A theoretical representation of the Romney Marsh Area aprox 1000AD

What do we know

In Roman times the Rother(Limen) passed along the northern edge of the Romney Marsh from Appledore through to Hythe with iron from the furnaces at Bardown near Stonegate being brought down the Limen to the current Port Lympne(Portus Lemanis).

Some time before the 8th Century the rother was blocked at Hythe.
There was in 566AD a major storm 'on the coafts of Kent, Suffex, and Hampshire', which was a likely cause of the blocking of the estuary at Hythe. The only other possibility was that it just silted up, but probably less likely.

The Rother then broke through the spit of land between the lagoon and 'Old' Romney(Rams Island) which became a major port.

The silt then started to block the new estuary at 'Old' Romney and in only a few centuries the silt had moved the Rother estuary a mile and a half further out to where New Romney was founded.(so this map is a representation of about 1000AD)

Old Winchelsea can be seen as a shingle bar just off the coast at Rye.

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.