period were identified to the west of the fort, ten of which were square; all were cut into the hard layer of sandstone below the soft sandstone of the Thanet Beds, thus tapping into the water table. These and other 20th-century finds from the Roman period extend to west of the fort, and date to a period between 170 and 360, roughly coinciding with the period of occupation at the fort itself. At least 10 infant burials have been found within the fort, all of babies, of which six were associated with Roman buildings: five sets of infant remains were found within the foundations and walls of buildings, as were coins dating from 270 to 300 AD. It was suspected that more such burials might be found in the walls of a building in the south-western area of the fort if it were excavated further. A baby's feeding bottle was also found in an excavated floor within of one of the infant skeletons, though it may have been unconnected with the burials. The babies were probably buried in the buildings as ritual sacrifices, but it is unknown whether they were selected for burial because they were already dead, perhaps stillborn, or if they were buried alive or killed for the purpose. A local tale subsequently developed that the grounds of the fort were haunted by the sound of a crying baby. Towards the end of the 3rd century a Roman naval commander named Carausius, who later declared himself emperor in Britain, was given the task of clearing pirates from the sea between Britain and the European mainland. In so doing he established a new chain of command, the British part of which was later to pass under the control of a Count of the Saxon Shore. The Notitia Dignitatum shows that the fort at Reculver became part of this arrangement, and its location meant that it lay at the "main point of contact in the system [of Saxon Shore forts]". Archaeological evidence indicates that it was abandoned in the 370s. Medieval By the 7th century Reculver was part of a landed estate of the Anglo-Saxon kings of Kent, possibly with a royal toll-station or a "significant coastal trading settlement," given the types and large quantity of coins found there. Other early Anglo-Saxon finds include a fragment of a gilt bronze brooch, or fibula, which was originally circular and set with