Archæologia Cantiana 132

Study focusing on the major role played by Kent in prehistoric cross-channel trade, particularly in bronze scrap and high-status bronze artefacts during the Bronze and Early Iron Age. Archaeological and documentary evidence described in the paper shows that, from the Neolithic to the Iron Age, the eastern trade route connected south-east Britain via the Thames and the coast of Kent with the resource-rich areas of the Alps and Central Europe. At its most developed stage, it also extended as far as the Mediterranean. It is proposed that the virtual collapse of the trade route in the sixth century BC led to cultural and technological isolation in south-east Britain, in turn contributing to the decline of coastal settlement, a situation only reversed with the re-establishment of the eastern route during the Late Iron Age. LD

In 2008 limited targeted recording was undertaken of parts not normally accessible at the Old Castle at Scotney; an interpretive survey of the house as a whole was subsequently commissioned by the National Trust. Part I of this article (see Vol. 131) analysed the medieval development of the site. Part II continues the ownership narrative and the description of the Old Castle's architectural development over the 300 years from the mid-16th century. Reconstructed plans and elevations of aspects of the building in the 17th and 18th centuries are presented. LD

Preliminary report on the discovery of two bronze vessels during metal-detecting on farmland. The objects comprise a bi-conical vessel containing a cremation, and a dish that had been placed over it as a lid. Research into their possible history suggests that both vessels may have been manufactured in Capua in the second half of the first century AD or early in the second. The distribution of parallels is considered, helping to place Thanet in its context at the fringe of the Roman empire. LD

A scheme of interventions was carried out at a development site within an area that has been located near the heart of the city of Canterbury since its beginnings in the late Iron Age and early Roman period. Although the depth of the archaeological excavations was limited, some observations were made of deeper service trenches; the scheme added a few new details to existing understanding of the site in the Roman period, and allowed some systematic sampling of the medieval and post-medieval archaeology. Au/LD

Brief reports on sites recently excavated by the Trust. Sites in Canterbury City: at the Marlowe Theatre site, characterised by well-preserved wooden structural remains, a Romano-British town house, medieval revetments and pits, and a good sequence of post-medieval buildings; a sequence of Roman buildings and an Anglo-Saxon structure at the Beaney Institute; works adjacent to the SW transept of the Cathedral; evidence of occupation from the Roman period onwards at 5-7 The Parade; a watching brief during renovation work at the late medieval Grade II* Listed All Saints Court; evidence of mixed Roman-period activity and possible late Iron Age features at Ryde Street; evidence of industrial and funerary activity in the NW suburbs of the Roman town at 71 St Dunstan's Street. Sites outside Canterbury: survey work at Bigbury Camp and the Blean Woods (late prehistoric earthwork features); evaluation of a ring-ditch cropmark and other features at Wickhambreaux barrow cemetery; monitoring of the installation of new facilities at St Peter's Church, Bridge; Bronze Age burials and an Anglo-Saxon cemetery at The Meads, Sittingbourne; watching briefs and an evaluation within the Anglo-Saxon and medieval abbey grounds at Minster in Sheppey; medieval and post-medieval pits and medieval wall foundations at Sandown Road, Sandwich; Iron Age settlement and an early Roman field system at Deal Waterworks; environmental sampling from boreholes at Market Square, Dover; confirmation of the presence of significant remains within the Scheduled Roman fort in Dover, off Cowgate Hill; medieval remains adjacent to the site of the lost medieval church of St Martin and its cemetery in New Romney, although no burials or human remains were encountered; evidence of medieval activity close to the location of the medieval waterfront and fish market in New Romney; evaluation revealing part of a brick building with a railway at the Royal School of Military Engineers at Upper Udnor; good evidence of prehistoric, Romano-British and post-medieval activity at Honeywood Parkway; recording of the internal layout of St Mary's Church, Ashford, where almost the entire ground plan of an early Norman church was revealed. LD

Notes arising from the re-examination of a hoard of 18 Iron Age coins, originally discovered in 1983. The number of known coins and varieties has increased considerably in the intervening years, and a new classification system is currently in preparation by the author. A corrected list under the earlier system is presented and some similar hoards are mentioned. LD

Note on the investigation of a fissure that had developed within a ditch at Fort Borstal, near Rochester. The fissure was descended and a blocked shaft was found. The investigators concluded that the shaft was the filled access of a chalkwell-type denehole that had been uncovered during construction of the fort in 1875. It would have made a convenient place for the disposal of construction debris, which was used to fill it completely. A late 18th or early 19th century date for the chalkwell itself is probable. LD