EVIDENCE OF A DISTINCT FOCUS OF R OMA NO-BRITISH
SET TLEMENT AT MAIDST ONE? EXCAVATIONS AT CHUR CH
STREE T 2011-12
LAURA O'SHEA AND JAKE WEEKES
With contributions by Andrew Savage, Andrew Richardson, Sue Jones,
Enid Allison, Alison Locker and Wendy Carruthers
An archaeological evaluation and excavation were conducted by Canterbury
Archaeological Trust between November 2011 and March 2012 at Church Street,
Maidstone, in advance of the redevelopment (Fig. 1). The site is located close to
the town centre, on the west-facing slope of the valley of the River Medway (which
Trinity Park
The Trinity Foyer
Fig. 1 Church Street, Maidstone: site location plan.
131
LAURA O'SHEA AND JAKE V.'EEKES
runs around 500m to the west) on gently sloping ground, from approximately 23m
AOD at Church Street down to 21111 AOD at the southern boundary of site. The
proposed development area comprised around 0 .15ha of amenity land previously
occupied by a tennis court constrncted in the early twentieth century. The excavation
focussed on a roughly rectangular area within the overall development area, just
c.505m2 in extent, bounded to the north by the stone walling nmning parallel to
Church Street, to the east by Victorian almshouses, and to the south and west by
tennis court remnants modem office buildings and a St John's Ambulance station.
The following account uses Group ('G') and Set ('S') numbers, as appropriate, in
referring to conte>..1s.
Natural geology (G l ) was identified from approximately 0.42m up to 1.31m
beneath the present ground level (21.2 9-22. 31 m AOD ), and consisted of compacted
Kentish Ragstone and sandstone in yellow white, friable, coarse silt (Hythe Beds)
overlain by substantial areas of dark brownish orange, firm, slightly silty clay.
The earliest evidence for activity on the site was represented by a series of
intercutting north-east/south-west aligned ditches near the eastern boundary of the
excavation (Fig. 2). These were:
G4 (with a U-shaped profile and an undulating base, 1.2111 wide and 0.35111 deep),
G5 (with a U-shaped profile 1.7111 wide and a flatish base, 0.7m deep)
G6 (1.8m wide and 0.3m deep with steep sloping sides and a flatish base).
Sample excavation revealed that ditches had similar silty clay fills, the earlier
identified as erosion deposits, while upper fills seemed to result from deliberate
backfilling. Primary deposits in ditch G5 produced an early pot.in coin (SF8) dated
to the first half of the first century BC, while its upper fills contained a late Colchester
brooch (SF18) probably discarded after AD 43; the ditches yielded pottery dated no
later than the Late Iron Age.
Further to the north-west was an enclosure ditch (G2) fonned by two linear
features with variable profiles, up to l m wide and 0.4m deep with concave bases.
These terminated within the site, thus creating a 3.5m wide entrance. The ditches
were again aligned north-east/south-west and again contained only Late Iron Age
pottery. A later potin (SF7), dating to the second half of the first century BC at the
earliest, was recovered from this feature.
Three shallow post-holes (G9) of similar size (around 0.5m in diameter and
0.05-0.15m deep) were located towards the central and southern part of site.
These appeared to be on a curved north-south alignment, but it remains unclear
whether they were contemporary with one another or even within the Late Iron
Age phase. It is suggested that their proximity to the enclosure ditch may indicate
such a date.
A possible trackway (G3) also e>..1:ended across and beyond the limits of the
site on a north-east/south-west alignment. This was fairly narrow at just 0.5-0.9m
wide, with a shallow scooped profile. Pottery retrieved from the fills suggested a
late first- to early second-century date. It was clear that this trackway respected the
alignments of the Iron Age boundary and enclosure ditches.
An indistinct, sub-circular feature (G7), with a linear flue, appeared to cut the
backfill of the easternmost Iron Age boundary ditch. The feature, which was 1.56m
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ROMANO-BRITISH SETTLEMENT AT MAIDSTONE? CHURCH ST. EXCAVATIONS 2011-12
• Phase 1: Lale Iron Age
D Undaled: possible Lale Iron Age
• Phase 2: Roman
----- -------·--:·---------- ------------------·-·-
Fig. 2 Church Street, Maidstone: Archaeological features.
long, 1. l m wide and 0.28m deep, has been tentatively interpreted as a hearth or
oven. It appeared to have been lined with redeposited clay and pottery sherds,
sealed by clayey silt containing much carbon as well as patches of orange, red and
yellow burnt clay. The pottery was of an early Roman date, and a sample taken
from the fill revealed a fair quantity of daub or heat-affected earth as well as some
charred cereal grain (see below). A well-preserved wheat grain from this context
was submitted for radiocarbon dating, dating the hearth deposit to cal BC 40-cal AD
120 (1964±36 BP; UBA-23797).
Five sub-circular pits (G8), most (Sl05; 107; 113; 152) just over a metre wide
and 0.5-lm deep, and one (S182) 2.2m long, 2.12m wide and 1.37m deep, were
located within the western area of site, all west of the earlier enclosure ditch. Each
pit contained a similar sequence of deposits indicating the disposal of domestic
and human waste. Samples taken from the fills confirmed a cess-pit function, but
133
LAURA O'SHEA AND JAKE V.'EEKES
not exclusively so. Pottery from the pit fills dated from the Late Iron Age through
to the second and third centuries AD. In addition, an iron Roman key (Sf 15),
some possible hobnails (SF4) a fragment of quern stone (SFl) and the lower part
of a pipe-clay figurine (SFl 7) were retrieved from the primary and early fills of
these pits, along with animal bone, shell and charred plant remains (see below). A
sprouted spelt-type grain from a concentration of the material in the upper fill of
pit S l1 3 produced a radiocarbon date of cal AD 90-310 ( 1826±2 7 BP; UBA-23798).
The pottery by Andrew Savage
In total 425 sherds of pottery, weighing c. 7, 755g, were recovered, from 28 contexts,
comprising a small range of both coarse and fine types. Sherds are generally small
or medium sized and moderately to heavily worn. Most came from Late Iron Age
ditches (G2, 5 and 6 ; 230 sherds), Romano-British pits (G8; 1 42 sherds), trackway
(G3; 23 sherds) and hearth (G7; 28 sherds).
About 60% of the pottery by sherd cow1t is of Late Iron Age 'Belgic' (preconquest)
date and most of this was recovered from ditch Groups 2, 5 and 6. The
remainder is Roman, and is apparently mostly mid-late second century AD in date
although a little dates to the late first or early second.
