In april 1999 the Canterbury Archaeological Trust was commissioned by Union Railways (South) Limited (URS) to undertake a detailed archaeological investigation at land to the norht of Westenhanger Castle in Kent. This formed part of a larger programme of archaeological investigations carried out in advance of the construction of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL).

A recent evaluation of the field in which these archaeological works took place was carried out by the Museum of London Archaeology Service in january 1998 (1). This revealed the presence of medieval field boundaries and a possible corn-drying oven. Pottery dated thesefeatures to the mid twelfth century, seemingly predating the castle and indicating that they may therefore be associated with an earlier manorial farm. Fieldwalking in the same area had earlier produced concentrations of prehistoric worked flint during the CTRL Environmental assessment.

The excavation revealed a series of large ditches, which appeared to form a rectangular enclosure. At least one of the ditches had been recut and had large post-holes/pits cut into its base. It is suggested that the concentration of features in a possible enclosure could be indicative of the segregation of work/activity areas and may be connected with a settlement.

Detailed excavation of the corn-drying oven found no structural elements to verify this and it seem s more likely that the feature is a waste pit. However, a high volume of charred plant/cereal remains within its fill is significant. The presence of oats is unusual for the early medieval period in Kent and Southern Britain. Samples from other features did not show such a high content of similar plant remains, with the exception of a short linear feature, which appears to be associated with the probable waste pit.

Other archaeological features within the internal area consisted of smaller ditches/gullies, post- or stake-holes, and a clay extraction pit. No features were present indicative of structures, although two circular gullies suggested the presence of an earlier paddock or coral. The pottery retrieved from the fills of these features all falls within the date rangeof AD 1050-1250. One piece of Tyler Hill Ware found in the lower fills of the probable waste pit narrows the date gap to AD 1175-1250 indicating that this feature was in use between the end of the twelfth and first half of the thirteenth century.

Earlier activity on the site was represented by the presence of Romano-British pottery, which was thought to be residual. A suspected prehistoric buried soil was thought to exist in the south-east corner of the site, possibly preserved under the later ditch upcast. Worked flints from this deposit were of a broad Neolithic/Bronze Age date (2).

Additional bibliography. (3-5)

Museum of London Archaeology Service, 1998, North of Westenhanger Castle: An Archaeological Evaluation (Unpublished document). SKe6842.

Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 1999, North of Westenhanger Castle, Kent: Detailed Archaeological Works Interim Report (Unpublished document). SKe6843.

<1> Museum of London Archaeology Service, 1998, North of Westenhanger Castle: An Archaeological Evaluation (Unpublished document). SKE6842.

<2> Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 1999, North of Westenhanger Castle, Kent: Detailed Archaeological Works Interim Report (Unpublished document). SKE6843.

<3> Oxford Wessex Archaeology Joint Venture, 2005, The Early Prehistoric Pottery from Excavations Along Section 1 of the CTRL (Unpublished document). SKE16485.

<4> Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 2001, North of Westenhanger Castle Post Excavation Assessment Report (Unpublished document). SKE16603.

<5> Oxford Wessex Archaeology Joint Venture, 2006, The Medieval Landscape at Westenhanger Castle, Kent: CTRL Integrated Site Report Series (Unpublished document). SKE16604.