A medieval and post-medieval building, trackway, and associated features were excavated at Chapel Lane, Home Farm, Marshside during an evaluation in 2022. "The evaluation identified... the foundations of a small rectangular building... aligned approximately west to east and primarily formed of flint with chalk and ragstone in lime mortar. The building was possibly a timber structure built on masonry foundations or dwarf walls, with a tile roof. An alcove or porch, with a lean to, had been
constructed on its northern side. The artefactual evidence indicates that the building may
date to the late medieval fifteenth or sixteenth centuries but looks to have been modified, or
repaired, in the first half of the seventeenth century. The building’s function is unknown; a general paucity of cultural material, along with the absence of evidence for a hearth, would suggest that it was an agricultural building, rather than a domestic dwelling.
Associated with the building was a trackway, roughly metalled where it traversed across the
base of the valley, approaching the building. The trackway was also identified at the top of the
valley’s north-facing slope in a trench c 60m to the south; here, it was reminiscent of an
eroded hollow way with no metalled surface. Between the building and the trackway, a small
‘H’ shaped masonry structure may have served as an animal shelter. To the immediate east of
the building, a sequence of rough flint surfaces was laid within a large, superficial-looking
depression, possibly for use as an animal holding area or work yard" (from the original report, 1).
The building measured around 7.4m by 4.15m, and an interior measuring 6.4m by 3m. The porch or alcove associated with the building measured 1.75m by 2m. The associated trackway is thought to have measured around 68+m in length with a probable width of 4-5m. The H-shaped structure measured 1.7m by 1.2m.

Other archaeological features identified during the evaluation included a medieval ditch, and two undated gullies which were oriented at right angles to the ditch, suggesting that they could be related features. Furthermore, a medieval or post-medieval possible hollow way aligned NE-SW was identified towards the west of the site, alongside seven undated pits or post-holes, five of which were aligned.

Finds identified during the excavation included 29 sherds dating from the 13th to 16th centuries, 41 sherds of medieval to post-medieval ceramic building material, 45 fragments of animal bone (the majority probably originating from pigs and cattle and without butchery marks), 5 fragments of stone, 3 pieces of oyster shell, and 11 iron nails or nail fragments dating from the medieval to post-medieval period.

Other artefacts recovered include a single piece of worked flint recovered during the geotechnical excavation, identified as a probable Bronze Age waste flake, and a fragment of probable prehistoric pottery. (1)

<1> Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 2022, Land adjacent to Chapel Lane, Home Farm, Marshside, Kent, Archaeological and geoarchaeological evaluation report (Unpublished document). SKE57885.