Although the range of identifiable 'Belgic' forms is limited, they suggest activity
in the late first century BC to mid-first century AD and a number of fabrics are
clearly present, containing different proportions of tempers such as grog, flint and
sand (see discussion below), some of which are well known in the Medway valley.
The period was one of predominantly local pottery manufacture and great local
variation. The assemblage offers the opportunity to quantify these principal fabric
variants in use here over a relatively short period of time. Although the limitations
of the material recovered preclude detailed statistical interpretation, some useful
observations can nonetheless be made, particularly concerning, the range and
dating of the material which was recovered.
Given the generally poor quality of the material, it was decided that the few
larger rim-sherds which might othen.vise be drawn can adequately be described by
reference to published parallels or by description, using terms in common usage.
Both black-burnished wares and fine Upclnuch-type wares are described using
the typology established by Monaghan in his study of the pottery of the Upchurch
and Thameside pottery industries (1987). The principal LIA/'Belgic' coarseware,
tempered with grog, glauconitic sand and flint is described using Thompson's
typology (1982).
The range of coarseware forms and fabrics seen falls into the pattern described
for the west Kent/Medway ceramic 'style zones' by Pollard (1988) and Thompson
(1982). Most of the pottery represents types of grog-tempered, flint-tempered and
glauconite-rich sand-tempered coarsewares (fabrics B2, IB1 and B9.l) which are
widely distributed within that area. Coarseware from outside the Medway valley/
NW Kent/Thameside areas is apparently absent. A small quantity of imported
fineware comprise five sherds of Early Gaulish types of late first century BC to
mid-first century AD date (see below) and four sherds of first and second century
AD south and central Gaulish samian.
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ROMANO-BRITISH SETTLEMENT AT MAIDSTONE? CHURCH ST. EXCAVATIONS 2011-12
Iron Age ditches (G2, 4, 5, 6; 230 sherds: c.3,650g)
The pottery from these ditches suggests activity perhaps from the late first century
BC to the mid-first century AD, e:,...'tending up to but perhaps no later than the
conquest period. It should be noted that group G4 yielded only a single sherd of
grog-tempered ware. Although this fragment is similar in character to material
recovered from the other ditches, it constitutes such scanty evidence that the dating
of the feature must clearly rest on other considerations.
Although two sherds of an indented reduced sandyware beaker (G2, Sl 74; cf.
Monaghan class 2D) post-date the rest of the ditch material by at least arotmd 100
years, they may well be intrusive, as S 17 4 is cut by one of the Romano-British
pits.
Maidstone lies within TI1ompson's pottery zone 4, the central Medway valley.
The soils here are partly derived from glauconitic sandstone. Thompson asserts
that glauconite-rich sandyware is used to make 'Belgic' forms in the century
before the conquest and that it is contemporary with grog-tempering in these fonns
(Thompson 1982, 12). Glauconitic sandyware comprises 25% of all the pottery
from phase 1 deposits, by sherd count. This finding may be compared with a sample
of 34 sherds of pottery recovered from a group of Late Iron Age (pre-conquest)
pits at nearby Fremlin Walk, Maidstone, which were mostly of Glauconitic ware
(Edwards 2007). At Church Street almost all of the remainder of the coarsewares
are tempered with flint (23%), and grog ( 41 %) . There were six imported fineware
sherds. Five of these were early Gaulish wares, all falling within a late AugustanTiberian
date range and including central Gaulish micaceous ware jar of fonn
CAM262 (G2, Sl41 · Hawkes and Hull 1947), a fine whiteware flagon and a terra
rubra pedestal cup (both G6, S148).
A small number of rim sherds representing four typologically diagnostic
Thompson (1982) coarseware form types were identified, all of which are dated
late first century BC to mid-first century AD. They were:
Type C 1-2 rounded jars with internally thickened rims in flint and grog-tempered
ware (G5, S123, G6, S148 [same vessel] and G2, Sl45),
Type Cl-4 rounded jars with bead rims in glauconitic sandy,.vare (GS, Sll7;
G2, Sl45),
a Type B5-3 barrel jar (G6, Sl48) in coarse grog-tempered ware,
a Type B3-6 necked jar (G2, S163) in coarse grog-tempered ware.
Although the number of rims recovered is so small as to make any comment
speculative, it is worth noting that the Type C l -2 and Cl-4 bead rim jar variants
are mutually exclusive on this site in terms of fabric, the former occurring only in
flint- and grog-tempered ware, the latter only in glauconitic sandyware.
The only other individual finding of note was the presence of four sherds of a
single grog-tempered jar (G2, S 145) which showed traces of a possibly resinous
internal deposit.
Examination and comparison of individual deposits generally identified no great
chronological variation between lower and upper ditch fills. This finding may reflect
both small sample sizes and the typological conservatism of the few identified
135
LAURA O'SHEA AND JAKE V.'EEKES
fonns. One or t\\10 differences, however, should be noted. The pottery from recut
ditch G6 does stand out in two respects which may suggest a date finnly at the upper
end of our general dating bracket for the ditches. Firstly, glauconitic sandyware
comprises only 3% of a total of 67 sherds, which contrasts with proportions of
2 9% and 44% from Groups G2 and G5 , respectively. This lower proportion may
reflect the diminution of the ware in early part of the first century suggested by
Pollard (Pollard 1987). Secondly the latest identified material comprises one sherd
from a south Gaulish Drag l8 dish (G6, Sl48) which is pre-Flavian, but not likely
to be earlier than mid-first century. Additionally, the upper fill of ditch G5 , S 17 1
yielded two sherds of grog-tempered 'Patch Grove' ware, a type which may have
had its inception in the mid-first century AD (Pollard 1988), as well as a copper
alloy brooch of post-conquest date ( see below).
Romano-British hearth (G7; 28 sherds: c.J,600g)
Pottery associated with the hearth, which cuts ditch G6, suggests post-conquest
activity. Nearly all of it represents fragments of a single necked everted-rim jar of
'Patch Grove' type. A mid-first century AD inception for this ware is possible and
Pollard suggests that it was commonest in the late first and possibly early second
centuries, although jars ofthis type continue in use into the third (Pollard 1987).
The remainder of the pottery comprises t\\10 sherds of grog-and-shell tempered
ware and one of oxidised Upchurch-type. An early post-conquest date for the
hearth is clearly possible, although given the long life of 'Patch Grove' jars a later
date cannot be precluded.
Romano-British pits (G8; 142 sherds: c.2,200g)
Most of the Roman pottery from the site was recovered from Group G8 , sets Sl05 ,
Sl07 , Sl l 3 , Sl52 and Sl82 . The other sets were aceramic.
