Peters Village Burham the Speckled Pit Faversham Woolcomber Street Dover Scotgrove Nr Hartley
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THE OLDEST AND LARGEST SOCIETY DEVOTED TO THE HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE ANCIENT COUNTY OF KENT ISSUE 102 - WINTER 2015 www.kentarchaeology.org.uk DIGGING ON THE CLIFFS Peters Village The Speckled Pit Woolcomber Street Scotgrove Burham Faversham Dover Nr Hartley Welcome to our members Many of you may not be aware that our President, Ian Coulson, ISSUE 102 - WINTER 2015 is unwell and so the Vice Presidents are taking over some of his duties. As you know, Ian is very concerned about the future of the President: Society and about bringing its resources to a wider audience. Ian Coulson Progress in this direction is currently limited without Ian’s input, however, work is ongoing to update the website and improve Vice Presidents: its accessibility. Mrs S Broomfield Mr L.M. Clinch A group, led by Clive Drew, is working on plans to attract a wider Mr E.P. Connell membership. Shiela Broomfield, our Membership Secretary, has Mr R.F. Legear revised the membership records making it easier to keep track of members. You will also have received a new and more durable Hon. General Secretary: membership card from her. If Shiela does not have an email Robert Cockcroft address for you and you have no objection to being contacted in [email protected] that way please let her have your details (see page 22). Hon. Treasurer: You will know from previous correspondence that Pernille Barrie Beeching Richards, our Hon.Librarian, is standing down and we are actively [email protected] looking for a replacement. Pernille has done a magnificent job in reorganising the library and arranging activities therein. Hon. Membership Secretary: This will also be the penultimate newsletter edited by Lyn Palmer. Mrs Shiela Broomfield Lyn has been the editor for 15 years and has overseen changes [email protected] in the format and delivery of a very interesting and informative journal. Hon. Editor: Terry G. Lawson It is with much sadness that I have to tell you that Peter [email protected] Stutchbury passed away on 27th of October. He will be greatly missed. He relinquished the post of Hon.General Secretary last Hon. Librarian: year and Bob Cockcroft took over. Bob has had a very steep Mrs Pernille Richards learning curve in his first year and without his forbearance and [email protected] expertise the Society would be in a much more difficult position, so we owe him great thanks. You can read more about Bob on Hon. Curator: Page 23. Dr Andrew Richardson [email protected] Enjoy this bumper issue of the Newsletter and look out for the March issue which will carry all KAS and associated groups’ Research: events for the next 12 months. Ted Connell [email protected] Mike Clinch Press: Paul Tritton KENT ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY [email protected] KAS Library Maidstone Museum & Bentlif Art Gallery Newsletter: St Faith’s Street Lyn Palmer Maidstone ME14 1LH [email protected] The oldest and largest society devoted to the history and archaeology of the ancient county of Kent 2 Winter 2015 Kent Archaeological Society www.kentarchaeology.org.uk ON THE FRONT COVER Graphite rods from carbon arc lamps at South Foreland lighthouse. Photo Andrew Savage In this issue Peters Village 4 - 8 KAS Website 9 The Mystery of the Speckled Pit 10 - 14 New Publications 15 4 Up on the Cliffs 16 - 21 You and Your Society 22 - 23 News from the Library 24 KAS Allen Grove History Fund 25 Events 26 - 27 28 Rose Hill 28 - 33 Woolcomber Street 34 - 38 Saving Kent’s History 39 Churches Commitee & KCC Community Archaeology 40 - 41 Scotgrove 42 - 47 42 Lyminge Teacher’s Pack 48 Winter 2015 Kent Archaeological Society www.kentarchaeology.org.uk 3 Peters Village A Slice Through Time By Chris Clarke (CgMs Consulting) Extensive archaeological investigations undertaken last year have shed new light on the archaeological landscape of the Medway valley, with evidence from multiple excavation sites revealing how communities from the prehistoric onwards have been exploiting the land adjacent to the river. he investigations were ABOVE Recording of excavations ahead of the in the area by Birmingham undertaken by the Neolithic structure residential development University identified a roughly Museum of London in progress. Photo provided a more concentrated contemporary Causewayed TArchaeology (MOLA) and Maggie Cox © localised picture of the Enclosure on higher ground, commissioned by CgMs MOLA development of the landscape approximately 100m to the Consulting, on behalf of over the past 6000 years. north of where the structure Trenport Investments Ltd, prior was recorded. There is a strong to the construction of the new Prehistoric Settlement possibility that these two large scale Peters Village The earliest evidence the MOLA features are related. development and bridge team encountered, and Other features recognised as crossing