Monument record TQ 75 SE 434 - ?Possible Romano-British and undated features, New Line Academy

Archaeological excavations including several evaluations and a watching brief were undertaken at New Line Learning Academy in 2008 and 2009. No finds material was recovered in the archaeological evaluation other than fragments of charcoal and some charred seeds (mostly weeds, some possible cabbage / mustard and vetch/tare, alongside a single cereal grain) recovered during environmental sampling.
However, a number of undated features were recorded. These included pits, ditches, gullies, post-holes, and linear features. Some of the features were interpreted by the excavators as potentially relating to an enclosure or field system, others appeared to possibly represent parallel ditches flanking a droveway, alongside field boundaries and agricultural features. The nature of these features suggests agricultural activity and small scale settlement, possibly associated with nearby Romano-British earthworks (TQ 75 SE 21, TQ 74 SE 36) or with a nearby Late Bronze Age to Early Iron Age site. (1, 2)

<1> Archaeology South-East, 2009, An Archaeological Watching Brief and Evaluation at New Line Learning Academy, Loose, Maidstone/Report No 09/59. (Unpublished document). SKE55575.

<2> Archaeology South-East, 2009, An Archaeological Evaluation at New Line Learning Academy, Boughton Lane, Maidstone, Kent (Unpublished document). SKE58302.