The cropmarks of several ring ditches were previously identified in fields to the north of Minster near the cemetery. These features were recorded from aerial photographs taken by the Royal Commission on the Historic Monuments of England as part of a project to classify cropmarks across Kent. There appear to be the remains of at least three ring ditches, and possibly a fourth that has been damaged by ploughing. They are all single ditched, fairly small in size, and thought to be the remains of barrows, although a precise dating is uncertain. A possible association with a trackway to the south of the cemetery is probable. (1-2)

The presence of these ring ditches alongside a further (fifth) ring ditch, was confirmed during a geophysical survey of the site. The first was 11.5m in diameter, second: 20m, third also 20m, fourth 8m and fifth 19m in diameter. Discrete anomalies have been identified within the interior of RB2 and RB3, perhaps being due to pits. (3)


Sections of a ring ditch were recorded during an archaeological evaluation carried out on land off Tothill Street in Minster, Thanet. The ring-ditch correlated exactly with the cropmark and geophysical anomaly. The ditch was 3m wide and 1.11m deep with moderate/steep sides and a relatively flat, c. 0.4m wide base. It was recorded at 0.45m depth, sealed by the ploughsoil. The fill sequence, displayed a slight asymmetrical deposition, indicative of possible mound collapse from the ‘inner’, southern edge of the ditch. The only finds recovered were from the tertiary fills (the disuse of the monument) which included flint flakes as well as fired clay and 2nd century AD Romano-British pottery. Worked and burnt flint, cbm and a sherd of Romano-British pottery was recovered from topsoil. The feature cannot therefore be securely dated, though other ring ditches from the landscape surrounding the site have been dated to the Bronze Age. (information summarised from source) (4)

A ring ditch of Iron Age/Roman date was seen as a cropmark and was mapped from Next Perspectives APGB Imagery 21-APR-2007 as part of the Historic England Thanet Landscape Mapping Project 2024.(5)

<1> David McLeod/1986-7/RCHME Air Photo Unit Survey of Kent (OS Card Reference). SKE39678.

<2> Not applicable, SMR Kent uncatalogued index entry, RCHME Kent pilot mapping programme plot. (Miscellaneous Material). SKE6440.

<3> Headland Archaeology, 2016, Land at Tothill Street, Minster in Thanet, Kent: Geophysical Survey (Unpublished document). SKE32415.

<4> Cotswold Archaeology, 2017, Land at Tothill Street, Minster in Thanet, Kent - Archaeological Evaluation Report (Unpublished document). SKE55739.

<5> Next Perspectives, 2003-2021, Next Perspectives APGB orthophotography, Next Perspectives APGB Imagery 21-APR-2007 (Archive). SKE57110.