Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Site of a Romano-Celtic temple discovered in 1969 at Boxted and excavated in 1970. Small amounts of pottery found indicate a 2nd century date. There are now no visible remains.

Monument Types

• RITUAL PIT (Roman - 100 AD? to 200 AD? (at some time))
• TEMPLE (Abandoned ?, Roman - 100 AD? to 200 AD? (at some time))

Associated Finds

• VESSEL (Roman - 100 AD to 200 AD)

Full description

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TQ 852661) Boxted. The western half of a Roman-Celtic Temple has been revealed by excavation following a field survey by the Upchurch and the Sittingbourne and Swale Archaeological Research Groups, using a resistively metre. Only the foundation walls remain and of these the north cella wall has been completely robbed. The floors have also completely disappeared. (1) The excavation has been completed. The filled-in site was seen at TQ 85146618. It falls within a pasture field and nothing of interest is now to be seen. (2) TQ 852662 Boxted. Excavation of the Romano-Celtic temple discovered in 1969 was completed in 1970. The inner chamber was 6.7m square externally, with walls 0.9m thick, and the ambulatory measured 13.4m externally with walls nearly 0.7m thick. The raised floors and much of the walling failed to survive. The meagre pottery all appears to be datable to the mid second century. Information from JR Williams. (3) Additional reference. The structure seems to have been built of flint with bonding courses and quoins of yellow brick on tile. The roof was probably red tile. A possible votive pit was found inside the cella, against the west wall. Four black objects, possibly seeds, a large number of mice bones were found in the lower part of the pit. (4) TQ 85156618. Boxted Roman temple included in Schedule of Ancient Monuments. About 260 m to the north-east is the site of a villa (TQ 86 NE 18) of a broadly contemporary date. It is possible that these two sites were associated in some way. (5)

From the National Heritage List for England:

Details
The monument includes a Romano-Celtic temple situated on the southern edge of the north Kent marshes, on the western slope of a low, clay hill. The temple, which survives as buried remains, is a square building, with each outer wall measuring 13.4m in length. It has two concentric foundation walls originally forming an ambulatory, or covered walkway, enclosing a central cella, or inner chamber. The cella measures 6.7m externally, and both enclosure walls are c.0.7m thick. The temple was partially excavated in 1969-1970, when pottery sherds dating to between AD 100-AD 200 were discovered. A small votive pit was located within the cella near its north eastern corner. The modern fence which crosses the monument and the stile which is situated on the fenceline are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath these features is included.

Reasons for Designation
Romano-Celtic temples were built to meet the spiritual needs of the communities they served by venerating the god or spirit considered to dwell in a particular place. The temple building was regarded as the treasure house of its deity and priests rather than as a congregational building and any religious activities, including private worship, communal gatherings, sanctuary and healing, took place outside. Romano-Celtic temples included the temple building and a surrounding sacred precinct or temenos which could be square, circular, rectangular or polygonal in ground plan. The temple building invariably faced due east and was the focus of the site, although it did not necessarily occupy the central position in the temenos. It comprised a cella, or inner temple chamber, an ambulatory or walkway around the cella, and sometimes annexes or antechambers. The buildings were constructed of a variety of materials, including stone, cob and timber, and walls were often plastered and painted both internally and externally. Some temenoi enclosed other buildings, often substantial and built in materials and styles similar to those of the temple; these are generally interpreted as priests' houses, shops or guest houses. Romano-Celtic temples were built and used throughout the Roman period from the mid first century AD to the late fourth/early fifth century AD, with individual examples being used for relatively long periods of time. They were widespread throughout southern and eastern England, although there are no examples in the far south west and they are rare nationally with only about 150 sites recorded in England. In view of their rarity and their importance in contributing to the complete picture of Roman religious practice, including its continuity from Iron Age practice, all Romano-Celtic temples with surviving archaeological potential are considered to be of national importance.

Despite some disturbance by ploughing and the action of tree roots, the Romano-Celtic temple at Boxted survives relatively well and has been shown by partial excavation to contain archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed. Around 260m to the north east are the remains of a Romano-British villa. These monuments are broadly contemporary and their close association will provide evidence for the relationship between religious, social and economic practices during the period of their construction and use. (7)

<1> Kent Arch Rev 17 1969 32 (J Williams) (OS Card Reference). SKE45750.

<2> F1 ASP 25-NOV-69 (OS Card Reference). SKE42291.

<3> Brittania 4 1973 321-2 (D R Wilson) (OS Card Reference). SKE38397.

<4> KAR 18 Winter 1969-70 9 (J Williams) (OS Card Reference). SKE45246.

<5> Field report for monument TQ 86 NE 36 - November, 1969 (Bibliographic reference). SKE4555.

<6> English Heritage schedule entry 15th September 1994 (OS Card Reference). SKE41641.

<7> English Heritage, Register of Scheduled Monuments (Scheduling record). SKE16191.

Sources and further reading

Related records