Archaeology of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link
ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE CHANNEL TUNNEL
RAIL LINK
(Compiled by HELEN J. GLASS)
The Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) is the UK's first major new
railway for over a century. The first section of the route now under
construction is 45 miles (74km) in length from the Channel Tunnel
near Folkestone to the south of Gravesend (where it links to existing
track running into Waterloo International). This cross-Kent section is
due to be completed in mid-2003. Section 2 of the CTRL will
continue the high speed link into London St Pancras; work on this
section will commence in 2001.
Rail Link Engineering (RLE) is the project management consortium
tasked to design, procure and manage the construction of the first
section of the link. This work is undertaken forthe client body, Union
Railways (South) Limited (URS), a subsidiary of London & Continental
Railways.
The Channel Tunnel Rail Link has resulted in the largest archaeological
project ever undertaken in Britain. Archaeologists have been
employed throughout the development of the scheme from its earliest
stages, identifying effects and ensuring that the archaeological issues
were considered.
Archaeological desktop study, non-intrusive and intrusive survey
work has been undertaken over several years, culminating in the detailed
investigation and recording of those remains which it was not possible
to preserve in situ. The advanced works were designed by RLE, in consultation
with English Heritage and Kent County Council. Four archaeological
contracting companies have been employed by URS to investigate
and record the remains affected by the rail link: Canterbury Archaeological
Trust (CAT), Museum of London Archaeology Service
(MoLAS), Oxford Archaeological Unit (OAU) and Wessex Archaeology
(WA). All the archaeological works are monitored by RLE's inhouse
archaeology team on behalf of their client, URS; these works form
part of an extensive programme of archaeological investigation carried
out in advance of, and during, the construction of the CTRL.
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CAT/MOLAS/OAUAVA
An archaeological research strategy for the CTRL was devised by
Dr P. Drewett of the Institute of Archaeology (University College
London), with the aim of supplying a sound academic focus for the
detailed fieldwork. It also identified where to focus resources and
answer those questions crucial to the understanding of the archaeology
of Kent. The research strategy suggested ways to define types
of landscape organisation crossed by the rail link corridor, its
differing geologies and topographies and how such organisation
changed through time. Rather than consider the archaeological sites
as a string of individual beads, the findings have been examined
within the wider context of the linear transect afforded by the CTRL
through Kent.
Site investigations have ranged in size from small purposive
trenches, e.g. to sample the environment of a Neolithic long barrow
(such as that now preserved in situ near ToUgate, Gravesend) to
large-scale undertaskings, such as the kilometre-long, sixty metrewide
excavation which exposed multi-period remains at Northumberland
Bottom, also near Gravesend (see site summary below).
The fieldwork for Section 1 of the CTRL is now virtually completed.
The archaeological watching brief is underway and will continue
into the year 2000. A number of additional features and remains
of interest have been identified by the archaeologists carrying out the
watching brief (from MoLAS and OAU).
The preliminary results from completed fieldwork is set out below
in summary form, as supplied by the archaeological contractors who
undertook the investigations. Firstly, the key sites of interest, broadly
arranged in period order, are described (Fig. 1). Other areas of investigation
are then outlined.
KEY SITES
Sandway Road (TQ 8800 5150)
Wessex Archaeology carried out the excavation of the site which lay
between the villages of Harrietsham and Sandway and comprised an
area of approximately 0.8 hectares (ha).
Archaeological features survived as cuts into the surface of the
natural geology (Lower Greensand Folkestone Beds), in most cases
sealed by colluvial deposits that were present over most of the site.
Sixty-seven features were identified and excavated. These features
comprised eight ditches, three pits, two possible hearth pits, two
artefact scatters, 43 probable tree-throw holes, nine amorphous
irregular features filled with burnt material (possibly representing
190
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Fig. 1. The Channel Tunnel Rail Link Route showing Locations of Archaeological investigations
CAT/MOLAS/OAU/WA
burnt-out tree stumps) and one irregular feature of indeterminate
function. Dating evidence indicated Mesolithic, earlier and later
Neolithic, early Bronze Age and late Iron Age/Romano-British
activity at the site, most notably the earlier prehistoric periods.
Mesolithic remains comprised two scatters of worked flint as well
as a number of possible features within a concentrated area, located
on a slight terrace on the west-facing slope of the site. The remains
have produced over 7,500 pieces of worked flint, the majority of
which would not be out of place in a late Mesolithic assemblage.
