In 1994 a watching brief was done on the pipeline for the Herne Bay Water Treatment. On site 8, 11 pits, 4 ditches, a gully and a post hole where noticed. Much of the pottery from the site is Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age, with one exception; a pot in one pit of early Neolithic date. (1)

In 1995 a report assessing the archaeology of the Herne Bay Waste Water Treatment plan was compiled. The ditches and gullies may be part of a more extensive rectlinear field system of Late Iron Age/Early Romano-British date. One pit produced Neolithic pottery but it appeared to be an isolated feature which pre-dated the others. With the expections of the Neolithic pottery, very little more was found but what was was dated to Later Bronze Age/Iron Age. (2)

Excavations in 2021-2023 uncovered a fragment of Neolithic polished flint axe. "The upper and lower surfaces have both been completely polished, with no visible traces of flake scars. However, both of the sides are flaked, and they also display traces of very glossy polish. The axe-head is a Class D type (rectangular in cross-section)...which is a rare type... As well as breakage, this axe has also been subjected to burning, as evidenced by the removal of a spall on the right-hand side of the lower surface, the spalled appearance of the break surface and a fine crack running right across the lower surface approximately one-third of the way down" (from the original report, 3).

Prehistoric flint artefacts were identified at the site.

Later features at the site date from the Bronze Age (TR 26 NW 219) Roman (TR 26 NW 220) and medieval (TR 26 NW 1236) periods. (3)

<1> Andrew Hutcheson, 1994, An Interim Report on the Archaeology of the Herne Bay Water Treatment Pipeline (Unpublished document). SKE17251.

<1> Andrew Hutcheson, 1994, An Interim Report on the Archaeology of the Herne Bay Water Treatment Pipeline (Unpublished document). SKE17453.

<2> Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 1995, The Herne Bay Water Treatment Project: An Assessment of the Archaeological Discoveries
The Herne Bay Water Treatment Project: An Assessment of the Archaeological Discoveries (Unpublished document). SKE17345.

<3> Cotswold Archaeology, 2024, Land At Hillborough, Herne Bay, Phase 2 Archaeological Evaluation (Unpublished document). SKE56912.