Late Iron Age/'Belgic' material is present in all the pits, constituting 32.4% of
the total. The remaining Roman pottery is rather homogeneous in character and
chronology, suggesting a mid or later second-century AD date.
Within each pit, analysis of the upper and lower fills reveals no chronological
variation. It would seem therefore that they represent a relatively short phase of
activity. In this regard it is pertinent to note that whilst the pits contain significant
quantities of residual Late Iron Age material, there is nothing that necessarily
represents the later first or early second centuries AD, or is even likely to do so,
such as the bead-rim sandyware jars, shell-tempered wares or early Upchurch-types
that are common in that period. A single sherd of typologically undiagnostic south
Gaulish samian (S1 52) need not necessarily date later than the mid-first century.
The largest sample of material (84 sherds) was recovered from the lower fill
of set Sl82, the remainder being quite evenly distributed between the other pits.
All contain BB2, which should date to c.AD 120/130+. There were three rimsherds
from undecorated 'pie-dishes' of rounded rim-profile, cf. Monaghan type
5Cl, which are dated to between AD 120/150-2 30/250; sherds of second century
central Gaulish samian, including fragments of two Drag 3 3 cups and a Drag 37
bowl, were identified in sets Sl05 and Sl82. Twelve sherds of reduced sandyware
136
ROMANO-BRITISH SETTLEMENT AT MAIDSTONE? CHURCH ST. EXCAVATIONS 2011-12
(fabric R73), all from closed forms, would appear to be typical of north-west Kent/
Thameside manufacture, as previously seen and described at the Mount Roman
villa and Fremlin Walk, Maidstone (Savage 1999; Edwards 2007). Single sherds
of harder-fired grog tempered ware, ?R l and sand-tempered ware, ?LR2 in sets
S l 07 and S152 appear to parallel similar wares in east Kent which are common in
the late second and third centuries, although their identification here is uncertain.
Similar sherds were seen in deposits of mid-second to early third century AD date
at the Mount (Savage 1999). None of the pottery necessarily post-dates the midlate
second century.
Trackway (G3; 23 sherds c.200g)
Most of this material is clearly Roman and indicative of a late first or early second
century AD date. Seventeen sherds of fine Upchurch-type ware (S 135) represent
two vessels: a reduced carinated beaker of Monaghan type 2G dated c.70-130 and
an oxidised cream-slipped closed form which could be of similar date. Sherds of a
second type 2G beaker were recovered from set S147.
Registered Finds by Andrew Richardson
Iron objects make up the majority of the registered finds assemblage from the
site. The majority of these were nails (SFs 2-5, 9-10, 12, 14-15, 18-22) some with
traces of mineral-preserved wood on their shafts, indicating they had been fixed
into a wooden object of some type. Most notable among the iron finds from Roman
conte>..1:s were a large complete key (SF15; 120mm long, 44mm wide, 22mm thick
and 83g) from the lower fill of pit S 182 (Fig. 3) and a group of probable hobnails
from the primary fill of pit S ll3. The stem of the key is round-sectioned for twothirds
of its length and tapers towards the bit, but expands to become squaresectioned
at its wider end and terminates in a transverse cylindrical loop. The bit
has three rectangular wards which project backwards and get progressively longer
away from the stem.
The copper alloy finds from the site included two coins and a brooch. All appear
to be of Late Iron Age date. The coins are Flat Linear potins; 1 (SF8) found in the
primary fill of ditch G5, was the earlier in date, being an example of a Flat Linear I
type; these are generally dated to the first half of the first century BC. Another potin
(SF7), from the fill of enclosure ditch G2, was of Flat Linear II type, generally
dated to c.50-30 BC. Both coins were probably deposited in the second half of the
first century BC at the earliest.
The upper fills of ditch G5, along with abundant pottery of late first century BC
to mid first century AD date, contained a copper alloy bow brooch (SF18) (Fig.
3). This is more-or-less complete with spring and pin intact, and appears to be
an example of Mackreth's type C7.d, defined as a 'Late-Small Colchester with
solid footplate' (Mackreth 2011, 43-4, pls. 26-27). Colchester brooches, which are
derived from a Continental form, are very common finds in the South-East (Bayley
and Butcher 2004, 148-9). They began to be manufactured in Britain before the
Roman conquest, but manufacture and use certainly continued after that and most
date range to the middle years of the 1st century AD (ibid. 150). The brooch from
137
LAURA O'SHEA AND JAKE V.'EEKES
Fig. 3 Selection of finds from Church Street (not to scale): A: Key, B: Brooch, C:
remnant of pipe-clay figurine.
Church Street appears to be a late example of the type, and as such was probably
made, used and discarded or lost after AD 43.
Clay Figurine: the lower section of a Roman, mould-made, white clay (often
described as 'terracotta' or 'pipe clay') figurine was recovered from the lower
and main fill of pit S l05 (Fig. 3). This example depicts Venus Anadyomene
(Venus rising naked from the sea) and was one of the main types produced by
workshops in the vicinity of Allier in Central Gaul (Wallace 1995, 2). Along with
the Dea Nutrix type (Mother-Goddess enthroned, with infants) this is the type most
commonly found in Britain (ibid.). Jenkins (1958) discussed the Venus figurines
in Kent, noting their concentration in the South-East of Britain and suggesting that
they entered the province from Gaul through London and Kentish ports, probably
in association with the import of Central Gaulish samian pottery (1995, 1183).
Part of a lava stone quern was recovered from the upper fill of pit S 107. Fragments
of such quems, manufactured in the Rhineland from Niedermendig Lava, are
frequently found on Roman sites in Britain (Peacock 1980).
Animal Bone by Susan Jones
The Late Iron Age phase produced a total of92 fragments of bone from 13 conteA1S.
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ROMANO-BRITISH SETTLEMENT AT MAIDSTONE? CHURCH ST. EXCAVATIONS 2011-12
Fragments from the boundary ditch conte}.1s were in a worse state of preservation
than the enclosure ditch. This may reflect a situation where remains were exposed
on the surface within boundary ditch contexts for periods of time prior to becoming
buried. It is possible that deposits in the enclosure ditch were not left exposed for
as long as finds in the boundary ditch. 7% of fragments displayed signs of canid
gnawing whilst none showed signs of rodent gnawing. A small number of long bone
fragments showed evidence of deliberate fracturing with smooth helical fracture
lines and impact scars. These remains were only present in the enclosure ditch and
may be indicative of a deposit created as a result of marrow e>..1raction activities or as
remains from pot boiling for stock or render. Identified species included cattle, dog,
sheep/goat, horse and pig. A minimum number of nine animals were represented in
the assemblage: three cattle two sheep/goat, two pig, one horse and one dog.
