History Hunters International

(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f9/Trizna_1899.jpg/640px-Trizna_1899.jpg)
Burial of Oleg of Novgorod in a tumulus in 912. Painting by Viktor Vasnetsov.

One of our projects this week is the geophysical survey of burial mounds tentatively dated to the Iron Age. Diving Doc, Moneypenny and I will be using our new gear from Accurate Locators. More later.

Some background:
Tumulus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tumulus)
A tumulus (plural tumuli or tumuluses) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or kurgans and can be found throughout much of the world. A tumulus composed largely or entirely of stones is usually referred to as a cairn.

The method of inhumation may involve a cist, a mortuary enclosure, a mortuary house or a chamber tomb. Examples of barrows include Duggleby Howe and Maeshowe.

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Duggleby Howe (also known as Howe Hill, Duggleby) is one of the largest round barrows in Britain, located on the southern side of the Great Wold Valley in East Yorkshire, and is one of four such monuments in this area, known collectively as the Great barrows of East Yorkshire. Duggleby Howe is believed on the basis of artefacts recovered to be of Late Neolithic date, but no radiocarbon dates are available.

Britain
In Britain, early references to tumuli were made by William Camden, John Aubrey, and William Stukeley. During the 19th century in England the excavation of tumuli was a popular pastime amongst the educated and wealthy middle classes who became known as "barrow-diggers".

This leisure activity played a key role in laying the foundations for the scientific study of the past in Britain. Barrows were popularly used to bury the dead from the late Neolithic until the end of the Bronze Age 2900-800BCE.

Square barrows were occasionally used in the Iron Age 800BCE -43CE in the east of England. The traditional round barrow experienced a brief resurgence after the Anglo-Saxon invasion as Scandinavian burial practice became popular CE500-600.

These later barrows were often built near older Bronze Age barrows.

Types of barrows
Archaeologists often classify tumuli according to their location, form, and date of construction. Some British types are listed below:

    * Bank barrow
    * Bell barrow
    * Bowl barrow
    * D-shaped barrow A round barrow with a purposely flat edge at one side often defined by stone slabs
    * Fancy barrow A generic term for any Bronze Age barrows more elaborate than a simple hemispherical shape.
    * Long barrow
    * Oval barrow A type of Neolithic long barrow consisting of an elliptical, rather than rectangular or trapezoidal mound.
    * Platform barrow The least common of the recognised types of round barrow, consisting of a flat, wide circular mound, which may be surrounded by a ditch. They occur widely across southern England with a marked concentration in East and West Sussex.
    * Pond barrow a barrow consisting of a shallow circular depression, surrounded by a bank running around the rim of the depression. Bronze age
    * Ring barrow a bank which encircles a number of burials.
    * Round barrow a circular feature created by the Bronze Age peoples of Britain and also the later Romans, Vikings and Saxons. Divided into sub classes such as saucer and bell barrow. The Six Hills are a rare Roman example.
    * Saucer barrow circular Bronze Age barrow featuring a low, wide mound surrounded by a ditch which may be accompanied by an external bank.
    * Square barrow A burial site, usually of Iron Age date, consisting of a small, square, ditched enclosure surrounding a central burial, which may also have been covered by a mound

References
    * Albright, William F. (1923). "Interesting finds in tumuli near Jerusalem". Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 10 (April): 1-3.

    * Amiran, Ruth (1958). "The tumuli west of Jerusalem, Survey and Excavations, 1953". Israel Exploration Journal 8 (4): 205-27.

    * Barkay, Gabriel (2003). "Mounds of mystery: where the kings of Judah were lamented". Biblical Archaeology Review 29 (3): 32-9, 66, 68.

    * Grena, G.M. (2004). LMLK--A Mystery Belonging to the King vol. 1. Redondo Beach, California: 4000 Years of Writing History. ISBN 0-9748786-0-X.

    * Grinsell, L.V., 1936, The Ancient Burial-mounds of England. London: Methuen.

    * Nelson, Sarah Milledge, "The Archaeology of Korea"". New York: Cambridge University Press. id=ISBN 0-521-44043-6

It was quite cold today, even more so on an exposed hilltop. We will publish more images in a while, especially the funny ones of us riding in a tractor scoop loader. We return tomorrow.

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This may be a natural slope worked by man into a ramp. Looking north.

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There appears to be two or three mounds on this feature. Looking north.

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This is one, taken close up looking southeast.

Our first survey showed what may be a ditch encircling the mound. EM data indicated iron inside the mound.

A coin of Hadrian was found in the wooded area atop the hill.

Solomon

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Day One, preparation.

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Vincent, Moneypenny, Simon (landowner) and Solomon.
(Cameraman: Doc)

I see Moneypenny is staying nice and warm. There appears to be some fresh earth in the bucket. From the looks of all of you, I would say it was a pleasant day! Any specualtion on the large object? Good luck!

- Bart

Hi Bart!

The first day was a bit of struggle as we took all three pieces of kit along and all were new - only Doc had been trained in their use and their arrival in Florida was 4 days late, reducing preparation time. Becoming familiar with it all was a bit of a job: assembly, integration with the computer for realtime scans, setting out the search patterns then the actual surveys, took time and the cold wind blew hard.

Second day was a dream. We knew exactly what to do and where.

The more we study the site, the more we see. We have identified six possible tumuli. The hill top is covered with trees and brush, and I suspect that there are many features partly hidden by earth accumulated over the centuries and milennia.

Tumuli of various types (listed above) were built by different cultures over a very long time. Being on a slope with steep sides, many artefacts are probably displaced. The geophys therefore cannot tell us exactly to which period they belong.

Vince learned that some years ago that Anglo Saxon artefacts were found on the farm, on a neighbouring hill. This led him to believe that the tumuli were perhaps Anglo Saxon (ca 500-800 CE). However, we found two pits on top of the hill which locals thought were from German bombs.

