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Monument details

HER Number:TR 36 SW 44
Type of record:Monument
Name:4th or 5th century Christian chapel

Summary

Excavations in 1923 uncovered the remains of a late 4th or early 5th century AD church and font built in the north-west corner of the fort and lying within a scheduled area. It appears to have been built of timber and measured 24m by 12m and had an apsidal east end.

Grid Reference:TR 3239 6025
Map Sheet:TR36SW
Parish:ASH, DOVER, KENT

Monument Types

  • CHURCH (CHURCH, Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)

Full description

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At Richborough, probably very late in the 4th or early in the 5th century, a church seems to have been built in the north-west corner of the fort. No mention of the building was made in the reports on the excavations in this area, but its presence is clear. The excavator did note a small octagonal basin which, on analogy with very similar structures on the continent, would appear to be a baptismal font. (1) (See Illustration Card). (2) 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 (3).


<1> BAR 101 The Ro Military Defence of the Brit Provinces in its Later Phases 1982 125-6 (DA Welsby) (OS Card Reference). SKE37465.

<2> CBA Res Rep No 18 1977 70 (DE Johnston) (OS Card Reference). SKE38906.

<3> English Heritage, 2001, Richborough, Kent: Report on Geophysical Surveys, September 2001 (Unpublished document). SKE13689.

Sources and further reading

Cross-ref. Source description
<1>OS Card Reference: BAR 101 The Ro Military Defence of the Brit Provinces in its Later Phases 1982 125-6 (DA Welsby).
<2>OS Card Reference: CBA Res Rep No 18 1977 70 (DE Johnston).
<3>XYUnpublished document: English Heritage. 2001. Richborough, Kent: Report on Geophysical Surveys, September 2001. [Mapped feature: #66203 chapel, ]