A HISTORY OF KENT 



not only the mediaeval structure, but, below and on the inner side 

 thereof, the earthen rampart, while without is the deep and wide 

 fosse, the ballast from which formed the rampart, 

 Crayford : Camp. — Mr. Spurrell states : — 



On the spread of gravel 30 or 40 ft. above the creek on its west side, and a quarter 

 of a mile or less due south of Howbury, is the barest outline of an oval camp ; its bank 

 may be feebly traced on the north, and the ditch also here and there.^ 



Dartford : Joyden's Wood Camp, — About three miles south- 

 west of Dartford, on ground rising high above the Thames valley flats, 

 are the remains of this interesting earthwork on a spot which has 

 evidently been occupied in successive ages, some long antedating the 

 period of the rectangular earthwork which is our subject. 



The low banking and slightness of the protective work are akin to 

 those we associate with ancient village settlements, but the careful 

 examinations made by Col. O. E, Ruck, F. S.A.Scot., corroborate the 

 evidence afforded by the discovery of Roman pottery within the area, 

 and lead to the conclusion that the fortress was a Roman redoubt at the 

 junction of two important British roads. 



The slight banks and fosses dividing the main body of the camp 

 may be parts of the older British work. The most interesting feature 

 of the camp is the clever adaptation of the sunken British road on the 

 south-east to the requirements of the defence. Elsewhere in its course 

 this road displays the usual characteristics of early trackways, being 

 sunken to a broad, shallow trough ; but here, where it abuts upon the 

 camp, it has been converted into a deep, double-banked, V-shaped fosse, 

 as shown by section G-H. 



The other road referred to runs north-west from the point of 

 junction (marked J on plan) in the direction of Cavey Wood and a 

 probable ford over the river Cray. 



On the north-west of the earthworks, after a suitable glacis has 

 been left, a steep natural ravine is encountered running north-east 

 towards the tumulus shown on the plan. 



Mr. F. C. J. Spurrell, writing on Dartford antiquities, gives much 

 attention to this early camp and its surroundings, especially referring to 

 the ancient British road." 



Deneholes so abound in the neighbourhood that it is tempting to 

 associate them with the earthworks of the camp, but definite link is 

 missing. 



It is certain that there was an earlier settlement on the site, as 

 traces of trenches remain which have been crossed and overlapped by 

 the banks and fosse of the rectangular camp, and the surrounding wood- 

 land shows many such early traces which carry the mind back to a far- 

 away Celtic period, 



' 'Early sites and embankments on the margins of the Thames estuary.' Arch. Journ. (1885) xlii. 

 ' Arch. Cant, xviii. It is evidence of the antiquity and importance of the ' road ' that it became 

 the boundary of the parishes of Dartford and Wilmington. 



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