We used a metal detector to examine both pits and their surroundings. We did not find the pattern of iron that would indicate bomb fragments. One pit is far too wide and deep to be made by a bomb. It opened onto the lower slope. It is probably where either chalk or flints was mined.

Nearby some Roman coins were found, one of Hadrian. This indicates Roman activity nearby and maybe a hoard (they often buried these into the side of features, which is where the name 'bank' originates). Looking at the valley below, I think it possible a Roman road ran through the valley and that just perhaps, there was a villa. This could be Romano-British, or Roman.

Anglo-Saxon and Roman activity does not preclude that of earlier periods, in fact it lends credence to the idea that there was earlier activity. We may have Anglo-Saxon tumuli on an area shaped in an earlier period. I have it in my mind that maybe the slope up to the hill was shaped by man, as a ramp, leading to the hill top and this may be much earlier.

Simon has agreed for us to conduct further work there. Once we get back from our main project area (departed for this today), then we will continue there. This time, we will use the SP3000 in the woods atop the hill.

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What is the long, red zone? I really don't know. I have ideas, a burial for example, but it is not in the burial mound. So there we have a mystery. It is, I think, maybe 8 feet long. Intriguing, isn't it?

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Post holes?

Thanks for your interest, Bart and I do wish you were here with us. Still, there is next summer. Maybe, huh?

Solomon

Links:
Fancy Barrows (http://www.eng-h.gov.uk/mpp/mcd/fb.htm)
Round Barrow(s) in England in Hampshire (http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=11668)

Absolutely fascinating, and I heartily yearn to be there.

Some thoughts... Are there other geofizzy's to examine that could give you some notion what to expect here?

Postholes are a possibility, they could indicate a fortification.

Would it help to have a small tent, backpacker type, to use in such situations for preparation? Something to consider for next time.

- Bart

Sorry to be late coming back to you, Bart. I began then got distracted.

I will be returning there with Vince. We plan to get hard evidence for the period(s). Yes, I am now considering how to cope with winter and prolonged periods exposed to the weather without a vehicle nearby. Moneypenny and Doc were somewhat taken aback by the weather, as they are used to warmer climes. You should have seen Doc's grim determination: it was enough to have won a battle all by itself!

In the summer, we have problems with light on the laptops' display. There is always the problem of rain and electronics - this time we used a large, plastic bag. I will set about proofing the kit.

Just got very good news from Moneypenny and Jim on our project up north. It is all coming together very nicely - history, geology, geophiz and legalities. At least there they have a lovely, warm house to retire too and a vehicle when in the field.

Solomon

It is hard to believe that with all the technology today, that there isn't a simple solution to the outdoor problem. Cold is not much fun, and I 'enjoy' it less each year. Coming from the tropics, Doc and MP aren't acclimated yet, and that is even worse, I feel for them. Enthusiasm helps though! Stick with it, it is worth it! Bon chance!

- Bart

Hi Bart,
just getting back on line after a harrowing flight, five hours on the apron while they 'fixed' the engine. Not very encouraging for a trans-Atlantic flight, is it?

The color pattern was necessarily choppy, what with the wind whipping the sensor head around but the pattern came thru nice and clear. This was a very large area scanned and the up and down walking on this slope didn't help but I do believe that the work in Spring will bear out the findings. I believe there are two burials in the trench to the right of the tumulus. I got a precious metal hit the one time I turned on the discriminating. I plotted about half an acre with the SP 3000 and got numerous hits and marked them. I wandered all the way back to the "Bomb Crater" which I could easily see wasn't caused by any bomb. The site should prove to be rich in history when work begins in the Spring. I will post more of the images after I finish the modeling.
Cheers,
Doc

True, engine trouble would make me very nervous also.  :o

 The site sounds very exciting! Is it typical for burials to be away from the tumulus in this manner? Have you any idea how it compares to other dug Iron Age sites at this point? What can be done over the winter to help the project along?

- Bart

Bart,

I am sure what with breaks in the weather and firm ground we will be able to negotiate a return to this site and collect more data prior to the work that will be done by the Archaeologists from Canterbury. I have no idea if this is typical as it is the first time that I have done this kind of application. I hope to have done more modeling on the data and post additional pictures by this evening, with luck. As for post holes, I sincerely doubt that the images represent that. All will be revealed in time.
Cheers,
Doc

That sounds great Doc, no hurry on the pics, whenever you get a chance.

- Bart

Vince will be leading a return on Friday 22 December, with Richard (family and army REME) and myself. We will be taking three pieces of gear with us. We will:
1. Use the metal detector to mark hot spots.
2. Use Vince's patented grid system to scan the grid.
3. If the above affirms the rectangular shape then we will uncover the top of a portion of it.

We will also look in the wooded hilltop close by and see if we can get dates for activity.

Wayne of Accurate Locators is taking a continued interest in our work there (thanks, Wayne!) and is receiving our data and reports.

Solomon

Solomon,
I can hardly wait until you search the remains we found of the hill-top fort, Roman Villa, or whatever the foundations are, that lie in the wooded crest of the hill above the line of tumuli. The suspense is killing me.
Cheers,
Doc

Thursday 8 and Friday 9 March 2007

Vince and Solomon will be joined by Justin of the White Cliff's Metal Detecting Club.

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We were hard at work on this site all yesterday.

Vincent directed, Jim used his metal detector across the whole site, Justin dug and I joined in wherever I could.

This was Day 1 and when complete, Vincent will write his report.

We first measured out the site and marked an exploratory trench running east-west across, with the mound in the centre. Our objective was to dig an exploratory trench right across in order to see if the mound was encircled with a ditch and to look inside the mound.

The first three metres revealed natural chalk. Closer to the mound, we began finding bone fragments.

