| Summary: | Archaeological investigations in advance of the development of the new town of Cranbrook revealed evidence related to several prehistoric periods. The earliest phase of activity comprised an Early Mesolithic occupation site which was potentially utilised over a considerable period of time. A relatively substantial assemblage of Early Mesolithic struck lithics and associated radiocarbon dates, obtained from charred hazel shells, form an important addiction to the evidence for this period in this area. A single feature possibly belonged to the Early Neolithic.
The most important later feature was a substantial Beaker ring ditch, probably representing a former barrow, which contained a ‘well-furnished’ probably inhumation. A further possible burial was represented by a shallow pit with a whole Beaker, and other probably contemporary pits may have represented a small cemetery. Radiocarbon dates place the burials late in the 3rd millennium BC and, as such, the cemetery represents an early and exceptional example of this type of monument in the region. |
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