THE ROMANO-BRITISH BUILDINGS IN CHURCH FIELD,
SNODLAND
By M. A. OoocK and M. J. E. SYDDELL
INTRODUCTION
RESCUE excavations on the site of a known Romano-British building
at Snodland revealed that, despite the presence of modern industrial
buildings, debris, and thick concrete yards, quite substantial foundations
still remained. Much was gained from this sadly-neglected site
before the only remaining small area was finally obliterated. The work
was carried out by the authors on behalf of the Lower Medway Archaeological
Research Group. The parts of the building found showed evidence
of three periods. Occupation on the site lasted from about the end of
the first to the middle of the third century A.D., and perhaps, elsewhere
on the site, into the fourth century. The remains excavated comprised
part of what may be a bath suite, a range of rooms and a right-angled
corridor. It is possible that, if and when the adjacent factory premises
are demolished, further remains may come to light.
THE SITE
The site of the building (N.G.R. TQ70756203) is within the grounds
of the Snodland Gas Holder Station and the factory of the Lead Wool
Co. Ltd., approximately 650 ft. north of All Saints' Church, on the
west bank of the River Medway; the area is known as Church Field.
The present village of Snodland lies on a spur of chalky brick.earth
and gravelly loam, overlying low terrace gravel, which extends down
to the River Medway. The site lies at the edge of this relatively higher
ground, with alluvial deposits immediately to the north. In the area
of the excavations the immediate subsoil was a sandy loam, in places
2-3 ft. thick, overlying the head deposits. Waste from the old gasworks
had in places raised the level of the ground by several inches.
EARLIER, DISOOVERIES
The existence of a Romano-British building in Church Field has
been known for a long time. The first reference to discoveries was
made by C. Roach Smith (Arch. J., i (1845), 164) who noted in 1844
that 'tesserae of Roman pavements and fragments of roof and flue
tiles and pottery' were scattered about the field. He also recorded the
remains of walls, a floor and other features exposed in the river bank.
192
No.2. Church field.
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ROMAN FOUNDATIONS REVEALED
6V PIT EXCAVATIONS AT NORTH
ENO OF HOLDER STATION.
SCALE.
FEET
10. 5. o.
METRES
5.
10. 20.
0 S.
PLAN OF THE ROMANO-BRITISH
SITE IN CHURCH FIELD,,
SNODLAND.
·-·-·.i
SCALE.
FEET.
METRES.
tO
5.
5. 0.
Edg• of concr•t• yard.
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Ft(:. I. ite plan. Inset, with Romano-British buildings shown solid. ha;,cd on
O.S. I : :?.,,00 plan. C'tom, Cop·right resen·ed.
THE ROMANO-BRITISH BUILDINGS, SNODLAND
The second recorded observation was made in the latter part of
August 1844 by Thomas Wright, and published ten years la.ter in 1854
in Wanderings of an Antiquary. Wright noted that the adjoining
field was significantly named 'Stone Grave Field'.1 He also made some
small excavations and uncovered 'part of a floor of large tiles' about a
foot below the surface. He received information that 'a bath ... (was)
discovered in this field about forty years before and .. . (had been)
filled up without undergoing any further inquiry'.
At the beginning of this century a gasworks was built on part of
the site but no discoveries appear to have been reported. However,
extensions to these works in 1927 resulted in a number of finds. These
were reported in Arch. Cant., xl (1928), 79, by Mr. Norman Cook, B.A.,
F.S.A. The structural remains comprised 'some pieces of shapeless
foundation and a length of wall showing a flint course on the top of a
footing made of two layers of chalk boulders'. The two most important
finds were a terracotta mask and a bronze buckle-plate of a rare type.2
The buckle-plate is described in Ant. J., vii (1927), 79. An up-to-date
assessment is given in Appendix III. The pottery found was dated
to the periods late-first, second and fourth centuries A.D. Five coins
were found, ranging in date from A.D. 87 to .A.D. 375-83.
In 1933-35, during construction of a new factory for the Lead Wool
Co. Ltd., several foundations were uncovered but not recorded, and two
stone coffins were also found. One of these coffins contained a complete
human skeleton. The skeleton was placed in the Royal College of
SUl'geons Museum, but the whereabouts of the coffin is unknown
(Arch. Gant., :x:lvi (1934), 202; J.R.S., x.xiv (1934), 217). A possible
burial found many years ago somewhere close to the present site was
reported to Mr. R. F. Jessup, F.S.A., but further details were unobtainable
and the pottery passed into private hands.
It may be worth mentioning here the presence in the British
Museum of two complete samian vessels and a pottery lamp from
'the Roman villa at Snodla.nd' (Appendix II).
THE Exo.A.VATION
In August 1964, Mr. E. R. Swain received information concerning
site clearance operations by the South Eastern Gas Board which had
revealed structural remains. Permission to excavate was quickly
sought and readily granted by the South Eastern Gas Board and the
Lead Wool Co. Ltd., to whom we are greatly indebted.
Work began in September 1964. The site was basically divided
into three parts. Firstly, there was the Gas Board area (the lower level),
1 In the 1840 Tithe Apportionment map the area is given as 'Stone Quarries'.
2 The whereabouts of the mask are at present unknown. A cast of the mask
and an electrotype of the buckle are in Maidstone Museum.
193
THE ROMANO-BRITISH BUILDINGS, SNODLAND
which waa approximately 5 ft. below the adjacent land surface because
of site clearance operations which had extended a coke storage yard.
The storage yard had a thick concrete slab, part of which once formed
the floor of the retort house built in 1927. Bulldozing operations in
this area revealed several foundations.
The second part (the upper level) was a narrow strip ofland between
the coke yard and the adjacent factory; this area had for many years
been used as garden allotments, but much was later concreted over. A
great deal of the stratification had been destroyed by intensive cultivation
which in some places had removed all but the floor and wall
foundations of the Romano-British building.
The third part, at the same level as the second, was the garden of
No. 2, Church Field, in the grounds of the Gas Holder Station. As well
as thick concrete garden paths, a large brick and concrete underground
air-raid shelter occupied much of the area.
Due to the sheltered nature of the site, work continued throughout
much of the winter and :finished in June 1965. Much of the lower level
of the site ha-s since been completely destroyed, whilst most of the
upper level ha.a been covered by a concrete yard and the concrete
floor to a new factory extension. The garden area has been levelled
and No. 2, Church Field, demolished.
The finds have been deposited in Maidstone Museum with the
exception of the bones from the infant burial which are in the British
Museum (Natural History).
