Monument record TR 14 SE 207 - Anglo-Saxon occupation, Lyminge

In 2010 a large area was excavated on land to the southeast of the Old Rectory by a team from the University of Reading. The area was occupied from the late 5th to the 7th century by four sunken featured buildings and a post-built timber hall. The post-built structure was 12.8m x 4.6m. It had been truncated by one of the sunken featured buildings at the western end. One of the sunken featured buildings had been backfilled with domestic refuse and, beneath this, an iron plough coulter was found. The backfills were deposited at some point between c. AD 580/600 and AD 640/660, although a slightly later date in the 7th century cannot be ruled out. The other sunken featured buildings also contained backfilled domestic refuse, with sherds of pottery and glass, brooches, pins and beads. One of the buildings was backfilled in the 8th-9th centuries AD. (1)

One of the most significant finds recovered during this excavation was an iron plough coulter, located in the base of one of the sunken featured buildings. The artefact was ritually deposited during the early to mid 7th century following the initial abandonment of the site. The find weighed 5.6kg and measured 680mm in length consisting of a rectangular sectioned shaft measuring 420mm in length and a 260mm long and up to 94mm wide blade. The artefact showed signs of wear consistent with its use as a plough implement, suggesting that the coulter had been deposited following a lifetime of use. The journal article discussing the artefact (2) suggested that its size and form represented a "continentally inspired version of the 'swivel plough'" which was in use centuries before its first depiction in manuscripts. There is evidence for other plough irons in early medieval northern Europe being ritually deposited. (2)

<1> Gabor Thomas, 2011, ‘Life before the Anglo-Saxon minster’: Interim Report on University of Reading Excavations at Lyminge, 2010 (Unpublished document). SKE25100.

<2> Thomas et al, 2016, Technology, ritual and Anglo-Saxon agriculture: the biography of a plough coulter from Lyminge, Kent (Unpublished document). SKE59030.