Ringlemere barrow

Because the metal detectorist reported finding the gold cup, professional archaeologists from Canterbury Archaeological Trust were able to properly excavate the site.

This work has revealed a previously unsuspected funerary complex of Early Bronze Age date (approximately 2300 BC) had stood at the site.

Excavation work has continued at the site, funded by English Heritage, the BBC, the British Museum and the Kent Archaeological Society.

Considerable evidence of much earlier Neolithic activity has now been found on the site including by far the largest assemblage of grooved ware in the county.

Current theories now focus on the site having been significant long before and after the barrow being built and that the ditch may have been that of an older henge or, more likely, hengiform monument.