http://kentarchaeology.org.uk/research/archaeologia-cantiana/ Kent Archaeological Society is a registered charity number 223382 © 2017 Kent Archaeological Society \\N& / / \X // A / d ^§r ASHFORD f\ s^ >\V I Farthingloe Farm f XpO©? / Construction ^Jt > / J camp s*\s*s%2r ^.jg£z Ashford Terminal \. "^>^—""'** ^^00-Shakespeare Zliff ^—«^^ —-•-^~~Z£Z^'^ Platform j^^. Tumuli} \ * A ^" \ FolkestoneTerminal.. «/-^v\ A^/X^-^U^ ^>*iBB=T 1~^ ^==^^2^^^^^^)^:^^^^^W5£yroA/ / AjJ/w^ Dolland's Moor ( S^^s/^^^^t^^/V^ , / 1 ,t>/a//7 7 ( ' 7y^y&.J Ur \ / \ ^ j (_J? J^S ^^^FOLKESTONE j \ y ^ ^^^^hYTHE 0 1 5 mites \V 0 1 5 kilometres Fig. 1. Location of the Ashford, Folkestone and Dover construction areas. ARCHAEOLOGY A N D T H E C H A N N E L T U N N E L PAUL BENNETT with contributions from Rupert Austin, Greg Campbell, Richard Cross, Alex Gibson, Elizabeth Healey, Martin Leyland, Steve Ouditt, Richard Preece, Jonathan Rady and Steve Staines INTRODUCTION Three separate construction areas have received attention from the Canterbury Archaeological Trust: Ashford, where the inland freight clearance depot has been built; Dover, where a construction camp, offices, working areas and a shaft leading down to the tunnel have been constructed; and Folkestone, where the main U.K. terminal facilities, the tunnel portals and a length of 'cut-and-cover' tunnel are presently under construction. Negotiations with Eurotunnel for archaeological work connected with this, the largest ever privately-funded civil engineering venture in Europe, began at an early stage in the life of the project. A document containing all known information regarding sites of archaeological interest was prepared by English Heritage (November 1986)1 and these designated areas were assessed in the field during July and August 1987. The results of this initial phase of evaluation were used to determine priorities for further evaluation, major excavation or watching brief works. Many of the sites designated to be of importance in the English Heritage report lay outside the lines * The archaeological fieldwork and post-excavation studies currently in progress are being entirely funded by Eurotunnel. 1 T. Darvill (compiler), Channel Tunnel Environmental Impact Assessment Archaeology (Stage II): Assessment and Evaluation, (H.B.M.C, November 1986). 1 PAUL BENNETT of deviation for Eurotunnel groundworks, others were of recent origin, or proved to be natural anomalies in the soils. A. DOVER Two sites near Dover were evaluated during July 1987. At 'Rueber- ries'2 air photographic evidence indicated the presence of a number of large and small square enclosures. These proved to be Second World War features and no other evidence for historic sites was located here either during the evaluation phase or during subsequent watching brief works. At Farthingloe Farm3 evidence of Roman occupation of first- to third-century date was discovered, perhaps associated with a nearby farmstead or villa. Extensive prospection trenching revealed a number of pits and ditches in the development zone. These appeared to be associated with domestic rubbish disposal and perhaps fields on the fringes of an occupation area. The centre of the settlement, which is likely to underlie existing farm buildings, is not threatened by development. B. ASHFORD Groundworks at the Ashford terminal revealed two definite areas of occupation, both dating from the later Iron Age and 'Belgic' periods. The first, located in the north-west extremity of the terminal, has now been buried under an embankment leading to a temporary Bailey bridge. This settlement appeared to be extensive, with the highest concentrations of features lying against the site boundaries, perhaps indicating that much of the habitation area will survive development. The second area of occupation was located in the southern extremity of the terminal. Again, the settlement centre appeared to lie outside the development zone and many of the features briefly examined here were rapidly buried under soil mounds imported from the northern area of the terminal. New groundworks at the Ashford terminal planned for 1989-90 will be closely monitored. 2 N . G . R . T R 2 8 6 0 3 9 5 5 . 3 N . G . R . T R 2 9 5 7 4 0 4 4 . 2 ARCHAEOLOGY A N D T H E C H A N N E L T U N N E L Canterbury Archaeological Eurotunnel evaluation -Dover Trust ^,-jJiijGreai Fartttingtoe DQVBK\fU <t 500m 1500/( ~VtS4. o-i-o Roman pottery A found., 1916 l ROMAN FEATURES Fig. 2. Roman features located by machine trenching at Farthingloe Farm, Dover in 1987. 