Boley Hill, Rochester: Repaving Project
Over an eight-month period (April to November 1998), the Canterbury Archaeological Trust undertook observations and excavations over an extensive area to the west and south of Rochester Cathedral prior to a new cobbled road surface being laid. Thanks are extended to the then Rochester upon Medway Council for funding the archaeological work and to the many individuals involved who have given assistance before, during, and after the on-site work.
The archaeological work was undertaken in several separate phases as, and when, areas of the old road surface were stripped off. For most of the route, 45cm of material was removed, although deeper drains and soakaways also had to be inserted in restricted areas.
Adjacent to South Gate House in Boley Hill road, remains of the Roman South Gate, along with a short stretch of the town wall, was uncovered just 35cm below the modern road surface. Although the flanking walls to the gate passage can be definitely assigned to the Roman period, the actual defensive wall, of which two structural phases were visible, is harder to date (Ward 1998). This short article will concentrate on the archaeological remains that were found whilst work was undertaken in The Precinct and in front of the west end of the cathedral. At the time of writing, the archive report for this project is well in hand (Ward, In preparation a).
The Precinct
In its present form, the Prior's Gate probably dates from the early fifteenth century (Flight and Harrison 1986, p. 16; Tatton Brown 1998, p. 1). This gate was connected to an earlier defensive wall to both east and west. Part of this demolished wall was observed in front of Mackean House within the precinct and, surprisingly, two structural phases were identified (Plate 1). The foundation of the eastern 5.50m (of the 6.25m length) cut into the western portion and was angled southwards. This longer portion possibly forms the blocking of an entrance. A causeway across what is known as the King's Orchard Ditch had been previously postulated just to the south of this wall (Flight and Harrison 1986 p. 15) and, if such existed, would support the idea that an entrance existed at this point. However, the apparent lack of defensive arrangements, in the form of gatehouse or towers, may argue against an opening. The blocking of an entrance may have occurred at the time of construction, or more likely lengthening (59m in total length and 10.50m wide) of an earlier medieval building, most of which lies below Minor Canon Row.
Plate 1. The town wall crossing the road in front of Mackean House, The Precinct. Note the kink, which shows that the wall was constructed in two phases.
The eastern end of this structure (Plate 2) had walls up to 1.25m wide made from chalk and ragstone rubble, whereas to the west, below the pavement in front of Minor Canon Row, the south wall consisted entirely of ragstone with a stone and flint facing (Plate 3). As chalk tends to be used later in the medieval period for the construction of walls, this disparity in material suggests the eastern portion of the structure was added onto an already long building. The only relevant dating evidence for the construction of this east end was a sherd of Flemish floor tile, which indicates a date to or after the late fourteenth century. Within the earlier ragstone rubble wall, a 1.50m wide doorway (Plate 3) provided architectural detail in the form of a 'long broach stop' which suggests a date of the mid-fourteenth century or later (personal communication Rupert Austin architectural draughtsman of C.A.T.).
Plate 2. East end of the long medieval building being surveyed. A chalk lined post medieval cess pit can be seen in the foreground.
Plate 3. The ragstone rubble south wall of the long building with side doorway and threshold. The floors of this structure will survive over a meter below the modern pavement.
It is possible that the ragstone rubble portion of this building is the 'long bakehouse' mentioned as being rebuilt from 1331 at the expense of Bishop Hamo of Hythe (Hope 1900, p.49, 52). If so, this structure may hold the key to our understanding of the development of the defenses of medieval Rochester (Ward, In preparation b.) The reader is directed to the article by Colin Flight and Arthur Harrison (1986) for more detail on the ideas regarding the defenses. In basic terms:
Scenario A (Harrison) envisages the Roman town wall remaining in use until c. 1344 with a deep medieval ditch (the Deanery Garden Ditch) being excavated in front c.1225. This line was abandoned c. 1344 and new defenses, of which the Prior's Gate (albeit a later rebuild) is the last remnant, were constructed. There was a further shift to the south in the late fourteenth century.
Scenario B (Flight) envisages a ditch (the Deanery Garden Ditch) being excavated in front of the Roman wall between c. 1070 and c. 1120. These defenses were replaced c. 1225 by the walls and/or a ditch (King's Orchard Ditch) on the line of the Prior's Gate Wall. In turn, these defenses were replaced c. 1344 by a wall further to the south.
