Excavations at Dover 1945-1947

EXCAVATIONS AT DOVER, 1945-1947 By LESLIE MURRAY THBELPLAND, B.A., F.S.A., and K. A. STEER, M.A., Ph.D., F.S.A. DURING the 1939-45 war, the town of Dover, lying between the chalk downs at the mouth of the River Dour, twenty miles from the French coast, suffered severely from bombing and cross-Channel shelling. Towards the end of the war a Committee was formed under the Presidency of the Lord Bishop of Dover, with the object of examining some of the razed sites (Fig. 1) before they were rebuilt, to find out more of the history of the town in the Roman period. D O V E R . PLAN JHEWlWG WAR I©I DAMAGED AREA! IN THE Church N CENTRE OF TOWN AND EXCAVATION.! 1945-6-7 o m w A is. re -p <* re 73 U rmn FIG. 1 130 DOVER, SHOWING ROMAN SITES, APPROXIMATE E X T E N T Q F ROMAN FORTRE55<*HAmD)AND PROBABLE LINE OF MEDIAEVAL TOWN WALLS. fAXON FOUNDATION! FOUNB FOV/C fVKTltt L3 cow HFIENS BUTCH "KSEVEHOS f ^ T O W E R i * JWRIAN ^TO VIATE^f-fT*: NAR.E GATE / f L Jb*/2 ' (Bated upen. tht Ordruuict Sitrvay mdf>) Fio. 2 [ fac£ p. ISO EXCAVATIONS AT DOVER, 1945-7 Dover is mentioned by the Notitia Dignitatum as the site of a Saxon shore fort,1 but was probably one of the ports of the Classis Britannica at a much earher date. Professor R. E. M. Wheeler, writmg in 1929,2 gave an account of the Roman remains found there by chance discoveries and observation of building operations. He suggested, tentatively, on the available evidence, a position for the Roman fort on the west side of the Dour and in the north-west corner of the medieval fortifications (Fig. 2)3. In the late summer of 1945, therefore, two trenches were cut (Sites 1 and 2) in order to test the position of his postulated defences on the east and south. In 1946, Site 2 was enlarged and extended, and in 1947 Dr. K. A. Steer cut another trench on Site L Sinc then more work has been carried out elsewhere by others whose discoveries wiU be published later. SITE 1. TRENCH 1 (Fig. 3). Trench I was cut eastwards from Church Street through the shaUow basement of a ruined house and its garden beyond, across the hne of the supposed Roman fortress wall. About 7 ft. down in this trench, waterlevel was reached, and we were unable to continue below in 1945, through lack of pumps. However, at the west end of the trench were traces of probable Roman occupation, although no sign of a town waU was discovered. A waU (2 ft. 6 in. wide) built of flints and chalk lay across the trench, with a square hole for an upright timber post showing in the top of it. On the west against this wall was a level of sand intermixed with occasional flints and pieces of mortar, and below it, at the water-level, a layer of loose gravel material. A few 2ndcentury A.D. sherds of Samian and coarse ware came from these levels, and a broken piece of tile stamped [C]L8B came from the mortar of the waU itself. Beyond this waU, to the east, is a level of Roman debris which is discussed more fuUy by Dr. K. A. Steer below, cut through by a later pit or well. Above the sealing of the pit is a level of buUding rubbish associated with a post-Roman Avail of large chalk blocks whose foundations cut into the Roman levels below, but which continue up untU cut off by the modern basement floor. An 18-in. level of clear sand topped with pebbles hes against this waU on the east and above it is a dump of late 12th- and 13th-century4 rubbish leveUing up the ground until sealed by a puddled chalk floor, probably 1 The name exists only in the locative case as Dubris. 2 " The Roman Lighthouses at Dover," by R. E. M. Wheeler, and " The Saxon Shore Fortress at Dover," by B. G. J. Amos and R. E. M. Wheeler. Arch. Journ., LXXXVI, 2nd Series XXXVT, pp. 29-58, 1929. 3 Taken from Arch. Journ., LXXXVI and reproduced by kind permission of Professor R. E. M. Wheeler. 4 Mr. G. C. Dunning has examined the medieval pottery and reports on it below. 