Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Anglo Saxon Occupation site overlying the western periphery of the site of a Roman villa. The settlement dates to the second half of the 5th to 6th centuries AD. Buildings from this period were destroyed by the construction of a pipeline through the area in 1972. These included 2 of Grubenhaus type, and a rectangular timber framed building.

Monument Types

• GRUBENHAUS (Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon - 450 AD to 599 AD)
• SETTLEMENT (SETTLEMENT, Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon - 450 AD to 599 AD)
• TIMBER FRAMED BUILDING (Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon - 450 AD to 599 AD)

Associated Finds

• LOOMWEIGHT (Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon - 450 AD to 599 AD)
• SHERD (Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon - 450 AD to 599 AD)

Full description

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(TQ 563707) Two sunken huts and a substantial rectangular timber framed building, all associated with 6th century pottery have been found on the site of the Darenth Roman villa [TQ 57 SE 30]. (1) Additional bibliography (2-4)

From the National Heritage List for England:
Also destroyed during the construction of the pipeline [in 1972], and overlying the western periphery of the earlier villa, were five buildings dating to the fifth-sixth centuries AD, representing an Anglo-Saxon settlement. Further traces of the settlement will survive in buried form in the unexcavated areas. The largest building discovered measured c.7m by 5.18m and was east-west aligned, rectangular, and made of wood. This would have had at least three bays capped by a ridged roof with gabled ends. Nearby were four, east-west aligned, sunken-floored buildings, the largest of which measured 4.27m by 2.59m. Associated, contemporary artefacts discovered during the excavation included pottery sherds and loomweights. The modern fences which cross the monument are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath them is included. (1)

In 2002 a watching brief took place nearby for a pipeline. More Anglo-Saxon features were excavated which could be related to the Anglo-Saxon Occupation. 3 Anglo-Saxon Features including an inhumation of a young child, a large pit, and a deposit were found in a watching brief in 2001. An inhumation burial of a young child with a small biconical bowl was dated to the mid 5th century. No other burials were found, though an undated cut may have been an empty grave. Deposit, [321], formed an isolated spread of domestic rubbish including pottery, dating to the early 6th century, and animal bone. This was possibly a floor deposit from a building, though there was no other structural evidence such as postholes or ditches. Nearby a large pit, [349], contained pottery dating to late 5th century and a range of animal bones; sheep/goat, pig, ox and chicken, suggesting this was a rubbish pit. (5)

<1> Med Arch 17 1973 145 (L.E.Webster and J.Cherry) (OS Card Reference). SKE46735.

<2> Excavs in W.Kent 1960-70 155 (B.Philp) (OS Card Reference). SKE41701.

<3> Arch of Ang-Saxon England 1976 416 (D.M.Wilson) (OS Card Reference). SKE36814.

<4> Philp, B. J., 1984, Excavations in the Darent Valley, Kent (Monograph). SWX7212.

<5> Museum of London Archaeology Service, 2011, Thames Water ALF pipeline, River Darent: An Archaeological Post-excavation Assessment (Unpublished document). SKE29445.

Sources and further reading

Related records