ROCHESTER EAST GATE, 1969*
By A. C. HARRISON, B.A., F.S.A.
INTRODUCTION
IN 1969 it was learned that the area of nos. 108 -122 High Street
(N.G.R. TQ 744684) was to be cleared of buildings and converted into
a car park. As the city wall was known to run through the site and it
was thought probable that part of the East Gate itself might be found,
an excavation was carried out between 11th August and 9th September
by permission of the Rochester City Council, the landowners. Much
help from the Town Clerk and City Surveyor of Rochester is gratefully
acknowledged. As the time available for the excavation was limited,
it was necessary to begin when the demohtion of the premises was less
than half completed and, in this connection, I must express my
appreciation of the co-operation afforded by the demohtion contractors,
Messrs. Bennett Bros., of Gillingham. Financial assistance was provided
by the then Mimstry of Pubhc Building and Works (now the Department
of the Environment). The work of the excavation was carried out
by members of the Lower Medway Archseological Research Group,
by the pupils of Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School and the
Rochester Grammar School for Girls, whose hard work made this
excavation possible.
The following year the demohtion of the Mathematical School on
the opposite side of the High Street made possible a limited amount
of investigation, here also again by Mnd permission of the City authorities,
and the results of these excavations are included in this paper.
THE EXCAVATIONS
1. Western Area
(a) Roman. As the central area had been destroyed, archseologically
speaking, by a deep modern basement, and as the eastern part
of the site was not yet cleared, excavation was begun at the west end,
where it was thought remains of early habitation might be expected.
This hope was disappointed as, except for an area of flint and ragstone
cobbling found in Trench 6 at a depth of 5 ft. 6 in. to the south of the
cellar of no. 110, no trace of any sort of building was found. It is
perhaps possible to interpret this cobbling as a yard belonging to a
* The Department of the Environment contributed to the cost of printing
this paper.
121
A. C. HARRISON
building facing the High Street and destroyed by the digging of the
cellar, but, if so, it must have been one of hght construction as no
trace of foundations was found.
The earhest features were the two small gullies, R.10 and R.ll, and
the ditch, R.12, into which the latter gully ran. These all contained
pottery of the first century A.D. and were presumably for drainage.
During the second century the whole of the area was extensively used
for rubbish disposal and pits dug for this purpose were numerous. Over
the southern part of the area these pits were sealed at an average depth
of 4 ft. 6 in. from the present surface by a layer of yellow subsoil of a
thickness which varied from 15 in. to 3 in. and which became thinner
towards the north, disappearing at a point about 65 ft. from the High
Street. This was clearly the result of an extensive excavation nearby
and is interpreted as trampled up-cast either from the Phase I ditch,
which hes about 80 ft. to the south, or from the construction of the
Phase II wall and wall-bank which are even closer. The latter hypothesis
is preferred in view of the pottery from this layer which included colourcoated,
Rhenish, red-ware and flanged bowls suggestive of a thirdcentury
date. This dating is supported by a coin of Tetricus (270-273),
from the same layer. This might be an indication that the Phase II
wall was built rather later than hitherto supposed,1 but this evidence
is not conclusive because the layer is a thin one and the coin not
therefore strictly sealed. The later Roman period is represented only
by a layer of brown 'top-soil' containing a mixture of third- and fourthcentury
sherds and by a pit (R.13) of third-century date. It would
./ppear, therefore, that the south-eastern corner of the Roman town
remained unoccupied, possibly because it was thought desirable to
keep a strip immediately inside the walls clear of houses.
(b) Medieval. The main feature, the precinct wall of the Priory,
was found, as expected, running roughly parallel to the High Street,
at a depth of 3 ft. 3 in. from the present surface in Trench 5. This wall,
the construction of which was authorized by Edward III in 1345, had
previously been traced in 1887,2 at a point opposite the choir of the
Cathedral, when some 85 ft. of it were uncovered. There it was recorded
as being 15 ft. from the High Street but here its northern edge was
52 ft. from the pavement. Only the foundation remained, composed
of chalk and rubble in a soft light-brown mortar and this was 5 ft. wide
and 4 ft. 8 in. deep on the north side, rather less on the south. Fortunately,
it was possible also to locate the junction of this wall with the
east wall of the city, which occurred at a point 56 ft. from the edge of
the present pavement in Trench 8. Here the foundation was at a considerably
higher level, owing to the Roman wall-bank which had not
1 Arch. Cant., Ixxxiii (1968), 76.
2 Arch. Cant., xviii (1889), 201.
122
mDar t
• e n
Rip Trench 7
. „ .Post-holes
r* ^ '~?:i r
Trench 1 V-K2 ^
ROCHESTER 1969 1 \T/ Ki l n /. £^^ •.^.. R l &- •7 /<5T Trlench 2
Ik'* I
. 1 L
Trench3 ! | Trench 4 1
Fig. 1.
Trench
I Trench 5
Trench 9
1225 Bitch-*
Romam Ditch I Trench 6
iCfcllar
IIJ&U4
Cellar
RI5K
No. 122
EAST GATE
HIGH STREET
Rampart\
Trench 10 F e e t Me t r e s
Fio. 1.
\face p. 123
ROCHESTER EAST GATE, 1969
been cut through, and had been much damaged, but it was possible to
trace its south edge for 6 ft. to the west. It was thus possible to plot
the course ofthis wall over the whole of the area (Fig. 1).
About 30 ft. to the south of the precinct wall in the area which,
from the wording of the 1345 charter, is known to have formed part
of the monks' garden, was a hne of substantial post-holes of early
medieval date (Trench 1). In front of these, and, very possibly, to be
connected with them, were two kilns for the manufacture of clay loomweights,
one of which, Kiln A, clearly represented an unsuccessful
firing as the batch of about 40 weights was in situ (Fig. 2, and PI. I).
This kiln was intact, but Kiln B in Trench 3 had been empty when it
was partially destroyed by a later pit. As it would appear that this is
the first time a site for manufacturing these weights has been recorded,
it has seemed worthwhile to give a fairly detailed description.3 The
design was extremely simple, consisting merely of a trench 7 ft. by
3 ft. 6 in. and 2 ft. deep cut into the soil and lined with clay. This lining
was quite thin in A but in B, which had been used and re-lined at least
three times, it was several inches thick and incorporated four 'waster'
weights as well as some very useful pottery. The trench had then
been filled with a mixture of fuel and weights and fired from the south
end. It is not quite certain whether the trenches were roofed over,
though numerous fragments of daub recovered from the area suggest
that this was so. Alternatively, it is possible that the trenches were
left open until the fire was well alight and were then banked up with
clay to slow down combustion as in primitive pottery manufacture.
