EXCAVATIONS AT ECCLES, 19731
TwELl!Tll INTERIM REPOltT
By A. P. DETSIOAS, M.A., F.S.A.
lNTRODUOTION
ExoAVATIONS were resumed, for the twelfth successive season, under
my direction and on behalf of the Eccles Excavation Committee, at the
site of the large Romano-British villa. located at Rowe Place Farm,
Eccles, in the pariah of Aylesford (N.G.R. TQ 722605; O.S. 6-in. Sheet
TQ 76 SW) and at another nearby site (N.G.R. TQ 718605; O.S. 6-in.
Sheet TQ 76 SW); this work was carried out at weekends, from the end
of March until the end of October, 1973, and during a fortnight in the
summer when a training course in Romano-British archaeology and
excavation techniques, jointly sponsored by the Kent Archaeological
Society and the Eccles Excavation Committee, was conducted on the
site.
I am, once more, greatly in the debt of the landowners, Messrs.
Associated Portland Cement Manufacturers Limited and Messrs. Reed
Paper & Board (U.K.) Limited, and in particular to Mr. A. W. Baker,
their Chief Engineer, for readily allowing this excavation on their
property; I am also grateful to their tenant farmers, Messrs. A. A. &
A. C. Southwell, for the wholehearted support of our work and many
acts of kindness.
Financial assistance for this excavation was again granted by the
Kent Archaeological Society, the British Academy, the Haverfield
Bequest of the University of Oxford, the Society of Antiquaries of
London, and private donors, without whose generosity this work could
not be undertaken.
This excavation was carried out entirely by volunteer labour to
whom I acknowledge my debt, though space limitations preclude
individual mention; however, I am glad to be able to make- exceptions
in the case of the following, for their sustained support throughout a
long campaign: Mr. A. C. Harrison, B.A., F.S.A., who again shouldered
much of the supervision of this work; Mrs. P. M. Winzar; Misses C. E.
1 Arch. Oam., lxxviii (1963), 125-41; lxxix (1964), 121-35; Jxxx (1965),
69-91; lxxxi (1966), 44-52; Jxxxii (1967), 162---78; lxxxiii (1968), 39-48; lxxxiv
(1969), 93-106; lxxxv (1970), 55--60; lxxxvi (1971), 25--34; lxxxvii (1972), 101-10;
and lxxxviil (1973), 73-80. I am very indebted to Professor S. S. Frere, M.A.,
F.B.A., F.S.A., for his continued interest in this work a.nd reading through this
report in draft to its great benefit.
119
A. P. DETSICAS
Cockram and R. C. Symes; and Messrs. A. J. Daniels, O. K. Hales,
T. Hetherington, T. Ithell, B.Eng., W. A. Knowles, C. E. J. Martin,
L. Thomsen and P. Thornhill, B.A. I am also grateful to Miss D. Charlesworth,
M . .A., F.S.A., for reporting on the glass; Mrs. K. F. Hartley,
B.A., F.S . .A., for reporting on the mortaria; Mr. M. W. C. Hassan, B.A.,
F.S.A., for reading and reporting on the graffiti; Mrs. S. C. Hawkes,
M.A., F.S.A., for reporting on the Anglo-Saxon material and arranging
for its conservation at the Institute of Archaeology, University of
Oxford; Mr. M. R. Hull, M.A., F.S.A., for reporting on the brooches;
and Dr. J.P. C. Kent, B.A., Ph.D., F.S.A., for identifying the coins. I
am also particularly indebted to Miss R. C. Symes, for undertaking
much of the surveying on the site, and Miss S. J. Marsh, for much help
in the compilation of this report.
THE EXOAVATION
Excavation this year wa.s continued beyond the points where it was
suspended in 1972, in the area of the south-west (baths) wing and
another site close to the villa; the results of this work are reported
below within the chronological period to which each feature is assigned.
I. LATE htoN Ao:m/RoMANo-BRITISR
Period I, to c. A.D. 55
Ditch IX (Fig. I) This ditch was sectioned south of the point reached
in 1972 ;2 its width remained constant at 7 ft. 6 in. (2 · 25 m.) and its
traced length to 179 ft. (53 ·70 m.).
Ditch X was traced further to east, below the Anglo-Saxon cemetery
(see below, 129-30), and its known length increased to 192 ft. (55 · 10 m.);
in its back-filling were found sherds from pottery manufactured on Site
D (see below, 128-9). It was observedS that this ditch is reminiscent of
military work as, apart from its V-shape, it had at its bottom a shallow
cleaning channel, not unlike a rudimentary box-gutter.
Ditch XIII (Fig. 2) This feature, first exposed in 1972 below the
water basin at the centre of the villa's co¥tyard; 4 was again sectioned in
trenches olose to the south-west wing; its width was 7 ft. (2 ·20 m.),
a.a before, and the total length so far proved reaches i74 ft. (52·20 m.f.
The dating of all three ditches is not definitely established but, as
they have been found cut below structures known to belong to Period
II, they must be part of the initial settlement of the site or earlier.
To this early period of occupation is a.lso provisionally assigned until
further work establishes its shape and purpose a short length (c. 15 ft.
