The earliest evidence of occupation related to a sub-oval pit and a north– south aligned ditch, both of which were cut into the brickearth. Measuring 2.6m long and 1.3m wide by 0.45m deep, the pit was filled by a dark grey sandy clay. The only finds recovered from this consisted of four pieces of struck flint including a decortication flake, a useable flake, a core and a notched flake. Measuring 3.6m in length, 0.6m in width and 0.08m in depth, the ditch was filled by a light brown grey deposit of silt clay sand matrix. As with the pit, the only finds retrieved from the ditch consisted of two pieces of struck flint in the form of a decortication flake and a useable flake.

The flintwork recovered from both of these features was typologically consistent with Middle Bronze Age to Late Bronze Age and possibly even Early Iron Age industry. The raw materials used were all readily available locally and were probably obtained from either alluvial deposits or from weathered chalk. The fact that better quality flint was not sought out, particularly given the proximity of chalk outcrops in the vicinity, appears to imply that the site was utilised only temporarily or at least sporadically. It is generally accepted that by the middle of the second millennium BC flintworking had become largely subsumed to within the domestic sphere. In this way, the limited number of finds recovered from these two features appears to indicate activity on the periphery of a settlement, possibly associated with agricultural field systems dating from the Middle to Late Bronze Age.

The core recovered from the pit seems likely to indicate the on-site working of flint; however, the remainder of the material was abraded and may possibly have entered these two features residually. With little evidence to go on in terms of diagnostic material, placing these two features into context has been somewhat difficult. Being shallow, it seems most unlikely that the ditch would have existed as a significant or substantial field boundary and thus an interpretation of either a drainage ditch or gully would seem more tangible. The pit was also obscure in terms of purpose, containing no evidence of either refuse or storage function. However, it is probable that these two features were contemporary and located on the fringes of a Middle to Late Bronze Age settlement or field system. (information summarised from source) (1-2)

<1> CgMs Consulting, 2004, Assessment of an Archaeological Excavation: Land at Grove Nursery, Westgate-on-Sea, Kent. CT8 8AS (Unpublished document). SKE12730.

<2> Pre-Construct Archaeology, 2004, Excavations along the Thames Estuary in North Kent: Excavations at Grove Nursery, Westgate on Sea (Site 5) (Bibliographic reference). SKE52230.