The long building found was constructed directly over the infilled Deanery Garden Ditch. If this structure can be successfully equated with that rebuilt in 1331, then it must mean that the ditch was infilled before that date. Consequently, the defenses in line with the Prior's Gate (whether the gate was present or not) must be those which date to c. 1225. At present, the evidence from the long building is not conclusive, but there are several other factors which, when all are added together, suggest that Colin Flight's sequence (with refinements) is correct (Ward, In preparation b).
As the road stripping moved north towards the cathedral, it had to re-cross the line of the Roman defensive wall, a small segment of which was observed. More importantly, attached to the inside face at a right angle was a further wall, which appears to be the remains of another gate. The very distinctive yellow mortar that bonded this wall had a high concentration of broken seashells within its matrix and is regarded as being the same as that found bonding a building of Norman date found in the adjacent garden (No. 1 Prior's Gate House) in 1976-7 (Harrison and Williams 1979, p. 22). In 1986, Arthur Harrison had suggested that a gate would be found exactly at this point. While only a western wall was found, it seems more likely, due to the fact that it comes to an abrupt stop, that this is one side of a gate passage (Plate 4) rather than being a boundary wall around the Bishop's Palace.
Plate 4. Roman town wall and (Norman?) gate passage wall to the rear.
The Anglo-Saxon Church
In front of the great west door of the cathedral and just 25cm below the modern road surface, the remains of the Anglo-Saxon church first discovered by Canon Grevile Livett in 1888 were uncovered (Livett 1889, p.261-8). In 1888, the west front of the cathedral was underpinned and a substantial part of the east end of this Anglo-Saxon building was therefore destroyed, although part of the apse, marked out just within the cathedral nave, probably survives.
In the width of the road, it was known that a deep Victorian drain trench was present and this was found to cut the north and south walls of the Anglo-Saxon structure (Plates 5 and 6). The observed sections of 1.25m wide wall (or rather foundation) varied between 0.75m and 1.50m long. Only the northeast portion produced an actual fragment of upstanding wall and this could be seen to have a slight curve on its inner face forming the beginning of the apse; part of this portion of wall was bonded by opus signinum concrete.
Plate 5. The seventh-century Anglo-Saxon church from the cathedral roof. The fragment of wall in the bottom right-hand corner is part of the apse.
Plate 6. Cleaning and recording the north wall of the Anglo-Saxon nave. Note that this wall and the apse wall have been cut by a Victorian drain trench.
This material is usually associated with Roman buildings but was also used in the seventh century churches built by Roman missionaries using classical building techniques. The latest use of this type of concrete known to the writer is at Jarrow in 681 (Cramp 1969, p.45-9). Although no Anglo-Saxon floors survived, it could be deduced that they would have been considerably higher than the later medieval and modern floor level within the cathedral.
This latter point has an interesting impact on masonry found by Livett immediately to the south of the southern foundation of the Anglo-Saxon church. Until now, the present writer had always regarded this masonry as forming a porticus or side chapel such as existed at known seventh-century churches at Bradwell (Essex), Reculver, and St. Pancras, Canterbury. However, analysis of Livett's text shows that the remains of the upstanding wall of this structure must be cut by the foundation of the south wall of the Anglo-Saxon church. Both the form of the Anglo-Saxon church, and the use of opus signinum, suggest that it is of seventh-century date. As no masonry buildings were constructed during the course of the fifth or sixth centuries, the structure cut by the church must date to between the late first and late fourth centuries; it must form part of a Roman building.
Furthermore, the level of the Anglo-Saxon floor surfaces in relation to the medieval floors of the cathedral suggests that substantial leveling of the ground surface took place when the Norman church was built. In 1898, William St. John Hope reported that a structure which he believed to be a larger Anglo-Saxon church had been found in 1876 while underpinning the south wall of the Norman nave (Hope 1898, p.214-5). As the floors of this building are below the floor levels of the medieval cathedral and over a meter below those of the Anglo-Saxon church, it must follow that the masonry and floors of this building are also of Roman date. These two areas of Roman masonry may form part of the same structure. Of the six or seven known Roman masonry structures within Rochester, this is the first identified as being to the east of the Boley Hill/Northgate road axis.
