Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Circular feature appearing as a cropmark and lying within the scheduled area of Richborough Castle and amphitheatre. Interpretation of aerial photographs has shown that this feature is likely to be the remains of a WWII gun pit. It is located to the west of the visitor car park, south of the Roman fort at Richborough and was mapped from aerial photographs as part of the English Heritage Richborough Environs Project

Monument Types

• MACHINE GUN EMPLACEMENT (ENCLOSURE, Modern - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)

Full description

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Circular structure beside car park for Richborough Castle. (1) Magnetometer, resistivity and magnetic susceptibility 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 (2)

The cropmark remains of a circular ditched structure were seen on 1960s aerial photographs lying immediately to the west of the visitor car park south of the Roman fort at Richborough [3-4]. The feature measured c.9m in diameter and had traces of a central pit. It is thought to be the remains of a WWII machine gun emplacement seen at this location on 1940s RAF vertical aerial photographs and is one of a number of gun pits and slit trenches which have been identified in the vicinity of the fort (MWX43472, ).

This feature was mapped as part of the English Heritage Richborough Environs Project. The transcriptions produced by this project were added to those produced by the South East Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment (2009-10), see Associated Events. The resulting transcriptions exist as a GIS layer held by this HER [5].

<1> AP (NMR TR 3260/18; 6 2 68) (OS Card Reference). SKE33738.

<2> English Heritage, 2001, Richborough, Kent: Report on Geophysical Surveys, September 2001 (Unpublished document). SKE13689.

<5> Wessex Archaeology, 2009-10, South-East Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey - Aerial Photographic Transcriptions (Digital archive). SWX15705.

<5> Wessex Archaeology, 2011, South East Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey - (SE RCZAS) Phase 1: National Mapping Programme Report (Unpublished document). SKE25955.

<5> Cornwall Council Historic Environment Projects and Gloucestershire County Council, 2011, South East Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey National Mapping Programme Components 1&2: Results of NMP Mapping (Unpublished document). SKE25954.

Sources and further reading

Related records