6 in., 4 ·65 m.) of a narrow (2 ft. 2 in., 0·65 m.) curving gully exposed
a Arch. Oant., btXl!:.vili (1978), 74,
1 Ibid.,'174.
'Ibid.,75.
120
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LCCLES
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ECCLES
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EXCAVATIONS AT ECCLES, 1973
just beyond the north-western lip of Ditch X; it had been dug into the
subsoil and came to an end in the area occupied by the Anglo-Saxon
burial ground. If it continued, after a gap, further to west, it would have
been removed by the deeper excavation required for the construction of
Room 121.5
Period II, c. A.D. 55-65
In the courtyard area (Fig. 2}, the mechanical trenches in 19726 were
extended to north-west and the two furthest to east proved abortive;
occupation evidence, however, was found in the area contained between
the two furthest to west.
This evidence consisted of an area, to south-east of the villa's later
(Period V) south-west wing, which had been laid with a floor of ye1Iow
mortar, averaging 1-2 in. (0 · 025-0 ·05 m.) in thickness and placed, at a
depth of c. 1 ft. 6 in. (0 ·45 m.), directly on the Romano-British plough.
soil; further trenching, established the north-east, south-east and southwest
limits of this floored area but, because of much disturbance at
depth during medieval times, it was impossible to prove its north.
western limit which may not have extended quite to the line of the
south-west wing. Furthermore, though the limits of this mortared area
were clearly defined, it proved impossible to establish the outlines of the
sleeper-beam construction trenches which, on the basis of the partitioning
sleeper beam, delimited the whole area. If the floor did reach the line
of the south-west wing, it would have occupied a total area of 41 ft. 6 in.
by 15ft. (12·45 by4·50m.).
This floored area was divided by a wooden partition, constructed
almost at its centre. This has survived as the construction trench for
its sleeper beam out through the mortar floor; it did not, however,
divide the entire width of the floored area as it turned to north-west in
order to allow for a narrow (3 ft. 6 in., l ·05 m.) conidor-like passage.
The two larger compartments communicated through a gap, clearly a
doorway, which interrupted the sleeper-beam trench and measured 4 ft.
(l ·20 m.) in width.
The purpose of this structure is problematic; its flooring and
construction are not substantial enough to indicate a dwelling-house,
and it seems more likely that it may have been a workshop or outbuilding.
Its dating, too, is debatable as no finds at all were recovered
from below the mortar floor; however, it fits more easily with the
excavated evidence to consider this building as belonging to an early
phase in the occupation of the site. For the whole layout of the
villa's courtyard, with an ornamental water-basin at its centre7 and,
•8 Ibul,., lx=vi (1971), 29. Ibid., Ixxxvili (1973), fig. 2.
1 Ibul,., 77.
121
A. P. DETSICAS
probably, flower-beds and paths leading to the main range of rooms as
well as to the two wings of the house, makes it very unlikely that such
a flimsy structure, whatever its purpose, would have been allowed to
stand in this courtyard area when the villa was reconstructed to face
to south-west.8 It is more likely, and logical, that this outbuilding was
in use at the rear of the villa, i.e. very probably during Period II,
certainly not later than the close of Period III when the major rebuilding
of the living accommodation of the house must have brought
about the demolition of this outbuilding.
Baths Area (Plate IA)
Re-examination was also undertaken in the baths area of the villa
(Fig. 3). In 1962, work was suspended at the level of the hypocaust
underfloors of the third baths belonging to Period V;ll however, when
excavation was resumed in 1963 and 1964 to north-west of the previous
areas,1° it was soon found that earlier structures had been present below
those later hypocausts, but their examination was deferred until the
rest of the villa had been completely excavated. This year, the backfilling
and the hypocaust underfloors were mechanically removed and
the excavation completed to subsoil depth.11 As a result of this ree:x:
amination, several new features and details can now be added to the
published plans, and a partial reconsideration of the dating proposed
in previous reports becomes necessary.
Period Ila. It is now clear that a small structure, of unknown purpose,
was first built in the area to be occupied by the later (Period V)
Rooms 20 and 2312 against whose north-west wall was later abutted the
caldarium (Room 43) of the first (Period III) bath-house; the foundations
for the south-east wall of this early building were exposed,
below and slightly protruding to south-east of the north-west wall of
Room 21, and later out by the drain of the second baths (Period IV).
This building would have mee.sured 13 by 14 ft. (2·90 by 3·20 m.)
internally; it was subsequently superseded by a much larger structure,
built partly over the original building and partly incorporating its walls.
Period Ilb. This new building was first recorded lll 196412 as a.
fairly substantial wall preserved below Rooms 44 and 20 (Period V).
Only foundations (Plate IB), however, survived below the Period V
hypooausts, and the plan of these foundations indicates a. large room,
a Ibid., 1.xxxvi (1971), 33.
t Ibid., lxxviii (1963), fig. I, 132-5 and 138-40.
