Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Excavation in 2000-2002 carried out as part of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link found five early Anglo-Saxon sunken-featured buildings in the vicinity of Northfleet Roman villa.

Location accurate to 2m based on available information.

Monument Types

• PIT (Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon - 480 AD to 720 AD)
• POST HOLE (Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon - 480 AD to 720 AD)
• STAKE HOLE (Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon - 480 AD to 720 AD)

Full description

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Excavation in 2000-2002 carried out as part of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link found five early Anglo-Saxon sunken-featured buildings (SFB 16636, 16637, 16638, 16635, 16699) in the vicinity of Northfleet Roman villa. All were c. 3-4m in length and c. 2-3m in width. They had post holes at each end and some had additional post holes within the structures. Finds from the structures included pottery, charcoal (radiocarbon dated to AD 420 - 570), animal bone, nails, lead weights, daub, iron slag, a spindle whorl (1) and an applied saucer brooch (2).

The backfill of SFB 16638 contained an unusual antler spearhead, as well as a bone pin beater and a bone spindle whorl, while a possible toggle was found in both SFB 16635 and SFB 16636 (2).

The animal bone included a cattle atlas with osteoarthritis from SFB 16635, a right sheep humerous with 'penning elbow' also from SFB 16635, a cattle metacarpal with probable ossified haematoma from SFB 16638, and butchered red deer bone from several SFBs (2).

SFB 16636 was defined by a shallow pit (10154), measuring 3 m long by 1.8 m wide and between 0.06 m and 0.15 m deep, with a flattish base.Two structural post-holes were identified, both outside the pit edges. A series of five stake-holes was identified around the south-west corner of the SFB pit, averaging 0.06 m in diameter and 0.10 m in depth.The fill was dark brown sandy silt/clay(1)

Finds from the SFB pit fill itself included a substantial quantity of 5th–6th century pottery along with animal bone. A bone toggle was recovered, along with a nail and residual Roman CBM fragments.(1)

Location accurate to 2m 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 The Late Iron Age, Roman, Saxon, and Medieval Landscape (Unpublished document).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.

<2> Oxford Wessex Archaeology Joint Venture, 2011, Settling the Ebbsfleet Valley. CTRL Excavations at Springhead and Northfleet, Kent. Volume 4: Saxon and Later Finds and Environmental Reports (Monograph). SKE32437.

Sources and further reading

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