Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Evidence for middle to late Iron Age occupation was identified in Zones 7 and 8 of the East Kent Access route excavations in Thanet. the evidence comprised a series of enclosures and field systems defined by trackways and several associated post built structures, possible representing grain stores. (location accurate to the nearest 1m based on available information)

Monument Types

• DITCH (Middle Iron Age to Late Iron Age - 400 BC to 42 AD)
• ENCLOSURE (Middle Iron Age to Late Iron Age - 400 BC to 42 AD)
• GRAVE (Middle Iron Age to Late Iron Age - 400 BC to 42 AD)
• INHUMATION (Middle Iron Age to Late Iron Age - 400 BC to 42 AD)
• PIT (Middle Iron Age to Late Iron Age - 400 BC to 42 AD)
• POST HOLE (Middle Iron Age to Late Iron Age - 400 BC to 42 AD)
• STRUCTURE (Middle Iron Age to Late Iron Age - 400 BC to 42 AD)

Full description

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There is a small amount of evidence for early Iron Age activity in Zones 7 and 8, largely associated with the settlement in Zone 6 and its associated field systems and enclosures. There is a marked increase in activity during the middle and Later Iron Age across these zones. Occupation is represented by a series of enclosures and field systems defined by trackways. Structures are present within the fields, these are represented by groups of post holes and seem likely to have been related to crop storage.

There was an area of intercutting ditches and trackways which measured around 35m across at its widest point, aligned NW-SE. the area was a focus of activity from the Bronze Age, with levels of activity increasing in the later Iron Age when a series of wide flat ‘ditches’, likely to be trackways, or ditches along the side of trackways, were in use. Immediately to the north of this was an area of occupation represented first by a ditch, and later by a horse-shoe shaped enclosure. Two inhumation burials were situated side by side, the more southernly was truncated by a later Iron Age ditch.

Potential track ways were identified towards the northern end of Zone 7 and the southern end of Zone 8, both orientated NW-SE. the area bounded by these two trackways or sets of ditches was sub divided by an L shaped ditch the NW-SE aligned part of which was segmented. Two post/stake holes between one of the segments may indicate the presence of a fence or a gate. To the north west of this feature, a sub rectangular structure was represented by eight post holes. Four further post built structures were present to the south east of the ditch. These structures could have been raised grain stores or small barns and it is possible that a group of shallow pits may have been used for clay extraction for daub for the structure walls. Other features assigned to this phase include a curvilinear ditch which enclosed an area mostly beyond the limits of excavation to the north west. Several further pits and post hole groups may also be assigned to this phase as well as several probable field boundaries. (information summarised from source) (1)

<1> Andrews et al, 2015, Digging The Gateway: Archaeological Landscapes of South Thanet. The Archaeology of East Kent Access (Phase III) Vol 1: The sites (Monograph). SKE55517.

Sources and further reading