Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Excavations along the East Kent Access Route discovered a complex of enclosures and boundary ditches that suggested a small medieval farmstead probably dating to the 11th to 13th century. The features recorded comprised ditches and gullies defining fields and enclosures (location accurate to the nearest 1m based on available information)

Monument Types

• DITCH (Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon to Medieval - 1000 AD to 1400 AD)
• ENCLOSURE (Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon to Medieval - 1000 AD to 1400 AD)
• FARMSTEAD (Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon to Medieval - 1000 AD to 1400 AD)
• GULLY (Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon to Medieval - 1000 AD to 1400 AD)

Associated Finds

• ANIMAL REMAINS (Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon to Medieval - 1000 AD to 1400 AD)
• POTTERY ASSEMBLAGE (Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon to Medieval - 1000 AD to 1400 AD)

Full description

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In addition to the medieval farmstead at the end of the Ebbsfleet Peninsula, elements of a second were recorded in Zone 3. This farmstead probably also originated in the 11th -12th century and perhaps continued to be occupied as late as the 14th or 15th century. However, unlike farmstead A, no clear changes in layout are apparent and the main phase of use may have been in the earlier period. The principal concentration of medieval features was located towards the northern end of Zone 3, but a series of poorly dated ditches and gullies defining fields and enclosures were recorded in the central and southern areas, with another small group to the north. The features were accompanied by medieval pottery, fired clay and animal bone. Several shallow ditches appeared to mark the southern extent of the farmstead, but there seems to have been no formal boundary to the north. However this may have been defined by a slightly lower lying and possibly periodically flooded or marshy area, coinciding with the division between Zones 3 and 4. Some of the medieval ditches appeared to respect the early Bronze Age monument, which suggests it was at least partly extant at the time. (information summarised from source)(1-2)

<1> Oxford Wessex Archaeology Joint Venture, 2011, East Kent Access (Phase II), Thanet, Kent: Post-Excavation Assessment Volume 1 (Unpublished document). SKE29279.

<2> Andrews et al, 2015, Digging The Gateway: Archaeological Landscapes of South Thanet. The Archaeology of East Kent Access (Phase III) Vol 1: The sites (Monograph). SKE55517.

Sources and further reading