iron Age and Anglo-Saxon period (Bibliographic reference). SKE30562.

<4> Wessex Archaeology, 2004, Cliffs End Farm, Ramsgate, Kent: archaeological evaluation report (Unpublished document). SKE30563.

Sources/Archives (4)

  • <1>XY Unpublished document: Wessex Archaeology. 2005. Cliffs End Farm, Ramsgate, Kent: Archaeological Assessment Report. [Mapped feature: #123968 barrow, ]
  • <2> Bibliographic reference: Jacqueline I. McKinley, Jörn Schuster and Andrew Millard. 2013. Dead-sea connections: A Bronze Age and Iron Age ritual site on the Isle of Thanet.
  • <3> Bibliographic reference: Wessex Archaeology. 2014. Cliffs End Farm, Isle of Thanet, Kent: a mortuary and ritual site of the Bronze Age, Iron Age and Anglo-Saxon period.
  • <4> Unpublished document: Wessex Archaeology. 2004. Cliffs End Farm, Ramsgate, Kent: archaeological evaluation report.

Finds (1)

Protected Status/Designation

  • None recorded

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Events/Activities (3)

  • Event Boundary: Archaeological evaluation at Cliffs End Farm, Thanet, 2004 (EKE13915)
  • Intrusive Event: Excavation at Cliffs End Farm, Ramsgate (Ref: 56950.04) (EKE23067)
  • Event Boundary: Excavation at Cliffs End Farm, Ramsgate, 2004-5 (Ref: 56950.04) (EKE9955)

Record last edited

Apr 22 2024 4:38PM