4.20.29 Buckland Anglo-Saxon cemetery, Dover, Kent

general view of cemetery
(© Canterbury Archaeological Trust)

Prof Vera Evison's excavation of an Anglo-Saxon cemetery near Buckland (Buckland I), on the outskirts of Dover, between 1951 and 1953 remains one of the most important Anglo-Saxon cemeteries in Kent to have been meticulously researched and published. In 1994, 244 graves were excavated by the Canterbury Archaeological Trust less than 400m from the earlier discoveries (Buckland II). Staff from the British Museum assisted in the excavations and the post-excavation programme is co-ordinated from London, and represents a co-operative venture between the museum, the Canterbury Archaeological Trust, and EH.

Most of the burials from Buckland II were inhumations which had been cut through colluvial deposits into the underlying chalk. In fourteen cases burials were found which were laid over each other, and there was also one triple grave. Bone preservation was variable and few skeletons were complete and in good or reasonable condition. In twenty-eight cases no human bone survived at all. There was indirect evidence for the original presence of coffins in approximately twenty-five of the graves, and in one case two rows of clench bolts were found under a body. There was no evidence, however, of any internal grave structures and fittings, of the type familiar from burials on the Isle of Thanet, and elsewhere in East Kent.

The grave goods include seventy-five brooches, which is a far greater number than that recovered from Buckland I. At least 50% of these are imported, reflecting the cosmopolitan nature of the site, which has the largest concentration of Continental material to be found in any English cemetery. Several graves included objects of the so-called Quoit Brooch Style and there were also three gold D-bracteates, as well as a gold-plated imitation pseudo-Imperial tremissis.

Brooches and bracteates
(© Canterbury Archaeological Trust)

A rich female grave included a large late Roman rock crystal intaglio, which had been mounted in a silver sling similar to those used for crystal balls, several of which were also recovered from graves. Several graves included glass claw-beakers or palm cups and over forty graves produced chatelaines, keys, or objects of copper alloy or iron suspended from the waist. The weapons include seven swords, two arrowheads, an axe, seven shields, and twenty-four spearheads, one of which is inlaid with a pseudo-runic symbol. The site also produced the first example of an iron fauchard (a single-edged hafted weapon with a hook projecting from the back of the blade) to have come from a secure Anglo-Saxon context. The fittings of a wooden bucket survived, and silver and copper alloy mounts for at least twelve smaller wooden vessels were also recovered. Nineteen graves included ceramic vessels, most of which are of local origin, although there were also two Frankish wheel-thrown pottery bottles.

The new excavations were located on the same hillside as the early cemetery, and the two are separated by the Dover-Deal railway. The burials on the lower slope extend the dating range to be seen at Buckland I, with burials dating from the late fifth to the seventh century. Burials at Buckland I tended to be later in date. The two burial assemblages complement each other and it is inherently likely that they stem from the same cemetery, which was in use across almost all of the early Anglo-Saxon period. Over four hundred inhumation burials were deposited on Long Hill at this time. This view of a unified burial landscape has yet to be conclusively proved, however, and the detailed study of the development of this burial area and its associated Anglo-Saxon features will form an important part of the post-excavation programme.

Gold bracteate (© Canterbury Archaeological Trust)

The analysis both of the small finds and of the human skeletal remains has begun with the project scheduled for completion in 1999. Most of the work on the grave goods, which will involve contributions from twelve separate specialists, will take place in the British Museum. An extensive programme of remedial and investigative conservation, scientific research, and artefact illustration has now begun there. At the same time, the human skeletal remains are currently being examined in Canterbury. It is gratifying to note that Professor Evison has maintained a keen interest in the site over a period of more than forty years, and she continues to play an active role in the analysis of the grave goods from the 1994 excavations.