Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

A number of ring ditches and rectangular enclosures are located near St. Giles Church in Sarre. The ring ditches are thought to be the site of a Bronze Age barrow but are also situated close to the Anglo Saxon burial ground. As such it has been suggested that it is possible that the barrow was constructed or used during the use of the cemetery and may contain a royal burial. Of the three rectangular enclosures, one is double ditched and appears to have an association with St. Giles church. The features appear as cropmarks in aerial photographs.

Monument Types

• DITCH (Bronze Age - 2350 BC? to 701 BC?)
• ENCLOSURE (Bronze Age - 2350 BC? to 701 BC?)

Full description

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[Centred TR 261651] Cropmarks (ring ditches and enclosures). (1)

The ground has been freshly ploughed: nothing was visible. (2)

TR 260651 (accurate to within 50m only) Cropmarks indicating site of Bronze Age barrow. Site no. 138. At TR 262651 and TR 262653 cropmarks indicate the sites of enclosures. Site no. 139 and 141. (3)

Tr 26236523. Three large rectangular enclosures, two of them superimposed (one is double ditched and coincides with the site of St. Giles church, TR 26 NE 12). The third enclosure has a smaller enclosure within its entrance, to the west. At TR 25996506 a further two ring ditches, one incomplete. Close to the site of Anglo Saxon Burial Ground, TR 26 NE 11. (4)

TR 260651. A circular ditched enclosure (barrow) and a semi-circular marking with aother features appear as cropmarks in aerial photographs. While the round barrow may well be Bronze Age burials with which the nearby Jutish cemetery of Sarre is associated, it is quite possible also that it was constructed (or adapted) during the use of the cemetery and may contain a royal burial. The other marking offers no immediate explanation other than it being a site of a medieval pot mill or some hitherto unencountered Saxon grave structure. These features do not appear to have been discoveredduring the 19th century excavations. (5)

Thanet cropmark plot shows a series of pits and curvilinear features at TR 2607 6504, RCHME AP shows 2 adjacent ring ditches, one incomplete. (6)

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

<1> AP (CUC AAX 3-7 13 6 64) (OS Card Reference). SKE33338.

<2> F1 ASP 19-FEB-65 (OS Card Reference). SKE42181.

<3> Thanet The Arch Heritage c 1982 9 (Thanet Dist Council and Isle of Thanet Arch Unit) (OS Card Reference). SKE49882.

<4> AP (CUC BMT 84-8 4 6 73) (OS Card Reference). SKE33400.

<5> Isle of Thanet Arch Unit Sites and Mons Archive 1988 Record no 138 (OS Card Reference). SKE44693.

<6> Field report for monument TR 26 NE 28 - February, 1965 (Bibliographic reference). SKE5827.

<7> Trust for Thanet Archaeology, Thanet SMR, cropmark plot. (Miscellaneous Material). SKE6443.

Sources and further reading