Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

A Romano-British roadside settlement has been identified at the site if Westhawk Farm. Numerous anomalies were identified during geophysical survey work suggesting a number of enclosures located primarily along the postulated line of the Roman road. During subsequent excavations evidence for iron production, smelting and smithing, and agricultural activity was found. A small cemetery area and other scattered burials were also found. The evidence suggests several phases of development dating from the late 1st century AD to the mid 3rd century AD, although small amounts of pottery dating to the 4th century were recovered.

Images

Monument Types

• CREMATION CEMETERY (Roman - 75 AD? to 250 AD? (at some time))
• DITCH (Roman - 75 AD? to 250 AD?)
• PIT (Roman - 75 AD? to 250 AD?)
• POST HOLE (Roman - 75 AD? to 250 AD?)
• RITUAL SHAFT (Roman - 75 AD? to 250 AD? (at some time))
• ROAD (Roman - 75 AD? to 250 AD?)
• SETTLEMENT (Roman - 75 AD to 250 AD? (between))
• SHRINE (Roman - 75 AD? to 250 AD?)

Associated Finds

• BROOCH (Roman - 43 AD? to 299 AD?)
• COIN (Roman - 43 AD? to 350 AD?)
• EAR RING (Roman - 43 AD? to 250 AD?)
• POTTERY ASSEMBLAGE (Roman - 43 AD? to 350 AD?)
• TWEEZERS (Roman - 43 AD? to 409 AD?)
• VESSEL (Roman - 43 AD? to 299 AD?)
• ANIMAL REMAINS (Roman - 75 AD? to 250 AD?)
• BRICK (Roman - 75 AD? to 250 AD?)
• FLUE TILE (Roman - 75 AD? to 250 AD?)
• HUMAN REMAINS (Roman - 75 AD? to 250 AD?)
• PLANT MACRO REMAINS (Roman - 75 AD? to 250 AD?)
• POLLEN (Roman - 75 AD? to 250 AD?)
• QUERN (Roman - 75 AD? to 250 AD?)
• ROOF TILE (Roman - 75 AD? to 250 AD?)
• SLAG (Roman - 75 AD? to 250 AD?)
• WINDOW GLASS (Roman - 75 AD? to 299 AD?)
• FIGURINE (Roman - 101 AD? to 199 AD?)
• BEAD (Roman - 200 AD? to 399 AD?)
• BRACELET (Roman - 225 AD? to 399 AD?)

Full description

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From the National Heritage List for England:
Geophysical survey undertaken for Kent Archaeological Rescue Unit (KARU). The northen and western part of the site were found to be magnetically quiet. The eastern part had numerous anomalies of archaeological potential suggesting enclosures with the majority along the postulated line of the Roman road. This site is the crossing point of Margary Routes 130 and 131(2) Other finds in the nearby area included a single Romano-British cremation found in 1970 close to the site of the Westhawk Farm (TQ 94 SE 18), small group of Early Iron Age pottery (c.400-250BC) (TR 04 SW 119) and a small corpus of 12thC-15thC AD pottery within an un-named eclosure, possible site of building(TQ 94 SE 39). The latter two sites were found during a site visit for the preporation of the DTS for the proposed housing development.(1)

Geophysical survey undertaken for KARU following earlier survey of development area. This progamme of work concerntrated on the eastern area of the site. Area of intensive industrial activity have been identified amid a complex of enclosures indicating several phases of development. A number of curvilinear anomalies in the north-east part of the survey area may relate to pre-Roman occupation. Two roads are shown (Margary 130 &131). The survey results suggest that the two roads form a T-Junction; there is no geophysical evidence to indicate that the second road extends beyond the "main" North-south road.(3)

Geophysical survey undertaken for KCC following earlier surveys of development area. This progamme of work indicated that the settlement extends beyond the initial study area to the east of the Roman road. Most notable are a group of small enclosures, pits and a possible trackway in the central part of the survey area.. The east-west Roman road was recorded in the northern part of the survey area.(4)

Trial trenching in area previously surveyed using geophysical techniques. The western half of the site was largely devoid of archaeological features supporting the findings of the geophysical survey. No evidence of further cremation burials was found.The trenches in the eastern half of the site contain a number of hollows, pits and ditches, but also included two small areas of metalling and eight large post-holes. The identified Roman features were spread across an area about 550m n-s and 200m e-w Pottery found was largely local coarse wares dating from around c.70 AD to 250 AD although several dishes seem to date from the mid-4thC AD. There was no evidence for masonary buildings, nor did the trenches produce coins or small-finds.(5)

