Monument record TR 36 SW 377 - Middle Iron Age inhumation burials, discovered during the East Kent Access Route excavations (2009-2011)
Summary
Location
Grid reference | Centred TR 3434 6464 (25m by 31m) (12 map features) |
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Map sheet | TR36SW |
County | KENT |
District | THANET, KENT |
Civil Parish | CLIFFSEND, THANET, KENT |
Map
Type and Period (2)
Full Description
There were 13 inhumations burials in Zone 12, ten of them were in a group with the remaining three more isolated, although located in the same general area and probably broadly contemporary. Further fragments of human bone came from the colluvial desposits ion this area, the small number of bones representing an infant and an adult. In addition what may have been the remains of a further in situ burial came from a ditch exposed in a pipe trench which ran parallel to the northern edge of excavation, approximately 15m to the north of the main group of burials. The group of ten burials were all aligned north-south and positioned between the hollow way and its western flanking ditches. They appear to run almost in a line over a distance of approximately 14m. The graves had an average length of 1.75m a width of 0.6m and depth of only 0.1m and several were very difficult to discern in plan. The burials comprised five adults, two sub adults/adults, two juveniles and an infant. All were buried supine of flexed except one. There was only one definite grave good, an iron ring around the left humerus of an adult female burial. In addition two fragments of a broken shale armlet rough out came from one grave but were not clearly associated with the body and may have been re deposited with it. The same may apply to an iron nail which was discovered in another grave. Bone from two of the graves was submitted for radio carbon dating. One produced a date of 410-210 cal BC and the other 380-200 cal BC indicating that both are of a middle Iron Age date. In addition, teeth from four burials were sampled for isotopic investigation of residual mobility. In summary the results indicate that all four individuals spent part of their childhood elsewhere, though where exactly is a matter of uncertainty. This provides some comparative data for the contemporary burials at cliffs End Farm, where all of the individuals had been subject to isotope analysis with intriguing results indicative of migration. (information summarised from source) (1-2)
<1> Oxford Wessex Archaeology Joint Venture, 2011, East Kent Access (Phase II), Thanet, Kent: Post-Excavation Assessment Volume 1 (Unpublished document). SKE29279.
<2> Andrews et al, 2015, Digging The Gateway: Archaeological Landscapes of South Thanet. The Archaeology of East Kent Access (Phase III) Vol 1: The sites (Monograph). SKE55517.
Sources/Archives (2)
- <1>XY SKE29279 Unpublished document: Oxford Wessex Archaeology Joint Venture. 2011. East Kent Access (Phase II), Thanet, Kent: Post-Excavation Assessment Volume 1. [Mapped feature: #113606 Cemetery, ]
- <2> SKE55517 Monograph: Andrews et al. 2015. Digging The Gateway: Archaeological Landscapes of South Thanet. The Archaeology of East Kent Access (Phase III) Vol 1: The sites.
Finds (3)
Protected Status/Designation
- None recorded
Related Monuments/Buildings (1)
Related Events/Activities (2)
- Intrusive Event: Excavations along the route of the East Kent Access route (A256) - Zone 12 (EKE22408)
- Event Boundary: Excavations along the route of the East Kent Access route (A256) 2009-2011 (EKE13407)
Record last edited
Oct 24 2023 3:06PM