During an archaeological investigation ahead of the construction of Thanet Parkway rail station off Hengist Way, Cliffsend, a wide variety of archaeological features finds and deposits were uncovered. These included a series of enclosure dated to the Later roman period, representing a shift in use of the landscape from a agricultural settlement to a system of fields. It is not entirely clear whether the buildings were left to decay or whether they were dismantled. Several of the pits and the wells were infilled, including one pit which was used for the disposal of large millstones and several large flint nodules. The fills contained domestic waste in the form of pottery, animal bone and shellfish, along with a wide range of registered finds including iron hobnails, iron tools and several bone pins. This evidence could indicate efforts to ‘clear-up’ the area, either during departure from the settlement or prior to establishing the subsequent field enclosures. Tentatively attributed to this phase, one potential quarry was situated at the east limit of the site, and two large areas of intercutting pits were located centrally. These features produced largely sterile fills containing sparse pottery dated to the first to second century AD. One interesting feature, potentially associated with this phase, was a chalk-lined tank. The feature comprised a rectangular cut measuring 1.9m by 1.3m and surviving to a depth of 0.57m. The cut was lined with clay followed by a wall constructed of neatly cut chalk slabs. The fill of the tank included fragments of quern stones. The purpose of the tank is uncertain. The final stage of activity appears to be represented by the establishment of a north to south aligned ‘ladder’-type arrangement of rectangular ditched enclosures located to the west of the route of the north-south hollow-way in the northern area of the site. (information summarised from source) (1)

<1> Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 2023, Thanet Parkway, Land south of the A299 (Hengist Way), Cliffsend Ramsgate, Kent, Archaeological post-excavation assessment and updated project design (Unpublished document). SKE55795.