Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Late Bronze Age founders hoard, Romano-British cremations, early medieval cemetery were found during excavations for gravel (c.1905).

The site lay on the lower part of a gentle north facing slope, between OD 5-10m.

Monument Types

• Hoard (Bronze Age - 2350 BC to 701 BC)
• CINERARY URN (CINERARY URN, Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
• CREMATION (CREMATION, Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
• HUMAN REMAINS (HUMAN REMAINS, Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
• VASE (VASE, Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
• CEMETERY (CEMETERY, Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon - 410 AD to 660 AD)

Associated Finds

• AXEHEAD (Bronze Age - 2350 BC to 701 BC)
• INGOT (Bronze Age - 2350 BC to 701 BC)
• UNASSIGNED (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
• BOWL (Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon - 410 AD to 660 AD)
• BROOCH (Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon - 410 AD to 660 AD)
• BUCKET (Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon - 410 AD to 660 AD)
• BUCKLE (Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon - 410 AD to 660 AD)
• KNIFE (Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon - 410 AD to 660 AD)
• PIN (Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon - 410 AD to 660 AD)
• RING (Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon - 410 AD to 660 AD)
• SHIELD (Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon - 410 AD to 660 AD)
• SPEAR (Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon - 410 AD to 660 AD)
• SWORD (Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon - 410 AD to 660 AD)

Full description

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[TQ 70317366] Celtic, Roman & Saxon Remains Found A.D. 1906. (1) During excavations for gravel south of the British Uralite Company's Works, a bronze worker's hoard consisting of socketed celts and lumps of bronze was discovered. Nearby was a Roman burial consisting of an urn with calcined bones, two vases and a patera. The pottery is similar to that found in a kiln [TQ 77 SW 4] nearby. Nearby was a second grave containing a fragmentary cinerary urn, two vases & a patera of black ware and a pseudo Samian patera. Contiguous to the above several Anglo-Saxon interments were cut through, from which the following were rescued; six bronze brooches, two bronze dress pins, bronze buckle, a razor-like knife, a speculum brooch, bronze ring, loop-shaped object of bronze, six iron spear-heads, iron knife, umbo, iron sword with ornamented bronze pommel and a bucket of oak with bronze mountings. [An illustration of the bucket states that it was found in 1907.] A broken coin of Constantine, with a hole for suspension, and one of Tetricus were also found. Illustration photograph See AP/58/58/2. (2) [One of the A - S brooches is ] a geometric saucer - brooch (3) dating from the last third of the 5th cent. and is now in Rochester Museum.(4) (3-4) A few Anglo-Saxon spearheads and fragments of a bronze bowl with the lip thickened and turned inwards were found at the Lower Shorne Uralite Works in 1905. (5) The prolific site behind the Uralite Works still yeilds much Roman debris. (6) Roman pottery, including two Samian dishes, was found behind the Uralite Works in 1924 and a coin of Marcus from the ballast pit is in Rochester Museum. (7) Present whereabouts and exact constitution of L.B.A. hoard not known. [Listed under Higham] (8) This is possible "bulan ham", (9) one of the bounds named in a grant of land at Higham by Offa to the Archbishop of Canterbury, A.D. 774(10) (9-10) The A - S cemetery dates from the early 6th cent. The settlement to which it belonged was presumably 'Bulam ham' (11) Enquiries at the Uralite works revealed no further information on this or possibly subsequent finds. (12) additional bibliography (13-16)

<1> OS 6" 1939-40 (OS Card Reference). SKE48360.

<2> Arch Cant 28 1909 pp xc-xcii photo (G Payne) (OS Card Reference). SKE34927.

<3> Arch 63 1912 198 (OS Card Reference). SKE34440.

<4> `The Arts in E Eng' 3 1915 xxxii 324 photo (G Baldwin Brown) (OS Card Reference). SKE32734.

<5> VCH Kent I 1908 385 (OS Card Reference). SKE51169.

<6> `Rochester Naturalist' 6 1924 50 (JH Evans) (OS Card Reference). SKE32730.

<7> VCH Kent III 1932 167 (OS Card Reference). SKE51186.

<8> "Archaeology of Kent" 1930 107 223 225 257 (RF Jessup) (OS Card Reference). SKE32590.

<9> Rec 6" (OGS Crawford udtd) (OS Card Reference). SKE49060.

<10> `Cartularium Saxonicum' 1 1885 300 no 213 (W de G Birch) (OS Card Reference). SKE32710.

<11> Arch Cant 55 1942 14-5 (RF Jessup) (OS Card Reference). SKE35286.

<12> F1 CFW 29-JAN-59 (OS Card Reference). SKE42811.

<13> F2 EG 02-JUL-59 (OS Card Reference). SKE43301.

<14> NSL 6" (OS Card Reference). SKE47718.

<15> Gaz E AS Burial Sites 1964 123 (ALS Meaney) (OS Card Reference). SKE43473.

<16> Field report for monument TQ 77 SW 2 - January, 1959 (Bibliographic reference). SKE4275.

<17> Field report for monument TQ 77 SW 2 - July, 1959 (Bibliographic reference). SKE4276.

Sources and further reading