3 PAUL BENNETT Eurotunnel evaluation - Ashford %h**°* s ~^T SOOn \ "">• ASHFO N ^ A ; / </ IKm ^ 1 wt ^. & •$ I m Sit* locatlo BOYS HALL aire op; 7 <i> / { SEVINOTON / y-\ r Fig. 3. Location of two Late Iron Age occupation areas recorded during the construction of the Ashford terminal. C. FOLKESTONE Most of the archaeological fieldwork for Eurotunnel has concen- trated on the main terminal site at Folkestone, on a strip of land against the foot of the North Downs, which has been intensively settled and exploited since prehistoric times. Space does not allow for a detailed site-by-site description of discoveries here. The informa- tion presented below has, therefore, been designed briefly to draw out the main threads of the extraordinary story of that area; a story which continues to be wrested from the soil during the period of construction. Of the ninety-nine separate areas of archaeological and historical interest defined in early reports as being within the Folkestone area, only twenty-six were within the U.K. terminal boundaries, and most of these proved to be of passing interest only. This initial period of evaluation by machine-cut linear trenches, involved the removal of topsoil to the level of natural subsoils and detailed shovel and trowel work to determine the presence of archaeological features by changes in the colour, texture, and content of the soil. Though much of the historic landscape had been badly plough-damaged, tantalising traces of habitation suggested settlement over a considerable period. 4 r^i / NORTH \\ DOWNS 'Tumuli Round ~-~^X^Z^' * ''C-c—'*''",'' Seabrook stream Peem Casile is X •/ssa^ -J. /J/Mu ,'"* -y))) 1 Summerhouse Hill ^ ^SugarloafHiil^ Court Pitch Caruet ®&e> i/y Holywell Coombe Jlli Beachborough Frogholt •' — Ring ditches A Bigg Stone 1 Multi-period j\ j CHERITON A ^OoHar^Moor^ y IU M^M f S^JJI c&Mnrtin'c. r-r-^ -^ Golf Course w .-' ,''500 / ,000 W S COO l / ; V « t e ', \ I )S\ -As' \ f, FOLKESTONE i Seabrook 5000 stream Fig. 4. Plan of the Folkestone terminal (toned) and surrounding district, showing position of linear trenches and the main sites described in the text. ARCHAEOLOGY A N D T H E C H A N N E L T U N N E L One kilometre of linear trenches was cut during this phase of fieldwork. The immediate results were disappointing, with only three areas producing promising remains. Three prehistoric ring ditches (burial mounds) were located at the southern foot of Castle Hill, a site in the ownership of the Department of Transport, which has yet to be excavated. A large area east of Dolland's Moor, owned by British Rail, produced evidence for multi-period occupation spanning over 1,500 years. A rare Early Bronze Age settlement, dating back to 3,800 years ago, was discovered at Holywell Coombe, on a site destined to be the principal portal to the Channel Tunnel. This was located as a consequence of the Trust's involvement with a multi- disciplinary team, investigating a sequence of important post-glacial deposits at the eastern limit of the coombe, an operation which commenced in early July 1987. Many of the evaluation trenches cut at this time yielded a relative abundance of prehistoric, Roman and medieval finds, particularly pottery and flints, all indicators of the proximity of habitation sites. To uncover a true picture of man's activities in the broad area of the U.K. terminal, further prospection on a large scale had to be carried out before construction processes began in early spring 1988. Although various methods of prospection were considered, the success of the early phase of evaluation by linear trenching (even though few sites were produced) was evident and we concluded in early November 1987 that an extensive programme of trenching should commence immediately to investigate the unknown land- scape. Nearly 100 separate transects, joining points of cartographic significance, were arranged with roughly equal spacing from Castle Hill to Summerhouse Hill, all aligned downslope for easy drainage. Separate evaluation operations were undertaken in Holywell Coombe field and on other sites prior to the construction of work- camps and the visitors' centre. The resultant 14 km. of transects, comprising 700 or more separate trenches and over 10,000 square metres of inspected subsoil, were all completed in four months, during the wettest winter in living memory and the aftermath of the October 'hurricane'. Of the seventeen or so areas of archaeological significance located to date, fourteen were found during this phaseof prospection. Some of these sites, and other isolated find-spots, are briefly discussed below. The archaeological works continue in tandem with construc- tion. The watching/recording brief presently in progress is yielding additional information which will provide an increasingly detailed picture of the long history of the site destined to become the U.K. terminal to the Channel Tunnel at Folkestone. 5 PAUL BENNETT 1. The Early Landscape The geological deposits at Holywell Coombe,4 sampled and surveyed by Dr Richard Preece and Mrs Mary Seddon, produced an environ- mental history of the area, extending back to the recolonisation of Britain with plants and animals, in the wake of the ravages of the very last glaciers, 13,000 years ago.