Monument record TR 36 NW 1363 - Roman pits and ditches, possible enclosures land off Tothill Street, Minster

Summary

Several pits and ditches were discovered during evaluation trenching on land off Tothill Street in Minster, Thanet. A group of these were discovered in a trench (trench 10) that was targeting a set of geophysical anomalies which had been previously interpreted as possible enclosures. The all but one of the excavated features correlated with the survey anomalies. Further pits and ditches were also seen to the south in trench 12, these were not seen during the geophysical survey of the site but are likely of a similar date. (location accurate to the nearest 1m based o available information)

Location

Grid reference Centred TR 3100 6545 (63m by 90m) (10 map features)
Map sheet TR36NW
County KENT
District THANET, KENT
Civil Parish MINSTER, THANET, KENT

Map

Type and Period (3)

Full Description

Three pits and a ditch were recorded in trench 10, of which all, except one small pit, correlated exactly with geophysical anomalies. The features cut the natural chalk geology at c. 0.6m depth and were sealed by a c.0.11m thick subsoil deposit below the ploughsoil. The ditch was near-east/west aligned, was 2.15m wide and 0.72m deep, with moderate to steep, concave sides. The fills contained Early Romano-British pottery, cbm and fired clay. The first of the pits was a large quarry pit, 0.77m by >0.45m in extent and 62m deep which was backfilled with deposits that contained a small assemblage of Late Iron Age/Early Romano-British pottery as well as residual later prehistoric pottery. A cremation-related deposit was recorded near the base of the pit but was left in-situ. The second pit was a c. 0.12m diameter and located to the immediate north of the and was 0.73m deep. The single fill contained a small assemblage of worked flint and Early Romano-British pottery.

Trench 12 was not targeted on any geophysical anomalies; however, a number of truncated archaeological features were recorded cutting the natural chalk geology directly below the plough soil at a depth of 0.48m. None of the excavated features were greater than 0.19m in depth. The features included ditches a pit and a possible posthole/small pit. A small assemblage of later prehistoric pottery (20/103g) was recovered from the single fill of one of the pits. From the three near-north/south ditches, a very small quantity of worked flint and later prehistoric pottery was recorded and some Late Iron Age/Early Romano-British pottery (information summarised from source) (1)


<1> Cotswold Archaeology, 2017, Land at Tothill Street, Minster in Thanet, Kent - Archaeological Evaluation Report (Unpublished document). SKE55739.

Sources/Archives (1)

  • <1>XY Unpublished document: Cotswold Archaeology. 2017. Land at Tothill Street, Minster in Thanet, Kent - Archaeological Evaluation Report. [Mapped feature: #119793 pits and ditches, ]

Finds (0)

Protected Status/Designation

  • None recorded

Related Monuments/Buildings (1)

Related Events/Activities (2)

  • Intrusive Event: Archaeological evaluation on land at Tothill Street, Minster in Thanet, Kent - Trench 10 (Ref: TOT17) (EKE22778)
  • Event Boundary: Archaeological evaluation on land at Tothill Street, Minster in Thanet, Kent (Ref: TOT17) (EKE22768)

Record last edited

Jun 26 2024 2:33PM