131 EXCAVATIONS AT DOVER, 1945-7 of 16th- to 17th-century date. Above that came the modern levels, and at the east end of the trench a recent cess-pit. Roman sherds were found in aU the medieval levels, ranging from late 1st to 4th centuries A.D. No coins were found in this trench, and only a medieval' counter and two indeterminate fragments of bone pins from upper levels. SITE 1. TRENCH IA (Fig. 3). By K. A. STEER. As Trench I could not be carried down to subsoil, a wider and deeper trench was cut 8 ft. to the north, in 1947, on the site of No. 14 Church Street. If Professor Wheeler's tentative reconstruction of the fort plan was correct, the east waU should have been encountered 15-20 ft. from the west end of this trench. Although the trench was dug to a minimum depth of 12 ft. below the present street level, 4 ft. deeper than the foundations of the supposed fort waU uncovered 40 yd. to the south in 1908,1 the only structure found was a medieval boundary waU which ran obhquely across the east end of the trench. Otherwise the house and garden rested simply on successive rubbish-tips dumped on marshy ground. Five main tip-layers could be distinguished. The two upper layers (1 and 2 on Fig. 3) contained some forty sherds, the bulk of which date from the middle of the 12th to the 13th century, although a few were as late as the 17th century. The next layer (3), which terminated on the east against a modern cess-pit, was only about 1 ft. thick and consisted exclusively of debris from a Roman structure—chalk blocks, pieces of tufa, lime mortar, and Roman bonding-tiles with the mortar still adhering. This debris is probably an extension of the Roman debris observed under Church Street in 1908 :2 the thinness of the layer in the trench indicates that it was dehberately spread to provide a hard surface over as wide an area as possible. The underlying layers (4 and 5) were both of Roman date, the former containing several pieces of Roman tile (one stamped [CL.B]R),3 and the latter the base of a Samian mortarium, a scrap of Samian form 33, and the rim of a 2nd-century coarse mortarium, together with a good deal of misceUaneous refuse, including bones, tUes, mussel-shells, and branches of wUd cherry (Prunus avium). Layer 5 hes almost entirely below the present water-level, and the exceUent state of preservation of the bones and wood is only exphcable on the assumption that the ground was waterlogged in Roman times. Owing to the fact that the avaUable pumping-equipment was unable to cope with the inrush of water, it was only possible to examine the top of the underlying stratum (6) 1 Arch. Journ., LXXXVT, p. 50. 2 Ibid., p. 52. 3 Journal of Roman Studies, XXXVIII, p. 103. 132 SECTION OF TRENCH I, CHURCH STREET 1945. BOMB DEBRIJ EKST. C08BLEJ BOMB DEBRIJ >3ii)>i>lf/r»i>li)i> CAKD?N J-OIL CONCRETE FLOC DRAINPIPE '^UMMIMSiru/ATOl^j C H / FLOOB CHALK FLOOR ALL 77Zm CEBRJ MEDIEVAL BEBRI-S W ATER LEV?i>fe/.\T V-J WATJ.RJ.EVEL _ _ i « r WALL y P 0 5 T ROM«.N PIT L.OOJE GRAVELS POST ROMAN PIT CHALK RIOCKJ ROMAN ? WALL' Sco-U of 0^ee6 rLINTJ STRiZT | TRENCH IA, SECTION ON THE SITE Of Na 14, CHURCH STREET, 1947. LAST WIST BOMB DEBRIS BQM& DEBR.J6 BOMB DE8X./J jro/sc FJ.OQ7L M/OOJJSH FLOOJL ^QCjX^'-X' •::'•.': \\.'\\.': \\\''.\.£A,'A'V£4-'-'-: ;I.-'.-'.-'.''.''.''."'.-- CARDS/•/ SO/1 BA.A/H P/PJS MtDICYAL. & IAT£R DS.8H/S K « - o 0 0 <> o~c,n.//vr WWAAJUI.1 Cr~~)\..(y i wArt/i i.£Y££ AOMAN DEBMS WATCH. - l.tV£L ? SUBSOIL f- 4i ';'•'•;''•''•.'''' J*"'0 i l'c°*-* ^{^'•'•'.•'/•J-'-'m &^j£&vl k\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \Wl inm WW \ \ \ \ xl K.A.STEER. FIG. 3. [face p. 132 SECTION CD, TRENCH E, FOX'S BAKERY 1946. WORTH -COUTH I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I M I I I M I M I I M I I I I I I I I i n i l , WOODEN FLOOR — : ~\i SHINGLE 5 S «icate of 3>eed cSHSc- BOMB DESRKS FOUM WALL RECENT SECOND PERIOD ROMAN WALL •TECONO PERlOb ROMAN WALL -\ , <~J OCCUPATION MAKE-UP ANB OCCUPATION LEVEL! SECOND ROMAN PERIOD |MEi>IEVAt PIT •^sVVKKSX*^ CLAY ^ " ^ K i S i i s ^ p ESSI1S2ISH MAKE-UP AND PATI OCCUPATION LEVELS FIRST ROMAN PERIOD TRAMPLE LEVEL CLAY , TRAM.PLE LEVEL?' saws OLD TUR.F NATURAL SOIL? WELL .w FOOTI F I R S T PERIOD WALL POSY ROMAN WELLZ. MAKE-UP MAKE-UP OFFLooe ECON D ROMAN PERIOD MAkE-UP AND -' j OC C V PATION LEV6 LS 'FIRSTROMAN PERIOD SECTION E-E, TRENCH V EOXS'BAKERY'1946. DOVER EXCAVATIONS 19f5~ 10 /s zo REMAINS OF L A TE o6tft.L| 6WlK ELuoH Phi/mil M E D I E V A L WALL RECENT DEBRIS JV/^MObEKN flpicK V\-nM))/,l)/f>)rl>U>l}>>>)>lin. WEST EAST. CHA.LK. R.ECENT DEBRIS CHALK FQUND/VnpM.S' MEDIEVAL P I T J I L T M E D I E V A L M E T A L L I N G M.EDIEVAL~ CHALK. ROAD r p WmimmkWm S I L T tF\RST/l ' . - " " M t T A U I . N O .' PERIOD DRAIM 7 wtdi . 2£?METALLING- *. : ,1-LCHALK G U T T E R CHALK. GU T T E R . /////JLtfX*^tTt&i&r.'?TWWmf>rit>fAt.