VOLUNTEER EARTHWORKS SURVEYING AND TEST PIT EVALUATION AT STRAWBERRY WOOD, BENENDEN IN KENT

The results of a programme of community archaeology on and around Strawberry Wood culvert in advance of its restoration

Produced for the Kent High Weald Partnership By Adam Single June 2009

Contents
1. SUMMARY:..............................................................................................................5 2. SITE LOCATION & DESCRIPTION ........................................................................6 3. SITE BACKGROUND AND PREVIOUS INVESTIGATIONS..................................6 4. GEOLOGICAL & TOPOGRAPHIC BACKGROUND..............................................6 5. ARCHAEOLOGICAL & HISTORICAL BACKGROUND.........................................7
Wealden iron.........................................................................................................................................................7

6. SPECIFIC AIMS OF THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORK.........................................8 7. METHODOLOGY.....................................................................................................8

Earthworks surveying .........................................................................................................................................8 Testpitting..............................................................................................................................................................9

8. RESULTS.................................................................................................................9
Earthworks recording..........................................................................................................................................9 Test pit one...........................................................................................................................................................10 Test pit two..........................................................................................................................................................11 Unstratified find..................................................................................................................................................11

9. DISCUSSION..........................................................................................................12
Earthworks recording........................................................................................................................................12 Test pit one...........................................................................................................................................................12 Test pit two..........................................................................................................................................................12 Unstratified find..................................................................................................................................................13

10. CONCLUSION .....................................................................................................13 11. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS....................................................................................15

12. BIBLIOGRAPHY..................................................................................................16 APPENDIX 1: FINDS QUANTIFICATION.................................................................17 APPENDIX 2: FIGURES............................................................................................18

Figure 1. Site location plan.................................................................................................................................18 Figure 2. Earthworks survey results..................................................................................................................19 Figure 4. Wraparound section of test pit 1......................................................................................................21 Figure 5. Plan of test pit 1...................................................................................................................................22

APPENDIX 3: PHOTOS.............................................................................................26
Plate 1 View looking west. Volunteers recording earthworks around feature 10........................................26 Plate 2 View looking North. Volunteers recording in the north of the wood...............................................27 Plate 3 View looking East. Recording Feature 4..............................................................................................27 Plate 4 View looking north. Quarry feature 7..................................................................................................28 Plate 5 View north west. Volunteers excavating Test Pit 1.............................................................................28 Plate 6 View looking north. Void in the side of test pit 1...............................................................................29 Plate 7 View looking east of test pit 1 showing metalled surface in upper left hand corner ......................29 Plate 8 View looking south of test pit 2..............................................................................................................30 Plate 9 The unstratified iron slag ......................................................................................................................30 Plate 10 View looking east. Volunteers recording Test Pit 1..........................................................................31

APPENDIX 4: TABLE OF CONTEXTS.....................................................................32 APPENDIX 5: KENT COUNTY COUNCIL SMR SUMMARY FORM........................33 ARCHIVE AND DISSEMINATION.............................................................................34

Cover photo: View looking north of test pit one with volunteers

1. Summary:
Volunteers and KCC archaeologists undertook two one-day phases of archaeological fieldwork at Strawberry Wood near Benenden in Kent in April and May 2009. This involved sketch surveying of earthwork remains on Saturday 25th April and the excavation of two test pits on Saturday 9th May. The work was intended to inform on the past landuse of the area and the form and function of Strawberry Wood culvert, a large stone built culvert, the restoration of which is being undertaken as part of a project co-ordinated by the Kent High Weald Partnership. The work identified a number of earthworks features to the north of the culvert which are interpreted as banks, trackways and quarry pits. The test pits found a sequence of deposits over the culvert including consolidation of the trackway, as well as a void believed to have been created by water action and which re-inforced earlier concerns that the culvert is in significant danger of being destroyed in the very near future. It is suggested that the route carried by the culvert ran from quarries in the north, over the stream and into Great Broomy field although the destination of the quarried material is unknown.

