Monument record MKE124241 - Trackway and ditchs near Great Brooksend Farm, Birchington

The fragmented remains of a length of trackway and linear boundaries of Iron Age or Roman date visible as cropmarks on Next Perspectives APGB Imagery 14-APR-2015 aerial photographs, HEA 29844/26 20-APR-2016, NMR 4563/25 19-JUN-1989 and LIDAR Environment Agency DTM 07-DEC-2017 . The trackway is aligned roughly north-south and is defined by parallel side ditches. The northern and southern section appear as a slight earthwork hollow way on Lidar images suggesting prolonged use over time. The course of the track curves to the SE at its southern end, stopping short of the Canterbury Road east of Brooksend Cottages. A single ditch, possibly continuation of the trackway can be seen extending southward on the opposite side of the road to the edge of Crispe Road. This point south-east of Brooksend Cottages marks the start of the Brooksend Stream and the head of the former inlet prior to silting in the medieval period. A number of histoirc trackways have been seen to converge at this point.

The The trackway is cut by a long sinuous NE-SW ditch which appears to skirt around a possible Bronze Age round barrow (MKE 124238). A second ditch crosses the trackway c.60 further to the north. This appears to respect the trackway, but may join up with the first ditch to the east forming a an elongated enclosure. The fragmented nature of the cropmarks makes it difficult to ascetain the chronology of the the track and boundaries.

These features were mapped as part of the Historic England Isle of Thanet Landscape mapping project in 2024 (1-5).

<1> Historic England Archive, 1920-2024, Historic England Archive Specialist oblique aerial photographs, HEA 29844/26 20-APR-2016 (Archive). SKE57106.

<2> Next Perspectives, 2003-2021, Next Perspectives APGB orthophotography, Next Perspectives APGB Imagery 21-APR-2007 (Archive). SKE57110.

<3> Next Perspectives, 2003-2021, Next Perspectives APGB orthophotography, Next Perspectives APGB Imagery 14-APR-2015 (Archive). SKE57110.

<4> Historic England Archive, 1920-2024, Historic England Archive Specialist oblique aerial photographs, NMR 4563/25 19-JUN-1989 (Archive). SKE57106.

<5> Environment Agency, 2017, 2019, LIDAR Environment Agency 1m DSM, LIDAR Environment Agency DTM 07-DEC-2017 (Archive). SKE57109.