Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

A sub rectangular earthwork consisting of a ditch between two banks surrounds the hilltop on which stood Shottenden Mill. The enclosure had been surveyed in 1878 and recorded in 1796 when it was considered to be Roman. The windmill had gone by 1925. A telegraph station, sometimes known as Old Wives Lees, part of the Deal line of the Admiralty Shutter Telegraph System circa 1790 was also sited on the hill.

Monument Types

• ENCLOSURE (Middle Iron Age - 400 BC to 350 BC)

Associated Finds

• SHERD (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1525 AD to 1700 AD)
• TOKEN (Post Medieval - 1580 AD to 1580 AD)

Full description

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[TR 04205540] Shottenden Mill [NAT] (1) [TR 04205540] Earthwork [NR] (2)

An earthwork around Shottenden Mill, 0.75 miles south of Selling, was surveyed in 1878 by Petrie whose plan bears a resemblance to the O.S. 6" survey of 1955 (4) and shows a sub-rectangular earthwork consisting of a ditch between two banks round the top of a hill. (3-5)

The greater part of this earthwork is totally obscured by fir trees. The feature where accesible on the S.E. side is reduced to a terrace on the hillside. Turning northwards it develops into a medial ditch with low banks. (6)

A letter to the Gentleman's Magazine in 1796 described the situation of the telegraph station and added that the Romans used the hill as an encampment. He included sketches of the site showing the Roman ditch around the land containing the windmill and the telegraph. (7-10)

Flinders Petrie included a plan of the earthworks in his survey of earthwork sites in Kent. (11)

An earthwork survey was carried out as part of the Discovering Perry Wood project in 2009. The enclosure is rectangular and covers an area 128m x 90m. Following the survey a series of six trenches were excavated over the earthwork. A sherd of 12th century pottery was found but could relate to later use of the site. (12)

Further work was undertaken as part of the Discovering Perry Wood project in 2011-12. Five additional trenches were excavated over the earthworks. In the north eastern corner the infilled ditch was located, it had cut an Early Neolithic feature. Later pottery was found within the fills of the ditch. These probably related to a early post medieval period of occupation of the site, perhaps connected with the windmill, starting in the second half of the reign of Henry VIII. Later material dated to the mid to late 17th century. The finds are indicative of a fair high status domestic occupation, where they originated from it not clear. (13)

Further excavation in 2015/15 established a clear middle iron age date for the earthworks and overturned the neolithic date for the pottery found in 2011/12.The result of this work was to conclude that the earthworks represent a middle Iron Age occupation site, as evidenced by a clear pottery assemblage and hearth rakings/charcoal. The pottery included rims, bases and decorated body sherds and were characteristic of the Middle Iron Age traditions of East Kent, including finger fluting and tooled linear decoration. Also typical of the period are variations in the surface treatment such as roughening or smoothing sections within the decorative fields. The assemblage can be dated fairly tightly to 400-350 BC. (14)

Trust for Thanet Archaeology, 2016, The Perry Wood Archaeology Project, 2014-15 Excavations Summary Report (Unpublished document). SKE53566.

<1> OS 1" 1801 (OS Card Reference). SKE48104.

<2> OS 6" 1961 (OS Card Reference). SKE48369.

<3> Add MS 31 333 (W M F Petrie) (OS Card Reference). SKE32986.

<4> SS 6" (D R Arthur Reviser 28 4 1955) (OS Card Reference). SKE49532.

<5> Rec 6" (O G S Crawford 10 5 1925) (OS Card Reference). SKE49042.

<6> F1 ASP 24-MAY-63 (OS Card Reference). SKE42266.

<7> Hist and Toporaphical Survey of the county of Kent 1778 (E Hasted) (OS Card Reference). SKE43780.

<8> Gentleman's Magazine I 1796 473-5 (Z Cosens) (OS Card Reference). SKE43578.

<9> Gentleman's Magazine Library I 1887 BB Rems 157-8 (Z Cosens) (OS Card Reference). SKE43579.

<10> Field report for monument TR 05 NW 7 - May, 1963 (Bibliographic reference). SKE5202.

<11> Flinders Petrie, W. M., 1880, Notes on Kentish Earthworks (Article in serial). SKE7926.

<12> Trust for Thanet Archaeology, 2010, The Perry Wood Archaeology Project (Unpublished document). SKE18306.

<13> Trust for Thanet Archaeology, 2013, The Perry Wood Archaeology Project: 2012 Excavations Summary Report (Unpublished document). SKE18310.

Sources and further reading