A Roman bath house, domestic and industrial buildings, and other settlement features, were excavated at Shelford Farm Estate, Canterbury in 2001-2002. A series of 9 phases of occupation were visible in the archaeological record.

Ditches and a track/hollow-way were dated to the first phase of occupation dating to the early 1st century AD. Post-holes and a pit were also identified dating to this phase, which have been interpreted as evidence for a structure at the site. This phase of occupation was sealed by a layer of colluvium representing a period of abandonment, agricultural practices up-slope from the settlement, or re-organisation at the site.

The second phase of occupation at the site dated from around the mid-1st century AD. This comprised the construction of a small bath or steam house to the eastern area of the site. This structure underwent a number of alterations during its use, including the addition of several extension. The structure comprised "a rectangular building with an apsidal western end with a small projection or annexe at the western end of its northern wall. A partition wall divided this structure into two rooms, front and rear, with internal dimensions of 4.60x4.40m and 2.60x2.40m, respectively" (from the original report, 1). Foundation trenches 0.60m in width were associated with the flint, brick, and tile walls and foundation walls of the building. Three doorways formed of rough flint linked the front and rear rooms of the building, and each room was associated with a flat, level, compacted floor surface formed of gravel.

Suspended floors, flues, and a hypocaust appear to have been constructed at the bath house at a later date, alongside the addition of a N-S aligned rectangular structure. Further alterations to the main bath house building included a rebuilt/entrance blocking between two walls, suggesting that the back room of the bath house was sub-divided into two separate rooms. A possible plinth was also thought to have been associated with this structure. Another extension took place during the last phase of building work on the bath house. This comprised the construction of a possible verandah to the north side of the building represented by walls, flint metalling, and post-holes.
The bath-house is thought to have gone out of use in the early 2nd century when the fire-pit associated with the hypocaust was deliberately backfilled, and the hypocaust itself was dismantled. The building may have been re-used after this date for a different function, prior to being destroyed at a later date. The location of the bath-house and relatively few features of similar date at the site have led to the interpretation that the bath-house represented an isolated structure on the outskirts of a larger settlement to the east or north east of the site.

Ditches at the site appear to be contemporary with the use of the bath-house at the site and some of these may have formed part of a drainage system for the wider area. A cremation burial was also thought to date from around this period. This feature was truncated, however, at least two searate vessels were identified alongside other pottery sherds from Belgic fine and coarse grog and sand tempered wares. These pottery wares were manufactured locally into the 2nd century, therefore the burial is thought to be post-conquest in date. A possible second cremation vessel was identified near to the bath-house. This took the form of the base of a Belgic grog-tempered vessel without evidence for a cremation or calcined bone.

During the later 1st century more pits and ditches were dug at the site, with at least one demonstrating extensive evidence for recutting. One of these features exhibited evidence for a flint metalling or lining, suggesting the feature may have been associated with a water hole or catchment. Domestic and or industrial structures were also constructed during this time, represented by wall footings, post settings, small ovens/furnaces, surfaces and large groups of pits.

During the late 1st to the early 2nd century, a series of four structures represented by post-holes were constructed in the southern section of the site. Two of the structures were based around a 4-post layout, and the other two were based around a 6-post layout. These structures were square or rectangular in form. Ditches from earlier phases of occupation at the site appeared to have been cut by the construction of these structures, suggesting that a change in land use had occurred over this time and that the ditches had gone out of use.
Several new ditches cut around this time were thought to have formed elements of a large enclosure for agricultural use.

During the later 2nd - early 3rd century, the site appears to have been characterised by an increase in domestic and potentially industrial activity at the site. A series of three domestic structures and a complex of semi-industrial structures, both of which were associated with pits, were excavated at the site. The area occupied by the bath house appears to have been devoid of activity during this time - although the site may have been used as a 'quarry' due to the presence of ceramic building material within many post-holes of this phase. Structures from this phase of occupation appear to have been constructed from timber. Some industrial structures were associated with metalling and ground beam slots. Several of the pits associated with the semi-industrial structures appear to have had industrial functions; two large pits contained a clay lining, and one was infilled with brick, tile, and pottery. A fence line represented by post-holes is thought to have delineated the boundary of the domestic part of the settlement.

The mid-3rd century marked a change in the type of structures being built at the site, comprising larger buildings with more formal layouts and non-domestic functions. Two large complexes and four smaller buildings were associated with this phase of occupation. The largest complex measured around 40m in length and comprised a series of 3 rectangular buildings represented by post-holes, metallings, and timber sleeper beams. Post-holes and metalling deposits were associated with both of the complexes. The complexes are thought to represent agricultural rather than domestic buildings.

The final phase of occupation was dated to the late 3rd - 4th century and comprised the disposal of refuse at the site. Several large pits and an E-W aligned ditch (which post-dates the Roman settlement) were associated with this phase, alongside a deposit containing large quantities of domestic refuse. The ditch may have delineated a land boundary or property division. These features were sealed by a layer of colluvium marking the end of settlement-related activity at the site, and dated through numismatic evidence to around 330 AD.

16 coins were excavated at the site, the majority dating from between the 1st-4th centuries AD. Other finds associated with features and deposits at the site included pottery, tile, brick, glass, and other ceramic building materials, an undated ceramic gaming piece, calcined flint, a copper alloy mount fragment, and fragments of quern stone. (1)

<1> 2004, Shelford Farm Estate, Broadoak, Canterbury, Kent: Archaeological excavation on the site of the Eastern Attenuation Pond (Unpublished document). SKE56152.