A date of c. 1100 A.D. is suggested for the kilns (see Fig. 14 and p. 144,
below). Six rubbish-pits (Ml-6), some of considerable size, were found
in the area.
2. Eastern Area
(a) Roman. The opportunity was taken to out a long section
(Trench 7) through the earth-works inside the Roman city wall, parts
of which survive here to a considerable height as a result of having
been incorporated in the seventeenth-century building now demohshed.
While the general picture (Fig. 3, PI. II) was much the same as from
previous excavations inside the wall4 it was more complete and there
3 Two rows of Saxon loom-weights, numbering 30 and 32 respectively and
nearly 10 ft. in length, were found at Grimstone End, Pakenham, Suffolk, and
were interpreted by the excavator as being piled ready for firing rather than as
having fallen from a loom, because in his view the width was too great for a shuttle
to have been used. This argument, however, is invalid as shuttles were not usually
employed with the warp-weighted loom, and it seems more likely that these
weights did in fact comprise a wide loom. (See N. Smedley, G. M. Knooker,
S. E. West and B. J. W. Brown, 'Excavations at Grimstone End, Pakenham',
Proc. Suffolk Inst. Arch., xxvi (1954), 198-9, pi. xxiv.)
4 Arch. Cant., Ixxxiii (1968), figs. 4 and 6.
123
A. C. HARRISON
ROCHESTER 1969
Kiln A
Plan B 3
Black Earth
_fi
oo t
Black Earth
Arm
PIG. 2. Scale: 1 in. = 2 ft.
were some additional points of interest. The profile of the Phase I
rampart was here nearly complete except in front where it had been
cut away to make room for the building of the wall. It comprised a
sloping bank of subsoil with the same revetment of laminated clay in
front which has been observed elsewhere,5 6 ft. 3 in. high at its highest
remaining point and 23 ft. 6 in. in length. Owing to its having been cut
away in front there were no post-holes remaining from the palisade
which it seems reasonable to assume was there. This rampart had been
enclosed in the bank of earth piled up inside the wall after it was
completed. Neither the original height nor the length of this wall-bank
could be determmed, but from the angle of the tip-lines its length
cannot have been less than 40 feet. Pottery from both the wall-bank
and the Phase I rampart was scarce but the contents of the two rubbish
pits (R.17 and R.18) sealed beneath the latter confirm the suggested
late second-century date for Phase I. The wall, as elsewhere, stood on a
5 Ibid., 57 and 62.
124
ROCHESTER 1969
i l i : I l « £ « W «
F i g .3
FEE T
FIG. 3. Trench 7 across Phase I Rampart and Wall-bank.
(1) Modern concrete floor. (2) Modem drain. (3) Brown earth with lumps of clay. (4) Modem wall trench. (5) Repair-trench filled with loose brown soil (fi\ Rlnn Mn^
(7) Brown earth with chalk lumps. (8) Mortar scatter. (9) Black sooty earth. (10) Gravel and clay. (11) Trampled clay with traces of mortar 121 Y B IW
sandy subsoil. (13) Blue clay laminated with sand. (14) Brown clay and flints. (15) Discoloured sand. (16) Yellow brick-earth. (17) Hole left bv decavfid Wm
(18) Black ash. (19) Dark-grey topsoil. (20) Discoloured brick-earth. (21) Stones and brown earth. (22) Brown earth. (23) Black sooty earth (241 Yellow \7 lT
earth seal of pits. (25) Greyearth.(26)aay.(27)Discolouredbrick-earth. (28) Clean brick-earth subsoU. (29) Chalk. (30) Yellow sand. (31) Grey (Occupation material"
(32) Discoloured clay. (33) Grey occupation material.
[face p. 124
ROCHESTER 1969
Fig.4
ME TRES
Fio. 4. Trench 9, Ditch Section.
ROCHESTER 1969
' \' \f 1 r \r \f yy y y y i
High Street
Roman Ditch
Fio. 5.
J 4 X X S
(Construction Trench '
1225 Ditch
^^Ullllt
n Ditch
11
Wir,*
adern Pit
[face p. 125
ROCHESTER EAST GATE, 1969
concrete raft, 15 in. thick, which rested upon a foundation trench
2 ft. 1 in. deep filled with layers of rammed flints. The wall itself
sloped at a slight angle as far as its first offset, which occurred at
3 ft. 9 in., and for a further 9 in. above it. At this point, there was
clear evidence that the wall had coUapsed and been rebuilt. After a
thick layer of mortar, the character of the masonry changed, the joints
being no longer finished flush with the stones, and the wall-face became
vertical. Furthermore, as shown in the section, the wall-bank had had
to be dug back in order to make the stump of the damaged wall accessible
for repairs. This horizontal break in the wall was traced for 66 ft.
to the north and may well have extended to the East Gate. The cause
of the collapse is conjectural, but it seems possible that it was due to
the wall being set too close to the edge of the Phase I ditch. The few
scraps of pottery recovered from the fill of the repair-trench were
suggestive of the first half of the third century, but the date may well
have been later.
Outside the waU the Phase I ditch was sectioned in three places.
Of these the two nearest the Gate had been truncated by the cellar of
no. 122 High Street but, the one furthest south in Trench 9, gave a
complete profile of the west side of the ditch (Fig. 4 and PI. Ill) which
had originally been approximately 17 ft. wide and 8 ft. deep. As elsewhere,
6 this had been back-filled with material cut away from the Phase I
rampart. There was, however, a deposit of silt nearly 2 ft. in depth at
the bottom and pottery from this (Fig. 4) also suggests that the ditch
was open during the last years of the second century or the early years
of the third. It should be mentioned that the ditch continued to the
north under the existing pavement and that no trace was found of the
Roman East Gate or roadway.
The outer face of the Roman city wall was exposed in Trench 9.
Although part of the facing had been robbed and replaced by brickwork,
enough remained to show that the lowest courses consisted of
blocks of ragstone much more massive than the squared ashlar used
higher up (PI. IV). This fact is important for the interpretation of the
stretch of the east wall on the north side of the High Street which is
discussed below (p. 128).
(b) Medieval. In the south-east corner of Trench 9 the edge of the
1225 A.D. ditch7 was found cutting into the filling of the Roman ditch
mentioned above. The section-drawing (Fig. 4) shows this relationship.
The sloping surface of the ditch had been cut into shallow steps, presumably
to facihtate the removal of spoil during its construction. In
the cellar of no. 122 High Street (Fig. 5) the earhest architectural
feature was a foundation of rammed chalk projecting nearly at right-
0 Ibid., 60, 62.
' Arch. Cant., xxi (1896), 51, and xxiv (1900), 12-15.