*.:vn llyMErALUNG"- m 'HTT TOR.F ATI OKU ULLLU "tlLI" D R A IM N A T U R A L J O I L 1 ROMAN METALLIWG Fra. 4. D O V E R 1946. siTEi AREA BEHIND FOX'S BAKERV T-RENCHTH ROOM A. 1 SECTJOM C f T H - E N C H l t ROMAN WALL -_ Fl R S T PER I OD. ROMAN WALL ~- i GTCOND VEftlOb JCAH'IN FEET MODERN PAJ-JAGE WAV. ECTJOJ ROOM C. SECTION MODERN BREAD OVEN FOUNDATI OF A MCOIE WALL . METALLING. . •;> a.; • ;•,'•'. o... e . » -. 0 , • • CHA*-* )NI L ^ v : . V ; i; PUDDLED CHALK TRENCH ST MOBERN DIVIDING WALL £-SECTION/ «FIG. 6. Plan of Site 2. EXCAVATIONS AT DOVER, 1945-7 at a few points. Except for a chip of a 1st- or 2nd-century jar which may have percolated through from layer 5, this stratum, consisting of sand and gravel, was quite clean. It is likely, therefore, that it represents natural subsoil, but in view of the variable character of the subsoil in the centre of Dover deeper excavation is needed to settle the point. SITE 2. TRENCHES II, III, IV, and V. Trench II was dug in 1945 in a ruined area on the site of Fox's Bakery, north of Queen Street, again with the object of testing the line of the defences. This area was enlarged and extended in 1946 as walls and occupation levels of Roman date had been discovered, but again no trace was found of a defensive wall. When enlarged, the site showed a Roman road, running north and south, some 18 ft. across, but the complete width could not be checked owing to a modern wall. This road, with several periods of metalling, was flanked on the east by a wall built of squared chalk blocks, which still stood some 4 ft. high, although cut into by [medieval ' wells '. Two periods of walling joined it, forming a row of small rooms with clay and rubble floors and unplastered walls.1 Early medieval levelling lies above, containing Roman coins and pottery, glass, etc., mainly of 2nd to 4th centuries A.D., and cut into by later pits and wells. (Figs. 4 and 5.) FIRST ROMAN PERIOD (SITE 2). The foundations for the north and south wall2 and one (largely destroyed by a later pit and ' well', Plate I, 2) coming in at a right angle to it, were dug through the old turf line into the subsoil, here a yellow-brown clay, and a foot or so of yellow clay laid between the walls to form a level floor. In Room A some tiles and stones had been laid down on top of this in a scatter of mortar. Above the occupation on this floor was another level dumping of clay, probably a secondary floor rather than a levelling for the second period walls. At this period, too, the first metalling was laid on the old turf outside the north-south wall. Section E-F, Fig. 4, shows this metalling with the rubble drain, and the accumulation of dirt and make-up overlying it. The pottery from this first period of occupation is of late 1st- to 2ndcentury A.D. date. SECOND ROMAN PERIOD (SITE 2). This second period of occupation followed much the same lines as the first, but two new walls were added, almost, but not quite, 1 Only one piece of wall plaster, painted, was found in second Roman period, clay floor level, Room A.2. 12 All the -walls were built of chalk blocks held together mainly by yellow clay. 133 EXCAVATIONS AT DOVER, 1945-7 parallel to the first east-west wall. From the difference in floor make-up it appears that this latter wall was still in use, thus making four small rooms in all. There were other floor levels in Room A.l, A.2 and C, but in Room B everything above the occupation associated with the building of the later walls had been destroyed. Perhaps at this time, too, the road outside the wall was made up again, and this time arranged in three carriage ways separated by chalk gutters, Plate I, 3. There are two more Roman road make-ups above this which contain mid-late 2nd-century sherds and a fragment of 3rd-century type glass. There seems little difference in date between the first and second periods of Roman occupation. Most of the finds are of mid-late 2nd-century type, although in the second period one or two sherds might be of 3rd-century date.1 LATER PERIODS. Three 'wells ' and a number of medieval pits cut into the Roman levels—' Wells ' Z and Y, and Pit X appear to be the earliest are sealed by levels containing 13th-century material. ' Well' W is sealed by the foundations of late medieval house. CONCLUSIONS From the excavations of 1945-7 it seems certain that walls of the Saxon shore fort did not lie on the line tentatively suggested, indeed, no evidence of a defensive wall of any date has come to light. No stratified remains of the 1st or 4th centuries were discovered, the bulk of the finds being of 2nd- to 3rd-century types with