Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

A sequence of Medieval occupation-layers and floors was found but no walls, a hearth was also found and seems to have been used for iron-working. A circular oven was also found. In the 13th century a building with a shallow cellar was constructed at the west end of the trench, part of the cellar is all that survives.

Monument Types

• OCCUPATION SITE (Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon to Medieval - 1001 AD to 1200 AD)

Full description

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In Summer 1955 The Canterbury Excavation Committee excavated two trenches on the sites of the current 1 and 5 Canterbury Lane. The trenches were coded CXXVIII CXX and CXXI. The trenches were dug from the surface and revealed deep stratification indicating intensive occupation in Roman Saxon and Medieval times.
Trench CXX (1, Canterbury Lane) had a layer of grey loam immediately overlying natural subsoil in the eastern part of the trench, this contained some Belgic material. This in turn was overlain by a series of floors thought to belong to an early Roman period and occupied to until the early third century. Hearth debris were seen as well as two pits, all Roman in date. More Roman floors and occupation levels were uncovered in the NW corner of the trench as well as another pit.In the centre of the trench a small patch of Roman floor was seen and a deep pit.

Saxon occupation was represented by part of a late Saxon structure and associated material.

A sequence of Medieval occupation-layers and floors was found but no walls, a hearth was also found and seems to have been used for iron-working. A circular oven was also found. In the 13th century a building with a shallow cellar was constructed at the west end of the trench, part of the cellar is all that survives. The building went out of use in the early 14th century and the cellar was filled in with rubble. Several more floors found appear to indicate that a subsequent building was erected on the site, assocaited with one of these floors was a tiled hearth and several ovens. No destruction levels were found and it seems that this building was subsequently demolished and the ground cleared.

A large stone walled cess pit was dug in the area of the west end of the trench in the 15th century cutting into the shallow cellar, removing its bottom and destroying the Saxon and Roman levels beneath. A single wall from a 16th century building was also found. Again no occupation or destruction levels were found and it must be assumed that the ground was cleared when the building went out of use.

Trench CXXI, located at 5, Canterbury Lane, revealed a series of Roman floors at the southern end of the trench but no sign of any Saxon deposits. However, the absence of occupation-debris above the Roman deposits and the fact that Medieval layers were found at a lower level in this trench than in trench CXX indicate that the area was well cleared at the beginnning of the Medieval period and it is possible that Saxon material. The trench was small and little detail about individual Medieval buildings could be obtained, but it seems that the area was built over continuously from twelfth century onwards.

Frere, S. S and Stow, S., 1983, Excavations in the St. George's Street and Burgate Street Areas. (Monograph). SKE29967.

Andrews, G., 1985, The Archaeology of Canterbury: An Assessment (Unpublished document). SKE30429.

Sources and further reading