Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

A late Bronze Age-early Iron Age settlement on the foreshore at Minnis Bay. The site was excavated in 1939. 17 storage pits and the remains of c.20 circular timber structures were found representing two phases at the site. The finds included pottery, flints, animal bones, plant remains indicative of agriculture, timber and wattle and a founder's hoard of 73 pieces of bronze. This is held in the British Museum; the other items are in the Powell-Cotton Museum, Quex Park. Some of the pottery is now thought to possibly date to the Iron Age indicating the site was occupied during the Bronze Age-Iron Age transition. Subsequent investigations of the eroded foreshore have produced further materials including late Bronze Age pottery, leather objects including sandals, a red deer antler axe mount, oyster shells and Romano-British pottery. A hoard of bronze Palstaves and Neolithic materials have also been discovered in this location (see TR 26 NE 1053 and TR 26 NE 1054). Pits have produced early Iron Age/Romano-British pottery and a small La Tene III brooch.

Monument Types

• Hoard (Late Bronze Age - 1000 BC (at some time) to 701 BC (at some time))
• HUT CIRCLE (Late Bronze Age to Early Iron Age - 1000 BC (at some time) to 401 BC (at some time))
• PIT (Late Bronze Age to Early Iron Age - 1000 BC (at some time) to 401 BC (at some time))
• SETTLEMENT (Late Bronze Age to Early Iron Age - 1000 BC (at some time) to 401 BC (at some time))

Associated Finds

• MOUNT (Unknown date)
• OYSTER SHELL (Unknown date)
• SANDAL (Unknown date)
• ARROWHEAD? (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)
• ASSEMBLAGE? (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)
• AXEHEAD (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)
• BOWL (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)
• ASSEMBLAGE (Bronze Age - 2350 BC to 701 BC)
• ANIMAL REMAINS (Late Bronze Age to Early Iron Age - 1000 BC to 401 BC)
• AXEHEAD (Late Bronze Age - 1000 BC to 701 BC)
• BOWL (Late Bronze Age - 1000 BC to 701 BC)
• LITHIC IMPLEMENT (Late Bronze Age to Early Iron Age - 1000 BC to 401 BC)
• PLANT REMAINS (Late Bronze Age to Early Iron Age - 1000 BC to 401 BC)
• POTTERY ASSEMBLAGE (Late Bronze Age to Early Iron Age - 1000 BC to 401 BC)
• BROOCH (Late Iron Age - 100 BC? to 42 AD?)
• POTTERY ASSEMBLAGE (Late Iron Age to Roman - 100 BC to 409 AD)

Full description

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[Name TR 284 697] Late Bronze Age - Romano-British Settlement Site [NAT] (1). A Late Bronze Age settlement, between high and low water mark at TR 2849 6978 (sited from plans), excavated in 1939. It was of two phases; the first comprising a roughly rectangular hollow and 17 storage pits (excavated in chalk), and the second (divided from the first by flood silt), the remains of timber structures (?pile dwellings) protected by an artificial gravel bank. It yielded Late Bronze Age pottery, some of it comparable with examples from Plumpton Plain, a few flints, domestic animal bones, plant remains indicative of agriculture ('representing the residue from threshing'), quantities of timber and wattle and, in particular, the Minnis Bay founder's hoard of 73 pieces . The hoard is in the British Museum; the other items are in the Powell-Cotton Museum, Quex Park. All traces have now been destroyed by the sea. Apparently no Iron Age or Romano-British remains were recognised at this site, particularly by Worsfold (see TR 26 NE 24 for an adjacent Iron Age/Romano-British site) but some of the pottery illustrated as Late Bronze Age has a distinctly Iron Age appearance and Ralegh Radford lists storage pits of 'Little Woodbury type' at Minnis Bay, apparently referring to this complex (2). Minnis Bay, Birchington. Late Bronze Age settlement of about 20 circular huts grouped around a central quadrangle. Woodwork, wattle, bronze and bone work found and pottery of Late Bronze Age-Iron Age transition. Remains of ox, horse, sheep or goat, also found (3). Investigations of the eroded foreshore at Minnis Bay has produced Late Bronze Age pottery, leather objects including sandals, and a red deer antler axe mount. Oyster shells and Romano-British pottery have also been found. Pits have produced Early Iron Age/Romano-British pottery and a small La Tene III brooch (4). Early Iron Age hoard of bronze palstaves also recovered.

