Romano-British Internments at Lower Walmer

rrhawkgia dtettfiatw. ROMANO-BRITISH INTERMENTS AT LOWER WALMER. BY CUMBERLAND H. WOODRUEP, E.S.A. IN the early part of the present year (1901) an interesting and extensive discovery of Romano-British sepulchral remains was made near the shore at Lower Walmer. Upon visiting the spot with my brother, the Rev. 0. E. Woodruff, we found that a group of vessels, representing several distinct interments, had been unearthed by the workmen engaged in laying out additional gardens at Walmer Lodge. We are indebted to Mr. J. B. Walker, the superintendent of the works, for his courtesy in describing the circumstances of the discovery, and for giving us every facility for the inspection of the remains. The site of the interments is about fifty yards to the south of the house, on the low ground, formerly pasture, adjoining, and only on a slightly higher level than, the Castle meadows. The soil is of a dark and peaty nature. Traces of decayed vegetable matter and sedge adhered to some of the objects, shewing that swampy ground had been chosen as a place of sepulture. TOL. xxy, B 2 ROMANO-BRITISH INTERMENTS The first discovery appears to have been an isolated one, for on the 4th of January a patera of Samian ware (No. 14) was dug up about twenty yards to the south of the spot where the bulk of the subsequent discovery was made. A few weeks later, at a depth not exceeding eighteen inches, the labourers came upon the large earthen vessel (No. 1 in the descriptive list below). Within this, which appears to have been broken but not crushed before it had been disturbed, were a beautiful two-handled glass vase (No. 2) containing cremated bones, a vase of light red clay with narrow neck and handle, and a dish of Samian ware (Nos. 3 and 4). Within a radius of four yards from this principal deposit were grouped several other vessels, but no measurements of the precise distances of the graves from each other were taken, and no accurate account of the exact position of the remains was available. Upon our visit we found that the nature of the work in hand had necessitated a considerable alteration of levels, and consequently an obliteration of much that would have helped us to form an accurate estimate of the relative position of the objects discovered, They probably represent three or four distinct graves; in one case the smaller vessels had been enclosed in a large jar similar to, but smaller than No. 1, of which some fragments alone remain. A few days later Mr. Walker, thinking that these discoveries had not exhausted all that might lie hid beneath the soil, made some special excavations, and about twenty feet to the south of the interments described above, came upon several graves from which about sixteen other vessels, whole or fragmentary, were taken. The entire find consists of what must AT LOWER WALMER. 3 have been originally about forty separate vessels, and represents at least ten or twelve distinct funeral deposits. The area of the cemetery already investigated is probably only a small part of the whole, and it is matter of regret that wider excavations, conducted on a more scientific plan, should not have been undertaken. Mr. Walker, however, informed me that the work of laying out the grounds at Walmer Lodge had so far advanced that it would be inconvenient to interfere with it in any way. The fictile ware from the Walmer graves is of a good, though not uncommon type. Several of the vessels owe their origin to the potteries on the banks of the Medway at Upchurch. One of the vases (No. 10) recalls to a certain extent the type found in the late Celtic cemetery at Aylesford, but would not of course by itself be sufficient to suggest any inference as to the early period of the deposits. The vase, even if it were of late Celtic date, may have been in use for many years before it became a sepulchral vessel. The beautiful two-handled globular vase of light green glass demands more special notice. This was perfect when extracted from the large enclosing earthen vessel, but in removing the contents Mr. Walker unfortunately made a hole through the thin glass of the bowl. It will be seen from the illustration that rarely has a Romano-British cemetery yielded a glass vessel of such classic beauty of contour. Our Kentish burial-grounds have produced various types of glass, which have been figured in our Journal and in Mr. George Payne's Collectanea Cantiana. Perhaps the nearest approach to the Walmer vase came from Westborough in the parish of Maidstone. The late Mr. Beale Poste described B 2 4 ROMANO-BRITISH INTERMENTS the objects found there in the year 1859 in Archceologia Cantiana.* Among them, he says, was— "A large earthenware urn of the species called ' olla.' " I t contained a globe of green glass about ten and a " half inches in diameter, which, was filled with f rag- " ments of human bones. These glass globes are not " uncommon without handles; the present specimen, " however, had two very broad ones, set opposite to each " other, and fluted"—a feature exactly reproduced in the Walmer specimen. " I conclude the pattern of this is " rare, as I cannot find that any have been before found "of the same form." Mr. Poste goes on to record the unfortunate destruction of the "olla" and glass globe by the stroke of a mattock. So far as I could learn, the only objects in addition to the pottery and glass unearthed consisted of two thin bronze discs (No. 35), of a type which, in default of a better explanation, has been relegated by antiquaries to the class of horse-trappings, and an iron plummet-shaped object which is too much corroded for any but the most conjectural diagnosis. The discovery of Roman remains at this precise locality affords evidence on one or two points of interest. Some writers have supposed that the great barrier of beach, accumulated by the prevailing southwest winds, which protects the low-lying lands from Walmer to Deal and beyond, could not have existed in Roman times, and that the sea then flowed some distance inland; but these interments indicate that tho shore lands were protected then as now, though * Vol. II., p. 147, AT LOWER WALMER. 