AOKNOWLEDGMENTS
The excavation could not have been successfully concluded without
the willing help of the landowners. For this our grateful thanks are
due to Mr. D. Whittaker of the Lead Wool Co. Ltd. and Mr. J.E. Steel
and Mr. A. W. Barnett of the South Eastern Gas Board, for permission
to excavate and for considerable assistance, which included providing
facilities and equipment.
We are very grateful to the willing team of helpers, in particular
Misses J. Bevan, P. Flood, J. Fox, T. Luton, Mrs. W. Ocock and
Mrs. H. Syddall, and Messrs. D. Ayres, R. Chapman, J. Crudgington,
C. P. Flint (who also surveyed the site), R. G. Foord (who also took
charge of the monochrome photography), M. J. Jessup (who also
drew the plans for this report) and C. Martin. We also wish to thank
Mr. E. R. Swain for drawing the small finds.
The scope of the excavation wa.s greatly increased by the work of
Mr. B. Jessup and Mr. L. Filmer who, by operating pneumatic drills,
removed large areas of concrete.
_Much help and encouragement came from other members of the
Lower Medway Archreological Research Group, in particular our
194
TH;E ROMANO-BRITISH BUILDINGS, SNODLAND
chairman, Mr. A. C. Harrison, B.A., and also from Mr. D. B. Kelly
of Maidstone Museum. We are also greatly indebted to those who have
contributed to this report, and to Mr. A. P. Detsicas, M.A., F.S.A.,
for reading it in draft form and making many valuable comments.
THE STRUOTu:RAL REMAINS
Lower Level
This area was cleared of rubble and the foundations exposed were
found to comprise part of a hypocaust, an apsidal structure, and the
floor of what could have been a cold plunge-bath. All connecting links
between these and other buildings had been destroyed.
It appears that the construction of the 'bath' can be dated to the
middle or latter half of the second century A.D. It is impossible to
date the apse and hypocaust due to lack of associated finds and the
fact that their construction was rather unlike all the other walls found.
Hypocaust. The top floor of the hypocaust had been removed by the
bulldozer, but the under-floor and many of the pilae, together with the
filling, remained, to a depth of 1 ft. 3 in.
Due to previous destruction, only one corner of the hypocaust
remained intact. However, a second corner could just be traced
disappearing under modern concrete, giving a room 9 ft. 6 in. in
width. The walls were constructed of ragstone, with a herring-bone
chalk and ragstone rubble backing; they had been built by sinking a
pit into gravel and lining the sides. The bottom courses of the walls,
laid on gravel, consisted of a course of tiles overlying a foundation
of flints set in clay. The south-east wall tapered from a thickness
of 2 ft. 6 in. at the edge of the concrete to I ft. 9 in. at its junction
with the south-west wall, which was 2 ft. thick along its whole length.
At the junction, just determinable, of the south-west wall with the
north-west wall, the latter was 3 ft. thick and appeared to widen
considerably, but further investigation of this point was prevented
by the modern concrete yard. The mortar here was generally yellow
in colour.
The under-floor, l½ in. thick, was composed of opus signinum laid
directly on the subsoil. The pilae were arranged in a regular pattern,
normally at 2-ft. centres. The base of each pila comprised a red bonding
tile, usually measuring about 1 ft. X 1 ft. 6 in. The red pila-tiles averaged
8 in. X 8 in. Maximum height to which a pila survived was 1 ft. 2 in.
The filling of the hypocaust consisted of a layer of soot, generally
1-2 in. thick but increasing in thickness to about 6 in. at the east end.
Over this lay rubble debris, which contained several large red clay
tesserae, iron nails, and some small fragments of red and green painted
wall-plaster.
195
THE ROMANO-BRITISH BUILDINGS, SNODLAND
Apse. The apse was 10 ft. west of the hypocaust. It had a chalk
block wall with a. rough outer 'skin' of bonding tiles laid vertically
in mortar, probably constructed in the same manner as the hypocaust
walls. The thickness of the chalk wall was about 1 ft. 2 in., and the
outer skin was about 1 ft. wide.
The inside of the apse had two opus signinum floors. The lowest
was laid, at about the same level as the under-floor of the hypocaust,
on a 3-in. bed of crushed chalk. The floor was 5 in. thick and had a
3-in. quarter-round moulding at its junction with the outer wall.
The floor and moulding were later covered with a second opus
signinum floor of the same thickness. After the second floor had been
laid, the original mortar facing to the wall was thickened out with
two thin layers of vertical bonding tiles, 3! in. thick overall, faced
internally with 1 in. of mortar.
The first floor was smooth and displayed little sign of wear. The
upper floor had a, rougher surface and was covered with traces of soot
which ran under the tile and mortar internal thickening. The wall
remained only for a height of 4 in. above the upper floor.
It is possible that this apsidal feature was either part of a bath or
the lower floor of a hypocaust, although the presence of the quarterround
moulding on the lower floor would seem to point to the former,
at least in the earlier phase. In the case of the second floor, the tile
and mortar thickening may indicate that either it became necessary
to protect the chalk wall from the heat of a hypocaust or to minimize
water seepage if the feature was in use as a bath.
Oold plunge-bath or storage t,a,nk. The 'bath' was situated approximately
20 ft. to the south-west of the apse, but there was no trace of
any connection between the two. The east corner of the 'bath' had been
destroyed by the construction of a reinforced concrete slit trench.
The remainder of the 'bath' had been almost removed, down to its
floor level, by the bulldozer, except at the south corner by the bank.
The internal size of the 'bath' was approximately 9 ft. 6 in. by
10 ft. 9 in. The walls were of bonding-tiles laid on a foundation of
flints set in clay; they were 1 ft. 6 in. thick and the 'bath' was built
in the subsoil in a similar manner to the apse and hypocaust. It appeared
that a pit had first been dug into the subsoil, in line with the other
parts of the building. However, the 'bath' walls had not been built
parallel with the pit sides and, consequently, the structure was not
on the same axis as the remainder of the buildings. The 'bath' was
surrounded by a back-filling of gault clay. The opus signinum floor was
approximately 5 in. thick and laid on a foundation of flints and ragstone
blocks set upright in clay on the subsoil; the flints and ragstone
blocks were laid in lines diagonally across the 'bath'. .Around the
perimeter of the 'bath' was a 3-in. coved skirting, partly destroyed on
196
THE RO:M:.ANO-BRITISH BUILDINGS, SNODLAND
the north side but intaot on the other three. By a fortunate chance, a
piece of internal mortar of the 'bath' was held in its original position
by the concrete sides of the slit trench, 2 ft. above the floor of the
'bath'; the 'bath' therefore was probably at least 2 ft. deep.
