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THE conspicuous spur on the slope of the chalk downs
behind the unattractive village of Snodland is known locally as
"Holborough Knob" or more simply as "The Knob," the
barrow1 from which the hamlet of
Holborough derives its name being situated on its eastern flank.
Although the barrow has been known to antiquarians since the days of
Elizabeth and its bibliography is quite extensive, no account of it has
yet appeared in our Journal. The following notes may therefore be of
interest: they were made after a fruitless visit to try to locate the
find-spot of Roman pottery and iron-work said to have been found there
recently. We make no apology for including extracts and reproductions of
illustrations from an account of an excavation of the mound which took
place in the heyday of social-romantic arcaeology just over a century
ago. |
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With its high conical shape, steep sides, and flattened top, the mound
has the characteristic profile of a Roman barrow,2
and such relics as were obtained from it by accident and by its rather
unhandy excavation support that date. There is also strong topographical
confirmation of Roman date. It lies less than a mile from a Roman villa,
the walls and pavement of which have from time to time been uncovered on
the banks of the Medway near Snodland church and particularly on the
site of the gas-works, from which have been obtained
1 Map references: Kent,
6-inch sheet XXXI, N.W.; 1-inch sheet War Edition 116 grid 140814.
2 G. C. Dunning and R. F. Jessup,
"Roman Barrows," Antiquity, March 1936, pp. 37-53. |
