Monument record TQ 77 NE 1358 - ?Medieval saltern mound, Cliffe

The earthwork remains of a possible medieval saltern mound can be seen on aerial photographs taken in 1953 but has since been levelled. This mound, centred on TQ 7513 7790, was situated on Cliffe Marshes near the parish boundary with Cooling. This area was also the site of a Roman saltworks (see NMR 416582) but it is not clear if there is any association between the Roman site any of these remains. The mound measures approximately 42m by 42m and has a small circular depression at the north east corner. The remains of disused drainage channels are also visible on the 1953 photograph defing an area approximatley 110m by 100m witihn which the saltern is positioned. This area is now subdivided by newer channels. Mounds such as this represent the discarded waste material from salt manufacture, a process - known as sleeching - in which brine was extracted from salt-rich sands and sediments, concentrated and evaporated. Depressions in these mounds are thought to mark the site of the original building. Sites such as this could no longer operate once sea walls were constructed, resulting in the conversion of an area from salt to fresh marsh. This site was mapped from aerial photographs as part of the English Heritage: Hoo Peninsula Landscape Project.(1-2)

<1> RAF, 1953, RAF 82/713 360-361 6-FEB-1953 (Photograph). SKE56088.

<2> EARTH.GOOGLE.COM, 2003, EARTH.GOOGLE.COM 31-DEC-2003 ACCESSED 11-FEB-2011 (Photograph). SKE58843.