Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

A series of Roman trackways (possibly originiating in the Late Iron Age) were dsicovered across Zone 19 of the excavations associated with the construction of the East Kent Access routeway in Thanet. Three tracks were identified, though one may be a realignment of another. It is possible that they branched off from an earlier trackway which Is thought to have run along the top of the chalk ridge to the north on a similar course to that later followed by Medieval Dunstrete. The projected course of these routes may have linked the Roman activity here with the villa and settlement at Minster. (location accurate to the nearest 1m based on available information)

Monument Types

• DITCH (Late Iron Age to Roman - 100 BC to 409 AD)
• TRACKWAY (Late Iron Age to Roman - 100 BC to 409 AD)
• WHEEL RUT (Late Iron Age to Roman - 100 BC to 409 AD)

Full description

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Though there was some evidence for activity in this are in the later Iron age, the activity intensifies in the Roman period with the establishment of three trackways (and other features including cemeteries and enclosures) these trackways perhaps branched off from an earlier trackway which Is thought to have run along the top of the chalk ridge to the north on a similar course to that later followed by Medieval Dunstrete. The projected course of these trackways, probably shifting over time and resulting in the formation of a braided pattern of hollow ways, heads broadly in the direction of the villa and earlier settlement at Minster.

The western of the two trackways followed an irregular course on a rough NE-SW alignment and broadly defined the southern limit of Roman activity in Zone 19. It varied I width between 5m and 15m and was only 0.2m in depth, forming a broad, slightly undulating and sinuous feature. It is likely to have developed through repeated use rather than having been formally established as metalling was only apparent in a few small areas. A pair of shallow wheel ruts 1.8m apart lay immediately to the south and were apparently associated with this trackway.

The eastern trackway appears to represent a realignment of the other trackway with its southern part extending in a more south western direction. This trackway varied in width from at least 2m in the north to over 6m in the south and was fairly shallow, measuring 0.4m in depth. Some gravel metalling survived towards the north eastern end, but was much more sporadic to the south west where the trackway deepened slightly. The small amount of pottery recovered from it had a broad Roman date. A ditch ran parallel and adjacent to the trackway, cutting it on its north western side, and perhaps functioning as a drainage ditch. It was 2.25m wide and 1.1m deep with as steep sided profile and flat base.

A third trackway was on a NW-SE alignment and extended beyond the northern limit of excavation. The south western extent of the trackway was cut by an Anglo Saxon trackway and it is possible that this represents an early phase of this routeway. It is 3.4m wide and 0.3m deep. It was not metalled and the feature is more likely to have formed from continued use over a long period of time, forming a hollow way, rather than by deliberate construction. Though the pottery recovered from the fill is exclusively Late Iron Age- Roman in date. (information summarised from source) (1-2)

A trackway of Roman date was visible as a cropmark in NMR 26608/10 06-APR-2010. More of this feature was visible in the form of a cropmark beyond the excavated area than had been revealed by the strip process of the excavations described above. This feature was mapped as part of the Historic England Isle of Thanet project in 2024. (3)

<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.

<3> Historic England Archive, 1920-2024, Historic England Archive Specialist oblique aerial photographs, NMR 26608/10 06-APR-2010 (Archive). SKE57106.

Sources and further reading