Monument record MKE130622 - A pair of now‑eroded mounds was recorded north of Shornemead Fort

A pair of now‑eroded mounds was recorded on the North Kent foreshore, each consisting largely of briquetage, the characteristic ceramic waste generated by Roman salt‑making. Briquetage includes the fired‑clay supports, props, pedestals and thickened pan fragments used in evaporating brine. In this case the material was predominantly red, friable and heavily salt‑affected, with many pieces retaining a pale cream or green internal film caused by salt‑ash chemical reactions during brine evaporation. The mounds also contained substantial deposits of charcoal, burnt reed (likely fuel or packing material), and flint‑tempered coarsewares that were extensively sooted, suggesting repeated exposure to hearths or evaporation furnaces.
The two mounds appear to have been closely associated and probably formed part of a single phase of salt‑making waste disposal, dating broadly to the late first to early or mid‑second century AD, most likely between AD 140 and 170/180. A significant quantity of animal bone, including sheep/goat and pig, was found within one mound, which was especially rich in burnt bone. The presence of bone and the predominance of mussel shell are consistent with domestic waste being cleared from a working area, and the combination raises the possibility that salt production here may have been seasonal, coinciding with livestock butchery and exploitation of marine resources. Notably, North Kent Shell‑Tempered Ware (NKSH)—a common local shelly fabric—was absent, which is atypical for Roman foreshore deposits in this region.
Stratigraphically, the briquetage dump originally lay beneath SMF 03, a Roman briquetage working floor dating from AD 140–180, demonstrating that SMF 02 forms the earlier phase of activity. Comparatively small quantities of Black‑Burnished Ware Type 2 (BB2) and occasional fragments of samian ware (fine, red‑slipped tableware imported from Gaul) were also noted, with samian forms ranging from AD 70–110 into the second century. These finds support a date of approximately AD 140–170/80 for the principal dumping episode. Portable Antiquities Scheme records from around 2010–2011 also document briquetage “salt‑furniture” and isolated samian finds from the vicinity, further confirming that this represents redeposited industrial debris from a nearby salt‑making installation.
Both mounds have now been entirely removed by coastal erosion, a process visible in historic aerial and satellite imagery. By 2025 only dispersed, secondary fragments of briquetage and associated artefacts remained within the tidal archive, continuing to be reworked by wave action. The feature is therefore effectively lost, with its surviving components restricted to residual material currently being gradually dispersed across the foreshore.(1)

<1> Steve Trim, 2026, SHORNE/HIGHAM THAMESIDE ROMANO-BRITISH SITES 2012-2015+, SMF (02) (Unpublished document). SKE58794.