We then cut away the turf to the north and south of the exploratory trench, aligned with the bones, so that we could look for what we thought could be a body on the north-south alignment.

Our geophysics had revealed possible cuts in the chalk on a north-south alignment, therefore it seemed likely that the body was lying in the same alignment.

As soon as dark metal was found, we called Jim in from his field surveying, to use his metal detector over the trench. He detected iron.

Next, a possible fragment of a collar bone began to appear. Then a bone from a toe. Then part of a tang blade where the chest might be. Lastly, the top of a skull.

Vincent refers to the tang blade as a spear, though personally I think it more likely to be a cutting edge weapon. This image is of typical and similar Anglo Saxon blades:

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This is a modern verison, very similar to our find. The Scramasax, carried by the Saxons and Vikings between the 4th and 10th centuries, was utilised as both a tool and a weapon. Carried horizontally at the back of the belt, the Scramasax provided the spearman with a close-quarters weapon when needed, and its broad blade could handle many day-to-day chores. The ancestry of the Scramasax, which evolved from similar weapons in bronze (and later iron) used by the Celts, is portrayed in the decoration of the guard and pommel.

At the end of the day, we found the rim of a blackish pot.

We then backfilled the trench with natural chalk, covered the bones with boxes, covered the trench with a tarpaulin and fenced the site.

The burial is on a north-south alignment, which suggests to me a pagan rather than christian burial. This could date it to about the 5th century. That would be supported by the weapon and chard.

Today, an expert in Anglo Saxon burials will visit. It the rain stops, we will continue working.

The day was surprisingly bright and I got a good suntan. My muscles appreciated the labour. We are photographing the site and finds, as well as producing detailed drawings.

Well, we may be wrecking our ideas for the site, but cannot complain at the finds.

Solomon

Fantastic! Congratulations on the find, this is certainly a feather in your cap! It is very reassuring to know the equipment works as advertised. Are there any significant detector finds yet?

- Bart

Thanks, Bart. Vincent was muttering about the lack of a ditch and how he hates Anglo Saxon burials, the archaeologists on the 'phone were laughing like a drain, I was grinning with satisfaction, then Vince and I started to laugh together at the situation.

For me, this is very satisfying, for here we seem to dealing with the birth of England, a burial of a high-status warrior who played an important role in creating this little country. Maybe not Horst or Hengist (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hengest) themselves, who knows, but perhaps somebody who knew them. This is the stuff of legend (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vortigern).

The main detector find was the cutting-edge weapon. Our SP3000 had pinpointed the target earlier.

Jim covered the area very well indeed. He is half ferret! The local tales of the hill top and WW2 were comfirmed, with .303 cartridge cases and shell fragments/fuses. There were very old shotgun cases and the oldest coin was a farthing of George III. The rest was scrap iron and lead.

We suspect that the slope may be an early Anglo Saxon burial site. The pagan window was not open long, between the end of Roman Britain and the arrival of St Augustine.

We see signs of what was probably a river along the valley at the foot of the hill. I have two thoughts on this: maybe there will be a sacred grove nearby; and maybe it was navigable in the Roman period.

The farm is almost certainly ancient. The topography has not changed to any great extent in millennia. What is good for a farm now will apply earlier, in my opinion. We could therefore be dealing with a very ancient site with multiple cultural occupations.

Solomon

(https://historyhuntersinternational.org/forum/Chilton 07 p8.jpg)
He was dated today to the 7th century.

Report:
We managed to draw the skeleton by late today and back-filled. Lots of  pictures I will disc down.

Many people made there way up the hill to see the find. One little girl asked me what his name was so I said "Chilton Charlie" Loads of documentations to do. As site director, I have made the decision to hand Charlie and the knife over to Dr Andrew Richardson the Finds Liaison Officer for Kent. Charlie will reside at Dover Museum.

The knife measures 7" long and would have been used in his everyday life. Normally men had larger knifes, women slightly smaller and children would have a pen knife type. If the person was not of major importance then we generally do not get much else in the grave.

Charlie is 5.3" in height and dates to the 7th century when Kent was controlled by the King living at Eastry near Sandwich (see Time Team Eastry (http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/T/timeteam/2006_east.html) website for the King's details), or lookup History Eastry Kent pages which should cover this.

(http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/T/timeteam/images/2006_east_13.jpg)
Eastry, Kent. Photograph ? Neil Emmanuel

Well the project started as a two day attempt to locate what we suspected to be a Bronze Age burial mound. A trench measuring 3 metres long was cut into the mound but failed to locate a ditch. A second trench located closer to the mound revealed what first appeared as a cut ditch however, upon closer examination bone appeared. Realizing this was probably a burial, the site was prepared for further work by extending the excavation trench on both sides of the find. The grave outlined was now clearly defined. The grave was cut into the upper chalk with both semi circular ends having been located.

Dr Andrew Richardson (Saxon specialist) was called so that a license to continue could be applied for. The license was obtained overnight in order for work to start the next morning. In the meantime the team prepared the grave ready for the next day's detailed excavation of the skeleton. Day two was spent cleaning the bones in situ and recording other vital information. Day three was spent drawing the trench, skeleton and grave cut. Chilton Charlie was removed by around 4pm along with his beloved knife. Both are doing fine in the boot of Andrews car!
 
The site has now been leveled, but more work will follow in trying to locate the burial mound ditch we originally set out to define. Dr Andrew Richardson would like to plan further studies with us when more time is available. We hope to re-visit Chilton Charlie's ancestral patch, but this will not be for many months.

History Hunters International in partnership with Sub Scan South-East, hope to undertake a more comprehensive geophysical survey at this site. The will allow for better interpretation of the probable complicated archaeology reducing the need to disturb large areas of archaeology.

I would like to take this opportunity in thanking the team for all their hard work & commitment in seeing this project to a successful conclusion.

