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

with a Report on the Human Remains 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 Hill Tumulus. It was unfortunately not possible to excavate it scientifically, 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 hollow. 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.

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 consolidated, had dropped away to the loft, leaving the lower jaw in its place. The skull was much broken in excavation and before the writer reached the site, as it was not realized a burial was to be expected. 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 small rough piece of ironstone probably from the Hythe Beds towards the coast. This was found at the feet. The fragments of the skull, 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 line. It had a slight curvature which would have made its length slightly longer.

The skeleton was surrounded by a blackish layer but with no evidence of fire. A strong unpleasant smell was noticed in the morning after the interment had been covered by a waterproof sheet all 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 small carnivore (dog or fox). Other objects found were small fragments of a small 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 J in. long, not of an antique type, with bronze ferrule and one bronze rivet; and four 2-in. iron (? coffin) nails 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 small slab of ironstone— a rounded seaworn mass—and a large rolled 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. GAVE (Royal College of Surgeons of England).

Source.—The human remains described 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 trunk ; one of the femora is said to have measured 18$ in. in length. Shells of Helix nemoralis and Cyclostoma elegans were present.

The mutilated skull and certain vertebral and costal fragments were sent by Mr. W. P. D.Stebbing, F.S.A., to Mr. B. H. St. J. O’Neil, F.S.A., by whom they were submitted to the writer for examination and report.

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 maxillary 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 fragments were skilfully put together and the skull restored by E. J. Smith, osteological technician in the Museum of this College ; natural­size dioptographic drawings were then made of the restored skull and three such accompany this report. They depict the specimen in norma frontalis (Fig. 1), norma lateralis (Fig. 2), and norma verticalis (Fig. 3), and obviate much verbal description.

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 unobliterated. Practically the entire basis cranii 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 and moderately pronounced ; the malar bone and the zygomatic arch are laterally compressed; secondary (muscular and ligamentous) markings are nowhere very emphatic.

The skull is dolicocephalic; its glabella-inion length exceeds 200 mm. (approx. 207 mm.)—an unusual length indeed, whilst its estimated biparietal breadth is some 156 mm.; the cephalic index is approxi­mately 75. The vault is fairly evenly ovoid in norma verticalis, and tapers from a maximal biparietal diameter to a narrowish and protu­berant occiput. In norma lateralis the brow appears full and vertical; the vault is of harmonious curvature with some obelionio flattening, and the occiput is markedly “ bossed ” and prominent. The face is short and straight (orthagnathous) with relatively small, rectangular orbits and a narrow (or but moderately wide) apertura pyriformis. The palate appears to have been small and relatively narrow, though well-arched inferiorly. Presumably a full complement of maxillary and mandibular teeth was retained in situ at death, since when the mandibular right premolars have been lost. All 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 “ bite ” 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 collum mandibulae.

Sex and Stature.—The balance of the anatomical evidence available suggests a male aged perhaps 25-35 years and approximately 5 ft. 7 in. in stature.

Racial.—The cranium is unusually large and full in comparison with the facial skeleton, but the various morphological features of this skull proclaim it as “ancient British.” The dolicocephaly, the peculiarly “ bossed ” occiput, the details of the face and mandible, the condition of wear and “ bite ” of the teeth are all points in favour of assigning the specimen to the late British (pre-Roman) period.