by T.W.T. Tatton-Brown, B.A.
One of the finest pieces of Anglo-Saxon jewellery found since Sutton Hoo has been discovered in Canterbury. The find was made in March 1982 by members of the Canterbury Archaeological Trust on the Old Westgate Court Farm site, London Road, Canterbury.
Pendant discovered at Old Westgate Court Farm site, London Road, Canterbury.
It comes from a site where foundation trenches were being dug for new buildings and we had already pulled out (after recording briefly) over 100 pots from a 2nd century A.D. Roman cremation cemetery. There were also lamps, glass vessels, the studs from hob-nailed boots and terracotta figurines. In one corner of the site, in a shallow gulley, we found this pendant - the boss was separate but close by - and not far away (in a disturbed context) we found 2 glass palm cups and a sceatta (silver penny.) All these are of a 7th century date and must have come from an Anglo-Saxon inhumation cemetery. Not far away too was a single inhumation burial, but this only contained large iron nails. If so this is the first Anglo-Saxon cemetery on the West (London) side of the City. On the East, of course, is the famous Kentish Royal and Archiepiscopal cemetery at St Augustine's.
The pendant is a very valuable object and it is ironic that we should have found it on a site (owned by the City Council) which we were working on without any financial support from City or DoE. The Trust is still in desperate financial straits, and it is still on the cards that we will have to cease operations due to lack of "establishment" funding.
Despite this, we started a large new excavation on Monday 12th July for exactly 16 weeks (work ends at the end of October) on the Marlowe Theatre site in the centre of Canterbury.