Cattle were the most common, the large majority of bones being from the
cranial or foot region of the body and likely to represent primary butchery waste.
Only a small number of highly fragmented meat-bearing bones were identified,
distributed amongst butchery waste. No femoral or radius fragments were observed
in the assemblage. Deposits included a single left mandible in the terminus of
the enclosure ditch (G2) and another in boundary ditch G4, the only animal bone
identified in this deposit. Tooth wear data from the mandibles in the assemblage
suggested that two animals were sub adults aged between 18 and 40 months and
one was an adult aged over 40 months Fusion data was minimal; two bones were
fully fused, suggesting one animal was over 3.5 years old.
Sheep/goat was identified in 6 conte>..1s, and contrasted with the pattern for
cattle, being predominantly meat-bearing bones. Cranial butchery vvaste was only
located in boundary ditch conte>..1s (G5) amongst fragments of prime meat bearing
elements. Deposits identified in the enclosure ditch (G2) and ditch G6 were almost
all main meat-bearing bones and may be interpreted as deposits of food waste.
Metapodial fragments were the only other elements found alongside these deposits.
Tooth wear data from two mandibles suggested that a juvenile animal aged between
2-12 months and a young adult aged 2-4 years were within the assemblage. Again
fusion data was sparse but corroborated the data from tooth wear patterns.
Pig was only identified in two boundary ditch conte>..1:s (G5). One context
contained the remains of a neonatal cranium that was probably complete at the time
of burial along with fragments of another juvenile cranium. A complete juvenile
tibia accompanied the heads.
Horse was identified in boundary ditch contexts (G5), and consisted of two adult
metapodials, both left sided, and a metacarpal and a metatarsal, both of which were
severely gnawed. T he only representation of dog was also in group G5, a single
left metatarsal which was unfused, suggesting the animal was under 8 months of
age (Silver 1969, 285-6).
Only one butchery mark was identified in the assemblage, a cattle scapula with
the spine trimmed and chopped obliquely through the neck. These processes may
reflect portioning and fileting processes.
TI1e Romano-British phase of the site produced the greatest volume of bone with
201 fragments deriving from 12 conte>..1s, the vast majority (98%) from the pits
(G8). 90% of this assemblage was in good condition, suggesting that the majority
of fragments were not left exposed to the elements for lengthy periods of time.
139
LAURA O'SHEA AND JAKE V.'EEKES
2% of the assemblage showed signs of canid gnawing and as in earlier phases
none showed traces of rodent gnawing. 1 % of bones had been exposed to heat.
Those that were burnt demonstrated heating or singe marks around fracture lines
suggesting they had been heated arow1d the broken end of the bone presumably
to aid marrow ex.-traction. A high rate of fragmentation overall resulted in 72%
of the fragments not being identified to species. 96% of the fragments, however,
were either cattle or large mammal bone, suggesting that the deposits reflected a
processing activity connected oven.vhelmingly with larger mammals. Overall, a
minimum number of eight animals was represented in the assemblage: four cattle,
one sheep, one pig, one horse and a dog.
The range of elements identified in cattle represented all parts of the body except
the mandible, scapula, femur and lower toe bones. Thirty-six bone fragments
displayed butchery marks suggesting that cleaver type tools were used to divide
the carcass and break open bones whilst finer bladed knives may have been used
for cutting, filleting and disarticulation. Early carcass division techniques were
evidenced by marks on vertebrae and the a-xis bone. Two axis bones displayed
chop marks in different locations, one made from a superior position and one from
a lateral position. These were presumably made to remove the head during the
early stages of butchery. Sagittal splits on a small number of vertebrae suggested
that the carcass may have been divided axially. It is possible that the carcass
was strung up, following removal of the head and divided through the central
axis of the body. A number of metapodial, radial and tibia! fragments had been
split open longitudinally in both axial and transverse planes presumably to aid
marrow extraction, whilst a number of shaft fragments displayed small chops into
the medial or lateral edges of the shaft. These were probably made to instigate a
helical break opening the bone to ex.1ract marrow. Smaller bones, including the
astragalus, had been chopped into segments, one obliquely, one transversely and
one sagittaly, presumably to create small pieces for rendering. The variety of marks
made to divide the astragalus, split bones open and cut into the axis suggests that
butche1y techniques were not consistent or followed a standardised process. This
may suggest different people may have been involved in butchery processes, each
perhaps with their own preferred method for dividing and processing the carcass.
Ageing data was sparse for cattle, no tooth wear data was available from which
to assess age at death and only 16 bones displayed epiphyseal fusion state, all of
which were fused. This may suggest that the cattle were all skeletally mature at the
time of death.
Only two fragments of sheep were observed in the assemblage, a tibia in a
boundary ditch and a fragmented horn core in a rubbish/cesspit. Both specimens
suggested that a juvenile animal was present in the assemblage. The unfused
tibia suggested that the animal was under 2 years of age. Two pig fragments were
present, a cranial/maxillary fragment ofajuvenile male and a thoracic vertebra that
also displayed juvenile traits, the vertebral epiphysis being unfused. A dog maxilla
from an older adult with worn teeth and a horse metapodial fragment were also
identified amongst the rubbish/cess pit deposits. The horse bone showed evidence
of fresh fracturing and may again have been utilised to extract marrow.
House mouse (Mus Domesticus), field vole (Microtus Agrestis), common shrew
(Sorex Araneus) and common frog (Rana Temporania) were also represented in
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ROMANO-BRITISH SETTLEMENT AT MAIDSTONE? CHURCH ST. EXCAVATIONS 2011-12
the pit fills. In addition a small number of post cranial rat bones (rattus rattus)
were identified.
Bird remains by Enid Allison
The earliest remains were fragments ofmediwn-sized bird(s) and a small passerine
from a sample from the upper fill of one of a series of ditches in the eastern part
of the site (G4). One of the medium-sized fragments contained medullary bone
indicating a female bird in laying condition. Traces of eggshell (~0.325-0.35mm
thick) were also present in the same sample. Eggshell of such thickness lies within
the range recorded for various breeds of domestic fowl by Keepax (198 1) and Sidell
(quoted in Serjeantson 2009, 174) but, without other evidence for the keeping of
domestic fowl, eggs of similarly sized wild birds cannot be ruled out.
