Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Early Medieval cemetery. Excavations in 1954 and 1978, in conjunction with a chance find in 1881, have revealed 5 graves, and scatters of bone in the limited trenches suggests the cemetery's extent. Grave goods with one or two inhumations found in 1978 include a unique 5th century glass bowl with Christian monogram of the Chi-Rho type which cannot, however, prove this to have been a Christian burial.

The site lies at the crest of the steep south facing slope of a chalk ridge, overlooking a dry valley leading to the Darent Valley 1.5km to the west. Bedrock chalk overlaid by brown clay loam and hill-wash. OD 55-59m.

Monument Types

• INHUMATION CEMETERY (INHUMATION CEMETERY, Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon - 410 AD? to 599 AD?)

Associated Finds

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

Full description

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[TQ566729] Anglo-Saxon burial found in grounds of either Darenth or Southern Hospital about 1953. Finds at British Museum.(1) Anglo-Saxon grave discovered while laying a telephone cable in the grounds of the Darenth and Stone Hospital (N.G.R. 531735). A number of nondescript fragments of human bones were found with a square headed brooch of Leeds type B6 dateable to the last quarter of the sixth century, and fragments of one or possibly two bronze bowls. The grave was investigated by Bruce Mitford and the finds are in the B.M. (Reg.No.1954, 12.4,1); the site is now mostly buried under a large earth bank. [Note: The N.G.R. given is wrong. The hospital mentioned is part of a group centred TQ 570 725]. (2) Mr. Rumble Resident Engineer at Darenth Park Hospital is aware of the find, but has no idea where it was made. Mrs. King, Secretary to the Physician General of the Hospital, holds the file on the find, but this does not give any siting evidence beyond that already given by Authority 2. The gatekeeper at the lodge at the Main Entrance of the Hospital said the burial spot was indicated by two G.P.O. manhole covers just inside the gates (at TQ 56537294) but this does not agree with Authority 2's statement that the site is now largely buried beneath a large bank. The spot indicated is in the roadway, against the boundary wall, within the grounds. No other informants could be located.(3) TQ 566729. Excavations in 1954 and 1978, in conjunction with a chance find in 1881, have revealed 5 graves, and scatters of bone in the limited trenches suggests the cemetery's extent. Grave goods with one or two inhumations found in 1978 include a unique 5th century glass bowl with Christian monogram of the Chi-Rho type which cannot, however, prove this to have been a Christian burial. (4-6) Scheduled monument 380. (7) In March 1998 a watching brief during the instillation of a Thames Water pipeline within the scheduled area, located and excavated a shallow EM grave, 2 Cu alloy objects were retrieved, a button brooch and pair of tweesers all were L C5. (8)No features were observed in the pipelie north or south of the SAM.

Site of Anglo-Saxon cemetery. Excavations in 1954 and 1978, in conjunctioin with a chance find in 1881, have revealed five graves, snd scatters of bone in the limited trenches have given a terminus indication of the cemetery's extent. Grave goods, including a unique 5th century glass bowl with Christian monogram which accompanied the inhumation.
The scheduled area is rectangular. Most of it is a ploughed field . A strip along the nourthern edge is landscaped grass flanking the Darenth Park Hospital Drive. A strip on the western edge is a walkway. There is a post in the ploughed part surrounded by rough glass.
Site still ploughed field with a line of mature trees and grass verge flanking the hospital drive to north. (12)

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 some disturbance in the past, the Anglo-Saxon inhumation cemetery at Fleet-Downs survives well. There has been only limited excavation on the site and therefore retains potential for the further recovery of burials and grave goods. The site will contain archaeological and environmental information relating to the cemetery, the material culture of those buried and the landscape in which the cemetery was constructed.
History

See Details.
Details

This record was the subject of a minor enhancement on 30 July 2014. The 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 a south-west facing slope at Fleet-Downs near Dartford.

Partial excavation has identified at least five inhumation burials with associated grave goods. Scatters of bone in the excavation trenches have given a terminus indication of the cemetery’s extent. It is thought to date to the fifth century AD. The site has only been part-excavated and the cemetery is likely to contain further, as yet, unrecorded burials.

The cemetery was discovered in 1881. It was partially excavated in 1954, 1978 and 1988. The grave goods included a square headed brooch and fragments of one or possibly two bronze bowls. The most notable find was a fifth century glass bowl with a Chi-Rho symbol and abbreviated Latin inscription. In 1998 a watching brief for the laying of a water pipe recorded a further burial, together with a button brooch and pair of tweezers dating to the 5th century.(13)

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

<1> M.Bruce Mitford. (OS Card Reference). SKE46225.

<2> Corr 6' (P.J.Tester 1957) (OS Card Reference). SKE39257.

<3> Arch. Cant. Vol. 70, 1956 pp 187-191 photo (D.M.Wilson) (OS Card Reference). SKE37100.

<4> F1 ASP 29-JUL-60 (OS Card Reference). SKE42346.

<5> Arch Cant 70 1956 187-191 (OS Card Reference). SKE35468.

<6> DOE (IAM) Rec Form 30.10.79 (OS Card Reference). SKE40719.

<7> Kent Arch Review 53 1978 60-1 (OS Card Reference). SKE45858.

<8> Arch Excvs 1973 14 (HMSO G W Meates) (OS Card Reference). SKE36505.

<9> English Heritage SAMs, Kent (1992) 9 (OS Card Reference). SKE41635.

<10> Field report for monument TQ 57 SE 29 - July, 1960 (Bibliographic reference). SKE3066.

<11> Untitled Source, CAT WB on Thames Water Pipeline, Gore Rd Darenth (Unpublished document). SKE6451.

<12> English Heritage, Register of Scheduled Monuments (Scheduling record). SKE16191.

<13> Historic England, National Heritage List for England (Index). SKE29372.

<14> Audrey Meaney, 1964, Gazetteer of Early Anglo Saxon Burial Sites (Monograph). SKE32125.

<15> R.M. Walsh, Arch Cant 1980, 1980, Anglo-Saxon Cemetery, Darenth Park Hospital, Dartford (Article in serial). SKE29332.

<16> Kent Archaeological Society, 1981, Archaeologia Cantiana vol. 96, pp305-320 (Article in serial). SKE53738.

<17> Dartford District Archaeological Group, 1986, Rediscovering Dartford, 14-17,50 (Article in serial). SKE52248.

Sources and further reading