The above article is only a brief summary of what was found during the course of the repaving project. At the time of writing, full analysis of the information recovered has not been completed; the interpretations offered therefore have to be regarded as provisional and may be subject to revision.
References
Cramp, R. 1969. Excavations at the Saxon Monastic Sites of Wearmouth and Jarrow: an Interim Report, Medieval Archaeology, Vol.xiii, p.21-66
Flight, C. and Harrison, A. C. 1986. The Southern Defences of Medieval Rochester Archaeologia Cantiana, Vol.ciii, p. 1-26
Harrison, A.C. and Williams, D. 1979. Excavations at Prior's Gate House, Rochester 1976-77, Archaeologia Cantiana, Vol.xcv, p.19-36
Hope, W.H. St. John. 1898. The Architectural History of the Cathedral Church and Monastery of St. Andrew at Rochester, Archaeologia Cantiana, Vol.xxiii, p. 194-328.
Hope, W.H. St. John. 1900. The Architectural History of the Cathedral Church and Monastery of St. Andrew at Rochester, Archaeologia Cantiana, Vol.xxiv, p. 1-85.
Livett, G.M. 1889. Foundations of the Saxon Cathedral Church at Rochester, Archaeologia Cantiana, Vol.xviii, p.261-278.
Tatton Brown, T. 1997. The Prior's Gate Rochester Cathedral (unpublished assessment report).
Ward, A. 1996. Excavations at Rochester Cathedral 1990-1995 (unpublished archive report).
Ward, A. 1998. The Roman South Gate Rochester in Kent Archaeological Society Newsletter.
Ward, A. In preparation a: Archaeological Observations Undertaken During the Boley Hill Repaving Project (archive report).
Ward, A. In preparation b: The Archaeology and Defences of Rochester (archive report).
Alan Ward. Project manager, Canterbury Archaeological Trust. January 1999.
The E179 Project
What is it?
No - not another missile! It is in fact a new means of illuminating some fascinating aspects of local history, namely the records of central taxation of local communities, and thereby the nature of those communities themselves.
What Records are Involved?
Those of the King's (or Queen's) Remembrancer. This office, which was formalized in 1323, still exists, as part of the Supreme Court of Judicature. For our present purpose, however, we are concerned with its records relating to national taxation from 1188 and 1688, which are held in the Public Record Office in Kew. The vicissitudes which have befallen those records over the years, and more particularly between about 1780 and 1840, constitute another compelling tale, involving wooden sheds, soldiers, dustbins, rats and finally 751 sacks. But we will sidestep all that, merely adding that successive 19th-century custodians did their best to put the 30,000-odd documents into a reasonable but not very accessible order which has persisted until now.
PRO Class E179, which resulted from the 19th-century work, thus includes a large part of the records of the King's Remembrancer as secretary and record-keeper to the Barons of the Exchequer (the managing board).
They provide evidence for the existence of medieval communities and, frequently, for the numbers and names of taxpayers and the sums they paid, or on which they were assessed. For long periods they provide the best guide to the relative levels of lay wealth in towns and villages across the country.
But the existing indexes (which date from 1925) are not the most helpful and it has long been recognized that a complete reappraisal was required to meet the needs of researchers into the next century.
What is the Project and Who is Undertaking it?
With the aid of grants from the Leverhulme Trust and the Economic and Social Research council, and under the guidance of a panel of distinguished experts, a team of researchers have embarked upon a detailed examination of the documents and their background. Because of the huge size of their task, it is proceeding on a county-by-county basis, and will take several years to complete for the whole of England and Wales. Kent and the Cinque Ports are fortunate in being amongst the first to be started and completed.
What Research Aids have been Produced?
A major new database has been created, including all places listed in the documents. It comprises 3 sections: taxes, place-names, and document descriptions. It can be searched by date, type of document (for example assessments, exemptions, receipts, or inquisitions), or type of tax. It enables the documents to be 'questioned' in various ways: anyone interested in Sevenoaks, for example, will find a listing of all surviving documents in which Sevenoaks appears, and be referred to all that is known of each tax involved.