125
A. C. HARRISON"
angles from the line of the city wall. This was 2 ft. thick, 5 ft. 6 in. wide
and extended for more than 21 ft. to the east. It did not produce any
dating evidence but is thought to have been the foundation of an early
medieval Gate House of rectangular shape. Against this had been
abutted a very solidly constructed masonry foundation of flint and
ragstone set in a pale yellow mortar (PI. V). Its shape was rather more
than a semi-circle, its width 4 ft. 9 in. with a projection 2 ft. 8 in. wide
1 ft. below its top surface and its total depth was 5 ft. 6 in. The
projecting flange, which was certainly of the same build as the rest,
is a curious feature in that there would seem to have been a change of
plan while building was in progress. Starting 1 ft. below the top surface
at the north-west extremity, it was level for several feet on the outside
of the curve but then sloped away rapidly and disappeared just inside
the smaller cellar. On the inside curve the slope began almost immediately
and the flange terminated at about the same point. Yet,
both inside and outside, a trench had been dug wide enough to accommodate
the flange, a trench subsequently filled with clean red gravel.
This foundation, taken in conjunction with the similar curved foundation
described by Canon Livett8 and, until recently, still partly visible on
the opposite side of the High Street (PI. VI), clearly formed part of the
southern drum-tower of the later medieval East Gate, which is shown
with a pointed arch-way between tall flanking towers in Wilham
Smith's drawing of Rochester, dated 1588.9 There was a number of
medieval rubbish-pits (M7-M13) in the vicinity of the Gate and one
of these (M7) was cut by the curved foundation. The pottery from this
nit, therefore, which is of thirteenth-century date (see p. 150, below)
provides a terminus a quo for the building of the tower.
On the small undisturbed area in the centre of the tower foundation
were the remains of a hearth which had clearly been used for iron
smelting, as quantities of iron slag were recovered from its ashes. A coin
of Honorius sealed beneath it makes it improbable that it was Roman,
and it must be earlier than the construction of the drum-tower as it
was cut by the foundation-trench, so an early medieval date seems
probable.
3. Northern Area ,
Roman. As the Phase I ditch had been seen to continue to the
north under the present pavement, it was thought worthwhile to try
to trace it on the other side of the High Street, where it was found to
continue to the north for 18 ft. from the building-line before terminating
(Fig. 5). The silt of the ditch produced late second-century pottery.
The building of the Mathematical School had destroyed all stratification
8 Arch. Cant., xxi (1895), 62 and pi. I I I.
0 Arch. Cant., vi (1866), 64.
126
Photo: R. G. Foord
Plate I. Kiln A, showing Loom-weights in situ.
y
• • • • H B l t l P M M B H I
Photo: R. G. Foord
Plate II. Section through Rampart inside Roman Wall.
•
Photo: A. P. Detsicas
Plate III. Section through Ditch outside Roman Wall.
"SSSS&gS
*«mt7>..•.*»**•.-im-j :jgij
--jifcdSafiSwfc;'-"
-;-^-f«f?*"
..; * J rV
Photo: A. P. Detsicas
Plate IV. Outside Roman Wall, showing
massive Foundation Courses.
ROCHESTER EAST GATE, 1969
except for the lowest 5 ft. of the ditch itself, and to investigate the
possibihty that the end of the ditch marked the position of an entrance
through the Phase I defences a small excavation, Trench 10, was made
inside the wall (Fig. 5). The Phase I rampart, however, was found to
continue unbroken, as did the Phase II wall, though here reduced to its
foundation courses. (The implications of this are discussed below.)
Sealed beneath the rampart was a layer of burnt material with a
considerable quantity of iron slag and late second-century pottery.
The City Wall. From the East Gate to the drum-tower at the
north-east angle the wall of the city is well preserved. All that is now
visible is of one period of building, and it is thought to be of fourteenthcentury
date, but it clearly foUows the line of the Roman wall now
revealed to the south of the High Street. A curve in the wall near to
the corner indicates that its Roman predecessor ended in a rounded
corner similar to the south-eastern corner visible in Eagle Court. Below
ground, it has been the subject of a number of small excavations
(Fig. 6 A, B, C, D, E, F) between 1960 and 1971, all of which have
presented the same general picture. Trench F (Fig. 7) which was dug
in I96010 is worth illustrating as typifying the others, though in the
trenches nearest to the East Gate all stratification had been destroyed.
Clean brick-earth was reached at a depth of 10 ft., overlaid by a patch
of cobbling, the western margin of which ran roughly parallel with the
wall and about 12 in. from it. Pottery from the make up ofthis cobbling
is Roman, dating from the latter part of the second century, and it
was covered by a layer of sterile green clay, containing small pieces of
carbonized twigs. Through this clay had been dug the foundation-trench
of the earliest wall, 2 ft. 4 in. in depth and filled with layers of rammed
flints set in a blue-green clay, similar to that used to revet the Phase I
rampart. A spread of mortar droppings and small pieces of ragstone
ran up to the foot of the wall, overlaying the clay. The wall was faced
with blocks of roughly squared ragstone set in a hard brown mortar. The
lowest course was offset by 6 in. to form a plinth 8 in. deep and three
courses remained above this (22 in. in all). The whole structure was
tilted outwards indicating that the wall had collapsed at this point.
A layer of dark earth containing pottery of thirteenth- or early
fourteenth-century date lay against this earliest wall and, presumably,
marked the ground level from which rebuilding took place, though no
mortar-scatter had survived, presumably because, when the ditch
was filled in in the seventeenth century, its edge was dug away. (This
suggestion is strengthened by the fact that the mortar of the wall
showed weathering for 4 ft. below the present ground level, indicating
that the hp of the medieval ditch reached this point.) Above this layer
10 Trenches A and C were dug in collaboration with Mr. 0. R. Plight, B.A.,
of. Arch. Cant., lxxvi (1961), Ixxiii.
127
18
A. C. HARRISON
there were no stratified deposits. On the stump of the earher wall had
been built 6 ft. of unfaced and rough rubble walling with a shght batter.
The material was largely rubble from the collapsed wall with the hard
brown mortar still adhering to it and contrasting strongly with the
soft white mortar in which it was reset. The faced medieval wall rested
on this rubble walling and was set back 6 in. from it. Trench E was
similar in all respects except that there were mortar-droppings adhering
to the stump of the first wall. In Trench D, the Roman levels had been
entirely dug away, but six courses survived to a total height of 4 ft. 6 in.,
with only one course of the rubble-walling required before the
faced wall above. In Cuttings A, B and C there was no stratification,
and the rubble walling was absent, the faced wall resting directly upon
the top of the first wall, here surviving for seven courses. The identification
of the earher wall with the Roman city wall would have seemed
obvious but for one fact. The masonry seemed to differ in character from
that of the south-eastern corner, long recognized as Roman: the stones
were larger and more irregular and the coursing less exact. However, the
discovery in 1971 that the lower courses of the south-eastern wall
were of the same character (PI. IV) has removed the difficulty, and it
is now evident that the whole of the medieval wall between the East
Gate and the north-eastern corner stands upon the lower courses of the
Roman wall with the drum-tower taking the place of the original
rounded corner.