10 Ibid., lxxix (1964), fig. 1, 71.
11 J am indebted to Mr. A. C. Harrison, B.A., F.S.A., for the general supervision
of the work in this area, and to Miss R. O. Symes, for its reoording.
u Arch. Oant., 1.xxx (1965), fig. 1,
122·
EXCAVATIONS AT ECCLES, 1973
measuring internally 45 by48 ft. 9 in. (13·50 by 14·625 m.) and flanked
to south-east and south-west by what appears to be a corridor below
Rooms 22 and 133 (Period V); this large room had a doorway leading
into it, as shown by a gap in the foundations at its south corner. The
foundations were laid in construction trenches, c. 2 ft. 4 in. (0·70 m.)
wide, and consisted of lumps of undressed ragstone bonded with
yellow mortar and opus signinum: the solidity alone of these foundations
suggests load-bearing walls of some height.
Period llc. A reconstruction, which may prove contemporary with
the building of the first bath-house (Period III), next took place, and
this meant the demolition of the second building in this area. The
south-east wall of the large room and the corridor were cut by the
construction trenches of four sleeper-beams belonging to a small
granaryls (Plate IB). The north-east sleeper-beam of this granary could
not be located as it must have lain directly underneath the partition
wall between Rooms 21 and 133 (Period V) whose construction trench
is certain to have been dug much deeper than the level of the sleeperbeam
and, consequently, removed all evidence for it; likewise, the
south-west sleeper-beam must either have been located below the
substantial south-west wall of the Period V baths or beyond it, hut this
has not yet been confirmed.14
On the other hand, evidence a.gain was found, as a layer of soot and
ash directly on the subsoil, for burning,15 which may be contemporary
with the destruction of the first baths (Period ID),16 though this will
have to be confirmed by a fuller study of the associated finds.
In the north corner, below Room 21 (Period V) there was found a
solid length of masonry, consisting of a foundation layer of ragstone
under two courses of bonding-tiles, the whole construction set in stiff
yellow mortar and opus signinum and cutting through earlier foundations;
abutted on to this masonry was another fragment of wall, consisting
of a foundation of ragstone and three courses of bonding-tiles,
similarly set in opus si,gninum and presenting a. curved outline. It is not
possible to interpret this ()()rtstruction satisfactorily: the bedding
trenches for it did not continue beyond the points shown on the plan
(Fig. 3), a.nd the solidity of the entire construction suggests a probable
buttress, but for what purpose it is impossible to say.
Perioa, IV, c. A.D. 120-180
The re-examination of the hypocausted area of the third baths
(Period V) (Plate IA) has resulted in additions to the structural details
13 Imd., fig. 1, 70-71.
u The former hypothesis was confirmed in 1974. This gra.no.ry need not, of
course, have either north-east or south-west sleeper-beams.
15 Arch, Oattt., bcxx (1966), 71.
U[bid., 85.
A. P. DETSIOAS
of the second baths (Period IV), which were obscured in 1962-63 by the
presence of baulks at crucial points.
It can now be shown that, in the original plan of the baths, Rooms
11 and 12 had formed one unit, served by a hypocaust; though this had
been completely removed in subsequent demolition, the trowel-marks
made by its builders on the wet opus signinum underfloor for the
centring of the pilae were plain to be seen in 196217 and this year. The
hypocaust underfloor was 3--4 in. (0 ·075-0 · 10 m.) thick and laid on a
make-up layer of ragstone resting on the subsoil, and the hypocaust of
the single room was served by flues through its north-west, north-east
and south-east walls. There wa.s also an opening through the south-west
wall, 1 ft. 8 in. (0·50 m.) in width, near the north-west corner of Room
11, which cannot have been a hypocaust flue; for there was no evidence
at all to south-west of this opening for a stokehole outside the main
wall of the baths, nor does it belong to the later baths (Period V) as the
opening had been blocked by the thickening of the south-west wall
when the latter was incorporated into the new bath-house. It can only
be suggested that this opening may have served for the cleaning of the
hypocaust or as a means for increasing its air-flow.
Period IVb. At a later date within this building period, the area
occupied by the single room was divided into the two Rooms 11 and 12
by the construction of a partition wall of bonding-tiles; though this
partition had later been completely robbed, the imprints of the lowest
bonding-tiles were clearly visible on a thin layer of opus signinum laid
on the existing underfloor for the purpose of bonding this partition to
the floor. That this partition wall is a later addition is further demonstrated
by the fact that, at the points where it abutted on the north-east
and south-west walls of these rooms, the face of the walls was still
smoothly finished; moreover, opus signinum had been used to seal the
junctions of wall and underfloor, on both sides of the partition, and
smoothed round inside the corners thus formed.
The original north-west wall of Room 11 was demolished and a new
one built 4 ft. (l ·20 ni.) further to north-west and to the same width of
2 ft. (0 -o m.); a gp. 4·ft. (l ·20 m.) wide,.w.as 1'.ecorded in the founa.
tions for this new wall survi'ving its demolition when the south-east wall
of Room 42 (Period V) wru:i built ·partly on top,· and the opus signinum
underfloor had been carried through into this space. This gap in the
foundations is much too wide for a single flue but of suitable width for
a double flue with a short length of intervening wall; if so, subsequent
demolition has removed direct evidence.
As a result of this reconsideration, the size of Room 12 remains
17 lbw., lxxviii (1063), 134.