Whilst it cannot stretch to personal names, the database will nevertheless show to what extent personal names do appear in each document.
Further, each document is now supported by a detailed analytical description as part of the database.
It will soon be accessible in the Kew search rooms and ultimately via the Internet.
An important accompanying work recently published by PRO Publications is 'Lay taxes in England and Wales 1188-1688' by Maureen Jurkowski, Carrie Smith, and David Crook, each of whom has been closely involved in the project. It provides an unrivaled synopsis of the history of all the 450 or so known taxes occurring in the period, both generally and in detail.
The taxes range through carucages, scutages, tallages, feudal aids, fifteenths and tenths, poll taxes, income taxes, alien taxes, lay subsidies, prerogative taxes, forced loans, ship money, Civil War and Commonwealth taxes, and later Stuart taxes including the Hearth Tax. For each of these, the authors give the date of the grant, the background (often at considerable length) the method of assessment, the date of collection, and the total yield (where known). The book also discusses the related Exchequer Records.
The Cinque ports are often referred to in the book and, as a random example of the detail revealed, there is mention of a 'non-contributing cesse' in (parts of) Kent in 1642.
What Now?
There is clearly great scope for all this to be developed in individual research. Thought also needs to be given to whether the Society itself has a role to play.
Brian Cousins.
January 1999
K.A.S. Resistance Meter
The Society has purchased a Geoscan RM4 Resistance Meter for use by members.
Janet Donald and Eric Hodge carrying out a survey at Berghersh Manor moated site.
The search for and discovery of archaeological sites can take many courses. Casual finds on the surface of a ploughed field, crop marks on an aerial photograph, building work of all kinds can all give clues to ancient occupation.
The move to encourage modern field archaeologists to adopt non-invasive techniques is amply demonstrated on the television programme Time Team. A whole variety of different instruments help the excavators to decide where to place their evaluation trenches to extract the maximum information with the least disturbance.
To give members of the society the opportunity of using one of these modem instruments on their own sites, or to take part in discovering new sites, a Geoscan RM4 resistance meter has been purchased.
Resistivity surveys measure the resistance of the ground at regular intervals. The resistance depends on a whole variety of factors. The depth of topsoil, the underlying nature of the bedrock and particularly the amount of moisture present. The principal variation that one is looking for is that normally building stone is drier than the surrounding soil and so gives a high resistance reading. Features such as pits and ditches dug into bedrock and then backfilled with soil will normally be wetter than the surrounding bedrock and therefore give a lower resistance.
With the advent of modern electronics and computers, surveys can now be carried out quite quickly, an area 20m by 20m at 1m spacings taking less than an hour.
The results can then be entered into a computer and using a software program called Geoplot can be processed and the information presented in a variety of different ways.
The K.A.S. Fieldwork Committee is organizing training sessions during the summer, normally on a Sunday, at a variety of locations throughout the county. If you as an individual member, or as part of a local group or society would like the opportunity to take part in resistivity surveys or have a site that you would like to survey, then please contact Ted Connell for further details.
Leland Lewis Duncan, MVO, OBE, FSA.
At 11 am on Saturday, 19th September 1998, the members of the Lewisham Local History Society unveiled a black granite headstone on Leland Duncan's grave in Hither Green cemetery.
A glance at the early volumes of Archaeologica Cantiana will serve to show the extent of his contribution to the research and development of our Society. He died in 1923 aged 61. The obituary in Arch. Cant. XXXVIT, p.218, (1925) gives fuller details. The Lewisham Society has extended our knowledge of this quiet, unassuming scholar in a pamphlet, a copy of which they have donated to our Library.
His written works include extracting Kentish wills (Testamenta Cantiana 1906 etc.), Memorials in Tenterden churchyard (1919), and The History of the Borough of Lewisham (1908).
He worked at the War Office from 1862 until retiring in 1922. Seemingly this gave him considerable time to pursue his antiquarian studies. According to his own recollections, he was often able to slip out to Somerset House and copy Wills etc. He was also an early advocate and applicant of the methodical recording of monumental inscriptions.
