Cherry Garden Hill Tumulus, Folkestone. Report on the human remains

( 28 ) CHERRY GARDEN HILL TUMULUS, FOLKESTONE. BY W. P. D. STEBBING, E.S.A., F.G.S. (with a Beport on the Human Bemains by Professor A. J. E. Cave, M.D.) SOME years ago it became necessary to remove a round barrow on the property of the Folkestone Waterworks Company, known as Cherry Gardens HUl Tumulus. It was unfortunately not possible to excavate it scientificaUy, but an opportunity was afforded me of obtaining particulars of burials which had been exposed and partly destroyed by workmen not under the supervision of the Company. The site is on a projecting spur of the chalk escarpment, close to and rather above the 400 foot contour. The prehistoric workers had removed a good thickness of chalk over the whole of the site, not only for the actual grave hoUow. However, part of this excavation may have been due to subsequent use of the site for later burials. In this filling in, at a level about 18 inches above the primary interment, and to the south-east, was a thin slab of Folkestone stone, broken but looking as if it had been shaped on three sides as this sketch. CO 15 The primary interment was almost in the centre of the tumulus and at an approximate depth from the top of 6 ft. 6 in. The body lay crouched on its right side orientated west and east. The left arm was across the body. The head as decay set in, and before the earth had consohdated, had dropped away to the left, leaving the lower jaw in its place. The skuU was much broken in excavation and before the writer reached the site, as it was not reahzed a burial was to be expeoted. But for this the skeleton would have been complete beyond the extensive decay of the bony substance. The only foreign object with the burial was a smaU rough piece of ironstone probably from the Hythe Beds CHERRY GARDEN TTTT.T. TUMULUS, FOLKESTONE. 29 towards the coast. This was found at the feet. The fragments of the skuU, two fragments of the upper jaw with four and five teeth respectively, the left ramus of the lower jaw with eight teeth, and twelve separate teeth were saved for an anthropological report. The occurrence of the piece of ironstone seemed worth notice. In the circumstances of the excavation it was not possible to save more of the bones. The better preserved of the femurs was measured and found to be 18-| in. long in a straight Hne. It had a sHght curvature which would have made its length sHghtly longer. The skeleton was surrounded by a blackish layer but with no evidence of fire. A strong unpleasant smeU was noticed in the morning after the interment had been covered by a waterproof sheet aU night and was first uncovered. On and about the skeleton in the loose earth were many ancient specimens of the land snails Cyclostoma (Pomatias) elegans and Helix nemoralis. To the north-east and towards the edge of the tumulus there had been a secondary burial. The excavation for this had cut through the mound to a depth of 4 ft. 5 in. and at the south-east end was cut 6 in. into the solid chalk. The approximate orientation of this was northwest and south-east. Its length as far as could be measured was only 4 ft. 6 in. but the men had cut part of it away, and dug into it to find what it contained. I saw no human bones, but fragmentary animal bones and seven teeth had been saved. The latter included ox, sheep, and a smaU carnivore (dog or fox). Other objects found were small fragments of a smaU black ware hand-made pot of indeterminate date with a rounded rim and base found in my presence, but other sherds previously found had been thrown away ; a thin-bladed knife with the end missing, 5$ in. long, not of an antique type, with bronze ferrule and one bronze rivet; and four 2-in. iron (? coffin) naUs with the ends riveted over. These last were found in my presence ; others may have been thrown away. In addition to the above finds there was a smaU slab of ironstone— a rounded seaworn mass—and a large roUed flint with a natural hole through it. REPORT ON HUMAN REMAINS FROM CHERRY GARDEN HILL TUMULUS, IX.40, NEAR FOLKESTONE. BY PROFESSOR A. J. E. CAVE (Boyal College of Surgeons of England). Source.