Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

A World War I practice castleated trench system with dugouts was formerly located near Birchington. Cropmarks identified from aerial photographs. Recorded during an assessment of the north Kent coast by Wessex Archaeology.

Monument Types

• TRENCH (Modern - 1914 AD to 1918 AD)

Full description

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WWI Practice Castellated Trench system. Photographs (1,2).

From Register of Scheduled Monuments: The zig zag very sharp markings are military exercise trenching - presumably of this [20th] century.(3)

From the National Heritage List for England:

Summary of Monument

Ring ditches, linear ditches and pits 387m north-west of The Red House
Reasons for Designation

Round barrow cemeteries date to the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC). They comprise closely-spaced groups of up to 30 round barrows - rubble or earthen mounds covering single or multiple burials. Most cemeteries developed over a considerable period of time, often many centuries, and in some cases acted as a focus for burials as late as the early medieval period. They exhibit considerable diversity of burial rite, plan and form, frequently including several different types of round barrow, occasionally associated with earlier long barrows. Where large scale investigation has been undertaken around them, contemporary or later "flat" burials between the barrow mounds have often been revealed. Round barrow cemeteries occur across most of lowland Britain, with a marked concentration in Wessex. In some cases, they are clustered around other important contemporary monuments such as henges. Often occupying prominent locations, they are a major historic element in the modern landscape, whilst their diversity and their longevity as a monument type provide important information on the variety of beliefs and social organisation amongst early prehistoric communities.

The ring ditches, linear ditches and pits 387m north-west of The Red House have not been excavated and will retain potential for further archaeological investigation, which will provide information regarding the exact nature of the archaeological remains. The site will contain significant archaeological and environmental information relating to the prehistoric occupation and management of the landscape in this part of Kent.

The linear ditches include Second World War slit trenches from a military exercise. The other linear features and pits are thought to be associated with prehistoric or Roman occupation.
History

See Details
Details

This record has been generated from an "old county number" (OCN) scheduling record. These are monuments that were not reviewed under the Monuments Protection Programme and are some of our oldest designation records.

The monument includes ring ditches, linear ditches and pits surviving as buried remains recorded as crop marks on aerial photographs. It is situated on a low-lying south-west facing slope north of Brooksend Stream near Birchington.

There are at least nine ring ditches, varying from 11m to 28m in diameter. At least one of these is a double ring ditch. The ring ditches are considered to be the buried remains of a Bronze Age barrow cemetery. The ditches are quarry ditches, from which material to construct the barrow mounds was originally derived. Two of the ring ditches are unusual in that they are linked by linear features or ditches. To the west side of the constraint area are several Second World War slit trenches from a military exercise, forming sharp zig-zag patterns running broadly north-east to south-west. There are also several other linear features or ditches, including part of a large rectilinear enclosure to the west and part of a possible trackway to the north. The buried remains of pits are evident as crop marks scattered across the site. These may be associated with prehistoric or Roman occupation.

The site was recorded as part of the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England (RCHME) Kent Mapping Project carried out in 1986-7. This produced 1:10,000 scale depictions of crop marks identified on oblique and vertical aerial photographs taken across Kent.

Further archaeological remains, such as ring ditches and rectilinear enclosures, survive in the vicinity of this site but are not included because they have not been formally assessed. (4)

<1> 1958, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX11807.

<2> 1956, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX10712.

<3> English Heritage, Register of Scheduled Monuments (Scheduling record). SKE16191.

<4> Historic England, National Heritage List for England (Index). SKE29372.

Sources and further reading