Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

The finest and most complete of the Medway megaliths, Coldrum is a chambered megalithic long barrow, dating from c. 3900 B.C. The burial chamber is at the eastern end of the rectangular mound, and the 4 sides are bordered by revetting sarsen stones. The remains of over 20 individuals were found during excavations at the site in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Images

Monument Types

• LONG BARROW (Early Neolithic - 4000 BC to 3001 BC)
• CHAMBERED LONG BARROW (Early Neolithic - 3980 BC to 3540 BC)
• INHUMATION (Early Neolithic - 3980 BC to 3540 BC) + Sci.Date

Associated Finds

• LITHIC IMPLEMENT (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)
• HUMAN REMAINS (Early Neolithic - 3960 BC to 3560 BC) + Sci.Date

Full description

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[TQ 6543 6072] Burial Chamber [NR] (National Trust) (1) The Coldrum long barrow is the finest and most complete of the Medway megaliths. The rectangular mound, which is shorter than is usual in long barrows is placed E.-W., and there is a rectangular burial chamber at the eastern end. The four sides of the mound are bordered by a retaining wall of sarsens. The dimensions are approximately 90ft. by 60ft. (2)(3) Excavations in the burial chamber during the 19th century, in 1910 (4), and mainly in 1922 (5), produced human bones in quantity, representing about twenty-four individuals. Many of the bones were very fragmentary, but Sir Arthur Keith considered they may have all been related, if not of one family, and their ages ranged from newly born infants to old men and women. They were long headed and of short stature. A flint saw and some sherds were found during the 1910 excavations, and one of the sherds, now in Maidstone Museum, has been described by Piggott (6) as probably Windmill Hill "A". See AO/59/46/7 and 8. (2-7) The remains of this barrow are as described by Grinsell. The site is now the property of the National Trust and well looked after: it has unfortunately been described as a "Stone Circle". A 25" survey has been carried out; see also GP's AO/59/187/3 - burial-chamber from N.W.; AO/59/187/4 - peristalith (S. side) from S.E.; 187/5 - peristalith (W. side) from S.W.; 187/6 - burial-chamber and "arena" from S.S.E. (8) No change. (9) Additional bibliography. (10-12) Chambered tomb 0.5 miles east of Trottiscliffe Church. The surviving monument is a stone chamber 13ft. by 5ft. composed of four enormous sandstone slabs standing at the E. end of a roughly rectangular mound 90ft. long revetted with boulders. The chamber contained 22 inhumations. (13) Coldrum megalithic long barrow, c. 2000 B.C. now belongs to the National Trust. (14) Additional bibliography. (15-16)

The earliest plans are included in the Beale Post manuscript of the mid 19th century, which also records that two skulls were removed from the site in 1804 and 1825. Human remains were removed at intervals until 1893. In 1910 F.J. Bennett surveyed the barrow and excavated the western part of the chamber, recovering human remains from two levels or platforms. The supposed Windmill Hill A pottery was later identified as being of Anglo-Saxon date but is now lost. The human remains found in 1910 were found in discrete groups. Further excavations were carried out by Filkins in 1922, 1923 and 1926. Human remains were found during these works too. Coldrum is the only Medway megalithic site to have produced human remains in such quantities. In 2013 a programme of study of these remains identified evidence of date, diet and dismemberment. The minimum number of individuals found during the Bennett excavations was revised down to 17, consisting of nine adults (five male and four female), two older sub-adults (16-20 years old), four older children and two younger children (one around five years of age, the other 24-30 months old). Four of the adults were aged c.20-40+ years and one older female may have been aged over 50 years. The material from the Filkins excavation comprises remains of at least 11 individuals but it is not possibly to say if any of these are in addition to the 17 found by Bennett. The bones were not deliberately broken at the time of deposition. There is no evidence of long-term exposure of the remains. Three of the skulls had evidence of healed and unhealed violent injuries. In addition to these cut marks were found on bones suggesting dismemberment carried out after partial decomposition; there was no evidence of cannibalism. Stable isotope analysis of the remains identified an unusual signature which could possibly relate to consumption of freshwater fish. Based on radiocarbon dates, and known arrangements of the human remains within the chamber, three phasing models for the construction and use of the monument were proposed. The preferred interpretation suggests that the monument was first used in 3980-3800 cal BC or 3960-3880 cal BC with a second phase (possibly over an extended period) which began in 3730-3540 cal BC or 3670-3560 cal BC. (20)


