Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

During the late 19th century, Bronze Age burials were found on the eastern side of the gravel pit at Aylesford which also contained the Iron Age cemetery found in 1886.

See TQ 75 NW 21.

Three cists containing Bronze Age crouched burials were also recorded on the opposite or western edge of the cemetery, lying 10 yards (9,14m) apart in a line south east to north west. There was no trace of a barrow but burnt animal bones and wood, a piece of bronze and a few grains of wheat were found together with a skeleton. The finds were 5ft 4ins (1.62m) below the surface. One stone cist with a hole cut in one end is kept at Maidstone Museum.

The gravel pit has not been worked for many years and has mostly reverted to agricultural land or waste land.

Monument Types

• BURIAL (Bronze Age - 2350 BC to 701 BC)
• CINERARY URN (Bronze Age - 2350 BC to 701 BC)

Full description

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[TQ 73085925] Two Stone Cists Containing Human Remains found A.D. 1886 [NAT] (1,2) [Name TQ 731592].

Bronze Age Burials found A.D. 1886, 1889 and 1898 [NAT] (3,4) Bronze Age pottery was found on the eastern side of the gravel pit at Aylesford which contained the I.A. cemetery [see TQ 75 NW 21] found in 1886. A BA cinerary urn from the site is in Maidstone Museum.

[Evans(5) does not describe any accompanying human remains but infers that the pottery was grave furniture]. Additionally, three cists containing BA crouched burials were noted by Evans "on the opposite or western fringe of the [IA] cemetery" (see TQ 75 NW 21) lying 10 yards apart in a line south-east to north west. The third was found in 1889 but no date is given for the discovery of the other two. The slabs of one of these two are now in Maidstone Museum.

James (6), in a paper read 23.3.1899, describes a crouched burial which was also found in the gravel pit, which was known as Parish Field. Only a few pieces of burnt animal bones and wood, a piece of bronze (this probably fell from a higher level) and a few grains of wheat were found with the skeleton, which was 5 ft 4 ins below the surface. Dr. Garson pronounced the skull to be Bronze Age or even Neolithic in character. There was no trace of a barrow.

Payne (7) states that two stone cists (1,2) were found 200 yds east of the IA cemetery [but there is no corroboration of this by Evans] and the siting symbol on the Editions of 1898 and 1909 was omitted from subsequent editions on the instructions of Crawford(8) (5-8).

The Parish field sand and gravel pit has not been worked for many years. The area in question has mostly reverted to agricultural land. The rest is overgrown waste. In store in Maidstone Museum is one stone cist with a hole cut in one end, from this site. The BA cinerary urn recorded as being in the Museum cannot be traced, and there are no museum records of it.(9)

Field report [10].

<01> OS 6" 1898 (OS Card Reference). SKE48313.

<02> OS 6" 1909 (OS Card Reference). SKE48324.

<03> OS 6" 1938-48 (OS Card Reference). SKE48355.

<04> OS 6" 1961 (OS Card Reference). SKE48369.

<05> Arch 52 1890 324-7 (A J Evans) (OS Card Reference). SKE34432.

<06> PSA 2nd Series 17 1897-9 373-6 (F James) (OS Card Reference). SKE48816.

<07> Rev ONB Kent 31 SW 11 (G Payne) (OS Card Reference). SKE49206.

<08> Rev ONB 35 (O G S Crawford) (OS Card Reference). SKE49202.

<09> F1 ASP 23-JUL-64 (OS Card Reference). SKE42245.

<10> Field report for monument TQ 75 NW 55 - July, 1964 (Bibliographic reference). SKE3921.

Sources and further reading