2. Site Location & Description

Strawberry Wood lies around 1.1km south east of Benenden and 1km east of Iden Green in the Kent parish of Benenden. The culvert in the wood is located 405m north of Woodcock Lane and 470m west of Ramsden Lane at NGR 581347 131910. The wood is of coppiced trees within a farmed landscape and is cut by narrow stream valleys. The wood is on the edge of the eastern end of the High Weald AONB. The culvert itself is a large stone structure consisting of drystone walling toped by large flat flagstones. It is around 5.2m long and curves to follow the stream. Further detail is recorded in James and Davidson (2009).

3. Site Background and previous investigations

The culvert was brought to the attention of the Heritage Conservation Group at KCC by local resident and historian, Dr Ernie Pollard and a Lottery-funded programme of restoration and interpretation was subsequently arranged and co-ordinated by the Kent High Weald Partnership (KHWP) under the name of The Strawberry Wood Culvert Project. The intention of the project is to conserve the culvert and discover its history. A programme of assessment and recording of the feature has been ongoing including an engineering opinion (Bunney, 2007), a desk-based archaeological assessment by Archaeology South East (James, 2007), a foray and report by the Wealden Iron Research Group (Brown, 2009) and a subsequent archaeological survey of the culvert itself, again by Archaeology South East (James and Davidson, 2009). The culvert has also been the topic of two articles in the Kent Archaeological Society Newsletter. An archaeological watching brief on the future restoration work will also be carried out.

4. Geological & Topographic Background

According to the maps of the British Geological Society (Figure 7), the geology of the site consists of Wadhurst Clay in the north of the study area. In the south, this deposit has been removed by erosion created by the Wealden streams and the underlying Ashdown Beds (sandy clays and silts) have been revealed. Tunbridge Wells Sand is also recorded close by to the south. 6

Outcrops of sandstone are visible close to the culvert, in the Ashdown Beds. The immediate topography is defined by the confluence of two streams that meet around 50m east of the culvert. The culverted stream flows broadly east west while its neighbour flows broadly north south. The characteristic Wealden streams, known as ghylls, have created steep sided and narrow valleys which may explain the survival of the wood while nearby land became farmed. The culvert carries the High Weald Landscape Trail, the modern iteration of an earlier trackway, over a stream which varies considerably in its flow over the seasons. The modern trail runs north to higher ground where apparent quarry pits can be seen and also south towards Woodcock Lane.

5. Archaeological & Historical Background

Traditional interpretation of the archaeological evidence is that The Weald was not intensively occupied in prehistory and although still exploited as a resource, it was not actually settled until the later Saxon period. The Roman road from Maidstone to Hastings runs around 1.1km west of the site however and spotfinds of prehistoric flintwork are recorded in the general landscape. It has been suggested that the stream valleys of the Weald were used as access routes in prehistory and some current trackways can be shown to have originated as iron age droveways. Saxon pig pannage in the forests resulted in the creation of numerous dens which are preserved in local place names and the existence of numerous north-south trackways used to move livestock (James, 2007). The culvert is tentatively dated to a later period when industrial exploitation of the Weald for clay, iron or cloth might have created the need for a sturdy stone structure bridging a stream in order to transport heavy goods by cart. Since the Strawberry Wood culvert was first publicised, a second, smaller example of the type has been identified around 1.5km to the north east in North America Wood (Ernie Pollard, pers.comm.). Quarry features are visible on modern maps close to both culverts. Wealden iron The Weald has been exploited for its iron since late prehistory and was first produced on a significant scale in the area by the Romans (Williams, 2008). Iron production continued through the Saxon and later medieval periods, reaching its peak in the late sixteenth century. It was eclipsed by other iron producing regions during the seventeenth century and the last furnace closed in 1813. 7

A connection between the culvert and the iron industry has been suggested based on its location, its impressive size and structure and the findings of iron slag nearby which may have served as metalling for a trackway over the culvert (WIRG, 2009). Earthwork remains around the culvert are potentially related to quarrying and iron ore transport and processing. WIRG records a bloomery site 900m south west at Little Haven Field and Ernie Pollard has discovered a Furnace Field fieldname 1km to the south east.