the emphasis on the former. The 2nd-century levels lie directly on the old turf line in Site 2. Occupation of the 4th century may have been obliterated completely in building operations of the early medieval period. The discovery of a wide Roman road going towards the sea, flanked, perhaps by a row of shops or warehouses is obviously important in siting the town. This road, possibly represents the terminal stretch of the main road from Canterbury and seems to have remained in use as a thoroughfare well into the medieval period. Walls of Roman date have now,been found as near the sea as Snargate Street, and it may prove that the Roman defences ran more closely on the line of the medieval walls than was hitherto supposed. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Especial thanks are due to Mr. P. V. Marohant, Secretary of the Excavation Committee, and Borough Engineer, for all the assistance he has provided in every phase of the work, and to Mr. B. H. St. J. 1 Nos. 22 and 23 Eig. 7. 134 1. Site 2. View of N-S wall showing Roman road metalling behind ranging rod. cf* "• „••. *? >* "• - * • . i ^ ^ : > / ':. £ ' 2. Site 2. View of first and second period E-W walls and tile flooring. i INS. 3. Site 2. Chalk gutter of Roman road iii secorul period. 4. Three fragments of tile marked with Classis Britannica stamp. EXCAVATIONS AT DOVER, 1945-7 O'Neil, Chief Inspector of Ancient Monuments, who has organized the excavations. I am grateful to Mr. G. C. Dunning for his report and drawings of the medieval pottery, to Dr. D. B. Harden for his report on the glass, Dr. Felix Oswald for his report on the Samian, and Mr. B. H. St. J. O'Neil for the report on the coins. A number of volunteers helped with the excavations among whom the boys from the Dover County Grammar School, Mx-. E. H. Bayly and the boys from Dover College deserve special mention. Members of the 519 Coast Regiment, R.A., by kind permission of Colonel Donaldson, assisted in 1945. The thanks of the Dover Excavation Committee are due to the following for permission to dig on their property: Church Street— Messrs. Terson & Son (Agents) ; Mr. A. E. Russell; Exors of the late Mr. W. Dane; Exors of the late Mrs. E. Cameron. Bear of Fox's Bakery—Mr. G. Fox ; Equity and Law Life Assurance Society. SITE 1. (TRENCH I. ROMAN LEVELS.) Samian (not illustrated). Four Samian sherds, too small for exact determination or dating, but approximately A.D. 130 to late 2nd century A.D. Coarse Pottery. (Fig. 6.) 1. Top of small beaker with moulded oblique rim. Grey buff ware with metallic slip. Level 5. 2nd-century type. Small Finds. 1. Piece of tile with stamp {C]LLK (see Plate I, 4) with ligatured and reversed BR. A similar type has been found from the site of the West Pharos and from the Castle Pharos.1 SITE 2. (TRENCHES II, III, IV, and V.) FTRST ROMAN PERIOD. Samian (not illustrated). 1. Fragment of cup, Form 33, 0. and P.,2, pi. Ii. Insufficient for close dating, but probably Antonine, c. A.D. 140-150. 2. Part of a base, probably Form 38 rather than Form 37. Probably Antonine in date, c. A.D. 140-160. Nos. 1 and 2 are from the black occupation level above the tile floor in Room A. 3. Form 18, diam. c. 218 mm. Pronounced moulding, wall 42 mm. high. Flavian and probably Domitianic. O. and P., pi. xlvi, 3. Wiesbaden, Domitian. Period c. A.D. 90-100. 1 Roman Folkestone, by S. E. Winbolt, p. 105. 2 Terra Sigillata, by F. Oswald and T. Davies Pryce. 1920. 135 EXCAVATIONS AT DOVER, 1945-7 r SITE I. 1 ? r ? * b=H ^ n / ~ j ( FIG. 6. Pottery from Site 1 and Site 2. First Roman period. ( £) \ \ 21. 23. D «---- c r- \ 20. 25. FIG. 7. Pottery from Site 2. Second Roman period. ( J ) 136 EXCAVATIONS AT DOVER, 1945-7 4. Two fragments of mortaria Form 45. 0. and P., pi. Ixxiv, late 2nd century. Too indeterminate for close dating. Nos. 3 and 4 are from second floor make-up in Room A. Coarse Pottery. (Fig. 6). 2. Rim of pie-dish of hght grey ware with dark grey shp. Top of old turf line. Room A. 3. Concave oblique rim of late 1st- early 2nd-century type, dark, gritty grey ware. Cp. Wroxeter, I, Fig. 17, 26 (A.D. 80-110), and Caerleon. Prysg. Field, Fig. 54, 25. 4. Rim of small beaker, hard red clay with grey metallic shp. Room A. 5. Neck and shoulder of high necked beaker, red ware with grey shp. Room C. Cp. Rich., I l l , pi. xxxvi, 259, in 1st- to 2ndcentury deposit. Nos. 2-5 are from occupation on first clay floor level. 