Roman to Anglo-Saxon ovens, a post-hole, and a ditch were identified at Barton Court Grammar School during an excavation in 2016. Both the ovens comprised sub-circular, bowl-shaped cuts which measured between 0.70-1.63m in length, 0.68-0.97m in width, and 0.20-0.40m in depth. One oven contained a burnt clay lining, the other was constructed from fragments of stone and reused Roman tile and brick, and contained a possible burnt clay lining or a deposit of collapsed superstructure. A single post-hole was associated with these features to the south-west. This feature was unexcavated and had a visible diameter opf 0.26-0.30m. The ovens contained artefacts including pottery dating to the Roman and/or Saxon periods, Roman brick and tile, and several fragmentsof Carrara marble.

A NW-SE ditch containing a sherd of Anglo-Saxon pottery, Roman tile fragments, alongside burnt daub and animal bone, was identified to the west of the excavation. This feature measured 8m in length, 1m in width, and 0.30m in depth. A possible continuation of the feature may be represented by an unexcavated ditch segment to the south east.

Bulk soil sampling of one of the ovens identified "small amounts of charred grain (free-threshing wheat and hulled barley), traces of chaff, a small number of legumes (some of which may be from cultivated pulses), a few hazel nut shell fragments and occasional weed seeds. Both samples produced very large amounts of charcoal including many potentially identifiable fragments greater than 2mm" (from the original report, 1). Whilst these samples were taken from late Roman/early Saxon features, further work is recommended by the authors to definitvely date them.

These features contained material from both the Roman and Anglo-Saxon periods, suggesting that they may have existed during a transitional phase between around 300-500 AD. (1)

<1> Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 2017, Barton Court Grammar School, Longport, Canterbury, Kent CT1 1PH, Post-excavation assessment (Unpublished document). SKE57635.