Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Two shallow early Roman ditches were discovered during excavations associated with the channel tunnel rail link at Springhead in 2000-2002. The southern end of the ditch was discovered before the northern when it was initially dated to the later prehistoric period.(location accurate to the nearest 1m based on availailable information)

Monument Types

• DITCH (Roman - 50 AD? to 150 AD?)

Associated Finds

• BURNT FLINT (Unknown date)
• Charcoal (Unknown date)

Full description

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Two shallow early Roman ditches were discovered during excavations associated with the channel tunnel rail link at Springhead in 2000-2002. These were located at the northern end of the site. Both have been assigned an early Roman date, though the quantities of pottery recovered were very small. The first ditch, for most of its length of more than 50 m it ran parallel to the slope, continuing beyond the limit of excavation to the west and curving to the south at the east end where it cut the easternmost of the two ditches defining the late Iron Age processional way. It may have enclose the north end of a strip of moderate to steeply sloping ground along the east side of the Ebbsfleet. Grazing for animals would seem the most likely purpose for enclosing such an area. The second ditch was uncovered in four sections. It runs along the east side of the Ebbsfleet over a distance of approximately 300 m. It was up to 2.5 m wide but only 0.30 m deep and had a flat bottom. The date of this ditch is uncertain (1-2)

<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 The Late Iron Age, Roman, Saxon, and Medieval Landscape (Unpublished document).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> Wessex Archaeology, 2002, Ebbsfleet River Crossing (ARC ERC01) (Unpublished document). SKE32339.

Sources and further reading