XVI.—On a Late-Celtic Village near Dumpton Gap, Broadstairs

Extract

In the summer of 1907, during the construction of a new road (called South Cliff Parade) situated on top of the cliffs, at a distance of about 40 yards from the sea, between Dumpton Gap and East Cliff Lodge, there was found a number of V-shaped trenches cut in the chalk subsoil, and running transversely across the site of the road. They came into view as soon as the loamy soil, which was about 12 inches in depth, was removed from the surface of the ground. Prior to the construction of the road the land had been in cultivation, and there was no evidence whatever on the surface, in the shape of mounds or depressions, to indicate the presence of any earthworks beneath. The new road above referred to begins at Dumpton Gap, and proceeds in a southerly direction for about 600 yards. (Plate LV.) It is slightly undulating, and rises to a height of about 100 feet above sea level at its highest point, while the land gently slopes towards the sea from west to east. At about 150 yards from the starting point there was found the first indication of the ground having been previously excavated, and here was met with what appears to be the fosse which surrounded the prehistoric village. It ran in a diagonal direction from south-west to north-east, across the line of the new road in course of construction. It was 22 feet wide, about 4 feet 6 inches deep, and had been excavated in the chalk.