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Thurnham Castle, Kent

This DTM was made to record the exact 3D shape of a large motte and bailey castle in advance of consolidation and conversion into a public amenity area. It had become thickly overgrown with bushes and trees and had been damaged long ago by extensive chalk and flint quarrying, hence the irregular left (South) edge of the survey.

The survey has been shown as a contour plan for practical reasons but 3D virtual models have been constructed that allow the surface to be examined in detail. The vertical resolution of the survey is 0.1m and the horizontal approximately 3m. The numbers are height above sea level. In addition to the DTM a detailed land survey was completed that recorded a plan of the surviving masonry, including where wall faces survived. Features exposed by the clearance of undergrowth were mapped in and other details, e.g. fences and an adjacent lane were added, all using 3D coordinates.

The large ovoid mass of the motte is clear and the surrounding ditch is quite clear, even where it was not immediately evident on the ground. The rectangular shape of rubble piled around the remains of the gatehouse is obvious in plan and there is a definate plateau, top right, extending away from the bailey top left. There are signs that some form of outer ward existed here and that the existing lane, in part forming the top edge of the survey, may have formed along the line of the castle ditch. The earthwork of a previous lane was found during survey to lead straight towards the gatehouse from the North (right) side.

Client

Oxford Archaeology