Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Partial enclosures cropmark feature. Identified from aerial photographs.

Monument Types

• ENCLOSURE (Unknown date)

Full description

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Site identified during transcription of features recorded on air photographs. (1)
Additional Information (2-3).

This feature was targeted during an archaeological evaluation carried out ahead of the installation of a water pipeline. The feature was seen in two trenches in trench 2 - Ditch 203 confirmed the cropmark and was on the same northeast/ south-west alignment. It was linear in plan and 1.82m wide, with steep, slightly concave sides. It was not fully excavated as its depth extended beyond 1.2m from top of the trench (the safe working depth limit). It contained two fills, the lower contained burnt flint. In trench 3 the south-east/north-west linear ditch 303 was 2.34m wide and excavated to a depth of 1.2m from the top of the topsoil and had very steep concave sides. It had 4 fills, the upper contained ceramic building material (CBM) and a worked flint blade. The feature could not be closely dated but may feasibly relate to either the late prehistoric or medieval activity identified elsewhere within the site, or possibly Roman activity as recorded nearby at Quex Park. (4)

The cropmark remains of several fragmented rectilinear enclosures and ditches of a probable settlement of later prehistoric/Roman or medieval date visible on aerial photographs and was mapped as part of the Historic England Thanet Landscape Mapping Project 2024. The northern partial enclosure was identified during the archaeological evaluation described by the previous authority. The remaining features appear on a number of different aerial photographs. The site appears to continue beneath the site of King Ehthelbert's Secondary School. More extensive traces of the northern enclosure was also mapped from aerial photographs as part of the RCHME Kent Mapping Project in the late 1980's. This survey had access to aerial photographs held by Cambridge University (CUCAP/ULM) which were unaccessible at the time of this most recent survey by Historic England. (5-7)

<1> David McLeod/1986-7/RCHME Air Photo Unit Survey of Kent (OS Card Reference). SKE39678.

<2> Trust for Thanet Archaeology, 1987, Isle of Thanet Archaeological Unit Sites and Monuments Archive (Collection). SKE11846.

<3> Trust For Thanet Archaeology, 1997, A Proposed Development of Land at Park Road/Canterbury Road, Birchington: The Archaeological Implications (Unpublished document). SWX7102.

<4> Cotswolds archaeology, 2021, Archaeological Evaluation Report - Birchington Vale Rising Main Pipeline (Unpublished document). SKE57129.

<5> Historic England Archive, 1941-1960, Historic England Archive RAF vertical aerial photographs, RAF/26J/BR194 VC 6 10-JAN-1941 (Archive). SKE57101.

<6> Historic England Archive, 1949-1976, Historic England Archive CUCAP oblique aerial photographs, CUCAP AFK91 14-JUN-1962 (Archive). SKE57107.

<7> Next Perspectives, 2003-2021, Next Perspectives APGB orthophotography (Archive). SKE57110.

Sources and further reading