Clay Lane Wood, Cobham: A Bronze Age Cult Site?

In 1825, the men clearing a part of Clay Lane Wood (NGR TQ 665705), on the northern side of the Watling Street, about a mile north west of Cobham, came upon an enclosure seemingly surrounding a massive deposit of bones and bronzes.

An account by Alfred John Dunkin (1812 to 1879), founder member of the Kent Archaeological Society, appeared in the Gentleman's Magazine of 1846:

In 1825 some labourers while grubbing up a piece of Clay Lane Wood came upon an entrenchment, in the centre of which they discovered at the very least three wagon loads of human bones, mingled with leather, many metal celts, spear-heads and armour, the latter in such preservation that a suit was actually put on by one of the labourers. The bones were collected and thrown into the fosse; the earth which formed the vallum was thrown over them and the soil levelled. Some of the celts, several portions of the armour, and pieces of the weapons are preserved in a museum at Gravesend. The armour was taken to Cobham Hall by the finders, who expected a noble reward for their pains, but the then noble owner, being no archaeologist, ordered the men some refreshment and told them to take their rubbish away. After this rebuff, and knowing no collectors of antiquities, they sorted out the metal, and after breaking it into pieces sold above a bushel of it to Mr Troughton, late a Mayor of Gravesend. So bright was the metal that one of the celts was actually tested by fire to see if it were not gold, and it still bears the mark of this ill usage.

In his memoranda of Springhead and its Neighbourhood during the Primaeval Period (1848) A J Dunkin included an amplified version of the story. He wrote:

In 1825 some labourers whilst grubbing up a piece of Clay Lane came upon an entrenchment, in the centre of which they "depelated" (sic) three wagon-loads of human bones, mingled with leather, many metal celt's, spearheads and armour, the latter in such perfect preservation, that a suit was actually put on by one of the labourers, who is now (1847) living. The bones were collected and thrown into the surrounding fosse; the earth which composed the vallum was then thrown over them and the soil levelled. Some celts, several portions of the armour and pieces of the weapons are preserved in the museum of William Crafter, Esq., of Gravesend. The armour was taken to Cobham Hall by the finders, who expected a handsome reward for their pains, but they were told to take it away. After this, and knowing no collector of antiquities, they sorted out the metal, and breaking it into pieces, sold it to Mr Troughton of Gravesend, ironmonger, who consigned it to the melting pot. So bright was the metal, that one of the celts was actually tested by fire to see if it was not gold, and it still bears the marks of this ill usage. The discovery of these relics, Roman and British mingled together, clearly demonstrates that an engagement took place, and it was in Caesar's time of march, because we know that the Romans, under Aulus Plautius, occupied this part of the country. The mass of ossuaries fragments and British weapons with Roman armour incontestably prove that after the battle the slain on both sides were indiscriminately interred.

George Payne (1893, 150) cited Dunkin’s initial Gentleman’s Magazine version of the story and said that Charles Roach Smith’s notebook for 1842 recorded that some of the objects were in the possession of Mr Crafter (William Crafter) of Gravesend. William Coles Finch (1927, 310) reproduces his later notice in full. However, despite the mention of celts and spearheads, neither John Evans (1881) nor Ronald Jessup (1930) record the site, the last despite his having grown up at Gravesend.

Whether or not the deposit was in a pit is unclear. However, the human bones, mingled with leather, were with celts, spearheads and what was thought to be armour. Some of the celts were so bright that one seemed to be of gold, this was, presumably uncorroded bronze. Most of the metal went for scrap but various pieces may have found their way into a private collection. The bones were dumped into the enclosure’s ditch and the bank thrown in upon them. There they might still remain unless the site has been eradicated and built upon.

Bronze celts (celt the term for axe or adze) and spearheads have been recognised from time since the seventeenth century (Piggott, 1976, 56). Armour is, however, rare and known only from the European mainland (Coles & Harding, 1979, 375, fig.135: Harding, 2000, 285-91) and broken buckets or cauldrons (Leeds, 1930) are a possibility. Despite manifest deficiencies, the tantalising details of this earthwork enclosure, and the bronzes and bones from there, could depict a ritual enclosure which has no direct counterpart in the English series. Two Kentish sites, at Worth (Klein, 1928; Jessup, 1930, 213) and on Blue Bell Hill (Charles, 1844, 536; Detiscag, 1987, 145) have provided evidence of Iron Age cult activity, preceding Roman temples, but there is seemingly nothing earlier, although the installation on Blue Bell Hill might have been prompted by the proximity of a cave or built long barrows (Ashbee, 1993,63). In this general context it should be observed that Kent’s considerable later Bronze Age hoards (Champion, 1987,33,fig.14) are concentrated in Thanet, the northern coastal lowlands, the Hoo peninsula and Thameside. Since the inception of Bronze Age studies it has been assumed, largely because of their contexts, that these were utilitarian, but it must be stressed, we know little or nothing of their contexts and the circumstances of their discovery. Many hoards and bronzes may have been deposited in compliance with ritual procedures (Bradley, 1990, passim).