6. Rim of gritty grey ware with burnished bands below rim and tooled grooves lower down. Room B, 7. Out-turned rim of bowl of coarse red ware, grey core, with darker shp on upper part of rim. 8. Rim of cup or dish with upright side and groove under rim, burnished grey shp. These cups seem to have a long hfe. Cp. Ant. Journ., XVII, Fig. 2a, with 4th-century material, and Rich., Ill, pi. xii, 345, in a pit filled in c. 400, but here are a common form and are 2nd century in date. Room A. 9. Neck and shoulder of gritty grey ware. Room A. Nos. 6-9 are from second clay floor levelling. Glass (not illustrated). 1. Fragment of rounded base of colourless bowl with facet decoration, flaky iridescence, 2nd-3rd century A.D. From clay fixing of main north-south wall. 2. Flat side of rectangular bluish-green bottle, lst-2nd century A.D 3. Centre of base (with pontil mark) of an unguentarium or bottle, bluish-green, lst-2nd century A.D. Nos. 2 and 3 are from second clay floor levelling. SECOND ROMAN PERIOD. (SITE 2.) Samian (not illustrated). 5. Rim probably of Form 18. Floor make-up in Room A.2. Coarse Pottery. (Fig. 7.) 10. Straight-sided pie-dish with lattice pattern below rim, burnished buff shp. Room A. 137 EXCAVATIONS AT DOVER, 1946-7 11. Similar to no. 10 above, but without lattice pattern. Mottled grey shp. Common 2nd-century type. Cf. Verulamium, Fig. 33, 51 and 52. Second half of 2nd century. Room A.2. 12. Smooth light grey rim of cup with groove below it (see no. 8, First Roman Period above). Room A.2. 13. Rim of thin-walled jar, red core, grey slip. Band of burnish on neck and tooled groove on shoulder. Cp. Verulamium, Fig. 30, 30 (A.D. 120-160). 14. Flared rim of red clay with smoothed grey slip. 15. Bowl with thickened hp and shght bead rim, smooth grey shp of Rich., I l l , pi. xxxv, 251, as a late example (A.D. 90-140) of lst-century type. Room A. 16. Straight rim of beaker with groove under rim. Room C. 17. Base of small rough cast beaker, white clay with dark grey shp. Room A. Nos. 12-17 are from the occupation level associated with the building of east-west waUs. 18. High base of beaker in hght grey ware with dark grey external shp. Cf. Ospringe, pi. xxvi, 233. 3rd century A.D. Room A.2. 19. Straight-sided cup with groove under rim (see nos. 8 and 12 above). Room A.2. 20. Similar to no. 19, but with wavy comb mark outside; pinkish grey shp. Room A. 21. Rim of pie dish, burnished grey slip. Room C. 22. Thick rim of cooking pot of coarse grey ware with dark grey shp. Room A.2.. 23. Rim of gritty hght grey ware with dark grey shp. Room A. 24. Side of jar, gritty grey ware with band of light shp on shoulder bearing bands of brown paint. Tooled lattice pattern in panels below shp. Room A.2. 25. Flared rim of jar of grey clay, smoothed darker shp. Room A. 26. Sherd of cream clay with orange core and orange shp outside. Internally there is a mottled hght and dark orange shp, probably imitating marble. Cp. Rich., II, pi. xxxii, 170, " not "earher than 3rd century." From occupation level in Room A.l. Nos. 18-26 are from the yellow clay floor levelling and the occupation on it. Glass (not illustrated). 4. Fragment of rim of greenish colourless beaker, plain. Rim outsplayed and rounded in flame. Flaking iridescence. 2nd-3rd century A.D. From occupation in Room B. 5. Fragment of side of colourless cyhndrical beaker with two horizontaUy applied threads just below the (missing) rim. 138 EXCAVATIONS AT DOVER, 1945-7 Flaky iridescence. 2nd-3rd century A.D. Top occupation level. Room A.2. 6. Three contiguous fragments of colourless bowl or beaker, exact shape uncertain. Traces of cut facet and linear pattern. Flaky iridescence. 2nd-3rd century A.D. ROMAN ROAD METALLING. THIRD PERIOD METALLING. (SITE 2.) Samian (not illustrated). 6. Curie 15. Too imperfect for exact dating, but cp. 0. and P., pi. lvii, from Newstead II, perhaps a little smaller. Antonine, A.D. 140-150. 7-9. Three sherds of Form 33, probably Antonine. 10. Base of Form 18/31. Coarse Pottery. (Fig. 8.) 27. Rim of small beaker, red ware, with grey shp. 28. Straight-sided dish, coarse grey ware with bevel at base, smoothed grey shp. 2nd-century type. 29. Thick out-turned rim in coarse grey ware with buff slip. 2ndcentury type, see no. 5 above. ^ * > f FIG. 8. Pottery from Site 2. Roman road metalling. ( \) 139 EXCAVATIONS AT DOVER, 1946-7 30. Rim of bowl, reddish grey ware with smoothed shp, shghtly distorted rim. 31-33. Three rims of grey ware of common 2nd-century type. 34. Thickened out-turned rim, grey ware. 35. Jug neck with upstepped five rings and buff-white shp, cp. Ospringe, pi. xxvi, 242, associated with 2nd-century pottery. Glass (not illustrated). 