Monument record TR 26 NE 239 - Large double ring ditch, Monkton

A ring ditch cropmark feature was investigated in advance of work to widen the A253. The monument was found to comprise a series of interconnecting pits forming a ring ditch, with a later outer ring ditch. This addition meant that this was one of the largest Bronze Age barrows in Kent discovered to date. The site was dated to the late Neolithic or early Bronze Age despite the fact that no burial mound was discovered: this was thought to have been removed by ploughing in the area. A possible association between this site and an east-west alignment of eighteen post-pits has been suggested (see TR 26 NW 240).

Possible late neolithic or early bronze age ring ditch of interconnecting pits. No burial mound was found which had been removed through ploughing. Possibly associated with this was an east-west alignment of eighteen equidistant post-pits (TR 26 NE 240). A relationship between the mound, two Beaker burials and post-pit alignment is suspected. These features almost certainly encouraged the gradual development of a cemetery. The barrow was provided with an outer ring-ditch creating one of the largest bronze age barrows in Kent so far known.(1)

In 1993 an evaluation was carried out by the Trust for Thanet Archaeology ahead of improvements to the A253 between Monkton and Minster. A double ditch of an enclosure was identified in trench H. Finsd from the ditch were waste flakes and a few shells. (2)

The concentric ring ditches forming part of a round barrow of Neolithic/Bronze Age date were visible as cropmarks in CUCAP CW65 19-JUL-1949. The extent of the feature was mapped rather than individual ring ditches because of the relatively poor definition of the cropmarks in that image. The southern extent of the feature has been excavated (see authority 1). This feature was mapped as part of the Historic England Isle of Thanet project in 2024. (3)

A ring ditch of probable Early Bronze Age origin near Monkton, partly excavated in 1994-5 in advance of dualling work on the A253. The monument features two concentric ditch circuits, the innermost comprising a ring of interconnecting pits. This has been suggested to be Late Neolithic, though this appears to be based on the form of the ditch rather than any datable finds. The outer ditch was apparently added later. The only finds mentioned from either ring ditch are Beaker sherds from a pit cutting the inner circuit and further Beaker sherds in the upper fills of the outer. Approaching the ring ditches from the southeast was a line of large postholes, interrupted close to the barrow by two graves positioned side by side, each containing a crouched inhumation. One was accompanied by a Beaker, a bronze bracelet and a necklace represented by 217 tiny jet beads. Available interim reports are a little contradictory regarding some detail. The nunber of timber posts is either 18 or 19, for instance. The sequence of features is also a little unclear. The timber row clearly alters direction slightly at the place where the graves were discovered. One interim suggests that the two graves came first, followed by the timber row, at one end of which a large barrow was constructed. However, others clearly treat the first phase of the ring ditch as the earliest feature (unless they consider Beakers to be Late Neolithic). NB the ring ditch was almost certainly one of the cropmarks originally recorded as part of TR 26 NE 17. (1-2)

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

<2> Trust for Thanet Archaeology, 1993, An Archaeological Evaluation Ahead Of Improvements To The A253, Monkton To Minster (Unpublished document). SKE17233.

<3> Historic England Archive, 1949-1976, Historic England Archive CUCAP oblique aerial photographs, CUCAP CW65 19-JUL-1949 (Archive). SKE57107.