Kent International Business Park, Manston: Excavations and Evaluations 1994-1997, Report 1
KENT INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS PARK,
MANSTON: EXCAVATIONS AND
EVALUATIONS 1994-1997, REPORT 1
D.R.J. PERKINS, E. BOAST, T. WILSON,
AND N. MACPHERSON-GRANT
INTRODUCTION
It is about two hundred years since Thanet's village communities of
'fishermen with ploughs' found themselves engulfed by burgeoning
towns, resulting from a new custom, the sea-side holiday. Sequential
products of this was further urban developments as 'commuter dormitory',
and 'retirement dreamland'. For the indigenous community the
consequence was unemployment, at first slight and seasonal, then
grossly endemic. During the twentieth century the percentage of
Thanet's labour pool unemployed has seldom fallen below those for
Britain's worst black-spots. Combating this iniquitous tradition
required dramatic measures, so that, albeit sadly, the local authority
decided to sacrifice large tracts of Thanet's highly productive farmland
to the construction of industrial estates.
The first to be proposed in the early 1990s was 'Kent International
Business Park', at Manston, a development covering 70.82 ha. (175
acres). Originally the concept of Wiggins Group pic, the development
was soon espoused by Thanet District Council and Kent County
Council, and received support from the European Community. Any
development on this scale would be likely to have archaeological
implications, especially in Thanet where the average density of
known sites is 8.9 per square kilometre (23.0 per square mile). For
this reason, a programme of archaeological work was specified by the
County Archaeologist Dr John Williams, and was undertaken by the
Trust for Thanet Archaeology. The work was carried out in three
phases; Phase 1, 1994, evaluation by trenching; Phase 2, 1996,
evaluation and excavations; Phase 3, 1997, planned excavations. Of
the total designated business park area of 70.82 ha. (175 acres),
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D.R.J. PERKINS, E. BOAST, T. WILSON & N. MACPHERSON-GRANT
49.455 ha. (122 acres) has been evaluated, and three archaeological
sites examined by excavation.
The archaeological evaluations and excavations described in this
paper constitute a landscape study on a scale rarely seen in Kent, and
one augmented by archaeological work carried out nearby at the same
time (1994) on the A253 (Bennett and Williams 1997). The evaluation
has particular value in that the first 12 h. (30 acres) to be examined
were obscured either by deep soil or periglacial features, so that
crop-marks would not form, or could not be seen. Since large areas of
east Kent share these geological conditions, the evaluation provides
control data for future assessment. Similarly, the morphology of the
three sites investigated provides new criteria for use in aerial
landscape study. Site 18 proved to be a pre-Conquest Belgic settlement
exhibiting little or no trace of Roman influence. The study of its
ceramic assemblage will be of considerable value to Kentish
archaeology. While currently under way, its anticipated size precludes
incorporation herein.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks are due to Wiggins Group pic who funded the archaeological
work, also to their advisers to the Conspectus Partnership, Thanet
District Council, Kent County Council and the landowner Mr
Robertson, all of whom afforded the utmost co-operation. Not least
though, the writer would like to thank the members of the Thanet
Archaeological Trust evaluation team led by George Slade for their
perseverance and dedication during many weeks of trenching and
excavation work often in appalling weather conditions.
THE SITE: TOPOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY
Kent International Business Park is situated on Thanet's high
downland central plateau at elevations varying between 40 and 50 m.
OD, see Fig. 1 and inset. From the high ridgeline occupied by the
main runway of Manston Aerodrome, the land descends northwards
towards Acol. A shallow valley curves at first north-west and then
north-east through the centre of the site. According to the British
Geological Survey map (Ramsgate, Sheet 274, 1:50,000, Drift
Section) the site geology is that of a valley fill of Younger Brickearth
between rises of the Upper Chalk, in other words typical Quaternary
geology of the Thanet area. The landowner Mr Robertson said that
local oral tradition had the overburden in the field as 'brickearth'
218
KENT INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS PARK, MANSTON 1994-1997
THANET
Site 25
EAST KENT
10 km
Site 26
Site 24
I. : Site 27
Evaluation
Cleve Court Ar e a ^
Alland Grange
0
0 O Site 29
Site 28
Manston Aerodrome
500 m.
Fig. 1. The Kent International Business Park development area and
peripheral archaeology
Inset: The Fig. 1 plan in its Thanet and east Kent setting.
219
D.R.J. PERKINS, E. BOAST, T. WILSON & N. MACPHERSON-GRANT
between 8 feet (2.4 m.) and 22 feet (6.7 m.) deep'. In the event
trenching revealed the geology as more varied, with some Tertiary
strata exposed. Beneath, a modern agricultural topsoil (0.40 m.) and
soil disturbed by deep ploughing (0.20 m.) three typical profiles were:
(A) A surface of the Upper Chalk much disturbed by periglacial
action (ice wedge clefts), with here and there hollows retaining an
horizon of light brown loam;
(B) Clay with flints (or this degraded to a thin layer of flints) over
a red-brown ferruginous layer of sandy silt, the Older Brickearth.
This was sectioned during evaluation (see Fig. 2, 4), and found to be
2.6 m. keep over the chalk. A phenomenon observed in this section
and in other trenches was that the surface of the brickearth layer had
been cut by channels of bowl-shaped section some 3.0 m. wide and
0.75 m. deep. These contained a 'porridge' of 'Coomb Rock'. The
writer interprets these as gullies cut by run-off during glacial
freeze-thaw conditions carrying down material from the chalk ridge
to the south;
(C) A hard fine ochre coloured sandy silt to an unknown depth, the
lower measures of the Thanet Beds.
In general, in the northern half of the site, a west to east profile
expressed in terms of setting out squares would be B-C-A-A-A, while
in the southern half it would be A-B-B-C-C-B-A. Like most of
Thanet's farmland the business park fields have suffered from deep
ploughing, and the evaluation team were told by the ploughman that
the 'subsoiler' used to be set to 24 in. (0.60 m.) on the field.
THE SITE: KNOWN ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY
Peripheral Archaeology
Numbered archaeological remains are as shown in Fig. 1.
