Monument record TR 26 NE 1299 - Roman field system, enclosures and trackways - Thanet Earth

Summary

A Roman field system was identified across parts of the Thanet Earth excavations, this likely relates to the possible Roman occupation area (represented by cropmarks) beyond the limits of excavation to the east. (location accurate to the nearest 1m based on available information)

Location

Grid reference Centred TR 2890 6689 (499m by 844m) (23 map features)
Map sheet TR26NE
County KENT
District THANET, KENT
Civil Parish MONKTON, THANET, KENT
Civil Parish ST NICHOLAS AT WADE, THANET, KENT

Map

Type and Period (4)

Full Description

A roman field system was identified across parts of the Thanet Earth excavations, this likely relates to the possible Roman occupation area (represented by cropmarks) beyond the limits of excavation to the east. The fields closest to the cropmark complexwere quite small (about 22–25m across north to south). At least three paddock-like enclosures were uncovered here aligned at right angles to the adjacent Trackway 26 and were bounded by its side ditch. The ditches, all about 0.3m wide, were relatively shallow. An enclosure (enclosure 11) was also identified in this area It consisted of three or four discrete lengths of ditch aligned north-south, both extremities of the alignment curved slightly to the east. The ditches, 0.75m wide and 0.3m deep on average, yielded Roman pottery but few other finds apart from mussel shell.

In the central area (Plateaus 1 and 8), the north and western sides of a large field were located (R1) . The northern part of the field was formed by a ditch which extended 133m east-west (about 50m south of Trackway 27) before turning sharply to a north-south axis and heading south for 18.6m. It was on average 0.7m wide by 0.2m deep with the fill containing fragmented pottery, daub, worked and burnt flint, animal bone, and a fragment of quernstone. The ditch cut through a number of ditch alignments and pits relating to the mid–late Iron Age settlement. Located 21.5m to the south, the remainder of the field’s western side was delineated by north–south aligned ditch This 58.7m long linear was 0.8m wide by 0.24m deep and contained a similar corpus of artefacts. The southern part of the ditch was increasingly eroded and it could not be traced further than Barrow 6. A return eastwards was not evident, but may have lain in an unexcavated part of the site.

Two enclosures formed part of the field system in this area (enclosures 9 and 10) which were located immediately adjacent to Barrow 6 in the area between two Late Iron Age trackways. (which were likely also used in the early roman period). The northern side of Enclosure 9 had been almost completely removed by Enclosure 10 apart from a probably associated western terminal. Both appear to respect the position of an extant mound. Enclosure 9 was exactly 15m square internally. Although no datable material was recovered from the enclosure’s ditches, which were relatively small and shallow (0.4m wide by 0.2–0.4m deep), its square shape and close topographic association with Enclosure 10, albeit cut by that enclosure’s southern ditch, suggest a Roman period origin. Enclosure 10 was another virtually square enclosure with an internal area of c. 9.9–10.0m across. The ditch of Enclosure 10 was more substantial than that of the earlier enclosure at nearly 1m wide and c. 0.4m deep. It cut across the infilled ditch of Barrow 6, presumably again stopping just short of and thus respecting the mound. The ditch of Enclosure 10 yielded far more artefactual material than its predecessor, including animal bone, pottery of between 25 BC–AD 200 and an iron nail. Cremation burials were loctaed witihn the area enclosed by enclosure 10, it is possible that it represents a mortuary enclosure.

To the west of the field R1 was another boundary defined by two segmented ditches representing the possible site of two further fields. The northern ditch was traced for 106m to the west of Field R1 and the southern for 48m, no continuation of the ditches beyond these western points were identified. Both ditches terminated just short of Field R1 to the east, suggesting they were later additions. It is possible that the double ditch alignment formed part of a droveway, as well as a field boundary. Field R2 was the smaller, covering a minimum area of 42m wide by 86m (though its southern extent was not identified) and would appear to have contained Enclosures 9 and 10 within its area. It is possible therefore, that it may not have extended beyond the area encompassed by the enclosures and Barrow 6, particularly given that the barrow mound was probably still partially extant. Field R3 covered a minimum area of 62m east–west by 125.5m north–south but neither the southern or western boundaries were identified.

A field system, aligned on the same axis as that on Plateaux 1 and 8, was identified south of Trackway 25 on Plateaux 3–5, though the fields remain somewhat difficult to define. On Plateau 3, Field R4 was formed by a ditch that was traced for 154m on a north–south axis before turning to the north-east just south of Trackway 25. Field R5 lay to the west and defined by the north–south boundary and the southern edge of Trackway 27.

The Roman period field system appears to have continued to the south where another shallow north–south aligned ditch spanned Plateau 4, the fill revealed a small pottery assemblage, that included Roman sherds dated c AD 70–250.

While large, and clearly regular, as far as the layout of the Roman field system at Thanet Earth can be determined, it does not readily fit into a particularly uniform rectilinear arrangement based on documented Roman land measures such as the actus. (1) (information summarised from source)

The cropmark remains of the extension of one of the ditches of the Roman field system recorded by the above authority has been mapped from Next Perspectives APGB Imagery 14-AUG-2003 aerial photographs in the adjacent field to the east as part of the Historic England Isle of Thanet Landscape mapping project in 2024. The ditch extends NE and can be traced for a further 90m beyond the excavated part of the site (2)


<1> Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 2023, Beneath the Seamark: 6000 Years of an Islands History (Monograph). SKE55405.

<2> Next Perspectives, 2003-2021, Next Perspectives APGB orthophotography, Next Perspectives APGB Imagery 14-AUG-2003 (Archive). SKE57110.

Sources/Archives (2)

  • <1>XY Monograph: Canterbury Archaeological Trust. 2023. Beneath the Seamark: 6000 Years of an Islands History. [Mapped feature: #111583 field system, ]
  • <2> Archive: Next Perspectives. 2003-2021. Next Perspectives APGB orthophotography. Next Perspectives APGB Imagery 14-AUG-2003.

Finds (0)

Protected Status/Designation

  • None recorded

Related Monuments/Buildings (1)

Related Events/Activities (3)

  • Event Boundary: Excavations at Thanet Earth 2007-2008 (EKE14749)
  • Non-Intrusive Event: Historic England Thanet Landscape - Aerial Investigation Mapping (EKE23827)
  • Intrusive Event: Strip, Map and Sample excavation at Plateau 1, Thanet Earth (Ref: TEP1E‐EX‐12) (EKE15747)

Record last edited

Oct 29 2024 4:06PM