From the National Heritage List for England:

Details
The monument is situated at the head of a coombe below the scarp face of the North Downs on land in which sarsen stones occur naturally. The east end of the monument has been damaged by quarrying which has resulted in several sarsen boulders slipping down from the area of the monument proper. The burial chamber lies at the east end of a short rectangular area formed by a kerb of sarsen stones. The most distinctive feature of the monument is the burial chamber which is formed by four very large slabs of sarsen arranged in a square formation. A capping stone would have completed the chamber, but this has since been lost to erosion or stone-robbing. In this chamber the bones of at least 24 individuals were found when it was excavated in 1922. The burial chamber is surrounded by a kerb, or revetting wall, of at least 21 sarsen stones which probably once stood upright and prevented the slumping of the high earthen mound with which the burial chamber was itself covered. The mound still survives today as a raised area within the kerb, standing perhaps 0.5m above the general ground level. The whole surviving monument measures 30m E-W and 22m N-S. Excavations in the 19th century, in 1910 and most extensively in 1922 recovered few artefacts with which to date the monument, but it can be parallelled in many respects, apart from its unusually small length, in the group of Neolithic Long Barrows which cluster around the northern side of the Medway Valley. On all sides the hedge or fence which indicates the position of the constraint line is itself excluded from the scheduling. The display boards and protective fencing within the scheduled area are also excluded.

Reasons for Designation
Long barrows were constructed as earthen or drystone mounds with flanking ditches and acted as funerary monuments during the Early and Middle Neolithic periods (3400-2400 BC). They represent the burial places of Britain's early farming communities and, as such, are amongst the oldest field monuments surviving visibly in the present landscape. Where investigated, long barrows appear to have been used for communal burial, often with only parts of the human remains having been selected for interment. Certain sites provide evidence for several phases of funerary monument preceding the barrow and, consequently, it is probable that long barrows acted as important ritual sites for local communities over a considerable period of time. Some 500 long barrows are recorded in England. As one of the few types of Neolithic structure to survive as earthworks, and due to their comparative rarity, their considerable age and their longevity as a monument type, all long barrows are considered to be nationally important.

Coldrum, although an atypical example, belongs with the group of burial mounds known as the Medway Megaliths. It survives well and has high archaeological potential due to the survival of much of the earthen mound. In addition, it is relatively well documented and is of high amenity value. (21)

Photographs (22-37)

<1> OS 6" 1936 (OS Card Reference). SKE48337.

<2> The Ancient Burial Mounds of England 1953 194 (L V Grinsell) (OS Card Reference). SKE49930.

<3> Beale Post MMS (OS Card Reference). SKE37608.

<4> Arch Cant 63 1950 69-74 plans (J H Evans) (OS Card Reference). SKE35364.

<5> JRAI 43 1913 76 ff (Benet and Keith) (OS Card Reference). SKE45034.

<6> Ant J 8 1928 356 ff (E F Wilkins) (OS Card Reference). SKE33220.

<7> Arch J 88 1932 138 (S Piggott) (OS Card Reference). SKE36751.

<8> Prehistoric Chamber Tombs of England and Wales 1950 142 233 ff (G E Daniel) (OS Card Reference). SKE48650.

<9> F1 AC 28-JUL-59 (OS Card Reference). SKE41844.

<10> F2 FGA 15-OCT-64 (OS Card Reference). SKE43324.

<11> Gents Mag Lib Arch 1 886 113 (OS Card Reference). SKE43594.