Beyond the northern boundary of the business park crop-marks
revealed scattered ring ditches, presumably ploughed-off round
barrows and a complex (Site 25) that could be either a Romano-
British building, or more likely, a medieval manor or farmhouse
within a square ditched enclosure. No name or tradition survives to
support this.
To the east at Cheesmans Farm are several ring ditch cropmarks.
Until recently obliteration by landscaping to create a paddock, an
earthwork known as 'Cheesman's Camp' was visible (Site 26). It was
a sub-rectangular enclosure formed by double parallel ditches with a
causeway entrance. Illicit excavation of the ditch fills by a 'treasure
seeker' in 1987 yielded a quantity of Romano-British pot sherds,
220
Site 22
•S \ ^ Inset: The trench layout in each grid box.
g J 1 Measurements in metres. All trenches 20 x 1.5 m
Site 21
Site 20
Site 13 (not located) Site 23 t
l-f
Site 19
Site 18 -:tSite 14 ;!cS+^i^i-:
1 Features or find spots: Q
vo
Fig. 2. Kent International Business Park, trenching system, sites, features and find spots
D.R.J. PERKINS, E. BOAST, T. WILSON & N. MACPHERSON-GRANT
mostly BB2. Site 27 is a circular crop/soil mark associated with a
bronze hoard (Perkins 1995a).
Adjacent to the business park southern boundary on what is now
Manston Aerodrome an extensive Romano-British iron working site
(Site 28) was recorded by Professor W. F. Grimes in 1944 during
work to extend the Manston runway.
West beyond Cleve Court a crop-mark array suggests a barrow
cemetery and prehistoric ditched field systems (Site/s 29).
On-site archaeological remains and cropmarks
Numbered archaeological remains and cropmarks are as shown in
Fig. 2.
The only remains exposed in the business park area prior to
evaluation were revealed by the passage of a water main along the
southern boundary in 1987. They consisted of patches of a subsoil
horizon containing Belgic and Roman sherds and midden material
(Perkins 1989). Nothing of the sort was seen in the southernmost
trenches of the 1994 evaluation.
No crop-marks appear in the southern 30 acres of the business park.
Factors of the geology over most of that area, deep subsoil and
periglacial action, ensure that crop-marks either cannot develop, or,
masked by ice-wedge crop-markings, could not be seen. Their
absence does not therefore mean that no significant remains are
present, but the paucity of finds and features encountered during
Phase 1 of evaluation in 1994, together with the results of
magnetometer survey, strongly indicates that this is so.
The northern and eastern areas of the business park (58 ha. = 145
acres) have a geology conducive to crop-mark formation, and nine
marks had been recorded by air photography prior to evaluation. The
sources were: Thanet Archaeological Society/Trust annual surveys,
Royal Commission for Historic Buildings and Monuments, Kent
County Council and Thanet District Council, the Potato Marketing
Board, O.G.S. Crawford, and S.G. Robertson (landowner). The
crop-mark sites were:
(i) Ring ditches representing ploughed off round barrows: Sites 13,
20, 21, and 22, see Fig. 2.
(ii) Rectangular/sub-rectangular enclosures: Sites 14, 15 (only
identified in photos after its discovery by trenching), and 18
(iii) Circular enclosure: Site 23, this has a diameter of c. 140 m.
(iv) Site 24: A long dark crop-mark was photographed in the 1930s
by O.G.S. Crawford. The 'father of crop-mark photography' thought
that it might be 'Thunor's Pit' mentioned in the Dark Age legend of
222
KENT INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS PARK, MANSTON 1994-1997
the run of Queen Domneva's hind (Crawford, 1933, Antiquity, vol. 7,
25, 92 and plate 8). It is more likely perhaps to represent the site of a
long barrow.
The site history
Not much is known of this tract of land, although there is some
evidence from place names (Acol O.E. 'The Place of the oaks') and
from John Lewis' History of Thanet (Lewis 1723) that the area was
heavily wooded until after Tudor times. On the other hand evidence
of medieval agriculture in the form of strip lynchets can still be
discerned north of Alland Grange (O.E. 'Old Lands'). When William
Cobbett came here in 1823 on his 'Rural Rides' the whole area was
corn fields without hedgerows (Cobbet 1853).
Manston Aerodrome began its life as a Royal Naval Air Service
flying field in World War I. Later in 1918 it became a Royal Air Force
bomber base. In the inter-war years it was a training camp, and there
is some evidence that part of the business park site on its periphery
may have been used as a bombing range, as a small bomb of the target
marker type was found by the excavation team. In the later part of
World War II, R.A.F. Manston was extended onto the site which
became a dispersal area. Here in 1944 were kept Britain's 'most
secret' aircraft, the Gloster Meteor jet fighters being used against the
VI flying bombs. Afterwards part of the land became orchard, but this
was cleared in the 1950s and has been in arable use since.
EVALUATION: METHODS AND RESULTS
Methods
Evaluation was by machine-cut trench. In all 231 trenches each 20 x
1.75 m. were cut to a pattern recommended by the County
Archaeologist, see Fig. 2. The pattern ensured that no two trenches
were more than 50 m. apart (most less than 25 m apart) and their area
represented sampling at a 2.5 per cent level. The efficacy of this
evaluation system in locating archaeological sites or indicating their
proximity is dealt with in discussion.
Within each trench the subsoil was removed with a toothless bucket
a few centimetres at a time under archaeological scrutiny, excavation
being terminated when an archaeological feature was exposed or a
natural horizon was reached. Occasionally deeper sondages were cut
down to chalk to confirm the interpretation of the deposits as Tertiary
223
D.R.J. PERKINS, E. BOAST, T. WILSON & N. MACPHERSON-GRANT
or Quaternary strata. As trench surfaces were reduced, they were
scanned with a metal detector, as were the sides of the trenches.
Simultaneously with the trenching operation the adjacent ground
surface was field-walked and prospected by metal detector using the
setting out grid of 75 m. squares as a plotting reference. Finally, on
commencement of construction in 1997, the 'infrastructure' routes
for roads and services were field-walked and detected after they had
been stripped of topsoil. It should also be mentioned that selected
areas of the business park were surveyed by magnetometer by Bartlett
Clark Consultancy acting for Wiggins Group pic. This provided
useful information to the evaluation team, particularly as to the
location of Site 18.
