Seventy four pits of a similar form, fill and character were scattered across the southern third of the site where they commonly cut through the fills of various bronze age ditches. Relatively little direct dating evidence was recovered from these pits but that which did survive indicated a middle to late Saxon date. A fragment of human bone recovered from one of the pits was radiocarbon dated to 710-900 cal BC. Fragments of iron recovered from 12 pits included a few datable items. The majority of the pits however, were dated on the basis of their similarity in form, fills, location and apparent nature which have strong support to their probable contemporaneity. Although spread across a wide area (c. 91m W-E and 35m N-S) there was very little intercutting of the pits and several lines/groups of pits were evident, particularly in the eastern half of the site. The majority of the pits were oval in shape with some sub rectangular, and small number of sub rounded and rounded pits also apparent. A broad range of dimensions were recorded from the largest pit which was 3.5m by 2.7m to the smallest which was 0.6m by 0.4m. the majority of the cuts fell between 0.5m and 1m in depth though the largest was 1.8m deep. Most of the fills comprised sandy silts, a striking feature was the large quantity of marine shell recovered from some of the pit. Other which did not contain the marine shell often contained large quantities of charred plant remains. One pit may have been associated with some form of gran processing, possibly drying. Its fill was dominated by three large stones, fairly evenly spaced and clearly deliberately placed. Five short sections of ditch formed a slightly curved east-west line across the site and appeared to form a northern boundary to the area of Anglo Saxon pits. Although no direct evidence for settlement was discovered at this site, it is likely that there was settlement within the immediate vicinity. The distribution of the pits shows a high level of organisation, their northern extent apparently being restricted by the narrow east-west linear features and the pits themselves forming clear rows or clusters. In general the finds from most rows/clusters were of commensurate type, suggesting similar use. It is possible that the pits represent a processing site, or an alternative interpretation (perhaps supported by the presence of a human skull in one of the pits) is a possible ritual function for the site, possibly feasting. (1) (information summarised from source)

<1> Wessex Archaeology, 2014, Cliffs End Farm, Isle of Thanet, Kent: a mortuary and ritual site of the Bronze Age, Iron Age and Anglo-Saxon period (Bibliographic reference). SKE30562.