More information : [TQ 9184 6597] Castle Rough [NR] (1)
Possible Danish defensive work - uncertain. (2)
Castle Rough in Milton is usually said to be a Danish fortress site, constructed circa 893. It is not large enough to serve an army, but may have sheltered Danish marauders or conversely have been a defensive work against the Danes. The moat on the S.W. side is about 12ft. below the enclosed mount, and a little less on the other sides. (3)
Castle Rough is of square form, surrounded by a high bank, thrown up, and a broad ditch. There is a raised causeway, very plain to be seen, leading from it towards the sea shore. (4)
Two Viking fleets set out from France in 893 under the leadership of Hastein. The second division advanced up the Thames and encamped at Milton-next-Sittingbourne. The small, rectangular earthwork near Milton Creek, known as Castle Rough, may mark the encampment but it was hardly of sufficient size to accommodate Hastein's army. (5)
Castle Rough. The earthwork lies at the foot of the E. slope of Kemsley Down, a few feet above present sea level. 70 metres square in plan, it comprises a broad ditch with a slight outer bank on all sides but the N.W.; the interior is nearly level. The ditch has a maximum depth of 2.5 metres on the N.W. side. It is everywhere dry, but doubtless was originally filled, by tidal means, from the E. corner. There is no trace of the original entrance nor of internal occupation. There is also a marked absence of an inner rampart.
The earthwork is in fairly good condition; partially covered by trees and bushes. It has the appearance of a normal homestead moat. (6)
The place called Castle Rough on Kemsley Downs is wholly unsuited to be the stronghold of an army, it is too small even to have accommodated Hastein's men and there was no place for the ships. This small square-shaped enclosure appears to be the site of a fortified manor house. (7)
[TQ 918 660] Castle Rough, scheduled. (8)
Examination of "Castle Rough" by the Sittingbourne and Swale Archaeological Research Group in circa 1972, provided evidence that it was in fact constructed in the 13th or 14th century. The site comprises a water-filled moat of average width 7 metres, surrounding a mound 45 metres by 43 metres in area, and 3 metres high above water level. The ground is now pasture, with a dense clump of bushes on the mound. The banks of the moat are being eroded by cattle.
A single trench, divided into three sections was opened on the south flank of the mound. On cutting through its make up it was found to consist of brickearth, sand, and blue clay, throughout which were scattered Mesolithic scrapers and flakes. In the lowest deposit just above the natural brickearth, several sherds of Romano-British pottery were found accompanied by some sherds of 13th or 14th century green-glazed pottery. All the artifacts seemed to have been brought in with the dumped earth. The presence of the medieval pottery in the mounds make up suggest that the "Castle" was constructed at least 500 years after the visit of the Danes. (See Illustration Card for plan) (9)
Mesolithic flints from the 1972 excavations. (10)
[TQ 918660] Castle Rough, listed in the county checklist for moated sites in Kent - December 1979. (11)
Castle Rough moat and island site are large. Water encircles all four sides with a stream running into Milton Creek as a secondary defence on the south-east side. In parts the water is shallow enough to allow wading on to the island. This is partly open grass, but there is much thorn shrub and there has been recent interference in the shape of the trenching (a). The monument is as described in (a); the moat is as wide as 6 metres in places. On the north side where the moat is shallow are tracks across the island made by a tractor. Much of the thorn shrub on top has been uprooted (b). (12)
Listed by Cathcart King. (13) |