Results, surface survey
Over the field surface, field-walking and detecting revealed a light
scatter of finds of all periods from the Neolithic to the modern era. In
general, finds consisted of:
Flints: White patinated debitage with a few scrapers and calcined
flint 'pot-boiler' nodules.
Ceramics: Mostly small worn sherds of local sandy wares in
medieval fabrics, followed by Tudor to modern era materials.
Metallic objects: A miscellany of finds, eighteenth-century to
modern era, the majority components of World Ware II ammunition
for small arms and aircraft machine guns and cannon.
Sites, isolated features and finds located by trenching
The following sites and features are numbered as shown in Fig. 2:
Features 1, 2, 3. These were patches of dark soil in the subsoil
surface, typically round and about 1.0 m. across, and a few centimetres
deep. No datable finds, but calcined flints.
Feature 5. This was a cut in the subsoil surface down to chalk, oval
in plan, 0.80 x 1.00 m. and 0.15 m deep. The sides of the cut had been
exposed to heat such as to bake them into a sub-ceramic. Within this
the loam fill contained charcoal traces and tiny pot fragments, a
possible kiln base?
Feature 6. Here the brickearth surface was cut by two shallow
patches discoloured by ash or organics. On exploration one was
found to contain many hundreds of sea shells (mussels) and sherds of
prehistoric pottery. This was in a flint tempered Late Bronze Age
fabric. Further trenching revealed the feature to be in isolation, but
yielded Belgic and medieval sherds.
224
KENT INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS PARK, MANSTON 1994-1997
Feature 7. This was the base of a small pit surviving plough damage
by being cut into chalk. It was of bowl-shaped profile, 0.60 m. across
and 0.20 m. deep, with a fill of loam. It held several sherds of Late
Bronze Age (Deverel Rimbury) pottery, with others plough-scattered
along the length of the trench. A plough-damaged cremation burial?
Feature/Find 8. A bronze axe fragment was found by metal
detector. At this location the Upper Chalk has an overburden of
topsoil only 0.40 m. in depth. The bronze was found in a bowl-shaped
hollow, possibly natural, about 0.40 m. across and 0.20 m. deep.
Site 13. This from crop mark photography had been predicted to be
the site of a ploughed off round barrow. In the event extensive
trenching at the co-ordinates revealed only some minor features
producing a few flint flakes, and what could be vestigial traces of an
oval plan ditch. A possible explanation is that these are the remains of
a barrow ploughed off since it was recorded by air photography, but
the excavation team have reservations as to this.
Site 14. This large medieval enclosure was easily located and
evaluated by trenching. Its subsequent excavation is described below
in 'Excavations: Site 4/5 Medieval'.
Sites 15 and 16. These were found by trenching in 1994 and
recorded as a length of ditch and a small pit about 30 m. away. Further
evaluation in 1996 revealed them to be features of a large Belgic
enclosure which was part excavated. This will be the subject of a
future report.
Site 17. Part of this was within the business park with the bulk
within the eventual boundaries and subject to future phases of
evaluation. It appears to be a ditched enclosure, see above.
Sections in two places 10 m. apart yielded no finds. See above in
'Known archaeology and history.'
Site 18. This enclosure could not be located by trenching in 1994,
as it had been misplotted from air photos. A search pattern of
trenching in 1996 located it on the western boundary of the
development area, see 'Excavations: Site 18 medieval.'
Site 19. Here trenches exposed two pits and the remains of an urn in
situ. One of the pits was of bowl shaped section, 0.30 m. deep and
about 1.0 m. in diameter, and contained waste flakes. The other was
very shallow and about 3.0 m. in diameter. Its fill of burnt and
ash-darkened soil held sherds and a small shell midden. The urn
fragments and sherds obtained from the midden pit and ploughdamaged
interface were in Late Bronze Age, Deverel Rimbury, fabric.
Sites 20-24 are within the eventual boundaries of the business park
and subject to future phases of evaluation. For descriptions of them
and Site 25 see above in 'Known archaeology and history'.
225
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Fig. 3, Site 4/5. The evaluation area boundaries are contracted by 3 metres to save illustration space.
KENT INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS PARK, MANSTON 1994-1997
EXCAVATIONS: SITE 4 /5, MEDIEVAL
Evaluation results in 1996
Trenching revealed that Site 4 was a ditched enclosure of the
medieval period, and that Site 5 was merely a short right-angled
length of ditch of the same period, perhaps an abandoned commencement
cut, the construction of the enclosure then being for some
reason re-located. The first evaluation phase revealed Site 4 to be
contained within a four-sided polygonal ditched enclosure measuring
roughly 53 m. by 38 m. at its maximum width, see Fig. 3. After the
four corners of the enclosure had been found and the lengths of ditch
between them had been sectioned in 15 places, the interior of the
enclosure was sampled by cutting two trenches across it, see Fig. 3,
A, B. These revealed a number of deep-cut features and surviving
ancient horizons.
The Enclosure Ditch
This presumably defensive boundary ditch had originally been cut
down through a much deeper overburden of brickearth than now
exists. Ditch fills above natural chalk surface level with their
associated ancient land surfaces have been truncated by ploughing
over most of the enclosure area. Evidence for their existence is
retained in the form of truncated flow-lines of chalk and flint nodules
in the ditch section. The surviving chalk cut ditches are characteristically
1.5m wide and 0.70 m deep, of open-U or truncated-V
section.
Two causeway entrances made breaks in the south-eastern and
north-western angles of the enclosure. The first of these was only 1.0
m. wide, and the rounded ends of the ditch were cut down to a depth
of 1.5 m., the south-western termination having a post-hole (Fig. 3,
Feature 19). The width of the north-western entrance could not be
determined, as it coincided with a deep brickearth-filled natural
hollow in the chalk. Because of worm action, the ends of the opposing
and unaligned ditches could not be found with certainty, but the
causeway must have been not less than 3.0 m. wide.
