| Summary : The site of a possible Neolithic chambered tomb, nothing now surviving above ground. The site was discovered in circa 1822, the sarsens being an obstruction to ploughing. Uncovering and removal of the stones led to the discovery of human bones representing at least two adults and some potsherds described as representing "a small vessel of unglazed red earth". Although several authorities regard the site as a probable Neolithic chambered tomb, the stone chamber probably standing at the end of a long mound, alternative interpretations include the suggestion that the stones represented a much smaller cist, the "unglazed red" vessel perhaps being a Beaker. |
More information : [TQ 75446066] Dolmen [NR] (Site of) (NAT) (1)
[TQ 75266058] Burial Chamber [NR] (Site of) (NAT) (2)
In 1822 or 1823 (4,4b) in a field belonging to George Fowle, about quarter of a mile from Kits Coty House, [TQ 76 SW 4] the plough ran into two stones about 6.5 ft by 2 ft lying lengthways on edge, between which the workmen found "a skeleton, in nearly a perfect state," lying E-W, but which disintegrated after exposure to the air. A third stone lay flat. (3)
Manuscript by Smythe, (b) now in Maidstone Museum notes that "in the summer of 1823 a British Tomb or Druidical Monument was discovered in the parish of Aylesford on the Warren Farm belong to Geo. Fowle". Investigation by Smythe revealed a monument composed of four irregular shaped stone similar to those at Kits Coty House. At a depth of 4 ft.human bones are found lying E-W on a flat stone. Dr Charles of Maidstone pronounced these to belong to two individuals. A small fragment of an urn, now lost, was also found. The stones were removed. O.S. siting adjusted (2) (4) (5) conforming to Bensted's map (c) (in
Maidstone Museum). In 1955, two more stones of megalithic size were struck by the plough in the same field at TQ 753605. (6)
The smaller stone was removed, but the larger can now [1955] be "clearly be seen in a low east to west mound." Daniel (7) lists Warren Farm as a doubtful site more likely to be a large cist than a chamber tomb. (3-7)
An examination of Smythe's MSS and Bensted's map disclosed that only one burial site was found (see map diagram for history of various sitings) the area is under plough and there is nothing to be seen on the ground. The stones uncovered in 1955 lay some 100.0m SSE of the published site. Assuming Bensted's map to be correct, these stones cannot have formed a part of the chamber or cist and were probably natural erratics, which are common in the area. (8)
TQ 753606. Smythe's megalith. What was almost certainly a chambered tomb once stood in a large field east of the dual carriageway (A229). Nothing can now be seen and the site cannot be visited. It was found and destroyed in 1823. Bones of at least two adults and a sherd of 'an unglazed urn' were recovered. (9,10,11)
Paul Ashbee has in recent years published several articles discussing the Medway Megaliths, including the Warren Farm site, with a particular emphasis on historical records and early investigations, with detailed bibliographic references and antiquarian illustrations. Ashbee interprets the Warren Farm site as "part of a longer, partitioned chamber...[It] is clear that the orientation of this chamber remnant was east-west and, with the present-day nature of other sites in mind, it was the east end of a long barrow". However, this is highly speculative to say the least. The presence of a long mound remains unproven, for example. An alternative suggestion that the stones represented a cist, the sherds a Beaker, is equally plausible. (12-15)
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