Roman Britain had a hierarchy of nucleated settlements which to some extent had urban ot incipient urban functions. At the top end of the hierarchy stand towns and cities. Further down are ranked a category of urban sites commonly referred to as small towns. Further down still are lesser sites exhibiting some urban characteristics that are reffered to as roadside settlements. The site at Westhawk Farm belongs to this latter group of which some 150 examples have been found in lowland England . Such sites are likely to contain structures relating to local manufactures, commercial activity, and the houses of their occupants, who might also have carried out some farming. Some settlements may have grown up around a military or civilian official building, such as a mansio. Settlements may also have temples and associated cemeteries. Despite the loss of part of the settlement to modern development, the core of the site survives well.

Also listed with this site is a Type 24 WW2 pillbox. (6)

Extensive excavations at a Romano-British roadside settlement (town) by Oxford Archaeology. A range of structures were located in fairly regular rectilinear plots on the north-west side of the roman road and less regular plots to the south-east. The site was thought to be the crossroads point for the Weald - Canterbury (Margary Road Number 130) and the DoverA large open area contained a polygonal timber shrine set within a ditched enclosure and votive coins were recovered from a nearby well. Evidence for iron production, smelting and smithing, and agricultural activity was found. A small cemetery area and other scattered burials were found. Occupation of the sites seems to have lasted between c.AD 50 - 250 with minimal evidence for activity in the Late Roman period.(7)