Finds from the ditch section fills were sparse other than in Section 1,
the south-eastern angle. At this point a stratified fill was encountered,
with layers packed with shells, bones , and pot sherds.
The Excavation phase 1997
As a preliminary, topsoil and subsoil disturbed by deep ploughing
227
D.R.J. PERKINS, E. BOAST, T. WILSON & N. MACPHERSON-GRANT
were removed over the whole site and in a band 5 m. wide on all sides.
Preservation of features and ancient horizons was found to be
variable. Over much of the interior ploughing had created a
plough-soil - Upper Chalk interface so that features such as pits and
post-holes were truncated. In two areas however, marked C and D in
Fig. 3 the chalk descended, and these hollows had allowed the
survival of man-made and natural horizons respectively.
That in Area C was a layer of light brown loam modified by human
activity and about 0.30 m. in maximum depth. Sandwiched within
this were at least two twelfth-thirteenth-century occupation layers
with structural remains. To have recorded this complex stratification
would have taken the excavation team rather longer than had been
allowed to deal with the whole enclosure, so that with civil
engineering work about to commence, investigations had to be
limited to the cleaned features, sections and trenching shown in Fig.
3. The Area D horizon was natural, consisting of a fill of bright
orange coarse sand. It had been cut by two features, one prehistoric
and described below, the other, Fig 5, Feature 30, a fragment of
machine-cut slit trench, presumably dating from the 1940s.
Earlier presence on the site
?Neolithic - Early Bronze Age
Residual evidence consist of waste flint flakes and hammer stones
recovered from ditch fills. Three site features cannot be definitely
dated, but seem likely to be prehistoric, they are: Feature 29, a ditch or
palisade trench that passes through the south-east corner of the
enclosure with its fill cut by two angles of the medieval ditch. It was of
V-section, between 0.40 and 0.90 m. wide, with a depth of 0.40 to 0.60
m. Its fill yielded no finds, but was a sandy brown loam quite unlike
any other horizons encountered on the site. Feature 28 was a bowlshaped
pit cut into the sand of Area D, more or less circular and 4.0 m.
in diameter, with a maximum depth of 0.80 m. Just above the bottom
was a black ash layer extending across the central 2.0 m. of the pit.
Finds consisted of shells, (marine) bone fragments, and a boulder of
local sandstone, and a flint scraper. The upper fill of the pit was cut by
Feature 26, a lens of bright red sub-ceramic about 1.0 m. in diameter,
presumably a hearth. A flint end scraper was found on the burnt surface.
The medieval construction and occupation c. A.D. 1200-1375
Structural remains interpreted as huts were:
228
KENT INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS PARK, MANSTON 1994-1997
Feature 1, part of a floor of rammed chalk cut by Feature 2, possibly
a sill-beam slot, Feature 3, a post-hole, and Feature 4 a shallow
cutting in the chalk. Five post-holes, Features 5-9, were in
association, see Fig. 5, Trench A. These features were all chalk cut,
and at the base of the Area C soil horizon. Feature 41, a hearth
situated 1.5m. away from the Feature 1-9 complex was 0.30 m. above
the chalk on the same level as:
Feature 42, a rectangular floor of rammed chalk/soil mix measuring
4.5 x 7.0 m. This had been laid in a cutting through the Area C
horizon about 0.25 m. deep that extended down into natural chalk for
another few centimetres. It had sealed two features, a post-hole,
Feature 45, and a rectangular pit Feature 47, and was itself cut by
Feature 46, a circular hearth about 1.5 m. in diameter. Just west of the
Feature 42 two pits, Features 44 and 48 had been cut into chalk.
Feature 41, a circular hearth 2.0 m. in diameter could represent the
plough abraded remnant of a third hut.
Post-hole systems:
Although the north-east corner of the enclosure had suffered heavy
plough attrition, two distinct groups of post-holes had survived in
severely truncated condition. The Feature 24 complex had 19 round
post-holes, and ten vestigial 'ghosts' (shown in broken line in Fig. 3).
While they can be seen to fall into linear arrangements, the whole
does not make sense as a single structure. Features 20, 21, 22 and 23
were shallow square and rectangular cuts in the chalk, apparently
forming a crude right-angle. If not post-hole bases of large dressed
timbers, it is difficult to think of a function for these features.
Pits:
Fifteen pits were recorded. Of these 10 were of round or oval plan,
and 5 were sub-rectangular. Of the 10, all were less than 1.0 m. in
diameter and shallow, and only 4, Features 38, 39, and 40 (a group)
and 33 yielded datable finds. Feature 33 lay on the edge of an area of
?organically discoloured subsoil surface into which were sunk
Features 31 and 32, shallow flat-bottomed rectangular cuts filled
with black ashes.
Features 36, 43 and 47 were sub-rectangular cuts in the chalk with
inwardly sloping sides and flat bottoms, all three about 2.0 m. long by
1.5m. wide, and about 1.0 m. deep. All three appeared to have been
infilled rapidly and purposefully. Feature 47 had been sealed away
under the Feature 42 hut floor. Features 36 and 43 had been joined by
a cut, and both were connected by a shallow chalk cut shelf with
Feature 35, an internal ditch. The latter was about 1.5 m. wide and
229
D.R.J. PERKINS, E. BOAST, T. WILSON & N. MACPHERSON-GRANT
0.70 m. deep, and of open-U section. It was 10 m. long and ran
parallel to the western length of the boundary ditch and about 2.5 m.
in from it, cutting it just past the return of the south-west angle.
Site 4/5, a brief summary
This site seems to represent a large farming compound in occupation
from the twelfth to fourteenth century, with, from ceramic evidence,
the main emphasis on the later twelfth century. Although it has
suffered plough damage, surviving horizons and features demonstrate
two kinds of structure, huts with rammed chalk floors and sill-beam
slots, and seemingly larger timber-framed buildings using upright
posts as main supports. That rather less was found in the way of
midden material than might have been expected, even at a low level of
occupancy, may be due to domestic refuse being broadcast on the
fields with manure.
