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Monument details

HER Number:TR 34 SW 1724
Type of record:Monument
Name:Early Roman flint walled enclosure (C5) located beneath the Roman 'Painted House' complex, Dover

Summary

During a series of extensive rescue excavations, ahead of development in Dover’s town centre undertaken by Kent Archaeological Rescue Unit two lengths of flint walling were uncovered running north-south and east-west across the northern half of the painted house and bingo hall site and joining at a right angle on the western side. These walls overly a set of earlier rammed chalk foundations which have been identified as being part of the early and unfinished phase of the Classis Britannica Fort. (location accurate to the nearest 2m based on available information)


Grid Reference:TR 31844 41466
Map Sheet:TR34SW
Parish:DOVER, DOVER, KENT

Monument Types

Associated Finds

  • SHERD (Roman - 69 AD to 138 AD)
  • SHERD (Roman - 70 AD? to 140 AD?)

Full description

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(summarised from publication)

During a series of extensive rescue excavations, ahead of development in Dover’s town centre undertaken by Kent Archaeological Rescue Unit two lengths of flint foundations were uncovered running north-south and east-west across the northern half of the painted house and bingo hall site and joining at a right angle on the western side. These walls overly a set of earlier rammed chalk foundations which have been identified as being part of the early and unfinished phase of the Classis Britannica Fort.

The western set of foundations were traced for a distance of 6.57m (N-S) while the south foundation was traced for a distance of 1m (E-W) at the point where it joined the western wall at a right angle. This southern foundation appears to have been heavily robbed and the robber trench was traced for a further 19.6m this giving a total minimum length of 20.6m. The foundations were constructed of five courses of flint and tufa fragments set in a tufa mortar and brown clay, 0.67m high and 0.83m wide. The robber trenches contained a number of sherds of pottery which suggest that the enclosure had fallen out of use by around 160 A.D. (maybe earlier). This structure is therefore contemporary with the first period of occupation of the Classis Britannica Fort. (1)


<1> Philp, B, 1989, The Roman House with Bacchic Murals at Dover (Monograph). SKE24004.

Sources and further reading

Cross-ref. Source description
<1>Monograph: Philp, B. 1989. The Roman House with Bacchic Murals at Dover.