Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Roman cremations were found disturbed and reburied within an Anglo-Saxon cemetery.

Monument Types

• CREMATION CEMETERY (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)

Full description

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An Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Gilton, Ash, was dug into at various times but mainly between 1760-3 by Faussett, who uncovered 106 graves. A 7th century date is probable but continuity with the previous period is seen in the generally late date of the Roman objects found. In six graves, Romano-British cremations (1st to 3rd century [with some Patchgrove pottery?]) had been disturbed and carefully reburied. (Finds in Liverpool and Canterbury Museums). (1-5)

From the National Heritage List for England:

List entry Description
Summary of Monument
Anglo-Saxon inhumation cemetery, 78m ESE of Mill Cottage.

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 78m ESE of Mill Cottage survives well. The limits of the Anglo-Saxon cemetery are not yet known and as such it retains potential for the recovery of further 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 prevailing at the time.

History
See Details.

Details
This record was the subject of a minor enhancement on 16 March 2015. 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 archaeological remains. It is situated on a south-east facing slope overlooking a tributary of Wingham River at Guilton.

Partial excavation since the mid 18th century has recorded over 100 Anglo-Saxon inhumations, many in stone coffins and including grave goods, and several Romano-British cremation burials. The inhumations largely have their feet to the east although a small number are recorded as having feet to the north. The site has only been part-excavated and the cemetery is likely to contain further, as yet, unrecorded burials. It is thought to date to about the 7th century AD.

The cemetery was discovered in the 18th century when burials were found in the side of a sandpit, prompting excavations by the antiquarian Rev. Bryan Faussett in 1759-60. The results were published, alongside those of other Anglo-Saxon cemeteries, in Charles Roach Smith’s ‘Inventorium Sepulchrale’ of 1856. In six graves, Romano-British cremations had been disturbed and carefully reburied. Further finds were made in the late 18th century, 19th century, and in the mid 20th century. Among the most notable grave goods was a gilt silver sword pommel, dating to about the 6th century, with a runic inscription. In the 1970s a further burial was uncovered 2m below-ground, which contained a female inhumation with part of a necklace and gold brooch. An archaeological watching brief for a sewage pipe across the garden of Guilton Mill in 1987 located a large 18th or 19th century pit but produced no traces of Anglo-Saxon features. (6)

<1> Invent Sepul 1856 1-34 (B Faussett) (OS Card Reference). SKE44494.

<2> Nen Brit 1793 25ff (J Douglas) (OS Card Reference). SKE47524.

<3> Arts in Early England 4 1915 705-6 (GB Brown) (OS Card Reference). SKE37365.

<4> VCH Kent 1 1908 352-4 (RA Smith) (OS Card Reference). SKE50846.

<5> Medieval Architecture 2 1958 65 (S Chadwick) (OS Card Reference). SKE46852.

<6> Historic England, National Heritage List for England (Index). SKE29372.

Sources and further reading

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