Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Four pits in the Galley Hill area of Swanscombe have produced finds of a palaolithic date. Lots, including numerous handaxes and debitage were from the Boyn Hill terrace deposits in the Galley Hill Pit complex. Much of the despoits have been quarried out but there are still some areas of potential. (location accurate to the nearest 10m based on available information)

Monument Types

• FINDSPOT (Lower Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 150001 BC)

Associated Finds

• CORE (Lower Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 150001 BC)
• DEBITAGE (Lower Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 150001 BC)
• HANDAXE (Lower Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 150001 BC)
• RETOUCHED FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 150001 BC)

Full description

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Roe (1) lists >140 handaxes, 2 cores, >35 flake-tools and >75 unworked debitage distributed between numerous museums, princiapply the British Museum. There were at least six separate pits in the Galley Hill area, around/between London Road and the railway in the vicinity of All Saints Church, see map in Oakley & Montagu (2). None of the material is specifically provenanced to any particular pit. There are separate HER entries for Palaeolithic artefacts and the Late Prehistoric skeleton that specifically came from the northwestern pit "Galley Hill Pit (North)". Part of the pit remains open and is overgrown, with quarry faces along the east side of Southfleet Road. It is accessable with its base on top of the chalk. This site and material are included in the SRPP (3, 4).

The pits were visited for the ME survey. The survey concluded that in the north western portion ofGalley Hill Pit, Boyne Hill/Orsett Heath deposits area preserved along the south side of the quarry under London Road and Swanscombe Buisiness Centre. There is probably also some preservation of deposits within the quarry behind scrub/under rubbish in the south eastern corner of the pit, just to the west of the Swanscombe Buisiness Centre. Two areas of thicker Pliestocene deposits over chalk bedrock are visible in the north facing face (under London Road), one with a lower base (western end) and one with a higher base (eastern end). Within the south eastern portion of Galley Hill pit Pliestocene sediments, possibly 2-3m in depth, over chalk at the western end of the north and south faces, under the western end of Galley Hill Road. There is also the posibility of preservation in section in mapped rail cutting to the south of the quarry. In the south western pit, over the chalk bedroock at the eastern end of the north and south faces extending 3m from the rail and road cuttings the deposits appear to be thicker, with a lower base level, about three quarters towards the east end of the south face there is a possible lower gravel channel. Over the chalk bedrock in the south face at the north east corner there is the possible bottom of the pliestocene deposits. The deposits level off, or slightly dip towards the east under the cross roads. Within the north eastern pit assessing the sediments was difficult due to the high chalk faces all being heavily overgrown. There is some probable preservation under the upper part of galley Hill road, at the western end of the north facing quarry face. There is also some possible survival in the east face under the southern end of Pilgrims Road. (5).

<1> Roe, D.A., 1968, Gazetteer of British Lower and Middle Palaeolithic Sites, p 182 (Monograph). SWX6570.

<2> Oakley KP, Montagu MFA, 1949, A reconsideration of the Galley Hill Skeleton., p 31, fig. 2 (Article in serial). SKE32188.

<3> Wessex Archaeology, 1993, The Southern Rivers Palaeolithic Project, Report No.2: The South West and South of the Thames [Vol. I - text], NWK 5.2 (Monograph). SWX6569.

<4> Wessex Archaeology, 1993, The Southern Rivers Palaeolithic Project: maps for Report No. 2, Regions 4 & 1, The South West and South of the Thames [Vol II - maps], NWK 5.2 (Unpublished document). SKE12023.

<5> Essex County Council & Kent County Council, 2003, Archaeological Survey of Mineral Extraction Sites around the Thames Estuary, KT581 (Unpublished document). SKE12012.

Sources and further reading

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