Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

A structure within a silted-up leat branching off the River Medway.

Monument Types

• WATERMILL? (Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon - 410 AD? to 1065 AD?)

Full description

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In 1997 during a watching brief on the quarry a former channel of River Medway was found. This was presumably a leat approx, 4m deep and 7m wide. It was filled with accumulated peats and light loose material deposits, suggesting that water flow rate was extremely slow. Felled trees and timbers were found amongst this material. The felling technique/marks suggested an iron axe was used, possibly in the medieval period. The material was thought to have been deposited during a flood when it encountered an earlier timber structure in the channel.

In situ timbers were found in the former channel. These made up a peculiar chute type wooden arrangement in a blue clay matrix and compact orange gravel. The site was truncated in places but is thought to represent a mill. The only pottery found during the work was a sherd of black grog-tempered pottery, possibly of Saxon date. Baked clay balls and tablets were found but their date and function were not clear. Dendrochronological analysis also failed to date the structure. It was concluded that the mill was probably of Saxon date but could also be of Roman to medieval date. (1)

Tempvs Reparatvm, 1997, An Archaeological Watching Brief: Stonecastle Farm, Tonbridge, Kent (Unpublished document). SKE6678.

<1> Untitled Source, Tempvs Reparatum, 1997, Stone Castle farm. (Unpublished document). SKE6451.

Sources and further reading