Mersham, Kent - Integrated Site Report
Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 2009. (updated 2017) https://doi.org/10.5284/1044822. How to cite using this DOI
Data copyright © High Speed 1 unless otherwise stated
This work is licensed under the ADS Terms of Use and Access.
Primary contact
Stuart
Foreman
Senior Project Manager
Oxford Archaeology (South)
Janus House
Osney Mead
Oxford
OX2 0ES
UK
Tel: 01865 263800
Fax: 01865 793496
Resource identifiers
- ADS Collection: 2468
- DOI:https://doi.org/10.5284/1044822
- How to cite using this DOI
Introduction
As part of an extensive programme of archaeological investigation carried out in advance of the construction of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL), Canterbury Archaeological Trust was commissioned to undertake a detailed archaeological excavation on land situated to the south of the church of St John the Baptist, in Mersham, Kent (OS NGR 605946 138812). The excavation was carried out between December 1998 and January 1999, under the project management of Rail Link Engineering, on behalf of Union Railways (South) Limited (a subsidiary of London and Continental Railways).
Limited evidence for late Anglo-Saxon settlement activity was indicated by five refuse pits and a shallow gully. Both smelting and smithing evidence were associated with this phase in the form of large quantity of metallurgical debris found in the largest pit.
The medieval period (AD 1050-1250) represented the main phase of occupation of the site with an intensification of both domestic and industrial activity. Domestic features included one possible timber built structure and some probably associated cess and rubbish pits containing domestic refuse. Industrial features included a consecutive sequence of drainage ditches feeding a small pond and refuse pits containing quantities of metallurgical waste. The activities identified in the late Saxon and early medieval periods had largely ceased by the middle of the 12th century.
A new field system was established in the late medieval period and only agricultural related features were found from this phase onwards. It is likely that the focus for domestic/industrial activity moved elsewhere in the late medieval and post-medieval periods.
The fieldwork events incorporated in this report are:
- Mersham (ARC MSH98) - Excavation