Earlier Neolithic evidence includes dated features and pottery in considerable
quantities surviving as residual finds from a number of later
features. Elements of the Mesolithic assemblage appear to be diagnostically
earlier Neolithic in origin and the possibility exists that
there may be a transition between the two periods at the site. Neolithic
occupation seems to continue into the later Neolithic again
possibly continuing into the early Bronze Age, at which point activity
at the site appears to tail off, with the exception of at least one large
late Iron Age/Romano-British ditch which may represent part of a
field system or relict trackway.
White Horse Stone, Pilgrim's Way and West ofBoarley Farm
(TQ 7350 6010)
The Oxford Archaeological Unit undertook archaeological investigations
of adjacent sites near Blue Bell Hill at the foot of the chalk
escarpment of the North Downs. These excavations had a combined
area of 6.8ha.
Neolithic. Major discoveries include the clearly defined traces of a
longhouse (Fig. 2), found near the bottom of the dry valley, apparently
sealed by a later prehistoric palaeosol. It is thought to date from
the early Neolithic (approximately 3750 BC), although mid-late Neolithic
pottery (Grooved Ware and Peterborough Ware) was also recovered
from features in the immediate vicinity, suggesting activity on the
site over a long period of time. The structure was defined by a substantial
array of post-holes, bedding trenches, pits and hearths. Associated
activity areas in the form of utilised tree-throw holes, pits, ditches and
a small circular post-hole structure lay to the south and east of the
longhouse. This discovery is of particular interest because of its
location within the group of 'Medway Megaliths', Neolithic chambered
tombs which include Kits Coty.
Early-middle Bronze Age. A sub-rectangular post-hole structure to
192
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wall foundation gullies
Plain Bow ?
Peterborough Ware
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Fig. 2. Plan of the White Horse Stone Neolithic Longhouse
CAT/MOLAS/OAU/WA
the south-east of the Pilgrim's Way site has been tentatively ascribed
to the Bronze Age on the basis of its form, and pottery retrieved from
adjacent features.
Late Bronze Age/early Iron Age. A late Bronze Age/early Iron Age
settlement was found on the chalk spur forming the western side of
the dry valley, on the White Horse Stone site. Patterns of post-holes
suggest possible roundhouses and numerous four-post structures. A
number of pits contained rich deposits of pottery and animal bone
suggestive of domestic refuse. Three human burials contained within
pits were also recorded. A unique cremation deposit produced an
exceptional group of transitional late Bronze Age/early Iron Age
artefacts, including an iron knife, four iron awls, a whetstone, a small
curved iron blade (Plate I) and a group of at least six pottery vessels,
one of which was a large urn containing a deposit of grain. A metalworking
area located on the eastern side of the settlement produced
furnace bases and pits containing large quantities of slag. A very few
sherds were found that may suggest a diminishing intensity of activity
extending into the middle Iron Age.
Late Iron Age-early Romano-British. By the late Iron Age or early
Roman period there seems to have been a significant settlement shift,
to the south-east of the Pilgrim's Way. There is no clear evidence for
a settlement of this date, but several dispersed post-hole structures
and alignments, cremations, pits and animal burials have been found
at the Pilgrim's Way and West of Boarley Farm sites, probably indicating
occupation on or near the sites.
Medieval. The medieval features consist of trackways, including the
Pilgrim's Way and a plough-levelled hollow-way running north-south
across the Pilgrim's Way site. Other medieval features comprised a
corn-drying kiln found on the Pilgrim's Way site, which utilised sarsen
fragments in its construction, and a possibly human burial found next to
the Pilgrim's Way. A section excavated through the Pilgrim's Way
failed to identify any trackway surfaces earlier than the medieval period.
The dry valley soil sequence. The main dry valley at White Horse
Stone was in-filled with a series of late glacial solifluction deposits.
Within these the remnants of a Pleistocene palaeosol were located,
possibly dating from the Allerad Interstadial. These deposits were
sealed by a substantial, well-preserved Holocene buried soil which
was truncated by an Iron Age ploughsoil. This in turn was overlain by
a deep colluvial sequence dating from the Iron Age to the present day.
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ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE CHANNEL TUNNEL RAIL LINK
PLATE I
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White Horse Stone: Late Bronze Age/Early Iron
Age cremation deposit
Initial assessment indicates that these deposits have considerable
potential for environmental reconstruction.