From the National Heritage List for England:
Details
The monument includes the buried remains of a Romano-British roadside settlement and a World War II pillbox at Westhawk Farm. It is situated on low ground adjacent to a small tributary stream of the Great Stour, on the southern outskirts of Ashford. The presence of the settlement was established during the late 1990s, through archaeological investigations carried out in connection with the modern residential development at Westhawk Farm. Extensive geophysical survey and partial excavation revealed that the settlement was occupied from the mid- first to the mid-third century AD, and was located at the juction of two important Roman roads. One of these roads crossed the site from south east to north west and linked the Roman port and military establishment at Lympne with the Roman town at Rochester. The other road, aligned south west to north east, led from the iron producing region of the Weald to Canterbury, the tribal capital of the Cantii, and formed the axial road through the settlement. The two roads are marked by parallel roadside ditches, and these survive as buried features. The monument, which includes the Roman crossroads and core of the roadside settlement, occupies an area of some 10ha on the south western side of the modern Ashford Road. The settlement, which was bound on its north western side by a large ditch, originally extended along the axial road for at least another 300m beyond the area of protection to the south west. This area was excavated in advance of modern development. It is likely that Roman occupation also extended to the north east of the area of protection, although this now lies beneath modern housing and is not included in the scheduling. The results of the geophysical survey demonstrate that the layout of the Roman settlement survives in the form of ditched, rectangular plots up to 30m wide. The plots are arranged at right angles to the axial road on its north western side, with a less regular layout to the south east. The excavations revealed that most of the roadside plots originally contained timber buildings, and associated evidence suggests that some of these structures were used for intensive industrial activity, particularly iron smelting and smithing. The results of the geophysical survey suggest that a similar range of features survive at the core of the Roman settlement, within the area of the monument. Artefacts recovered during the excavations include pottery, tile and glass, as well as part of an oak ladder (one of only five examples known from Roman Britain) and other organic remains, retrieved from two roadside wells. The remains of a polygonal timber shrine, set within a rectangular ditched enclosure were also discovered within a substantial open area on the north eastern side of the Roman Weald-Canterbury road. Votive coins were recovered from a nearby well, situated on the opposite side of the road, and artefacts from the shrine itself included a fragment of cone from the Stone Pine (pinus pinea), a Mediterranean species particularly associated with temple sites. It is thought that the Stone Pine was not grown in Britain until about AD 1500, and the cone was therefore imported into Roman Britain by way of trading links with the Continent. In Roman religion, the pine tree was sacred to the fertility goddress, Cybele, and symbolises the immortality of nature and the cycle of the seasons. The pine cone is also frequently associated with her lover, Attis, who died under a pine tree and was restored to life. Several burials were excavated across the settlement, including a small cemetery located outside the boundary ditch on its north western side, and a high status cremation burial of the late Iron Age-Swarling tradition implying that an important late Iron Age settlement may have existed in the vicinity. Further evidence for prehistoric activity within the settlement area includes traces of a Bronze Age field system and Paleolithic flint implements. The hexagonal, Type 24 pillbox is situated at the north western edge of the monument, adjacent to the farm access track. It is one of several pillboxes in this part of Kent, built in 1940 to counter the threat of German invasion during World War II, belonging to a network of defences constructed to protect the key nodal point at Ashford. The pillbox is a low, concrete structure with a maximum diameter of about 5m. Five of its faces are pierced by a single rectangular embrasure, while its longer, sixth side contains the entrance, now blocked, flanked by an embrasure on either side. Excluded from the scheduling are all modern fence posts, the low modern walls and surfaces of all modern roads and tracks, although the ground beneath and around these features is included.
Reasons for Designation
Roman Britain had a hierarchy of nucleated settlements which to some extent had urban or incipient urban functions. At the top end of the hierarchy stand substantial Roman towns and cities. Below these are ranked a category of urban site commonly referred to as small towns. Still further down the hierarchy are lesser sites exhibiting some urban characteristics that are referred to as roadside settlements. The monument at Westhawk Farm belongs to this latter group of which some 150 examples have been identified in lowland England. Such monuments are likely to contain structures relating to local manufactures, commercial activity, and the houses of their occupants, who might also have carried out some farming. Some settlements may have grown up around a military or civilian official building, such as a mansio (staging point). Settlements may also have temples and can be expected to have associated cemeteries. Roadside settlements are unknown before the arrival of the Romans in this country and thus provide an indication of the extent to which native British society became Romanised. Despite the loss of part of the settlement to modern development, the core of the Romano-British roadside settlement at Westhawk Farm survives well. Geophysical survey, corraborated by partial excavation, has demonstrated that the monument contains important archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to its development and use over a period of some 200 years. The investigations also indicate that the iron industry was significant to the economy of the settlement and, in view of the proximity to the Roman Wealden iron producing area, the site adds to our understanding of the regional iron industry and its links with the wider economy of Roman Britain. Furthermore, the surviving remains make a significant contribution to our understanding of Roman settlement patterns across the region and, at national level, will help to shed light on the economic, social and religious diversity of Roman small towns. During World War II, wide areas of the county were protected by static defence lines, or stop-lines, consisting of a combination of weapon positions and anti-tank obstacles, designed to obstruct and contain a German advance inland from a coastal or airborne landing point. Ashford was a significant nodal point in the communications network of south eastern England and became one of several strongpoints, or anti-tank islands, created to protect strategic locations from enemy attack. Pillboxes, which were an integral part of these defence systems, are small, squat concrete or brick-built structures designed to house anti-tank guns and light machine guns, and their construction was extended to protect other vulnerable areas such as coastal batteries, radar stations and factories. Despite some variation, most pillboxes were built according to a range of standard designs, of which Type 24, the irregular hexagonal form, is the most common. They are particularly representative of World War II defensive structures; at least 18,000 are thought to have been built nationally during 1940, of which more than 2000 examples survive. The Type 24 pillbox at Westhawk Farm survives well, and serves as a reminder of the strategic importance of this part of Kent in the communication network of south eastern England, during one of the the greatest conflicts of the 20th century.

Oxford Archaeology, 2000, Westhawk Farm, Kingsnorth, Ashford, Kent: Archaeological Post-excavation Assessment Report. (Unpublished document). SKE12183.

Oxford Archaeology, 2000, Westhawk Farm, Kingsnorth, Ashford, Kent: Archaeological Post-excavation Assessment Report. (Unpublished document). Ske12183.

<1> Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 1989, Westhawk Farm, Kingsnorth Desktop Study (Unpublished document). SKE7364.

<2> Geophysical Surveys of Bradford, 1997, Report on Geophysical Survey Westhawk Farm, Ashford (Unpublished document). SKE7375.

<3> Geophysical Surveys of Bradford, 1997, Westhawk Farm II, Ashford: Report on Geophysical Survey (Unpublished document). SKE7376.

<4> Geophysical Surveys of Bradford, 1998, Westhawk Farm III, Ashford: Report on Geophysical Survey (Unpublished document). SKE7378.

<5> Kent Archaeological Rescue Unit, 1997, REPORT ON A PROGRAMME OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORK AT WESTHAWK FARM, KINGSNORTH, ASHFORD (Unpublished document). SKE7382.

<6> Department for Culture, Media and Sport, 2001, Romano-British Site and Pillbox, Westhawk Farm, Ashford, RSM 31481 (Scheduling record). SKE7931.

Sources and further reading

Related thematic articles

• Roman Kent (Thematic Essay)