Archaeol Cantiana 134

This article summarises the results of the Kent Farmsteads and Landscapes Project, which aimed to develop the county's Historic Environment Record and ensure that the contribution of farmsteads to the character of the landscape and local distinctiveness is fully taken into account. Farmsteads, outfarms and field barns were recorded from Ordnance Survey mapping of around 1895. The historic form and, through comparison with modern maps, the survival of farmsteads was then captured. The results were examined against landscape character and type, with case studies taking the analysis to a finer grain. The range of farmstead types, and the way that they relate to broad differences in land use across the county, serve as a reminder that understanding the working areas of the farmstead is as important as the survey of their buildings, and that understanding the whole group provides an effective means of framing and questioning the historical relationship of farmsteads to their landscapes. The case studies also show that the reordering of Kent's farmsteads was intimately linked to the amalgamation of farms in the 19th century, including the development of dispersed cluster into multi-yard and courtyard plans. LD

In 2012 a second season of geophysical and topographical survey was undertaken within Bourne Park, an area of open parkland about 6km south-east of Canterbury. Sites under investigation included land where cropmarks representing a probable Roman building had been observed, and an area where Roman coins and other artefacts had been recovered by metal detectorists. This paper constitutes an interim report on the geomagnetic results. The primary objective of the 2012 survey was to collect data to facilitate interpretation of the landscape context of the known features and analysis of the relationship between this site and other Roman sites in the wider area. Groups of geophysical anomalies were interpreted as several ditched enclosures, with internal features including a possible hearth or furnace, a possible burial mound, two wings of a structural complex of probable Roman date, possible Anglo-Saxon sunken-featured buildings, and walls and structures probably associated with 19th century landscaping. Some features visible in the aerial photographs did not respond well to geomagnetic survey, and a complementary campaign of earth-resistance and ground-penetrating radar survey has begun in areas where there is strong evidence for structural remains. LD

Describes and illustrates a Bronze Age palstave discovered by a metal detectorist in 2012 in a field near St Margaret's-at-Cliffe, near Dover. The situation in which it was found is noted and a similar example found near Ashford in the 1980s is mentioned. It is considered unlikely that the axe was discarded, but instead that it may have originated from a deposit associated with a metalwork hoard nearby. LD

Mentions the author's research into First World War anti-invasion defences in the Thames and Medway area, and Kent County Council's Defence of Kent Project. Among the sites being researched by the author is a small one on the Hoo Peninsular at Slough Fort on the south bank of the Thames at Allhallows. The fort was originally built in 1867 during a 'Cold War' with France. Its later history is summarised and a sketch plan of the First World War anti-landing defences is presented. It is hoped that an evaluation trench can be excavated which, as well as contributing to knowledge, could suggest possibilities for future enhancement of the public display of the fort. LD