Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Large Anglo-Saxon cemetery first discovered by aerial photography and then excavated in 1976 and 1989. Known locally as Updown cemetery the graves were aligned west to east, many with enclosing ditches. A rescue excavation in 1976 by Hawkes at the south side revealed 36 graves, at least 12 of which had ditches 4.5 to 7 metres in diameter. Other ditches may have been destroyed by ploughing. There was no trace of either barrows or other structural features. Similar clusters of ditch-enclosed graves occur elsewhere in the cemetery. The majority of the graves are of men and children, mostly in coffins and with grave goods. The male graves yielded a Frankish pottery vessel, shield boss, spears and buckles. The children's, mostly girls, contained a disc-brooch, thread box, buckle, silver pin, gold bracteate, gilt coin and beads of amethyst and glass. All graves date from the second half of the 7th century and could be associated with the royal villa at Eastry. Further excavations in 1989 during the construction of the Eastry Bypass found 41 more graves, mostly widely spaced on a west-east axis, at least 8 with enclosing ditches, others possibly ploughed away. A sample of excavated graves showed a mix of genders plus possible family groups (adults and children or pairs of adults). Grave goods were absent or modest but included spears, knives, beads, latch lifters, shears, bangles, pins etc plus pottery and glass vessels. The finds in this area were generally poorer than elsewhere in cemetery. Dated to 2nd half 7th century AD.

The site lies on a very gentle north-west facing Chalk slope. OD 25-30m.

Monument Types

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

Associated Finds

• BEAD (Undated)
• BOX (Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon - 650 AD to 700 AD)
• BRACTEATE (Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon - 650 AD to 700 AD)
• BUCKLE (Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon - 650 AD to 700 AD)
• COFFIN (Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon - 650 AD to 700 AD)
• COIN (Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon - 650 AD to 700 AD)
• DISC BROOCH (Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon - 650 AD to 700 AD)
• PIN (Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon - 650 AD to 700 AD)
• SHIELD BOSS (Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon - 650 AD to 700 AD)
• SPEAR (Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon - 650 AD to 700 AD)
• VESSEL (Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon - 650 AD to 700 AD)

Full description

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[TR 311 537] Large cemetery north of Sangrado's Wood. (1)

Crop marks found by aerial photography (a), about 3 miles north west of Deal, seem to show a large cemetery with scores of graves, possibly Christian. Scheduled. (2)

A large cemetery (known locally as Updown) with the graves aligned west to east, many with pennanular ditches. A rescue excavation in 1976 by S. Hawkes at the south side revealed 36 graves, at least 12 of which had ditches 4.5 to 7 metres in diameter. Other ditches may have been destroyed by ploughing. There was no trace of either barrows or structural features. Similar clusters of ditch-enclosed graves occur elsewhere in the cemetery. The majority of the graves are of men and children, mostly coffined and with grave goods. The male graves yielded a Frankish pottery vessel, shield boss, spears and buckles. The children's, mostly girls, contained a disc-brooch, thread box, buckle, silver pin, gold bracteate, gilt coin and beads of amethyst and glass. All graves date from the second half of the 7th century and could be associated with the royal villa at Eastry. (3)(4)

Aerial photo evidence (5,6)

Excavation in advance of road construction at N limit of cemetery by KARU in 1989 (at TR 3115 5373). 41 graves revealed, mostly widely spaced on W-E axis, at least 8 with enc ditches, others poss ploughed away. Sample of excavated graves showed mix of genders plus poss family groups (adults and children or pairs of adults). Grave goods absent or modest but inc spears, knives, beads, latch lifters, shears, bangles, pins etc plus pottery and glass vessels. Generally poorer than elsewhere in cemetery. Dated to 2nd half 7th C. (7,8,10). (Note 7 and 10 are duplicate sources).

