Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

During extensive rescue excavations undertaken across Dover’s Town centre by Kent Archaeological Rescue Unit, substantial remains of the Classis Britannica fort were uncovered and recorded. Excavations in an area which was originally occupied by the Cause Is Altered Public House near Princes Street (Cause Is Altered Site) in 1971, revealed the remains of the east granary of the Classis Britannica Fort. (location accurate to the nearest 2m based on available information)

Monument Types

• GRANARY (East granary, Roman - 125 AD to 210 AD)

Associated Finds

• BROOCH (Roman - 75 AD? to 175 AD?)
• RING (Roman - 125 AD? to 210 AD?)
• SHERD (Roman - 125 AD? to 210 AD?)
• WATER PIPE COLLAR (Roman - 125 AD? to 210 AD?)
• SHERD (Roman - 138 AD to 192 AD)
• MORTARIUM (Roman - 140 AD to 180 AD)

Full description

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(summarised from publication)

During extensive rescue excavations undertaken across Dover’s Town centre by Kent Archaeological Rescue Unit, substantial remains of the Classis Britannica fort were uncovered and recorded. Excavations in an area which was originally occupied by the Cause Is Altered Public House near Princes Street (Cause Is Altered Site) in 1971, revealed the remains of the east granary of the Classis Britannica Fort.

This building was on a north-south axis upon a flat terrace which had been cut deeply into the hillside. It had an overall external length of 17.6m and width of 7.33m excluding the buttresses, and was constructed of chalk rubble set in a hard white pebbly mortar, faced internally with rectangular chalk blocks and externally with alternating rows of chalk block and tufa. Most of the south and part of the east walls had been removed by later activity at this site but the surviving parts of the east wall were up to eight courses high. The walling on the north side survived to an even greater extent and survived to a height of 11 courses (1.7m). A total of five buttresses were located in association with this walling and clearly more must have once existed. There was no trace of a floor but parts of four chalk block piers were located, these represent floor supports which are typical in Roman granaries. Two stubs representing further piers were also located and from these six combined it is possible to ascertain that there was 12 rows of 5 piers. Traces of three rectangular ventilators were revealed in the upstanding walls, this is another feature which is commonly located in Roman granaries.

The remains of this granary were largely sealed by dumps of chalk rubble and loam which almost certainly represents debris from the excavation of the defensive ditch of the Roman Saxon shore fort which was situated immediately to the west of these remains. (1)

<1> Philp, B. J., 1981, The Excavation of the Roman Forts of the Classis Britannica at Dover 1970-1977 (Monograph). SKE7863.

Sources and further reading

Related records