In an area within 25 m or so of the springs at the head of the Ebbsfleet, and partially overlying the early Roman road towards the springs was a series of structures. The second of these was 8 m long and at least 4 m wide, aligned northwest to south-east on the same orientation as structure the structure that preceded it but relatively little of this structure survived, and it extended beyond the limit of excavation to the south. It appears to have been rectangular in plan and has been interpreted as a smithy. The north-west side of the structure appeared to be marked by a drip gully, but there were no surviving structural features along the northeast side, the approximate extent of which was defined by the edge of a spread of iron smithing slag and charcoal probably representing the remains of a build up of debris within the structure. The only internal feature was a rather insubstantial hearth at the south-east end. Immediately to the north-west was a further spread of charcoal and smithing slag dumped on the gently sloping ground nearer the river. The overall quantity of slag was not large (c 10.4 kg), though other debris may have lay outside the excavation area and some was perhaps disturbed and redeposited by later activity, but it did include six complete and a further 13 fragments of smithing hearth bottoms. Close dating of this structural sequence is somewhat problematic, but pottery from contexts associated with it suggest that it was built around the end of the 1st century and that it continued in use into the beginning of the 2nd. (1-2)

<1> Oxford Wessex Archaeology Joint Venture, 2010, Settling the Ebbsfleet Valley. CTRL Excavations at Springhead and Northfleet, Kent. The Late Iron Age, Roman, Saxon, and Medieval Landscape (Monograph). SKE31245.

<2> Wessex Archaeology, 2003, Channel Tunnel Rail Link Archaeological works at Springhead Roman Town (ARC SPH00): interim fieldwork report (Unpublished document). SKE31600.