Ringlemere barrow facts for kids

The Ringlemere barrow is an exciting archaeological site near Sandwich in Kent, England. It became famous because of a special find: the Ringlemere gold cup.

This site is like a giant puzzle that archaeologists are still putting together. It was once a large mound of earth, called a barrow, built a very long time ago.

What is the Ringlemere Barrow?

A barrow is a big mound of earth built over a burial or to mark an important place. The Ringlemere barrow was created around 2300 BC, during the Bronze Age. This was a time when people started using bronze to make tools and weapons.

The barrow itself was huge! It was once as tall as 5 meters (about 16 feet) and more than 40 meters (about 130 feet) wide. Imagine a mound as tall as a two-story house and as wide as a swimming pool! A ditch, about 5 to 6 meters wide and 1.35 meters deep, circled the barrow.

The Amazing Gold Cup

The story of the Ringlemere barrow began when a person using a metal detector found something shiny. It was a beautiful gold cup! Because the finder reported it, professional archaeologists from the Canterbury Archaeological Trust could properly dig up the site.

The gold cup is very special. It's thought that it might have been a votive offering. This means it was placed in the mound as a gift to the gods or spirits, rather than being buried with a person. It was found away from the center of the mound, mixed in with the earth used to build it.

Digging Up the Past

Archaeologists have been working hard at Ringlemere. Their work has been supported by groups like English Heritage, the BBC, the British Museum, and the Kent Archaeological Society.

They found that the barrow had been disturbed over time, partly by animals digging tunnels. This made it harder to figure out exactly where the cup was originally placed. Interestingly, no Bronze Age burials have been found at the site yet. However, archaeologists have found burials from later times, like the Iron Age and even an Anglo-Saxon cemetery. This shows that the area was important to people for thousands of years.

Older Discoveries at the Site

The archaeologists also found signs of much older activity at Ringlemere, even before the barrow was built. They discovered many pieces of grooved pottery, which is a type of pottery made during the Neolithic period (Stone Age). This is the largest collection of grooved pottery found in Kent!

Scientists now believe that the Ringlemere site was important long before and after the barrow was built. The large ditch around the barrow might even have been part of an older henge or a similar type of ancient monument. A henge is a circular earthwork, often with standing stones or timber posts, used for ceremonies.

Images for kids

• 

  Claw beaker from the Ringlemere barrow.