Darent Valley community archaeology update
By Anne Sassin
Although much of the past year has been spent in fieldwork and post-excavation, like many other heritage projects, the lockdown resulting from COVID-19 halted activities for a time in the spring. Focus on making available activities as the LiDAR Portal which could be engaged with from the safety of homes became a top priority, and after careful risk assessment small-scale fieldwork was also able to take place by the summer. The following is a brief recap of some of the community archaeology work undertaken by the Darent Valley Landscape Partnership since last winter. Though the new restrictions have not allowed us to be as inclusive or reach as many audiences as we would like, we hope to be able to resume full-force in the coming months!
Lullingstone Castle
In March, immediately before COVID lockdown restrictions began, a small team of volunteers was able to undertake a geophysical survey at Lullingstone Castle, in advance of what was intended to be a community dig on the house’s north lawn in May.
First built by Sir Percival Hart, some of the original Tudor fabric still survives at the castle, both at the outer gatehouse and east and north faces of the house. However, the house was substantially altered in the 18th century, with the inner gatehouse reportedly pulled down, and bomb damage in the Second World War which effectively destroyed its archives have left little evidence for the site’s early history.
A resistivity survey of the castle lawn was first undertaken in 2011 by the West Kent Archaeological Society which identified features of interest, including a possible sunken garden on the north lawn, immediately adjacent to the original Tudor wing. This was re-surveyed in March by a small team of Darent Valley volunteers at a higher (0.5m by 0.5m) resolution, helping to clarify the pathways and later service drains identified.
The team also carried out a magnetometry survey on the main lawn and areas of the north lawns to supplement the earlier resistivity survey, possibly identifying the area of debris associated with the demolished inner gatehouse and other linear features. The survey coverage will be extended to other areas within the grounds, and the intended dig of the north wing lawn will be rescheduled for a later season, as time and restrictions allow.
Kent LiDAR Portal
In May, the project was delighted to be able to launch the online LiDAR Portal, an interactive citizen science tool which allows registered users to freely view LiDAR datasets and record potential features identified, ideal at the height of lockdown when so many were restricted to working from home.
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Fig 1: 2020 electrical resistance survey of north wing lawn at Lullingstone Castle, which may show part of the pathways associated with a former (Tudor or later?) sunken garden
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Fig 2: Volunteer team surveying the north wing lawn
The design of the Portal (kentlidar.org.uk) is adapted from the Chilterns AONB’s Beacons of the Past LiDAR Portal and owes significantly to the work and input of Dr Rebecca Bennett, who worked on the South Downs Secrets of the High Woods project.
Although the Portal currently only displays the 191 km2 coverage of high resolution 0.25m data for the Darent Valley LPS area and extension to incorporate the Sevenoaks Commons, it is intended that other datasets will be uploaded as well, including the Medway Valley Valley of Visions data from 2011.
With multiple layers which can be viewed at once, from HER data points to First and Second Edition OS maps and various mapping tools, the Portal is an excellent device for viewing and interpreting the processed LiDAR images. Users are also encouraged to digitise potential features which they identify, with over 250 citizen records to date (many awaiting reviews). As soon as restrictions allow, small teams will be taking the new field recorder app out to verify and groundtruth some of the features, an activity currently planned for the winter months.
Excavations and fieldwork at Lullingstone Roman Villa
Following the 2019 summer fieldwork at Lullingstone Roman Villa, the team has been working hard to complete the post-excavation work, including processing of the environmental samples and marking of the finds for specialist analysis.
Although this work also had to cease amongst the main team of volunteers in March, some post-ex was able to take place at home, helping to bring the 2019 material to a more completed state.
While analysis of the archaeobotanical material is still underway, some interesting findings have already resulted from the assessment, undertaken by Wendy Carruthers. The 2019 dig involved a series of test pits and trial trenches in the meadow immediately north of the villa, as well as a small 2x3m trench within the scheduled areas of the site, in a previously unexcavated area of the granary adjacent to the northern box compartment. Despite much of the meadow having been disturbed from various service works, including the valley sewer pipe, evidence for crop processing is apparent, coinciding with the early-middle Roman dates for activity in this area suggested by KARU’s excavations in 1986. More thorough sampling in the granary resulted in a large quantity of well-preserved, semi-cleaned grain – indicative of a stored product – which supports its purported function. However, radiocarbon dates may indicate a slightly later construction than the later 3rd-century date suggested by Meates, as well as possible continued use into the 5th century.
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Fig 3: 0.25m LiDAR coverage for Darent Valley data
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Fig 4: Possible features, including deneholes and earlier field systems, north of Preston Hill on the Kent LiDAR Portal Bottom
Fig 5: Site plan of 2019 excavations at Lullingstone
A second fieldwork season – in this case, small-scale and socially-distanced – was able to take place in July, focusing on the wider landscape and entailing two trial trenches to investigate features identified through magnetometry in the field overlooking the villa, immediately to its north-west. Interventions revealed a chalk-cut ditch, possibly part of an early enclosure relating to the villa site, and large (8m diameter) pit which was not able to be bottomed due to its depth. Both features appear to be early Roman in date, and a structured deposit of a storage jar upturned over the body of a lapdog in the pit suggests a probable ritual function. Further work in part of this field is planned for 2021, by which time more conclusions will be able to be drawn.
Other work
In late spring we were also able to commission Darnley Archaeological Services for a magnetometer survey at Preston Farm, Shoreham – site of a Roman bath-house
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Fig 6: 2019 recording of the granary trench (looking northeast)
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Fig 7: The volunteer team processing residue at the Darent Valley offices in Shoreham
As always, the hard work and efforts of volunteers have driven these projects. Many thanks must be made to them, as well as the communities along the valley who give their support and of course, the
National Lottery Heritage Fund and its players. If you wish to get involved with any of the Darent Valley work, please email anne.sassin@kentdowns.org.uk, follow us on Facebook @DVLPS and Twitter @Darent_Valley, or have a look at the website (https://darent-valley.org.uk/). In the meantime, please stay safe over the coming months!
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Fig 8: Excavation of the chalk pit in the field above the villa in July 2020 Above
Fig 9: Surveying the site of the Roman bath-house at Preston Farm