7. Fragment of body of rectangular bottle, bluish green. Flaking iridescence. lst-2nd century A.D. 8. Fragment of handle of heavy bottle, greenish colourless. 2nd- 3rd century A.D. Small Finds. (Fig. 9.) 2. Melon bead of blue green paste. LATEST ROMAN METALLING. (SITE 2.) Samian (not iUustrated). 11. Form 31 internal offset. 0. and P., pi. xlvii, 3. Probably Lezoux ware, Antonine, c. A.D. 140-150. 12. Base of Form 37, thick, Antonine, probably c. A.D. 140. 13. Form 33, but without external central groove, rather large diameter, 126 mm. 0. and P., pi. Ii, 16. Antonine, c. A.D. 140- 150. Coarse Pottery. (Fig. 8.) 36. Rim of mortarium, buff ware with external pale orange shp. Cp. Wroxeter, I, Fig. 19, 94, dated to latter part of 2nd century A.D. 37. Rim of pie-dish, grey ware with pink-grey shp. 38. Rim of jar in gritty grey ware. 39. Rim of beaker, grey core, pink grey shp. 40. Base and sides of poppy head beaker. 2nd century. Cp. Verulamium, Fig. 27, 12 and 13. (A.D. 160-190.) Glass (not illustrated). 9. Fragment of colourless vessel (shape indeterminable) with very thin apphed thread of similar glass. Iridescent and bubbly. 3rd century A.D. Small Finds. (Fig. 9.) 3. SmaU bronze plate with two studs at the back for attachment to leather, etc. 140 EXCAVATIONS AT DOVER, 1946-7 sM3a» FIG. 9. Small finds. ( J ) ROMAN MATERIAL FOUND IN MEDIEVAL LEVELS. Samian. Potters' Stamps (not Ulustrated). 14. Base of large form 33 stamped MALLEDV.F. by MaUedo of Lezoux. 0. and P., pi. h, 16. Period Hadrian-Antonine, A.D. 130-140. 15. Base of Form 33 with stamp MAIORIS. This form of stamp occurs on Form 31 from Pan Rock. Period A.D. 170-180. 141 EXCAVATIONS AT DOVER, 1945-7 16. Fragment of Form 18/31 with stamp A L B U [C 1]. Albucius. of Lezoux. Hadrianic, A.D. 120-130. The rest of the unstratified Samian, where it can be dated is Hadrian- Antonine. Glass (not Ulustrated). 10. Eight fragments of Roman glass from unstratified levels range from 2nd-4th century in date. Small Finds. (Fig. 9.) 4. Bronze disc brooch with concentric circles on face for inlay and circle for central knob. Very worn, but cp. Rich., II, pi. xvii, 9 and p. 42, for discussion of date. Site 2. Medieval metalling of road. Trench V. 5. Round bone counter with flattened base and rounded top. Trench 2, medieval level. Stamped tiles. (Plate I, 4.) 10. Part of an imbrex with broken stamp. [ C ] L B [ R ]. The foot of the L is at an obtuse angle. Cf. British Museum Guide. Roman Britain, 1922, Fig. 15, from Lympne, and simUar type from Dover; Roman Folkestone, by S. E. Winbolt, p. 105. 11. SmaU piece of tUe with part of stamp. Perhaps the terminal R of C L B R. Coins. By B. H. ST. J. O'NEIL, F.S.A. No stratified corns were found, but the foUowing were found in medieval levels, mainly on Site 2. 1. Barbarous Radiate. Obv.. Meaningless letters, barbarous radiate head. Rev. Meaningless letters, two female figures. 2. Probably mid-4th century A.D. barbarous FEL TEMP REPARATIO type, but not certain. 3. IUegible, but probably a Roman coin and just possibly Claudius I (A.D. .41-54). 4. Roman, perhaps 3rd-century radiate. 5. Roman, 4th century, perhaps barbarous FEL TEMP REPARATIO. 6. Tetricus II. (A.D. 270-273.) Obv. C P E T [ETRICUS CAE]S. Youthful bust radiate, draped r. Rev. PflETAS AU]GG. Sacrificial implements. (Antoninianus.) M. and S. 255. Nos. 1-6 from Trench II, medieval pit. 7. Marcus Aurelius. (A.D. 161-180). Obv. M. AUREL AN[TONINUS AUG]. Head lauriate r. Rev. IUSTITIA AUG T[R P XXXIII IMP X] COS III PP. Justice sitting left holding patera and sceptre. (Denarius.) A.D. 179. M. and S. 401. Trench V, medieval road metaUing. 142 EXCAVATIONS AT DOVER, 1945-7 NOTES ON MEDIEVAL POTTERY (Figs. 10-12). By G. C. DUNNING, F.S.A. 1. Rim of large bowl, grey ware, sharp sand, brick red surfaces. 2. Sandy grey ware with sparse grit, dark greyish surface. Rim unequally moulded. Probably 12th century. 3. Sandy grey ware, roughly made, dark grey sooty surface, brown tones below. Light finger-nail marks along top of rim. Probably 12th century. 4. Sandy grey ware, dark grey surface, flat rim with finger tips outside. 12th century. 5. Sandy grey ware, grey internaUy, grey-light red outside. 6. Sandy grey ware, hght brown inside and on rim, red outside. 