Excavation during the construction of the Channel tunnel found early to middle Iron Age features consisting mainly of large pits, representing an extensive, open settlement. The pits were used for rubbish, grain storage and for ritual functions (a horse's head was deposited in one pit). Field ditches suggest a system of square fields to the east of the settlement. Numerous cattle and pig bones indicate that animal husbandry was also important. The pottery has continental parallels. In the late Iron Age there was a change to a more enclosed settlement with features enclosed by ditches and paddocks. During the Roman period the settlement shifted north and the old enclosure was converted into fields. The village area was divided into plots, defined by new ditches.