Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

During evaluation trenching and excavation ahead of development at Springhead, a number of mid-late Iron Age features were uncovered including a large enclosure (location accurate to the nearest 1m based on available information)

Monument Types

• ENCLOSURE (Middle Iron Age to Late Iron Age - 400 BC to 42 AD)

Associated Finds

• CORE (Prehistoric - 500000 BC to 42 AD)
• FLAKE (Prehistoric - 500000 BC to 42 AD)
• WORKED FLINT (Prehistoric - 500000 BC to 42 AD)
• ANIMAL REMAINS (Middle Iron Age to Late Iron Age - 400 BC to 42 AD)
• SHERD (Middle Iron Age to Late Iron Age - 400 BC to 42 AD)

Full description

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During evaluation trenching and excavation ahead of development at Springhead, a number of mid-late Iron Age features were uncovered including a large enclosure. The enclosure was D shaped and measured 63m E-W by 44m N-S with a probable entrance was identified in the western side. Most of the excavated sections showed that the ditches were steep sided with a concave base, and ranged from 1.6m – 2.6m in width and 0.4m -0.65m in depth. The pottery uncovered from within the fills of the ditch is suggestive of activity dating to the Middle-Late Iron Age. The western arm of the ditch re-utilising and recutting the eastern side of the Bronze age droveway. There were few features within the enclosure, though finds including pottery and animal bone from within the fills of the ditch implies the presence of low-level domestic activity in the vicinity. Undated flints were also identified and included ten flakes, and a flint core were recovered from the subsoil overlying the feature and three pieces of worked flint, including a hammer or grinder, were recovered from
the colluvial subsoil sealing an undated linear. A possible core was also recovered from another lower colluvium layer in the trench base. (1-2)

Wessex Archaeology, 2008, Archaeological Investigations at Springhead Quarter (Phase II), Northfleet, Kent: Archaeological Assessment Report and Updated Project design (Unpublished document). SKE17943.

<1> Wessex Archaeology, 2004, Springhead Quarter Ebbsfleet, Kent: Archaeological Evaluation Report (Unpublished document). SKE12271.

Sources and further reading

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