Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Early-medieval cemetery. At least 60 graves recorded burial goods include stone and iron implements, bronze brooches, a shield boss, three urns, beads, fibula, a whetstone (3) and a Romano- British jug.

The site lies on the mid to lower west-north-west facing slope of a Downland spur, overlooking the Darent valley. OD 45-50m. Chalk bedroc

Monument Types

• CEMETERY (CEMETERY, Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon - 410 AD to 1065 AD)

Associated Finds

• BEAD (Unknown date)
• BROOCH (Unknown date)
• CINERARY URN (Undated)
• HUMAN REMAINS (Undated)
• LITHIC IMPLEMENT (Unknown date)
• SHIELD BOSS (Unknown date)
• WHETSTONE (Unknown date)
• JUG (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)

Full description

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[Area centred TQ 5975 6935] An Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Darenth uncovered during 1866-68, extends a quarter of a mile in length, beingsome 200 yards broad. It is situated between the Home for Little Boys and the site of cottages, N of the railway embankment. Graves were first found in 1866 when 11 skeletons were found lying parallel, heads facing West. In 1867 4 or 5 graves were opened close to the railway embankment. R. Coates (3) recorded 8 graves which he saw opened. Later in 1867 about 11 more graves were opened with numerous grave goods. Nearly every skeleton had a knife near the left hip. In 1867-8, Spurrell (1) watched the exacavations and recorded about 60 graves on the embank- ment of the railway. They were shallow cut, lay E-W in chalk and where not devoid of relics were poorly furnished. Finds now in Maidstone Museum, include stone and iron implements, bronze brooches, a shield boss, three urns, beads (2), fibula, a whetstone (3) and a Romano- British jug, the inclusion of which points to an early date.(4) (1-4) The site of the burial ground falls in a typical position on the falsecrest of a ridge overlooking the R Darenth. As suggested by auth 1 it can be centred at TQ 5675 6935, i.e. halfway between the Home for Little Boys and the houses in New Road constructed in c1866-8 (date tablets still to be seen), and alongside the railway.(2) (5) Chronological account of the discovery of the cemetery. (6) Account by R.P. Coates on the discovery of Anglo-Saxon skeletons fromautumn 1866 - 1st June 1867. (7) Account of photographs exhibited by R.P.Coates of the early interments at Darenth, Kent. (8)

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

<1> Arch Cant 18 1889 314 (FCJ Spurrell) (OS Card Reference). SKE34775.

<2> VCH Kent 1 1908 377 (RA Smith) (OS Card Reference). SKE50859.

<3> Gents Mag (Arch Pt II) 1886 185-6 (CR Smith) (OS Card Reference). SKE43581.

<4> Arch of Kent 1930 224 (RF Jessup) (OS Card Reference). SKE36895.

<5> F1 AC 04.08.60 (OS Card Reference). SKE41752.

<6> Gaz of Early AS Burial sites 1964 124 (A Meaney) (OS Card Reference). SKE43536.

<7> Arch J 24 1867 281-2 (RP Coates) (OS Card Reference). SKE36603.

<8> Arch J 25 1868 94 (RP Coates) (OS Card Reference). SKE36604.

<9> Field report for monument TQ 56 NE 6 - August, 1960 (Bibliographic reference). SKE2868.

Sources and further reading