124:
EXCAVATIONS AT ECCLES, 1973
unaltered, but the length of Room 11 is extended to 15 ft. 9 in. { 4 · 725
m.).18
Room 132 belongs to this reconstruction, too. It was a small
compartment, measuring internally 5 ft. 3 in. by 4 ft. 6 in. (l ·575 by
l ·35 m.), excluding the corners reinforcing its abutment on the southwest
wall of the baths, and very solidly built. Its north-west wall was
2 ft. 5 in. {0·625 m.) thick and the south-west one 3 ft. 3 in. (0·975 m.),
with a 9½ in. (0·24 m.) offset; the south-east wall was overbuilt by the
Period V baths' wall, but examination at depth showed that it was of
the same width as its north-western counterpart. This room was
floored with opus signinurn, which had been ca;rried up to the face
of its walls; this floor was 5 in. (0 · 125 m.) thick and laid on a solid
foundation of mortared ragstone resting on the subsoil (Plate IIA).
During the construction of this room, the south-west wall of the
bath-house was breached to allow for the insertion of an arched opening
through it, and the new foundations went deeper into the subsoil than
before; this opening, rather more than 1 ft. (0 ·30 m.) wide and I ft.
(0·30 m.) high, was corbelled with bonding-tiles laid well below the
level of the room. The opus signinum was continued into this opening
and smoothed upward at its junction with the underfloor of Room 11
(Plate IIA); the floor in Room 132 was some 10 in. (0 · 25 01.) lower than
the hypocaust underfloor in Room 11.
The thorough demolition in the area of this room, which resulted in
the loss of essential details, presents many problems of interpretation,
and the suggestions put forward below cannot, therefore, be regarded
as conclusive.
It is not doubted that Room 132 waa intended to contain water:
the solidity and thickness of its walls, clearly intended to withstand
considerable internal pressure, their surfacing with opus signinum and
the thickness of its floor show this quite clearly. What are debatable,
however, are the purpose of this room and the nature of its water
supply. The opening into Room 11 is obviously functional as is shown
by the care taken in its construction. It was thought, at the time of its
excavation, that the downward smoothing of opus signinum from Room
11 to Room 132 was an indication that water was intended to flow from
Room 11 into Room 132; but this is not necessarily so as it is more
likely, as mentioned above, that the opus signinum was smoothed
wpward to seal the junction of the floors below the arched opening.
That it is not likely that water flowed freely between Rooms 11 and
132 is further supported by the presence of soot and ash,19 deposited
18 In the definitive report on the site, the opport1UUty will be taken to renumber
these rooms.
19 Arch. Oant., lxxviii (1963), 134.
125
A. P. DETSICAS
aginst the inner face of the south-west wall of Room 11; if water had
been circulating, this obviously would not have occurred.
The most likely interpretation compatible with the excavated
evidence is that Room 132 was a small plunge-bath over a hypocaust,
used in conjunction with Room 11, a tepidarium. No direct evidence
was found for base- or pila-tiles for the suspension of this hypocaust,
which must have been completely removed during the building of the
subsequent baths in Period V; likewise, no evidence survived for any
mason's marks on the underfloor for the siting of the pi'lae. However,
in view of the small size of Room 132, such marks would have been
superfluous as very few pilae would have been needed at the central
part of the room to support the hypocaust's bridging-tiles, resting on
the buttressed corners of the north-east wall and on the offset of the
room's south-west wall. Room 132 would have been supplied with
hot water from the furnace, Room 7,20 by means of the partly
demolished opus signinum channel leading from this furnace to the west
corner of Room 9 where it turns at right angles and points directly
towards Room 132. In 1962, it was recorded that this channel 'outfiowed
just beyond the west corner of Room 9' ;21 but, in the light of this year's
new evidence, from this point onward the water supply could have been
carried by pipes across the 7 ft. (2 · 10 m.) width separating this
'outflow' from the south-east wall of Room 132. On reaching this wall,
the piping would have continued through the south-east wall of Room
132 and ducted into the plunge-bath.
If this interpretation, based on the excavated evidence, of Rooms
11 and 132 as a tepidarium and a plunge-bath, respectively, proves
acceptable, there remains the problem of water disposal. It is not
impossible that water was drained out of Room 11 through piping
across Room 8 and towards the main drain passing outside Rooms 4
and 2;22 on the other hand, even indirect evidence for the draining of
Room 132 is lacking. Logically, it should have been drained into the
substantial drain known to be passing underneath Room 19 (Period V),23
by means of a channel or, more probably as the subsoil between Room
132 and the drain was undisturbed, piping through the room's southwest
wall; the demolition of this wall may have removed any direct
evidence for such piping, though an indication supporting its probable
existence is the fact that the top of the drain under Room 19 (Period
V) was found collapsed at the point where the drain changes direction,
i.e. ·at the point nearest to the west corner of Room 132. In any case,
Room 132 could not be completely drained because its floor level was
ao Ibid., fig. 2.
21 Ibid., 132.
21 Ibid., fig. 2.
ta Ibid., 128-9.
126
EXCAVATIONS AT ECCLES, 1973
·a.bout 1 ft. 6 in. (0·45 m.) deeper than the highest remnants of its
south-west wall surviving slightly above subsoil level.
