Monument record TR 36 NW 1428 - Anglo Saxon cemetery discovered during the A253 Dualling Scheme

The Anglo-Saxon cemetery was located towards the eastern end of the excavation area close to the intersection of two hollow ways. In order to avoid any confusion with the other cemeteries in the area this particular example was described as the Mount Pleasant example. It lay some distance from the features of Prehistoric or roman date, although it was close to a fragment of the hollow way which was aligned in the general direction of Birchington to the north of Minster in Thanet to the south. Most of the graves lay to the west of this feature with on located on the east. An east west hollow way lies a little to the south of the cemetery underneath the present A299 road. The hollow way is recorded on a 15th century map as Dunstrete ‘the road across the downs’. 18 graves were identified and fully excavated. Several features of a later date were also noted in this area, which had damaged a number of graves. All of the graves cut the chalk subsoil to a depth of at least 0.2m from the modern surface of the chalk. The deepest was cut to a depth of 0.7m from the modern chalk surface.
All the graves were inhumations and where human bone survived, it was clear that each had contained a single occupant. The bodies were supine and extended with their arms by their sides or crossed at the pelvis and their legs together or crossed. The individual in Grave 16 had been buried in a crouched position, however with flexed limbs.

All the burials within the cemetery were interred within rectangular or sub rectangular graves. The graves vary in width between 0.44 and 0.95m and in length between 1.21 and 2.6m. Vestigial traces of coffins were visible in graves 2, 4 and 13 all of which were burials of adults. More complex grave structures were observed in graves 13 and 5. Grave 13 included a ledge on all 4 sides and two sets of angled beam slots allowing it to be ascribed to Hogarths Class I type C/4. This is a comparatively rare grave form, although there are 30 examples within the cemetery of St peters at Broadstairs and four at Ozengell. An adult male had been buried in this grave. The internal features have been interpreted as supporting a simple pitched cover to the grave. Grave 5 exhibits a structural arrangement which is not recorded by Hogarth. It consists of opposed beam slots at the head of the grave and a structure of vertical posts set within it, cut into either the chalk floor or laying on the chalk rubble packing which surrounded the coffin. These posts appear to have been designed to form a canopy above the grave itself. No skeletal remains survived in Grave 5 but the grave goods, which included a spear, knife firesteel and pin suggest the individual was male.
Anglo Saxon grave structures are rarely encountered outside east Kent and the full spectrum of internal and external combinations only witnessed within cemeteries located on or beside the Isle of Thanet and particularly at Sarre, Monton, St Peters at Broadstairs and Ozengell.
Fifteen objects, most of which had been manufactures from iron of copper alloy were retrieved from eight of the eighteen graves of the cemetery. All the finds came from graves and there are no artefacts from any other contexts in the area of the site. In general the graves are poorly furnished and include comparatively few obvious indicators of gender, wealth or status. The range of items has much more in common with the assemblages from latter Kent cemeteries like Eccles, Holborough, St Peters at Broadstairs , Half Mile ride at Margate and Polhill. This confirmed by the dating of individual items and arguable also by their gender distribution. Based on the limited evidence it appears that the male grave in this cemetery is more likely to have contained grave goods. The objects are generally of types that cannot be closely dated. There are indications however, that they belong to the 7th century, rather than any earlier date. Burial is likely to have begun at the core of the cemetery and developed onwards to the periphery. Overall the likely dates range from the 7th to 8th century. (1-2)

<1> Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 1996, Canterbury's Archaeology 1994 - 1995 (Serial). SKE11882.