Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Linear earthwork oriented north-south comprising a broad ditch and flanking bank. It may correspond to the Faesten Dic referred to in a Saxon boundary charter, possibly constructed between the 5th and 6th centuries. Excavation found a few pottery sherds of indeterminate date and a Medieval type horseshoe. It is likely that this surviving earthwork does not represent the original monument in its entirety

Monument Types

• BOUNDARY BANK (BOUNDARY BANK, Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon - 410 AD to 1065 AD)

Associated Finds

• HORSESHOE (Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon to Unknown - 410 AD)
• VESSEL (Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon to Unknown - 410 AD)

Full description

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[Name centred: TQ 5021 7202] Faesten Dic [NR] (1)(2) The dyke in Joyden's Wood is to be identified with a "faestendic" referred to in a Saxon boundary survey of A.D. 814 (a). To the north, a steep slope forms a natural extension of the dyke almost to Crayford. Southwards, the dyke extended to the south of the wood but the ground has been cultivated for many years. A section was cut across the bank and ditch [at TQ 5027 7210 "A"], and three potsherds were found in the centre of the bank, and, in the western rut, a small medieval-type horseshoe. Mr C. F. C. Hawkes has examined the sherds, but they are so small that they cannot be dated except to say that they are probably not Roman and not before 100 B.C. Behind the bank was a layer, 5ft. wide by 1ft. thick, of hard, dark gravel. Another section [at TQ 5025 7099 "B"] cut across the bank only, near the south end of the dyke, showed the existence of the hard gravel layer. The date of the dyke is uncertain, but evidence points to the Dark Ages. Dr R. E. M. Wheeler has argued convincingly for a 5th or 6th century date for the Chiltern Grims ditches and the Pinner and Bexley dykes [see (4)]. If the dyke in fact belongs to the Dark Ages its construction must surely be connected with the fighting in this district. [See TQ 57 NW 14 for Battle of Crecganford A.D. 457.] Finds now in the possession of Mr M D V Holt, owner of the western part of the wood. (3) Included in an article by Dr Wheeler on "London and the Grim's Ditches". A bank and ditch some 50ft. over all, with the bank still standing in places to a height of 4 or 5ft. It [the dyke] equates exactly with the series of ditches north of London. (4) Scheduled. (5) This earthwork is as described. Published survey (25") revised. (6) 1959 survey checked and found correct. (7) [TQ 501 718] "Faeston Dic" earthwork, Joydens Wood. Scheduled. (8) [TQ 505 720 - TQ 502 712] A linear earthwork. Its ditch faces west and the bank is on average about 4ft. in height from the bottom of the ditch. The overall width is about 18 yards. This earthwork runs north and south falls to the north, turns a sharp angle to the east, following just below the 200ft. contour. Undoubtedly only a small section of the total work survives. Northern section which runs east to west has substantial bank of perhaps 2.5 - 2.0 metres. Other sections difficult to locate in impenetrable woodland. (9) In an additional area description, at the top of a steep valley there is a gap in the line of the monument of about 100m. There is no known records to explain this, although the presence of possible field boundaries to the immediate west may contribute. Hogg in his 1935 report states that the route of the dyke turns at 90 degrees however there is no evidence to support this theory. (14)

from the National Heritage List for England:
The monument, which falls into two areas, includes an Anglo-Saxon frontier work known as Faesten Dic, or `The Strong Dyke', which runs across a now wooded area of undulating sandy gravel situated on the south eastern slope of
the Cray valley.

The dyke, which survives as a roughly north-south aligned, linear earthwork, takes the form of a series of connected, zigzagging ditches and banks with a total length of c.1.67km. The most heavily defended sections lie on the higher
ground towards the southern and northern ends of the monument and comprise a large, originally V-shaped ditch up to 8m wide. This has become partially infilled over the years, but remains visible to a depth of up to 2m in places.
The ditch is flanked to the east by a low bank up to c.10.5m wide and c.0.5m high, and to the west by a slight counterscarp bank around 3.5m high and c.0.4m wide. Around 720m from its southern end, the dyke dips down into a
steep narrow valley, across which the earthworks take the form of a low bank, interpreted as the original site of a fence or hedge, c.1.5m wide and 0.2m high. At a point around 270m from the northern end of the monument, the dyke
zigzags sharply to the south east and north east, and the earthworks here survive as a large bank c.2.5m wide and up to 1.5m high, the form of which has been partially modified over the years by subsequent agricultural activity. No ditch is visible in this area. The dyke has also been partially disturbed in places by the construction of later tracks and woodland boundary banks. The earthworks originally continued to the north east beyond the present bounds of
Joydens Wood, but this section has been destroyed by modern development and cultivation.

