Exploring Kent's Past

It should not be assumed that this site is publicly accessible and it may be on private property. Do not trespass.

Monument details

Summary

Excavations in 1983-5 at Snargate/Adrian Street by Kent Archaeological Rescue Unit revealed a Roman child inhumation burial (location accurate to the nearest 1m based on available information).

Monument Types

• INHUMATION (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)

Associated Finds

• NAIL (Roman - 150 AD? to 250 AD?)

Full description

If you do not understand anything on this page please contact us.

Excavations in 1983-5 at Snargate/Adrian Street by Kent Archaeological Rescue Unit revealed number of burial dating to the Roman Period. Burial 1 was an inhumation burial laid in a sub-rectangular gravel cut into the fill of a Roman terrace. Its axis was north-south, its length slightly greater than 1.32m and its width and depth were both about 60cm. The sides were vertical and the base flat. The partial skeleton of a child with only the skull and the legs remaining was laid supine and without grave goods. Two corroded iron nails were found behind the skull and may have helped secure the lid of a coffin. The original skeletal length is estimated at about 1m and the femur about 21cm suggesting a child aged between 7-12 years. This burial is part of a Roman Cemetery but pre dates the cremation burial which is in its immediate vicinity. (1-2)

<1> Brian Philp, 1980, List of sites excavated by KARU in the 1980's (Unpublished document). SKE31839.

<2> Brian Philp, 2014, Discoveries and Excavations Across Kent, 1970-2014 (Monograph). SKE32015.

Sources and further reading

Related records