The main drain (Plate IB) was completely cleared from the east
corner of Room 19 (Period V) to the point where it cut through the
south-east wall of the early building (Period Ila; see above, 122) under
the later (Period V) Room 21; its construction was confirmed as recorded
in 1962.24 The drain channel had been built of roofing-tiles laid on
the subsoil, with their flanges uppermost and built partly over by the
sides of the channel; this was 9 in. (0 ·225 m.) wide and internally faced
with opus signinum. The walls of the drain were 5 in. (0 · 125 m.) wide,
bedded in a construction trench and consisting of four courses of
ragstone alternating with three courses of bonding-tiles set in yellow
mortar.
Period, V, c. A.D. '180-400
Resulting from the re-examination of this area, it is now established
that Room 20 was not, as reported in 1963 and 1965,26 a single unit,
measuring 6 by 24 ft. (l ·80 by 7 ·20 m.), but two separate rooms (Rooms
20 and 133), divided by a 2-ft. (0·60 m.) partition wall, which was
completely masked in 1962 by its coincidence with a baulk (Plate IB).
Room 133 measured 6 by 11 ft. 4 in. (l ·80 by 3 ·4-0 m.) and Room 20 is
now reduced t o 6 by 10 ft. 8 in. (I · 80 by 3 · 20 m.).
Further exploration below the level of the hypocaust underfloor in
Room 42, apart from locating the line of the second baths' wall (Period
IV}, has shown that the flue from the stokehole (Room 25)26 narrowed
down from a width of 2 ft. 1 in. (0·625 m.) to 1 ft. 7 in. (0 ·445 m.), as it
reached the subsoil; it had been laid with yellow mortar burnt to the
colour and consistency of brick.
Re-excavation was also undertaken of the corridor (Room 18) in the
area to south-east of Room 132 (Period IV). This space was found
filled with a large deposit of painted wall-plaster fragments, some of
which had been incorporated in the building of the corridor's north-west
wall on top of the Period IV wall, serving as a make-up layer below the
floor of the corridor; underneath this deposit, there was another layer,
resting on the Romano-British ploughsoil and consisting mainly of
domestic refuse. In 1962, in a restricted space mostly occupied by the
east corner of Room 18, part of this deposit was excavated and considered
to belong to a rubbish pit dug through the corridor floor;27
it is now clear that, though only traces remained of the mortar beneath
the tiling of the floor, this rubbish deposit dates the building of the
baths, not its destruction, as previously thought . .A detailed study of the
u Ibid., 129.
15 I/:!id .. fig. 3, 139: Jxxx (1965), fig. 1, 86-7.
ae Ibid., Ixxix (1964), 131.
17 Rubbish Pit 0, Arch. Oant., 1xxviii (1963), fig. 2, 140.
127
A. P, DETSICAS
pottery contained in this rubbish must await the final publication of
the site; however, it is obvious that a re-dating of the close of Period
IV and the beginning of Period V is inevitable. This coITected interpretation
of the rubbish layer has, however, solved one problem:
for, on the earlier consideration that the third bath-house (Period V)
had been destroyed c. A.D. 290, it was assumed that yet another baths
building may have been erected elsewhere on the site, though several
following sea.sons' work had failed to locate any such structure. The
re-examination of this area has now shown beyond doubt that no other
bath-house was ever built on the site and that the Period V baths may
have remained in use until the end of the Romano-British period in
the early fifth century A.D. as the villa is known to have continued in
occupation until that date by pottery and late coins found stratified
in the main range ofrooms and the south-east wing.28
Site D, pre-Fl,avian
This site (N.G.R. TQ 718 605) was discovered in 1971 whilst watch
was being kept on the laying of a water pipeline for the Medway Water
Board in a field close to the main site; it was first seen as a dark band
exposed in the 60-ft. (15 m.) contour in an area almost completely
disturbed since the middle of the last century by the excavation
of large pits for the disposal of industrial waste. This site, on the
east bank of the Medway, lies a.bout one-quarter of a mile (400 m.)
west of the villa and about the same distance from the disused Burham
Cement Works. On closer inspection, it was established that the dark
band consisted almost exclusively of kiln debris and building materials,
dipping from south to north towards the river, and all that had survived
was a narrow plateau in the middle of the industrial excavations; as
mechanical stripping of the area was intermittently undertaken by the
landowners, a small-scale excavation was carried out late in 197220 and
a systematic examination of the surviving area was completed this year.
The area measured approximately 40 by 60 ft. (12 by 18 m.) and
was mechanically cleared of its modern overburden beneath which it
was found to be entirely occupied by a thick and compacted layer
(c. 1 ft. 6 in., 0 ·60 m.) of Romano-British wasters (Fig. la}; industrial
excavation had cut into the site from all directions and partly disturbed
a structure which was identified as a medieval tilery (see below, 130-31).
