Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

An early Roman pit containing a complex sequence of fills was discovered during excavations at Springhead in 2000-2002. It is located close to and is possibly associated with the Roman road leading to ritual pools located immediately to the north. (location acccurate to the nearest 1m based on available information)

Monument Types

• PIT (Roman - 60 AD? to 100 AD?)

Full description

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This Pit lay a few metres to the south-east of another pit which has the been interpreted as a possible cenotaph and was of broadly similar size 1.80 m by 1.35 m and 0.85 m deep. It has
been assigned a late 1st century date and contained a relatively complex sequence of fills. In one of the basal layers were sherds representing almost an entire large jar. This showed evidence for extensive burning, probably an indication of its use as pot oven, though it is clear that the sherds were re-deposited and the pot oven itself must have been set up elsewhere.(1-2)

<1> Wessex Archaeology, 2003, Channel Tunel Rail Link Archaeological works at Springhead Roman Town (ARC SPH00): interim fieldwork report (Unpublished document). SKE31600.

<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 The Late Iron Age, Roman, Saxon, and Medieval Landscape (Unpublished document).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.

Sources and further reading

Related records