More information : [TQ 7656 5158] Camp [NR]
[TQ 7674 5169] Late Celtic Remains found AD.1911 [NAT] (1)
This earthwork is situated in orchards in a poor defensive position on the S bank of the steep-sided Loose Valley. It lies on a low
Greensand spur (Hythe Beds) capped by a deposit of loamy clay which would have been heavily wooded in its natural state. The work was apparently U-shaped on plan enclosing an area of about 28 acres, with the open end resting on the steep river bank, but all evidence hereabouts has been destroyed by quarrying. There is also no trace of the SW side, which probably has been destroyed by cultivation, but it is possible that in fact it never existed. The surviving defences comprise, on the NW. side, a massive rampart (see sections) mutilated in places by cultivation and, on the SE side a slightly smaller rampart with traces of a ditch.
In July 1911, during quarrying at the NE. corner of the enclosed area pottery and bones were found in two small ditches or refuse pits. A representative selection in Maidstone Museum includes various Belgic wares and an amphora sherd with the stamp EB. It is all early 1st century AD with some Roman imports. There are also two small imperfect La Tene III fibulae and part of a bronze pin.
In April-July 1963 two sections were dug across the defences by Mrs Piercy Fox on behalf of the Kent Archaeological Society. At 'A' (TQ 76665148), in a ditch section, a few sherds of hard, wheel-made pottery were found in the primary silting. At 'B' (TQ 76375153) traces of stone walling were found in a section across the rampart. The excavations are to be continued. The 1911 finds, the evidence of the 1963 excavations, and the valley siting in wooded country, all point to this being an original Belgic work, and not of relatively recent origin as suggested by the VCH. The case is further strengthened by the discovery during fieldwork of a strong boundary work to the S. similar to those found in association with other Belgic sites; and by the marked density of Belgic finds in the vicinity (see 1" distribution map). It therefore seems reasonable to conclude that here was an important Belgic centre or oppidum. Scheduled as 'Boughton Quarry Camp'
Published 25" survey revised. (2)
South of 'Boughton Monchelsea Camp', a large probable Belgic work there is a boundary-type earthwork which can be traced from Linton Park (TQ 75755055) to Chart Corner (TQ 79935029), a distance of about two and three-quarter miles. Facing S., it runs in an E-W direction along the top of the escarpment overlooking the Kentish Weald, sometimes on the forward but more often on the reverse crest. The soil, a loamy clay (Head) capping the Lower Greensand (Hythe Beds), would have been heavily wooded in its natural state, as it still is in many places.
The earthwork comprises a strong bank and ditch (see sections) which, though for the most part laid out in short straights, follows a sinuous course. Midway along its length, on the W side of Tilt's
Wood (TQ 777505), it suddenly turns N towards Cock Street. There is no apparent topographical reason for this deviation and it may have been necessary either to skirt dense woodland or to enclose already cleared land. For a short distance at Amber Green it becomes a double bank and ditch, with the ramparts running parallel about 40.0m apart.
It is here, in a cleared orchard NW. of Amberfield (TQ 78755042), that an apparent break in Rochester-Lympne-Hastings Roman Road. However, the line of the road and the traces of the earthwork hereabouts are not clear and only excavation will prove this point. No trace has been discovered beyond Linton Park on Chart Corner but on the N. bank of the Loose Valley at TQ 78395140 there is an earthwork of massive proportions (see section), mutilated by quarrying. It lies on a steep slope with the S. end resting on a stream and consists of a rampart and ditch facing E.
No certain dating evidence has been encountered during recording and fieldwork, but the fact that it is apparently cut through by the Rochester-Lympne-Hastings Roman Road suggests that it may be pre-Roman and therefore a boundary or outwork of the Belgic earthwork in Quarry Wood, Boughton Monchelsea, half a mile to the N. Despite extensive perambulation, it is probable that more of this earthwork remains to be identified. (3)
TQ 765515. Quarry Wood Camp. This site was excavated between 1963 and 1967 by the Kent Archaeological Society as part of its programme into the investigation of Iron Age earthworks. All that now remains of the original earthwork is a single western bank and a single eastern bank with traces of a ditch on its eastern side. The former is about 300 yards long and ranges from 8ft. at the north end to 21ft. at the south end above the present ground level. The latter extends for about 380 yards and stands 8-9 feet high. Any defences to the south were levelled by the landowner in the early 19th century and, similarly, any defences to the north were entirely destroyed by quarrying. The enclosed area would probably have been about 30 acres. No original gateways remain but there is a suggestion that there might have been one at the south-west corner. The whole earthwork was built in one period only, the second quarter of the 1st century A.D., not long before the Roman invasion. This date is supported by the pottery found in 1911. Linear earthworks to the south, north and east, discovered and traced by the Archaeology Division of the Ordnance Survey, are likely to have been part of the same defensive complex. The main portion of this outwork lies half a mile south of Quarry Wood Camp and consists of a bank with a ditch on the south side running east to west for two and three quarter miles between the 400 ft. contours closing the gap formed by the lower ground between. All that remains of the eastern outworks is a short section of a massive bank and ditch running north-south with the ditch on the east side about one mile east of Quarry Wood Camp. The northern defences are almost totally obliterated by building except for a slight stretch of bank and ditch north of Pickering Street (TQ 76425263). The western side was protected by the Loose Valley.
