ENGLAND: THE OTHER WITHIN
Analysing the English Collections at the Pitt Rivers Museum
Pitt Rivers and Folkestone
Alison Petch,
Researcher 'The Other Within' project
Castle Hill Folkestone from the wikipedia page on the site
'it was perhaps no great surprise to the General that Caesar's Camp proved to be not a prehistoric hillfort but a medieval castle He set out 'to cut several sections through the ditches and ramparts, and to observe what relics might be found on the line of the old surface, beneath the rampart, and in the bottoms of the ditches, to excavate any pits ... to cut trenches in the interior to ascertain whether any foundations of habitations could be discovered...' To counter any incredulity that the 'relics' proved to be medieval the General insists repeatedly on the reliability of his evidence: 'In order that the evidence obtained may be strictly reliable it should, if possible, be of a character that might be accepted in a court of justice'. [Bowden, 1991: 86]
Bowden again criticises Pitt Rivers' methodology and recording practices on this site, he did not count the numerous small sherds he found. According to Bowden, P. Bennett in 'Archaeology and the Channel Tunnel', [Archaeologia Cantiana 1988 106, 1-24] claimed that Folkestone was the first scientific excavation of a medieval site in Britain. [Bowden, 1991: 86]
Thompson remarks that:
It was soon apparent that the earthwork was very different from Cissbury and Mount Caburn. A silver penny of King Stephen, a socketed arrowhead, a small copper-gilt object were found. Most of the pottery found on the bank was of sandy texture (what we would call medieval cooking pottery) although there were green glazed sherds as well. There were also horseshoes of sinuous edges. Everything indeed that we should now regard as standard twelfth-century remains was listed in the relics tables. Many earthworks of this kind usually with a motte or donjon are known from France. As Fox [Pitt Rivers] said although it was unwalled there wass no reason for doubting its Norman date. 'Having brought the Camp within the pale of historic times, I leave later speculation on the subject to historians.'
Artefacts from 'Caesar's Camp, Folkestone in the founding collection of the Pitt Rivers Museum
1. 1884.35.43 Accession Book IV entry - 1884.35.1-121 - Pottery Primitive and Ancient Hand-moulded. Norman cooking pot of red ware with flat base. Found 15 ft deep in Pit 2 Caesar's Camp Folkestone 5.6.78 [Drawing]
2. 1884.35.44 Smaller [than 1884.35.43] Norman cooking pot of red ware with flat base. Found 13 10 in down in No 2 Pit Caesar's Camp Folkestone 5.6.78 [Drawing]
3. 1884.111.24 Accession Book V entry - 1884.111.1-48 Music Wind 1884.111.10-24 Whistles Flageolets - Whistle of bird's bone (3 5/8"), 2 finger stops. Found at 13' pit 2 Caesar's Camp Folkestone: Norman 5.6.78 by A.L.F. [ie Augustus Lane Fox as Pitt Rivers was then]
Balfour Catalogue: Red numbers Musical Instruments - Wind C Whistles and Flageolets: PR coll 595/ 12191 Whistle made from a bird's bone, 3 5/8 inches long - upper end open and probably plugged to form a duct for air to be directed against the sharp-edged sound hole which is 5/8 inch from the end; two finger stops, one neatly bored, the other roughly cut. Lower end jagged and open. Found 13 feet deep in pit 2 Caesar's Camp, Folkestone, June 5 1878 by Col. A Lane Fox. Believed by him to be Norman see Archaeologia XLVII 1882 pl XX fig 35
[Note that the items from this point were not accessioned until long after the rest of the founding collection]
4. 1884.138.1 .1-10 Added Accession Book VI entry - 1884.138.1-50 Caesar's Camp Folkestone Sussex [sic - Folkestone is in Kent] Excavated by General Pitt Rivers in June and July 1878. It proved to be a medieval castle 'motte' protected by two ramparts on its exposed side. The evidence from the objects found suggests that it was built in the second half or perhaps the middle of the 12th century. It is not known for how long occupation continued but it is thought to have been of short duration. A few stray unstratified Neolithic 'B' sherds were found in excavating inside the Camp. Everything else is of Medieval date
Added Accession Book VI entry - See Archaeologia vol XLVII
Added Accession Book VI entry - Sherds from Caesar's Camp were borrowed by Dr ADF Streeter for thin section analysis for his thesis 'Medieval and Later Ceramics in SE England' completed in 1987. A copy of the relevant part of the thesis is located in the Research File (Streeten) 19.7.88 [LM] (The sherds were returned to Ray Inskeep in July 1988) [LM]
Added Accession Book VI entry - Ten sherds from interior ditch of outer rampart
5. 884.138.2 Added Accession Book VI entry - c [i.e. circa] 50 sherds from the well inside the castle 'motte' at various depths
6. 1884.138.3 Added Accession Book VI entry - c 10 sherds from ditch of transverse and 2nd oblong bit
7. 1884.138.4 Added Accession Book VI entry - c 40 sherds from west end and 3rd section of upper rampart
8. 1884.138.5 Added Accession Book VI entry - c 40 sherds from top of upper rampart incl [including] cabled rims of large storage jars