Numerous local worthies attended the ceremony including the Vicar, MP, Deputy Mayor, Head of Colfe's School and relatives, some from Ireland, to witness the unveiling by Lewisham Society's Chairman. It is unfortunate that we only heard of this event too late to be represented, it also coincided with a council meeting.
Sadly this is a measure of the gap which has gradually grown between us and those with similar aims in SE London and whose area our Rules include as part of 'Ancient Kent'. Recent contacts may serve to restore this link.
Peter Draper.
Young Archaeologists Clubs in Kent
The President is keen that the Society should sponsor and give practical help in the setting up, and subsequent running, of Young Archaeologists Clubs across Kent (as some other county societies do). The first vital step in realizing such an ambition is to identify suitably qualified people to organize and lead local clubs.
The national network of YACs is designed for the 9-17 age group, although members tend to be at the younger end of that range. The clubs normally meet monthly and some of their typical activities are:
- visits to historic sites
- hands-on identification of artifacts and practical conservation (with the help of the local museum)
- visits to excavations
- recognizing the key features of old buildings.
If you would like to be involved in this very worthwhile program (in whatever capacity), please write to the Hon. General Secretary. Or perhaps you may know of someone who would make a good Club leader, in which case please encourage them to make contact.
Calling all Diggers
The K.A.S. is compiling a list of people who would like to participate in excavations.
The Kent County Council has agreed to identify projects undertaken by professional archaeologists but where volunteers would be welcome. The society has been asked to compile a list of such volunteers who will be informed of opportunities. The selection of participants on any excavation will be the responsibility of the director of the excavation concerned.
The first project covered by this scheme will be on the Romano-British small town near Ashford, which is to be further excavated by the Oxford Archaeological Unit this summer.
Members of the society and its affiliated organizations are welcome to apply, but so are non-members who have some experience of archaeological excavation. There may also be opportunities for people to work on finds processing on site.
Application forms for inclusion on the list may be obtained from the Hon. Secretary of Fieldwork Committee, David Bacchus.
Part-time Certificates and Diplomas in Archaeology
Archaeology is an exciting discipline involving the study of past peoples and cultures. It explores the historical past as well as more distant times many millennia before the appearance of written evidence. Archaeological and Classical Studies, part of the University of Kent's School of European Culture and Languages, offers a range of archaeological modules at both Certificate and Diploma level which can be studied on a part-time basis. They can also contribute to a degree in Classical and Archaeological Studies.
There will be intakes to the Certificate and Diploma in Archaeological Studies in October 1999. The Certificate will be taught on the University's Canterbury Campus and the Diploma at its Centre in Tonbridge.
The Certificate will address the particular character of archaeological evidence; how it may be used to further understanding of earlier societies; and will provide a sound grounding in the particular periods studied.
Courses will include An Introduction to Archaeological Method, The Age of Stonehenge, Medieval England (700 to 1400) and Egyptology: Chronology and Sources.
The Diploma will extend the chronological and geographical scope of archaeological studies. It will allow comparison of the approaches employed, using different combinations of evidence, in the study of contrasting cultures at various periods across Europe and around the Mediterranean. Courses will include Heads, Heroes and Horses: in Search of the Prehistoric Celts and Rome and its Western Empire.
Applications will be welcome from anyone who wishes to study archaeology on a part-time basis. Formal academic qualifications for entry are not necessary if candidates can demonstrate their interest in the discipline and the aptitude to study at the appropriate level.
For a Prospectus containing information on the programmes, contact: The Unit for Part-time Study, Keynes College, University of Kent, Canterbury CT2 7NP telephone 01227 823507 or 823157.
Events, Outings, Lectures
Please note that from 1st June the Lectures Secretary will be Mr. D. Anstey.
Event: The KAS is sponsoring a free lunchtime lecture at County Hall, Maidstone to be given by Tun Tatton-Brown on "Canterbury Cathedral - Kent's Greatest Building" on Friday 25th June at 12.30.