Counterparts, albeit Iron Age, to the Cobham enclosure are to be found across the Dover Straits, in the general Pas-de-Calais area. Here, sanctuary sites have yielded evidence of activities which culminated in the deposition of broken weapons together with great quantities of human and animal bones (Webster, 1995, 455, 458, fig.24.2). At Goumay-sur-Aronde, for example, a cult site of the Bellovaci, some 200 broken weapons and 3000 animal bones were found in the ditch (Brunaux, 1988,15). Within this general area similar sites have been encountered in recent years. Posidonius, who saw sanctuaries in Gaul, emphasised their open nature (Tierney, 1960), while Caesar (DBG, VI,17) said that considerable piles of war-spoils and the remains of sacrificed animals were displayed in various hallowed places. Such shrines as those of the Pas-de-Calais may have left indelible impressions of barbarism upon Roman minds.

These European mainland sites are mostly termini of larger installations, but, nonetheless, the similarity is marked, although Clay Lane Wood’s weaponry was, as far as can be seen, of bronze. We have, however, no knowledge of the entities of which this apparently modest enclosure might have been part, although there is an enigmatic earthwork in Cobham Park (Jessup, 1930,158). Cult enclosures, for the account of the Clay Lane Wood discovery places it in this category, had their counterparts in this country.

Ministrants, the Druids (Piggott, 1975). Kendrick (1927,75) considered that they must have been long established to have been thought of as more than local ascetics. Indeed, these shadowy figures may have had varying functions dependent upon site and shrine. Caesar (DBG, VI, 13-18) encountered them in Gaul and observed that their beliefs and usages may have had their origins in Britain ("... Disciplina in Britannia reperta atque in Galliam translata existimatur ...", DBG, VI, 13).

Druids are regularly seen as figures of later prehistory for their chroniclers may have been regaled with details of usages long past. From earlier prehistory onwards, particular people must have been involved with the siting and size of barrows, the sinking of shafts, as well as the nature of ritual deposits (Ashbee, et al., 1989,135). Thus Clay Lane Wood’s enclosure, with its bronzes and bones, could have been a precursor of the principles developed across the Dover Straits, in the Pas-de-Calais and beyond. Long established contacts between Kent and Picardy were based upon trade and the supply of skilled warriors (Nash, 1984,104). Thus practices such as may have taken place in the Clay Lane Wood enclosure could have been an attendant factor.

CLAY LANE WOOD - BIBLIOGRAPHY

The principal source for the Clay Lane Wood story is Alfred John Dunkin’s account in the 1846 Gentleman’s Magazine, cited by George Payne (1893,150). Several topographical writers, notably William Coles Finch (1927,310) and Ralph Arnold (1949,3), have also repeated versions of the basic accounts. A recent development is that the various sites and monuments records have, despite the details of the celts and spearheads, considered the site as Anglo-Saxon! It was listed, back in the 1930s, in Maidstone Museum’s index and Norman Cook, when asked about it, thought the Gentleman’s Magazine account a tall story. At that time it seemed extravagant and without counterpart but, within recent years, the excavations in the Pas-de-Calais have shown that the details set down more than a century ago could illustrate an element in a developing pattern. Papers may yet come to light and there is also the possibility that bronzes without patination and possibly unprovenanced may survive in one of our museums, while, unless totally destroyed by development, something of the site might remain. The Dunkins, father, John Dunkin (1782-1846) and son (1812-1879), were both original members of the British Archaeological Association and, primarily, concerned with the antiquities of Kent. The narrative of Clay Lane Wood was a record of what, in their age, would have been thought of as primeaval. Now, in the light of developing European research, it may have a place. Any information that members may have regarding it would be welcomed by the present writer.

PAUL ASHBEE

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