6. Specific Aims of the Archaeological Work

The aims of the investigations were to: Clarify the extent and form of the earthworks concentration identified in the ASE desktop and any other visible features nearby Test for the presence of a former route for the trackway that the ASE desktop proposes through Willerds Hill Wood. Inform on the wider past landuse at the site based on the initial findings of the desk-based assessment Investigate the sequence of deposits sealing the culvert and inform on its structure and condition Provide an opportunity for locals and volunteers to take part in archaeological fieldwork under professional supervision To investigate and record any archaeological remains encountered

7. Methodology
The work was undertaken according to a project design prepared by the Kent High Weald Partnership (KHWP, 2006). An appropriate Risk Assessment was also prepared using a Kent County Council template (Single, 2009). The work was video recorded on behalf of KHWP for future outreach and interpretation purposes. Earthworks surveying The ASE desk-based assessment of the site had identified a concentration of earthwork remains in the north of the site as well as the potential The woodland north of the culvert on either side of the High Weald Landscape Trail was walked over by teams of volunteers led and advised by Adam Single, Archaeological Officer at KCC and Andrew Mayfield, Shorne Wood Country Park Community Archaeologist. Visible earthwork remains were pencil sketched onto 1:1,000 scale OS plans of the study area with volunteers using compasses and mapped landscape 8

features to orient themselves and then drawing in the earthworks by hand. RCHME drawing conventions for hachuring were not followed due to the unmeasured nature of the survey and the untrained volunteers. The sketch plans were then scanned and digitised and combined in order to produce a synoptic plan of the features encountered for subsequent presentation and analysis (Figure 2). Testpitting Two 1m square test pits were hand excavated at the culvert site by volunteers (plate 5) in locations chosen for their potential to answer the research objectives. Drawn and levelled plans and sections were created a digital photographic record kept. Context details were recorded and finds retained for further examination. The test pit locations were recorded through triangulation with known points on the OS Mastermap and levelled against two control points surveyed in by Archaeology South East during their recording work a few weeks beforehand (Figure 3). The survey point used for levelling was at 53.957m AOD. Following recording, the testpits were backfilled on the same day and the surface turves re-laid where originally present

8. Results
Earthworks recording The survey work (plates 1 and 2, fig 2) identified a further quarry in the north west of the site, a number of field boundaries and mound features as well as relict trackways including one parallel to the existing High Weald Landscape Trail (HWLT). The known existing depressions (Features 1-3) in a field to the north of the wood were examined were identified as being quarries due to their size and depth as well as the presence of an entry point at the southern tip of one and the lobate nature of another. To the north of the survey area, a raised linear feature (4) was identified running from the stile at the northern end of the wood, through an open pasture (plate 3) to one of the former quarries. Within the wood a discrete mound was seen at its northern edge, just to the west of the HWLT (feature 5). 9

Further west was a bank curving north westwards from the HWLT (feature 6). This ended alongside a previously unrecorded depression which is likely to be another quarry feature (feature 7, plate 4). Parallel to feature 5 was another curving bank (Feature 8). Both features 8 and 6 appeared to mirror the narrow north western extent of the wood. A set of parallel banks forming a trackway parallel to the HWLT was also identified extending down almost as far as the culvert (feature 9). A sketch profile (Figure 2) across these suggests two trackways with that the eastern example being better preserved. Close to the culvert, a number of channels running south into the stream were observed. Similar drainage features were noted emptying into the northsouth stream to the north east of the culvert. At the northern end of these trackways within the wood a further trackway was identified running eastwards crossing a series of small irregular mounds possibly representing spoil heaps (feature 10). At the far end of the trackway was a shallow depression interpreted as a terrace or a further quarry (feature 11). The edges of the wood were in general characterised by a ditch and bank boundary suggesting that its form had not changed in recent times. Test pit one Test pit one (TP1) was located within the overburden sealing the culvert (Figures 3 and 4). The stratigraphy consisted of an upper layer of compacted, mid-brown silty clay containing very occasional brick fragments (100) which forms the current surface of the trackway. It varied in thickness from 0.1m to 0.2m. A piece of modern pottery and a glass fragment were recovered from this deposit. The upper deposit sealed a mid-grey sandy clay with ironstone fragments (101) measuring between 0.15 and 0.3m in thickness. Dumped brick and stone was observed on the interface between (100) and (101), but set into top of (101). A sample brick was retained. The earliest deposit encountered was a hard concentration or ironstone and sandstone fragments in a silty clay matrix (plate 7). This was not investigated further but was found at a depth of 0.3 and 0.4m below the surface. The deposit was only exposed along the eastern side of a slot dug into the northern edge of the test pit Significantly, the north west corner of the slot exposed the edge of a large void (102), cutting (100) and (101) which appeared to have been created by water action as the bottom was covered with washed, decomposing wood 10

the

similar to that which could be seen close by the stream to the immediate west of the culvert (plate 6). Here, this material had backed up from the blocked culvert entrance. Natural deposits were not reached and the full extent of the void not learnt. It is thought to be more than 0.7m in diameter however.