In the south corner of the 'bath', the filling was relatively undisturbed
and comprised a very dark topsoil, similar to the modern
topsoil in surrounding areas. This suggests that the 'bath' was the one
referred to by Thomas Wright in 1854 as having been dug out in the
early part of the nineteenth century and subsequently refilled.
As there was no evidence to connect the 'bath' with the rest of the
building it is not certain that this feature was a cold plunge-bath; its
size and construction, together with the fact that the floor level was
only a few inches above the under-floors of the apse and hypocaust,
show that it was used to contain water. It could have been either a
bath or a storage tank, but it is thought more likely to have been the
former. The feature is unlikely to have been fed by a stream as the
nearest known today is at a lower level and at least a quarter of a
mile a.way.
Leading directly towards the 'bath' from the upper level of the
site, but destroyed. when about 4 ft. from it, was a shallow, straightsided
and flat-bottomed ditch. This was generally 3 ft. wide and l ft.
deep and sloped down towards the 'bath' from the direction of the
factory. The ditch was dug into the soft brown soil which appears
elsewhere on the site to be the Roman topsoil. The bottom and the lower
6 in. of the sides of the ditch were covered with a thin hard brown
crust, which is generally considered to be caused by the precipitation
of constituents of iron compounds from water seeping through organic
material. The bottom of the ditch was, at its lowest point, 3 ft. 9 in.
below the present ground surface.
The primary silting and the bard bottom crust suggei,-t that the
ditch was i n use for a considerable period. At a later stage, the ditch
was filled in with rubble and a rough pebble paving laid over it and
the surrounding area, patched in places with crushed chalk. No doubt
due to consolidation of the ditch filling, the paving sank along the line
of the ditch. Above this was a thick layer of building debris and soil.
It was impossible to follow the line of the ditch southwards, and due to
its destruction at the north end it was also impossible to determine
whether it was associated with the 'bath'.
Upper Level
It is proposed to describe the remains on the upper level in two
parts as the ecavations were conducted in two separate areas and it
was not possible to investigate the section between.
197
THE ROMANO-BRITISH BUILDINGS, $NODLAND
East End
Period 1. Period l comprised Walls A and Bl. Wall A consisted
only of foundations, l ft. 6 in. wide, of flint with yellow mortar. Wall Bl
was of similar construction and in parts existed to a width of I ft. 9 in.
Together they formed part of two sides of a room which extended
northwards into the area destroyed by the gasworks.
The floor of this room had been removed in Period 2 except for the
'feature' which had been only partly destroyed. The 'feature' appeared
to have been a step or raised platform, 2 in. high, of unknown use. One
edge ran parallel with Wall BI and the other existing edge parallel
with Wall A. Only the edges, which were futished with a smooth
mortared and well-rounded top, remained, the centre appearing to
have been destroyed and replaced with rubble filling for the floor above.
The area south of Wall Bl was paved with a chalk floor. A thin layer
of burnt clay and a semicircle of tile fragments on the chalk floor
abutting Wall Bl may have been a small hearth.
Period 2. In Period 2, Walls A and Bl were demolished except for
their foundations and the floor taken up. Walls E and F were constructed
and a tessellated floor laid on a foundation of chalk blocks.
The Period 2 building was built over and beyond the area covered
by the Period l structure. Wall E, 2 ft. wide, was represented by one
course of bonding tiles laid on a foundation of flints for part of its
length and chalk blocks for the length within the area o f the Period 1
building. Wall F formed a right angle with Wall E and enclosed an area
originally outside the building during the previous period; it was
2 ft. 3 in. wide and built of flint and ragstone, with yellow mortar.
Walls E and F formed parts of the walls of a room with a tessellated
floor. The floor was constructed on a base of opus .signinum laid on a
foundation of large angular chalk blocks, within the area of the Period 1
building, and rubble filling for the remainder of the area, e;iccept for
the parts where the lower courses of Period 1 walls were used as
foundations. Only small a.reas remained with the red clay tesserae
in situ, as modern cultivation had penetra.ted in many places to the
floor base level.
Overlying the floors in several places were fragments of painted
wall-plaster showing traces of green and red. During the removal of
the tessellated floor base, two small white tesserae were found on the
chalk block foundation; they may have come from a mosaic elsewhere
on the site but no evidence to support this was found during the present
excavations.
Under the tessellated floor, and abutting against the west face of
Wall E, almost in the corner of the room, was a small tile oist containing
the bones of an infant. It was constructed of fragments of roofing tile.
It was not possible because of later disturbances to determine whether
198
8.
J'lww: R. a. Foord
A. Tho 'bath'.
'['110 l'
l'/1(,tu: R. G. Foord
ppe,· Lc\'ol h·pocat1st.
I fa,·, p. I u
THE ROMANO-BRITISH BUILDINGS, SNODLAND
this was an intrusive burial or whether it had been deposited at the
time the floor was constructed. Careful examination was made of the
surrounding area in an attempt to recover as much as possible of
the skeleton. Examination of the bones (see Appendix VII) showed
only a few of them to be present and this, together with the presence of
animal bones, cuuld suggest a reinterment.
In the rubble surrounding the cist were found a number of sherds
of a late-second-century storage pot (see Dating Evidence, No. 5).
The sherds conjoined to form about one-third of the pot. As the area
around the burial was thoroughly searched, and no more was found,
it seems likely that only this part of the pot had been originally usedperhaps
as a crude bowl containing offerings.
Period 3. During Period 3 an extension was made to the earlier
building, which continued in use. Walls Q, Rand S were added to form
a corridor running south-east away from the ma.in building. Thirty feet
from Wall E, internally, the corridor made a right-angled turn to
the south-west and presumably connected with other parts of the building
now under the adjacent factory. The corner of Walls Q and R
was traced, but the corner of the other walls could not be investigated
because of the existence of thick concrete.
Wall Q was 2 ft. thick and consisted of a foundation of challc
blocks and one course of bonding tiles. At its junction with Wall E,
Wall Q appears to have been built on the foundations of Walls A and
Bl of the first period. Wall R was in a poor condition with only the very
lowest courses e.xisting, but appeared to be 2 ft. thick. Wall S was
1 ft. 8 in. thick and of similar construction; however, instead of abutting
against the corner of Wall E, it continued to run alongside Wall F,
acting as a thickening and giving an overall width of 4 ft. In this
area a greater height of wall remained, showing a construction of
flint and ragstone with yellow mortar. The fact that Wall F continued
in use during Period 3 is shown by the presence of a pot built into the
inside face of Wall S, partly above floor level. The pot, which may
have held a votive offering was found containing only earth. It was
placed in a 1-ft. square recess and packed around with small flints.
