Roman Buildings at Oaklands, Lower Road, East Farleigh

Investigations by the Maidstone Area Archaeological Group during 2005/2006 on the supposed site of a Roman building located foundations (Building 1) similar to the building reported in Smith’s Topography of Maidstone and its Environs, 1839, p57.

The overall size of the building was 15m by 29m. It consisted of three rooms surrounded on three sides by a 4m-wide corridor. No floors were located; the foundations, which were 600mm wide, consisted of one or two layers of unmortared ragstone, with occasionally the first layer the mortared wall construction. The northwestern corner was constructed through a pit containing moulded and painted plaster together with tiles from a hypocaust heating system. No evidence for a heating system was found in this building, which from coin and pottery evidence appears to date from the mid-3rd century.

During 2007 the search for the missing earlier building shifted to the south onto the top of a 2m high lynchet. Whilst cutting a line of trial pits through the lynchet, Building 2 was located. Further excavations located Buildings 3 and 4. The buildings, which appear to be non-domestic, were covered by 1.5m of hillwash, which formed the lynchet. Building 3 has 600mm-wide ragstone walls standing 1.2m high. It is 7.5m wide and proved for a length of 23m. It has been constructed over the south wall of Building 2, which had been demolished to below the red sand floor level of Building 3.

Building 4 appears to be parallel to Building 3 and 2.2m north of it. It consists of 1.5m of the southwest corner, truncated by a dry stone wall revetment associated with early 20th century soil reprofiling for a hop garden and associated hopper huts. Dating for these buildings appears to centre on the use of a large quantity of red, off-white, and yellow tegular, with a finger moulded top edge, appearing to date to around AD200.

It is hoped to continue excavations at the end of April this year.

A J Daniels BSc

Captions for Images:

[fg]jpg|Simplified plan of the site.|Image[/fg]

[fg]jpg|Northwest corner, Building 3.|Image[/fg]

[fg]jpg|Southeast corner, Building 2.|Image[/fg]