The medieval wall is 7 ft. wide and 20 ft. high to the foot-walk, with
the external facing of the coursed ragstone and dressed flint intact.
The put-log holes are well preserved at intervals of 12 ft. horizontally
and 4 ft. verticaUy. The internal facing, however, is destroyed or m odern.
A considerable length of the crenellated parapet remains with seven of
the original embrasures and one side and the sill of an eighth. The
parapet is 5 ft. 6 in. high and 2 ft. thick, with a triangular-sectioned
coping 1 ft. 6 in. high of two courses of ragstone ashlar; the embrasures,
spaced at intervals of 12 ft., are 2 ft. wide with ashlar quoins and ashlar
sills, chamfered on both edges, 3 ft. above the foot-walk.
The drum-tower at the north-east angle is of one build with the
wall and, in its present state, of the same height, the foot-walk being
continued around the top of the tower; originally, it was at least one
storey higher (Fig. 8, and PL VII). Entry into the tower was by a
doorway on the south-western side and the fact that this doorway is
only a few inches below the present ground level suggests that there
was an internal wall-bank. The doorway has a two-centred arch,
rebated internally and with a double chamfer externally (PL VIII).
The left-hand jamb is original, but the right-hand has been patched.
To the right of the doorway is a small square-headed window, blocked
within the last few years. Through the doorway is a small vaulted
128
PLATES V AND VI
:
Photo: A. P. Detsicas
Plate V. Cellar of 110 High Street, showing (1) Roman Ditch; (2) Chalk Foundation;
(3) southern Drum-tower of Gatehouse.
Plate VI. East Gate: Northern Drum Tower.
[face p. 128
Photo: A. P. Detsicas
Plate VII. North-eastern Corner Turret. Plate VIII.
i ' *"•' -'•':-.-:•. ' -**
Photo: A. P. Detsicas
Doorway of Comer Turret.
9
\
n FT? m 11111ii111n ROCHESTER 1969
Faced Wail -
H«* B! '• j
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^ J # r
%
I w
1 7 \4xWws W M^>-
Fio. 12. Mortaria (£).
33. Greyish cream fabric with white flint grit. Kent or Colchester
c. A.D. 100-150.
34. In fairly smooth, fine-textui'ed brownish cream fabric; there
are no trituration grits and may never have been any. It was made in
Kent or Colchester after c. A.D. 160.
35. Drab, greenish cream fabric with white and grey flint trituration
grit. Made in Kent or at Colchester c. A.D. 100-150.
138
ROCHESTER EAST GATE, 1969
36. Cream fabric; no grits on this piece. Origin uncertain but Kent
is most probable. Probably second century.
37. Yellowish cream fabric; greyish and transparent grits. Kent or
Colchester, c. A.D. 100-150.
38. In soft, fine-textured, yeUowish cream fabric with black and
white flint grits. Colchester or Kent. Probably late-second or earlythird
century in date.
39. Cream fabric with thick brownish core; flint trituration grit.
Made in Kent or at Colchester; perhaps before A.D. 150.
40. In fine textured cream fabric; there has never been much
trituration grit but a very few transparent, white and grey grits can
be seen. There is an incomplete stamp of a potter whose stamps read
TMH, when complete. These letters presumably represent tria nomina.
He used two differing fabrics which point to activity at (i) Colchester
or just possibly Kent (Fabric A), and (ii) potteries in the Verulamium
region (Fabric B), this example being in Fabric A. Stamps on these
fabrics are now recorded as follows:
A. Colchester (2); Eochester (2); Verulamium.
B. London (2); Verulamium (4); West Wickham (Fox Hill),
Kent.
One stamp from Colchester was in a deposit containing Flavian and
very early second-century material {Trans. Essex A.S., 3rd series, 1,
p. 16, no. 7), and one from Verulamium was in a deposit dated A.D. 115-
130. (S. S. Frere, Verulamium, I, p. 379, no. 39.) He would best fit
a date of c. A.D. 110-145. It is highly probable that his activity at
Colchester was the earher.
41. In fine-textured cream fabric with grey and white flint, redbrown,
and transparent grit. The incomplete stamp is from the same
die as no. 40.
(hi) Samian Ware (Fig. 13)
By A. P. DETSICAS, M.A., F.S.A.
As in the case of the coarse pottery, the majority of the samian
ware derived either from pits or disturbed layers, with a few sherds
securely stratified in their appropriate contexts. The largest proportion
of the sherds was of Central Gauhsh origin, with South Gaulish factories
represented by a larger number of sherds than East Gauhsh ware.
(a) Plain forms. The assemblage comprised most of the forms of
plain samian current in the late first century A.D. and continuing to
the close of the second century; it included the following stamped
vessels: (i) PEC( ), with the first two letters ligatured and the P
139
A. C. HARRISON
P §
OOOO
<^s>
3
% ffoo
1I !1IiI I I
oooooooo 10
8 A72D
Fia. 13. Samian Ware (J).
facing backward, the stamp of the potter PECVLIAEIS, on Form 33;
(ii) SECVN( ) on Form 33, of the Central Gauhsh potter SECVNDINVS;
(iii) MAMMI, on Form 33, of the Central Gaulish potter
MAMMIVS, working in the Antonine period; (iv) SVOBNEDOF, of
SVOBNEDVS, on Form 33; (v) ( )BEILLVS, on Form 33, of the
potter GABEILLVS; and (vi) MATEENTN, of the late-Antonine
potter MATEENINVS, on Form 33.
(b) Decorated forms. The decorated vessels were exclusively of
Forms 29 or 37: Form 30 was entirely absent. The greatest number of
them were too fragmentary to require iUustration or were represented
by remnants of ovolos alone.
1. Form 37. Central Gauhsh, in the style of SACEE, with his
ovolo no. 4 (J. A. Stanfield and Grace Simpson, Central Gaulish Potters,
Oxford, 1958, fig. 22, p. 163; hereafter abbreviated to CGP), over a
140
ROCHESTER EAST GATE, 1969
bead-row border and one poorly-impressed figure-type, Bear to right
(D.808 = 0.1588). Date: c. A.D. 125-150.
2. Form 37. Central Gaulish, in very poor condition and maldng
positive attribution to the style of any potter almost impossible. The
one certain figure-type, Bird to right (D.1038 = 0.2315), was used by
BVTEIO, CINNAMVS and PAVLLVS.