Little Stock Farm (TR 0670 3852)
Wessex Archaeology excavated this site of approximately 1.16ha, to
the east of the village of Mersham (at Evegate). The underlying geology
comprises the southernmost fringes of the Lower Greensand
Hythe Beds.
Archaeological features recorded during the excavation survived as
cuts into either the surface of the natural geology or the thin colluvial
195
CAT/MOLAS/OAUAVA
deposits present over most of the site. Overall, 67 archaeological
deposits and/or features were investigated and recorded, comprising
11 ditches, 16 gullies, 17 pits, 17 post-holes, three hearth, two burials
and one quarry. Numerous datable artefacts were recovered from
these features, indicating Neolithic, early-middle Bronze Age, late
Bronze Age, late Iron Age, Romano-British and medieval activity in
the immediate area.
In general, the earlier prehistoric evidence appears to indicate
transient activity, with no definite evidence for permanent occupation.
The late Bronze Age and late Iron Age periods, by contrast,
demonstrate intensive occupation of the immediate area, including
structural remains, enclosures, hearths, 'placed deposits' and refuse
pits. This activity is concentrated on the brow of the slope overlooking
the East Stour valley. The Romano-British remains appear to
indicate elements of a field system extending from the west into the
site, with no evidence for occupation in the immediate area. The
medieval remains include a large stone quarry, within a ditched
enclosure possibly also used for some form of domestic and/or industrial
activity, together with a field system extending towards the
west. The medieval remains may be related to contemporaneous activity
identified during CTRL trial-trenching evaluation work in the
vicinity of Park Wood Cottage to the east.
Cobham Golf Course (TQ 6900 6950)
Excavation at the Rochester and Cobham Golf Course, Cobham Park
by the Museum of London Archaeology Service concluded that the
area of the site was a focus of activity in the middle to late Bronze
Age, probably in part agricultural and including one or more burials;
presumably there was a settlement near the site, if not actually within
it. Evidence was also found of activity in the late Iron Age or early
Roman period. Soil conditions did not allow bone to be preserved,
and botanical material survived very poorly or not at all.
The site was approximately 1 .Oha, to the south of the A2 trunk road.
All features were cut into localised deposits of colluvial silts which
overlay the drift deposits of clay with flints.
The excavation revealed widespread plough damage. On the higher
area to the west many struck and burnt flints were collected during
bulk stripping, probably indicating an area of occupation that had
been ploughed out. Lower down the slope, ditches, pits and postholes
were traced where they were cut into the underlying natural
colluvium. The most significant feature was a ring ditch measuring
18-20m in internal diameter, with a gap 2m wide to the south. The
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ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE CHANNEL TUNNEL RAIL LINK
initial fills of the ditch contained late Bronze Age struck flints and
pottery, and subsequent fills late Iron Age/early Roman pottery; the
latter fills were probably deposited by slippage from the centre of the
ring. The ditch was all that remained of a Bronze Age barrow, perhaps
ploughed out in the late Iron Age or early Roman period.
A total of 35 small pits and post-holes were recorded in the centre
of the site. Most of these features only survived to a shallow depth;
two, marked by burning and scorching, may have been hearths; others
were deeper and variously contained middle Bronze Age, late Bronze
Age and late Bronze Age/early Iron Age pottery. No structural pattern
in their layout was obvious. Two or three of these features contained
substantial amounts of pottery, including many parts of single vessels.
Nearly all these features were situated to the south of a straight ditch
orientated roughly west-east and traceable for a distance of at least
100m. Traces of two much shorter north-south ditches were also
found.
Northumberland Bottom (TQ 6352 7127)
The Northumberland Bottom excavations to the south of Gravesend
represent the largest undertaken on the CTRL; a kilometre in length
and totalling 5.9ha. The work was carried out by the Museum of
London Archaeology Service. The solid geology consisted of Upper
Chalk, with overlying pockets of clay-with-flints and other drift
deposits of sands and gravels.
An early Bronze Age double inhumation (Plate II) was found near
the crest of the hill. Each of the burials (which were superimposed)
was accompanied by a Beaker vessel. The burial pit was surrounded
by a number of shallow pits, which may be all that remained of an
encircling ditch. Other prehistoric activity was represented by a
large, middle-late Bronze Age boundary ditch, part of a mid-late Iron
Age enclosure, a number of intercutting ditches which may have
formed parts of field systems, some pits and a sunken kiln or oven.
