A near site-wide arrangement of generally shallow and often meandering ditches although relatively fragmentary, can be quite confidently seen to form a roughly coaxial but rather loose arrangement of fields and double-ditched trackways, aligned predominantly north-west/south east over the southern two-thirds of the site, turning to a more north-south alignment in Plateau 1. Although some elements of this system might be later there is no particular reason to suppose that most of the individual ditches are not roughly contemporary, dating evidence such as it is (relatively small pottery assemblages and radiocarbon dating) indicating a mid Bronze Age provenance at the latest. Nearly all the ditches had shallow U-shaped profiles with often sterile fills of similar silty clay (suggesting that the ditches gradually filled by erosion)

In detail- Trackway 1 consisted of two straight parallel ditches, approximately 2.4m apart that were aligned roughly NNE–SSW for a distance of 31m. Trackway 2 was situated 30m south-east of Enclosure 2, aligned north-east to south-west with the eastern side of the enclosure. The drove way fragment consisted of two straight parallel ditches approximately 2.1m apart that extended for 15.8m. Trackway 3 was an arrangement of two sets of parallel ditches located 105m north-east of Enclosure 1 and probably represented two separate routes forming a T-junction (with the arms of the ‘T’ arranged south-west/north-east). The two ditches forming the stem were 21m long located 2.2m apart. The ‘arms’ were 29m long and contiguous with the ‘stem’ ditches. The fragmentary Trackway 4, situated in the northern part of Plateau 5 consisted of a large number of ditch segments that extended for about 190m from the northern limit of the area to about 36m north of Enclosure 1. The main north-east to south-west alignment of two irregular, sinuously arrayed parallel ditches was 82.8m long, the ditches approximately 2.5m apart. The eastern part of Trackway 5 was situated 38m south-east of Enclosure 2 and consisted of two parallel ditches between 2.4 and 3.8m apart, aligned north-west to south-east and 33m long. Two parallel ditches interpreted as a drove way (Trackway 6) extended west from Trackway 7 (21m from its southern located extremity) for about 34m. The ditches, about 4m apart were unusual in being extremely wide. Trackway 7, on the western side of Plateau 1 could be a continuation of the Trackway 21 alignment (on Plateau 4) to the south-east. This this route may have originally passed midway between Barrows 7 and 8 to the south. Trackway 8 was 15m east of the Trackway 3 junction but appeared to be too far north to be a direct continuation of that features eastern alignment, suggesting it may have represented an earlier or later route on a similar course; the feature could not be related to any other ditches of the surrounding field system. Alternatively they may have formed an isolated stock management system such as a ‘race’ for separation/ inspection of livestock. Trackway 8 consisted of two parallel ditches approximately 2.1m apart aligned north-west to south-east and was 18.6m long. In addition, 2.2m to the south-west was a third ditch aligned at right angles that measured 5.4m long. The southern end of Trackway 9 was located at the northern end of the Plateau 5 area where it comprised three segments of parallel ditch aligned north-west to south-east. The northern ditch was continuous, slightly sinuous and 40m long, averaging 0.7m wide and 0.2m deep. Trackway 10 was somewhat divorced from the rest of the system, at the northern side of Plateau 8, and, unlike the remainder of the fields and routes in this northern area was on a similar north west/south-east alignment as the droves and field boundaries to the south. The feature was formed by two intermittent, parallel ditches about 3m apart (the northern of the two more continuous) with a total length of approximately 111m. Trackway 11 was formed by two intermittent parallel ditches about 2.5m apart, and possibly a third in two sections, just over 10m to the east. About 12.5m north of Trackway 11, two potential routes (Trackways 12 and 13) could either, or both be a continuation. Trackway 12 lying on an approximate north-north-east to south-south-west alignment was identified over a length of some 95m up to the northern limit of Plateau 8. It was formed by two parallel ditches about 1.5m apart although wider to the south. Trackway 13, situated 14m to the east of Trackway 12 was on a very similar alignment and consisted of two ditches approximately 2.7m apart traced over a distance of some 90m. Trackway 14 was formed from two parallel linear ditches forming a near straight alignment arrayed NNW/SSE. The ditches were about 2m apart on average, both about 1m wide with a depth of 0.20–0.25m. The putative Trackway 16 was the northernmost of a series of east-west aligned lateral routes, most fragmentary and only surviving over short distances. This drove was comprised of two parallel ditch segments 1.75m apart which extended over less than 20m at the extreme northern side of the main Plateau 1 area. Trackway 17 was an arrangement of east-west aligned curvilinear ditches no more than 15m south-east of Trackway 16 and consisted of a number of segmented ditch lengths forming a rather irregular arrangement extending for about 50m. To the east, the route may be equivalent to Trackway 15. This alignment on the eastern side of the plateau (110m east of Trackway 17), comprised two parallel ditch lengths (on an east to west alignment, 2.4–3m apart) which extended for nearly 40m. The ditches varied in width, mostly no more than 1.5m wide. About 35m to the south of Trackways 15 and 17, another set of arranged segmented ditches recorded on a WSW/ENE alignment may have delineated the course of Trackway 18. The most evident and continuous ditch, although segmented was traced for 85m and made up of six closely spaced elements, separated by no more than c. 6m. Another ditch segment (G1065) situated c. 21.5m to the south-west on the same alignment and 9.2m long was probably a continuation. Trackway 19 was set at a near right angle to, and about 13m west of the surviving end of Trackway 9. It was traced over a meandering south-west to north-easterly course for about 130m and was mostly represented by a single ditch, although fragmentary sections of parallel ditches suggest that it was another drove way. Trackway 20, again defined by two parallel curvilinear ditches separated by a distance of between 2.3–3.4 m, was traced for c.28m on a north-east/south-westerly course and was located about 30m east of the most northerly part of Trackway 19, to which it may have originally connected. Another potential drove (Trackway 21) was only delineated by a single, minimally investigated and extremely shallow ditch. However, it is considered to represent a possible track as it continued the alignment of Trackway 9. Three ditch sections aligned WNW/ESE, the latter comprising two slightly sinuous and parallel ditches 2.4m apart, may have formed a droveway (Trackway 22). A few other ditch segments in this area, either near parallel or at right angles might be related but were not well dated. Trackway 23 cut across the top of the re-cut ditch and was formed by two insubstantial gullies lying 2.5m apart. It was traced for approximately 30m and lay on an east–west alignment running virtually parallel to the east–west portions of field boundary G8044 that lay only 2.2m to the north. Ditches forming another potential trackway (Trackway 24) spanning a total distance of over 250m were located about 70m east of Trackway 7 and on a closely parallel alignment, suggesting again that they were near contemporary. In the pond area to the extreme north of the site, the route may have comprised two roughly parallel curvilinear features on a near north-south line, 2.3m apart, 0.88– 2.0m wide and about 0.47m deep on average. Trackway 33 to the north-east of Trackways 9 and 21 was another possible route, aligned on a very similar course and represented by ditches on Plateaus 1, 2, 3. The ditches, aligned NNW/SSE, were about 3.8m apart and traced for a length of 23m. Another potential trackway (trackway 34) and associated boundaries were located extending off Trackway 33 to the north-east in the north-east corner of Plateau 2. They comprised a sequence of near parallel and often intercutting ditches, of varying width (0.83–1.8m) and of mostly shallow depth (0.06–0.58m) aligned north east/south-west and extending over a length of about 61m. The western side of the field system in particular, displays elements that can be identified with a pastoral landscape. Thus a sub-square paddock or enclosure (Field P2) with an entrance onto Trackway 7 in its south-eastern corner and related ditches in the central western area of Plateau 1, was probably designed for close handling of stock (e.g batching, sorting, milking, slaughtering etc.).

