Monument record TQ 76 SW 531 - Roman enclosure ditches, Eccles Roman villa

The excavation identified three distinct zones of activity associated with the wider landscape of the nearby Eccles Roman Villa. In the centre of the site, two substantial boundary or enclosure ditches formed the earliest identified features. One ditch cut the other, indicating multiple phases of use, and although they may have originated in the Late Iron Age, Roman finds from their fills demonstrate continued activity during the Romano-British period. North of these ditches, the principal remains comprised quarry and rubbish pits rather than buildings. A large late Romano-British pit contained substantial quantities of pottery, tile, ceramic building material, ragstone, mortar and animal bone, suggesting the disposal of domestic or structural debris, possibly derived from the villa complex. South of the ditches lay the main focus of occupation, represented by several phases of flint-founded building remains interpreted as an agricultural or ancillary structure, such as a barn or store. The building post-dated the ditches and produced Romano-British artefacts, including a late Roman coin (1)

Wessex Archaeology, 2018, Burham to New Hythe and Ditton Mains Water Scheme, Kent, Archaeological watching brief and excavation report (Unpublished document). SKE52217.