3. Form 37. Central Gauhsh, in the style of CINNAMVS {CGP,
fig. 47, p. 267); his detail no 5, impressed twice in a narrow panel,
and two certain figure-types, Hare to left (D.950A = 0.2116), as on
a signed sherd from Corbridge {CGP, pi. 158/16), and Marine Monster
to left (D.29 = 0.42), as on a signed sherd from London {CGP,
pi. 157/4). Date: c. A.D. 140-190.
4 and 5. Form 37. Central Gauhsh, in the style of PVGNVS (CGP,
fig. 45, p. 259). Several sherds from this bowl were recovered and
show a decoration of panels and medaUions, divided by bead-row
borders. No. 4 shows his detail no. 6, and three figure-types, from left
to right: Goat (D.889 = 0.1836), Lion to left (0.1474), and Bird to
right (similar but smaUer than D.1001 = 0.2197); no. 5 shows this
potter's ovolo no. 3, over the usual guide-hne and, within a double
medalhon, a wreath of lozenge-shaped beads containing a small
figure-type.
6. Form 37. Central Gauhsh, in the style of DOCILIS/DOCCALVS
{CGP, fig. 24, p. 176), with his details no. 17 and no. 5, forming panels
with a St. Andrew's Cross arrangement. Date: c. A.D. 130-150.
7. Form 29. South Gauhsh, probably in the style of CELADVS
(E. Knorr, Topfer und Fabrihen verzierter Terra-Sigillata des ersten
Jahrhunderts, Stuttgart, 1919, Textbild 5 and Taf. 21B, no. 5; C. F. C.
Hawkes and M. E. Hull, Camulodunum, Oxford, 1947, pi. XXXIII,
nos. 12, 13a and 13b). Neronian.
8. Form 29. South Gauhsh, in the style of SABINVS (cf. Knorr
1919, Taf. 69, no. 16). Flavian.
9. Form 37. Central Gauhsh, with a remnant of the 'bent-tongue'
ovolo (cf. CGP, p. 199 and pi. 109). Second century A.D.
10. Form 37, probably South Gauhsh, with a blurred ovolo whose
tongue ends in a trifid projection reminiscent of several ovolos in use
by South Gauhsh potters; the figure-type is badly squashed but looks
very close to Deer to right (0.1734) used in the South Gauhsh factories.
Sherds were also found with remnants of ovolos of the foUowing
Central Gauhsh potters: Potter X-2 {CGP, fig. 3, p. 7) or QVINTILIANVS
(CGP, fig. 17, p. 145) as a remnant of a wavy-line border
below the ovolo excludes DEVSVS I who also used it; LAXTVCISSA
or CENSOEINVS; SEEWSII {CGP, fig. 39, p. 230).
141
A. C. HARRISON
II. MEDIEVAL (Figs. 14-19)
By P. J. TESTER, F.S.A.
The medieval pottery from the site is here figured and described
in twelve groups according to the archseological contexts in which it
was discovered. Evidence of association must not be pressed too far,
however, for there is undoubtedly a proportion of rubbish-survivals in
some groups and the contents of a particular pit or layer cannot be
accepted uncriticaUy as necessarily representing an instantaneous
sample of the wares and forms in use when the pit was filled. This is
emphasized by the large quantity of Eomano-British rubbish-survivals
occurring at Eochester in almost every medieval pit or other context.
By comparison with material from Kentish sites previously published,
such as Canterbury,24 Dover,25 Eynsford,26 and Strood,27 it
appears that this Eochester pottery covers the twelfth and thirteenth
centuries. This is without prejudice to the possibility that a number of
simple forms might be earher survivals, though I can see nothing
obviously pre-Conquest, nor, on the other hand, necessarily later than
c. 1300.
Cooking-pots predominate—mostly in grey ware containing varying
proportions of crushed shell, the surface of the vessel often being
fired, or burnt in use, to reddish-brown. Unless otherwise stated the
term 'grey ware' is used here to describe the colour of the fabric in
the fracture, whereas the surface of a particular vessel may be uneven,
ranging from red-brown to black. Sandy wares occur in association
but form only a relatively small proportion of the assemblage. Eimforms
appear to develop—as elsewhere—from plain everted types,
persisting through the twelfth century, as exemplified at Dover, with
development of the beaded hp. In the thirteenth century this becomes
increasingly pronounced, culminating in the wide, flat-topped flange
characteristic of c. 1300.
Spouted pitchers and jugs are rare in comparison and there is a
complete lack of recognizable foreign imports—a surprising deficiency
when one considers that not only was Eochester well situated as a
port on the navigable reaches of the Medway but it also lies on the
direct course of the main highway existing from Eoman times between
Dover and London.
24 Arch. Cant., lxviii (1954), 131-4.
26 J.B.A.A., xxx (1967), 110-18.
26 Arch. Cant., lxxxvi'(1971), 149 ff.
« Arch. Journ., cxxii (1966), 126-9.
142
ROCHESTER EAST GATE, 1969
\ T T
J V IO
T
;
7
t
;
13
12
PJT
Fio.. 14. Medieval Pottery. Groups I, II, I I I and IV ($)
143
14
A. C. HARRISON
GROUP I. Associated with Kiln A. This group bears comparison in forms
with material from Canterbury, provisionaUy dated 1100-1150 {Arch.
Cant., lxviii (1954), 131 and 132, fig. 17).
1. Eim, probably of globular cooking pot. Cf. a vessel from Castle
Street, Canterbury, figured in Med. Arch., iii (1959), 32, no. 1. Hard
sandy grey ware.
2. SimUar to the last but darker in colour.
3. Same ware as 1 and 2, with the addition of a very shght amount
of sheU.
4. Sandy ware with smaU amount of sheU. Grey, burnt to reddishbrown
outside.
GROUP II. Associated with Kain B and probably contemporary with
Group I, though no. 6 may be a later intrusion.
5. Cooking pot of grey ware with small amount of shell. Eim
14
26
H5 16 Jl7 '18 "19 20 121 ^ 2 2 ^23
w28
32 # 33 3
24
'28 29 30 *3I
3 3 34 *35 "36
V^F?> 42 J
37 38 39 40
Fia. 16. Medieval Pottery. Group V (£).
144
ROCHESTER EAST GATE, 1969
/
44
46
? 45 47
T 48
T
49
53
T
54
50
1 55
52
Fia. 16. Medieval Pottery. Groups VT and VII (J).
56
.PJT
145
A. C. HARRISON
K fs8
59
^ 6 0
61
63
62 r 65
64
\
/
68
J 69 70 7,7 T 72
73 J 74
7 75
76
Fia. 17. Medieval Pottery. Group VIII (I).
