Smythe's Megalith

The field in which Smythe's Megalith was found, February 2014

Smythe's Megalith or the Warren Farm Chamber is the name given to a now lost Neolithic tomb on Blue Bell Hill north of Maidstone in the English county of Kent. The site was probably one of the Medway megaliths, it was around 300 metres NNE of the White Horse Stone on the edge of Westfield Wood.

It was rediscovered in 1823 by farm workers. A local antiquarian, Clement Smythe, recorded the find as follows:

"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."

Smythe visited the site and his excavations uncovered four irregular shaped stones similar to those at Kit's Coty House. At a depth of around 1.2m Smythe found human bones which he recorded as being orienated east-west and lying on a flat stone. A local doctor examined the remains and concluded they belonged to two individuals. A small unglazed urn fragment, now lost, was also found. The stones were then removed.

In 1955, two further large stones were struck by a plough, in the same field. The smaller stone was removed, but the larger was left, said to be on a low east-west aligned mound. Whether they were connected with the original find is uncertain as the area is now fully under plough and nothing can be seen on the ground.

Notes and references

Coordinates: 51°19′N 0°31′E / 51.317°N 0.517°E / 51.317; 0.517