Vince Burrows (site director)

Excellent Vince, congratulations on a successful project and recovery. I look forward to meeting and working with you in the future, hopefully.

- Bart

Dear Bart,
              As John mentioned my face was a picture when my ditch slowly became the final resting place for Chilton Charlie! Excavating these types of burials takes a lot of time and planning. Charlie had the last laugh as he cost our project two days. We will all return to the site at some point hopefully this year. Dr Andrew Richardson would like to undertake more work on the Saxons graves, for myself I will concentrate on locating the ditch around the mound. This would add a key and very important chapter to Dover and Kent's history. As far as we are aware, our Alkham Saxon cemetery is a new discovery and only the second within the large and ancient valley. Unfortunately, I'm informed that very little work has been undertake in this area so, what we have achieved in just three days goes a fair way in improving this situ. John I hope you have recovered from all that digging!

Regards

Vince

Way To Go Vince! Great Job! Well done!
Cheers,
Doc

Dear Doc,
              Thanks for your help at Alkham ealier in the year. We have lots more to do at some point hopefully soon.

Thanks for the new toy to play with. Hope all is well and busy your end.

Hope to see you soon.

Regards

Vince & Chilton Charlie

WOW! Congrats on a job well done. Wish I could have been there. The best to you on your future endeavours.

Kevin

Thanks for all your congrats.

Just to put the recorded straight, I don't hate Saxons as I actually have enjoyed excavating countless with Dover Archaeological Group and some with Dr Andrew Richardson. As we only had a three days window in which to prove or disprove my wife's and myself hypothesis for a Bronze Age cemetery on the hill, bumping into Chilton Charlie was not on the agenda however, when dealing with tumuli in Kent. Saxon burials often are found cut into them. My tongue was in cheek as we extended the trenches knowing forewell this could happen. And of course it did. Burials of any period often take between 1.5 and 2 days to excavate, draw and record. On day two I did not want this to happen and once Charlie appeared, It was all over for our three day project. So yes, I did turn a funny colour and mumble a bit. John soon got me seeing the funnyside!

Just to update you guys, it is believed that Charlie is a 6th century Saxon and not the quoted 7th. This mistake is due to Charlie not speaking modern English infact, after all these centuries his not saying much at all!


Kind regards to you all.

Vince

Almost forgot.

Once my Interim report is finalized, I will post details, pic and map's to Solomon

Vince

Good about the date: as I mentioned earlier, the window for pagan Saxons is quite small, so the 6th century always was the more probable. It is this early date that excites me, for it is the 6th century in which England was born.

History of England (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_England)
England is the largest and most populous of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom. The division dates from the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons in the 5th century.

In the wake of the Romans, who had abandoned the south of the island by about 410 in order to concentrate on difficulties closer to home, present day England was progressively settled by successive and often complementary waves of Germanic tribesmen.

The prevailing view is that waves of Germanic people, Jutes together with larger numbers of Frisians, Saxons from north-western Germany and Angles from what is now Schleswig-Holstein - commonly known as Anglo-Saxons - who had been partly displaced on mainland Europe, invaded Britain in the mid 5th century and again around the middle of the 6th century. They came under military leaders and settled at first on the eastern shores. They are believed to have fought their way westward, looking for more land to cultivate, taking lowland and leaving less desirable lands in the hills to the Celtic Britons.

(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/15/Britain_500_CE.png/640px-Britain_500_CE.png)
Migration and Formation of Kingdoms (400-600) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Anglo-Saxon_England)

It is very difficult to establish a coherent chronology of events from Rome's departure from Britain, to the establishment of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. The story of the Roman departure as told by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Historia Regum Britanniae is dubious except as documenting Medieval legend.

The archaeological records of the final decades of Roman rule show undeniable signs of decay, in stagnant urban and villa life. Coins minted past 402 are rare. So when Constantine III was declared Emperor by his troops in 407, and crossed the channel with the remaining units of the British garrison, effectively Roman Britain ended. Britain was left defenceless, and Constantine was eventually killed in battle. In 410, Emperor Honorius told the Romano-British to look to their own defence, yet in the late 5th century the Romano-British still felt they could appeal to the consul Aetius for help against invaders.

Various myths and legends surround the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons, some based on documentary evidence, some far less so. Four main literary sources provide the evidence. Gildas' 'The Ruin of Britain' (c. 540) is polemical, and more concerned with criticising British kings than accurately describing events. Bede's 'Ecclesiastical History of the English People' is based in part on Gildas, though brings in other evidence. However, this was written in the early 8th century, some time after events. Later still is the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which is in part based on Bede, but also brings in legends regarding the foundation of Wessex.

Other evidence can be brought in to aid the literary sources. It is interesting to note that the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Kent, Bernicia, Deira and Lindsey all retained Celtic names, which would suggest political continuity. Contrastingly, the more westerly kingdoms of Wessex and Mercia show little sign of following existing boundaries. Archaeologically, following burial patterns and land usage allows us to follow Anglo-Saxon settlement, though it is possible that the British were adopting Anglo-Saxon practice. Analysis of human remains unearthed at an ancient cemetery near Abingdon, England, indicates that Saxon immigrants and native Britons lived side by side. There is much academic debate as to whether the Anglo-Saxon migrants replaced, or merged with, the Romano-British people who inhabited southern and eastern Britain.

Already from the 4th century AD, Britons had migrated across the English Channel and started to settle in the western part (Armorica) of Gaul (France), forming Brittany. Others may have migrated to northern Spain. The migration of the British to the continent and the Anglo-Saxons to Britain, should be considered in the context of wider European migrations. However, some doubt, based on limited genetic work, has been cast on the extent of Anglo-Saxon migration to Britain.

