Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Evidence for the Anglo Saxon occupation of Dover was located on Bench Street during work associated with the A20 road and sewer scheme. The occupation evidence was limited to a series of thin ashy occupation layers and a small amount of post holes resting upon the surface of a thick deposit of sand filling the old harbour (location accurate to the nearest 1m based on available information)

Monument Types

• OCCUPATION LAYER (Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon - 410 AD? to 1065 AD?)
• POST HOLE (Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon - 410 AD? to 1065 AD?)

Associated Finds

• FISH REMAINS (Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon to Medieval - 875 AD? to 1100 AD?)
• SHERD (Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon to Medieval - 875 AD to 1100 AD)

Full description

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Evidence for the Anglo Saxon occupation of Dover was located on Bench Street during work associated with the A20 road and sewer scheme. The occupation evidence was limited to a series of thin ashy occupation layers resting upon the surface of a thick deposit of sand filling the old harbour estuary and heavily disturbed by later, Medieval pits. The occupation layers were frequently separated by thin layers of sand, perhaps implying intermittent occupation of the area. Only a small amount of features were associated with the occupation, these consist of odd pits and post-holes, all found below modern Bench Street. The Saxon occupation deposits were associated with a small amount of pottery wish may be broadly dated to c. A.D. 875 - 1100 and contained significant amounts of fish remains and animal bones. However, the general absence of rubbish pits and structural features indicates that this region did not lie in the centre of the Anglo-Saxon town. The area actually appears to have been occupied in only a superficial way, perhaps seasonally. (Taken from source) (1)

<1> Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 2001, Dover Sewers/A20 Project 1991–3, Assessment Report and Updated Project Design (Unpublished document). SKE31815.

Sources and further reading

Related records