Faesten Dic is thought to have been constructed between the fifth and sixth centuries AD during which time the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records tribal warfare in the Bexley area. The dyke is also mentioned in an Anglo-Saxon boundary survey of AD 814. Partial excavation in 1941 revealed the existence of a narrow, buried layer of gravel immediately to the east of the bank, interpreted as an associated military walkway.

The surfaces of all metalled tracks, and the modern fences which cross the monument are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath these features is included.

ASSESSMENT OF IMPORTANCE
A small number of substantial and defensible boundary features have been identified as frontier works marking territories in the early medieval period. Up to 50 examples are known with a fairly wide distribution across England,
including examples in southern England, East Anglia, Yorkshire, Derbyshire and along the Welsh border.

Identified remains extend over distances from as little as 300m up to as much as 240km in the case of Offa's Dyke. They survive in the form of earthworks and as buried features visible as cropmarks or soilmarks on aerial photographs. They appear often to have been constructed across the natural grain of the landscape and, although many examples consisted of a single bank and flanking ditch, to vary considerably in their form and dimensions, even along different stretches of the same boundary, depending upon local topography.

Evidence from contemporary documentary sources, excavation and survey suggests that they were constructed in the early medieval period between the fifth and eighth centuries AD. Some were relatively ephemeral, perhaps in use for only a few years during periods of local strife; others, such as Offa's Dyke, constructed between Wales and Mercia, have formed long-lived territorial and/or military boundaries in use for several centuries. As a rare monument type of considerable importance to the study of early medieval territorial patterns, all surviving examples are identified as nationally important.

Although it has been partially disturbed by tree roots and subsequent agricultural and forestry activity, the medieval frontier work in Joydens Wood survives well as a substantial, visually impressive landscape feature. Partial excavation has confirmed the survival of archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed. (15)

The earliest mention of the fæstendic is in a document probably forged in the 10th century, though bearing a date of AD 814. The name meaning 'bulwark or fortification dyke' suggests it was at least thought to have had a military function by the Anglo-Saxons. No definite dating evidence for the construction of the dyke has been found, pottery located on the old surface below the bank has merely been dated as not Roman and not earlier than 100 BC. A possible early medieval date is still the most preferred interpretation. (16)

The earthwork was surveyed in 1999. (17) (18)

<1> OS 6" 1939 (OS Card Reference). SKE48359.

<2> OS Brit in the Dark Ages 1965 (OS Card Reference). SKE48402.

<3> Cartularium Saxonicum 1 No 346 (W de G Birch) (OS Card Reference). SKE38600.

<4> Arch Cant 54 1941 17-23 section plan fig 4 p 20 (AHA Hogg) (OS Card Reference). SKE35281.

<5> Ant J 14 1934 262-3 (REM Wheeler) (OS Card Reference). SKE33131.

<6> AMs Eng & Wales 1958 46 (MOW) (OS Card Reference). SKE33026.

<7> F1 AC 15-NOV-59 (OS Card Reference). SKE41809.

<8> F2 ASP 18-SEP-64 (OS Card Reference). SKE43132.

<9> DOE (IAM) SAMS 1988 Kent 6 (OS Card Reference). SKE40776.

<10> DOE (IAM) Record Form 1986 (OS Card Reference). SKE40740.

<11> Field report for monument TQ 57 SW 93 - November, 1959 (Bibliographic reference). SKE3197.

<12> Field report for monument TQ 57 SW 93 - September, 1964 (Bibliographic reference). SKE3198.

<13> PROFILE OF FAESTENDIC DYKE JOYDEN'S WOOD, CHISLEHURST AND SIDCUP (Photograph). SKE2576.

<14> Cambridgshire County Council Archaeological Field Unit, 1999, Joyden’s Wood, Bexley, Kent: An archaeological desk based survey & management plan (Unpublished document). SKE16015.

<15> English Heritage, Register of Scheduled Monuments (Scheduling record). SKE16191.

<16> Erik Grigg, 2012, Medieval Dykes in Surrey and Kent [extract from PhD research] (Unpublished document). SKE17208.

<17> English Heritage, 2000, RCHME/English Heritage Pilot Survey of Scheduled Ancient Monuments. Earthworks at St Radegunds Abbey and Faesten Dic, Kent (Unpublished document). SKE17430.

<18> RCHME, 1999, RCHME: SAMs Pilot Project (Archive). SKE53545.

Sources and further reading