Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

The area of work was against the east side of the northern tower. The city wall was revealed approximately 0.3m below the pavement level and though cut by many service and pipe trenches, the wall and tower were assessed to be contemporary structures.

Monument Types

• TOWN WALL (AD 270?, Undated)

Full description

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A watching brief was undertaken when shallow trenching during the relaying of the pavement north of the Westgate in April, 1988. Canterbury City Council financed the watching brief.

The area of work was against the east side of the northern tower. The city wall, part of Kent SAM 23, city defenecs, was revealed approximately 0.3m below the pavement level and though cut by many service and pipe trenches, the wall and tower were assessed to be contemporary structures. The ashlared block-work front face of the wall had been robbed during its demolition in 1830, but sufficient wall core of chalk block-work survived to prove that the tower and wall were built in the same time period. The original point of junction between the tower and wall was also discernable above the pavement level, despite concealment by repair work, and the line of the city wall was subsequently marked out in brick on the pavement.

In 2011 geophysical work in Westgate Gardens found anomalies that are likely to derive from the remains of the Roman town wall (1)

Frere, SS, Stow, S, and Bennett, P, 1982, Excavations on the Roman and Medieval Defences of Canterbury. (Monograph). SKE28530.

Bennett, P., 1983, The Westgate (Article in serial). SKE30784.

Andrews, G., 1985, An Assessment. Gazetteer of Excavations. Prehistoric, Belgic and Roman Excavations (Monograph). SKE30006.

Frere, S., Bennett, P., Rady, J., Stow, S., 1987, Excavations Intra- and Extra-mural Sites 1949-55 and 1980-84 (Monograph). SKE29800.

<1> CgMs, 2011, Geophysical Survey report, South East Canterbury, Kent (Unpublished document). SKE52381.

Sources and further reading

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