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Monument details
| HER Number: | TQ 67 SW 1750 |
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| Type of record: | Monument |
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| Name: | Part of a Roman branch road leading from Watling Street, Springhead |
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Summary
A north south aligned branch road was uncovered during excavations at Springhead undertaken in the 1950s. It forms part of a large Roman settlement and religions complex in the area and branches from Watling street at a right angle. It is located between the temple complex, to the east, and a possible shop to the west. (location accurate to the nearest 10m based on available information)
| Grid Reference: | TQ 6180 7248 |
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| Map Sheet: | TQ67SW |
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| Parish: | SOUTHFLEET, DARTFORD, KENT |
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Monument Types
- ROAD (Roman - 175 AD? to 299 AD?)
Associated Finds
- SHERD (Roman - 175 AD? to 225 AD?)
| Protected Status: | Scheduled Monument 158 |
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Full description
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A north south aligned branch road was uncovered during excavations at Springhead undertaken in the 1950s. It forms part of a large Roman settlement and religions complex in the area and branches from Watling street at a right angle. It is located between the temple complex, to the east, and a possible shop to the west. The road has two phases, the first had a flint base with a pebble surface while the second has a chalk base capped with flints and gravel. Between the two roads, several sherds of late second century pottery were discovered, providing an approximate date for the construction of the later road which ties in with the construction of the shop located immediately to the west. Both surfaces are between 7 and 8m wide which is unusually wide for a branch road, and its full length could not be ascertained. A rectangular robber trench filled with mortar and rubble is located approximately 2m from its eastern edge. This originally contained the wall surrounding the temple complex (temenos) and it is possible that the projecting part of the road was intended as a path around the edge of the temple complex. (1-2)
<1> W. S. Penn, 1958, Archaeologia Cantiana - The Romano British Settlement at Springhead, Excavataion of the Watling Street Shop and Pedestal, Site B (Article in serial). SKE53583.
<2> WS Penn, 1965, Archaeologia Cantiana, Springhead - map of Discoveries (Article in serial). SKE12613.
Sources and further reading
| Cross-ref.
| Source description | | <1>XY | Article in serial: W. S. Penn. 1958. Archaeologia Cantiana - The Romano British Settlement at Springhead, Excavataion of the Watling Street Shop and Pedestal, Site B. Vol 72 pp 77- 110. [Mapped feature: #109014 road, ] |
| <2> | Article in serial: WS Penn. 1965. Archaeologia Cantiana, Springhead - map of Discoveries. Vol 80, pp 107-117. |
Related records
| TQ 67 SW 6 | Part of: Vagniacae (Springhead), Iron Age and Roman religious centre (Monument) |
