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Monument record TQ 77 SW 1109 - Remains of an oval mound with a diameter of 9m seen in Shorne Marshes
Summary
The earthwork remains of an elongated mound measuring c.13m x 33m which was seen within Shorne Marshes. This may be the remains of medieval salt production known The earthwork remains of an oval mound with a diameter of 9m seen in Shorne Marshes, probably an example of a 19th century or earlier stock refuge mound constructed on low-lying pasture within the marshlands of the Hoo Peninsula and the margins of the Thames Estuary. Such mounds have been referred to and identified in a contemporary paper on the subject (Spurrell, 1885). This was mapped from Environment Agency lidar imagery as part of the English Heritage: Hoo Peninsula Landscape Project. It is possible that the mound is the remnant of a saltern mound resulting from medieval salt production. Saltern mounds are the result of large-scale salt manufacturing where brine was extracted from salt-rich sands and sediments, concentrated and evaporated using process known as sleeching. The discarded waste material from the process built up around the production area into a sizeable mound, often with a hollow in the centred where a hut stood. These medieval saltern mounds are typically described as floriate in form because of their irregular lobed formation of dumped waste. They often occur in clusters around former and surviving tidal water-courses within the marsh. There has been considerable reclamation and subsequent sea wall construction since the medieval period which has isolated these sites from the sea. Many of these mounds were subsequently utilised as sheepfolds, sheep washes and stock refuges in the post medieval period because of their slightly elevated position in the readily flooded marshes. Roman finds have been extracted from some of these sites, but are believed to be from the lower levels and not associated with the mounds. Post-Roman flooding and silt deposition has resulted in Roman sites lying typically several feet below the current land surface.
Location
Grid reference | Centred TQ 7019 7402 (14m by 13m) |
---|---|
Map sheet | TQ77SW |
County | KENT |
District | GRAVESHAM, KENT |
Civil Parish | SHORNE, GRAVESHAM, KENT |
Map
Type and Period (2)
Full Description
<1> English Heritage, 2013, Hoo Peninsula, Kent: Hoo Peninsua Historic Landscape Project (Unpublished document). SKE29515.
<2> Environment Agency, 2001, LIDAR TQ 7074 Environment Agency D0015719 APR-2001 (Digital archive). SKE55986.
<3> Spurrell FCJ,, 1885, Early Sites and Embankments on the Margins of the Thames Estuary (Article in serial). SKE53799.
Sources/Archives (3)
- <1> SKE29515 Unpublished document: English Heritage. 2013. Hoo Peninsula, Kent: Hoo Peninsua Historic Landscape Project.
- <2> SKE55986 Digital archive: Environment Agency. 2001. LIDAR TQ 7074 Environment Agency D0015719 APR-2001.
- <3> SKE53799 Article in serial: Spurrell FCJ,. 1885. Early Sites and Embankments on the Margins of the Thames Estuary. Archaeological Journal 42.
Finds (0)
Protected Status/Designation
- None recorded
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Events/Activities (1)
- Non-Intrusive Event: English Heritage: Hoo Peninsula Landscape Project NMP (EKE20812)
Record last edited
May 1 2024 12:14PM