A pollen analytical record for hemp retting from Dungeness Foreland, UK

This paper presents late Holocene pollen analytical, plant macrofossil and radiocarbon data from a sequence filling a natural pit developed in the gravel beaches of Dungeness Foreland, southeast England. Pollen analysis of organic muds from the base of Muddymore Pit contain exceptionally high pollen frequencies for Cannabis sativa L. and indicate the past use of the site as a hemp-retting pit. The timing of the pollen record for Cannabis (ca. AD 1000-1400) corresponds with a period during which the nearby town of Lydd reached the height of its prosperity and importance as one of the lesser havens of the 'Cinque Ports' confederation. It is proposed that the hemp-retting site at Muddymore Pit went a long way towards satisfying demand from the port for the products of hempen fibre such as rope (for ships rigging) and cloth (for ships sails).