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Bones from Bronze Age Funerary urn

A collection of bones found beneath the inverted bronze age funerary urn

To the north-east of Otford Station, on the east side of the Darent Valley is a re-entrant in the North Downs known as the Coombe; it is a steep-sided dry valley. No prehistoric sites are known within the Coombe, although flint implements have been found. A possible round barrow is situated on the top of Otford Mount, one mile south of the burial site.

During mechanical levelling for a tennis court in the southward sloping garden o the rear of no. 46 Greenhill Road (N.G.R. TQ53556005), a cavity was noticed in the side of the excavation to which the attention of the householder Mrs. R. Pitcairn-Knowles was drawn. Excavation by the Otford and District Historical Society’s Archaeological Group established that this cavity contained a complete vessel which proved to contain cremated bone fragments uncontaminated with earth filling the vessel. From the conical heap of fragments, it is possible that the bones had been cremated, then deliberately crushed and placed in a container, possibly a bag of cloth or leather, which has perished completely.

Item Features

Object Number P-250120-02
Place of Discovery 46 Greenhill Road, Otford
Date of discovery 1970
Significance to the collection Medium
Significance to the Collection Medium