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Neolithic 4200 - 2000 BC | |
Return to Neolithic burials Display Display Contents Neolithic burials: Thanet longbarrows Seven Stones Dumpton Dent-de-Lion Alland Grange Acol Monkton roundabout *Hackemdown Banks |
Neolithic burials: Thanet longbarrows The traditional form of
communal burial monument which we would expect to find in this area is
the longbarrow.
None have been certainly identified by modern excavation, but aerial photography has identified five potential sites (numbers I-V below). These have been obtained from a map compiled by Dr. David Perkins which combines data from an RCHME survey of 1989 with the results of his own aerial photographic research (including images taken both by himself and those of the Potato Marketing Board, obtained from local farmers). The original RCHME survey of 1989 lists four potential longbarrow cropmarks and presumably does not include the example at the Seven Stones Estate, Dumpton (I). It is hoped that with the generous permission of the landowners we may get the opportunity to test some of these cropmarks through geophysical survey in the future. |
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| (I)
Seven Stones Estate, Dumpton Gap. Initially identified through old aerial
photographs, this site now lies
under the Seven Stones Estate and may have been
partially or totally destroyed by house-building. The name 'Seven
Stones' itself is intruiguing and one wonders how that came about.
Someone who worked on the building site
subsequently
reported that many chalk-cut features (including graves) were disturbed
during the construction works (Peter Summers pers comm.). Some archaeology may
survive in areas of
garden and verge untouched by foundations, service trenches or
terracing.
The whole cliff-top area of Dumpton has
a great concentration
of important archaeological remains and demonstrates a continuity of
occupation from at least the Beaker Period through to Roman times.
NGR 63937 16628. |
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| (II)
Dent de Lion. |
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| (III) Alland Grange. |
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| (IV)
Acol. |
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| (V)
Monkton roundabout. |
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In 1736 John Lewis described this site
as comprising
'two large Butts or Banks of Earth...'.
Today his description of 'banks' might
suggest the image of a
long mound or longbarrow. However these monuments may more likely have
been roundbarrows. Click
here to read more about what was found at Hackemdown Banks!
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| Abbreviations RCHME - Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England. |
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| Bibliography Edis J. 1989. The classification of cropmarks in Kent. A report for the monuments protection programme. Air Photography Unit. Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England. July 1989. |
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| The text is the responsibility of the author; the photographs are by the author unless otherwise stated. | ||
| Paul
Hart Version 1 - Posted 26.09.06 Version 2 - Posted 16.12.06 |
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All
content © Trust for Thanet Archaeology
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