EXCAVATIONS: SITE 18, MEDIEVAL
Evaluation results 1996
After a great deal of abortive trenching, this site was located from
information supplied by magnetic survey. That and the successful
trenches revealed the crop-mark to have been misplotted by about
50 m., and that the site was bisected by a public footpath and the
business park boundary. This limited subsequent excavations to the
eastern half of what is presumed to be an elongated sub-rectangular
enclosure. Trench 1 (see Fig. 4) located parallel western boundary
ditches, Features 18 and 19, and a pit Feature 20. These features
were found to be under about 1.5 m. of colluvium, thus explaining
why an incomplete crop-mark is exhibited by the site. The features
consisted of loam-filled cuts through colluvium of unknown depth.
Trench 2 exposed the chalk cut eastern angle of the enclosure ditch
and part of Feature 10.
Partial excavation in 1997
With the constraint imposed by the land boundary and public footpath,
investigation of the site had to be made from the line shown as A-B in
Fig. 4 - modern topsoil and colluvium was stripped back from this to
the internal features and eastern boundary ditch, and for a further 5 m.
The stripped area was found to have a marked east- west slope, the fall
230
KENT INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS PARK, MANSTON 1994-1997
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231
D.R.J. PERKINS, E. BOAST, T. WILSON & N. MACPHERSON-GRANT
being one metre in twenty, other than in the south-west corner (Area C
in Fig. 4) where it was much more steep and the colluvium sectioned
by the bulk was 1.5 m. deep. Elsewhere the overburden was about
0.30-0.50 m. deep, and the chalk-cut features were exposed in a
slightly plough-abraded surface of the Upper Chalk. An exception,
shown as Feature 4 in Fig 4, consisted of a slight hollow in the chalk
that had retained a medieval horizon of light brown field loam.
The enclosure ditch:
This was sectioned in four places, see Fig. 4. The sectional profiles
numbered 1, 2 and 3 were very similar, each being cut into the chalk
about 2.5-3.0 m. wide and 0.80 m. deep. The inner sides were cut
nearly vertically with the outer sloping gently with a step-like change
of angle at a depth of 0.40 m. Ditch fills were of light brown loam
apparently slowly deposited over an initial chalk silting derived from
within the enclosure. At the south-eastern corner (Section 4) the deep
chalk-cut ditch came to a rounded end cut by a narrow shallow
continuation that turned west and was lost where the chalk surface
dipped below colluvium. Last observed as Feature 8 its dimensions
and profile suggest a palisade trench.
Internal ditches or elongated pits:
These were present as Features 2, 9, 11, 12 and 16. All were rather
shallow cuts with no apparent function other than to drain surface
water west and down hill. Feature 12 could have been a hut drip
trench.
Pits:
These fell into two distinct groups: Large shallow oval cuts of
bowl-shaped profile exhibiting staged fills of loam and chalk rubble,
Features 6, 10, and 17; and deeper sub-rectangular steep-sided cuts
with flat bottoms, back-filled as middens, Features 1, 5, and 15.
While the latter group resemble prehistoric storage pits, no functional
evidence was obtained from any of these features.
Structural remains:
Two sets of structural remains were present. These were Feature 7,
consisting of building foundations, and the Feature 13/14 complex, a
sunken-floored building, the latter being dealt with in detail in
Appendix 1 below.
Feature 7 survived as a chalk-cut foundation trench, in plan an
open-ended rectangle measuring roughly 8x10 m., see Fig. 6. It is
possible that Feature 5, a pit back-filled as a midden, was originally
232
KENT INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS PARK, MANSTON 1994-1997
part of the structure, perhaps as a pier foundation. The trench was of
truncated-V section and about 1.5 m. wide. On the eastern uphill side
it was cut about 0.50 m. deep compared with a depth of 0.20 m. on
western side, demonstrating a conscious attempt at levelling and
terracing. The fill of the trench was of typical 'robber trench' nature
except where it had been cut by Feature 1, a later pit back-filled as a
midden. Building materials in the fill consisted of large water rolled
flint nodules of the kind found eroded from the Thanet chalk cliffs,
small boulders of a local sandstone from the Thanet Beds 'dogger'
layer, and a sandy calcareous conglomeration, presumably degraded
mortar.
Site 18, a brief summary
Extrapolating from the excavation evidence, Site 18 seems to have
been a sub-rectangular ditched enclosure measuring about 25 x 55 m.,
and somewhat cluttered with internal features, among them a stone
build edifice and at least one outbuilding. Ceramic evidence suggests
that the period of occupation was close to that of Site 4/5, from the
late twelfth to mid thirteenth century.
DISCUSSION
The evaluation in general
In an era given to the industrial or urban development of green field
sites, often on a massive scale, two questions loom large in the
thoughts of concerned archaeologists: how effective is sample
trenching in locating sites, and how representative of site distribution
are crop-mark phenomena? The Manston evaluation gives rather
sobering answers to both questions. Site 15 was contained within six
survey squares holding a pattern of 24 trenches at a maximum
distance apart of 50 m., with three quarters of them only 25 m. apart
or less. However, as can be seen from Fig. 2, Site 15 measuring 90 x
150 m., fitted into the pattern so well that only three of the trenches
touched it, and it was only detected in two! Moreover, although Site
15 was found in hindsight to exhibit a crop-mark; it had escaped the
notice of those carefully searching aerial photographic prints and was
hardly macroscopic. Site 18 was known from its crop-mark, but in a
featureless landscape had been misplotted by at least 75 m.
Another problem affecting the evaluation was the heavy plough
and subsoiler damage to the site, a degree of attrition that one hopes,
233
D.R.J. PERKINS, E. BOAST, T. WILSON & N. MACPHERSON-GRANT
perhaps vainly, is not universal in Kent. The writer and other have
been able to demonstrate that, over much of upland Thanet, up to one
metre of topsoil has been eroded in the last sixty years or so, and in
some areas perhaps 20 cm. of chalk bedrock. A sure sign of such
attrition, and one noticed at once during the evaluation, was that
artefacts of all cultural periods, Neolithic to the modern era, were
found mixed in the modern plough soil above an horizon that usually
contained no trace of human activity.