The group of later pits containing a range of domestic waste including cess
produced some identifiable bird remains (G8). Domestic fowl (Gallus gal/us) was
represented by fragmentary long bones and wing and toe phalanges in samples
from the primary fills of two of the pits ( Sl07, Sl52), the phalanges suggesting
waste from carcass preparation. A femur fragment with medullary bone on the
inner surface was from a laying hen. Indeterminate fragments of medium-sized bird
bone recovered from five samples from the pits may also be mainly of domestic
fowl. Left and right tarso-metatarsi of a large goose were recovered by handcollection
from the main fill of a large rubbish/cess pit {S l 82). The bones represent
the non-meat bearing parts of the lower leg that would typically be removed during
carcass preparation. Measurements of the bones corresponded very well with
means obtained for seventeen modem domestic goose tarso-metatarsi by Bacher
(1967), and fell around the extreme uppermost limits for twenty-one greylag geese
(Anser anser) given by Bacher (1967) and Boessneck et al. (1979). Only one of the
modem greylag specimens in the latter work had a shaft breadth comparable with
this specimen. The greylag is the largest wild goose occurring in Britain and the
ancestor of the domestic form. Bones of small passerine birds recovered from two
samples were fragmentary and were not identified further.
The fish remains by Alison Locker
Fish remains reported here comprised three identifiable bones and four indeterminate
recovered from two samples from Iron Age ditches and 46 identifiable bones and
309 indeterminate from five early Romano-British pits {G8). The pits contained
some residues of cess. Pit samples <7> and <10> included a few bones from the
sample 'washover': five indeterminate fragments and one plaice/flounder bone
respectively. The following taxa were identified: indeterminate ray (Rajidae),
eel (Anguilla anguilla), herring (Clupea harengus), smelt (Osmerus eperlanus),
roach (Rutilus rutilus), indeterminate Cyprinidae, Gadidae (cod family), plaice/
founder (Pleuronectes platessa/Platicthys fl.esus), and indeterminate flatfish. The
most common species were eel, herring and plaice/flounder, comprising 40 of the
49 bones identified to species. The indetenninate category was mostly from pit
samples and <2>, all were heavily fragmented and/or non specific such as ribs
and fin rays.
14 1
LAURA O'SHEA AND JAKE V.'EEKES
Most of the remains came from pits with some evidence of burning, including
a plaice/flounder post temporal from sample . There was limited evidence of
cess material in some pits but none of the fish bones displayed the characteristic
distortion associated with passing through the digestive tract, although all were
small enough to have been eaten (including the fragmentary indeterminate fin
rays). Maidstone is some eight miles from the Medway estuary and the small but
varied fish assemblage indicates the consumption of marine fish that could also
have been caught in the estuary, especially in their juvenile stages, and the fish here
are all small, except for ray.
The only exclusively freshwater species was roach, a ubiquitous cyprinid species
identified from a small pharyngeal bone and from an individual of around 12cm in
total length. Two other indeterminate 'cyprinid' bones were identified.
Ray was identified from a single denticle, a small bony structure that lies under
the skin, many ray species are found in inshore shallow waters. Herring were
represented by vertebrae only and would have been part of the most southerly
breeding group of herring in the North Sea, the 'Downs' group. Young herring
enter estuaries (often together with sprats, caught together as 'whitebait') and
these vertebrae, intermediate in size, may have been from fish caught inshore or
in the estuary as juveniles. Both plaice and flounder (difficult to separate on the
particular bones identified here) are found as young fish in estuaries with flounder
also entering freshwater. Two of the 'flatfish' bones were tubercles found under the
skin of some adult flatfish species. The only 'gadid' bone was a fragment of small
supra cleithrum, probably from a juvenile whiting (Merlangius merlangus) also
found in inshore waters.
Both eel and smelt are migratory, eel migrating from freshwater to marine to breed,
and smelt the reverse. The eel bones were from small fish, skull bones suggest under
25cm total length, caught in their freshwater stage. Smelt migrate into freshwater
to breed, and have been part of traditional fisheries, especially in the Thames; here
smelt was represented by two well preserved fragments of dentary.
Marine mollusc shell by Enid Allison
Considering the small quantities and high fragmentation of the shell recovered, a
fair range of taxa was recorded. Fragments in the earliest deposits dating to the first
century BC to the first century AD in ditch G4 and ditch terminus G2 were mainly
of cockle (Cerastoderma sp.). Traces of oyster (Ostrea edulis), mussel (Mytilus
edulis), peppery furrow (Scrobicularia plana), baltic tellin (Macoma balthica),
and indeterminate bivalve shell possibly of a sixth species were recovered. Cockle
fragments and indeterminate marine shell were present in the lower fill of a
posthole/pit (G9, S l30).
The backfill of an early Roman hearth (G7) contained a variety of shell types:
cockle mussel, baltic tellin, a nut shell (Nucula), another unidentified bivalve, and
a small winkle (Litton·na sp. ).
Oyster fragments were more common relative to other shell in the three later
pits fills (G8). Some fragments were orange-stained probably due to the presence
of cess as well as other domestic refuse in the pits. Tiny fragments of cockle and
mussel shell were recorded from one pit.
142
ROMANO-BRITISH SETTLEMENT AT MAIDSTONE? CHURCH ST. EXCAVATIONS 2011-12
The Charred and MineraJised Plant Remains by Wenc-ly J Carruthers
Late Iron Age
Sample 5, boundary/enclosure ditch G2 - the sample came from the single fill
of this ditch. A low concentration (3 fragments per litre of soil processed or
fpl ') of charred cereal grains (bread-type wheat, emmer/spelt, barley, oat)
and spelt de-husking waste was present in the ditch. A similar range of weed
seeds was present as in the other samples (vetch/tare, dock, brome, fat hen).
One item of note was a poorly preserved flax seed (Linum usitatissimum)
indicating an additional crop grown as an oil seed, for fibre or for both.
Sample 6, ditch terminus G2 - the upper fill of this ditch terminus contained
a slightly higher concentration of poorly preserved cereal grains (bread.type
wheat, emmer/spelt including one sprouted grain and severaJ barley
grains) and some spelt de-husking waste (6 fpl). The presence of a charred
rose seed, hazelnut shell fragment and blackberry seeds could suggest that a
thorn hedge had been present along the ditch, although all items also could
represent food waste. Black bindweed (Fallopia convolvulus) and cleavers
(Galium aparine) are climbing plants that scramble through hedgerows,
though both are also considered to be arable weeds.