13th century. Cf. Windcliff midden.1 7. Laminated grey ware, much finely crushed white shell speckling buff surface. 12th century. 8. Grey sandy core, light red nearer surfaces, light red inside and out. Grey patches on rim. 9. Sandy grey ware, grey on outside, hght red inside and greasy on the lower part of the interior. SkiUet. Approximate diameter. 10. Grey sandy, brown grey externaUy. 11. Very hard sandy grey, light red surfaces with grey tones. 12. Sandy grey core, light red near surfaces and inside grey outside and sooty. 13. Sandy grey core, red surface burnish. 14. Fine sandy buff ware, smooth surface, no glaze, sagging base of jug. Light thumb marks continuous round edge, but not reaching below base-angle. 13th century. 15. Fine sandy grey ware, hght red surfaces and thick dark green glaze. Apphed face with aquUine nose hi high relief and deeply incised mouth. Eyes are impressed ring and dot (stamp). There is an apphed strip with light finger tip marks at the side. 16. Sandy grey ware, brown inside, dark grey outside. Nos. 1-16 from medieval leveUing. Trench I. Level 1. 17. Grey sandy ware with dark grey surface. Simple rim rather uneven. Probably 12th century. 18. Sandy grey ware, light red externaUy. Simple rim. 12th century. Nos. 17 and 18 from medieval levelling. Trench I. Level 2. 19. Hard sandy hght grey ware with dark grey surface, brown toned above shoulder. Thick rim, flanged outside and shght internal beading. Trench I. Level 1. Probably 12th century. 1 Proc. Isle of Wight Nat. Hist, and Arcti. Soe., I l l , pp. 128-37. 143 t>w.'. w \\\\ v\ \ I T T t > \ V -»-' ; T 12 ^ 13 CT€7C^5 S> ? > 17 16 f* ? \ 18 FIG. 10. Medieval Pottery. ( £ ) 144 EXCAVATIONS AT DOVER, 1945-7 20. Laminated grey ware, sandy with white crushed sheU speckling duU red surfaces. Flanged rim with beading on top. 13th century. Trench I. Level 2. 21. Coarse grey ware, much crushed sheU speckling surface. Heavy flanged rim. 22. Very hard fine sandy hght grey-matt surface. 23. Sandy grey ware, hght red surface, grey patches. 24. Hard sandy hght red ware, hght red surface with grey patches, mostly below shoulder (separate piece). Thick square rim with smaU internal beading. Late 13th century. Cf. Bungay1 for rim and Windcliff midden2 for shght grooving on shoulder. Nos. 21-24 from Trench I. Level 1. 25. Hard sandy grey ware with grey internal and external rim, red on neck. Heavily moulded rim markedly everted and hoUow on top. 26. Very hard sandy grey core with brick red surfaces. 27. Rim of jug. Fine sandy hght red core with dark grey surfaces and three lines of rouletting. Nos. 25-27 from medieval level 2. Site 2. 28. Rim of jug. Sandy grey ware, hght red externaUy. Thick dark green sub-lustrous glaze on hp of rim and outside. 29. Sandy grey ware with matt grey surface. There is an incised wavy line between zones of rouletting on shoulder of vessel (probably a jug). 12th century or early 13th century. Nos. 28-29 from early medieval pit. Section C-D. Site 2. 30. Fine sandy hght grey core, buff at edges and surface. There is an overaU even light green glaze outside, with apphed pinched-up strips forming a circular brooch with tongue on the shoulder of the vessel (jug). More than half the design is present, and separate pieces -enable a reconstruction to be made. For brooches on jugs see Winchester Museum and Pulborough, Sussex, Ant. Journ., X, p. 256, pi. xxvii. From Level 2. Site 2. 31. Hard grey sandy core, hght red at edges and surfaces, grey patches on rim. Rim moulded outside and offset from neck. There are thumb marks along outside of rim. Mid-12th century. Cf. Castle HUl, Folkestone, Arch., XLVII, p. 465, pi. xx, 50. 32. • Sandy grey with sooty grey brown surface. The rim is beveUed inside. 12th century. Nos. 31 and 32 from level 0. Site 2. 33. Light red sandy ware, very hard and close textured, grey toned outside. Well-defined rim sloping inwards. 12th century. From medieval road metaUing. 1 Proe. Suffolk Inst, of Arch., XXH, p. 334. a See above no. 6. 145 14 EXCAVATIONS AT DOVER, 1945-7 FIG. 11. Medieval Pottery. ( £ ) 146 EXCAVATIONS AT DOVER, 1945-7 34. Rim of jug. Tough grey ware. Possibly 14th century or later. From medieval pit. Section C-D. Site 2. 35. Polychrome sherd of hard white paste and clear glaze, showing heater-shaped shield in brown and yeUow paint. An import from West France (Charente), late 13th century. Cp. Archaeologia, LXXXIII, p. 114 ff. and Fig. 13. From Trench V, medieval waU foundations. 