Bronze Age human skeleton found on building site

The skeleton of a Bronze Age woman is set to be archived in a museum after being unearthed at a Kent building site.

The well-preserved remains were discovered as work started on a site earmarked for 41 home estate in Thanet in early 2021.

Also found were a skull fragment belonging to another female, as well as animal bones, pottery and evidence of a Roman road.

Having been removed and studied, experts said the items' importance "cannot be underestimated".

Estimated to have been between 30 and 35-years-old at the time of her death, the first female was found in a crouch-burial position, which occurs when the dead are interred on their sides with their knees pulled up to their chest, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The separate skull fragment found was thought to be from an adolescent or young adult woman dating from 500- 400BC, while the pit in which it was unearthed also contained burnt flint – meaning rocks which were likely to have been used as tools.

The unexpected finds were made by Swale and Thames Archaeological Survey Company (Swat Archaeology) after developer Orbit Homes secured permission to build what is now Cottington Gardens, on land in Ramsgate in 2022.

Swat Archaeology's report, published this month, has also revealed that the remains were removed from the site to be studied.

It is now expected they will be archived by Kent County Council in a museum.

Brian Nearney, regional managing director at Orbit Homes, said: "It has been an incredible experience for the Orbit Homes team to watch the archaeologists undertake excavation of the site and now start to learn more about the significance of the artefacts that were discovered."

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