Project Report: Goodnestone Survey Dr Lacey Wallace, University of Lincoln Roman Research Trust/Roman Society Audrey Barrie Brown Memorial Fund and Donald Atkinson Fund Use of the funds In 2017, the Roman Research Trust and Roman Society awarded £4,000 for the Goodnestone Survey from the the Audrey Barrie Brown Memorial Fund and Donald Atkinson Fund. This funding enabled us to rent equiment, purchase supplies, and provide travel, accommodation, and subsistence for the team to con- duct geophysical survey over a two-week period. The funds were used to pay for: • Equipment: rental of Bartington 601-2 fluxgrate gradiometer from Allied Associates: £1057.20 • Equipment: rental of Leica GS15 differential GPS with RTK from Opti-Cal: £492.00 • Supplies: purchase of bamboo stakes, electrical tape, and plastic tent pegs: £39.37 • Accommodation: rental of cottage in Nonington for five people: £1,505.00 • Subsistence: groceries, pub dinners for five people for two weeks: £584.30 • Travel: second-class rail tickets and petrol: (part of total) £340.502. Background to investigations The Canterbury Hinterland Project (director, Lacey Wallace) research on social landscapes in east Kent led to the discovery of a major linear feature, probably a trackway, that appeared to link the Dover–Canter- bury road (and the likely trackway along this natural ridge, before the construction of the road) to several sites to the east. On one of these sites situated on this trackway, a significant concentration of Iron Age to late Roman finds had been recovered by metal detectorists and surface collection. The concentration of surface pottery, Iron Age and Roman coins (numbering approximately 3,000), brooches, and military objects indicated the possibility of a major settlement, perhaps including a temple or shrine. Small-scale geophysical survey (Canterbury Archaeological Trust and Oxford Archaeotechnics Ltd, 1997) produced promising results and aerial photographic analysis (Chris Blair-Meyers, Canterbury Hinterland Project) indicated a much larger area of dense features representing a nucleated settlement. The decision was taken to conduct a gradiometry survey over the largest field in this area and to meet with metal detector- ists and others involved in the previous research of this site to begin a synthesis of the evidence. Goodnestone survey results The 2017 survey revealed a nucleated rural settlement situated on a major trackway (fig. 1), which was previously identified through aerial photographic analysis. The area surveyed encompassed 18ha (NB: the gap in the survey was the result of a patch of maize forming a game hide), but the features continued beyond the survey area, especially to the south and east (fig. 2). The trackway itself appeared to bifurcate at the southwestern side of the survey area and rejoin at the southeastern side (fig. 3). Corridors defined by ditched-lined paths converge on an open area formed by the splitting of the major trackway. Between the paths, enclosures are present and those nearest to the path appear to have internal features, espe- cially in the southeast of the survey area. The character of the site is unlike the strip-development nature of a roadside settlement (cf. Westhawk Farm and Ickham) and would be classified as a ‘village’ in the categorisation system employed by the Rural Settlement of Roman Britain Project (Allen and Smith 2016, 41–42). The structure of pathways between enclosures leading to an open area bounded by and situated along a major trackway that links the site to Romano-Celtic temple and the Canterbury-Dover road suggests the possibility that this site represents a location for communal gathering, likely to drive stock to the open area, perhaps in con- junction with ritual or religious activities (on the evidence of a possible shrine or temple to the east and the character of the finds assemblage). The current hypothesis is that this site provided the location for ?annual pastoral and/or agricultural festivals/fairs/markets. Plans for future work A continuation of the gradiometry survey, especially to fill in the gap left by the maize game hide and towards the south and east, will be conducted in future years. This extension will encompass the south- ern side of the trackway and its continuation to the east where a rectilinear structure appears in the aerial photographic interpretation. The analysis of the quernstones, pottery, and small finds has been arranged by Richard Cross, formerly of Kent County Council. The creation of several separates coin reports has resulted in confusion of the assemblage and the remaining coins have been collected together for future study, pending funding. The diversity of rural settlement and activities revealed by the Canterbury Hin- terland Project surveys to date supports the methodology and research agenda of the overall project, which will hopefully be expanded in the near future by securing a large research grant. Goodnestone Iron Age and Age Iron Goodnestone Roman-period complex settlement nucleated

Trackway Large Iron Age enclosure Age Iron Large

Canterbury–Dover road Barham Romano-Celtic temple road deviates deviates road around barrow around Bekesbourne Romano-Celtic temple Bekesbourne Large Iron Age enclosure Age Iron Large

Patrixbourne Romano-Celtic temple Patrixbourne Nailbourne stream Nailbourne Age enclosure Age Nailbourne Iron Nailbourne Iron Bourne Park villa, Bourne Park enclosures, and burials enclosures, Gorsley Wood Romano-British barrows Features/sites mentioned in the text mentioned Features/sites evidence) (material and Roman-period occupation/settlement Age Iron evidence) (material Roman-period occupation/settlement deposition Roman-period ritual deposits/structured cremations Roman-period cemetery, single Roman-period cremation, and inhumations cremations Roman-period cemetery, inhumations Roman-period cemetery, Roman-period inhumation springs Natural Iron Age occupation/settlement (material evidence) (material occupation/settlement Age Iron Iron Age cremation Age Iron 0 .5 1 3km Key Fig. 2. Area discussed comprising the CHP surveys at Bourne Park, Patrixbourne, and Goodnestone with selected features from aerial photographs and geophysical survey highlighted and symbols representing Iron Age and Roman-period evidence from from and Roman-period evidence Age Iron and symbols representing survey and geophysical highlighted aerial photographs from with selected and Goodnestone features Patrixbourne, the CHP surveys discussed Bourne comprising Park, at 2. Area Fig. 5.) Terrain Survey DEM: Ordnance background Record; Environment Historic Kent data: excavation Blair-Myers; Chris interpretation: and surface photographic/LiDar collection. (Aerial excavation Figure 1 Area of the major trackway discussed here showing Canterbury Hinterland Project results of multiple survey techniques and other study. of multiple survey Canterbury and other study. results showing techniques Hinterland Project discussed here of the major trackway 1 Area Figure right 2017, copyright/database Crown DEM data, and background data record Historic with Kent Environment and Chris Blair-Myers Wallace (Lacey Survey/EDINA supplied service.)an Ordnance Figure 2. Fluxgate gradiometry results from Goodnestone 2017 survey.

Figure 3. Initial interpretation of gradiometry results from Goodnestone 2017 survey.