More Important Discoveries at Ringlemere Farm

In the summer of 2004, archaeologists resumed excavations at Ringlemere Farm near Sandwich, where the now famous Bronze Age gold cup was discovered. The new excavation (Trench 5) was funded mainly by the British Museum but other significant contributions came from the Kent Archaeological Society and the British Academy. Supervisors from Canterbury Archaeological Trust led the team and were joined by staff from the British Museum for some of the time.

Much of the digging was carried out by volunteers, notably from Dover Archaeological Group, several other local societies and the archaeology departments of various Universities. In order to maintain public interest in the excavations, regular reports appeared in The Ringlemere Director’s Diary, published on the Canterbury Archaeological Trust’s website (see www.canterburytrust.co.uk).

Trench 5 was the largest so far, but work throughout much of August and September was hampered by heavy rain. Despite this, much significant new information was recorded, including evidence of a hitherto unknown early Anglo-Saxon cemetery.

The Anglo-Saxon Cemetery

The post-Roman re-use of prehistoric burial mound sites is becoming increasingly familiar. However, given the lack of Anglo-Saxon graves from the previous four trenches, it looked unlikely that this would be the case for Ringlemere. However, the discovery of a sunken hut cut into the northern edge of the mound during 2003 suggested that local Anglo-Saxon populations had instead chosen to use the mound for habitation. Such a simple picture was, however, dramatically overturned in 2004 when no less than thirteen burials of Anglo-Saxon date were discovered on the south side of the barrow.

Eight of the burials were inhumations of more or less typical Kentish form but the remaining five consisted of inurned cremations - a burial rite rarely encountered in east Kent during the early Anglo-Saxon period. Preliminary inspection of the urns and grave goods indicates that some are of fifth century date. Objects recovered from the inhumations included two fine glass claw beakers, decorated beads, iron knives and belt buckles.

The Barrow Mound and Ditch

Many centuries of ploughing have removed all but the base of the prehistoric barrow mound. A further section of its surviving turf core and outer envelope of orange clay was examined. This produced another significant collection of late Neolithic pottery and struck flints, derived from a pre-barrow occupation site.

The ditch around the mound was located in its expected position, which largely confirms that the diameter of the enclosed area was a massive 41.50 metres (136 feet). Excavation of the ditch revealed that it survived to over two metres deep and around five metres wide. Stratigraphy within the ditch fill yielded strong evidence for the former presence of an outer bank. The ditch seems to have been completely silted and invisible by the Roman period when its upper levels were being ploughed across.

Pre-Barrow Features

Survival of the barrow mound has served to preserve evidence of earlier activity beneath it. A late Neolithic settlement had existed on the site some centuries before the mound was constructed. Its inhabitants used highly decorated Grooved Ware pottery and the assemblage of such pottery from Ringlemere now stands at over 4000 sherds, by far the largest from Kent and one of the largest from south-east England. Trench 5 revealed a series of associated late Neolithic pits. Of particular interest was one surrounded by an area of heavily burnt clay which clearly represented a hearth.

With the completion of Trench 5 about half the area of the Ringlemere barrow has now been excavated. There are still important questions left unanswered: no clear evidence has yet come to light for the original provenance of the Bronze Age gold cup. Moreover, we have no close dating evidence for the construction of either the ditch or the mound; this leaves some uncertainty about the relationship between the monument and the gold cup.

Ploughing continues to erode the upstanding remnant of the Ringlemere barrow and it is intended to excavate the whole of the monument in future seasons. Planning for a 2005 excavation is now in hand and volunteers will again be welcome.

Keith Parfitt
Canterbury Archaeological Trust

Stuart Needham
The British Museum

The Ringlemere site.