Though one cannot be sure of dates, places or people involved, it does seem that in 495, at the Battle of Mount Badon (possibly Badbury rings, Latin Mons Badonicus, Welsh Mynydd Baddon), the Britons inflicted a severe defeat on the Anglo-Saxons. Archaeological evidence, coupled with the questionable source Gildas, would suggest that the Anglo-Saxon migration was stemmed for a while.

History of Kent (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Kent)
Roman Kent

Although now 2 miles from the sea amid the marshes of east Kent, Richborough Castle was arguably the Romans main entry point when they invaded Britain in circa AD 43. They established a bridgehead and commemorated their success by building a triumphal arch whose cross shaped foundations still survive at the site which is now looked after by English Hertitage. English Heritage Website

Roman Britain was under attack by Saxon and other raiders in the 3rd Century and it became necessary to fortify the once-prosperous commercial port of Rutupiae. Triple ditches and ramparts were dug (still visible round the site of the arch Richborough Castle)although the defences were completely revamped after a decade or so and Richborough was provided with its circuit of towered stone walls and outer ditches, becoming one of the most important of the Saxon shore forts. It was one of the last to be regularly occupied and there is evidence of a large Roman population here in the early 5th century, some of them worshipping in the Early Christian church discovered in a corner of the fort.

Early Medieval Kent

East Kent became one of the kingdoms of the Jutes during the fifth century AD (see Kingdom of Kent) and the area was later known as Cantia in around AD 730 and Cent in AD 835. The early Mediaeval inhabitants of the county were known as the Cantwara or Kent people, whose capital was at Canterbury.

Canterbury is the religious centre of the Anglican faith, and see of Saint Augustine of Canterbury. Augustine is traditionally credited with bringing Christianity to Anglo Saxon England, landing at Ebbsfleet, Pegwell Bay on the Isle of Thanet (northeast of Kent) in the spring of 597.

(http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/upload/img_400/se_richborough_02.jpg)
Lead weight - bust of a man (c) English Heritage photo library

Chilton Charlie was probably a warrior, who with his comrades had to tackle the Roman fort of Rutupi? (Richborough).

Rutupi? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutupi%C3%A6)
Rutupi? was the Roman name for Richborough near Sandwich, Kent, which they founded when they landed here in AD 34. It has many phases of Roman remains, collectively known as Richborough Fort, still visible today and under the care of English Heritage.

The Roman road of Watling Street begins at Richborough, running on to Canterbury and London. It was, for a time, the gateway to the Roman colony of Britannia.

(http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/upload/img_400/se_richborough_03.jpg)
Richborough Roman Fort (http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server.php?show=conProperty.210)

Evocatively sited amid the East Kent marshes, Richborough is perhaps the most symbolically important of all Roman sites in Britain, witnessing both the beginning and almost the end of Roman rule here. Though now two miles from the sea, in AD 43 the site overlooked a sheltered lagoon harbour. Here, all but certainly, the invading Roman forces first landed and established a bridgehead. This event was later commemorated by a mighty triumphal arch, whose cross-shaped foundations still survive here. Proclaiming that the Roman conquest of Britain was complete, this also provided an impressive gateway for arrivals at what became the province's main entry port.

(http://www.camelotintl.com/heritage/castles/eastern/images/richborough_castle.jpg)
By the mid-3rd century, however, Roman Britain was under attack by sea-borne Saxon and other raiders. The once-prosperous commercial port of Rutupiae was hastily fortified, first by the digging of the great triple ditches and ramparts still visible round the site of the arch. But within a decade or so the defences were completely revamped, and Richborough was provided with its circuit of towered stone walls and outer ditches, becoming one of the most important of the 'Saxon Shore' forts. It was also among the last to be regularly occupied: there is evidence of a large Roman population here in the early 5th century, some of them worshipping in the little Early Christian church discovered in one corner of the fort.

Solomon

Neolithic

We found a large number of flints, some with knapped edges. There were even some microliths. These have now been identified as of the Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age periods.


Bronze Age

Two shards found in the lower grave fill date to the Bronze Age and were probably located in the original topsoil when the grave was cut.


Next Monday, weather permitting, the area will be rescanned. The target is a second burial.

We have been congratulated by Keith Parfitt for the standard of excavation: "looks to me like you done an excellent job on the site".

Solomon

http://www.youtube.com/v/7kY4qWI_7zE
A short video on our progress to date.

   Excellent clip! Great narration, and I really enjoyed the music too.

   Ever the curious Bart... Is there ever any frost in the ground here, and if so, what effect does it have on such burials?

   Around here, we have fields that yield two crops each year. Frost tends to heave up a new crop of granite rock each year, from fist to fair sized boulder. These must be removed by hand before tilling and planting can commence. The reason for the granite here is glacial moraine deposits. There is no market for the first crop of granite, unfortunately.

- Bart

Thanks, Bart! Much appreciated, as I really struggled to get my video and audio editors to produce as needed. I think we need to find somebody adept at production.

The music is as close to an actual Saxon sound as is possible. The track is Fritton Frolic and uses repro instruments of the period. I would have liked to have balanced the music better with the voiceover.

I am now using a camera from Doc to record everything in video and stills. It is higher quality than the cameras I have and easy to use, too.

We need to add a full credits list, also.

We have a lot of work still to do on this site and it would be nice to eventiually produce a 10-minute summary of our conclusions.

Frost:
Yes, we get snow and frost. The geology is chalk, with lots of flint embedded. The effect of the frost is to splinter the flint. This increases the difficulty in identifying worked flints. My method is to examine the edges very carefully for knapping, not trusting the shapes.

What effect the weather has depends a lot on the depth of the archaeology. Here, the soil depth is usually 4 inches. The burial was cut into the chalk. We have not yet cut through the mound, but the soil was getting deeper as we approached.