146
ROCHESTER EAST GATE, 1969
D
77
78
•g? w-1 «=> 7 79 i
80
81 7
1
82 / 8 3
84 *
85
7 86
89
r 87
7 88
D
\ r 90
RJT
FIG. 18. Medieval Pottery. Groups IX, X and XI (J).
147
A. C. HARRISON
comparable with Canterbury, 1954 (see above), no. 14. Marks of vertical
finger-tip smoothing on shoulder.
6. Hard grey sandy ware, fired to brown on surface.
7. Grey ware, heavily fiUed with finely crushed shell. Brownish
on outer face. Probably to be equated with Mr. Eigold's early shelly
wares of c. 1100 from Eynsford/Lulhngstone area {Arch. Cant., Ixxxvi
(1971), 151, fig. 12, especiaUy L7).
GROUP III. Pit M3. Eim-forms and ware indicate a twelfth-century
date.
8. Heavy plain rim with particles of coarse sheU. Grey, reddish on
outer face.
9. Shallow cooking pot of grey ware with considerable content of
fine shell.
10. Grey sandy ware with no sheU.
GROUP IV. Pit M5.
11. Same class of vessel as no. 1 above. Dark grey ware with coarse
sheU.
12-13. Identical wares: grey, fired to reddish on surface. Much
coarse sheU. Possibly in same class as the Eynsford Castle twelfthcentury
Phase X(c) ware (Arch. Cant., Ixxxvi (1971), 150).
7
J 92 1 93 f 94
Fia. 19. Medieval Pottery, Group XII (i).
148
PJT
ROCHESTER EAST GATE, 1969
GROUP V. Pit Ml. The material can be separated into stratified
divisions:
(a) 14-17, from lowest part of filling.
(b) 18-24, main fiUing.
(c) 25-26, upper fiUing.
(d) 27-42, stratum covering and extending beyond pit.
14-40. Grey sheUy wares, except 34 which is sandy, and 25. Mostly
simple rims of twelfth-century type but 37 and 38 are matched by
thirteenth-century forms at Eynsford. No. 25 is a spouted pitcher,
dark grey, with vertical impressed strip on body and under spout.
This decoration occurs on a twelfth-century imported pitcher of quite
different ware from Lime Street, London, figured in Med. Arch., iii
(1959), 62. No. 27 is another spouted pitcher of rather sheUy grey ware
with orange surface decorated with scored undulating lines.
41-42. Necks of unglazed jugs in grey sandy ware.
GROUP VI. From a stratum observed to dip into the 1225 ditch.
43. Spouted pitcher of reddish-buff ware, with thin uneven yellow
glaze. Top of spout linked to rim by encirchng band. Handle decorated
with twisted strip. Body encircled by girth-grooves and ornamented
with vertical wavy ribbons. Eestoration of tripod base is conjectural.
This type of vessel is well represented in the Oxford region and at
Southampton, but is rare in Kent. A twelfth-century type but in this
instance evidently surviving into the early part of the century foUowing.
Cf. Antiq. Journ., xxxix (1959), 261, fig. 17; Arch. Cant., lxxvi (1961),
46-7.
44-47. Grey ware fired to reddish-brown on surface, with fine sheU.
No. 46 has wavy hne scored round top of flange.
GROUP VII. Pit M6. Probably first half of thirteenth century. The
necks of the cooking pots tend to be set back, rather than everted as
typical of the twelfth century.
48-56. Grey ware, more or less sheUy, except 54 which is sandy.
No. 52 appears to be the neck of a large jug, and is sandy with very
httle shell.
GROUP VIII. Pit M2.
57-76. An apparent overlapping of simple twelfth-century type rimforms
with more developed examples characteristic of the thirteenth.
Stabbing round the rim occurs (though not exclusively) in the
twelfth century, while forms similar to 72, 74 and 76 appear c. 1200-
1250 at Strood and Eynsford {Arch. Journ., cxxii (196), 1266). All
grey wares with varying degrees of sheU filhng, except 65 which is
149
A. C. HARRISON
grey sandy—probably the neck of a pitcher. No. 68 has undulating
edge to rim and a reddish surface.
GROUP IX. Pit Mil. Probably first half of thirteenth century.
77-79. All grey fabric with some shell.
80. Unglazed jug of reddish ware with shght admixture of shell.
Strap handle with central row of round stabbings. Very slight hp
formed by finger-tip depression inside rim opposite handle—not
shown in drawing.
GROUP X. Pit M8. Thirteenth century.
81 -84. Grey ware with sheU.
85. Neck of unglazed grey-ware jug.
GROUP XI. Pit M12. Thirteenth century.
86-90. Grey ware, usually fired to brown surface, with some shell.
GROUP XII. Pit M7, cut by waU of south tower of East Gate.
91. Fully developed thirteenth-century form of cooking-pot, in
grey ware with shell. Cf. Canterbury, Group IV, Arch. Cant., Ixvih
(1954), 133 and 134, dated second half of thirteenth century.
92. Grey, shelly. Perhaps a survival.
93. Hard grey ware with no shell.
94. Grey ware with small amount of fine shell. Probably a jug.
95. Jug of grey ware with orange slip and uneven greenish glaze.
II. BROOCHES (Fig. 20)
By M. E. HULL, M.A, F.S.A.
1. This, typologically, is probably the earhest ofthis small coUection
of brooches. It is a one-piece brooch with tightly wound spring of
four turns; the leg of the bow appears to have been round in section,
but above the button it is shghtly wider and flattened, forming a very
short head which turns through a sharp angle directly into the spring.
The buttom consists of three transverse ridges.
When the button is close to the head, as here, there is a possibihty
of connection with the Aylesford type, but in its developed form (at
least) that type has a head which expands against the spring, in more
or less trumpet-form, and one of the ridges of the button is usually
shaped as a smaU horn.
Our brooch belongs to a smaU series of smallish, hght brooches,
with unexpanded head and bow of (usually) round section, with the
150
ROCHESTER EAST GATE, 1969
/ J I- k - V
s Ff
I '
© • }
MWX! 8^
i l l 'fife
Si*) « \? "J
-strop
-washer
Fia. 20. Brooches (J); nos. 10, 11, 13 (J); nos. 12, 14 (£).
151
A. C. HARRISON
button either fuU-round, or developed in the front only. The foUowing
are Ulustrated in my forthcoming conspectus of brooches:
0248. Colchester. Head only; the bow is of httle more than round wire;
button of two ridges.
0249. Colchester. Bow only, of round wire, with button of two ridges.
This is set nearly half an inch below the angle of the head, but is
stUl above the middle of the bow.
