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Monument details

Summary

An east-west alignment of eighteen equidistant post-pits was found during archaeological investigations in advance of work to widen the A253. It is thought that these post-pits may mark a ceremonial routeway. They were interrupted by two beaker inhumation burials lying in close proximity to a Bronze Age barrow (see TR 26 NE 240). One of the burials contained a group of 217 beads of Whitby jet. The grave was cut by another that contained a beaker and a copper alloy bracelet. The alignment of the pits was was found to change near the mound, thus a relationship between the mound, the Beaker burials and the post-pit alignment is suspected. A relationship between these features and the gradual development of a cemetery in the area has also been suggested. The cropmark traces of some of the pits and two of the graves described above have been seen on aerial photographs : OS/95018 V 302 10-MAR-1995 and mapped as part of the Historic England Thanet Landscape Mapping Project 2024.

Monument Types

• GRAVE (Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age - 3000 BC to 1501 BC)
• POST BUILT STRUCTURE (Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age - 3000 BC? to 1501 BC?)
• POST HOLE (Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age - 3000 BC? to 1501 BC?)
• BURIAL (Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age - 2500 BC? to 1700 BC?)

Full description

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An east-west alignment of eighteen equidistant post-pits. The post-pits, perhaps marking a ceremonial routeway, were interrupted close to a large ring ditch/barrow (TR 26 NE 240) by two beaker inhumation burials (within barrow III). One of the burials contained a group of 217 beads of Whitby jet. The grave was cut by another that contained a beaker and a copper alloy bracelet. At this point the alignment of the row was found to change and a relationship between the mound, Beaker burials and post-pit alignment is suspected. These features almost certainly encouraged the gradual development of a cemetery. (1)

The cropmark traces of some of the pits and two of the graves described above have been seen on aerial photographs : OS/95018 V 302 10-MAR-1995 and mapped as part of the Historic England Thanet Landscape Mapping Project 2024.(2)

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

<2> Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 1997?, A253 Monkton to Mount Pleasant: The Prehistoric Burial Landscape Stratigraphic Report (Unpublished document). SKE29250.

<3> Historic England Archive, 1964-2005, Historic England Archive Ordnance Survey vertical aerial photographs, OS/95018 V 302 10-MAR-1995 (Archive). SKE57105.

Sources and further reading

Related thematic articles

• Bronze Age Kent (Thematic Essay)