Occupation to the west of the hill crest continued into the late Iron
Age/early Roman period, represented by pits, gullies, several kilns or
ovens, human burials (including two cremations) and a horse burial.
These were contained within a focus of activity which was defined to
the west by a hollow-way and boundary ditch. To the east of the hill
crest a number of intersecting ditches formed part of an early Roman
field system. This field system was approached from the south and
east via three metalled tracks which converged at its south-eastern
corner. After the ditches became partially infilled there was some
occupation in this part of the site, probably in the second century AD,
represented by two possible sunken-floored buildings, pits, a well,
197
CAT/MOLAS/OAUAVA
PLATE II
^ ,
Northumberland Bottom: Excavation of an early
Bronze Age double inhumation
two single-chambered kilns or ovens (Plate III) and an infant inhumation.
Towards Downs Road a medieval occupation site, dated
provisionally to AD 1050-1150, occupied a shallow terrace near the
foot of the hill. It consisted of one or more timber structures,
represented by over one hundred post-holes, with associated pits and
a boundary ditch to the south. A circular, ditched enclosure near the
crest of the hill towards the army camp also appears to have been
eleventh to twelfth century in date, and was presumably for
containing livestock. It was superseded in the twelfth to fourteenth
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ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE CHANNEL TUNNEL RAIL LINK
PLATE III
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i
Northumberland Bottom: a single chambered kiln or oven under excavation
centuries by a sub-rectangular ditched enclosure which contained
some evidence for occupation, including a small, sunken-floored
building in which was a possible corn-drying or malting oven.
North ofSaltwood Tunnel (TR 1545 3695)
The investigation by CAT produced evidence for a long-lived but dispersed
settlement commencing in the early Iron Age and continuing
through to the early or middle Saxon period, a span of a millennium
from the sixth century BC to the sixth/seventh century AD. A discrete
area of early medieval occupation was also recorded.
The earliest activity on the site would appear to be a limited zone of
early Iron Age occupation situated at the head of a dry coombe in the
south-west part of the site, partly masked by later phases extending
into the early Roman period. By the later Iron Age, formation of the
hollow-way in the coombe necessitated the cutting of drains and the
initial metalling of the surface, especially in the area of the junction
of these roadways on the north edge of the site. Certain sections of the
hollow-way were bordered by dry stone wall footings set in the side
of the ditches bordering them.
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CAT/MOLAS/OAUAVA
Within the angles of this road system to the east and west were
enclosures which appear to have undergone various stages of
enlargement and re-definition. Within the eastern enclosure, a small
cremation cemetery of the late first century AD had been established,
the enclosure also contained two cremations of late second-century
date and a solitary inhumation cutting a pit containing metal-working
debris. The western enclosure extended back from the existing area
of settlement and passed through several stages of elaboration.
During the later Roman period a dense deposit of silt and occupation
debris accumulated in the hollow-way, filling earlier ditches
and a soakaway pit at the junction. A ditch was cut through the silts
along the uphill side of the western hollow-way, coterminus with a
length of dry-stone wall. This ditch contained late Roman and possibly
early Anglo-Saxon pottery. Opposite, an oven containing fourthcentury
pottery cut the hollow-way silts.
A sunken-floored building with timber roof post supports could
also be dated to the early Anglo-Saxon period from the pottery within
it. Later Anglo-Saxon activity was absent but in the early medieval
period a small settlement was established immediately west of, and
overlying, the silted hollow-way junction. This was delimited by
slight ditches. Within this area small pits and post-holes suggested
the location of perhaps two buildings, the most substantial on the
north-east represented bya row of substantial post-holes and traces of
a parallel row, perhaps the roof supports for a barn-like building. A
series of parallel trenches to the west may have defined a series of
strip fields; a pit in this area produced oyster shells and fish remains.
Finds generally dated to the eleventh and twelfth centuries.
South ofSnarkhurst Wood, Hollingbourne (TQ 8227 5517)
The site, adjacent to Junction 8 of the M20, was excavated by the
Oxford Archaeological Unit in two parts (total area 1.36ha). The
solid geology of the locality is Folkestone Sands.
The eastern part produced evidence for a settlement of late Iron Age
and early Roman date (first century BC to first century AD). Features
included rectangular and sub-rectangular enclosure ditches and
several post-hole structures, including one small, circular building
with a central post, and five four-posters. Other evidence for occupation
included a small kiln or furnace associated with metal-working
slag, and several storage or rubbish pits. A single cremation burial
was recorded. The settlement is likely to be a continuation of the site
identified during construction of the Maidstone by-pass in the 1950s.