Sample 10, ditch fill G4 -the sample came from the upper fill of a ditch. Moderate
amounts of spelt processing waste were present (10.9 fpl) and the range
of weed taxa was similar to the other features examined (mainly vetch/tares,
knotgrass (Polygonum aviculare) and grasses). Some sprouted emmer/spelt
grains were present but these were outnumbered by grains with no obvious
signs of sprouting.
Sample 4, pitlposthole G9 -a small quantity of charred spelt de-husking waste
with two indeterminate wheat grains and three poorly preserved barley grains
was present in the lower fill of this feature, perhaps representing backgrow1d
waste (concentration = 1.8 fpl).
Early Romano-British
Sample 8, Hearth fill G7 - this conte>..1 contained frequent daub or heataffected
earth that represented the hearth fabric. The flot was surprisingly
productive (18. I fpl) in terms of both cereal grains and chaff fragments, and
the assemblage as a whole was different in character to those from the pit
and ditch samples. A wider range of cereals was represented, including two
free-threshing crops whose remains are rarely present in large numbers in
Roman deposits; bread-type wheat (Triticum aestivum-type) and possible
rye grains (cf. Secale cereale). At least 25 grains of bread-type wheat and 6
possible grains of rye (with one sprouted) were recorded. This sample was
the only one of ten examined that contained a reasonably high percentage
of grain (45% grain, 49% chaff and 6% weed seeds). The assemblage most
likely contains a much higher proportion of spilled and discarded food items
than the other samples, which contain primarily waste. Barley was scarce
(2 grains, one sprouted) and five oat grains (Avena sp.) were present. Spelt
143
LAURA O'SHEA AND JAKE V.'EEKES
glume bases and spikelet forks were still the dominant components of the
chaff and a similar range of weed species was represented. More detailed
comparisons between this sample and the other nine are made below.
Samples 1 (lower fill of rubbishlcess pit S105) and 2 (rubbishlcess pit S107)
G8 - these two pits produced very similar assemblages and appear to have
contained similar types of waste. Domestic (pot, small-scale cereal processing
waste, redeposited cess) and industrial waste (metalworking residues)
were present in both pits. In pit S 105 the deposition of faecal material was
confirmed by the presence of mineralised food remains including 12 apple
(Malus sylvestris) and apple/pear seeds (Malus/Pyrus sp.), an elderberry seed
(Sambucus nigra) and a possible medicinal plant, a hemlock seed (Conium
maculatum). In pit S107 a wider range of mineralised remains was preserved
and the presence of some faecal concretions containing bran 'curls' indicated
that more concentrated, or better preserved, faecal waste was present. Foods
included apple (6 seeds), a cherry or sloe-sized Prunu.s species, elderberry,
mallow (Malva sp.) and henbane (Hyoscyamu.s niger) - perhaps another
poisonous but externally medicinal plant. Nettle seeds ( Urtica dioica and
U. urens) were also present. Alternatively, nettles, henbane and hemlock may
have been growing on a midden in which faecal and domestic waste had been
deposited. In both features mineralised grass, sedge, spike-rush, bracken,
and moss remains (mostly unidentified stem fragments but also some seeds)
may represent toilet wipes or material such as waste floor covering deposited
to reduce odours. It is notable that no exotic foods were present, apart from,
perhaps, cultivated apples. However, because mineralised preservation was
not particularly good in these two features it is likely that these remains
represent just a small fraction of the foods being consumed.
The charred plant remains consisted of small amounts of cereal processing waste
that was probably the product of day -to-day crop cleaning activities. Spelt wheat
with a trace of emmer were the only cereals represented. The fact that very few
weed seeds (consisting of brome grass and small weedy vetch/tare) and no culm
nodes were present suggests that the waste derived from the de-husking of cleaned
spikelets prior to cooking.
Sample 3, Pit S113, G8 - the sample came from the uppermost fill of a pit that
also contained other types of waste, including daub and pot. This rich charred
deposit consisted primarily of spelt processing waste derived from very clean
spelt spikelets. Out of over a thousand charred remains in the 25% sub-sample
quantified (from 2.5 litres of soil), only 26 items were not from cereals. These
included a couple of small hazelnut (Cory/us avellana) shell fragments, seeds
from five types of weeds that had probably been growing as contaminants of
the spelt crop (including vetch/tare (Vicia/Lathyru.s sp.), dock (Rumex sp.), corn
cockle (Agrostemma githago) and long-seeded grasses (various Poaceae), and
a possible fungal sclerotia similar to ergot. Amongst the large quantity of spelt
chaff and much smaller numbers of spelt-type grains, only two possible breadtype
wheat grains, a possible emmer spikelet fork, two sprouted hulled barley
grains and three oat grains (including two sprouted and one confirmed as wild
144
ROMANO-BRITISH SETTLEMENT AT MAIDSTONE? CHURCH ST. EXCAVATIONS 2011-12
oat (Avena fatua)) were recorded as relict crops or contaminants. The spelt
remains consisted of at least 93% chaff. (NB many of the poorly preserved
emmer/spelt chaff fragments were not quantified). Cereal grains were not
abundant, but of the 70 hulled wheat grains present, 75% had sprouted. In
addition, several of the crop contaminants had sprouted, including oats, barley
and brome grass, and detached sprouts were frequent. It is very unlikely that
such a ltigh rate of germination would have occurred accidentally (see notes
on malting in archive report), so the deposit appears to represent the waste
removed from roasted malted grain, or 'cun1ings'. Once the spelt grain had
been sprouted it would have been gently roasted in a kiln or oven to stop the
process and to dry the grain ready for crushing into grist, prior to ex1.racting
the malt. The sprouts and chaff would have been rubbed off and removed prior
to coarsely grinding the grain into grist. This type of waste would have been
useful as tinder, and fuel if produced in sufficient quantities.
Sample 7, pit Si 52, G8 - the sample came from the primary fill of this rnbbish/
cess pit. Metalworking residue and traces of mineralised faecal material were
present, but no faecal concretions were found in the residue. Although fish
bone was present, the only mineralised remain was an unidentified nodule
of the type characteristic of cess pits and middens (Carrnthers 1988). Either
the preservation conditions were not correct for faecal material to become
mineralised (perhaps too well-drained), or only small amounts of redeposited
cess were present. The charred plant assemblage was of a moderate size (4.5
fpl) and was dominated by spelt processing waste, with just a trace of emmer
chaff and a barley grain. Weed taxa included dock, bro me grass, grass seeds,
cleavers and black bindweed. In addition two charred mallow seeds (Malva
sp.) were present, perhaps representing a food or medicinal plant that is often
associated with Roman sites. The mucilaginous leaves have been used for
poultices and ointments in the past, they can be eaten like spinach or made
into soups, and the seeds make a tasty snack. Mallows also have attractive
flowers and are common around waysides and gateways, so they may have
naturalised around Roman sites following their introduction or collection
from the wild. It was not possible to determine whether a common British
species (perhaps Malva sylvestris) or introduced species was present from
the charred seeds alone.
