Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Cropmarks of an Iron Age - Roman settlement and trackway with pits in close proximity to a number of other enclosures and ring ditches. Identified from aerial photographs.

Monument Types

• PIT (Unknown date)
• RECTANGULAR ENCLOSURE (Unknown date)
• SETTLEMENT (Early Iron Age to Roman - 800 BC to 409 AD)
• TRACKWAY (Early Iron Age to Roman - 800 BC to 409 AD)

Full description

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Trackway TR 28666893 - TR 29226864: Around east end are traces of enclosures abutting track on both sides: pits and area features. (1- 4)


From Register of Scheduled Monuments: Presumably a ditched road of uncertain date (Mediaeval?) (5)


From the National Heritage List for England:

Summary of Monument

Ring ditches, linear ditches and pits 387m north-west of The Red House
Reasons for Designation

Round barrow cemeteries date to the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC). They comprise closely-spaced groups of up to 30 round barrows - rubble or earthen mounds covering single or multiple burials. Most cemeteries developed over a considerable period of time, often many centuries, and in some cases acted as a focus for burials as late as the early medieval period. They exhibit considerable diversity of burial rite, plan and form, frequently including several different types of round barrow, occasionally associated with earlier long barrows. Where large scale investigation has been undertaken around them, contemporary or later "flat" burials between the barrow mounds have often been revealed. Round barrow cemeteries occur across most of lowland Britain, with a marked concentration in Wessex. In some cases, they are clustered around other important contemporary monuments such as henges. Often occupying prominent locations, they are a major historic element in the modern landscape, whilst their diversity and their longevity as a monument type provide important information on the variety of beliefs and social organisation amongst early prehistoric communities.

The ring ditches, linear ditches and pits 387m north-west of The Red House have not been excavated and will retain potential for further archaeological investigation, which will provide information regarding the exact nature of the archaeological remains. The site will contain significant archaeological and environmental information relating to the prehistoric occupation and management of the landscape in this part of Kent.

The linear ditches include Second World War slit trenches from a military exercise. The other linear features and pits are thought to be associated with prehistoric or Roman occupation.
History

See Details
Details

This record has been generated from an "old county number" (OCN) scheduling record. These are monuments that were not reviewed under the Monuments Protection Programme and are some of our oldest designation records.

The monument includes ring ditches, linear ditches and pits surviving as buried remains recorded as crop marks on aerial photographs. It is situated on a low-lying south-west facing slope north of Brooksend Stream near Birchington.

There are at least nine ring ditches, varying from 11m to 28m in diameter. At least one of these is a double ring ditch. The ring ditches are considered to be the buried remains of a Bronze Age barrow cemetery. The ditches are quarry ditches, from which material to construct the barrow mounds was originally derived. Two of the ring ditches are unusual in that they are linked by linear features or ditches. To the west side of the constraint area are several Second World War slit trenches from a military exercise, forming sharp zig-zag patterns running broadly north-east to south-west. There are also several other linear features or ditches, including part of a large rectilinear enclosure to the west and part of a possible trackway to the north. The buried remains of pits are evident as crop marks scattered across the site. These may be associated with prehistoric or Roman occupation.

The site was recorded as part of the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England (RCHME) Kent Mapping Project carried out in 1986-7. This produced 1:10,000 scale depictions of crop marks identified on oblique and vertical aerial photographs taken across Kent.

Further archaeological remains, such as ring ditches and rectilinear enclosures, survive in the vicinity of this site but are not included because they have not been formally assessed. (6-7)

Photographs (8-10)

The fragmented cropmark traces of the trackway, associated settlement (both probably Iron Age - Roman in date) and multiphase features described by the previous authorities above have been mapped and recorded from aerial photographs as part of the Historic England Thanet Landscape Mapping Project 2024.

The trackway can be traced as a fragmented cropmark for over 215m aligned NW-SE to the north of Brooksend Farm heading towards the coast west of Birchington. The trackway is defined by two ditches and varies in width from 24m to 6m across. At TR2914 6865 there are the traces of a cross-roads and fragments of enclosures of a probable settlement. An earlier survey by RCHME records ditches of a larger rectilinear enclsoure or compound enclosing the settlement to the south. These features were seen on Cambridge University photographs unavailable at the time of the 2024 Historic England survey. Numerous pits of varying size are visible in this area as cropmarks, possibly associated with settlement activity (11-12).

1975, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX10610.

<1> AP (CUC SU 88; 03.06.56) (OS Card Reference). SKE33488.

<2> AP (CUC BMU 4-8; 04.06.73) (OS Card Reference). SKE33405.

<3> AP (CUC BTG 42-45; 26-06-75) (OS Card Reference). SKE33440.

<4> AP (CUC ADB 23-24; 26-05-61) (OS Card Reference). SKE33341.

<6> Historic England, National Heritage List for England (Index). SKE29372.

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

<8> 1975, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX10610.

<9> 1973, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX10589.

<10> 1973, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX10589.

<11> Next Perspectives, 2003-2021, Next Perspectives APGB orthophotography, Next Perspectives APGB Imagery 25-MAY-2012 (Archive). SKE57110.

<12> Google.Com, 1960-2023, Earth.Google.Com orthophotography, EARTH.GOOGLE.COM JUL-2013. ACCESSED 16-APR-2024 (Archive). SKE57111.

Sources and further reading