(5,6) Neolithic material from the old land surfaces on either side of the ancient stream or tidal inlet at the Late Bronze Age-Iron Age settlement site. Most of the neolithic material comes from the western bank, however fragments of one bowl were found on the eastern side. Finds include fragments of two bowls, a leaf-shaped arrowhead, parts of two polished axes and flakes and scrapers (7). (TR 26 NE 1054).

Additional references (8-13), for further details and context of the site in the region's inter-tidal archaeology see (14) and for references on Neoloithic, Bronze Age and inter-tidal zone contexts in Birchington see (15-18). Photographs of finds located within the site in Birchington (19-28).

Archive material associated with site (29)

<1> OS 6" 1961 (OS Card Reference). SKE48369.

<2> PPS IX 1943 28-47 plans illlust (F H Worsfold) (OS Card Reference). SKE48611.

<3> MS plan in possession of Miss Powell-Cotton Quex Park (OS Card Reference). SKE47464.

<4> Arch cant LI 1939 191-203 illus (P H G Powell-Cotton and F Pinfold) (OS Card Reference). SKE36364.

<5> F1 CFW 29-NOV-63 (OS Card Reference). SKE42819.

<6> PPS 5 1939 252 (notes on excavations) (OS Card Reference). SKE48607.

<7> Arch Cant 71 1957 237 (M Blumstein) (OS Card Reference). SKE35494.

<8> PPS XX 1954 24 (C A Raleigh-Radford) (OS Card Reference). SKE48613.

<9> Arch of Kent 1930 100 252 illus (R F Jessup) (OS Card Reference). SKE36863.

<10> SE England 1970 130-1 illus (R F Jessup) (OS Card Reference). SKE49425.

<11> Ant J 4 1924 220-226 illus (O G S Crawford and P Powell-Cotton) (OS Card Reference). SKE33178.

<12> Arch Cant 84 1969 249-50 illus (N Macpherson-Grant) (OS Card Reference). SKE35787.

<13> Field report for monument TR 26 NE 2 - November, 1963, p 14-15 (Bibliographic reference). SKE5801.

<14> Department of Archaeology, University of Reading, 1994, Inter-tidal archaeology in Kent (Unpublished document). SWX9353.

<15> Macpherson-grant, N., 1969, Two Neolithic bowls from Birchington, Thanet (Article in serial). SWX7501.

<16> Worsfold, F.H., 1943, A report on the Late Bronze Age site excavated at Minnis Bay, Birchingon, Kent 1938-40 (Article in serial). SWX7782.

<17> Powell-Cotton, P. H. G. and Crawford, O. G. H., 1924, The Birchington hoard (Article in serial). SWX7274.

<18> Trust For Thanet Archaeology, 1991, Intertidal Zone Minnis Bay-Reculver (Unpublished document). SWX7082.

<19> WATTLE FLOORING OR WALLING (Photograph). SKE1371.

<20> VIEW OF WORKINGS RUNNING PARALLEL WITH PLAYSTOL MEADOW MARKED MARKED 193A ON PLAN (Photograph). SKE1370.

<21> EXCAVATORS AT WORK ON THE SITE. (Photograph). SKE1369.

<22> SECTION OF TRENCH FROM WEST TO EAST ACCROSS THE SITE, ONE YARD NORTH OF DATUM LINE. (Photograph). SKE1368.

<23> PLAN OF PIT SITE , NO: 10. (Photograph). SKE1367.

<24> VIEW OF WORKINGS RUNNING PARALLEL WITH PLAYSTOL MEADOW MARKED 193A ON PLAN (Photograph). SKE1374.

<26> CROSS-SECTION LATE BRONZE AGE SITE, MINNIS BAY (Photograph). SKE1376.

<26> WATTLE FLOORING SHOWING SUPPORTING TIMBERS. (Photograph). SKE1372.

<27> PLAN OF THE LATE BRONZE AGE SETTLEMENT Types: X (Photograph). SKE1375.

<28> PART OF BICHINGTON FROM THE AIR AT HIGH TIDE. (Photograph). SKE1373.

<29> Historic England, Archive material associated with Minnis Bay (Archive). SKE55184.

Sources and further reading