5 probably by a much thinner line of shingle.* Nor could the level of these meadows have differed materially in ancient and recent times. The mouth of the large urn was about eighteen inches from the surface; it would hardly have been buried at a less, and probably not at a much greater depth. Such physical conditions prevailing in Roman and modern times, there could have been little difference in the Saxon period, and herein lies, I think, the true explanation of the place name—Walmer, that is, " the mere by the wall." The great wall of shingle, like a railway embankment, extending from Walmer Castle to Walmer Lodge, and the low swampy land thus guarded, still liable to be turned into a morass in wet weather, formed the striking features which impressed the early Saxon or Jutish colonists before their settlements had become established on the higher ground. Local writers have imagined a Roman vallum, to account for the first syllable of the name, and have made the sea stand sponsor for the second. But the source of this is clearly " mere," as in " Margate," where similar conditions prevailed. .Further, these interments, taken with others in the neighbourhood, afford evidence as to the course of the ancient British coast-road or trackway, used later by the Romans, from Dover to a settlement on the estuary of the Wantsum, probably on or near the site of Stonore. The line of the Walmer graves ran north and south, parallel with, and by the side of the present road. * It has often been stated that tho great bank, extending from Walmer Castle to Sandown, is artificial. Leland, iu his Itinerary,says : "Deal is upon a flat shore, and very open to the se, wher is a fosse or great bank, artificial." But the law of eastward drift seems sufficient to account for the accumulation of shingle, and the proof that it existed at a very remote period would raise a further presumption in favour of a natural origin. Possibly at Deal the bank may have been added to artificially. 6 ROMANO-BRITISH INTERMENTS This runs, if we pursue its direction southward, along the glen behind Walmer Castle, where, at a distance of a few yards to the westward, at St. Mildred's, the Roman or late Celtic remains, described by Mr. Elvin in his Records of Walmer,* were discovered, and where a trench containing Roman remains, found in digging the foundations of the new Church, points to the existence of a settlement not far off. The road passes along Knight's Bottom, and farther on is now diverted to the left to lead to Kingsdown, but can still be traced as an occupation-way running below the Eree Down in the parish of Ringwould, on the summit of which, and conspicuous to the wayfarer, stand the two Celtic tumuli explored by the writer in 1872. Although these interments are of a date almost certainly prior to the Roman occupation, yet I think the practice of cremation there adopted undoubtedly points to Roman influence; and assuming that the road is older than the barrows, for the Britons must have found the need of a coast-road before they borrowed Roman funeral practices, the site chosen for the barrows by the side of a highway may also indicate an imitation of Roman customs. Erom the foot of the Eree Down the track passes to the east of Oxney, pointing directly towards Dover. Northwards from Walmer the road takes its course along the shore just inside the line of beach, and we may note that its existence determined the peculiar arrangement of the modern town of Deal. In the earlier stages of tho town's history this portion of tho road was known as the Sea Valley, and in more recent days as Lower Street.f Beyond Deal we can * Pages 34, 35. f Hence the origin of the name Deal, that is, Dale. AT LOWER WALMER. 7 follow the trackway along the sand-hills over the marshes towards Sandwich—a route taken by the highway until modern times, when the road was carried farther inland. The discovery of a hoard of Roman coins in the sand-hills near Sandown Castle and close to this old road, and of other remains of that period in the neighbourhood, proves that there, too, dry land existed at least in Roman times.* We may observe how admirably adapted for coast defence this ancient road, near the shore but rarely visible from the sea, must have proved. Such a road must almost of necessity have been constructed for the use of the British chariots, of which we know from Csesar's account a great number took part in resisting his invasion. The antiquity of these chariots, carrying back with it by natural inference the antiquity of the road, is testified to by the diary of Pytheas of Marseilles, a Greek traveller who lived B.C. 330 and visited Britain, describing the British-made chariots.f I t would seem almost an impossibility for a writer on this locality to omit all reference to Cassar's landingplace ; but without venturing on the sea of speculation upon which so many have embarked, we will only observe that these discoveries tend to invalidate arguments founded on a supposed alteration of the configuration of the coast-line, and consequent variation in the set of the tides. Assuming, as we have good reason for doing, that the shore-line at the time of the Roman invasion, here at least, did not materially differ from its present course, and discarding all refinements as to winds and tides, let us give due weight to direct original evidence, to Csesar's own testimony. * See Pritchard's History of Deal, p. 265. t Archceologia, vol. xlviii., p. 228. 