Exploring Kent's Past

It should not be assumed that this site is publicly accessible and it may be on private property. Do not trespass.

Monument details

Summary

A Roman temple (Temple 3) was discovered during excavations carried out in the 1950s and 1960s at Springhead. It is part of a larger Roman religious complex and settlement and is one of six possible temples discovered within a walled temple complex. It is a simple rectangular building measuring c.8.8m by 5.8m with walls 0.9m thick. Interpretation of the building is complex, but has been suggested that it was a ‘sacred pool’ into which pottery offerings were made. (location accurate to the nearest 10m based on available information)

Monument Types

• COURTYARD (Roman - 150 AD? to 350 AD?)
• TEMPLE (Roman - 150 AD? to 350 AD?)

Associated Finds

• POT (Roman - 150 AD? to 350 AD?)
• SHERD (Roman - 150 AD? to 350 AD?)

Full description

If you do not understand anything on this page please contact us.

Part of a Roman temple (Temple 3) was discovered during excavations carried out in the 1950s and 1960s at Springhead. It is part of a larger Roman religious complex and settlement and is one of six possible temples discovered within a walled temple complex. The building was not strictly a temple and its exact purpose is not known, but it was clearly a sacred building and is located within the temple complex. The building, like the others within the complex is positioned upon a chalk raft or platform, 60cm thick. It measured c.8.8m by 5.8m and was aligned East/West along its long axis, parallel to temple 1 located immediately to the south. The walls rested upon pebble foundations and were well built of flint, measuring 90cm in width. The lower parts of the walls were then made up with soil, this infilling had datable finds thus a construction date for this structure has been given as mid 2nd century (A.D 150-160). The north east and south east corners of the structure were not reinforced with bonding tiles indicating a low structure, while at the western end, there were five courses of bonding tiles apparent and the wall fall extended out for nearly 6m, indicating a fairly high wall. Thus, the structural evidence indicated low walls on the north south and east sides and a high wall on the west side. The walls appear to have been plastered externally though only a little plaster survived, this was cream in colour with thin red line decoration. There was no wall plater visible on the internal walls, but there were the remains of a small amount of opus sig in the north west corner. A courtyard was located on the eastern side of the structure, connecting it with temples 1, 4, this was c.40cm thick and made up of successive layers of small flint, pebbles and tiles. No floor was discovered within the structure but a deposit which has been described as a pottery dump was located. This contained thousands of sherds of pottery alongside two complete pots lying on their sides. The lack of any other type of find within this deposit suggests that it was not a rubbish dump, rather it may have been a pool in which votive pottery was placed. This interpretation would also explain the lack of a floor, doors or any structural features in the buildings interior. (1-2)

<1> WS Penn, 1965, Archaeologia Cantiana, Springhead - map of Discoveries (Article in serial). SKE12613.

<2> W. S. Penn, 1960, Archaeologia Cantiana - The Romano British Settlement at Springhead, Temples 3 and 4 (Article in serial). SKE53584.

Sources and further reading

Related records