on the Trent, in 1014. Canute (Cnut) died in Shaftesbury in 1035 and his sons were unable to hold on to his empire. But the name of Swanscombe cannot derive from Sweyn Forkbeard since the place-name is first attested in 695 AD.

Other research suggests that deneholes may have been dug as a method of extracting chalk for use on the fields above, or the mining may have been a by-product of defence. In any case the practice reached a peak around the 13th - 14th