The medieval sites: Site 4/5
Though severe, plough attrition on this site has, overall, left a great
deal more evidence of internal layout than in the case of Site 15, the
Iron Age enclosure. A picture emerges of a compound within
presumably defensive ditches, possibly with an inner bank and
palisade. The north-west quarter seems to have been favoured for
domestic accommodation, with at least two huts. Post-hole systems
in the north-east quarter suggest one or more larger post-framed
buildings, perhaps a series of barns. Most ceramic fabrics present
were of local origin, Canterbury or Tyler Hill wares; this together
with the dearth of small finds seems to indicate that the site was a
working environment, its occupation lacking any quality of
affluence. At some time about the middle of the thirteenth century,
the south-east corner of the enclosure ditch becomes a midden,
becoming filled to ground level with a mass of oyster shells, animal
bones, and pot sherds. Does this event reflect the commencement of
a down-grading of the enclosure, in terms of diminishing status and
level of occupancy?
The medieval sites: Site 18
Although only about half the size of the Site 4/5 enclosure, and with
only halfofit able to be investigated, Site 18 yielded 25 per cent more
sherds, suggesting a higher level of occupation and activity. The
choice of venue for the enclosure, the fairly steep slope of a dry
valley, is curious. Why go to the trouble of terracing, when level
ground lies only 100 m. to the east? Could the modern footpath and
field boundary represent an ancient trackway on which both the Site
4/5 and 18 enclosures once fronted? Interestingly, the occupation
evidence on both medieval Site 4/5 and Iron Age Site 15 is
concentrated on the downhill western extremity of each enclosure,
although this would afford no shelter whatever from the prevailing
south-westerlies.
234
KENT INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS PARK, MANSTON 1994-1997
No archive record or tradition survives with reference to these
enclosures, so that it can only be seen in association with one another
and perhaps the enigmatic Site 25. The ceramic evidence suggests
strongly that they were contemporaries, although not sharing equality
in level of occupation or social status, a probability further
emphasised by the stone-built building in Site 18. A tempting image
is that of Site 18 as a small manor, with Site 4/5 as its farming
compound with barns, byres and huts for labourers. Occupancy, at
least in terms of ceramic dating, seems to have ended for both
enclosures in the mid fourteenth century, ?coincidental with the
arrival of the Black Death.
Sites 4/5 and 18, comparanda
Although Tim Tatton-Brown (1977) was able to gazetteer 120
medieval moated sites in Kent, for the most part in the west of the
county, very few have been examined in any detail. Stuart Rigold
(1983) remarked that by national standards medieval archaeology in
Kent made a showing that 'has been a pretty poor one'. So few rural
settlements have been investigated that comparisons with those at
Manston can hardly be drawn. Exceptions are those of the moated site
at Pivington (Rigold 1962), and Moat Farm, Leigh, (Rigold 1976)
both of which, moats apart, are somewhat similar to the Site 18
ditched enclosure.
DAVE PERKINS
APPENDIX 1: THE SUNKEN -FEATURED BUILDING IN SITE 18
Excavation Method
Feature 13/14 is a cut feature located on site 18, discovered during
phase two of excavations at Kent International Business park. The
feature was excavated by cutting sections across the deposits visible
on the surface leaving two upstanding baulks where a stratigraphic
section could be reconstructed.
Excavation
A large spread of red-brown burnt clay at the south eastern corner of
the feature was excavated first as it was the most clearly defined
surface deposit. By cutting a section through this deposit a raised
235
D.R.J. PERKINS, E. BOAST, T. WILSON & N. MACPHERSON-GRANT
T i l l II B ^r
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* A
I
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Feature 17
D
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Fig. 5. Plan and Sections of Feature 13/14, Site 18.
hearth approximately 1.5 m. wide was exposed. This was constructed
from red brown clay laid on a bed of tabular flint nodules on top of
chalk rock which had been scraped flat, see Fig. 5, 'A'.
Continuing the section back revealed a very compact chalk deposit
at the northern side; this was initially interpreted as a natural deposit.
Running parallel to the hearth on the north side the narrow raised
236
KENT INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS PARK, MANSTON 1994-1997
strip of rammed chalk was approximately 40 cm. wide and 130 cm.
long, see Fig. 7, 'B' . The deposit was laid on chalk rock running
east-west and was differentiated by being of a softer consistency and
slightly more yellow in colour. This deposit has subsequently been
interpreted as a rammed chalk foundation or wall similar to that
found at Merston church (Allen 1957).
A sharp break of slope from the surface beyond the rammed chalk
defined the edge of a steep cut, see Fig. 5, 'C. The chalk deposit
divided the raised hearth area from the cut. As no back edge had been
established, a section was left running across the hearth and
excavation continued to establish the extent of the feature, leaving a
further section (section 2). The stratigraphy in sections 1 and 2
implies that the feature filled up after abandonment either through
deliberate backfilling or natural decay.
When fully excavated, feature 13/14 was shown to consist of a
large cut in the natural chalk rock approximately 4 m. wide by 5 m.
long with a maximum depth of 0.70 m. Area B appears as an evenly
cut area with a fairly flat base. A raised platform was left for the
hearth on which the rammed chalk foundation was built. Possibly
associated with the hearth and the narrow raised area of rammed
chalk were two post-holes on the south westerly side of the hearth,
L and M. L was a shallow small hole approximately 10 cm. in
diameter and 16 cm. deep, M was a larger slightly angled cut
approximately 28 cm. in diameter and 30 cm. deep. On the southern
edge of the feature 13/14 was a large hollow cut into the side of the
feature (F). Opposite on the northern edge of 13/14 was a further
flat-bottomed depression (E). Further possible post-holes were
observed on the north western side of the feature G and G. G being
approximately 20 cm. in diameter and H approximately 12 cm. in
diameter. Both holes were observed either side of a shallow gully 5
cm. at its deepest which led away from the feature into Feature 17,
a shallow depression. A large cut was found on the south-westerly
side of the feature, approximately 90 cm. in diameter and 60 cm.
deep cut into the chalk rock bottom, see Fig. 5, 'D' This feature
undercut the sides for approximately 40 cm. from the edge, its lower
fill being a layer some 20 cm. deep of dark ashy or organic fill; this
is currently undergoing analysis. Next to this pit and running along
the southern edge for 120 cm. was a shallow ledge which became a
gentle slope at the end nearest the pit, see Fig. 5, 'K'.