Sample 9, pit Si 82, G8 - this sample came from the main fill of a large rnbbish/
cess pit. Mineralised evidence of foods being consumed was limited to two
sloe- or cherry-type Pnmus sp. kernels (i.e. small and very rounded). Charred
plant remains were very similar in character to the other mbbish/cess pits,
although the concentration was a little higher ( 11. 8 fpl). Spelt processing
waste was the main component though a trace of emmer chaff was present.
A similar range of weed taxa was present, including brome grass, dock and
vetch/tare.
Discussion of Romano-British material
The recovery of mineralised faecal material often provides important supplementary
145
LAURA O'SHEA AND JAKE V.'EEKES
evidence about diet, including details about foods such as fruits and spices which
are rarely preserved by charring. However, the mineralisation at Church Street was
poor, perhaps due to insufficient moish1re in the cess pits, so only a few large items
appear to have been preserved. Although there was no definite evidence for exotic
or cultivated fruits, the very large size of the apple pips suggests that imported
cultivated apples (Matus domestica) rather than crab apples (Matus sytvestris)
could be represented, but this remains unproven. In addition, the small, rounded
Prunus kernels could have come from cherries (Prunus avium) rather than native
sloes, but insufficient identification features were preserved. Other mineralised
remains may represent medicinal plants, foods, or wild vegetation growing on
middens (e.g. hemlock, henbane, elderberry, mallow) as noted above. Grass/rush/
straw/sedge stems and other types of vegetation including mosses, bracken and
spike-rush probably came from plant material used as toilet wipes or deposited to
soak up liquids and reduce odours. These remains are common features of cess pit
assemblages. It is interesting to see that no mineralised fly puparia were present
and only a few millipede segments and woodlice fragments were found, suggesting
that the cess pits may have been covered when in operation, or at least were not
especially rich and wet, as suggested in Saxon Hamwic (Carruthers 2005). Once
again, however, poor preservation could have been a limiting factor.
The rubbish pits were receiving small amounts of faecal waste (or possibly larger
amounts, most of which decayed away) and low concentrations of spelt processing
waste with occasional grains, deriving from day-to-day cooking preparations.
Sprouted grain was only found in the pit containing the dump of 'cumings' or
malting waste and not in the other four pits. The spelt processing waste was very
low in weed seeds and no large items such as culm nodes were present, so it is
likely to have come from the de-husking of cleaned spikelets of spelt which had
been grown in well-maintained fields, i.e. uncontaminated by previous crops or
bad weed infestations of large-seeded weeds such as oats and brome. In addition,
for samples 1, 3, 7, 8, 9 and 10, a robust variety of spelt was being grown, judging
from the width and sturdiness of the glumes. If these samples are used as a guide to
the principal cereals being consumed, spelt wheat would appear to be the only grain
eaten by the occupants. However, taking into account the results from the hearth
sample it is likely that bread-type wheat and possibly rye were also important in
the diet, but their remains have been under-represented in the charred assemblages
because they are free-threshing cereals. A fairly pure spelt malt was being used for
brewing, rather than a spelt/barley malt which would be more effective because
of better production of malting enzymes by barley. A Roman site in Andover,
Hampshire, recently examined, has produced malted spelt with barley deposits at a
ratio of around 3 to 2 spelt to barley (East Anton; Carruthers, in preparation).
A number of other Roman sites in Kent have produced evidence for malting spelt
wheat, the closest of which is the Mount Roman Villa a short distance to the west of
the Church Street site (Houliston 1999). Two samples from a construction backfill
and post-pit dated to c.AD 175-250 produced spelt chaff-dominated, rich assemblages
very like the 'cumings' from Church Street. Robinson (1999, 149) suggested that this
was the most likely interpretation for these deposits, since some sprouted grain and
large quantities of detached sprouts were present. Two earlier Roman samples (AD
150-225) were dominated by clean spelt grain (not sprouted, very few weed seeds)
146
ROMANO-BRITISH SETTLEMENT AT MAIDSTONE? CHURCH ST. EXCAVATIONS 2011-12
with lesser quantities of chaff. A very similar range of weed seeds to Church Street
was present, suggesting that comparable soils were being cultivated.
Further north in the Ebbsfleet valley at Northfleet villa, brewing appears to have
been taking place almost on an industrial scale during the Roman period. Malting
ovens, a barn and three brewing tanks with the largest holding up to 16,000 pints
were excavated. Large numbers of gem1inated grains and detached embryos were
recovered from samples dated from the Early Roman through to the Late Roman
periods. Germinated barley was not found until the Late Roman period, perhaps
indicating some changes in practice (Barnett et al. 2011).
To the east, on and around the Isle of Thanet, three Roman sites provided
evidence of brewing using fairly clean and pure spelt wheat. At Nonington, malted
grist (coarsely ground roasted grains) was recovered from a c.AD 120-150 building
(Helm and Carruthers 2011). At Do\\111lands, Walmer (Pelling 2010) chaff-rich
samples from a boundary ditch represented 'cumings' from the malting of spelt
wheat, as at Church Street. At Monkton on the Isle of Thanet larger excavations
of a Romano-British settlement produced deposits of 'cumings' from the malting
of spelt wheat in several pits, as well a wider range of food plants including stone
pine nutshell, a possible fig seed and large pulses including peas (Pelling 2008). It
is clear that Kent was a major centre for brewing at this time and that spelt wheat
was being grown on a large scale to satisfy the demand for ale.
Interpretation of the Site (Fig. 4) by Jake Weekes
The Church Street site offered only a relatively small selection of features, but
their archaeological value is clearly rich. Late Iron Age occupation at the site
appears to have commenced sometime in the early first century BC by people laying
out boundaries and enclosures and using potin coinage probably as part of an
embedded economy. As Sue Jones has noted, in the later Iron Age there is a visible
shift towards higher proportions of cattle over other domesticates (Jones; 2010;
2012; 2013; see Hambleton 1999, 59). While the predominance at Church Street,
Maidstone, may just reflect a bias created from the small sample size, the increased
proportions of cattle could reflect local communities adopting a diet that favoured
beef (ibid; see King 2005, 232; Vigne 1992). Moreover, there are some interesting
suggestions of placed deposits: Jones (2013) points out that it is possible that cattle
mandibles, both left sided, were placed as special deposits in the enclosure ditch
terminus (G2) and a boundary ditch (G4). A complete neonatal pig cranium and
complete juvenile limb bone, deposited together, may also reflect such depositional
practice, and horse and dog remains were all left sided metapodials, suggesting
ritualised selection ( cf. Jones 2012).
