Bronze Age
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Background

Surrey County Council's Sites and Monuments Record Nos 1875 and 2389 record the following:

"On display in Charterhouse Museum, from 'Moat Field, Chobham Park', are

  • 1875 - two rim fragments of LBA/IA undecorated urns
  • 2389 - one upper portion of a large ornamental MBA cinerary urn donated 1867

Photo of the Chobham Park sherds reproduced from Bronze-age Urns in Surrey, Surrey Archaeological Society Collections Vol 35.

Donated by Rev C Kerry, Cat nos 217-219/1957 - source Charterhouse Museum Catalogue.  The Rev Kerry was one time curate of Puttenham, nr Guildford, and collected material from that area c.1870.  

Sources:

  • F G Aldsworth, Fl 1.8.66
  • Charterhouse Museum Catalogue F G Aldsworth 1.8.66
  • AC 11.10.84"  

These are now on permanent loan to Surrey Heath Museum. Acquisition numbers: rim sherds - p350& p351; urn fragment P091.

Project Approach

  1. research the documented history of the finds
  2. investigate the three fragments now in Surrey Heath Museum.
  3. aerial photography survey
  4. field walk for more fragments
  5. resistivity analysis of the nearby hill

Results

  1. Documented History
    The Rev Kerry was a keen amateur archaeologist and kept copious notes of his investigations. We hoped to find further details of the circumstances of his finds at Chobham Park from his journals. Phil Stevens and David Stokes have independently searched the photocopies of Kerry's journals held by Surrey Archaeological Society and the Surrey History Centre but can find no reference to Chobham.  However the photocopies do not include a volume for 1867. SyAS have copies of Vols 1-5; 8-12 (8&9 1871, 10 1874, 11 ?, 12 1876)

    The original journals are held by Derby Library who have searched the 1867 volume for us but can find no entry for Chobham.  
    Sadly therefore, it would appear likely that Kerry did not himself find the sherds but that they were sent to him from Chobham Park - apparently in two batches.

  2. Finds Examination
    Carol White, King Alfred's College - Winchester, has examined the sherds and reports:
    "I have closely studied one of the sherds stored at Surrey Heath Museum, from Moat Field, Chobham Park. The piece in point would be of Early Bronze Age and is very course and friable, from sandy clays of a local source and using low firing. I would say from where it was collected, it is definitely as a result of secondary deposition and may well be from a higher location and a barrow which was ploughed away at some time, then the disturbed material moved downslope into the riverside area. I think the possibility of a riverside urnfield is tenuous and the interpretation by Rev. Kerry would now be regarded as outdated, as it is generally thought that many urnfields or flat cemeteries of the Mid to Late Bronze Age are to be found within the vicinity of barrow sites."

    The relationship of the nearby ridge to Moat Field.

    The contours represent 5m height differences; the small grids are 100m square.  Therefore if the sherds were washed down from the ridge they would have needed to travel approximately 300m horizontally down a 10m fall.  The whole area west of the house has been extensively ploughed in former times. 

    Map: David Stokes 


    Kerry attributed the sherds to the mid Bronze age to Iron Age.  In our area, by the later Bronze Age, cemeteries with cremated remains in pots or just scoops in the ground were in use. 1 p73 But it would appear that at least one of the sherds is early Bronze Age.

  3. Aerial Photography

    The aerial photographs show nothing that may indicate the presents of a ploughed-out barrow.  However there are several reasons why the remnants of a barrow might not be seen.

    • All the photographs are taken from a high altitude and hence the barrow would be very small on the prints.  The barrow at Longcross Woods, about 2km NE, which was surveyed in 2002 was only 30m in diameter (to give an idea of scale, a 30m diameter circle would just enclose the house).
    • The photographs were not taken at times that would show crop marks.  One was taken in April - too early: the others after the hay crop had been cut.
    • The field is one of the prime arable sites in Chobham and has probably been continuously ploughed from at least Saxon times to fairly recently

     

  4. Field walking has not yet been scheduled.  The ground is all pasture and meadow and therefore not conducive to field walking.  Shovel pitting and the examination of mole hills may be possible.
  5. Resistivity Analysis has not been scheduled since the area to be covered is large (15 hectares; about 10 days effort) and the aerial photographs do not show any crop marks which may narrow down the search.

 

References:

1    Hidden Depths.  Ed. Roger Hunt, Surrey Archaeological Society 2002.