The features were overlain by elements of a post-medieval field
system and a possible trackway. Features to the west of the main
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ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE CHANNEL TUNNEL RAIL LINK
post-medieval boundary were very severely truncated by ploughing,
which seems to have entirely removed all but the deepest Iron Age
features.
The western part of the site produced a small scatter of worked
flints from tree-throw hollows and the archaeological stripped
surface, including several characteristic early Bronze Age pieces (a
plano-convex knife, a backed knife and a piercer). Other flints retrieved
include a bladelet core of possible Mesolithic date. The location
of the flints coincides broadly with a scatter recovered from the
ploughsoil during the surface collection survey. No definite archaeological
features were identified in this area, although a series of
irregular linear soil marks may be field boundaries of indeterminate
date, and a single possible pit was identified.
Thurnham Roman Villa, Detiing (TQ 7990 5715)
The Oxford Archaeological Unit excavated the Scheduled Ancient
Monument of Thurnham Roman Villa (SAM KE 299) and its surroundings,
east of Maidstone (Fig. 3). The site was close to the foot
of the North Downs on Gault Clay with localised Chalk Head. A variable
drift deposit of clay with flints covered the site to varying depths.
An area of 3ha was excavated.
This work revealed a continuous sequence of occupation spanning
the late Iron Age through to the early fourth century AD. Prehistoric
remains were represented by a large ramped waterhole near Thurnham
Lane, which produced a small middle Bronze Age rapier. A
sparse in situ flint scatter was preserved beneath the villa levels.
A large rectilinear ditched enclosure, containing one definite and
two possible roundhouses and two four-post structures was established
in the late Iron Age, following clearance of woodland from the
site. Remodelling during the early post-conquest period saw the
enclosure levelled and replaced by a larger enclosure containing a
proto-villa placed centrally and towards the rear of the enclosure.
This building had a painted plaster interior and firm clay floor
surfaces. A possible shrine or temple was added shortly afterwards,
overlying the former enclosure ditch. Further development followed
at the end of first century AD with the construction of a stone twostorey
villa replacing the proto-villa. By the early third century AD,
following many structural additions, this had developed into a large
winged corridor villa (Plate IV) with a bath suite attached to its
southern side (excavated in 1958). No in situ floor surfaces relating
to the main villa phases were encountered although several opus
signinum and sand floors were recorded in previous excavations.
201
aisled building
\ :
"j late Iron Age
late Iron Age/
early Roman
| early Roman
I Roman
] post-Roman
0 20m
Fig. 3. Plan of the Thurnham Roman Villa Complex
ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE CHANNEL TUNNEL RAIL LINK
PLATE IV
Thurnham Roman Villa
The 'temple' structure remained in use throughout this period and
was accompanied within the core of the estate enclosure by a large
aisled building (Plate V) constructed early in the second century AD.
Massive wooden posts supported the central roof whilst shallow flint
foundations supported the outer walls. A crushed tufa floor defined a
room at the western end of the building, which had a neatly constructed
oven at one end. Personal items such as pins, brooches, coins
and fragments of mirror were all recovered from within this building.
The boundary to the estate was redefined with successive fence lines
around the villa and the aisled building replacing the earlier ditched
boundaries.
Access to the villa enclosure was gained by a cobbled trackway
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CAT/MOLAS/OAUAVA
PLATE V
Thurnham Roman Villa: Aisled Building, looking eastwards
approaching from the east, passing a large timber building located
outside the enclosure boundary. This large 14-post structure, which
probably had an agricultural role, had a number of surrounding and
internal drains. It was demolished and replaced, by the third century
AD, with a stone-built corn-drier. Two wells were investigated, one
of which was excavated to a depth of 3.7m without locating the
bottom. Both were stone-lined at the top, and the lower portion of the
deeply excavated example was supported by a timber box-frame.
Trenches excavated in Honeyhills Wood, immediately adjacent to
the villa complex, strongly suggest that the wood was present when
the Iron Age settlement and later villa complex were established. The
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ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE CHANNEL TUNNEL RAIL LINK
western boundary ditch of the settlement enclosure closely follows
the modern edge of the woodland, and the trenching demonstrated
that Roman occupation did not extend beyond that boundary. The
earthworks in the wood, which did not form a clear pattern, were very
shallow and were not associated with subsoil features. Insufficient
artefactual material was recovered to indicate their date of origin.