Possible interpretations of feature 13/14
Because of the excavation method there is insufficient evidence
237
D.R.J. PERKINS, E. BOAST, T. WILSON & N. MACPHERSON-GRANT
with which to reconstruct complex stratigraphic relationships
within the feature and the deposits which were contained within it.
The pottery obtained from the excavation related to demolition and
decay deposits. It is difficult to make firm conclusions about the
phases of construction and decay of the feature. We only have a
general idea of its time-span, beginning in the late twelfth century
and eventually going out of use in the late thirteenth or early
fourteenth century. The feature itself is located at the southern end
of a ditched enclosure typical of the period; a similar farm complex
was recently excavated at Monkton 3 km. south-west of the site
(Piatt 1978, Bennett and Williams 1997). The feature is segregated
from the robbed foundation for a stone building by a contemporary
east-west ditch. This may imply a social or functional segregation of
the feature. The location of the hearth and the presence of possible
structural elements certainly lead to the conclusion that feature
13/14 was an element of more complex building. Burnt clay daub
found scattered throughout the fill of feature 13/14 and visible on
the surface after machining suggests that the upper parts of 13/14
were of a wattle and daub construction. Area F, the rounded cut
feature is possibly a support for a large post to support the external
walls or roof. Area E could also be a recessed post base but this is
not certain because it is not as clearly defined a feature as F.
Comparisons with the sunken featured buildings at Mucking and
West Stow (Hamerow 1985, 1991), show some structural
similarities. GH 39 at Mucking, shows post holes cut into the side of
the excavated area in a similar way to areas E and F.
The hearth at the south eastern corner of Feature 13/14 is a complex
construction, the flints in the base are all of a similar size and laid to
form a compact surface with a thin silt matrix. The chalk rock below
the hearth had been cut and scraped flat to form a surface for laying
the flints. Such a labour intensive construction implies longevity and
durability. The flint base suggests the possibility of periodic
maintenance, when the clay surface became worn it only needed to be
renovated as far as the flint bed and a new clay surface laid over the
top. This suggests a sustained use rather than a one-shot process
requiring the relaying of the new hearth. Additionally, the flint
nodules could have acted as a heat store for the hearth enabling it to
sustain a steady temperature over a longer period. There is no
evidence of a similar type of hearth in a domestic context in a sunken
feature building. With the exception of the ashy layer in section 2,
none of the excavated deposits suggest an obvious function for the
hearth such as pottery or ironworking waste; domestic hearths being
more commonly centrally located. It is certain, however, that a heat
238
KENT INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS PARK, MANSTON 1994-1997
source was a valuable resource for secondary agricultural processes
such as baking drying or brewing. Examples of buildings of this type
have been identified at Rochester, New Cemetery, and at Coppergate,
York (Hall 1987), a semi-sunken malting kiln and a wattle built bake
house respectively.
The close proximity of the post-holes, L and M, suggest that they
may also be associated with the rammed chalk foundations perhaps as
props for a screen or as part of a construction to separate the hearth
from the remaining space. The chalk deposit, 6 of section 1, is of a
similar rammed chalk material. It is possible that this is a structural
element built to narrow the entrance to ' C from the remainder of the
sunken cut, perhaps as a way of channelling air. It is also possible that
the deposit is part of an external chalk foundation which slumped into
'C when the building decayed. While it is possible that J and Feature
17 could have been formed naturally, it is also possible that they were
part of a structure which acted as a form of external flue for the
hearth. It maybe that post-holes H and G supported a light screen
which could be opened and closed to regulate the flow of air to the
hearth.
The relationship of feature D to the building is unclear, no pottery
of any kind was observed in the fill or in the section 2. The fill of the
pit was characteristically different from the deposits backfilling the
main body of the sunken feature being composed of a very fine soft
brown loamy deposit with occasional chalk inclusion. At the bottom
of the pit a very fine grey ashy layer was observed. Altogether this
suggests that the fill of the pit was originally organic and was already
backfilled or silted up when the building began to decay. Its purpose
could be that of a raking pit, into which debris contained within the
sunken of the feature was raked.
The fill of post-hole K is stratigraphically above the backfilling
deposits, showing that it is a later structural feature imposed after the
feature was backfilled possibly part of a later boundary or fence line
suggesting a continued occupation of the site.
There are many examples in the archaeological record of buildings
with sunken structural elements in the region of the site. Recently
Roman storage huts with sunken floors have been excavated at
Monkton (Bennett and Williams, 1997). Sunken floors have been
used to serve a number of structural and spatial purposes. It seems
likely that the hearth that dominated this feature required a sunken
floor as a design solution to its construction or its function.
EMMA BOAST
239
D.R.J. PERKINS, E. BOAST, T. WILSON & N. MACPHERSON-GRANT
a rtMJXm+^^T
ve-« Feature I
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Feature 7
I I
Feature 5
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Fig. 6. Site 18, Feature 7 building foundations.
APPENDIX 2: THE LITHICS
A total of 175 flints were collected during the archaeological
programme at the site of Kent International Business Park. Of these 7
are natural, 3 are burnt and unworked and a further 4 are burnt and
unidentifiable; these pieces will not be considered any further during
the course of this report. Flint artefacts were recovered in varying
quantities from sites 4/5, 6, 7,15/16, 18 and 19. The distribution and
composition of the assemblage is summarised in Table 1.
240
KENT INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS PARK, MANSTON 1994-1997
TABLE 1: FLINT QUANTITIES BY SITE AND CLASS
Site
4/5
6
7
15/16
18
19
Total
Blade
-
-
-
1
2
-
3
Chip
-
-
-
2
-
-
2
Chunk
-
-
-
5
-
-
5
Core
-
-
-
1
-
-
1
Flake
4
5
2
117
7
3
138
Retouched
4
-
-
7
1
-
12
Total
8
5
2
133
10
3
161
There are no apparent distinctions between the artefacts retrieved
from the different sites and therefore the material will be considered
as one assemblage.