The Fremlin Walk excavation (Edwards 2007) to the west revealed part of
a landscape of pits and occasional linear featmes, phased on the basis pottery
fabrics - Late Iron Age (pre-Roman conquest) and Late Iron Age/Early Roman (so
called 'Belgic' Ware). The earlier activity was represented by five pits that yielded
pottery and butchered animal bone, while the later included a ditch with associated
postholes which may have formed a fence line or palisade. Several pits containing
pottery and animal bone were also dated to this period. All of this sounds markedly
familiar to the Late Iron Age phase at Church Street, and clearly places that site in
147
LAURA O'SHEA AND JAKE V.'EEKES
Fig. 4 Location of Site in relation to nearby sites and finds in Maidstone and in the wider
context of Roman Kent.
a broader, probably mainly rural landscape. The Church Street boundary had been
repeatedly reified by ditches
It is interesting to note that ditches at Fremlin Walk appear to have approximately
aligned with the (apparently) later Roman road, while those at Church Street do
not. There are clear elements of both continuity and discontinuity at the Church
Street site, even given the caveat that this is such a small area. It is clear for
example that the Roman period trackway (G3) respects an Iron Age grain in the
topography (G2, G4, G5, G6, and possibly G9), yet by the same token the early
Roman hearth (Gx) cut the silted up remnants of the Iron Age boundary markers,
and the cluster of fully Roman period pits (G8) apparently did not heed the old
causewayed enclosure ditch.
In terms of the established Roman period, the reader may have noted that much
of this report has been dedicated to a detailed consideration of five sub-circular pits
and a single hearth/oven. First and foremost, the presence of this pit cluster and
its range of contents is clear evidence of domestic settlement nearby, to which we
can add the upper and lower stones of anotl1er quern stone found in the garden of
a house in Church Street in c.1900 (TQ75 NE72), and a possible Romano-British
building (HER: TQ75 NE139), 120111 away at the comer of Week Street and the
High Street (Fig. 4). Moreover, the pit contents clearly attest to much variety in the
dietary habits of a Romano-British settlement.
148
ROMANO-BRITISH SETTLEMENT AT MAIDSTONE? CHURCH ST. EXCAVATIONS 2011-12
And yet, typically for Maidstone, the question remains as to what type of
settlement this evidence represents. In this respect, while the possible trackway at
Church Street may seem at first glance one of the less interesting features on the
site, it could also begin to point to a 'connectivity' between apparently dispersed
occupation. Indeed, if the Late Iron Age ditches and entrance way at Church
Street were in any way extant at the beginning of the Roman period, the whole
configuration of the site could represent a section of north-east/south-west aligned
thoroughfare heading downslope. This conjectural alignment would intercept the
Roman road which is known to pass some 140m west of the site (Margary 1955,
38), near the line of Week Street. A hoard of 58 sestertii dating from the reign of
Domitian to that of Commodus found in 1935 at the comer of Church Street and
Marsham Street (TQ75 NE33) marks early Roman activity nearer east side of the
road, which linked Rochester to the iron-rich Weald and on towards Hastings. This
was part of a network of travel and transportation routes in Kent (Fig. 4) within
which Maidstone seems likely to have been a nodal point; perhaps significantly,
the jw1ction towards Ashford and beyond lay less than four miles to the south,
where there was a walled roadside cemetery.
'Villas' have been excavated in the vicinity of the Church Street site, like the
Mount Villa, about 0.75km to the north-west (Houliston 1999; TQ757 562), and
that on Bower Lane (TQ75 l 552) discovered fairly recently on the west bank of
the river. Such evidence has perhaps dominated views of the Roman period in the
area, and suggests an agricultural, rural context for the sites on the east bank, near
the road (Edwards 2007). T he Church Street site could of course fall within such a
landscape, or be associated with an as yet unknown 'villa', to the east.
Yet the increasing evidence of occupation to the east of the Medway in
Maidstone could also be hinting at some sort of discrete settlement, perhaps ribbon
development centred on the road.
It should of course be remembered that this evidence includes cemetery areas,
for which a roadside location is typical, even if the deceased lived elsewhere.
Denoting a probable small cremation cemetery, a number of Romano-British
'urns' have been found, at the junction of Earl Street and Pudding Lane in 1715
(TQ 75 NE 32), at St Faith's Street in 1850 (TQ75 NE31), and in 1932 at the
Earl Street end of Havock Lane (TQ 75 NE 32; at approximately TQ 7589 5587)
and beneath the former Crowhurst's Stables (ibid; at TQ 7590 5588). To the
north of these, an amphora handle (TQ 75 NE 64) and (possibly Roman period
but undated) disarticulated human bones are recorded as stray finds in Brenchley
Gardens. Inhumation burials, to the south of Faith Street, were excavated as part
of the Fremlin Walk project (Edwards 2007), where a large number of various
Roman period features were also identified, although admittedly clustered nearer
the river than the road. The latter included boundary or enclosure plots in the
form of ditches and post-holes, as well as the remains of a large timber building.
Occupation here has been rather loosely dated (ibid., 86) on the basis of wide
ranging pottery typologies, to between the first and the third/fourth century AD; an
earlier date in this range seems more likely, as at Church Street.
But despite such caveats, the new evidence at Church Street and elsewhere in
central Maidstone would not preclude some sort of early Romano-British nucleation,
or ribbon development, near an important meeting place of road and river. What
149
LAURA O'SHEA AND JAKE V.'EEKES
we might call a small town, comparable with the Westhawk Farm settlement at
Ashford (Booth et al. 2008) is certainly a step too far on the present evidence,
but some settlement focus other than villa complexes seems a real possibility
here. Such a settlement would surely be well placed economically in terms of the
Wealden iron industry and communications, just like the Westhawk complex, and
indeed near to the junction of the road heading in that direction. From the Church
Street and Fremlin Walk evidence it would seem that it developed from an existing
Late Iron Age establishment, again as elsewhere.
More pieces of jigsaw are certainly needed in order to understand just what sort
of a place this was in the early Roman period, but is it too early to begin referring
more confidently to the 'Romano-British settlement at Maidstone'?
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors thank Golding Homes Ltd, who funded excavation, post-excavation
analyses and publication of this site.
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