Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Sherds of medieval pottery, fragments of Peg Tile and four pieces of unworked stone were discovered during small scale excavations at Dover College, formerly St Martins Priory. (location accurate to the nearest 1m based on available information)

Monument Types

• FINDSPOT (Medieval - 1131 AD to 1539 AD)

Associated Finds

• DRESSED STONE (Medieval - 1131 AD to 1539 AD)
• ROOF SLATE (Medieval - 1131 AD to 1539 AD)
• SHERD (Medieval - 1131 AD to 1539 AD)
• TILE (Medieval - 1131 AD to 1539 AD)

Full description

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Sherds of medieval pottery, fragments of Peg Tile and four pieces of unworked stone were discovered during small scale excavations at Dover College, formerly St Martins Priory. The six sherds of pottery were all of hard sandy ware, probably all produced at the Canterbury Tyler Hill
kilns during the thirteenth and fourteenth century. Amongst the material from pit 2 is the rim from a jug, of probably thirteenth-century date. 23 peg tile fragments were also uncovered, all were fairly small and were in hard orange-red, frequently sandy fabrics. A few pieces have been slightly over-fired. In addition to peg-tile, small broken pieces of West Country roofing slate were noted. Such material was being imported into Dover from as early as the twelfth century and may provide evidence for the original roof covering of some of the Priory buildings. Four small pieces of unworked stone were retained (419g), all from Pit 2. These include three pieces of ragstone/greensand and a single piece of Caen stone. There was also a squared chalk block. All are likely to represent building material originally used within the priory structures. Though these excavations were limited in scale they revealed some important information and established a sequence of deposits present in the area and indicate that significant archaeological levels, at least 0.50m thick and including structural remains, begin at a depth of about 0.50−0.60m below present ground level. (1)

<1> Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 2019, Dover College, Dover, report on excavation of three flagpole pits (Unpublished document). SKE53439.

Sources and further reading

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