Event: "Council for Kentish Archaeology Annual Conference. "Historic Towns in Kent''. Saturday 6th November 1999, 2pm to 5.30pm at Christ Church College, Canterbury. Illustrated lectures with displays and bookstall include, Lost Roman Towns in Kent, The Evolution of Faversham as a Town and Port, Rochester - 2,000 years young. Tickets: £3.00 (payable C.K.A.) Available from C.K.A., Angle Kin, 7 Sandy Ridge, Borough Green Kent TN15 8HP (S.A.E. please) Event: WEA Courses Local Archaeology; Rochester to Canterbury, a six-week course beginning Thursday 22nd April from 7 to 9 pm. Contact the WEA, 4 Castle Hill, Rochester, (01634) 842140.
Event: Christ Church University College, Canterbury. For the first time, Christ Church is undertaking a series of Sunday field trips and evening walks.
1. An Archaeological walk along the South Downs. A ten-mile walk visiting Cissbury and Chanctonbury Rings along the way. Sunday 9th May.
2. Bigbury Hill Fort, Canterbury. Wednesday 26th May.
3. The Defences of Canterbury. Wednesday 2nd June.
4. The Defences of Rochester. Wednesday 16th June.
5. Sandwich. Wednesday 30th June.
6. The Medway Megaliths. Wednesday 14th July.
All the evening walks start at 7 pm. Contact Christ Church University College (01227) 782805 Amanda Hammersley, Head of Continuing Education. For the Sunday trip, the tutor, Alan Ward, will attempt to arrange lifts for people without transport.
Event: Kent Archaeological Field School. Saturday (and some Sunday) Day Schools for the public held at Faversham. Courses include 'Study of Artifacts', 'Archaeology of Boatbuilding', 'Churchyard and Parish Recording', 'Archaeology of Weeds, Seeds and Crops', and many others. The fee is £25 per day. For further details, contact Kent Archaeological Field School, School Farm Oast, Graveney Road, Faversham, Kent ME13 7JQ Tel: 0181 987 8827 or 0585 700112.
Books
Woodlands of Kent
Geoffrey Roberts, a member of the Society, has recently written Woodlands of Kent: Timber trees, coppice, and country park. Their absorbing chronicle, from wildwood axe to community planting. Published by Geerings of Ashford Ltd. 216 pp. Maps, line drawings, illustrations. Paperback. £16.95. ISBN 1-873953- 31-3.
Mr. Roberts trained in forestry. In his retirement, he has won an award for the conservation management of his own oak wood and has now produced this well-researched history of woodlands management in Kent. The book is intended to provide the general reader with a historical survey of the economic use of the woods and their products. He then outlines the present state of the county's woodland industries and their place in current ecological and recreational thinking.
Rackham has demonstrated that woodland clearance was much further advanced in the county by 1066 than the popular image of the impenetrable 'Wealden Forest' leads us to expect. However, today Kent has a greater acreage of ancient woodland than any other English county. Much woodland has gone out of production in other parts of the country, but in Kent, extensive areas of woodland are still actively coppiced in the traditional cycles. Mr. Roberts has given us an important snapshot of the woods at a time when their economic future is most uncertain. The average age of woodland workers is rising, and there appears little economic incentive for young men to enter the industry.
This is a useful and timely record which comes complete with a map and gazetteer of woodlands to visit in Kent.
L. Elliott
Letters
Apology & Correction: Queenborough Castle Winter 1998 Newsletter
I would be most grateful if you could publish this apology and correction. There was an error in my article, by which several sentences in paragraph 2 on page 3 were rendered nonsensical. The second paragraph on page 3 should, therefore, have read: "There is an apparent discrepancy between the Hatfield House plan and the original building accounts. The latter suggesting that the moat could have been twice the width, and the outer wall foundations 2 meters wider than those shown on the plan. The outer walls, at either width (4m. or 6m.) could have supported artillery (fig3); even the narrower width outer walls could have supported the relatively small gunpowder weapons of the times".
I can only apologise to you and your readers. I accept responsibility for the error and, as a relative newcomer to archaeology, will learn from this public mistake. (The replacement of the word "font" by "fort" in the following paragraph does not seem to be my error).
Christine Hodge
21.2.99
Dear Editor,
During my research into the history of Hollingbourne, which will eventually result in a book on the history of the parish, I have come across an incident of 'rough music' which is of great interest. It took place in 1860 and was reported in the Maidstone & Kentish Journal. A parade of women marched down the street with a full-sized figure dressed in clerical costume, accompanied by a band of rough music (banging of pots and pans and so on). At the green opposite the vicarage, the effigy was burned amidst yells and shrieks. It is reminiscent of the scene from Hardy's 'Mayor of Casterbridge'.