The only remains we found were the bones and knife, with small shards and some flints. All wood, leather and cloth had decomposed entirely. In Saxon burials elsewhere, in deeper soil, wooden artefacts survived - the remains of a woman were found with a leather-covered wooden shield across her.

Ice sheets did reach the south of England, but only just. They ground the top off the Highlands and Pennines, and  deposited the good soils in the south, leaving the north largely stripped clean - which is why the Highlands are not much good for agriculture.

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These hills are used for grazing sheep. Vince and I rescued one which had become enmeshed in strong brambles. Lambing had just started when we were there last. Vince had to carry a new-born off our grid.

Cheers!
Solomon

Ewe weren't kidding about the sheep. I know, that was baaaa d.

   Death and birth, a full cycle achaeological site, how cool. Perhaps you could incorporate a bit of that into the video production, it would give it a unique touch.

- Bart

(https://historyhuntersinternational.org/forum/2nd burial bronze age.jpg)
After the downpours of yesterday, we had a glorious day getting suntanned.

The exploratory trench across the tumulus found, at its centre, a burial tentatively dated to the Bronze Age, 1,800 - 1,600 BCE.

Above, you may discern parts of the skull and teeth.

The bones were disturbed. How this came about we are now investigating. I cannot say more at this point, because it is a political matter of some delicacy.

(https://historyhuntersinternational.org/forum/bronze age tumulus burial.jpg)

We were very fortunate to have with us the Finds Liaison Officer for Kent (above, centre). Not only was he an exceptionally able pair of hands, but, of course, we are working in his area of special expertise.

Our trench now reaches right across the mound, in an attempt to find if there was an encircling ditch.

(https://historyhuntersinternational.org/forum/3rd burial.jpg)

I have marked with dotted red lines, above, a dark area in the trench in the northern end, the opposite side from 'Chilton Charlie', the first (Saxon) burial we found. The chalk on either side is natural. In the marked area, it is not, but refilled and compacted.

This could have been the ditch we were looking for, or another burial. We therefore placed a small trench to the northern side and found no trace of a ditch. The obvious implication is that we have found a third burial.

Here is a short video of the two trenches.

Burial - not a ditch (https://historyhuntersinternational.org/forum/Burial - not a ring ditch.wmv)

We have yet to decide what to do with this.

I will compile a video using the clips and stills, for posting to YouTube, later.

Today, it was a marvellous time for us all.

Very interesting, it appears that you had a great day. I think your recording of this project will be around for a long time, and something you can all be proud of.

Bart

http://www.youtube.com/v/o9GGS_qKqsQ

I have a high-quality version if anyone has an educational purpose for it: some 500 MB and I can mail out a CD. The limit for YouTube is 100 MB and the conversion has introduced some errors and lowered the visual content considerably.

Solomon

Very nice clip, well done, and great music! The white text was a bit challenging to read, perhaps a darker color? It was the next best thing to being there, I got a good idea of what it was all about. I don't know about others, but I have never seen a dig recorded before, so the whole scenario was unique and fascinating for me. It seems you have produced an educational tool here, I have passed the link on to a teacher friend who will use it in her classroom.

Bart

Thanks Bart and good points.

I went through the titles and changed them to red. There is a basic set of errors resulting from the conversion process: some of the clips start late. I have tried to amend many times without success.

I cannot help the educational approach. My trying to tell a coherent story is built into me. It's why I have never attempted fiction.

Glad you liked that Celtic music: that's a mandolin you can hear carrying the tune.

I must congratulate Vince on a very fine job directing this dig. He has been masterful in setting it up and managing each aspect. He and Justin are also full of fire and vitality.

As you can see, a number of volunteers helped out. A couple are mature students at university. One is the niece of a very famous South African archaeologist and I enjoyed learning from her about early mankind.

Solomon

Dear All,
            Alkham is a very interesting site concealing much more than we have uncovered to date. It would appear, we have three burials directly or just off the centre of this mound with two disturbed or dug burials and one at depth which seems untouched (currently excavating). As for dates of interment's, its looking like all three will be 6th century Saxon inhumations. To date, we have excavated or recorded 5 burials at this site.

The project design was to locate Bronze Age barrow rings and hopefully establish a previously unknown barrow cemetery but, unfortunately this still eludes us! We have evidence for Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age activity across the land surface in the form of struck flints and small sherd's of pot. Jim Walker (metal detectorist from the White Cliffs MD Club) has searched the entire area over a number of days. Apart from copious amounts of junk and bullet cartridge's, Jim found a copper alloy belt mount dating to the 6th / 7th centuries close by our main trench.

I will keep you informed of developments.

Regards

Vince

Alkham Excavations Update 5th July 2007

In recent weeks, with the help from Kent & Canterbury's University students we are currently training, a total of fourteen trenches have now been opened by hand and reduced in running sections. These trenches range in size from 3 x 1 metres to 14 x 1 metres in length.

We have now recorded six Saxon 6th century inhumation burials, of which three have been fully excavated due to their shallow disposition and threat from ploughing activities. Grave goods have been sparse with:

�   one 7" iron knife with traces of the wooden handle attached;

�   eight iron nails (6cm in length),  three with wood attached;

�   one shoe-shaped copper alloy belt mount stud.

In trenches 106, 112 and 114, we are currently excavating and delimiting two ditches cut into the natural chalk bedrock which we have found.

Ditch 1 - the smaller of the two - appears to represent an enclosure of yet, unknown origins.

Ditch 2., revelled on our geophysical survey images, is believed to be a Bronze Age barrow ringditch measuring approximately 2.60 metres in width. The circumference of the ring itself will probably be around 13 to 16 metres.

So far, we have not recovered any datable evidence from the ditch sections examined. Both ditches are almost certain to have been cut in the prehistory period BCE.