As a result of the excavation of the site, there is no doubt that largeas
H, when the whole evidence is considered in detail, it is concluded that the
third baths was out of use before the end of the villa's occupa,tion, it may be
necessary to consider whether the partitioning of the villa's rear corridor into
small rooms and the insertion of a channelled hypocaust beneath one of them
(Arch. Oant., lxxxiv (1969), fig. 1, 100-104) was, in fact, the flnal bathing unit of
the villa. Several sections were a.lao cut across the line of Ditch VIII (Arch. Oant.,
lxxxvii (1972), fig. 2, 106), located beyond the area. of the general plan (Fig. 1).
u Ibid., lxxxviii (1973), 78-9.
128
PLATE I
I')JOol. : A. P. Dttsirng
A. 81\ths III (Period V): General View at Level of H_vpocaust Underflcors
Photo: .t. I'. D('(siras
B. General Yiew ucross Roo111s 10 and 13:l. (Period \") Hoon, 1\1 (jorei,ro11nd).
•howing earlier Dmin ( Period I\·). Construction Tl'cnch of earl· Building ( Period
llb) Rnd Slecpcr-bcurn Slot (Period I le): Room 133. showing Fo1111dnt ions of earl.,·
Building (Period llb). with I>oorwa.v. and l<'Pt>er-beum Slots (f'.-riocl llc-).
I fart p. 12...:
Photo: A. P. n,t,ica•
A. Hoorn I 32, showi11i:z arched Flue through north-eastern \\'all
Photo: A. /'. Dt/titOI
B. :Site D: <:Pnt>r!\I \'i"- of ,nedio,·al Tiler.,·
EXCAVATIONS AT ECCLES, 1973
scale pottery manufacture was carried on nearby; the site is conveniently
situated for river transport, and the clay subsoil provided excellent
raw materials. The detailed study of the enormous amount of waste
material recovered has not yet been undertaken, but a preliminary
examination shows that the greatest part of these wasters consisted of
various forms of Hofheim-type flagons; also produced on the site were
early mortaria,, colour-coated wares imitating imported Continental
prototypes, sta.mped native platters imitating terra nigra and several
other forms. This debris also contained wasters from a type of unusual
vessel, with triangular openings through its wall and ba.se, which were
also found in the back-filling of Ditch X (see above, 120), a potter's
punch for the production of small plaques, probably for application on
vessels, and one-half of a roulette for the decoration of pottery with
horizontal bands of striations, which matched with wasters found in
this deposit.so
This industrial activity may well have begun very soon after A.D. 43,
and the pottery types suggest that manufacture ended c . .A..D. 65-70;
this is further supported by the total absence of Flavian and later
coarse-pottery types as well as by pre-Flavian samian ware found
stratified with this deposit. It is, of course, quite possible that potterymaking
may have continued elsewhere in this area; it is, however, so
badly overgrown and disturbed in recent times that it will need a major
excavation to attempt to establish this possibility.
Il. POST-ROM.AN, c. A.D. 400-650
Two ditches, Diwh XIV and Diwh XV,31 were further cleared below
the Anglo-Saxon cemetery, and it was found that Ditch XIV merged
into Ditch XV which continued to east and beyond the excavated area;
the traced lengths of these two ditches are 57 ft. 6 in. (I 7 · 25 m.) and
64 ft. (19·70 m.), respectively.
Ditch XV cut through a late Romano-British pit, filled with
domestic rubbish, and it is now clear that both these ditches, as well as
Ditch XVI which was partly explored in 1972,32 were cut after the end
of the Romano-British period of occupation and remained open as late
as c. .A..D. 650 when some of the earliest Anglo-Saxon burials were
inserted in these ditches.
Ill. .ANGLO-SAXON
The Cemetery, later than c . .A..D. 650
Work continued in the area of this burial ground beyond the
trenches cut in 19721
s2 and a further seventy burials came to light, as
80 Antiq. Journ., liv (1974), forthcoming,
31 Arch. Oant,, lxxxviii (1973), fig. 1, 77-8.
SI Ibid., 78.
129
A. P. DETSICAS
well as many scattered bones which could not be associated with any
individuals. As previously, the majority of these inhumations had been
buried very close to the bottom of the ploughsoil, laid approximately
east to west, without grave goods and on top of other earlier burials;
some of the Iatt.er had personal effects buried with them, including a
complete vessel placed very close to and to right of the skull, which
confirmed the initial dating of this cemetery to the middle of the seventh
century A.n.ss
Indications were also found that the north-eastern and south-eastern
limits of the burial ground may be close to the excavated trenches, but
this remains to be confirmed; to north-west and south-west, its area is
delimited by the ruins of the villa. ·
IV. MEomvAL
Site JJ
A small medieval tilery (Plate IIB) was excavated in the middle of
the Romano-British pottery waste debris (Fig. la, and above, 128-9).