Test pit two Test pit two (TP2) was located to the south and east of the culvert and overlooking the stream (Figure 3), in a small clearing in the woods where a former trackway was suggested by an earlier study. A bank rose up to the south, forming a planted field boundary. It revealed a stratigraphy of loose dark brown humic soil and leaf litter approximately 0.1m thick and forming the woodland floor (202). Modern iron guttering fragments and a field drain fragment were found in the leaf litter but not retained. This material sealed a deposit of soft and friable mid brown clay (201) visible across around three quarters of the test pit. It was wedge-shaped in section, reaching up to 40mm thickness at the south side of the test pit and fading to a point as it extended northwards (Figures 5 and 6, plate 8). Deposits (202) and (201) sealed a natural deposit of soft and friable light brown-yellow clay (200) believed to be Ashdown Beds. Unstratified find During the test pitting work, a local volunteer produced a large lump of iron slag (plate 9) that he had earlier found in the stream edge downstream from the culvert. It was kindly donated to the site archive for possible future analysis.

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9. Discussion
Earthworks recording The earthworks survey recorded the presence and extent of at least one additional quarry to those known from historic mapping as well as linear banks possibly delimiting a route from the quarry towards the main track through the woods and thence to the culvert. The current track appears to be latest iteration of a sequence of paths leading from the quarries to the stream. A number of mound features may be spoil heaps and would benefit from field investigation to help determine this. Test pit one The sandstone concentration identified as context (103) is interpreted as a surface for the trackway that crossed the culvert. A similar deposit can be seen in the flood damaged southern section across the culvert, sealing a further clay deposit above the stonework itself. No metalling is visible beneath that layer and (103) is therefore thought to represent a contemporary trackway surface, raised up above the stonework by a consolidating earth layer. Layer (101) is likely connected with later use of the trackway and the patchy consolidation within it suggests the intermittent infilling of potholes. Context (100) likely dates to the modern era when the culvert was no longer in use except amongst walkers. The void (102) in the north west corner appears to have been created by water from the stream when in full spate. It has scoured away the softer deposit (101) but not the harder surface (103). The full extent of the void was not visible but it has undermined part of the trackway surface and may be permitting water to run over the top of and behind the culvert stonework, contributing to the collapse of the feature. The recent survey (James 2009) assesses the southern wall of the culvert to be in worse condition than the north and water ingress through the void may be a significant cause of the ongoing collapse on that side. Test pit two The results from TP2 do not suggest that a trackway followed the stream through the Willerds Hill Woods to the south east of the culvert. Had the trackway been only in use for a short period of time it might not have left a significant record but had heavy traffic used it, and a metalled surface been laid, evidence of this would be expected. The thin deposit (201) is interpreted as being redeposited material washed down from the earth bank to the south. 12

A 1946 aerial photograph reproduced as Plate 1 in James 2007 shows Willerds Hill Wood to the south east of the culvert as having been cleared and suggests that wartime timber felling had taken place there. If this is the case then the track identified in the desktop as running through Willerds Hill Wood may be connected with modern forestry rather than the culvert and its trackway, and this route may not have extended as far as TP2 or met the culvert, being only used to bring timber south to the road from Willerds Hill Wood. Unstratified find The slag contains apparent impressions of firewood and is interpreted as bottom slag from a type of bloomery furnace that did not produce tap slag. For this reason the slag is tentatively dated as being of middle Saxon date (cf Cleere and Crossley, 1985) when that process was used in England. Further examination by a specialist should be undertaken however to confirm or disprove this.

