Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Excavations in advance of the construction of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link in 2001 found evidence of early/middle Roman enclosures and a substantial road to the north-west of Northfleet Roman villa.

Monument Types

• WELL (Roman - 70 AD to 250 AD)

Full description

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Excavations in advance of the construction of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link in 2001 found evidence of early/middle Roman enclosures and a substantial road to the north-west of Northfleet Roman villa. (1-7)

The early / middle Roman activity west of the Northfleet Roman villa included a well, a wood-lined pit, post holes, ditches and pits.

The well measured 5.84 m wide at the top, narrowing to 3.0 m at the base, and, as excavated, 3.20 m deep. Chalk nodules lined the base of the well and the walls were timber lined. The lower four boxes of lining survived. No pottery was identified from the fill associated with its use but pottery was found in later deposits dating to the 2nd century suggesting the well had been infilled before then. The complete skeleton of a horse was discovered in a middle disuse fill.

The size of the well suggests water extraction on a very large, industrial, scale.

There was no sign of lifting equipment but hinges from an early silting fill were of the type fixed to
doors, and it is possible that they belonged to a trapdoor or lid covering the well.

Location accurate to 1m based on available information.

<1> Oxford Wessex Archaeology Joint Venture, 2010, Settling the Ebbsfleet Valley. CTRL Excavations at Springhead and Northfleet, Kent. The Late Iron Age, Roman, Saxon, and Medieval Landscape (Unpublished document). SKE31245.

<3> Oxford Archaeological Unit, 1997, The Ebbsfleet Valley, Northfleet, Kent: ARC EFT 97: Archaeological Evaluation: Volume 1 Report (Unpublished document). SKE12220.

<4> Oxford Archaeological Unit, 1997, The Ebbsfleet Valley, Northfleet Kent, ARC EFT 97: Archaeological Evalaution: Volume 2 Appendices (Unpublished document). SKE12221.

<5> Oxford Archaeological Unit, 1997, The Ebbsfleet Valley, Northfleet, Kent: ARC EFT 97: Archaeological Evaluation: Volume 3 Figures and Plates (Unpublished document). SKE12222.

<6> Oxford Archaeology, 2003, Ebbsfleet Valley Detailed Mitigation Works, Northfleet, Kent: Interim Statement (Unpublished document). SKE12256.

<7> Oxford Archaeological Unit, 2001, Channel Tunnel Rail Link Ebbsfleet Sports Ground, Northfleet, ARC ESG00, Phase 2 Evaluation Archaeological Works Fieldwork Report Final (Unpublished document). SKE12227.

Sources and further reading

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