Romney Marsh Conferences; 1985 March 29/31 Canterbury, 1986 September 20/21 Oxford

In this issue we are looking forward to the first full public meeting of the Romney Marsh Dungeness Research Group, which will take place at Hertford College, Oxford in “September (see enclosed programme and booking form). The papers to be given at this important conference will ail be based on research undertaken in the last two years.

First, however, we look back at the weekend last March, which was based at Canterbury and attended by some 60 people, including seven members of the Research Group.

Dr. Michael Tooley of Dirham University and Dr. Christopher Green have provided summaries’ of the talks they gave, which are printed below.

Jill Eddison discussed some of the features of the landscape, particularly evidence of the old shore lines, and of the marsh ditches, past and present.

Tim Tatton-Brown described the history of two Cinque Ports - Hythe and Romney - and their Liberties, the area over which the port had complete rights. In both cases the present Liberty boundary must have been drawn late, in response to changes in the coastline and waterways.

Professor John Hutchinson, of Imperial College, gave a summary of his work . on the landslips which have disorientated the Roman Fort of the Saxon Shore at Lympne. We reproduce here a diagram from his paper, showing how the north wall of the fort was destabilised, when material slid away from its downhill side. The wall then tilted and slid off the piles on which it had been constructed.

[fg]png|Taken from Hutchinson, J. N., Poole, C., Lambert, N, and Bromhead, E. N., 1985, "Combined archaeological and geological investigations of the Roman fort at Lympne, Kent," Britannia 16, 209 - 236.|[/fg]

Most of Saturday was spent on a field trip, via Lympne, to a Sluice on the Dymchurch Wall (the original wall was probably built in Tudor times), New Romney, Dungeness and Greatstone sand-dunes. As a half-gale was blowing, the natural processes which mould the coastline were seen in action to great advantage. On Sunday morning we repaired to the Appledore Dowels, where Michael Tooley, Andrew Woodcock, Martin Waller and Andrew Marlow gave intriguing demonstrations of drilling into marsh sediments and peat - and of what can be deduced from the samples that come up.

Our thanks are due to Tim Tatton-Brown who directed and organised the weekend.