New Books
BUCKLAND ANGLO-SAXON CEMETARY, DOVER. EXCAVATIONS 1994
(Keith Parfitt and Trevor Anderson). Canterbury Archaeological Trust
ISBN 978-1-870545-23-5
The 1994 excavations at Buckland, Dover, uncovered another 244 graves in the extensive Anglo-Saxon cemetery first excavated by Professor Vera Evison in 1951–3. Just over two thirds of the burials contained grave goods. Several male burials contained a sword, others a spear and sometimes a shield. Women’s graves included brooches and beads and a variety of other objects.
This detailed study of the cemetery, the individuals interred therein and specialist reports on their grave goods also includes specially commissioned reports on Anglo-Saxon costume and textiles and on the technology of the metalwork. There is an extensive illustrated catalogue of all the graves and grave goods.
The excavation was undertaken by Canterbury Archaeological Trust with the assistance of the British Museum. The developer (Orbit Housing) has donated the entire corpus of finds to the British Museum and many of these will be part of the new displays when Room 41 (Europe: AD 300–1100) re-opens in 2013.
Those with an interest in Anglo-Saxon Kent will know only too well the frustrations of obtaining the now out of print monograph on Evison’s excavations. It might be advisable to add this new book to your collection sooner rather than later!
Normal price from Oxbow Books (01865 241249) £35.00 - special offer to KAS members of £30.00. Please quote code KAS-BUCKLAND when you email your order: orders@oxbowbooks.com or insert the code in the comments section if ordering online - www.oxbowbooks.com. Personal callers are also welcome at the Trust’s offices, 92A Broad Street, Canterbury.
GAVELKINDERS to GENTLEMEN
The result of a lifetime of research into the origins and early history of the Lushington family of east Kent. Over 30 family charts help the reader to follow the complex history of the family. The family’s progress, from the 13th century, is linked to local and national events, using a wealth of contemporary documents. A comprehensive index of families linked to the Lushingtons in the Alkham area will be of great value to all genealogists who are interested in this area of east Kent.
Produced privately in two versions, A4 soft cover and PDF Disc. 332 pages; fully illustrated using contemporary sources and local history publications.
Book - £38 + £6 p&p, or CD - £25 incl p&p, are available from the author: jrclushington@yahoo.co.uk
UNDERGROUND THANET
Rod Le Gear
Underground sites form part of Thanet’s rich archaeological heritage. Along with the natural sea caves that were carved into Thanet’s chalk landscape, chalk has been quarried, mined and tunnelled by man for thousands of years.
Wartime threats led to refuges such as Ramsgate’s Air Raid Tunnel complex. Margate Caves and Shell Grotto show that tunnels and caves of earlier times were attractions for seaside tourists. Innumerable lesser-known examples such as deneholes, seaweed tunnels, well shafts, mines, lime kilns and hidden chambers form part of the hidden history of the Isle of Thanet.
Rod Le Gear, founder of the Kent Underground Research Group (KURG) and an active member of KAS since 1963, has produced a highly readable account of the history of underground sites in Thanet. With 90 pages of text, fully indexed and richly illustrated with full-colour photographs and diagrams, Underground Thanet details the exploration of many of the sites by the author and KURG.
Underground Thanet is the first of a new series of publications from the Trust for Thanet Archaeology.
A5 format. £9.99 + £2.00 P&P. Special offer for KAS members of £8.00 + £2.00 P&P. Please state that you are a KAS member when sending in your cheque.
DISCOVER MEDIEVAL SANDWICH
Helen Clarke
Sandwich today is a quiet town on the banks of the River Stour, where small pleasure craft tie up at The Quay. It is hard to imagine its wide expanse of water in medieval times, Sandwich Haven, which provided an anchorage for every sort of vessel from Anglo-Saxon longships preparing to take on Viking invaders to fleets of Venetian galleys laden with exotic cargoes. The present town is probably the most complete preserved example of a small medieval town in England.
Its history has been the subject of a long-term collaborative project which brought together experts from many disciplines, and which has now been published in an academic monograph. The story is too interesting and important to be confined to a specialist academic audience however, and Helen Clarke has succeeded in this book in making the research available in an attractive, accessible and affordable form.
The book describes medieval Sandwich and its development over the centuries. Its houses are its chief glory and many are illustrated in the book. The people of the town are also brought to life: mayors and MPs, brewers and bowling alley owners. All have left their mark.
Oxbow Books 104pp, full colour throughout. £12.99.