Exploring Kent's Past

It should not be assumed that this site is publicly accessible and it may be on private property. Do not trespass.

Monument details

Summary

Excavation in 2000-2002 carried out as part of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link found evidence of a 19m long wall that ran parallel to five large post holes. These have been suggested as holding posts that carried a portico-like front of the building. The location of the structure indicates that it formed an integral part of the mid Roman Sanctuary complex. (location accurate to the nearest 1m based on available information)

Monument Types

• COLONNADE (Roman - 150 AD? to 250 AD?)
• POST HOLE (Roman - 150 AD? to 250 AD?)
• WALL (Roman - 150 AD? to 250 AD?)

Full description

If you do not understand anything on this page please contact us.

Excavation in 2000-2002 carried out as part of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link found evidence of a 19m long wall that ran parallel to five large post holes. These have been suggested as holding posts that carried a portico-like front of the building. The location of the structure indicates that it formed an integral part of the mid Roman Sanctuary complex. It was positioned approximately 10 m from the estimated edge of the Ebbsfleet. A fence line located immediately to the south continues line created by the wall and it is likely that they are associated.

In detail the structure consists of a 19 m long, 0.45 m high wall built in a shallow, it was approximately 0.70 m wide at the base, 0.45 m wide at the top, and constructed of flint nodules and chalk rubble set in a hard, yellowish-white sandy mortar. The flat and level surface of the wall top suggests that it probably survived to its original height and may have provided the base for a timber structure above. 2m in front of the wall was a line of five substantial post-holes, all with post ghosts regularly-spaced at 3 m intervals, with another substantial post-hole at the south-east end lying at 90° to this line. Pottery recovered from the post-pits indicates a mid-Roman date for these. The evidence suggests that the rear wall was enclosed but the front, facing the water, may have been open, creating some form of narrow, portico-like structure. (1)

<1> Oxford Wessex Archaeology Joint Venture, 2010, Settling the Ebbsfleet Valley. CTRL Excavations at Springhead and Northfleet, Kent. The Late Iron Age, Roman, Saxon, and Medieval Landscape (Unpublished document). SKE31245.

Sources and further reading

Related records