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Monument details
| HER Number: | TR 15 NW 2048 |
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| Type of record: | Monument |
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| Name: | Roman Defensive Tower, just south of the Dane John Mound |
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Summary
In 1960 Frank Jenkins directed an excavation in the Dane John Gardens. These revealed that the Roman city wall made an angle 10.2m west of the Dane John wall-tower and c. 3m west of the present angle. The remains of a Roman angle tower were seen, it was apparently horse shoe shaped with a maximum diameter of 6.2m.
| Grid Reference: | TR 1474 5733 |
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| Map Sheet: | TR15NW |
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| Parish: | CANTERBURY, CANTERBURY, KENT |
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Monument Types
Full description
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In 1960 Frank Jenkins directed an excavation in the Dane John Gardens. These revealed that the Roman city wall made an angle 10.2m west of the Dane John wall-tower and c. 3m west of the present angle. The remains of a Roman angle tower were seen, it was apparently horse shoe shaped with a maximum diameter of 6.2m. The front of the tower had been destroyed by erosion and landscaping and elsewhere the foundations had been extensively robbed. The tower was thought to be contemporary with the city wall but the relationship was difficult to establish due to the state of the tower.
A coin of Victorinus (268-70) was found sealed by mortary rubble in the robbed foundation trench of the city wall just to the east of the angle. It is very likely that this coin was originally sealed by the wall and its presence may therefore confirm other evidence for the late third century date of the wall.
Frank Jenkins undertook excavations against the innner face of the city wall in 1960 within the Dane John Gardens. 36m east of tower 1 the modern rampart walk had subsided and a trench showed that the Roman wall stood to a height of at least 2.7m, but was not more than 1.2m wide. It seems probable that the outer face has been reduced by weathering and neglect. Above the Roman wall was a roughly built wall of ragstone and flints, above which was the modern parapet.
A small trench dug 30m east of Tower 1 located the foundation trench of the Roman wall. Its front lay c 0.38m outside the modern wall-line. Slightly further east for a length of c. 4.9m the foundation-trench had been totally robbed and filled with mortary rubble. Beyond this the wall survived in a more substantial state; just to the west of this length of wall lay the Roman angle-tower.
Jenkins, F, 1960, CAS Annual Report (Article in serial). SKE30756.
Frere, SS, Stow, S, and Bennett, P, 1982, Excavations on the Roman and Medieval Defences of Canterbury. (Monograph). SKE28530.
Sources and further reading
| Cross-ref.
| Source description | | --- | Monograph: Frere, SS, Stow, S, and Bennett, P. 1982. Excavations on the Roman and Medieval Defences of Canterbury.. |
| --- | Article in serial: Jenkins, F. 1960. CAS Annual Report. |
