Millpond Wood is a veritable oasis of calm and greenery - assuming you discount the noisy japes of a couple of lads playing football in a nearby back garden - set between the Sevenoaks suburbs of St Johns, Seal and, appropriately enough, Wildernesse. Yeah, surrounded by housing estates as this woodland is, arguably the last thing one would expect to encounter would be a great round barrow upon its eastern fringes... and a pretty odd one at that, having been the depository for copious Mesolithic 'artefacts'.
I approached via Pinewood Avenue - having made sure I wouldn't annoy any locals with my finely honed lack of parking prowess - turning left, then left again as I entered the sanctuary of the canopy. Despite being bisected by a wide path, not to mention acting as the depository for some idiot's grass cuttings, the barrow remains a substantial, upstanding monument. A rather idyllic setting, if the truth be told, particularly smothered with quite outstanding early May bluebells.
Furthermore, numerous locals out and about couldn't have been more friendly, even a bloke who looked and sounded like Bez's best mate. Well, all except one miserable old bat who objected about something or other - no idea what. But hey, there's always one, isn't there?
Unusual barrow, presumably Bronze Age in date but containing a large number of Mesolithic micro-flints.
According to Pastscape, "Ninety eight Mesolithic artefacts from Wilderness Barrow opened by W J L Abbot are in the British Museum; Tunbridge Wells Museum holds another 125 artefacts".
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Posted by GLADMAN
Posted by thesweetcheat
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