The pot is a second- or early-third-century storage jar (see Dating
Evidence, No. 16).
The floor of the corridor had a foundation of broken tiles laid at a
slope in herring-bone fashion. Above this was a layer of opus signinum
which acted as a base for what appears to have been a tessellated floor
of the same type as that found in Period 2. None of its tesserae were
found in situ but the construction of the base and the presence of large
numbers of red tessetae in the soil above seem to support this suggestion.
Around the eastern sides of the corridor, a paving of compacted
pebbles and chalk was exposed. This was laid on a surface which
199
10
THE ROMANO-BRITISH BUILDINGS, SNODLAND
sloped away from the building, in some places quite steeply and close
to walls. Part of a quern stone was found in the building debris overlying
the paving (see .Appendix IV). On the other side of the conidor
there were no traces of this pebble paving, only the original topsoil.
Fragments of painted plaster, mainly red in colour, and many
iron nails were found over the whole of thls east end.
West End
The work in this area was limited by the existence of modern
features. Because of this it was not possible to prove any connection
between the east and west ends of the structural remains, although
certain assumptions can be made. The remains cannot be definitely
associated with any of the periods identified at the east end.
What appeared to be the end of Wall Bl of the east end was traced
for about 7 ft., the intervening length having been destroyed. This
wall, B2, was 1 ft. 9 in. thick (as was BI in places). The construction
of the two walls was exactly the same and they were on the same
alignment.
The south, or inside face, of the wall showed patches of plaster
in situ. There was no trace of colouring on this plaster. Six feet three
inches to the south of B2, was Wall H. This was of flint and mortar
construction also, but showed no traces of any plaster facing. The
south-east side of the room was formed by Wall G, which could only
be exposed in the concreted face of the bank. Wall G was 1 ft. 6 in.
wide and only the foundation of chalk blocks remained. It should
be mentioned here that on the south-east side of Wall G traces of
the tessellated floor make-up similar to that of Period 2 in the east end
were found.
The fourth side of the room thus enclosed was formed by Wa.11
C which continued to run beyond it in a north-east direction. The room
was 11 ft. X 7 ft. and had a 2-in. thick floor of rammed chalk. Wall C
continued beyond the room for 11 ft. and then made a right-angled
turn to the north-west. The soil to the south-east side of Wall C was
of the soft brown type, indicating that Wall Chad been an external
wall. On the south-west side was a chalk floor laid directly on the soft
brown soil. The presence, directly on the floor, of a neat fall of tiles from
the collapsed roof of the building showed that the floor had been the
only one laid during the existence of this part of the building.
The right-angle to Wall C was formed by Wall D. The construction
remaining was of chalk blocks which were most probably the foundation
courses. The inside of Wall D also revealed the chalk floor.
Outside Wall D, running parallel with it and only 1 ft. away, was
a flat-bottomed ditch about 4 ft. wide; it had sloping sides and a
total depth of about 2 ft. There was no evidence of silting in the
200
THE ROMANO-BRITISH BUILDINGS, SNODLAND
ditch which suggests that it had been either re-cut immediately before
its filling or refilled almost immediately after digging. The fill of
the ditch was of gravel, with some cha.Th:, rising to and slightly above
the surrounding Romano-British ground level. This initial filling was
covered in places by dark soil. Over this, to a depth of 1 ft. 6 in. to 2 ft.
was a mixture of gravel and cha.Th:, finally covered by the present
topsoil.
Another short length of ditch, of similar width and depth, was
uncovered in a small area available for excavation between the house
and the bank. The ditch ran roughly north-east, south-west on a course
that would connect with a continuation of the other ditch. The ditch
had some primary silting and wi;ts filled with general building rubble,
including a large amount of chalk blocks and mortar.
Returning to Walls C and D, it is not possible to delimit any room
of which they may have formed part, because of the intrusion of a large
air-raid shelter. However, opposite Wall D was another wall, J, which
was 2 ft. 2 in. thick. It was of flint and ragstone coruitruction with
yellow mortar. To the north-east of Wall J were traces of a mortar
floor, laid on a bed of rubble; the level of this floor was the same as
the chaTh:floor enclosed by Walls C and D. The difference in composition
of these two floors indicates that there must have existed a partition
wall, now destroyed by the shelter. Wall J returned as Wall K in a
north-east direction to form an 8-ft. wide room of unknown length.
South-west of Wall J, enclosed by Walls L, M and N, was another
hypocaust. Wall L had been extensively robbed but enough remained to
show a width of 3 ft.; its construction was of ragstone with yellow
mortar. Wall M is mainly conjectural. Also an external wall, it formed
the return of L. This point could not be investigated further due to
an existing structure. N was an internal wall, 2 ft. thick, of bonding
tiles and mortar. It formed the south-east side of the hypocaust area,
with a flue 2 ft. wide. This wall may have served either as a support
to the flimsily-constructed hypocaust or as a foundation, probably to
a partition above. Whether there was a continuation of the hypocaust
on the other side of Wall N was not proved but it is strongly
suspected (see below). The under-floor of the hypocaust was of clay
baked hard. Its thickness varied from a thin 'skin' to about 2 in.,
depending on the contours of the ground beneath. The pi"lae were
roughly built of a mixture of complete pi"lae tiles and broken fragments
of roofing and bonding tiles, bonded with clay. The pilae tiles were the
same size as those of the other hypocaust. There were no base tiles,
the pilae standing rather precariously directly on the uneven underfloor.
The pilae were arranged at about 1 ft. 6 in. centres in a roughly
symmetrical pattern. Maximum height to which a pila existed was
1 ft. 4 in.
201
THE ROMANO-BRITISH BUILDINGS, SNODLAND
In a northwards extension to the hypocaust room was a tile feature,
which partly filled the space between Wall Land the corner of J and
K. This formed at least one flue, I ft. 6 in. wide, the east side of the
flue being formed by the one side of Wall K. The traceable part of the
feature consisted of a 9-in. wide course of tiles laid on a thick bed of
clay. The angle formed by the feature contained a filling of decayed
mortar. Further investigation was precluded by the air-raid shelter.
On the south-east side of Wall N, which was built entirely of
bonding tiles, most of the area available for excavation had been
badly disturbed, but enough could be examined to show that the
hypocaust under-floor continued, burnt a dark red on both sides of
Wall N. A layer of ash, 1-2 in. thick, lay over the floor, but towards
Wall L it disappeared perhaps because of robbing and other disturbances.
In view of the concentration of soot at this point, the burning of
the clay floor, and the bonding tile construction of Wall N, it seems
likely that the firing pit was located somewhere near this end of the
hypocaust. The function of the hypocaust was not clear, but it may
well have served as a corn-drying floor.
