Roman barrow cemetery with possible Bronze Age origins. Only one survives as an earthwork, this was enlarged for use as a Medieval motte and bailey and a windmill mound. It was also used as a Civil War gun emplacement and incorporated into a public garden after 1790. Predecessor of Canterbury. Guy writes this mound is a burial mound and was never used as a motte. Most authors agree if it was used it life as a castle was short lived. To quote Armitage "The name Dane John is not so much a corruption [of Dungeon] as a deliberate perversion introduced by the antiquary Somner about 1640, under the idea that the Danes threw up the hill".

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Name	Canterbury; The Dane John
Alternative Names	Dungeon Hill, Dungan Hill; Dangon Hill
Historic County	Kent
Civil Parish	Canterbury
Type	Timber Castle
Confidence	Possible
Remains	Earthworks
Listed	Not listed
Scheduled Ancient Monument	No
Ordnance Survey Reference	TR146572
Eastings	614690
Northing	157260
Images of England Reference
PastScape Reference	464929
Historic Environment Record	TR 15 NW 264

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StreetMaps

Books

• Salter, Mike, 2000, The Castles of Kent (Malvern) p21
• Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p112
• Frere, S.S., Bennett, P., Rady, J., Stow, S., 1987, The Archaeology of Canterbury Vol8 (Canterbury Archaeological Trust) p160-80
• Drage, C., 1987, 'Urban castles' in Schofield, J. and Leech, R. (eds) Urban Archaeology in Britain (CBA Research Report) p117-32
• Andrews, Gillian, 1985, The archaeology of Canterbury: an assessment p124, 137, 184-5
• King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p228
• Bennett, P. et al, 1982, The Archaeology of Canterbury Vol1, Excavations at Canterbury Castle, (Kent Archaeological Society for the Canterbury Archaeological Trust)
• Guy, John, 1980, Kent Castles (Meresborough Books)
• Newman, John, 1976, The buildings of England: West Kent and the Weald (Harmondsworth) p238
• Page, Wm (ed), 1932, VCH Kent Vol3 p75-6
• Armitage, Ella, 1912, The Early Norman Castles of the British Isles (London: John Murray) p116-7, 121
• Chalkley Gould and Downham, 1908, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH Kent Vol1 p412-13
• Hasted, Edward, 1778-99, A History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent Vol4 p430, plate at 409
• Somner, 1640, Antiquites of Canterbury p75, 144

Antiquarian

• Speed, John, 1611-12, The Theatre of the Empire of Great Britain [http://faculty.oxy.edu/horowitz/home/johnspeed/Cities6.htm]
• Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p260

Journals

• Rady, J., 1982, ‘Excavation. 3. Dane John site' Annual Report 1981-82, Canterbury Archaeological Trust p13-15
• Rady, J., 1981, ‘Interim report on excavations in 1981 by the Canterbury Archaeological Trust. 3. Dane John site' Archaeologia Cantiana Vol97 p281-4
• Dunning, G.C., Jessup R.F., 1936, Antiquity p50-51
• Home, G., 1929, Archaeological Journal Vol86 p272-75
• Armitage, E., 1904 April, 'The Early Norman Castles of England' The English Historical Review Vol19 p209-245, 417-455 http://www.archive.org/stream/englishhistorica19londuoft