Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

From a series of eight small excavations, K85 A to H, in a line down the eastern side of the middle Westbrook valley, opposite the Parish Church, the lower down ones yielded appreciable quantities of early medieval and medieval pottery.

Monument Types

• FINDSPOT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)

Associated Finds

• POTTERY ASSEMBLAGE (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)

Full description

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A series of eight small scale pits K85 A to H were dug at ten metre intervals on an east west line down the eastern side of the middle Westbrook valley opposite the church. The excavation was part of a research project being carried out in the Ospringe area by the Faversham Society Archaeological Research Group into prehistoric and early medieval human activity.Whilst the uppermost pits reached the underlying chalk quickly, the lower down pits, on a broad ledge above the valley floor and springs, reached a maximum depth of 1.45 metres without reaching chalk. In these lower pits, on the site of the former Brook Cottages demolished in the 1950s, the upper layers contained much post medieval and early modern material under which were layers with a fair amount of sherds of North Kent Shelly Ware and 13th-14th century Tyler Hill products. The sherds were larger and much less abraded than midden scatter sherds, suggesting occupational dumping in this location, probably associated with the nearby Domesday Manor, Queen Court. (1)

<1> Faversham Society Archaeological Research Group, 2012, Understanding Ospringe Project 2008-9 and 2011 (Unpublished document). SKE17255.

Sources and further reading