To the west of Wall L, outside the building, was a large area of
the pebble and chalk paving, forming perhaps a courtyard. Its level
was 9 in. above that of the hypocaust under-floor. The 'courtyard'
showed two major layers of pebble paving, both of which had been
extensively repaired where they had worn, with crushed chalk and
mortar; both layers were littered with trodden-in tile fragments,
potsherds, animal bones and shells. The paving appeared to end
about 20 ft. from the building. Sealed under the lower surface, and
embedded in the soft brown soil, was a small pot (Dating Evidence,
No. 24). Other pottery is dated from the late-first century to the
third century A.D.
In the chalk and pebble external paving was a fragment of blue
window glass, 5 mm. thick, with one bevelled edge and with traces of
pink mortar adhering to one side.
LATER DrsooVERIEs
As a result of civil engineering work carried out after the end of
the excavation, several more structural remains were exposed in pits
and trenches and recorded as far as possible under difficult conditions by
Mr. M. Jessup. The parts of the site where these later discoveries were
made had not previously been available for archaeological excavation.
During the digging of a narrow trench to the south-ea.at of the lower
hypocaust, two walls forming the corner of a building were exposed.
The south-east wa.11 was 1 ft. 6 in. thick and built of chalk blocks
set in mortar. The other wall was of similar construction but 2 ft.
thick. Traces of a chalk and mortar floor were observed between them.
202
THE ROMANO-BRITISH BUILDINGS, SNODLAND
The soil on the outside of the walls was the typical soft brown of the
original topsoil. .Although the walls are on the 'upper level', the level
here was much lower than elsewhere as the ground sloped towards the
river, and it is very likely that the structure was associated with the
hypocaust and 'apse' at the 'lower level'.
Approximately 400 ft. north of the excavated remains, close to
the river, the construction of two large machine bases uncovered
traces of other structures. The ground where the machine bases were
dug is today at about the sa,me level as that of the lower site. Originally,
however, as the excavations revealed, the ground had sloped away
from the south end of the site, and the top 4 ft. of the layers exposed
was made-up ground. The excavations had out 2 ft. 6 in. into the original
ground surface removing most of the remains and leaving only a few
traces exposed at the sides.
Pit I revealed two chalk-block walls, each about 2 ft. thick, and
running parallel 2 ft. 9 in. apart; they were bonded with pink mortar.
Three feet six inches north of one wall and 4 ft. south of the other, ,vere
traces of hard packed yellow mortar, possibly indicating the existence
of mortar floors. If these were floors then the two walls would each
be the external wall to a building. Covering the whole area was a layer
of Roman building rubble nearly I ft. thick.
Pit 2 was 20 ft. to the north of Pit I and was dug to a similar
depth. On the north side of this pit was a wall of chalk blocks and flint,
running parallel with the walls in Pit I. The section on the west face
showed a yellow mortar floor, 3 in. thick, overlying the original RomanoBritish
topsoil. A small pit a foot deep had been dug into it, and was
lined with baked clay and filled with charcoal and burnt material.
The mortar floor sealed the pit. No building debris was apparent.
If the unexoavated area betwen the two pits did not conceal other
walls, the remains found suggest the existence of at least two buildings,
both with mortar floors and one some 31 ft. wide.
DATING EVIDENCE (Figs. 2 and 3) .
Arch. Gant.
Ant.J
Areh.J.
J.R.S.
Gamulodunum
Ganterbury, I-IT
.ABBREVIATIONS AND REFERENCES
Arohceowgia Oantiana
Antiquaries Journal
Arehreologieal Journal
Journal of Roman Studies
0. F. C. Hawkes and M. R. Hull, Gamuwdunwrn,
Oxford, 1947.
Audrey Williams and Sheppard Frere, 'Canterbury
Excavations', {I) Arch. Oant., Ix (1947), 68-100;
(IT) Arek. Gant., lxi (1948), 1-45.
203
THE ROMANO-BRITISH BUILDINGS, SNODLAND
, ( 2 (
6
4{" 4 XL/
5
8
, 9\ 1-----01 ----,-1----1 -..,..,----(
1 II L. ..........\
I
'
12 I 7
)
7 '),. (
1-, 15-
-
'
,17 !
) ,.
16
'
FIG. 2. Coarse pottery (t).
204
THE ROMANO-BRITISH BUILDINGS, SNODLAND
l
,.'.:-·.,·.:;.•.·.1 7 J
(.. I
, I ' K\\\\\l 25
26
I 7
27 (,. 26 "\
l 29 (
30
\ 31
Cobham
Oolches-ter
Dover
Greenhithe
Jewry Wall
-)
7
)
, FIG. 3. Coarse pottery(¼ except No. 24 [½]).
P. J. Tester, 'The Roman Villa in Cobham Park,
near Rochester', Arch. Gant., lxxvi (1961), 88-109.
M. R. Hull, The Roman Pot-ters' KiV/1,8 of Colchester,
Oxford, 1963.
L. Murray Threipland and K. A. Steer, 'Excavations
at Dover 1945-47', Arch. Gant., lxiv (1951), 130-49.
A. P. Detsicas, '.An Iron Age and Romano-British
Site at Stone Castle Quarry, Greenhithe', Arch.
Gant., lxx.xi (1966), 136-90.
K. M. Kenyon, Excavations at the Jewry Wall Site,
Leicest,er, Oxford, 1948.
205
THE ROMANO-BRITISH BUILDINGS, SNODLAND
Joyden's Wood P. J. Tester and J.E. L. Caiger, 'Excavations o n the
Site of a Romano-British Settlement in Joyden's
Wood near Bexley', Arch. Gant., lxvili (1954),
Lulling stone
Richhorough,
I-IV
PER.TOD 1
167-83.
Lieut.-Colonel G. W. Meates, E. Greenfield and
Edwyn Birchenough, 'The Lullingstone Roman
Villa, Second Interim Report', Arch. Gant., lxv
(1952), 26-78.
J. P. Bushe-Fox, Excavations of the Roman Fort al,
Richhorough, Kent, Reports I-IV, 0.xford, 1926-49.
No stratified datable finds were discovered in association with the
two lengths of wall and chalk floor which constituted the only remains
of this period.
PERIOD 2-Mm-THmD CENTUitY A.D.
The overwhelming majority of potsherds are of a late-second/earlythird
century A.D. date. However, it is impossible to ignore the presence
of two sherds of flanged bowls (Noa. 4 and 6) generally considered to
be mid-third century at the earliest.
From under tessellated floor mainly over remains of Period 1 structures
but partly on light brown loamy soil.
