Monument record TQ 77 NE 1383 - ?Medieval saltern, Cliffe Marshes

The earthworks of a possible medieval saltern mound can be seen on aerial photographs taken in 1953. This mound was situated on the edge of Cliffe Marshes, in Cooling parish but outside of Cooling's old sea walls and is centred on TQ 7533 7793. It has since been levelled. These mounds 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. Sites such as this could no longer operate once sea walls were constructed converting this area to fresh marsh. Sites such as this sometimes became the focus for later building, although no evidence of this has been discovered here. 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> Environment Agency, 2001, LIDAR TQ7476 Environment Agency D0015740 APR-2001 (Unspecified Type). SKE58882.