These two brooches both come from the top of the hill on the
site of Camulodunum, where there had been much erosion; they
were not stratified.
2826. Upper Deal. Complete brooch hke no. 0248; the bow is straight
and continues to a triangular catchplate perforated with four
round holes in a row. Swarling, pi. xv, 16d.
7076. Icklingham. 1865. Ashmolean Museum. As last, but button of
three ridges; bow straight, short; catchplate flat, with one round
hole. As the bow joins the foot there are two slight transverse
grooves on it, and the front edge of the catchplate is crenate, a
feature which also occurs in the Glastonbury type. (Meare, East
ViUage, Gray, pi. xlv, nos. 11 and 14.)
6333. South Ferriby. Hull Museum. The bow is not thickened in front
view, but the head is thickened in side-view; the button has five
ridges, three are right on the angle of the head, and two a little
lower. The foot is missing.
5856. Cirencester. Corinium Museum. B.437. Similar to last, but button
of four ridges, the upper and lower of triangular shape, almost like
smaU horns. Catchplate solid.
9207. Ancaster. Similar, but bow of flat, oval section, and button of
two ridges on front only. Catchplate sohd.
More substantial are the foUowing:
6476. Guilden Morden. Cambridge University Museum. A large brooch,
with button of three ridges, on front only; the bow runs into the
catchplate with a shght reverse curve, and the foot is an open
frame like the true Nauheim brooch. V.C.H. Combs., i, 292, fig. 26,5.
2241. Thirst House Cave. A short, very stout brooch, with button of
four very large ridges; catchplate solid, triangular.
8594. Canterbury. Eoyal Museum. Another short, stout brooch, the
bow very straight, round, with button of four very shallowly
moulded ridges; catchplate sohd.
I t wiU be seen that there is a considerable similarity running
through this series, which is standing somewhere between the
'La Tene III brooch' and the Aylesford type. Though there is
httle evidence for dating in the above hst what there is is all for a
date early in the first century A.D. The two from Upper Deal and
152
ROCHESTER EAST GATE, 1969
GuUden Morden might even be earher. The association with the
east side of the country is noticeable.
2. A Nauheim derivative brooch of yeUowish metal with a leafshaped
bow. The thin bow is decorated in the same pattern as that on
a similar brooch from the Eccles viUa (my no. 9581), except that, in
this case, the punched wavy hne seems to have been made with a single,
round-nosed punch.
This brooch must be pre-Flavian. The three brooches (nos. 2273,
9581 and this, 9616), must be from the same workshop.
The next few brooches are of types which foUow upon the Colchester
type, but are made in two-pieces.
3. A typical example of my Type 92, with short crest imitating the
hook of the Colchester type, and bow with a (usually) flat-topped
central ridge between two cavetto flutings. Spring of eight turns; the
rib on the bow is obhquely hatched; there may have been an attempt
to pierce the catchplate. Date, Claudian to early Flavian.
4. A similar brooch, but the bow is a variant in which the rib on
the bow is a half-round moulding and the crest is suppressed. I can
quote the foUowing parallels:
2004. St. Albans. Verulamium. Brooch no. 24. Found with coins up
to A.D. 71.
1845. Richborough V, no. 20 (and I think also 1846, ibid., no. 21,
which is very obscure).
1703. Richborough I, no. 3, again in poor state.
5904. Franks HaU, Farningham. Found with first-century pottery.
0140. Colchester. Colchester Museum.
2706. London. London Museum. London in Roman Times, fig. 27, 20.
1702. Richborough I, no. 2.
4308. Canterbury. Eoyal Museum.
5. A small example of my Type 93A. The spring of eight turns is
damaged; the short crest is made by two crude notches cut with a file
(this is typical of Type 93). A deep groove extends two-thirds of the
bow, and this is usuaUy cross-hatched, though not in this case. The
slender bow ends in a shght double knob; round hole in catchplate.
There are many parallels in Kent, Essex, St. Albans and East
Anglia, some dated to Flavian levels or later, but these later examples
are probably survivals, for the type does not occur north of Leicester,
and was probably out of use by the time of the Eoman advance into
Yorkshire.
6. This also is of my Type 93, but of group C, in which the crest is
continuous with a rib which may run only part-way down the bow, or
153
A. C. HARRISON
aU the way down. The bow itself is flat, apart from the rib. Otherwise
the detaUs are as in 93A and B, as are the distribution and date.
7. The head only of a similar brooch with short crest and smooth
bow, with neither groove nor rib. This is my Type 93B, and the same
remarks apply as to the last two brooches.
8. A smaU disc-brooch, very corroded. There is a central pit from
which a stud has been lost. The pattern is that of my Type 252C, in
which the main field is enameUed, with a central stud (usually conical),
in the field is a circle of bronze spots and a scalloped circle of bronze
with V- or U-shaped scallops. Part of this circle is preserved on ours,
and traces of blue enamel outside it; the enamel inside has perished,
it usuaUy differed in colour from that outside.
The type is not at all numerous, and while chiefly found in the
south of England, actuaUy extends as far north as Newstead. It is not
yet dated, but should be second century.
9. Brooch in the form of a duck. This is my Type 213A. It is quite
rare, so that a fuU description of it and of the few paraUels is perhaps
justified.
The body is weh-modeUed and hollowed beneath, as shown in the
figure; the eyes retain enamel, but I am not sure of the colour; the
wings are shown as alternate red and blue crescents, and in these the
blue has a thin margin of white, apparently intentionally done, though
I cannot say how. The band down the back has a series of small crescents
which are very difficult to discern, but were perhaps again alternately
red and blue. The pin is hinged and the tail was pierced to attach a
chain.
The paraUels are:
8508. Springhead. Gravesend Museum, with acknowledgements to
Mr. E. W. TUley. A brooch as nearly as possible identical with ours.
4063. Saltersford. Grantham Museum. Eeport 1922-3, fig. 4. I have
this noted as similar to no. 8508, but the enamel red and green.
I have not seen this nor have I been able to check the reference.
4060. Brettenham. Ashmolean Museum. 1927. 382. The general design
is the same as ours, but the wings are of blue and green crescents,
and the band down the back is a lattice-pattern with green enamel.
(This is how I have drawn it, but after the difficulty of discerning
the content of the strip on the back of our brooch I would not be
surprised to learn that I have misapprehended it in this case, and
my 'green' may weU have been red.)
4064. York. Yorkshire Museum. Similar to no. 4060, the lattice seems
to retain traces of red enamel.
4554. Chester. Chester Museum. Of the same general pattern as
154
ROCHESTER EAST GATE, 1969
nos. 4060 and 4064, but the band down the back is blank. Enamel
red and blue. The bronze of this brooch has turned a chalky white.