Samian Ware
Rim band of Form 31 or 37. Hadria.nio--.Antonine.
Coarse Pottery
1. Jar or cooking pot in grey fabric and paste, burnished externally
above the shoulder to just inside the rim.
2. Cordoned jar in grey fabric and paste (Richhorough, IV, 467,
Antonine).
3. Rim in brown fabric with light brown paste; traces of burnishing.
Diameter 6 in. (Canterbury, I, 97, Fig. 15, No. 5, late-second century).
4. Rim of flanged bowl in dark grey-brown fabric with partly worn
burnishing. Diameter 7 in. (Colchester, 305A, c. A.D. 250-400).
From rubble .filling surrounding tile cist of infant ·burial
5. Jar with everted rim in reddish-brown fabric and light brown
paste, partly burnt, decorated with burnished lines and burnished
above the decoration. Sherds conjoined to form about one-third of
the complete vessel (Greenhithe, 71, c . .A..D. 120-50; Colchester, 278, into
third century).
206
THE ROMANO-BRITISH BUILDINGS, SNODLAND
6. Rim of flanged bowl, dark grey-brown fabric, diameter 7 in.
(see No. 4 above).
7. Base of rough-cast beaker (of. Richborough, III, 302, c . .A.D.
90-140).
PERIOD 3-AFTER Mm-THIRD CENTURY .A.D.
From und,er tessellated floor t,o corrid,or
Samian Ware
Sherds of Form 38, and two decorated sherds of Form 37 (see
Appendix I).
Coarse Pottery
8. Bead rim jar in orange-brown fabric with soapy paste containing
shell grit.
9. Jar in grey fabric and sandy paste (Canterbury, I, 96, No. 5).
10. Jar in brown fabric with grey rather gritty paste similar in
form to No. 5 above (cf. Lullingstone, Nos. 68, 69, late-Antonine).
ll. Rough-cast beaker in cream paste with reddish-brown colour
coating. Similar types occur up to c . .A.D. 300 at Colchester and elsewhere.
12. Imitation of samian Form Curle 15 in light red fabric with
partly twisted rim (Greenhithe, 134).
13. Dish in black fabric with dark grey sandy paste ( of. Lullingstone,
51, 52, late-Antonine).
14. Jar in light grey fabric (Camulodunum, 234A, late-first century).
15. Dish in dark grey-brown fabric and grey paste burnished
internally and externally, decorated with burnished lines and with a
horizontal line heavily scored on the inner surface about ¾ in. below the
rim (Greenliithe, 181).
From Period 3 thickening t,o Wall F
16. Jar of reddish-brown fabric and grey paste, part of rim missing,
probably late-second century/early-third century.
MlSOELLANEOUS
From clay backfilling to sides of 'bath'
17. Bead-rim jar in black sandy fabric and paste.
18. Dish of grey fabric with sandy grey paste (Greenhithe, 178,
.A.D. 120-150; Cobham, Fig. 3, No. 14, A.D. 70-180).
19. Jar in dark grey fabric with light brown gritty paste, the
inner surface pitted and uneven. Sherds which were most probably
of the same jar showed burnished lattice decoration externally below
the shoulder (Greenhithe, 146, .A.D. 120-50).
207
THE ROMANO-BRITISH BUILDINGS, SNODLAND
From rubble filling to Upper Level hypocaust
20. Dish of dark grey fabric and sandy paste, groove under rim
(Dover, 136, No. 19, second century).
21. Mortarium in light-red fabric and paste, with flint grit (of:
Camulodunum, 191, late-first century).
22. Mortarium in buff fabric with polished surface. Generally
fourth century but the form has occurred in rare cases as early as the
late second century (of. Jewry Wall, Type J).
From in or on the pebble paving at the West End of the Upper Level
unless otherwise indicated.
23. Comb-ware jar in grey paste with light brown fa.bric burnt
black in patches. Native tradition (Rwhborough, II, 97-99, pl. xxix,
Fig. 2, No. 1, up to end of Flavian period). Under paving.
24. Small beaker in grey paste, burnished externally with groove
around middle. Evidently coarse ware copy of a rough cast beaker
form. Sealed under chalk and pebble paving.
25. Bowl with flat lip in hard buff sandy fabric; burnt black around
rim (of. Greenhithe, 228; Ricliborough, m, 216, .A..D. 50-75).
26. Dish in dark brown fabric, burnished internally and externally.
Diagonal hatched pattern (cf. Greenhithe, 59, A.D. 120-50).
27. Small jar with outbent rim, in hard grey fabric (Joyden's Wood,
176, No. 15, second century).
28. Bead-rim jar of red-grey fabric and hard sandy grey paste.
Heavy bead rim (of. Greenhithe, 94, c. A.D. 90-120).
29. Jar in Patch Grove type ware. Reddish-brown leathery fabric
and grey paste (Greenhithe, 146, A.D. 120-50).
30. Straight-sided dish with a deep groove, in brown fa.bric
(Greenhithe, 189, .A..D. 120-50).
31. Platter of grey-black fabric and grey-pink paste. Coarse ware
copy of terra nigra form (Canterbury, II, 28, No. 32, first century).
32. Rough-cast beaker with cornice rim. Light brown colour
coating over cream paste. Fine sand particles (Greenhithe, 200, 201,
.A..D. 120-50).
33. Jar in brown sandy paste and fabric, burnished around base,
and black slip applied over top. Decorated with quadruple and triple
oblique lines (of. Colchester, 163, Fig. 93, Nos. 14 and 17).
34. Not illustrated. Fragments of three colour coated folded
beakers with rubrfoated scales on ridges (Colchester, 169, No. 15,
A.D. 210-300). In topsoil over pebble and chalk paving.
35. Not illustrated. Poppy-head beaker in light grey paste and
dark grey fine fabric. Cordon at base of neck. Late-first to late-second
century.
208
THE ROMANO-BRITISH BUILDINGS, SNODLAND
DISOUSSION
It has not been possible to date the construction of Period I, but
some sherds of late.first century forms were found, suggesting that
there was occupation at this time somewhere close at hand. Although
the present excavations disclosed no evidence of actual occupation
after the third century A.D. the date of some of the previous finds and
the presence of two unstrati:fiedfourth-century coins (see Appendix VI)
suggests the possibility of later occupation on another part of the site-
presumably now obscured or destroyed. However, it is also possible
that these later finds were stray items, dropped when the buildings
were already in ruins.
Taking earlier discoveries into account as well as the parts of the
building established by the present excavations, it becomes clear
that the site was of some size and stretched for several hundred feet
along the west bank of the River Medway. The position by the river
would have given it easy communications with near-by Rochester and
the remainder of the valley. No other sizeable Romano-British buildings
have so far been discovered in the vicinity. There is a conspicuous
absence of remains from this period on the fertile, well-drained lower
slopes of the North Downs, behind Snodland.
