Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

12 pits, two groups of nine and two, found containing burnt flint. Although undated a pit of similar character had been found previously contain pottery of Neolithic or Bronze Age date.

Loction accurate to 2m based on available information

Monument Types

• PIT (Late Iron Age to Roman - 0 AD to 140 AD (at some time))

Associated Finds

• BURNT FLINT (Early Neolithic to Late Bronze Age - 4000 BC? to 701 BC?)

Full description

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12 pits found containing burnt flint in what the excavators called the Northfleet Roman Villa and Northfleet Roman Villa Eastern Extension areas (ARCEBB01). Although undated a pit of similar character had been found previously containing pottery of neolithic or bronze age date. More information will be added once excavtion report is produced (1).

Pits 15572, 15605, 15648, 15666, 15731, 15801, 15815, and 15840 were circular, averaging 1.30 m in diameter and 0.22 m deep. All contained
abundant burnt flint – there were some 2390 pieces in 15815 – while the fills of 15572, 15801, and 15840 were also charcoal-rich.

Dating evidence appears to place the group within the 2nd century. Pit 15572 had been cut into the top of infilled ditch 15751, suggesting that the pit was cut during the second quarter of the 2nd century; shelly ware and Patchgrove grog-tempered ware recovered from the pit also suggest a date within the earlier part of that century. Central Gaulish samian dating to AD 120–150 was collected from 15801, while similarly-dated black-burnished ware was recovered from 15666. Oak charcoal from 15605 was radiocarbon dated to cal AD 0–140 while spelt from the same feature gave a result of cal AD 80–240, putting the use of the feature within the early or mid-Roman periods. (2)

Loction accurate to 2m based on available information

<1> Oxford Archaeology, 2003, Ebbsfleet Valley Detailed Mitigation Works, Northfleet, Kent: Interim Statement (Unpublished document). SKE12256.

<2> 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 The Late Iron Age, Roman, Saxon, and Medieval Landscape (Unpublished document).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.

Sources and further reading

Related records