Raw Materials
The types of raw material used throughout this assemblage vary. A
black semi-translucent flint, a grey-brown semi-translucent flint and
glauconitic (Bullhead) flint are all well represented. Some variations
of the black and the grey-brown flint contain grey, opaque almost
cherty inclusions. A small number of other types are also present in
lesser quantities. All of the material used has a hard weathered cortex.
Some corticated naturally shattered pieces have also been used.
Condition
The majority of the assemblage is in a fresh condition, a number of
pieces have slight cortication, few are heavily corticated. In addition
a small quantity are burnt. Little under half of the artefacts are
incomplete or damaged. The damage consists mainly of irregular
chipping along the edges of the pieces and would not be inconsistent
with such damage as that caused by farming practices.
Technology
Only one core is present within this assemblage; it is fragmentary but
appears to have been struck from at least two directions. In general,
there is little evidence of core preparation and no evidence of
241
D.R.J. PERKINS, E. BOAST, T. WILSON & N. MACPHERSON-GRANT
attempts at core rejuvenation. Examination of the flakes indicates
that hard hammer was used almost exclusively. The exception are a
small number of pieces with dihedral or faceted striking platforms
and others which display some platform abrasion. In addition there is
a small number of flakes which are blade-like.
A total of 12 retouched pieces were collected, these are summarised
in table 2.
TABLE 2: RETOUCHED FORMS
Class
Borer
Denticulate
Knife
Notched Flake
Scraper
Retouched Flake
Quantity
1
1
1
1
4
4
Most of the retouched pieces are of fairly simple form with rather
limited retouch. Of particular note is a wedge-shaped piece, retouch
is present on all of the edges. One edge is blunted by abrupt retouch,
the opposite of which has denticulated retouch. All of the scrapers are
retouched at the distal end only. Three have semi-abrupt retouch, one
of which from site 15/16 appears to be worn and very smooth. One
scraper is formed on a blade with abrupt retouch at the distal end.
Discussion
It is likely that raw material was collected from the surface within the
vicinity. The weathered cortex and the use of shattered nodules
suggests that little effort was made in the selection of material and the
consideration of quality.
The quantities of flakes and associated waste suggest a degree of
knapping taking place within the vicinity. Only one core, however,
was recovered. A search for con-joins was made with the material
recovered from F14, none were achieved. This deposit alone may
represent the deliberate disposal of knapping waste. There is no
evidence of any knapping in situ, however, and it is likely that the
assemblage is largely derived.
242
KENT INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS PARK, MANSTON 1994-1997
It is likely that this assemblage is associated with the Middle to
Late Bronze Age activity on the site. The lack of preparation and
minimal retouch would be consistent with material of this period.
There is, however, not enough evidence to indicate knapping of any
scale occurring on site at this time. The artefacts which do
demonstrate some preparation, those with prepared striking
platforms, are probably indicative of an earlier phase of activity. In
addition, the end-on blade scraper and a second well formed scraper,
which has a greater degree of cortication than the bulk of the
assemblage, may be of Neolithic date.
TANIA WILSON
APPENDIX 3: THE MEDIEVAL POTTERY
Introduction
An overall total of 2,357 sherds (weight 34 kg. 027 gms.) were
recovered during the excavations. This total sub-divides into the
following broad 5 ceramic phases:
Ceramic Phase 1
Ceramic Phase 2
Ceramic Phase 3
Ceramic Phase 4
Ceramic Phase 5
?Early-Mid Bronze Age Beaker or Urn 2
Late Bronze Age Deverel-Rimbury 175
Late Iron Age 1607
Early medieval-medieval 527
Post-medieval 1
Despite the presence of two early Saxon beads no ceramic evidence
was recovered for the entire period c. A.D. 75-1050, though their
presence ought to suggest a degree of activity at some time during the
fifth-sixth century A.D.
The implications of the recovered lithic assemblages and the first
three ceramic phases will be dealt with in a forthcoming article; the
present notes are a summary of the main pottery trends associated
with two Phase 4 enclosures 4/5 and 18. Discussions of the parallels
and dating can frequently be lengthy and tedious. The necessary
justification for the dating given in the two phase-based vessel types
and frequency tables and the text are held with the author and as part
of the site archive.
243
D.R.J. PERKINS, E. BOAST, T. WILSON & N. MACPHERSON-GRANT
The medieval Pottery
In terms of individual site and period totals, the recovered excavated
total of 648 post-Roman sherds sub-divides into:
Site 4/5 Early medieval-late medieval wares 183
Site 18 Early medieval-late medieval wares 465
With one or two exceptions noted below all this material falls into the
general broad approximately 200-year dating given to Ceramic Phase
4: c. A.D. 1075-1350/1375.
Despite the potential opportunity neither funding nor time was
available to excavate totally either of the two enclosures represented
by these sites; recovered site totals are therefore partial. As a result
assessment and graphic presentation of sherd discard patterns and
quantities are meaningless; only brief summaries are given below.
However, with the exception of 4 vessel rims from Enclosure 4/5's
ditch (which are broadly paralleled by material from Enclosure 18),
most drawable items are presented in Figs. 7-10 together with an
aide-memoire enclosure plan reproductions labelled with significant
source contexts.
/. Enclosure 4/5 (Fig. 7):
1.1 Fabric types, period-relayed quantities, vessel numbers
Early medieval:
Unsourced shell-filled ware with 4 sherds 1 vessel
coarse ?beach sand:
Canterbury sandy ware: 11 sherds 6 vessels
(incl. no. 1)
Early medieval/medieval transition:
N. Kent (E. of Medway) shell-filled 37 sherds c. 8 vessels
sandy wares (3 vars): (incl. nos. 3, 5-6)
Tyler Hill (Canterbury) shell-dusted 1 sherd lvessel(incl.no.2)
sandy ware:
Tyler Hill sandy ware: 1 sherd 1 vessel
Medieval:
Tyler Hill shell-dusted sandy ware: 96 sherds 7 vessels
(incl. no. 4)
Tyler Hill sandy ware: 33 sherds 9 vessels
244
KENT INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS PARK, MANSTON 1994-1997