As only few parts of the building have remained relatively intact,
very little can be said about the nature of the occupation, its purpose,
its economic life or its wider implications. The latest phase does
correspond with the date of a burial in the Holborough Barrow,8
which was only three-quarters of a mile to the north-west on a hillside
overlooking the valley. It has been suggested4 that the barrow was
erected for a local dignitary who was probably quite wealthy, but if
any claim to his residence is made the imposing villa at Eccles5 must
surely have the advantage over the Snodland building.
APPENDIX I
SAMIANWARE
(Fig. 4)
By A. P. DETSIOAS, M.A., F.S.A.
(i) Pl ain Forms. Most of the material submitted was very fragmentary
but otherwise in a fairly good state of preservation. An examination
of the forms present shows that Form 33, represented by sixteen
vessels,6 was the most common cup, followed by Form 27, with sherds
3 Arch. Oant., Ixviii (1954), 1-61.
' Ibid., 28.
6 Two miles south-east of the barrow on the eaat bank of the River Medway.
0 One of these vessels bears a graffito (X) on the underside of the foot-ring.
209
THE ROMANO-BRITISH BUILDINGS, SNODLAND
from five cups; the early Form 24 is totally absent. Form 31, including
both 31R and 3l(Sa), was the most common plate, with pieces from
eleven different plates; three plates of Form 18 and five belonging
to Form 18/31 complete the total of plates found. The presence of a
few sherds of Form 18, some of which could be of South Gaulish
manufacture, could suggest occupation rather earlier than the bulk of
the samian, but the amount of this material is so small that, unless
such settlement can be supported by the evidence of the associated
coarse pottery, it would be safer to ignore these sherds. On the other
hand, the presence of sherds from vessels of Forms 38 and 45 clearly
points to continued occupation into the third century A.D. The plain
samian found is almost entirely of Central Gaulish provenance, with
very few sherds from South or East Gaulish factories.
s
A/fo
Fm. 4. Samian ware(½)-
(ii) Decorated Forms. Except for one small fragment from a Form 30
vessel mentioned below, all the decorated sherds belong to Form 37;
Form 29 is not at all represented. There is one small fragment close
to the base of the bowl which may be of East Gaulish manufacture,
otherwise all the material is of Central Gaulish origin.
(Not illustrated.) Form 30, in good condition but with glaze completely
worn. A small piece from the lowest part of the vessel, with
part of the small column (detail 12) used by BVTRI0.7 Date:
c. A.D. 120-145. Form 37. In poor condition, probably of East Gaulish
origin; from the lowest part of the bowl, the decoration is almost
completely worn off. Date: c . .A..D. 160.
I. Form 37. Central Gaulish. In good condition, but with very
poor relief owing to blurring in manufacture; in the style of the
problematic potter DONNAVOVS. The remnant of the decoration
consists of an arcade (detail 23)8 terminating upon large beaded rings
(detail 1)8 which are placed partly upon thls potter's vine (detail 27);8
7 J. A. Stanfield and Grace Simpson, Oentral Gauli8h Potters, Oxford, 1958,
55, Fig. 13 (hereafter abbrevia.td to OGP).
8 OGP, fig. 11, p. 42.
210
THE ROMANO-BRITISH BUILDINGS, SNODLAND
the space below the arcade contains one figure-type, Crane to right
(0.2196),9 which has been recorded on a bowl from Caerleon stamped
DONNAVCI and on sherds from London.10 Another vine ornament is
impressed below the crane, with seven-beaded rosettes masking the
junctions of the vines and the bead-row border which encloses the
whole decorative scheme. Date: c. A.D. 100-120.
2. Form 37. Central Gaulish. Good condition and glaze. A small
fragment from the upper part of a, small, thin-walled bowl. The ovolo
is very badly blurred and makes positive identification virtually
impossible; it is a fairly small, double-bordered ovolo with a thin
tongue which is attached to the right of the ovolo and may end in a
small rosette. A bead-row border encloses the ovolo and a similar
vertical border, ending at the upper terminal on a plain ring, is used
for the probable panel decoration. To left of this border, remnants
of a, medallion, and to right, the upper part of a figure-type which is
probably a, Caryatid (D.656=O. 1196), used by several Central Gaulish
potters. Date: c. A.D. 100-150.
3. Form 37. Central Gaulish. Good condition and glaze. A small
sherd from the upper part of the decoration, with a double-bordered
ovolo whose tongue is composed of rounded beads and ha,s a tip slightly
bent to left. Insufficient remains to attempt even a tentative attribution,
but it is not unlikely that this bowl dates to early Antonine times.
4. Form 37. Central Gaulish. Good condition. A remnant of
decoration suggests panels divided by wavy-line borders. The rounded
contours of this border recall the early style of CASVRIVS, but
positive attribution is impossible. To right of the border, Appolo
(D.54A=O.91A), used by several potters; to left, a remnant of an
animal figure-type and part of probably a column which cannot be
restored with confidence. Date: c. A.D. 120-160.
5. Form 37. Central Gaulish. Good condition and glaze. The ovolo
is very similar to CINNAMVS's No. 3, and is enclosed by a mediumsize
bead-row border.11 Date: c. A.D. 145-190.
APPENDIX II
SAMIAN w ARE AND POTTERY LAMP IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM
IN the British Museum publication Antiquities of Roman Britain
a ention is made of a samian vessel from the Roman Villa, Snodland
{p. 30, No. 7, acquisition No. 1948, 4-2.3).
9 D. followed by a number=J. Dechelette, Les Vases cbamiques ornes de la
Gule romaine, Paris, 1904; O. followed by a number=F. Oswald, Index of
Figure-Types on Terra Sigilla 10 ta, Liverpool, 1936-37. OGP, pls. 45/519 and 47/549. 11 CGP, fig. 47, p. 267.
211
THE ROMANO-BRITISH BUILDINGS, SNODLAND
It appears that the complete acquisition (Noa. 1948, 4-2.1-3)
comprised two samian vessels and a pottery lamp. One of the samian
vessels was a complete Form 18 shallow platter bearing the stampOF.
OER. The other was a complete Form 33 cup, with the stamp,
FELIX.F, with an initial retrograde F.
Mr. A. P. Detsioas, M.A., F.S.A., has kindly informed us that.
OF .CER is usually considered a mis-reacling of the fairly common stamp
of the South Gaulish potter GERMANVS (A.D. 70-100). FELIX
is a South Gaulish potter of that name. There are several instances of
an initial retrograde F for his name. FELIX's period of activity was
second-half of the first century A.D., probably the last quarter.
