During excavations at Lanthorne Court in Broadstairs, Thanet ahead of the redevelopment of the site, several features were uncovered which could not be dated with confidence. These included a grave containing an inhumation which was located adjacent to an Iron Age ditch. The skeleton was in a
somewhat fragmentary state and had been truncated by subsequent building works. Following post-excavation analysis, it was determined that the individual was possibly male. The individual was lying in a supine position, with the head tilted to the right and the right arm extended upwards towards the jaw. An iron finger ring was recovered from the right hand, however this could only be very broadly dated to c.100 BC-AD 200, so at this stage it remains unphased. Two pits were found cut into the top fill of Period 1 ring ditch G13. the first measured 0.58m long x 0.56m wide x 0.27m deep and contained a single fill comprising an un-urned cremation burial. The remains of an infant or young child were found to comprise the cremated bone assemblage. A second undated pit measuring 0.68m long x 0.58m wide x 0.14m deep, containing a single charcoal-rich fill, was also cut into the ring ditch which contained very fragmentary, unidentifiable burnt bone. It seems likely
though that this feature too represented an un-urned cremation pit or token cremation burial. These features show that, even after the ring ditch was infilled, it was still viewed as a focus for funerary activity. A quarry pit which was not fully visible in plan, was located in the south west corner of SMS area 2 measured 13.04m long x 8.62m wide x 1.40m deep as seen and continued beyond the southern and western limits of excavation. It had undergone substantial truncation, with large modern drainage pipes cutting through it in various places. The pit contained 11 fills altogether. The dating evidence for this feature presents something of a confused picture. Early/Middle Iron Age potsherds were recovered along with early medieval sherds. Ditches G15, G16, G18 and G19 in SMS1 did not yield any datable finds. G15 and G16 ran roughly parallel on a NE-SW orientation, though G15 had a slight curvature to it. Both ditches ran towards, and were cut away by, Period 1 ring ditch G13. There were no signs of them continuing beyond G13 to the NE, although this area had been heavily truncated. G15 and G16 measured between 0.68m–0.94m wide x 0.18-0.40m deep with concave profiles. G16 showed evidence of maintenance/ re-cutting but apparently only around one part of the ditch. A further 20 undated pits were recorded across evaluation trench 14, SMS1, SMS2 and the watching brief. These pits measured between 0.70-2.40m long x 0.58-2.36m wide x 0.09-0.96m deep. The fills varied from silty sand, clayey silt, sandy silt and silts. A total of nine undated postholes were encountered within evaluation Trench 14, SMS1, SMS2 and during the watching brief. They measured between 0.39-1.08m long x 0.22-0.71m wide x 0.06-0.41m deep. The fills ranged from silty sand, silt and clayey silt. The postholes were too sporadic to suggest any kind of structural footprints.(information summarised from source) (1)

<1> Archaeology South - East, 2023, Archaeological Excavations at Lanthorne Road, Broadstairs, Kent A post-excavation assessment and updated project design (Unpublished document). SKE57117.