<12> South East England 1970 1080112 plan (R F Jessup) (OS Card Reference). SKE49517.

<13> Philp, B, 1981, A survey of the Medway megaliths, KAR 64: 77 (Article in serial). SKE24000.

<14> The Buildings of England West Kent and the Weald 1980 575 (J Newman) (OS Card Reference). SKE50240.

<15> Prehistoric Properties of the national Trust 1967 23-4 (P Ireland) (OS Card Reference). SKE48655.

<16> Arch J 126 1969 240 (E Warman) (OS Card Reference). SKE36548.

<17> Arch Cant 9 7 1981 221-234 illus (R Holgate) (OS Card Reference). SKE36021.

<18> Field report for monument TQ 66 SE 2 - July, 1959 (Bibliographic reference). SKE3549.

<19> Field report for monument TQ 66 SE 2 - October, 1964 (Bibliographic reference). SKE3550.

<20> Wysocki, M., Griffiths, S., Hedges, R., Bayliss, A., Higham, T., Fernandez-Jalvo, Y. and Whittle, A., 2013, Dates, Diet, and Dismemberment: Evidence from the Coldrum Megalithic Monument, Kent (Article in serial). SKE24830.

<21> Historic England, National Heritage List for England (Index). SKE29372.

<22> CHAMBERED? BEST OF ITS TYPE (MEDWAY GROUP).SEE ALSO AO59/46/7, Types: LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE480.

<23> CHAMBERED? BEST OF ITS TYPE (MEDWAY GROUP).SEE ALSO AO59/46/7, Types: LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE478.

<24> CHAMBERED? BEST OF ITS TYPE (MEDWAY GROUP).SEE ALSO AO59/46/7, Types: LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE479.

<25> CHAMBERED? BEST OF ITS TYPE (MEDWAY GROUP).SEE ALSO AO59/46/7, Types: LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE481.

<26> CHAMBERED? BEST OF ITS TYPE (MEDWAY GROUP).SEE ALSO AO59/46/7, Types: LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE480.

<27> CHAMBERED? BEST OF ITS TYPE (MEDWAY GROUP).SEE ALSO AO59/46/7, 8;AO59/187/3,4,5,6 Types: LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE81.

<28> CHAMBERED? BEST OF ITS TYPE (MEDWAY GROUP).SEE ALSO AO59/46/7, Types: LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE476.

<29> CHAMBERED? BEST OF ITS TYPE (MEDWAY GROUP).SEE ALSO AO59/46/7, Types: LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE82.

<30> CHAMBERED? BEST OF ITS TYPE (MEDWAY GROUP).SEE ALSO AO59/46/7, Types: LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE477.

<31> CHAMBERED? BEST OF ITS TYPE (MEDWAY GROUP).SEE ALSO AO59/46/7, Types: LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE476.

<32> CHAMBERED? BEST OF ITS TYPE (MEDWAY GROUP).SEE ALSO AO59/46/7, 8;AO59/187/3,4,5,6 Types: LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE81.

<33> CHAMBERED? BEST OF ITS TYPE (MEDWAY GROUP).SEE ALSO AO59/46/7, Types: LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE479.

<34> CHAMBERED? BEST OF ITS TYPE (MEDWAY GROUP).SEE ALSO AO59/46/7, Types: LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE478.

<35> CHAMBERED? BEST OF ITS TYPE (MEDWAY GROUP).SEE ALSO AO59/46/7, Types: LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE477.

<36> CHAMBERED? BEST OF ITS TYPE (MEDWAY GROUP).SEE ALSO AO59/46/7, Types: LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE481.

<37> CHAMBERED? BEST OF ITS TYPE (MEDWAY GROUP).SEE ALSO AO59/46/7, Types: LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE82.

Sources and further reading

Related thematic articles

• Kent's Greatest Archaeological Discoveries? (Thematic Essay)
• Neolithic Kent (Thematic Essay)
• The history of Kent's archaeology (Thematic Essay)