The pottery lamp has been identified by the British Museum as
most probably early second century A.D. in date. It is of a type introduced
in the second half of the first century and could conceivably be
dated to the very end of that century. It is almost certainly of local
manufacture.
It is not known whether the lamp and samian vessels were found
together, or indeed when and exactly where any of them were discovered.
All three items were presented to the British Museum by J. P. T.
Burchell, M.C., F.S.A., who acquired them in 1944 from the collection
of the late W. M. Cook.
APPENDIX Ill
THE SNODLAND BUCKLE
By M:Rs. L. WEBSTER
Department of British and Medieval Antiquities,
The British Museum
THE Snodland buckle fragment, found in 1927 and now in the British
Museum (reg. No. 1928, 5-11, 1), originally formed half of a one-piece
buckle plate of Hawkes class IVA ,12 showing the central recess for the
buckle loop. It is bronze, decorated with two medallions containing
incised human heads on a niello background, separated by chip-carved
scrollery and flanked by chip-carved foliate patterns. Round the edge
runs a border of bronze squares reserved in niello, each decorated. with
a circle of pricked dots. Its greatest width is 2 • 85 in.
The Snodland buckle plate belongs to a class of late Roman metal•
work which has received particular attention during recent -years,
12 S. C. Hawkes and G. O. Dunning, 'Soldiers and Settlers in Britain, fourth
to fifth century', Meil. Arch., v (1961), l ff. ·
212
THE ROMANO-BRITISH BUILDINGS, SNODLAND
both from Continental and English scholars.18 This genre comprises
late-fourth-century bronze belt equipage including buckles, strap ends
and other fitments, which are found all along the frontiers of the Roman
Empire. These are now generally recognized as the mass-produced
military equipment of Germanic laeti andfoederati serving in the Roman
army in the later part of the fourth and fifth century. Mrs. Hawkes has
analysed the English material in great detail, and it is to her class IV A
that the Snodland piece belongs, by virtue of its rectangular plate
structure and rich ornamentation. On others of this class, those from
Richborough and Smithfield for example,14 we see the typical adaptation
of such Roman techniques as chip-carving, and motifs such as
vine scroll and rosettes to a Germanic taste for the abstract, becoming
the characteristic florid all-over embellishment, that we see on native
Germanic metalwork. But the Snodland buckle, uniquely among the
English finds, shows, in its little portrait medallions and precise
workmanship, a still classical temper. Its nearest parallels in this are a
lavish buckle set formerly in Castellani collection at Rome and another
from Hungary.16 The Snodland buckle was certainly, like others of
this class, made abroad, most probably in the Rhineland or Northern
Gaul. The fact that continental buckles of Class IVA have been found
only in South-East England strongly supports the suggestion that such
metalwork was first brought over by Germanic troops sent in 368/9
from Northern Gaul to man the Saxon shore forts, as part of Count
Theodosius's army. This ,vould put the Snodland buckle's date
somewhere in the second half of the fourth century, and probably
before 383, when Magnus Maximus withdrew troops, and Britain once
more became a precarious province.
APPENDIX IV
FRAGMENTARY QUERN STONE
By W. S. PENN, B.Sc.
Tmi quern is of Mayen lava. Only a one-sixth segment survives but
this is particularly well preserved with little flaking. There appear to
13 E.g. J. Werner, 'Spii.tromisohe Giirtelgarnituren in Keilsohnitt Teohnik"
Jahreahefte dea Osterreichischen Archaologischen Institute in Wien, xxvi ( 1930), 53.ff.
J. Werner, 'Zur Entstehung der Reihengrl!.ber Civilisation', Archa!ologia Geographica,
l (1950), 23.ff.
S. J. De Laet, J. Dhondt, J. Nenquin, 'Les Laeti du Namurois et l'origine de la
civilisation merovingienne'. Etudea d'histoire et d'arcMologie dediees a Ferdinand
Oourtoy (1952), 149.ff.
S.C. Hawkes and G. C. Dunning, op. cit., and with full bibliography.
11 S. C. Ra.wkes and G. C. Dunning, op. cit., Fig. 21, and pl. IIA.
. 16 A. Riegel, Sp!itromische Kunstindustrie (1927), Fig. 86.
J. Forssa.nder, 'Provinzial Romisches and Germanisohes', Meddelanden fr&n
Lurui.8 Universitetete Hi-storiska Museum, vii (1937), Fig. 19.
213
THE ROMANO-BRITISH BUILDINGS, SNODLAND
be traces of mortar whioh would suggest re-use of the quern for building
purposes which may account for its preservation.
It is an upper stone with a plain upper surface and a grooved,
concave lower surface. There is a trace of one recess for a rynd on the
lower surface which does not penetrate right through and although
the shape is not clear it is probably dovetail. No hole for a handle
socket survives on the existing fragment and there is no sign of a
hopper in the upper surface of the stone. Dimensions are as follows:
External diameter c. 29 inches
Thickness at outer edge 2½ inches
Thickness at inner edge 2 inches
Angle of grinding surface c. 10°
Angle of grooves. . c. 10°
Dating of this stone cannot be precise. It is certainly not very
early since it is not thick enough and it has too large a diameter. It
cannot be very late as it is too thick and the angle of the grinding
surface is too great. The stone thus probably dates from between
.A.D. 150 and 250.
In the absence of the lower stone it is not possible to be certain
how the stone was driven but it could have been mechanical.
APPENDIX V
THE SM.ALL Fnms
(Fig. 5)
Reported on by E. W. Tn.LEY, Esq.
Description
1. Fragment of shale bracelet.
of. Arch. Oant., lxxi (1957),
p. 87, Fig. 18, 3 (Springhead).
2. Fragment of bone pin with
spherical head. Not illustrated.
3. Fragment of bone pin (2 ·7 in.).
Not illustrated.
4. Small glass bead.
214
Position
Disturbed building debris near
'Apse'.
Foundation trench to 'Apse'
wall.
Under Period 2 tessellated floor.
Under Period 3 tessellated floor,
in corridor.
a
?
p.. .,
\\\\\\\\\\\')
i ...i I
If>,.
I
f I
.......... ,, ... ,
'
,
... __ --------· .,,. ,,,.
0)
CTNV'ICTONS 'SONICT'II.O.S: HSLLnrn·O.NV:w:0'8: :nLL
THE ROMANO-BRITISH BUILDINGS, $NODLAND
5. Iron key-handle with ornamental
bronze head. of.
J. P. Bushe-Fox, Excavations
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