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Victoria County History of Kent Vol. 3  1932 - Romano-British Kent - Industries - Page 127

ROMANO-BRITISH INDUSTRIES1

   Now that some account has been given of the distribution and the nature of the civilization of Kent during the Roman occupation, it is of interest to carry the survey a step further and to enquire into the industries that the region supported.
   Perhaps chief among the industries of Romano-British Kent was agriculture; something has already been said about the villa system, and it is probable that the Roman occupation led to the development of agriculture on an intensive scale. The Celtic folk of south-east Britain grew corn extensively, even before the Claudian invasion; Pytheas, for instance, who, in the course of his expedition, visited Britain in 325 B.C., noted that the natives grew large quantities of corn which they used not only for food, but also in the brewing of beer. Caesar himself, writing in the middle of the 1st century B.C.,speaks of the abundant cattle, the large population, and the crowded settlements to be found in Kent. During his first campaign he was able to provision his army for a fortnight on corn reaped from the fields near Deal and Walmer. Pliny, the Latin naturalist, mentions that the heavy land was given a dressing of chalk obtained from mines, and it may be that certain of the shafts known as deneholes originated as chalk mines in this way. The growth of agriculture was much accelerated during the occupation, and in the middle of the 4th century A.D., encouraged by the Emperor Julian, Britain was exporting grain to the ravaged areas in the Rhine valley; doubtless Kent contributed largely to the quota.But apart from the Latin historians, and the occasional discovery of agricultural tools on villa sites, we know next to nothing about the methods used by the farmers of Kent, and so far no certain traces of fields have been recognized.5
   There is evidence that British wool was exported to the mainland of Europe, and we find that it is mentioned in the eastern Edict of Diocletian, promulgated in A.D. 301. Signs of a woollen industry, mainly in the shape of loom-weights, bobbins, and bone combs have been noted on several of the Kentish villa sites. A series of cisterns, provided with elaborate gutters and drain-pipes, together with unusually large heating arrangements in the Darenth buildings (p.111) is thought to have been part of a plant for ‘fulling’ or milling cloth.
   An important group of industries is connected with building. We may suppose that there was a large demand for timber, both rough and finished, the forested Wealden region and the less densely wooded areas along the northern tertiary belt providing valuable supplies. Ragstone was used extensively, not only in the construction of the shore-forts and in the walls of London, Canterbury, and Rochester, but also in the less pretentious buildings in rural
   1 This section has been contributed by Mr. Ronald F. Jessup.
   Strabo, iv, v. 5
   De Bello Gallico, v, 12, 14.
   For the 3rd-century prosperity of Kent see Haverfield and Macdonald, The Roman Occupation of Britain, 264.
   Air photographs taken in 1928 near Capston and Hempsted (6-in, map, sheet xix, S.E.) show certain linear markings suggestive of ancient fields. (Information from Mr. O. G. S. Crawford.)

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