<P> The distribution of known settlements also remains elusive with few settlements found in the West Midlands or North - West . Even in Kent, an area of rich early Anglo - Saxon archaeology, the number of excavated settlements is fewer than expected . However, in contrast the counties of Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire are relative rich in early settlements . These have revealed a tendency for early Anglo - Saxon settlements to be on the light soils associated with river terraces . </P> <P> Many of the inland settlements are on rivers that had been major navigation routes during the Roman era . These sites, such as Dorchester on Thames on the upper Thames, were readily accessible by the shallow - draught, clinker - built boats used by the Anglo - Saxons . The same is true of the settlements along the rivers Ouse, Trent, Witham, Nene and along the marshy lower Thames . Less well - known due to a dearth of physical evidence but attested by surviving place names, there were Jutish settlements on the Isle of Wight and the nearby southern coast of Hampshire . </P> <P> A number of Anglo - Saxon settlements are located near or at Roman - era towns, but the question of simultaneous town occupation by the Romano - Britons and a nearby Anglo - Saxon settlement (i.e., suggesting a relationship) is not confirmed . At Roman Caistor - by - Norwich, for example, recent analysis suggests that the cemetery post-dates the town's virtual abandonment . </P> <P> The earliest cemeteries that can be classified as Anglo - Saxon are found in widely separate regions and are dated to the early 5th century . The exception is in Kent, where the density of cemeteries and artifacts suggest either an exceptionally heavy Anglo - Saxon settlement, or continued settlement beginning at an early date, or both . By the late 5th century there were additional Anglo - Saxon cemeteries, some of them adjacent to earlier ones, but with a large expansion in other areas, and now including the southern coast of Sussex . </P>

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