—The human remains desoribed herein formed part of a primary crouched burial in the above tumulus. The skeleton, orientated west to east, lay on its right side, with the left arm flexed across the 30 CHERRY GARDEN HILL TUMULUS, FOLKESTONE. trunk ; one of the femora is said to have measured 18£ in. in length. Shells of Helix nemoralis and Cychstoma elegans were present. The mutUated skuU and certain vertebral and costal fragments were sent by Mr. W. P. D.Stebbing, F.S.A., to Mr. B. H. St. J. O'NeU, F.S.A., by whom they were submitted to the writer for examination and report. 120 IOO ao 60 t / 1 \ \ N lh \ / & 'A M \ >\s\ \ \ \ \ I u 6 0 I eo « — i — i LJ i i • • • • ' I I O O mm 70 40 20 O 20 40 70 FIG. 1. NORMA FRONTALIS. Material.—The material received comprised a handful of cranial fragments, the left half of the corresponding mandible, various loose teeth, two maxUlary fragments, three rib fragments, two mutilated cervical vertebrae and the right lateral mass of the atlas vertebra. None of these pieces showed any sign of burning, neither was any evidence of antemortem injury or disease apparent. The costal and vertebral fragments are relatively uninformative. The several cranial CHERRY GARDEN HELL TUMULUS, FOLKESTONE. 31 fragments were skUfuUy put together and the skuU restored by E. J. Smith, osteological technician in the Museum of this CoUege ; naturalsize dioptographic drawings were then made of the restored skuU and three such accompany this report. They depict the specimen in norma frontahs (Fig. 1), norma lateraHs (Fig. 2), and norma verticaHs (Fig. 3), and obviate much verbal description. 20 IOO J eo i • 4 0 if 20 ' , ' « > 20 40 so * — t — i — i — i — i i—i i i t * ' i — i i—i—i t i •« 11 ootim 190 160 140 120 IOO SO 60 40 20 O FIG. 2. NORMA LATERALIS. Anatomical Notes.—The (restored) skull is that of an adult, but not aged, individual, presumably a male. The coronal, sagittal and lambdoid sutures are unobhterated. PracticaUy the entire basis cranfi and facial skeleton are wanting, as is the right zygomatic arch. The (left) mastoid process is short and blunt, and its adjacent digastric fossa both wide and deep. The supraorbital eminences are discrete 32 CHERRY GARDEN HTLL TUMULUS, FOLKESTONE. and moderately pronounced ; the malar bone and the zygomatic arch are lateraUy compressed; secondary (muscular and Hgamentous) markings are nowhere very emphatic. The skuU is dohcocephaUc; its glabeUa-inion length exceeds 200mm. (approx. 207 mm.)—an unusual length indeed, whUst its estimated biparietal breadth is some 156 mm.; the cephaHc index is approximately 75. The vault is fairly evenly ovoid in norma verticaHs, and 190 60 40 120 t 100 I BO I 60 40 20 y i 70 -40 zo 20 4 0 vOmw FIG. 3. NORMA VTJRTICALIS. tapers from a maximal biparietal diameter to a narrowish and protuberant occiput. In norma lateraHs the brow appears fuU and vertical; the vault is of harmonious curvature with some obeHonio flattening, and the occiput is markedly " bossed " and prominent. The face is short and straight (orthagnathous) with relatively smaU, rectangular orbits and a narrow (or but moderately wide) apertura pyriformis. The palate appears to have been smaU and relatively narrow, though CHERRY GARDEN HELL TUMULUS, FOLKESTONE. 33 weU-arched inferiorly. Presumably a fuU complement of maxillary and mandibular teeth was retained in situ at death, since when the mandibular right premolars have been lost. AU the teeth present manifest considerable crown-attrition ; a consequent denudation of the enamel is seen in many of them (particularly in the upper and lower 1st molars) as well as evidence of physiological response in the formation of secondary dentine. The " b i t e " was of the " edge-to-edge" variety. There is no present evidence of dental or of parodontal disease. The mandible presents a long body bearing a prominent pointed chin region and a quadrangular ascending ramus, the coronoid process of which does not ascend higher than the coUum mandibulae. Sex and Stature.—The balance of the anatomical evidence avaUable suggests a male aged perhaps 25-35 years and approximately 5 ft. 7 in. in stature. Bacial.—The cranium is unusuaUy large and fuU in comparison with the facial skeleton, but the various morphological features of this skuU proclaim it as " ancient British." The doHcocephaly, the pecuHarly " bossed " occiput, the detaUs of the face and mandible, the condition of wear and " bite " of the teeth are aU points in favour of assigning the specimen to the late British (pre-Roman) period.