10. Conclusion
The enhanced precision and extent of the earthworks record in the woods north of the culvert strongly suggests a coherent link between the quarries, the trackways and the culvert given the linear banks and ditched identified between them. This implies a functional relationship between the culvert and transport of quarried material. Iron ore is the most likely material given the geology and history of the area although clay may have made up some or all of the material being sought. It is still unclear as to the final destination of quarried material and a previously undiscovered bloomery and furnace nearby remains a tempting possibility. Further research in Great Broomy Field and along the stream valley may identify a bloomery site. A broken dam is noted to the south near Bentons Farm (Pollard) and although the current small reservoir south of Woodcock Lane is believed to be a modern anglers pond, evidence of an earlier pond bay may await discovery elsewhere. Alternatively, WIRGs records of a bloomery at Little Haven Field 900m south west and Pollards discovery of a Furnace field name 1km south east may have been destinations for local iron ore. The test pitting programme did not retrieve any dating evidence for the construction of the culvert or any new evidence of its purpose. It did however provide a sequence of the deposits over it. The discovery of the void is of importance in compounding the view that the culvert is unlikely to survive very much longer in its current state and shows that unseen erosion is taking place. 13

The test pitting programme did not provide evidence to support the theory that an earlier trackway ran through the wood to the south and east of the culvert and the route through Willerds Hill Wood may be of twentieth century date. A number of volunteers both from Benenden and from further away in Kent were able to excavate and record archaeological features under the supervision of professional archaeologists and engage in the process of understanding and interpreting the site (plate 10). Further documentary and non-intrusive survey work to establish the presence of industrial activities south of the culvert would be appropriate as well as fieldwork to understand its date and character would be an appropriate further stage of work. Excavation slots through the positive earthworks features and a specialist appraisal of the slag sample and other finds would also be advisable.

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11. Acknowledgements
Thanks are due to Karen Maier and Ian Johnstone of the Kent High Weald Partnership for assisting and for lending equipment as well as to Andrew Anders Mayfield who volunteered his spare time and equipment to help the author supervise the work. Ernie Pollard, David Brown of WIRG and Richard James of Archaeology South East also provided invaluable expert opinion and data. Chris Tizzard kindly filmed the work. Gratitude is expressed to the landowners who permitted the works and who showed interest throughout and to the funding bodies, Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, The High Weald AONB, Kent County Council, Benenden Parish Council and the Heritage Lottery Fund. Great thanks also to the volunteers on both days who were: Roger Cockett Amanda Hebbert Roger Blake Mr and Mrs Drummond and their grandson James and Daniel Barker Trevor Bent Rebekah and Erica Bibby Victor Kellett Local resident Tony Adam Single, Maidstone June 2009

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12. Bibliography
Brown, D Report of a WIRG foray which took place in Strawberry Wood (TQ81453210)and New Barn Shaw (TQ81703190) on 27th March 2009, Wealden Iron Research Group, Unpublished report, 2009 Bunney, R Report upon structural condition and possible remedial measures to: stone built culvert at: Strawberry Wood, Benenden, Kent for: Kent High Weald Partnership, Unpublished report, E.A.R. Sheppard, 2007 Cleere, H and Crossley, D University Press, 2005 The Iron Industry of The Weald, Leicester

James, R An Archaeological Desk-Based Assessment of the Strawberry Wood Culvert, Benenden, Kent, Archaeology South East, 2007 James, R and Davidson, L An Archaeological Survey of the Strawberry Wood Culvert, Benenden, Kent, Archaeology South East, 2009 Kent High Weald Partnership, Project Design for a community archaeology project at the Strawberry Wood Culvert Benenden in Kent, unpublished project design, 2006 Pollard, E Historic landscape trails in Benenden Trail 7: Standen and Dingleden, undated, Benenden Amenity and Countryside Society Single, A KCC Heritage Conservation Risk Assessment Archaeological Fieldwork in Strawberry Wood, Benenden in Kent, unpublished risk assessment, KCC, 2009 Williams, JH (ed) Boydell/KCC, 2008 The Archaeology of Kent to AD 800,

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Appendix 1: Finds Quantification

Context 100 100 101 Unstrat Description C20 pottery Modern glass sherd Brick Iron slag Quantity 1 1 1 1 Weight >5g >5g 500g 350g

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Appendix 2: Figures

Figure 1. Site location plan

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Figure 2. Earthworks survey results

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Figure 3. Test pit locations

Figure 4. Wraparound section of test pit 1

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Figure 5. Plan of test pit 1 22

Figure 6. Plan and section of Test Pit 2

Figure 7. Geology and Topography of the area. Scale 1:6000 Based on BGS mapping

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Appendix 3: Photos

Plate 1 View looking west. Volunteers recording earthworks around feature 10.