Trench 107, revelled 8 small stakeholes bored into the natural chalk and probably used as dividing partitions, or fencing for livestock. Evidence From the stake context fills suggest that the stakes were removed from the site as apposed to being left to rot.

Our project is expanding rapidly and will eventually move to the wooded area at the top of this ridge above this site. We estimate this work to take around 2 years to complete.

Further details and pictures will be posted periodically.


Regards

Vince Burrows
Site director.

Vince,

Thanks for your concise reports. It certainly would seem that there is a great deal more than we ever imagined when we set  about this project on that cold wet day in December. Great Going! I am sorry not to be there sharing in the work and fun. I am very much looking forward to your next report.

Cheers,
Doc

Dear Doc,
              You would not recognise the ridge since you were here in December. The site has changed from being cold, wet and windy to warm, sunny and inviting. What a contrast! As this ridge is very narrow,for the first few weeks of the project, I decided to go with the good old fashion method of sinking trenches across the most prominant low mound seen on the skyline. This failed and although we discovered Saxon burials there was no sign of the barrow ring-ditches. I am now using our geophysical surveys data to guide us to the archaeological targets. As you can read, we have now located a number of archaeological features which are currently being sectioned. Over the next month or so, we will be examining the full extent of the two main ditch features and hopefully delimit the areas they enclose.

I have just arrived home from Kent and Canterbury University after spending a day training on a Bartington 601 (twin) Magnetic Gradiometer and software with Dr Gabor Thomas. Exceptional equipment and extremely useful on most types of sites and soils. This Sunday, I will be using this system with the Uni students at Lyminge in Kent, to resurvey the areas I have already completed with resistance equipment. Looking forward to hopefully, complimentary data sets.

Hope the diving operations are going well and don't breath-in too many bubbles!!

Best regards

Vince 

Vince,

The more closely I read your report the more certain I feel that the "disturbed burials" would not record as they should on some of our instruments. Their design being for virgin soil application, not something disturbed in recent times. I presume that this must have taken place prior to Simon buying the farm.  Hopefully the new GPR should prove useful in your work. You have really done marvelously, my congratulations to you and your team.

Cheers,
Doc

Dear All,
            Here is a selection from our site potographic record.

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Some of our site team

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Trench 107 showing the stakeholes bored into the chalk.

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Trench 103 exposing the mound core to the natural chalk. The mottled brown area is Saxon burial no6 unexcavated. Not in danger of the plough.

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Two of our University students. Andy and Caromin finally finished excavating graves 4 and 5. Caromins father is an eminent archaeologist in South Africa.

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Grave no 05

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Grave no 05 Skull in situ.

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Grave no 05 was cut through grave 04. This picture shows grave 04 cutting 05 at the eastern end.

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Trench 114, The eastern section cut through the smaller of the two ditches.

Trench 111, The larger ditch believed to be the barrow mound ring-ditch.

Trench 111, Ditch.

My daughter Elissia (15 yrs of age) excavating

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Trench 114, the small ditch looking east.

Vince,

Thanks greatly for those excellent quality pictures.

Cheers,
Doc

Dear Doc,
              With regards to our instruments. The US mag equipment is a very well made piece of hardware. It is much easier to use in terms of keeping the head level and thus sensors in there optimum vertical postion. The design also makes for betterment over other handheld instruments especially on rough terrain. The only downside is the program software as we have discussed. If the manufactures were prepaired to adopt a similar program to that of British and European systems, the Magnum would be a best seller over here and in Europe!

As I have previously mentioned, Dr Gabor and myself recently undertook training with a British designed Fluxgate magnetometer. This equipment provides fast coverage and excellent images results on most types of sites. The Geoplot software costs around �650.00 (from Geoscan.com.UK) and the instrument �12,000 - �13,000. The Magnum hardware is more user friendly giving realtime information on a laptop in front of the operator, but lacks badly in the software department. In my opinion, the Magnum would become one of the top sellers if the software modifications were met. I would certainly back the systems commercial promotion here in the UK through History Hunters in this event.

Regards

Vince

Dear All readers,
                       Looking at the story board with nearly 4500 hits, our site at Alkham seems to be the most visited. Alkham as a place-name drives from Old English ealh + ham meaning "Homestead in a sheltered place, or by a heathen temple" Charlie and his family were still pagan Saxons at this period from whence the village probably got its name? The spelling Ealhham was recorded in 1100 AD.  Work is still continuing at the site despite delays due to the poor weather we have experienced this summer.

Unfortunately, the site lies at the top of a sloping ridge which, is difficult to get to after more than one day of rain. The landowners Simon and Barbara have been fantastic with their support of this very long and protracted project and show great interest in the site as a whole.

The valley has a much wider story yet to be told having missed the gaze of archaeologists with limited financial resources available however, Simon and Barbara's kind support during the course of our research to date, has afforded us the opportunity to undertake the first major steps of work in this very important valley.  John, Justin and myself have experienced some added none archaeological times. Freeing a sheep on its back that got tangled in brambles with a penknife, watching two lambs born in front of us on our geophysical survey net (both repatriated with mum) away from the survey, cows with attitude and the farm dogs bringing us offerings of a small baby rabbit they caught! This small unfortunate fellow, was interred in Charlies now vacant grave in a cairn of stones.

This site is currently funded by myself and expensive to run, If any readers would like to contribute and help with this project, we would be very gratefull for any contributions you are willing to support us with. We are now focussing on the main Bronze Age burial mounds but running very low on financial resources.

If you can help with this project and its continuation, please contact me at: Vince Burrows. 258 Anzio Crescent, Burgoyne Heights, Guston. Kent. England. CT15 5LZ.

HHI will shortly be adding a paypal system directly linked to our site funding programme.

Regards

Vince

I will be posting our latest update with pictures for this site within the next seven days.