I wonder whether fellow members have come across similar incidents in Kent and if so at what dates? I have not myself come across rough music before and wonder whether it was very common and what date the practice might have commenced.
In this case, the parishioners were expressing their vehement disapproval of the vicar's refusal to give Christian burial to a suicide who had been found by the coroner's court to be of unsound mind. Books on British folklore which I have so far consulted have told me little other than that rough music was usually employed to express disapproval of sexual conduct.
Yours sincerely,
Helen Allinson
The Editors
KAS Newsletter
12.3.99
Dear Editor,
I have been somewhat amazed by the debate on where the Roman Invasion of A.D. 43 occurred. Are Cunliffe, Manley, Rudling et al (hailing from Sussex) all talking with their tongues in cheek and expecting us to believe that the main invasion took place through Chichester? It may well be true that Claudius came that way later in the year, when he purportedly met Plautius in 'London' for a 'picnic'. But Dio Cassius implies that Plautius landed in hostile territory (not invited in by the natives) and facts that have not changed over the years supply enough evidence that the invasion was through Kent.
John Peddie, in his excellent book "Invasion. The Roman Conquest of Britain" quotes Field Marshall Montgomery on the front piece, "The same principles of war which were employed in the past, appear again and again throughout history...."
The logical facts regarding the A.D. 43 invasion as I see them are as follows: Fact 1: The tide is the main key.
It is strongest up the channel and not down, and this tide pull can carry a sailing boat to Ramsgate (or Sandwich) in the same time it takes to cut across the tide to Lympne. This fits with Caesar's description that his boats were carried past Britain with the coast on port... and they had to row back. The A.D. 43 invasion must have been planned on a one tide distance route on the 20-hour two tide complication of Chichester. (A 'Montgomery principle' is that all invasions, or planned invasions of Britain have followed the shortest viable route).
Fact 2: There were some 5,000 horses aboard. Would they have risked taking those on a long sea voyage across two tides? It does not make military sense!
Fact 3: The Romans were a very superstitious lot and God-fearing. They paid much attention to auspicious events and whether the Gods were with them. As Caesar had a successful campaign, they would not have gone against the Gods and him by ignoring the route he had traveled and his strategies.
Fact 4: Lessons were learned from Caesar's problems. The boats needed beaches for landing but then they needed safe harbors for anchorage. I suggest that they aimed for beaches adjacent to Celtic Harbors where safe anchorage and routes for supplies were centered. i.e. Stonar (Richborough), Lympne, and Appledore... three Divisions as Dio Cassius tells us?
A debate is always difficult when evidence is sparse. Questions glare out... why has Caesar's original Camp never been found? He says he marched 11 miles.... eleven Roman miles from Port Lympne is Atchester Wood (pronounced 'aitch' ester in the last century) and it has straight flint roads with side ditches.... has anyone ever looked properly? Have people got hung up on the theory that Bigbury is categorically the camp Caesar sacked? There is evidence around that with common sense, deduction and some excavation might make complete sense.... then the debate is over. Prove Caesar entered through Kent and it is proven (99.9%) that Plautius did too. (0.1% chance they were blown off course by a Michael Fish type hurricane moving west in April)!
Yours sincerely,
Lesley Feakes, Lenham
Newsletter Copy Deadlines
Spring issue - copy deadline is 1st March.
Summer issue - copy deadline is 1st July.
Winter issue - copy deadline is 1st November.
Editors Announcement
The Editors of the Newsletter welcome all letters articles and communications, especially requests for research infodnation , finds, books and other related topics. The Editors wish to draw the reader's attention to the fact that neither the Council of the KAS nor the Editors are answerable for opinions which contributors ma; express in the course of their signed articles_- Each author is alone responsible for the contents and substance of therr letters, items or papers. Material for the 1st July 1999.
Published by the Ken t Archaeological Society, The Museum, St. Faith's Street, Maidstone, Kent ME14 1LI
Printed by Meran Press. Bullen Lano, !last Peckham, Kent TN12 SLP. 01622 872416
