Geology of Kent into northern France. The fold arises from the continuing Alpine orogeny and results in the general northward dip of the rock strata in most of Kent. There are extensive spreads of coastal and estuarine alluvium on the Thames Estuary coast, in the low ground surrounding the Isle of Thanet and across Romney Marsh. Alluvium also floors the valleys of the River Medway and Stour. 'Clay-with-flints' is a commonly occurring deposit across the North Downs which is a product of periglacial conditions during the last ice age. Loessic deposists, of aeolian origin i.e. windblown, are common in east Kent, especially on
History of Kent History of Kent Kent is a traditional county in South East England with long-established human occupation. Kent has been occupied since the Lower Palaeolithic as finds from the quarries at Swanscombe attest. The Swanscombe skull, uncovered at Barnfield Pit, a quarry in Swanscombe, is the oldest skull found in Britain. Identified as "Homo heidelbergensis" it dates to the Hoxnian Interglacial 400,000 years ago. During the Neolithic the Medway megaliths were built and there is a rich sequence of Bronze Age occupation indicated by finds and features such as the Ringlemere gold cup. The name Kent probably means 'rim' or 'border'