9. 1884.138.6 Added Accession Book VI entry - c 40 sherds from interior slope of upper ramparts decorated rims as above [1884.138.5]
10. 1884.138.7 Added Accession Book VI entry - c 50 sherds from interior slope of upper ramparts
11. 1884.138.8 c 80 small sherds from trenches in the interior of the 'upper camp' ie innermost court called the 'Citadel' by General Pitt Rivers
12. 1884.138.9 c 30 sherds from interior slope of the upper rampart
13. 1884.138.10 c 50 sherds from interior slope and surface of the upper rampart
14. 1884.138.11 Fragment (plain) of stout basin from inner slope of upper rampart
15. 1884.138.12 Fragment of stone with carved representation of a 4 twelfth century arches from inner slope of upper rampart
16. 1884.138.13 Fragment of chalk dish or mould with hole pierced for suspension from foot of inner slope of upper rampart
17. 1884.138.14 c 20 sherds from body of outer rampart
18. 1884.138.15 c 60 sherds from body of upper rampart rims with thumb pressed decoration
19. 1884.138.16 c 20 sherds from body of west end of outer rampart incl [including] part of large globular vessel with flat base with splashes of olive and oxide green glaze on the upper part of the body
20. 1884.138.17 c 20 sherds from body of outer rampart
21. 1884.138.18 4 sherds with yellow or brown glaze from various parts of the camp
22. 1884.138.19 Nails from horse shoes etc found in various parts of the Camp
23. 1884.138.20 Nails from various parts of the Camp
24. 1884.138.21 Fragment of spindle whorl from interior slope of upper rampart
25. 1884.138.22 Disc of lead 1" diameter from foot of interior slope upper rampart
26. 1884.138.23 Badly battered head of man carved in chalk, found 1 foot below turf on upper rampart
27. 1884.138.24 Fragment of carved stone pinnacle, found 2 feet deep in interior slope of upper rampart
28. 1884.138.25 Fragment of plain red tile 1 inch thick, found below no 12 above [ie 1884.138.12] in interior slope of upper rampart
29. 1884.138.26 Iron arrowhead 2 1/2 inches long from Pit 2
30. 1884.138.27 10 sherds from well shaft at 84 feet
31. 1884.138.28 Iron wedge from foot holds in wall of well
32. 1884.138.29 Copper gilt object fragmentary with quatre foiled and small stud found 20 feet deep in well
33. 1884.138.30 Copper gilt object fragmentary found in trench inside the 'Citadel'
34. 1884.138.31 Copper gilt object fragmentary with heart-shaped loop holes for suspension Found in seam of outer rampart
35. 1884.138.32 Copper gilt object fragmentary holes for suspension Found in seam of outer rampart in 3 pieces
36. 1884.138.33 Copper gilt object similar in nature to the above [1884.138.31 - .32]; the first is pierced for suspension, [the second [1884.138.34] has 4 small studs and is part of a handle]. Both found in outer rampart.
37. 1884.138.34 Copper gilt object similar in nature to the above [1884.138.31 - .32]; [the first [1884.138.33] is pierced for suspension], the second has 4 small studs and is part of a handle. Both found in outer rampart.
37. 1884.138.35 c 20 sherds from Pit 2 various depths
38. 1884.138.36 c 15 Neolithic B sherds from trenches in upper camp and from 3rd oblong pit
39. 1884.138.36 .16-19 4 flint flakes from trenches in upper camp and from 3rd oblong pit [?596/ 12191]
40. 1884.138.37 Iron buckle found 15ft deep in Pit 2
41. 1884.138.38 Clench bolts found just below the surface of the interior of the camp
42. 1884.138.39 Small iron knife c 3 1/2" long from interior slope of upper rampart
43. 1884.138.40 Iron knife (blade 4 1/2" long) from interior slope of upper rampart
44. 1884.138.41 Fragment of twisted iron handle from Pit 2
45. 1884.138.42 Fragments of twisted iron handle from outer rampart
46. 1884.138.43 Fragment of square buckle from body of outer rampart
47. 1884.138.44 Fragment of iron loop from Pit 2
48. 1884.138.45 Fragment of small iron lance head (or ?arrowhead) from interior slope of upper rampart
49. 1884.138.46 Part of square-sectioned iron bar or wedge pierced with hole from interior slope of upper rampart
50. 1884.138.47 Fragment of iron knifeblade from bottom of 3rd oblong pit outer camp
51. 1884.138.48-50 Fragments of iron horseshoe found in the body of the outer rampart and in pit 2
Related items:
1884.99.25 Accession Book V entry - 1884.99.1 - 48 Currency - Small British coin found in 2.0 cm in Eastwear Bay Folkestone 1878
Artefacts that are probably in the Pitt Rivers Museum founding collection but have not yet been located and accessioned:
Delivery Catalogue I entry - Glazed tray containing containing silver penny Stephen Folkestone 616 Case 49 215
Delivery Catalogue I entry - Seals Tools and various objects Piece of bronze 34/ 9433 [Screen Case?] 15 163
There may also be some unaccessioned pottery sherds.
Further Reading
Pitt Rivers, A. 1883 'Excavations at Caesar's Camp, near Folkestone, conducted in 1878' Archaeologia 47: 429-65
Note that further information and research notes on this site, compiled in the 1970s, by Revd. A.H. Gibson are held at Folkestone Library, contact them for further information.