Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Considerable quantities of Roman cinerary urns and Anglo-Saxon grave goods were uncovered in the King's Field area in the mid-late nineteenth century during, initially, railway construction works and, later on, brickearth extraction. These finds were bought from the labourers by collectors such as William Gibbs and catalogued: many were later bequeathed to the nation.

The site lies on a gentle north facing slope.

Monument Types

• CEMETERY (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
• CINERARY URN (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
• CEMETERY (Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon - 567 AD to 699 AD)

Associated Finds

• CINERARY URN (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
• UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT (Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon - 567 AD to 699 AD)

Full description

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[TR 0122 6092] Anglo-Saxon burial ground [NR] (1) The Anglo-Saxon collection bequeathed to the nation by Mr William Gibbs in 1870 represents the spoils of the richest cemetery in Kent, discovered when the railway was driven through King's Field at the south end of Faversham. Nothing is known of the individual graves. Some of the relics are late 6th/7th century, one pottery vase having a Merovingian appearance. Most of the pottery found was Roman (cineraryurns, etc) which, together with skeletons, coins, etc., indicate that the area was also a Roman cemetery of considerable extent.
(2-5) The site is entirely built over. (6) [TR 013 609] Anglo-Saxon inhumation cemetery at King's Field, Faversham. Chronological description of finds dating from c. 1858 to 1957 including reference to Roman finds, extensive bibliography and museums holding material. (7)

Andrew Richardson, 2000, Gazetteer of Anglo-Saxon Cemeteries and Burial-Sites in Kent (Unpublished document). SKE29253.

<1> OS 1:1250 1958 (OS Card Reference). SKE48176.

<2> V C H Kent 1, 1908, 370-3 (R A Smith) (OS Card Reference). SKE50713.

<3> Arts in Early England 4, 1915, 733-7 (G B Brown) (OS Card Reference). SKE37367.

<4> Catalogue of the WM Gibbs Bequest of the A S Ants from Faversham 1871 (C Roach Smith) (OS Card Reference). SKE38744.

<5> The Reliquary 13, 1872-3, 141 (G Bedo) (OS Card Reference). SKE50498.

<6> F1 ASP 02.08.63 (OS Card Reference). SKE41885.

<7> Gaz of Early A S Burial Sites 1964, 118-119 (A L S Meaney) (OS Card Reference). SKE43493.

<8> Field report for monument TR 06 SW 16 - August, 1963 (Bibliographic reference). SKE5291.

Sources and further reading

Related records