Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

A north-north-west to south-south-east aligned linear earthwork, interpreted as a medieval earthwork constructed across a shallow sandstone valley. The earthwork coincides with the modern Kent-Surrey county boundary and survives for a total length of around 315 metres. It takes the form of a large bank up to 15 metres wide and 3 metres high, flanked to the south west by a ditch up to 9 metres wide and 1.5 metres deep. Towards the north west, the ditch has become infilled during past, modern ploughing and survives as a buried feature. The south eastern end of the earthwork is formed by a well-defined, rounded terminal, whilst the original north western end has been destroyed by post-medieval sand extraction. The central part of the monument has been damaged by the construction of an embankment for the modern A25 between Limpsfield and Westerham. The linear earthwork is thought to have been constructed between the fifth and eighth centuries AD, when it is likely to have formed a strategically important part of the boundary between rival Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. It was designed to control the communication route which linked the two territories.

Monument Types

• CROSS DYKE (DITCH, Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon - 410 AD to 799 AD)

Full description

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SAM no 29299. c315m long linear earthwork in form of a bank flanked to the SW by a ditch. Probably part of a defensive boundary between Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in the 5th - 8th centuries AD. Disturbed in the centre by road and pipelines. See also Surrey 178. (1)

No medieval name for the dyke is recorded. The only survey of the structure assumed an early medieval date and that it marked the western border of the Kent kingdoms. It is not clear if there was originally a crossing where the modern road now runs, or if this has breached the dyke. Given its positioning, it is possible that it was intended to give the impression of being part of a much larger structure to anybody approaching from the west. (2)

From the National Heritage List for England:
The monument falls into two areas of protection and includes a NNW-SSE aligned linear earthwork, interpreted as a medieval earthwork constructed across a shallow sandstone valley. The earthwork coincides with the modern Kent-Surrey county boundary and survives for a total length of around 315m. It takes the form of a large bank up to 15m wide and 3m high, flanked to the south west by a ditch up to 9m wide and 1.5m deep. Towards the north west, the ditch has become infilled during past, modern ploughing and survives as a buried feature. The south eastern end of the earthwork is formed by a well-defined, rounded terminal, whilst the original north western end has been destroyed by post-medieval sand extraction. The construction of an embankment for the modern A25 between Limpsfield and Westerham through the central part of the monument has disturbed a short section of the earthwork, and this area is therefore not included in the scheduling. The road construction work and subsequent gas main laying has also partly disturbed the earthwork immediately to the south east of the road, and the original profile of a short section of the adjacent ditch has been altered by the digging of a small stock watering pond. The linear earthwork is thought to have been constructed between the fifth and eighth centuries AD, when it is likely to have formed a strategically important part of the boundary between rival Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. It was designed to control the communication route which linked the two territories and ran along the valley bottom on the line of the modern A25. The modern fences which cross the monument are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath 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 suffered some subsequent disturbance, the linear earthwork south west of Covers Farm survives well, and is represented by substantial earthworks over most of its original extent. It can be expected to retain important archaeological and environmental evidence relating to the construction and original use of the monument.

Additional information (3-6)

<1> Not applicable, SMR Kent uncatalogued index entry, Pers Comm EH to KCC 4.3.98 (Miscellaneous Material). SKE6440.

<2> Erik Grigg, 2012, Medieval Dykes in Surrey and Kent [extract from PhD research] (Unpublished document). SKE17208.

<3> 1961, Field Investigators Comments (Verbal communication). SKE53642.

<4> 1965, Field Investigators Comments (Verbal communication). SKE53643.

<5> Historic England, 1998, Scheduled Monument Notification (Listing Report). SWX20554.

<6> A. D. Saunders Victor Smith, 2001, Kent's Defence Heritage (Collection). SKE53644.

<6> A. D. Saunders Victor Smith, 2001, Kent's Defence Heritage (Collection). SKE53677.

Sources and further reading