Please note the translations of Saxon place names mentioned in the text are lower down this page
This map shows the Romney Marsh area in Roman times, the high tide levels
are shown 5 metres higher(Please see our Sea Level pages), and the river
Rother/Limen flowed across the north of the Marsh passing
the Roman shore fort of Portus Lemanis(modern Stutfall castle) finally emerging at the sea near modern day Hythe.
Behind Dymchurch there is an area
currently just below sea level that appears to be a lagoon, it is recorded that
the romans were extracting salt around the Dymchurch, Lydd and
'St Mary in the Marsh'(most likely a later Saxon settlement as Christianity only reached Kent in AD601) areas in the 2nd century,
probably mostly from this tidal lagoon, implying a line of barrier islands that protected the lagoon from the sea.
Portus Lemanis(This name most likely originates from the early Latin 'Portus ille manus' which roughly translates into
'The Port of the hand' or more accurately 'Port that hand' ) is most likely to have been located in the lagoon. This
implies the Roman Navy, Classis Britannica(CLBR) used the lagoon as a protected harbour for their fleet, with Stutfall Castle
as its major defence. It also seems to imply that the Saxon Shore forts protected important harbours for the CLBR so Pevensey
may also have also been a major port.
The Rother was tidal to at least Bodiam in Roman times and probably untill the 1300's, and the tidal effects probably reached
further upstream past Etchingham to Tidebrook near Stonegate.
The shaded areas on the Marsh area are derived from research carried out at the University of East Anglia
The "Kent A" cadastre - page 5 - Peterson 2002
the main data shows the differing soil types on the marsh - implying land at various points.
Saxon places names translated
| Current translation for Rother |
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rother derived from
roðer - sailor or rower probably means sea inlet or deep river |
Use this translation on your website |
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| Current translation for Limen |
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limen derived from
læmen - river full of silt(clay) |
| Found in Domesday 1086AD |
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| Name found: | Limwarlet(Kent) |
| | Use this translation on your website |
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| Current translation for Dymchurch |
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dym derived from
demman - dam to stop water |
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church derived from
cirice - burial ground |
| Use this translation on your website |
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| Current translation for Hythe |
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hythe derived from
hyð - hythe - usually a harbour or port, an important or first one, or starting point |
| Found in Domesday 1086AD |
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| Names found: | Hed(Kent) | | Hede(Kent) |
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| Iaonei(Kent) |
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| | Use this translation on your website |
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| Current translation for Lydd |
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lydd derived from
hlaed/lid - a pile or mound or agger or a ship |
| Use this translation on your website |
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| Current translation for Stutfall |
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stut derived from
stut - gnats and midges |
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fall derived from
feoh el - the cattle people |
| Use this translation on your website |
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| Current translation for Pevensey |
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pevens derived from
fæsten naess - fortress promentory |
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ey derived from
æg - an island also eye, ye, sea |
| Found in Domesday 1086AD |
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| Name found: | Pevenesel(Sussex) |
| | Use this translation on your website |
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| Current translation for Bodiam |
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bodi derived from
bodan - ships keel - probably shipyard |
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am derived from
hamm - Denotes a piece of land surrounded with paling, wicker-work, etc., and so defended against water, which would otherwise wash it away, so a valley settlement or settlement with a jetty. |
| Found in Domesday 1086AD |
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| Names found: | Bodeham(Sussex) | | Borham(Sussex) |
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| | Use this translation on your website |
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| Current translation for Etchingham |
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etch derived from
weacg - metal |
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ing derived from
ænge - troubled village(appear to be fortlets or pallisaded villages) |
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ham derived from
hamm - Denotes a piece of land surrounded with paling, wicker-work, etc., and so defended against water, which would otherwise wash it away, so a valley settlement or settlement with a jetty. |
| Use this translation on your website |
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| Current translation for Stonegate |
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stone derived from
stan - stone - probably a roman road, milestone or builders stone |
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gate derived from
gat - an entrance - from gat eye of a needle or a hole - appears related to roman roads, or parks |
| Use this translation on your website |
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| Current translation for Tidebrook |
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tide derived from
tyd - time - meaning regular |
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brook derived from
broc - a brook or stream |
| Use this translation on your website |
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