TR 3633 5070 In the autumn of 1984 during excavations in St Richard's Road, Upper Deal in advance of a new housing estate, the Dover Archaeological Group discovered a chalk-cut shaft over 2m deep (see illustration card no 1). This shaft contained a side chamber on the SW side at a depth of 1.6m below the surface. This chamber was oval in plan with a flat roof and floor and slightly concave walls. The floor was 48 cms lower than the base of the shaft. Footholds led fromthe chamber to the surface. It was just about large enough for 5 adults to be able to sit in the chamber though none could stand upright. High in the NW wall was a rectangular niche 25 cms x 26 cms x 22 cms. An outstanding find was made in the chamber 40 cms above the floor. This consisted of a complete chalk figurine 18.8 cms high with a recessed carved face, a long slender neck and a plain rectangular body (see illustration card no 2). Its base has been deliberately cut so that it slopes backwards and will not stand upright but it fits into the sloping base of the niche as an experiment showed. The shaft was filled with layers of chalk rubble and loam, containing much Roman debris. The pottery was dated to the late C1 and early C2 AD. The original construction date for the shaftand chamber cannot be established with any degree of certainty but it may well be late Iron Age. The feature is provisionally interpreted as a shrine to a local deity. The structure itself, may be assigned to Dr Anne Ross' class of Belgic Ritual Shafts, Pits and Wells, but these show a marked degree of variation and none is much like the Deal shaft with its underground chamber, except a rather larger structure at Northfleet at the other end of the county. The shaft itself, has been back-filled with rubble and hardcore and now lies buried below the new estate. An early Neolithic pit and Roman pits, postholes, field ditches, four cremation burials (2 of the C2 AD) and a late inhumation were found in the immediate vicinity. The Deal find is a rare and important discovery in southern Britain. (1-3)

Additional Info (4).

<1> CA 101 1986 166-8 illus (K Parfitt) (OS Card Reference). SKE38469.

<2> KAR 83 1986 59-62 (K Parfitt and G Halliwell) (OS Card Reference). SKE45448.

<3> KAR 84 1986 124-5 (K Parfitt) (OS Card Reference). SKE45453.

<4> Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 1999, St. Richards Road, Deal, Assessment of Early Chalk Extraction & Previous Archaeological Excavations (Unpublished document). SKE7411.