Various finds have established with reasonable certainty that these earthworks belong to the same Belgic period as Quarry Wood Camp and provided defensive outworks for this Belgic oppidum. See Authority 4 for full excavation report. (4)
Quarry Wood Camp, Loose, Kent. This important Iron Age earthwork, of comparatively recent recognition, lies in the general area of one of the densest concentrations of Belgic-period sites and find spots.
The defences of the Camp are not straightforward and appear to include a phase of Fecamp-style fortifications, showing signs of similarity of size and siting to Wallbury (TL 41 NE 18) and encloses at least 11 ha. Apart from the fact that the area around Loose was obviously of focal interest in the Belgic period, oppidum itself warrants classification as 'major' rather than 'minor' on the evidence of the linear dykes which flank the valley defining a substantial block of land. There is no reason to suppose that the association of the dykes was other than with the oppidum although due to their incomplete survival it is impossible to assess the total acreage which they defined. Their date should however, be checked. (5)
TQ 766519. Boughton Monchelsea. Boughton Quarry Camp. Listed under Camps and Settlements (pre-Roman) and scheduled 153. (6)
(TQ 76445161, etc) Earthwork (NR) (seven times). (7)
Additional authorities. (8-10)
Additional bibliography. (11)
Quarry Wood Camp proper remains much as planned and described in 1964 (2) and should be classed as a major oppidum. (5)
The 360m long rampart on the SE side has a row of mature trees along its top and is covered by dense undergrowth. The short section of outer ditch is extant. The NW rampart, approx 280m long, is under scrub and grass cover; a limited area of slumping at TQ 76385155 reveals a predominately earthen composition with small stone content.
It was most probably laid out along the line of a natural scarp which would account for the 5.5m high outer slope and 2.3m high inner slope; in its present form the rampart presents an impressive and formidable defensive feature. Lack of evidence for an outer ditch may mean that a strong extra defence was not required. Two simple entrance gaps are shown on the VCH plan.(2e) That at TQ 76421567 mid-way along the existing NW rampart with a fence up one side was almost certainly a relatively recent feature; the rampart around this point had by 1964 been disturbed and largely destroyed althought the gap which overlooks a steep fall of slope is still just evident. The second narrow gap flanked by a ditch at TQ 76585144 is not depicted on the 1964 OS 1:2500 survey (2) nor mentioned elsewhere. Its existence could not be verified at the time of investigation because of the dense vegetation cover but it too was probably a later feature. Neither gap is noted nor discussed in the 1971 report (4) although reference is made to the lack of original gateways. As stated there are no surface indications of a rampart on the
southern side and the gently sloping interior is covered by apple orchards. Much of the once impressive linear to the SE of the earthwork has beenploughed down, the short sections which remain undoubtably owe their survival to the dense woodland which envelops them. Three short stretches have been effaced entirely since the 1964 OS 1:2500 survey.
1) TQ 77115041 to TQ 77325029. A previously well defined length of bank and ditch c250m along now ploughed out. 2) TQ 79195027. A 38m length of bank cut away in a private garden.
3) TQ 79445028 to TQ 79575029. A 134m section of bank destroyed by new housing.
The reson for the existence of the twin univallate banks centred
TQ 78505044 cannot be explained by fieldwork alone. They appear to be different in character and may simply be the meeting point of two different linears or may perhaps have been associated with a road which pre-dated the Roman Road allegedly crossing the area. Both banks are ditched on the south side however there is a noticeable weakening of the north scarp of the ridge approximately where the banks double up. The majority of the linear outside the wooded areas lies in regularly cultivated arable ground which was under standing crop at the time of investigation but where traceable the ploughed down bank is about 12m wide and no more than 0.3mhigh. A probable extension was identified at the eastern end of the linear from TQ 79935029 to TQ 80615026 as a spread bank of similar proportions traceable standing crop to a point where it apparently turns due south.
TQ 78395135 to TQ 78415146. This c.120m long univallate work runs down a steep south-facing hillslope and terminates at a small stream. The upper part ends in a rounded ditch whilst the lower half has been overlaid and destroyed by a quarry waste tip. A typical profile from east to west across the bank and ditch is: bank 1.8m high bank and ditch 4m high and ditch 1.9m deep.
Publised 1:2500 survey revised. (12)
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