This tile-kiln, which measured overall c. 5 ft. 10 in. (l ·75 m.) square,
had originally been constructed as a rectangular cutting into the clay
subsoil serving, on the three surviving sides of the kiln, as its·wall and
reddened by fire to a depth of 4 in. (0 · 10 Il1.) all round. Within this
square cutting had been constructed a central spine crossed at right
angles by the kiln's four flues whioh were all badly worn, collapsed and
compacted by the weight of the overburden. The central spine had been
built almost entirely of clay-bonded large lumps of ragstone and
boulders and Romano-British roofing- and bonding-tiles; it was
c. 1 ft. (0 ·30 m.) thick. The flue walls were constructed of clay-bonded
medieval tiles, with some Romano-British material as well, and had an
average thickness of 8 in. (0 ·20 m.); each flue wall had been pierced by
two arched flues to allow for the transverse circulation of hot air and
gases, each arch on either side of and springing directly from the
central spine. These arches, too, had been built of medieval tiles arid
were c. 9 in. (0·225 m.) wide; soot was found on the subsoil beneath
these arches, as well as in the passages between the flue walls, under a
deliberate back-filling of clean clay and debris. Little survived in situ
of the kiln's floor, but there were indications that this, too, had been
made of medieval tiles.
Though the location of the tilery's stokehole is not in doubt, little
had survived industrial excavation; this is doubly unfortunate as it,
probably, removed any pottery contemporary with the use of the kiln,
which would have confirmed its dating. On the other hand, it is clear,
aa I am indebted to Mrs. S. C. Hawkes, M.A., F.S.A., for this information.
130
EXCAVATIONS AT ECCLES, 1973
from the fact that both the arches and the passages had been deliberately
filled-in to prevent their total collapse, that at least one later kiln
must have been constructed on top of the original oven after the latter
was beyond further repair.
A narrow, gully-like trench was recorded, out into the subsoil and
filled with Romano-British debris, projecting beyond the east corner of
the tilery and o. 1 ft. (0·30 m.) wide by 6 ft. 6 in. (l ·90 m.) long; its
purpose is not clear, but it may have resulted from industrial excavation
rather than served a function in the tile-making process. Two postholes
were also recorded in the same area; they were both 1 ft. 4 in.
(0·40 m.) in diameter and 6 ft. 9 in. (2·025 m.) apart. Neither the
purpose nor the date of these post-holes could be established in the
restricted area surviving, though they could belong to a shed or similar
temporary structure connected with the industry on the site.
As mentioned above, no direct dating evidence survived, and this
tile-kiln can only be dated by the medieval tiles used in its construction;
these were the typical medieval tiles, with rounded peg-holes, which
first appear in use about the middle of the thirteenth oentury.34 This
tilery must, therefore, date from about that time, a dating which
accords well with much medieval pottery of this period found at the
main villa site; on the other hand, it is impossible to estimate how long
this industry may have continued though, clearly, it could have been
prolonged.
l(iln
In the courtyard area of the villa, enclosed by its south-west and
south-east wings (Fig. 2), was found a circular pit cut into the subsoil
and immediately against the inferred line of the Period V bath-house;
in fact, part of the baths' south-ea.st wall slightly projected into one of
the trenches cut here. This circular pit had a diameter of c. 9 ft. (2 · 80
m.) and a maximum depth of 2 ft. 8 in. (0·70 m.) from the present
surface; it had been lined with a 2-in. (0 ·05 m.) thickness of yellow
mortar, laid directly on the subsoil, and was found filled-in with lumps
of ragstone and burnt tufa. There was also a thick deposit of soot and
ash at the north-west side of this pit; the truncated baths' wall was
badly burnt at this point, which clearly indicates a stokehole pit beyond
the excavated area.
No dating evidence was recovered from the back-filling of this pit,
but its location and cutting of the bath-house wall obviously demonstrate
post-villa use; its purpose is not conclusively established either,
but the presence of the burnt material strongly suggests that this pit
may have been used as a furnace or kiln. If so, the only date acceptable
for its use must be the middle of the thirteenth century when it
34 I owe this information to Mr. P. J. Tester, F.S.A.
131
A. P. DETSICAS
has been established beyond doubt muoh of the villa's surviving structures
was robbed for building materials.
Medieval Site35
Medieval pottery had, in earlier seasons of work, been found mostly
in the baok-filling of various robber trenches, and this suggested the
period during which took place the wholesale robbing of the foundations
of the villa; also, the fact that most such robbing tended to be
concentrated at the north-east and south-east corners of the villa
indicated the direction from which robbing had begun. However, a
medieval site was found this year as a result of mechanical trenches cut
to south-east of the villa's perimeter wall (Fig.1).30
Two long trenches were cut in this area by machine, some 20 ft.
(6 m.) apart, and, following the finding of archaeological material, the
space between these two trenches was excavated. The whole area had
been covered with rough cobbling, more like a treading surface,
consisting of Romano-British tile debris, lumps of ragstone and cobbles
and laid directly on the subsoil. The southern limit of this cobbled area
appears to have been a short length (12 ft., 3·60 m.) of insubstantial
foundations built of two courses of clay-bonded ragstone to a thickness
of c. 1 ft. 3 in. (0·375 m.); work, however, south of these foundations
was oarried out muoh below the topsoil level, and it is not impossible
that this rough cobbling continued beyond them. To west, the foundations
ended within the excavated area; to east, they were cut by a deep
ditch, which was 5 ft. (l ·50 m.) wide, U-shaped and had fairly vertical
sides. The beginning of this ditch was'not traced as it continued under
the rough cobbling, which wa,<;1 not removed, but the ditch could not
have extended very much farther to north because of the various pits
cut in that area.