36-37. Two late Saxon (8th-9th century 1) decorated sherds, greybrown ware with external burnished grooves and stab decoration. Probably from the side of a pitcher with verticaUy placed lugs. Cp. Richborough III Report, p. 186, pi. xhi, 362. From level 4. Site 2. (Fig. 13.) 25 J I xr I? Vf ; 7 \ 28 26 ) fl f Z9 t 30 A ^ 31 } 53 '. \ i 3+ i 32 i FIG. 12. Medieval Pottery. •( £) 147 EXCAVATIONS AT DOVER, 1945-7 38. PTNGSDORE POT FROM DOVER (Fig. 14). From Pit X. Site 2. Rather more than half the pot is present, with a continuous section almost to the middle of the base. It is wheel-turned and shows heavy marks of the wheel inside the lower part and base ; the rim is sharply defined, but the base is uneven outside. As is often the case with pottery of this kind, the vessel appears to be largely shaped by hand and then the rim and upper part of the body were trued up on the wheel. The ware is grey and is fired very hard, so that the fabric is almost fused. The outside is grey with yeUow tones and has a pimply texture making it harsh to the touch. The pot is.4-| in. shoulder diameter and 4 in. high ; it has been restored in plaster. IB N S 36 57 FIG. 13. Late Saxon Sherds. ( £ ) The rim is markedly everted, sharply angular, and is hoUowed on the inner side. The body is globular and the base is deeply sagging, only demarcated from the curve of the body by a slight change of plane at the base-angle. Above the bulge are four wide, shaUow girthgrooves, the broadest above and narrowing at the bulge. The decoration, on the upper part of the body, is repeated on opposite sides, the rest of the surface being plain. On each side are six comma-like strokes, arranged verticaUy in two rows, painted in duU dark red, which had changed almost black in the firing. This smaU cooking-pot is Pingsdorf ware of Rhenish origin. Similar pots occur at the type site, situated near Cologne,1 usually dated about the 9th century, but the closest analogies are later in date in the Rhineland. . The form of the sharply angular rim with hollow inside, the girth-grooves on the body, and the restriction of the red painted decoration to opposite sides, are features which developed late in the Pingsdorf series. Cooking-pots with these characteristics are well represented in the Eifel region, where at several sites the pots contained hoards of 12th-century coins. The most remarkable of these finds was made at Trier in 1928, on the site of the Hospital of St. 1 Bonner Jahrbhcher, CHI, p. 115. 148 EXCAVATIONS AT DOVER, 1945-7 Irminen,1 where eight pots each contained a hoard of coins, varying from a hundred to over a thousand, dating the deposit c. 1190. Another site with comparable material is a heap of waste sherds from a kiln at Kirschfurtenhofen, near Freudenberg-am-Main,2 though here the rims are more developed, and the group is referred to the late 12th century. The above analogies suggest that the Dover pot was made in the middle Rhineland, whence it was imported in the 12th century, probably during the first half rather than later. 38 FIG. 14. Cooking-pot of Pingsdorf Ware. ( £) Evidence of the trade connections in pottery, both previous to the Conquest and in the Norman period, is graduaUy accumulating. At London, the main centre of importation, a dozen examples of Pingsdorf ware are known, indicative of active trade sustained from about the 9th century down to the 12th century. At Dover the single Pingsdorf pot is 12th century, and at Pevensey Castle red-painted sherds of Rhenish origin are also of late date. In addition, red-painted pottery of the derivative kind known from several sites in Normandy has been found at Dover and Pevensey,3 and its occurrence at these places is explained by their importance as ports in the Norman period. The cross-Channel trade in pottery was strongest with the Rhineland during the late Saxon period (London), and the Rhenish connection persisted into the Norman period (London, Dover, Pevensey). But in the 12th century a westerly, down-Channel, shift of trade foUowed as a result of the Conquest, bringing pottery from Normandy to Dover and Pevensey. This westward trend continued during the 13th century, and as far as pottery is concerned it culminated in the polychrome ware brought to Britain by the Wine Trade with Gascony. 1 Trierer Zeitschrift, VIII, pp. 41-8. a Fiihrer durch das Frankische Luitpold-Museum in Wiirzberg (1922), p. 133. 3 Antiq. Journ., XXV, p. 153. 149