First entry - what is it all about
Conservation blog for work on archaeological finds from the A2 Pepperhill to Cobham Widening Scheme
Skanska Construction UK Ltd have been carrying out the improvements to the A2 south of Gravesend in Kent for the Highways Agency, and employed Oxford Archaeology to excavate the archaeological sites found along the line of the route. Just west of Tollgate junction, and 2-3 km from the Roman temple complex at Springhead, a group of three high status Roman burials was found, which together constitute one of the richest grave groups excavated in recent times. The burials all date from the period AD 45-70, the first generation after the Roman conquest.
The principal burial lay within a grave pit 2 m square. In the north-west quadrant were the remains of a Roman gaming board: copper alloy drop handles attached to edging strips within which a small amount of degraded wood was preserved, 24 glass counters and two fragmentary bone/antler dice.
The cremation lay in a pile in the SW quadrant of the grave; the bone was clearly that of an adult, but was not well-preserved. A bronze brooch was found adjacent, and may have fastened some sort of organic container for the cremated bones. The brooch was elaborately decorated, and is possibly of continental origin.
The majority of the grave offerings were in the SE quadrant. It rapidly became clear that 13 pottery vessels (9 dishes, three cups and a small jar) lay close together in a rectangular area high up in the pit, and these were left in situ while the soil was taken down around them. As excavation proceeded, lines of bronze tacks with large decorated round heads and bronze was exposed below the edge of the rectangular area of pots, suggesting that these tacks might have remained in situ, perhaps decorating a table on which the pots had been placed. On the floor of the grave below and in front of the `table’ were two pottery flagons, a large pottery beaker and a very large platter, plus a bronze mixing-bowl, a jug (ewer) and a pan (patera). A small pottery beaker was found within the bronze mixing-bowl. The smaller of the flagons has a fragmentary painted inscription (dipinto) on the neck, possibly indicating the contents or the shipper. The patera, ewer and the mixing-bowl are all very similar to examples from Pompeii, and were probably products of the Campanian area in Italy.
[Grave goods from side showing shelf]
[Reconstruction of grave]
[Mixing bowl detail]
To our surprise another burial enclosure lay just outside the main enclosure, and this contained another 7 or more burials, one of which was almost as rich as the first. The cremation was buried in a 1 m square pit, and contained 14 pots including a decorated Samian bowl, two flagons, a beaker, a cup and nine dishes, a bronze patera and ewer, the bronze hinges and fittings for a folding table or board, a copper-bound box containing toilet instruments, a limestone cosmetic mixing palette sheathed in copper alloy, a brooch and a line of iron objects, whose function is still unknown.
[Decorated Samian bowl]
[Photo of grave from above]
A second cremation, again in a 1m square pit, was sufficiently well-preserved to suggest it was also that of a woman. This was enclosed in a rectangular box marked by nails and copper alloy fittings, and was accompanied by a brooch, a glass unguent bottle, a rectangular tin-bronze mirror, and five pots, mostly imported. The box appears to have contained a smaller box or casket at one end, from which two bronze drop handles and three bronze rings survived, together with a decorated bronze plate and rows of small bronze tacks, showing that it had several internal compartments.
[Glass unguent bottle]
[Rectangular bronze mirror]
Because these discoveries were fragile, many of the grave goods were lifted in blocks of soil for excavation in the conservation laboratory. Dana Goodburn-Brown, who had worked alongside the OA team on site, has been carrying on the excavation and conservation work in her Kent laboratory, and discoveries are still being made as the work proceeds. Some of the lab-based work is also technically innovative. In order to record the lines of studs and other metal items preserved in the large block, for instance, a mechanical arm capable of recording in 3-dimensions was obtained on loan from Southampton University, and was used by the OA Graphics Office to record the positions (including orientation) of individual items as they were uncovered. This has allowed the resulting 3-D plot to be viewed from any angle, assisting in the interpretation of the object to which these tacks and strips were attached.
This blog has been set up to explain the ongoing conservation work, and to publicise the new discoveries, as soon as possible after they have been made.
Posted at 04:34PM Jul 18, 2008 by Dana Goodburn-Brown in Status | Comments[0]