6026. Housesteads. Newcastle University Museum, P.S.A.N., 4th
series, i (1925), 52. Like nos. 4060 and 4064.
The only evidence here for dating is that no. 6026 could not have
been deposited before about A.D. 120. So far as I know the type is
British and has not been found on the Continent.
The four-figure numbers used above, and references to typenumbers,
are the catalogue-numbers and type-numbers used in my
conspectus of ancient British brooches, which exists at present as two
copies in typescript, one of which is deposited with the Society of
Antiquaries at Burlington House. Pubhcation is in preparation.
III. OTHER FINDS (Fig. 20)
(i) ROMANO-BRITISH
Small finds were not particularly numerous and only two are
thought worth illustrating.
(a) Bone die with numbers one to six. In every respect except size
similar to the one illustrated in Richborough I28 (fig. 20, no. 10).
(b) Bead in transparent green glass. Cf. Richborough IV,28 pi. Iv,
235 (fig. 20, no. 11).
(c) Melon-bead in blue glass paste, cf. Richborough IV,2S pi. Iv,
240.
(d) Three complete plain bone pins, one dyed green to imitate
bronze.
(e) A bronze pin with plain knob.
(f) Bronze finger-ring, with traces of red enamel in the bezel; very
similar to a bronze finger-ring from Nor'nour (Arch. Journ., cxxiv
(1967), fig. 8, no. 6.
(g) Two pairs of bronze tweezers.
(h) Piece of polished red and white marble If in. X I J in. chamfered
on two sides. Probably part of a palette. Cf. London in Roman Times,
London, 1946, p. 82, fig. 20(i).
(h) MEDIEVAL
(a) Loom-weights (PL I and Fig. 20, no. 12). The vertical or warpweighted
loom was used from the earliest times and weights intended
for use -with it have been found in Britain from the Bronze Age onwards.
28 J. P. Bushe-Fox, Excavations at the Soman Fort at Richborough, Kent,
I-IV, Oxford, 1926-49.
155
A, C. HARRISON
It has survived in remote areas of Scandinavia to this day and there
are exceUent illustrations of one in operation on pages 46 and 47 of
Marta Hoffmann's 'The Warp-weighted Loom'.29 It seems to have
continued in common use until the early medieval period when the
horizontal loom with treadles generally took its place. (There is a
representation of a horizontal loom in a stained-glass window of
thirteenth-century date in Chartres Cathedral.30)
The contents of Kiln A consisted of thirty-three bun-shaped clay
weights averaging 3 lb. each, together with 21 lb. of fragments, probably
therefore representing an original batch of forty. They averaged
5-f in. in diameter and the central holes were small, with an average
diameter of 1 in. Each had a groove running from the central hole to
the outer edge to accommodate the looped cord to which the threads
were attached. Clay loom-weights have been dated according to the
size of the central hole—the annular being the earliest and dating from
the seventh century, the intermediate taking its place in the eighth
and the bun-shaped coming into use during the ninth.31 The present
discovery, therefore, with its associated pottery (Groups I and II)
both confirms the late dating of the bun-shaped type and establishes
that it was stUl in use in Eochester during the first half of the twelfth
century.
(b) Equal-armed cross.32 The cross, which is from Pit M2 and was
associated with the pottery of Group VIII, is of iron which had been
given a thin coating of bronze and measures IJ in. X IJ in., with a
central countersunk hole and a flange at the end of one arm pierced
by an iron rivet (Fig. 20, no. 13(a)). While no exact parallel has been
found, it has similarities with the cruciform harness fittings used for
the attachment of heraldic pendants or bells to the horses' peytrel or
to the brow-strap.33 It is suggested, therefore, that the cross was
secured to a strap of equal width by a pin passing through the central
hole and secured by a washer at the back of the strap. The projecting
flange would thus overlap the edge of the strap and prevent the fitting
from rotating. The iron rivet through the flange secured an iron ring
(traces of which remain), from which the heraldic pendant or bell was
suspended. Fig. 20, no. 13(b) shows how this could have been done.
It seems very probable that the saltire decoration can be referred to
St. Andrew's Priory and that the central pin bore a scaUop shell to
20 Studia Norwegica, no. 14, Universitetsforlaget, 1964.
80 P. Brandt, Schaffende Arbeit u. bildende Kunst, Leipzig, 1927,1, fig. 441.
81 C.B.A. Research Report 4, G. C. Dunning, J. G. Hurst, J. N. L. Myres and
F. Tisohler, Anglo-Saxon Pottery: A Symposium, London, 1969, 23-5.
32 For the suggestions made in this note, I am greatly indebted to Mr, P. J.
Tester, F.S.A.
83 Medieval Catalogue, London Museum Catalogues: No. 7, London, 1954,
119, fig. 39.
156
ROCHESTER EAST GATE, 1969
complete the crest. I t is not unreasonable, therefore, to suggest that the
Eochester monks, hke Chaucer's, had bells upon their harness:
'And whan he rood men mighte his brydel heere
Gynglen in a whistlynge wynd as cleere,
And eek as loude, as dooth the chapel-belle.'3*
(c) Iron spearhead (Fig. 20, no. 14). This is from the lowest layer
of Pit Ml, and is associated with the pottery of Group V (a). A twelfthcentury
date seems hkely, therefore, and this is supported by its
similarity to the one shown on pi. xvi, no. 5, in Medieval Catalogue,
H.M.S.O. London, 1954, which is ascribed to 'the earher Middle Ages'.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Many volunteers took part in the work; space considerations alone
prevent me from mentioning aU of them individually. From the
Eochester Girls' Grammar School, Diana GiUespy, Vivien Harris,
Nicola Mayhew, Claire Smith, Jean Stacey and Gail Taylor, and from
the Mathematical School, Eaymond Boast, Stewart Hart, Alan Sears,
Stephen Skinner and Peter Thomas gave sustained support, while the
work of my two site supervisors, E. W. Chapman, B.A., and E. Lowson,
B.A., was beyond praise. I am most grateful also to Messrs. I. J. Bissett
and L. B. Bernthall for drawing the pottery and small finds; to Mr. E . G.
Foord for much of the photography; to Mr. T. Ithell, B.Eng., for much
help with the surveying; to Mrs. K. F. Hartley, B.A., F.S.A., for
reporting on the mortaria; and to Mr. M. E. Hull, M.A., F.S.A., for
reporting on the brooches. Above all, and not for the first time, I must
record my appreciation of aU the help given to me by Mr. A. P. Detsicas,
M.A., F.S.A., and Mr. P. J. Tester, F.S.A., whose invaluable aid extends
far beyond those sections of this paper which bear their names.
31 Chaucer, The Prologue to the Canterbury Tales, 11, 169-71.
157