Saxon Seaxe Anglo Saxon History
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Map Position
This map shows the position of locations showing 'Saxon, Roman Actual named locations ' of type 'Roman Town, Roman Villa, Roman Major Fort, Roman Watch Tower, Roman Port, Roman Bloomery, Saxon Port' containing 'anderida, bodiam, dubris, durobrivae, durovernum, hastings, hythe, new romney, portus lemanis, regulbium, rye, winchelsea' centered on Iden in Sussex.
Map Logic
This map shows the Romney Marsh Area post the 1287AD storm that decimated the Kent and Sussex Ports.

The forest of Andredsweald is shown as shaded with a Green border, which was impassable except where Roman Roads or rivers cut through it.

Roman roads are shown in black plotted from Ivan D Margary 'Roman Roads in Britain' published in 1955.

The red roads are taken from Ivan D Margary 'Roman ways in the Weald' published in 1948.

The Blue shaded areas show the paths of the rivers emerging into the Romney Marsh Area.


 
Icon Key:
Roman Major Fort
Saxon Port

A representation of the Romney Marsh Area post the 1287AD Storm

 

What do we know

The Rother was tidal to at least Bodiam, and the effects probably reached further upstream past Etchingham to Tidebrook near Stonegate.

In 1287AD there was a serious storm that hit the coast of Kent and Sussex, this deposited about 1mtr of shingle over the Port of New Romney(this can be seen at the church), and blocked the exit of the Rother to the sea. This storm destroyed large numbers of ships and also blocked the old Hastings Harbour in the Filsham valley. It also completely destroyed Old Winchelsea and the survivors settled on the hill above the village of Iham in the Brede valley founding the modern town of Winchelsea.

The storm caused a major break in the route of the rother which left the lagoon area to the north of the marshes isolated, which was likely to have been the cause of the building of the Rhee wall, so the lagoon area could be dried out for farming nowadays the lagoon area is still below sea level.

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.



External References in no particular order :-
Anglo Saxon Chronicles
Online Anglo Saxon dictionary
Online Etymology dictionary
Open Domesday Book - The first free online copy of the Domesday Book
The Ermine Street Guard Roman re-enactment and research Society
The "Kent A" cadastre - page 5 - Peterson 2002
Archaeologia Cantiana Online
Romney Marsh Research Trust
Romney Marsh the Fifth Continent
VillageNet the reference guide to villages in Kent & Sussex
Global warming Flood Maps
The Anglo Saxon Chronicles
Google Maps - the core of the system
GeoPlaner - Useful site for plotting map data
Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars 55BC(Books 4 & 5)
Wikipedia - Caesar's invasions of Britain
Wikipedia - Portus Istus
The Geography of Claudius Ptolemy (Bill Thayers)
Roman Britain.org
Runetree Beowulf
Bayeux Tapestry Online
The Secrets of the Norman Invasion
Chronicles of John of Worcester
Battle Historic Society
Binsted village website(Mearcredesburnan Steðe)
The Spears of Andred
Find British Archaelogical Sites
Wealden Iron Research Group
Topographic Map of the UK

 

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Author: Simon M - Last Updated: 13/03/2024 13:12
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Data is derived from a number or sources including the Ordnance Survey Gazetter data overlayed onto Google Maps