Romney Marsh: Evolution of the Historic Landscape and its Wider Significance

Abstract

Romney Marsh is one of the largest coastal wetlands in Britain, and has seen a long history of archaeological, documentary and geomorphological research. Recently, this has been complemented by interdisciplinary work of the Romney Marsh Research Trust's members, and we now have an extensive body of data relating to this remarkable landscape. In the first monograph produced by the Romney Marsh Research Trust, Christopher Green attempted a broad palaeogeographical reconstruction of how the Marsh may have evolved over the past 2,000 years, and this paper is an attempt to expand upon the model put forward. Some aspects of the wider significance of the history of Romney Marsh are then considered, including the importance of breaches in coastal barriers in affecting human utilisation of marshland landscapes, the significance of the associated estuaries for integrating coastal and inland economies, and the role of marshland within complex medieval estate structures.