located between potentially the most significant, dating to the Neolithic were Burham and Wouldham on the related to Neolithic settlement limited, restricted to a partial east bank of the River Medway. in the valley. While excavating in Early to Middle Neolithic ring Associated works also took proximity to Court Road the ditch and isolated pit found in place on the west bank of the remains of a simple structure separate locations in the river near Holborough. The were encountered, which northern area of the site. archaeological works were consisted in plan of a roughly A review of the excavation undertaken prior to the rectilinear arrangement of areas indicated that there was a construction of extensive stakeholes measuring noticeable lack of features residential development at the approximately 8m by 4m, associated with the Early to former chalk quarry, Peters Pit, within which was the remains of Middle Bronze Age. Further and supporting infrastructure a trampled surface. Several excavations along Court Road, relating to the new road and fragments of pottery recovered to the south of where the bridge across the Medway. The from the features were identified Neolithic structure was excavations in advance of the as Decorated Bowl/Mildenhall identified, revealed one half of a new road provided a 2.5km style vessels dated to 3800-3200 ring ditch, measuring roughly slice through the local calBC. 20m in diameter. The location landscape, while those Previous geophysical surveys of the ring ditch positioned on 4 Winter 2015 Kent Archaeological Society www.kentarchaeology.org.uk a spur of high ground inhumation of an adult of Roman Transition overlooking the Medway Valley indeterminate sex. Radiocarbon Occupation within the is typical of Bronze Age burial analysis dated the inhumation to immediate landscape during monuments, indicating the ring 1010 – 830 cal BC. As much the Late Iron Age/Early Roman ditch would once have as no defined evidence for period was substantially more delineated the limit of a barrow contemporary settlement was visible and extensive. In the of this period. Unfortunately identified, the regularity of the northern area of the site near 100% excavation of a stretch of features dating to this period Wouldham, features associated ring ditch only produced small imply reasonably extensive with this time of transition scraps of pottery broadly dated occupation of the landscape includes evidence of a field to the prehistoric period, and no by local populations during system adjacent to the associated burial was found to this period. floodplain. The field system fully substantiate this Evidence for this extensive ditches were primary aligned interpretation. use of the landscape soon dies east to west, with a later phase A scatter of Late Bronze Age/ away over the next few hundred of ditches subsequently cutting Early Iron Age finds and discrete years as the only feature these ditches at right angles. A features were found at regular recorded associated with the short distance to the west of the intervals throughout the site, Middle to Late Iron Age period field system were a pair of primarily consisting of isolated was a second crouched parallel ditches forming a pits and occasional boundary inhumation. This burial was 7m-wide north-south aligned ditches containing small located in the northern part of trackway. Similar trackway assemblages of pottery and flint. the site near Wouldham, and features of the same width and The exception to this was a small BELOW View of ring has been assessed as being age were found in two different group of pits recorded just ditch adjacent to a probable male adult, excavation areas further to the outside the village of Burham, Court Road. Photo radiocarbon dated to 360-90 south, suggesting the presence near Bell Lane, found in Maggie Cox © cal BC. of a single trackway over a proximity to a crouched MOLA kilometre in length running Winter 2015 Kent Archaeological Society www.kentarchaeology.org.uk 5 parallel to the Medway during ABOVE Remains of was subsequently backfilled and population felt under threat. this period. possible Late the trackway metalling Further research will be In the southern area of the Medieval or Early reinstated and widened to a undertaken to find parallels for site, next to Bell Lane, there Post Medieval maximum width of such a feature and see if this was also a high concentration of garden feature approximately 7.5m, with a early theory is correct. features dated to this period, being recorded. possible fence line defining its When this evidence is placed consistent with peripheral Photo Maggie Cox western edge. into context with the settlement features within a © MOLA More intriguingly, a series of immediate landscape a possible small dry valley. Defining the roughly 40 large square reason for such a concentration extent of these features was a postholes was recorded running of features becomes potentially wide boundary ditch and a perpendicular between the obvious.