Plate 2

View looking North. Volunteers recording in the north of the wood

Plate 3

View looking East. Recording Feature 4

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Plate 4

View looking north. Quarry feature 7.

Plate 5

View north west. Volunteers excavating Test Pit 1

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Plate 6

View looking north. Void in the side of test pit 1

Plate 7 View looking east of test pit 1 showing metalled surface in upper left hand corner

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Plate 8

View looking south of test pit 2

Plate 9

The unstratified iron slag 30

Plate 10

View looking east. Volunteers recording Test Pit 1

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Appendix 4: Table of contexts

Test pit one coloured white, test pit two coloured grey Context Number (100) Description Thickness & extent Mid brown silty clay, C. 200mm, across compacted woodland culvert footway soil Finds 1 fragment of modern pottery, 1 glass sherd, v. occ brick frags Mid grey sandy clay 2-300mm, seen all Modern brick with ironstone and across TP1 brick set in its upper interface Void created by <0.5m deep <0.7m None water erosion, diameter decomposing vegetation in base Sandstone/ironstone <0.4m wide in plan, None fragments in a silty unknown depth clay matrix Soft, light Across test pit None brown/yellow clay Natural Soft mid-brown clay 0.6m of test pit, 1- None 40mm thick Loose, dark brown 70mm thick, across Modern iron (not humic soil with leaf test pit retained) litter

(101)

(102)

(103) (200) (201) (202)

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Appendix 5: Kent County Council SMR summary form

Site Name: Strawberry Wood Culvert Site Address: Strawberry Wood North of Woodcock Lane Iden Green Benenden Kent Summary of discoveries: Earthworks surveying identified further quarry features and trackways as well as earth banks and discrete mounds thought be connected with iron ore extraction. Test pit work found post-medieval makeup over the culvert and an erosion-created void in the structure as well as a contemporary metalled surface. Negative evidence of an alternative route for the trackway carried by the culvert was identified. Unstratified iron slag collected from the site.

District/Unitary: Tunbridge Wells Period(s): Post-medieval, Unknown

Parish: Benenden

NGR (centre of site to nearest 1m): 581352 131897 (NB if large or linear site give multiple NGRs) Type of archaeological work (delete) Evaluation: Watching Brief Field Walking Documentary study Building recording Earthwork survey Excavation: Geophysical Survey Field Survey Geoarchaeological investigation Date of fieldwork (dd/mm/yy) From: 25/04/09 To: 09/05/09 Unit/contractor undertaking recording: Strawberry Wood Culvert Project Geology: Ashdown Beds Title and author of accompanying report: Volunteer earthworks surveying and test pit evaluation at Strawberry Wood, Benenden in Kent Adam Single Summary of fieldwork results (begin with earliest period first, add NGRs where appropriate) Earthworks surveying identified further features and trackways as well as earth banks and discrete mounds thought be connected with iron ore extraction. Test pit work found postmedieval makeup over culvert and an erosion-created void in the structure. 33

Negative evidence of an alternative route for the trackway carried by the culvert was found. A piece of unstratified iron slag was incorporated into the site archive. (cont on attached sheet) Location of archive/finds: TBD likely Cranbrook Museum or KHWP offices Contact at Unit: Adam Single, KCC Date: 23/06/09 Heritage Conservation Group

Archive and Dissemination

Electronic copies of this report will be sent to all participants and bound copies prepared for the archive and Cranbrook Museum. Bound copies will also be produced for any funding partners on request. The author asserts no rights claims other than the moral right to attribution however written permission must be sought from the projects funding bodies for any further reproduction of this document. The archive will be held at the Kent High Weald Partnerships offices at Bedgebury before being deposited at a suitable museum, likely Cranbrook Museum or Tunbridge Wells Museum.

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