Associated and often connecting with these trackways was a series of enclosures/fields. The southern field-system at Thanet Earth is less clearly defined than that to the north, but there are indications that it was part of the same landscape arrangement present in the northern area. The system appears to deliberately avoid barrow clusters at least to the south on the valley slopes, although to the north, where the barrows are more isolated, some at least may have been used as markers, through which the trackways navigated. A very well preserved and extensive prehistoric landscape is represented on Plateau 1 and the western side of Plateau 8 mostly flanking either side of a shallow dry valley, with ditches that appear to link these systems together some possibly sealed beneath the colluvium in the centre of the area (the relationship between ditches and colluvium was impossible to definitively identify). In sum the field system in Plateau 1 covers an area over 325m east-west by over 175m north-south in extent. If all or most of these ditches were indeed contemporary (at least in their later phases) then up to 16 separate fields and paddocks can be defined or part defined. The closely interrelated nature of the ditch systems, with three north-south aligned drove ways, lateral routes and more clearly defined fields, indicates that it was stock related with a probable emphasis on sheep rearing. Well-defined fields appear to have bounded both sides of Trackway 7, outlined by east-west aligned ditches, sometimes double ditched, and perhaps representing lateral routes. A further near parallel and more complex north-south boundary about 70m to the east consisted of a number of ditches, possibly in part another drove (Trackway 24) within the western side of the colluviated part of the valley. The multiplicity of ditches here could be due in part to their position at the base of the valley, where eroded material may have accumulated more rapidly in the ditches and the ground may have in any event been wetter.
(1) (information summarised from source)

<1> Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 2023, Beneath the Seamark: 6000 Years of an Islands History (Monograph). SKE55405.