Monument record TR 26 NE 1405 - Ring ditch 4 - Monkton

During excavations conducted in 1994-5 in advance of dualling work on the A253 the northern portion of a possible small penannular ring ditch was exposed (Ring Ditch 4). Although this feature has been interpreted as a penannular or horseshoe-shaped ring-ditch, since only a small part was exposed it is possible that it represents part of some other monument, perhaps an enclosure. The feature was delineated by a curving ditch, running from the southern section and curving through 90 degrees to terminate in the east. The area enclosed by the ditch, as exposed within the easement, measured c 10 by 5m. The ditch cut was 1.9m wide at the surface and 1.45m wide at the base. It had a flatbased profile and was between 0.35 and 0.45m in depth. The mostly sterile fills of the ditch consisted of lenses of crushed chalk and brown loam, which lay directly above the base. These represented the initial erosion products of the ditch sides. They were overlain in turn by a layer of chalk rubble with traces of silt. This layer covered the sides and base of the ditch and may have been derived from the interior. The final deposit, which filled the remainder of the profile, consisted of a compact brown clay soil with occasional flint and chalk fragments. This colluvial deposit yielded eight flint flakes. There were no discernible interior or exterior features associated with this ditch. However, a small quarry pit complex of later date cut through its northern edge. This intercutting complex of features had probably been excavated in several phases but the overall stratigraphic sequence was difficult to establish, due to excision by the latest phases of quarrying. The fills of these individual cuts were all alike, generally artefactually sterile silty clays with chalk rubble inclusions and therefore the features have been considered as one unit. The dating of this quarry complex is unclear. The six separate pits were excavated over an unspecified length of time and may be associated with a refurbishment of a central mound. (1-2)

<1> Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 1996, Canterbury's Archaeology 1994 - 1995 (Serial). SKE11882.

<2> Trust for Thanet Archaeology, 1993, An Archaeological Evaluation Ahead Of Improvements To The A253, Monkton To Minster (Unpublished document). SKE17233.

<3> Historic England Archive, 1949-1976, Historic England Archive CUCAP oblique aerial photographs, CUCAP CW65 19-JUL-1949 (Archive). SKE57107.