From the Register of Scheduled Monuments:

Cropmarks found by aerial photography seem to show a large cemetery with scores of graves. A few within circular ditches possibly Christian. Cemetery excavated by Mrs J. Hawkes (9)


Summary of Monument

Anglo-Saxon inhumation cemetery.
Reasons for Designation

Beginning in the fifth century AD, there is evidence from distinctive burials and cemeteries, new settlements, and new forms of pottery and metalwork, of the immigration into Britain of settlers from northern Europe, bringing with them new religious beliefs. The Roman towns appear to have gone into rapid decline and the old rural settlement pattern to have been disrupted. Although some Roman settlements and cemeteries continued in use, the native Britons rapidly adopted many of the cultural practices of the new settlers and it soon becomes difficult to distinguish them in the archaeological record. So-called Anglo-Saxon cemeteries are dated to the early Anglo-Saxon period, from the fifth to the seventh centuries AD. With the conversion to Christianity during the late sixth and seventh centuries AD, these pagan cemeteries appear to have been abandoned in favour of new sites, some of which have continued in use up to the present day. Burial practices included both inhumation and cremation. Anglo-Saxon inhumation cemeteries consist predominantly of inhumation burials which were placed in rectangular pits in the ground, occasionally within coffins. The bodies were normally accompanied by a range of grave goods, including jewellery and weaponry. The cemeteries vary in size, the largest containing several hundred burials. Around 1000 inhumation cemeteries have been recorded in England. They represent one of our principal sources of archaeological evidence about the Early Anglo-Saxon period, providing information on population, social structure and ideology. All surviving examples, other than those which have been heavily disturbed, are considered worthy of protection.

Despite cultivation on the site in the past, the Anglo-Saxon inhumation cemetery 520m north-west of Updown House survives well. The cemetery has only been partially excavated and retains potential for the recovery of further burials and grave goods. The site will contain archaeological information and environmental evidence relating to the cemetery and the landscape in which it was constructed.
History

See Details.
Details

This record has been generated from an "old county number" (OCN) scheduling record. These are monuments that were not reviewed under the Monuments Protection Programme and are some of our oldest designation records.

The monument includes an Anglo-Saxon inhumation cemetery surviving as buried remains. It is situated on the north-west facing slope of a valley south of Eastry.

The burials are generally aligned west-east and some are surrounded by circular or penannular ditches. The cemetery is visible as crop marks on aerial photographs. These include at least nine ring ditches as well as numerous pits concentrated in an area 52m by 32m. The ring ditches vary between 7m and 13m in diameter. Two ring ditches appear to have pits at their centre.

Partial excavation was carried out on or in the vicinity of the site in 1976 and 1989. The 1976 excavation was at the south side of the cemetery and uncovered 36 graves of which at least 12 had surrounding ditches of 4.5m to 7m diameter. There was no trace of barrows or structural features. The burials were predominantly male adults or infants and most were buried in coffins and included grave goods. The adult graves contained spears, buckles, a shield boss and a Frankish pottery vessel. The infant graves contained a disc-brooch, thread box, buckle, silver pin, gold bracteate, gilt coin and beads of amethyst and glass. The 1989 excavation was carried out in advance of road construction at the limit of the cemetery on that side and revealed 41 burials, including at least eight with enclosure ditches. Grave goods were either absent from burials or relatively modest and altogether poorer than those uncovered elsewhere in the cemetery. They included spears, knives, beads, latch lifters, shears, bangles, pins, pottery and glass vessels. The cemetery is thought to date to the second half of the seventh century AD.

Further archaeological remains, such as crop marks of rectilinear enclosures and trackways, survive in the vicinity of this site but are not included because they have not been formally assessed.(11)

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

<1> Med Arch 21 1977 209 (LE Webster and J Cherry) (OS Card Reference). SKE46754.

<2> Ant 48 1974 213-5 plate (JK St Joseph) (OS Card Reference). SKE33118.

<3> Arch Cant 92 1974 247 (SC Hawkes) (OS Card Reference). SKE36065.

<4> KAR 51 1978 21 (OS Card Reference). SKE45358.

<5> AP (NMR TR 3153/1 2 3 76) (OS Card Reference). SKE33706.

<6> AP (NMR TR 3053/4 7 3 78) (OS Card Reference). SKE33694.

<7> Not applicable, SMR Kent uncatalogued index entry, KAR 100 (1990) J Wilson p.229 (Miscellaneous Material). SKE6440.

<8> Kent Archaeological Rescue Unit, 2002, The Anglo-Saxon cemetery on the Eastry Bypass (Bibliographic reference). SKE13565.

<9> English Heritage, Register of Scheduled Monuments (Scheduling record). SKE16191.

<10> Willson, J., 1990, Rescue excavations on the Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Eastry 1989 (Article in serial). SWX7642.

<11> Historic England, National Heritage List for England (Index). SKE29372.

Sources and further reading