Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Site of 2 small Roman temples, built circa late 3rd century AD and surviving into the late 4th century. Located about 350 yards south of Richborough Fort and lie within the scheduled area of the Saxon Shore Fort. They were uncovered during the construction of the East Kent Railway in 1926. Nothing is now visible on the ground

Monument Types

• TEMPLE (TEMPLE, Roman - 267 AD to 399 AD)

Full description

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('A' - TR 32235978, 'B' - TR 32255982) ROMAN TEMPLES (G.S.) (Sites of) (1) During the construction of the East Kent Railway in 1926, two temples were uncovered about 350 yds. south of Richborough fort. No direct evidence for their dating was obtained but it is probable that they were late C3rd or early C4th AD as pits containing late C4th material were cut into their walls. (Sited from plate XLVII). (2) Nothing is visible on the ground. 'A' occupies a site which has been levelled for railway sidings (now disused) and 'B' lies in rough pasture. (3) Both of these buildings, listed by Lewis under military temples, were built circa 300 AD and survived into the late C4th. The northern building, 40ft by 39ft contained a cella 19.5ft square while the southern one, 46ft by 43ft, contained a cella 23.5ft by 22ft. (4) During the laying of a colliery railway in 1926, east of the amphitheatre (TR 35 NW 1) the remains of two small temples were exposed and largely destroyed. The temples were of a well-known Romano-Celtic type, with square cella and surrounding portico. No indications were found of their date or dedications. Other indeterminate structures have also been found. (5) Magnetometer, resistivity and magnetic susceptibitilty surveys undertaken over a 18.7ha area, at Richborough, Kent. The magnetometer survey revealed a complex pattern of settlement activity, roadways and enclosures. Ribbon development along Watling Street accounted for a greater density of readings in that area, whereas weaker responses seem to be associated with an outlying field system. The limit of the settlement was not defined, so further survey work is recommended.(7)

Two trenches excavated to the south of the fort, recording one of the small temples excavated by Bushe-Fox in 1926 and a possible prehistoric ditch in Trench A, and Roman dumping beneath 1941 military trenches in Trench B. Further work planned (8)

<1> OS 25" 1958 (OS Card Reference). SKE48274.

<2> "Richborough III" 1932, 34-6, (J.P Bushe-Fox) (OS Card Reference). SKE32683.

<3> F1 FGA 10-JUN-64 (OS Card Reference). SKE42910.

<4> Temples in Ro Britain 1966 3 13 53 142 (M J T Lewis) (OS Card Reference). SKE49825.

<5> VCH Kent vol 3 1932 33-34 (R E M Wheeler) (OS Card Reference). SKE51225.

<6> Field report for monument TR 35 NW 2 - June, 1964 (Bibliographic reference). SKE6025.

<7> English Heritage, 2001, Richborough, Kent: Report on Geophysical Surveys, September 2001 (Unpublished document). SKE13689.

<8> Kent Archaeological Society, 2002, Kent Archaeological Society Newsletter 53, 2002, p 12-13 (Article in serial). SKE54850.

Sources and further reading