To east of this wide ditch had been cut another and narrower d itch,
which measured 23 ft. 3 in. (6·975 m.) long, 2 ft. 6 in. (0·75 m.) wide
and had rounded ends; at its northern end, it partly overlapped a third
ditch of similar width but unexcavated length. Immediately to west of
these ditohes was cleared a shallow, circular pit, 4 ft. 3 in. (l ·275 m.)
in diameter.
The rest of the exposed area was occupied by four successive,
rectangular cess-pits, cut deeply into the subsoil. Of these cess-pits,
nos. 1 and 3 were the earliest, as no. 2 had partly removed the side of
no. I and no. 4 had been dug up to the lip of no. 3. No. 4 measured, at
the top, 4 ft. 9 in. by a maximum 4 ft. 5 in. (l ·425 by l ·325 m.), no. 3
was rather larger at 6 by 4 ft. (1· 80 by I · 20 m.), and nos. I and 2 have
36 I am grat.eful to Miss R. C. Symes, for the surveying of this site.
31 Arch. Oamt., bocxviii (1973), 76: this pit may also have been a cess-pit
belonging to this period of occupation.
132
EXCAVATIONS AT ECCLES, 1073
not yet been fully cleared; in all cases, these cess-pits had sloping sides
,vhich ma.de them rather smaller at the bottom. All the cess-pits had
been back-filled with grey-brown soil and building debris, which
included residual Romano-British pottery as well as medieval sherds;
on the other hand, the layer sealed by this back-filling was uniformly
grey and organic and contained mainly medieval pottery.
Examination of the medieval pottery found in these cess-pits and
on top of the rough cobbling makes it clear that this occupation of the
site began about the middle of the thirteenth century37 when it would
seem that some sort of impermanent building may have been erected
to the south of the length of foundations at the extreme limit of the
excavated area, probably connected with the stone-robbing activity on
the villa site. The purpose of the ditches is not yet clear, though the
two overlapping ones could be interpreted as part of a boundary for the
occupied area.
SU'l\fl\LIBY A.ND DrsoussroN
At the end of twelve seasons' work at this site, some of the questions
posed in earlier years have been answered, others still await further
excavation.
The major result this year has undoubtedly been the excavation of
Site D, for two principal reasons: (a) the discovery of potteries on the
Medway, so far inland from the pottery sites on its marshes, producing
early wares, some of which have hitherto been thought to be mainly
Continental imports, in such quantity, as indicated by the enormous
amount of wasters, so early in the Romano-British period that it is
very unlikely that this massive production wa.a intended to satisfy
local demand alone. It is much more likely that this manufacture owes
its volume, if not its origin, to the satisfaction of the specific and large
demand represented by the invading Roman army; the preponderance
ofHofheim-type flagons in the waste deposit is at least a pointer to the
possibility of an army contract, which can only be proved by the eventual
mineralogical comparison of Eccles flagons and others found in
military contexts; (b) if a case can be proved for such an army contract,
it will not alter the fact of the great wealth possessed by the original
builder of the Eccles villa, in whatever manner this wealth was amassed,
but it will help to explain the involvement, however slight and indirect,
of the Roman army in the building of the first bath-house which, as
suggested long ago,ss appears to have been based on a military model.
The excavation of Site D and the evidence it supplied for pottery
manufacture can now be considered in conjunction with the road which
37 I owe this information to Mr. A. 0. Harrison, B.A., F.S.A.
u Arch. Oant., bcrix (1964), 135.
133
A. P. DETSICAS
must have linked the villa with the main road from Rochester to
Hastings on Blue Bell Hill. Clearly, this road cannot lie to the south-east
of the villa; for, apart from ditches, evidence for Anglo-Saxon and
medieval occupation in that area, Romano-British debris, so plentiful
and close to the ploughsoil on the slightly rising ground upon which
stood the villa, is noticeably absent. On the other hand, there is much
Romano-British debris, and another probable building to be examined
in 1975, at Site C, close to the main site, where a length of wall, likely to
be the west and north-west perimeter walls of the estate, and other
evidence have been found and date from as early as the second half of
the first century A.n.39 This site is centred, so far as known to date, at a
point between the potteries (Site D) and the large Gault Clay pit at the
rear of the villa where some evidence has already been found for a road
in a section exposed on the face of the pit.4° It is not improbable, therefore,
that a roa-d is yet to be found linking Site D with the Blue Bell
Hill road and the villa.il Furthermore, the Romano-British cemetery,
which is still to be discovered, may be located in the vicinity of this
presumed road.
The Anglo-Saxon settlement connected with the cemetery also
remains to be established though, if the limits of the burial ground have
now been reached, it cannot lie too far away to east or south-east of the
site.
As for the medieval occupation at the south of the site, it is doubtful
whether this may prove of great extent or significance, even if it is found
that it was not of a temporary nature and connected entirely with the
robbing of the villa for the building of the priory at Aylesford; in any
case, the area available for further examination is very restricted by a
large pond.
3o Ibid., lxxxvii (1972), 108.
•0 V.O.H. Kent, iii (1932), 146, 163.
u Cf. also, above, p. 100 and fig. 1.
134
