Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Romano-British building and bath-house

Monument Types

• BATHS (BATHS, Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
• VILLA (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)

Full description

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Additonal large Roman building and a bath-house at Darenth excavated 1969. (1) The site of two buildings was revealed early in 1969 when a bulldozer stripping topsoil for gravel working exposed two lengths of Roman wall foundations close to the east bank of the River Darent, south of the wood within which the site of the villa lies. The excavated area, centred at TQ 5628 7050, was afterwards filled in,and the site not yet encroached upon by the gravel workings, presents an area of disturbed black soil containing dense concentrations of Roman brick and tile, flints and stone, with a scatter of sherds and oyster shells. Site surveyed at 1:2500. (2)

from the National Heritage List for England:
The monument includes a major Roman villa, a later, Anglo-Saxon, settlement and traces of earlier human use of the site during the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods and from the Late Bronze Age to the Late Iron Age. It survives in buried form and is situated on low-lying ground on the eastern bank of the River Darent. Covering an area of around 2.6ha, the villa complex is one of the largest in the country. It has been shown by partial excavation in 1894-5, 1969 and 1972 to have been built during at least four main phases of construction between the late first and late fourth centuries AD, resulting in the development of an extensive group of buildings and structures with flint footings, ranged around two, roughly north-south aligned, sub-rectangular, walled courtyards. The main domestic range is situated along the northern side of the complex, and faces towards the south. This was constructed initially as a simple rectangular building of around six rooms, including a dining room and kitchen, served by a detached bath house located c.100m to the south. During the mid to late second century, a new bath house was added to the western end of the main range and two further blocks of rooms were built to the west and east. These have been interpreted as originally free-standing structures subsequently incorporated into the main range by the construction of further linking rooms. By this time, the residential portion of the villa contained at least 50 rooms, and the level of comfort is indicated by the fact that many of these were heated by hypocausts, or underfloor heating systems, had tessellated or tiled floors and were decorated with painted wall plaster. By the early fourth century, access to the main residential complex was via a monumental gateway to the south and through an inner courtyard or formal, walled garden. Situated immediately to the south of the gateway is a small, sub-square structure, with a small, square lobby on its northern side, interpreted as a shrine. Features discovered within the inner courtyard include a large, centrally placed water tank, with an associated cistern, which may have been used as an ornamental pool or water management feature. To the south, situated along the western and eastern peripheries of the complex, are a series of outbuildings interpreted as barns, storehouses or worksheds, used for agricultural and industrial activities. Around 140m to the south west is a large, rectangular, aisled building measuring c.50m by 20m which itself underwent several phases of development. This has been interpreted as a separate domestic unit, possibly housing a villa estate manager. A timber-lined water channel, or leat, found adjacent to the river bank to the west of the villa buildings may indicate the presence of a nearby watermill. During the second half of the fourth century, the villa was occupied on a reduced scale. From this time, parts of the former domestic ranges fell out of use, or were utilised as workshops or storerooms. The excavations also revealed several contemporary trackways, a tile-built oven, and large quantities of Roman coins and pottery sherds. Partial excavation during the construction of a pipeline in 1972 indicated that the western periphery of the villa complex, immediately adjacent to the river, overlies traces of the earlier use of the site during the prehistoric period.

<1> Kent Arch Review no 18 1969 (Brian Philp) (OS Card Reference). SKE45865.

<2> Oral. Mr EV Ritson Dartford, Borough Mus Cur (OS Card Reference). SKE48009.

<3> F1 ASP 10-APR-70 (OS Card Reference). SKE42029.

<4> Field report for monument TQ 57 SE 72 - April, 1970 (Bibliographic reference). SKE3109.

Sources and further reading

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