A palaeochannel of the Great Stour with probable medieval alterations was identified at St John's Primary, Canterbury during archaeological windowless sampling in 2013. Boreholes identified alluvial gravels at the site which are likely to relate to the Great Stour river which now runs adjacent to the site. The windowless sampling also identified evidence for possible alterations to the river during the medieval period comprising a thick band of gravels covering an area 40x9m thought to represent an artificial feature such as a riverside hard, street, towpath, or quay. It is possible that these gravels represent a natural deposit, however, the interpretation of the feature suggests it is more likely to be artificial. The gravels contained fragments of tile, charcoal, pottery and/or bone.
Other features at the site include a wooden post driven into the gravel, and post-medieval metalling overlying the gravel deposit. The post is thought to date from the late medieval or post-medieval period and comprised a "de-barked roundwood post (with the) lower end... sharpened by at least two tapering saw(?) cuts and the top... sawn across... with no obvious sign of hammering damage" (from the original report, 1).

<1> Canterbury Archaeological Trust Ltd., 2013, St John's Primary School, St John’s Place, Kingsmead, Canterbury, Kent: Archaeological windowless sampling (Unpublished document). SKE55779.