The presence of an early medieval freshwater channel was suggested during archaeological and geoarchaeological investigations on land off Ashford Road New Romney. It is possible that the feature relates to the Rumensea Wall which is suggested to have run parallel to Ashford Road on its north-eastern side. This wall was constructed for the purpose of marshland reclamation in the early medieval period and attests to artificial landscape alteration taking place in the immediate area during this period.

The bases of the channels were overlying the peat (which is of a Bronze Age date) and also cut into the sandy silt. There is a significant gap in dating from the top of the peat until the earliest date
from the organic alluvium within the base of CH1. This suggests that either a major episode of erosion took place during the Iron Age/ Roman Period, or we are missing some data from the site. The basal silts from the channel were dated to 570–650 cal AD. This feature [495] has been interpreted as being artificially cut due to the steep eastern slope of the bank, this inference is also supported by evidence of microscopic artefacts found within the basal deposits which suggests that human activity was occurring nearby. Further evidence of human activity was found in the presence of cereal pollen in the basal samples indicating the presence of arable agriculture in the area. Furthermore, eggs from Trichuris trichura/suis (whipworm) was found at 1.11m, suggesting that faecal matter from people or pigs was entering the deposits. Finally, this inference is also supported by the presence of the Rumensea Wall nearby, which is suggested to have run parallel to Ashford Road on its north-eastern side. This wall was constructed for the purpose of marshland reclamation in the early medieval period and attests to artificial landscape alteration taking place in the immediate area during this period. The base of the channel also contained frequent water flea eggs suggestive of a freshwater environment, as well as common freshwater ostracods. This evidence indicates that when the channel was first in use, it was freshwater in nature. This is in contrast with the sediments that were cut by CH1, which reflected a sheltered brackish environment

The Channel appears to have continued in use into the 12th and 13th centuries, during this period it was revetted with timber (see TR 02 NE 176) some of which where preserved. The profiles of the ditches are of a size and depth that suggest that they may have been navigable by small, flat-bottomed boats at high tide. Such channels and ditches were common through the low-lying, wetland and many are still present.(1) (information summarised from source)

<1> RPS, 2022, Archaeological Post Excavation assessement and Updated Project Design for Land at Ashford Road, New Romney, Kent (Unpublished document). SKE55293.