8 ROMANO-BRITISH INTERMENTS He tells us that after leaving his anchorage—which is generally conceded to have been off Dover—he proceeded along the coast about seven miles till he came to an open and level shore, "apertum ac planum littus." Walmer beach is the only place which exactly fulfils these conditions. I append a brief description, with measurements, of the objects discovered:— 1. Large globular vessel, roughly fashioned, of coarse light red clay. Diameter, 2 feet; height, over 2 feet. Broken when found, and the pieces forming the bottom had not been preserved. The neck, according to the usual custom, had been broken off to admit the vessels placed within (Nos. 2, 3, and 4). This jar was probably originally a wine-vessel of the class known as Series. A Seria was smaller than the Dolium and larger than the usual size of the Amphora. Terence says, " Belevi dolia omnia omnes serias" (BZeaut., iii., 1. 51). 2. A two-handled vase of light green glass (enclosed in No. 1). Height, l i f inches ; diameter %\ inches, at mouth 4$ inches. This fine vessel is of globular form, with wide neck, increasing in size as it meets the globe. The handles are wide and massive, and are formed of three convex moulded bands. The glass, with the exception of the rim, handles, and base, is very thin. [See PLATE.] 3. A bottle-shaped vessel of light red clay, with narrow neck and handle (enclosed in No. 1). Height, 7 inches; diameter, 4J inches. 4. Patera of Samian* ware (enclosed in No. 1). Diameter, 7 inches. Stamped in the centre with the maker's name, Prudani (?). 5. Bottle-shaped vase of light clay, with narrow neck and handle. Height, 6 inches ; diameter, 4£ inches. * It has been the fashion lately to call this ware pseudo-Samian, but I can see no good reason why the old name should not be retained, so long as it does not convey the impression that it was made, as its prototype originally was, in the island of Samos. We do not think it necessary to speak of our carpets as pseudo-Brussels! •yaiAinvM ____MOI woad SNIVIAISH Hsu.i_a-ONvv.o_ _ f i _ - .,.-..-..,,._ »mn«_nii»i«m , -^, . ';*.. dgaMHW***te*BW • m i l ROMANO-BRITISH GLASS VASE FROM LOWER WALMER. AT LOWER WALMER. 9 6. Wide-mouthed urn-vase of Upchurch ware. Height, 8 _ inches; diameter 7 inches, at mouth &i inches. This urn, with Nos. 7, 8, and 9, contained cremated bones. 7. Urn-vase of Upchurch ware. Of the same dimensions as No. 6. 8. Another similar urn, in fragments, ornamented with an arrangement of dots. 9. Another in fragments. The above urns (Nos. 6—9) are ornamented with faint lines crossing diagonally. 10. Urn of Upchurch ware (?). Height, 6f inches; diameter at mouth 3£ inches, at widest part 5-_ inches. This vase is ornamented with a raised band in the middle and a line near the neck, and suggests the type of late Celtic pottery- A vessel of this pattern, from the collection of the late Mr. William Walter, is figured in Mr. George Payne's Collectanea Cantiana, Plate xxii. (Sec also Archceologia Cantiana, Vol. XV., p. 109.) 11. Patera of Samian ware. Diameter, 7 inches. 12. Oup of Samian ware. Height, 2|- inches; diameter (of mouth), 5 | inches. 13. Small cup of Samian ware. Height, 1-J- inches; diameter, 3 | inches. 14. Patera of Samian ware. Diameter, 6 | inches. 15. Fragments of large jar, in which sepulchral vessels had been enclosed. The following were found about twenty feet to the south of the above :— 16. Vase of dark red clay, containing cremated bones. Height, 12_ inches; diameter 8. inches, at mouth 4_ inches, at base 4-a- inches. 17. Narrow-necked bottle-shaped vase of bright red clay, with handle. Height, 111 inches ; diameter 7 inches, at mouth 2} inches, at foot 2 | inches. 1 0 ROMANO-BRITISH INTERMENTS. 18. Wide-mouthed vase of Upchurch ware. Height, 5 inches ; diameter at mouth, 4£ inches. 19. Vase of Upchurch ware (imperfect). Diameter, 5 inches. 20. Vase of Upchurch ware (imperfect). Diameter, 8J inches. 21. Small wide-mouthed vase of Upchurch ware, with line just below the neck. Height, 4§ inches ; diameter, 4_ inches. 22. Small vessel of Upchurch ware (imperfect). Height, 4f inches ; diameter, 4 inches. 23 and 24. Necks of two large bottle-shaped vases. 25. Patera of Upchurch ware. Diameter, 6 inches. 26. Patera of Samian ware, with leaf ornament round the rim. Height, 2i inches ; diameter, 9_ inches. 27. Patera of Samian ware of the same shape, and similarly ornamented, but smaller. Height, 1J inches; diameter, 6f inches. 28. Cup of Samian ware. Height, 2\ inches; diameter, 4f inches. Stamped in the centre of the inside, PRISCINVS . p. 29. Cup of Samian ware of the same pattern as the above. Height, 2 | inches ; diameter, 4_ inches. Name illegible. 30. A similar cup of the same dimensions (imperfect). Stamped . . . . ciNVS,. F (? Priscinus). 31. Patera of Samian ware, with leaf ornament on the rim. Height, l i inches; diameter, 6 | inches. 82. Patera of Samian ware, with rosette-like stamp in the centre of the inside. Diameter, 6 inches. 33. Cup of Samian ware. Height, If inches ; diameter, 4 i inches. 34. Fragments of several other vessels. 35. Two discs of thin bronze, ornamented with raised concentric circles. Diameter, 2f- inches. 36. Object of iron, much oxidized, cone-shaped, with a hole at the top. Possibly a weight.