Farningham Romano-British Farmsteads
In 1969, two Romano-British sites were discovered near Farningham when a new gaspipe was being installed north of the road we call the M20.
A settlement found near Eglantine Lane might have been a 1st-2nd century hilltop farmstead. It’s difficult to find out more about the farmstead's size and use because only a small amount of pottery and tiles was found there. Over 500 pieces of broken pottery, oyster shells and daub from the 1st century found near Calfstock Lane suggest another farmstead.
What does 'Romano-British' mean?
‘Romano-British' is a phrase we use to describe the culture in Britain after the Roman Conquest. In AD 43, the Romans added Britain to their vast empire, naming it 'Britannia'.
When the Romans conquered Britain they brought their culture and customs with them. These mixed together with the culture and customs of the Britons already living there. People living under Roman rule in Britannia were Romano-British.
The food that people ate in the past was often strongly linked to who they were and where they came from. The large number of oyster shells found at Calfstock Lane is a sign of Roman identity. The people living at this farmstead in the 1st century AD may have thought of themselves as Roman. These oysters also show a link to local markets and how Watling Street linked the Thames estuary (where the oysters came from) and settlements in Roman Kent.
What were early Romano-British farmsteads like?
Many Roman farmsteads (small rural settlements without villas) have been excavated and studied by archaeologists, especially in the last 25 years. They’ve found two main types of farmstead: ‘enclosed’ and ‘unenclosed’.
Unenclosed or ‘open’ farmsteads are settlements that don’t seem to have clear boundaries around them like large fences or walls. They can include some roundhouses next to pits, an enclosure to keep animals in, and a track that leads to the settlement. It’s difficult to say for certain if the Eglantine Lane settlement was open or if boundaries simply weren’t found when the site was excavated. Most open farmsteads date to the Late Iron Age and were gradually abandoned after the 2nd century AD.
Enclosed farmsteads are settlements with boundaries around them. It’s likely that the ditches found at Calfstock Lane show an enclosed farmstead. The boundaries here might have been used to control the movement of livestock rather than for defence.
Small farmsteads like Farningham mainly focused on looking after animals and might have been small parts of a bigger villa estate like Franks Hall or Farningham. At some bigger farmsteads archaeologists have found evidence of industries like pottery making and metalworking.
What do we know about the farmsteads?
At Calfstock Lane, only a pit and two ditches were found. Archaeologists think that the ditches formed an enclosure. No building materials like tiles were found so any buildings probably had timber frames that haven’t survived. The evidence suggests that the farmstead may have only been occupied for about two generations.
Sometimes people in the past filled ditches and pits up on purpose with their rubbish, in other cases they filled up naturally over time. Archaeologists can study the different layers of soil (‘deposits’ or ‘silts’) to find out more about the history of settlements like these.
Here, they found pieces of pottery from six different pots. Other layers of soil built up on top of this, including a layer of fine black soil with oyster shells, bronze and iron brooches and nearly 300 pieces of broken pottery. These objects were thrown into the ditch on purpose. The iron brooch may date from the late 1st century BC or earlier while the bronze brooch is likely to date from the late 1st century AD. Brooches like these were important symbols of identity even at small farmstead sites like this one.
Activity Idea
GEOGRAPHY
Think about how you would organise your own Roman farm. Where should it be? What features would you need to have access to (e.g. water, flat land)?
Draw up a plan for your own farm with labels showing all of its important features. Decide whether it will be enclosed or unenclosed and consider the kinds of animals and crops you want to keep and grow.