Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Excavation at Springhead Nursery in 2002-2003 found roadside ditches flanking both Watling Street and the branch road. All of the ditches appear to have been dug in the third quarter of the 1st century AD, though the earliest section of one alongside Watling Street may date to immediately after the Conquest. (location accurate to the nearest 1m based on available information)

Monument Types

• DITCH (Roman - 50 AD? to 360 AD?)

Full description

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Excavation at Springhead Nursery in 2002-2003 found roadside ditches flanking both Watling Street and the branch road. All of the ditches appear to have been dug in the third quarter of the 1st century AD, though the earliest section of one alongside Watling Street may date to immediately after the Conquest. There was in most places a gap of 7.5–8.5 m between the edges of the roads and the associated roadside ditches, though the gap was reduced to as little as 6.25 m along the north-east side of Watling Street. The overall plan of the ditches clearly demonstrates that the branch road was not a significantly later addition to Watling Street, for the layout of ditches mirrors that of the roads. Some of the ditches have multiple phases of re cutting and were extended to reflect the growth of the roadside settlement. (1)

<1> Oxford Wessex Archaeology Joint Venture, 2010, Settling the Ebbsfleet Valley. CTRL Excavations at Springhead and Northfleet, Kent. The Late Iron Age, Roman, Saxon, and Medieval Landscape (Unpublished document). SKE31245.

Sources and further reading

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