Very nice report Vince, I really enjoy the photos, they give a great sense of connection. It appears that is has turned out to be quite a large and important project.

 You wrote "Trench 107 showing the stakeholes bored into the chalk." Is it known what these stakeholes were used for?

Bart

Hi Bart,
           The term I used "bored into the chalk" loosely. These holes are the footprints left from stakes having probably been hammered in! This action compresses the chalk leaving a feature which seems hand cut however, some are hand cut. As for the purpose, this particular arrangement on this ridge was probably some kind of animal enclosure or pen. We have discovered a singular stakehole nearby which is much larger. We still need to delimit the area but my thought's are for a larger fence having been erected.

We started-out looking for at least four barrow ring-ditches, two or three being the norm in this area of Kent. After a brief survey of the wood above this site, I now believe there might be at least ten if not more? If my theory is correct, our Alkham site may slot in under the famous Ringlemere barrow site approximately 10 miles northeast of this site. Its possible the periods of these burials may turn out the same? Over the next few days, we will expose one of the mounds ring-ditches and post to HHI. Unlike that of Ringlemere, we have yet to come across another famous Gold Cup!!!!!

Hope alls well with you.

Regards

Vince

Vince,

What are the latest reports?

Have you made any more discoveries or recoveries?

Congratualtions on everything done to date.

Regards,
Doc

Dear Doc,
              I have been extremely busy with developments at the site. I will post the very latest on Mound II which is believed to date around 1800-1500 BC. We are investigating whether this is a funerary monument or Henge (possible the first land type in Kent)?

Waiting on specialist observations and comments.

Regards

Vince

Vince,

That is excellent!
This must be very exciting indeed. I remember all the strange details we observed from the satellite view.
So much seems to fit now. Anxiously awaiting the new developments.

WTG and Cheers,
Doc

Dear Readers,
                    Since my last comments on this site, our team has been extremely busy clearing the main areas of this particular barrow-ring. We are shortly to finish our research, I will be posting the latest pictures to this site by 23rd October. After carefull examination of all the section excavated, the feature first thought to represent a flint and chalk packed wall around the monuments ditch, was in fact, deposited during the early phase of natural washed in ditch filling.

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The attached picture is of a sketched drawing of a broad Bronze Age barrow cemetery. At our site in Alkham, the cemetery was layed out in a row originating in Oakwood at the top of the hill and extending down the ridge for at least 400 metres or 1,200 feet.

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This picture is a long shot taken at the base of the ridge. In the top righthand corner the orange fencing protecting Monument II can just be observed. Note the lumps and bumps on the central part of the ridge. These may represent later 6th -7th century Anglo-Saxon burials lower down the hill.

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A picture of Jim Mc Manus undertaking a geophysical survey using the US Magnum system.

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The above images are just two examples of the data collected. The green to blue areas denote the fill of eastern and western ring-ditch which, can not be seen above ground.

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Top two pictures are of our second and more extensive geophysical survey over the mostpart of the ridge. Here Justin Yardley, John Bartram and myself are using a British earth-resistance (TR/CIA) system. The results are produced in the black and white image. Although image interpretation training takes around three years to master, if you look at the centre of the picture, a system of interlocking rings (in black) can be seen.

This dark subsurface disturbance represents the barrow ring-ditches which, are not visable above ground. Monument II did not show-up on this image very well although, to the trained eye, we can just makeout this barrow positioned just above the first clear ring-ditch in the upper section of the picture. The reason this feature can not be seen easily is because the chalk cut ring has filled back with the chalk first extracted from it. Our geophysical instruments are therefore, unable to see any back ground variation.

We now suspect one or two further barrows may exist above mound II to the west.

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My Daughter Elissia and her friend Jasmine, opened the first trench section across the southwestern side of Mound II ring-ditch. In this picture, note the change of soil type and colouration between the natural surrounding chalk and the ditch fill in the centre of this image. This Monument was found to measure 11 metres (33 feet) internally with varying ditch width up to 1 metre (3 feet). Although this particular mound is quite small (the average being around 20 metres - 60 feet - across), they where dug without the aid of metal tools we would use today. In fact, what ever the variation of these mounds, the principles remained the same: a magic circle that is given concrete expression by a ditch, a bank and surrounding stones or wooden stakes must surround burials. Certainly, these burial mounds and ditches would have taken thousands of blows with antler picks, thousands of shovelfuls of earth, using a cows shoulder blade, and thousands of linen bags or wicker baskets to be filled and transported to make these imposing mounds.

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Trench 127. A long shot view of the northern badly damaged ring-ditch. Note how shallow the topsoil is after many centuries of plough erosion. The inner ditch cut of 5cm was once over a metre deep. The outer cut has gone completely however, for our plans sections either side where used to conjecture its width at this point.

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A configuration of the partially uncovered stake-holes across the mound surface. The flags are positioned within the stake-holes. These holes were left behind in the natural chalk after some kind of fencing or animal pens was erected probably post-mound in date. It would be quite likely for these pens or fences to have been placed across a now almost flattened mound around 2,500 years later in the Anglo-Saxon period.

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My wife Rebecca (centre) and Veronica Reilly excavating a section of the central mound surface.

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The real Simpson family (Bart nowhere to be seen) working together on more stake-holes.

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Bill Laing excavating the southeastern side of the monument.

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Andrew Bates (one of the mature students from the University of Kent & Canterbury) excavating a deep ring-ditch section on the western side of barrow II.

VOLUNTEERS


If you live in Kent or a University student, we train members of the public that have a keen interest in learning to excavate, plan or both. There are also many other site opportunities here in eastern Kent with other groups during the course of any given year. We are none profit making and do not charge any fees whatso ever. Contact us at: [email protected]

Please login regularly to see how history is rolled back in time. New pictures and details will be posted over the coming days and weeks as we delve deep into Alkhams ancient past.