The final occupation on the site saw the demise of the villa complex
towards the end of the third century AD and early into the fourth century.
By this time the temple structure had already collapsed or been
demolished, and the character of occupation in the main villa building
had changed substantially (one of the central rooms was utilised extensively
as an iron smithy). Several coins of Constantine were recovered,
generally from the upper fills of defunct features, representing the
latest evidence for Roman activity on the site of the villa.
Activity ceased on the site until the foundation of Corbier Hall in
the fourteenth century (SAM KE 309). Associated post-holes and
gullies were located to the immediate south-east of Corbier Hall and
the moat area, but all were peripheral in character.
Pepper Hill Romano-British Cemetery (TQ 6190 7210)
The Oxford Archaeological Unit carried out a detailed archaeological
investigation to the south of Pepper Hill, near Gravesend (Fig. 4).
The excavation was located 0.5km to the south of the Roman small
town at Springhead (Vagniacae) and 200m to the south-west of the
Scheduled temple complex (SAM KE 198). The geology of the area
consists of sands and gravel underlying brickearth.
Two phases of fieldwork, totalling 0.9 ha., were undertaken
between November 1997 and January 1999, following the unexpected
discovery of the cemetery during a watching brief on cable diversion
works. The first phase of fieldwork revealed the southern part, the
second phase the northern part, of a previously unknown Roman
cemetery dating from the late first to the mid-third century AD. The
later prehistoric period was represented by a small number of pits of
possible Iron Age date and a linear ditch which contained a large
quantity of burnt flint.
The cemetery comprised 326 inhumations and 235 cremations and
was bounded to the east by a hollow-way and to the west by a slot/
fenceline. The remaining boundaries comprised a series of linear
ditches. In addition a small number of other features were revealed,
including pits containing dumps of pyre debris, a possible ritual shaft
or well and a cobbled surface of uncertain function. There was also
evidence for in situ burning of cremations.
205
scale 1:500
[JrHWi
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gully
boundary
ditch
cobbling
Hollow-Way
cremations
in situ cremations
inhumation
0 quarry
mm pit fills
• " pyre m
J Iron Age? features
pit filled with residual
material
Fig. 4. Plan of the Pepper Hill Romano-British cemetery
ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE CHANNEL TUNNEL RAIL LINK
PLATE VI
Pfcl»tti • * ' * >
i
Pepper Hill Romano-British cemetery: inhumation with flagon
Preservation of the inhumations was poor (Plate VI): many
survived only as body stains and a number of graves appeared empty
as the bone had decayed completely. In contrast the cremated bone
was well-preserved and fragments were generally substantial and
easily recognisable. Limited evidence has already been recovered for
structured deposition of bone within vessels, indicating that the bone
was sorted into body parts prior to deposition.
Many inhumations had been buried within wooden coffins which
were represented by nails and other fittings as well as wood stains.
Cremations were generally contained within pottery vessels and
regularly accompanied by at least one other accessory vessel (Plate
VII).
With the exception of pottery vessels (over 600 complete vessels)
grave goods were few. They included coins, hobnailed boots,
brooches, glass beads, bracelets and finger rings. A single mirror
fragment was also identified.
207
CAT/MOLAS/OAUAVA
PLATE VII
Pepper Hill Romano-British cemetery: cremation burial under excavation
The few coins recovered included several third to fourth-century
examples, the latest being an issue of Magnentius (AD 350-351).
However most of the coins, including all of the definite third and
fourth-century examples, were recovered from the topsoil or silts
filling the hollow-way, which tends to reinforce the picture of
abandonment of the cemetery during the third century.
Cuxton Anglo-Saxon Cemetery (TQ 7200 6735)
The site of archaeological investigation at Cuxton was situated
directly to the west of the M2 Medway Bridge, on the northern side of
the River Medway, west of Rochester. The area of the site was
approximately 2.03 ha and the work carried out by the Museum of
London Archaeological Service (Fig. 5).
Beneath modern ploughsoil truncated archaeological features
survived cutting into the underlying chalk bedrock. Late Bronze
Age/early Iron Age and probable late Iron Age pottery was recovered
from several dispersed features. Several pits contained large amounts
of domestic refuse including animal bone, burnt daub and burnt flint.
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ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE CHANNEL TUNNEL RAIL LINK
W\2 Bridge
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