Excavation in 1998 at Boughton Lane revealed a series of gullies and ditches possably representing an late BA or early IA field system. A group of postholes of the same period could represent a hut. A large piece of Slag was also found suggesting the potential for iron smelting although no furnaces were found. One LBA / EIA gullt cut 2 earlier ditches. Many undated ditches may represent field systems from the BIA / RB some may be Md or PM. This site identifies occupation in the area before the Romano British period when occupation is known at the LIA Oppidum near by.(1)

Evaluation trenching revealed three phases of late Bronze Age/early Iron Age activity diagnosed with potential enclosure ditches and ring ditches suggesting possible settlement. Tap slag and the complete base of a non-tap slag developed-bowl hearth furnace confirmed that various smelting processes had taken place using local boxstone. Late Iron Age pottery within the ploughsoil including "Belgic" sherds may indicate that these fields were part of an agricultural system attached to the nearby oppidum.(2)

An evaluation at the site in 2013 identified Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age features, including evidence for the field system in the form of eight linear features. A prehistoric storage pit alongside three smaller pits, a post-hole measuring 40cm in diameter and 12cm in depth, and three tree boles were also excavated at the site. Many of the features contained Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age pottery within their fills. (3)

<1> RPS Clouston, 1998, Land at Boughton Lane, Maidstone, Kent: An Archaeological Evaluation (Unpublished document). SKE8219.

<2> Martin Connell, 1998, Research And Discoveries in Kent: 6 Late Bronze Age/Iron Age Occupation at Boughton Monchelsea (Article in serial). SKE8220.

<3> Swale & Thames Archaeological Survey Company, 2013, Archaeological Evaluation of Land at Boughton Lane, Boughton Monchelsea, Maidstone, Kent (Unpublished document). SKE57241.