Early Roman, Iron smelting site (pits and ditches) and pottery, Omenden.

Bases of 4 furnaces (circular features) surrounded by pits which contained large quantities of slag. Several ditches ran across the site. Pottery dated to first or early second century AD. Charcoal from slag pit carbon-dated from 40 BC to AD 140.

3 circular features near each other, with another slightly (1m) apart. Heat-reddened, clay hardened sides (c.12-17 cm deep). Quantity of slag found nearby which gave carbon-date range of 40 BC to AD 140. Three furnaces probably not contemporary, but indicate successive phases of use.

Small gully (60cm wide) cut through slag rich fills. Flint transverse arrowhead fragment found in gully.

Posthole 50cm deep containing large lumps of slag. A small abraded flake of late Iron Age/Early Roman pottery was recovered from its fill. Another posthole to the west also contained slag.

Another gully c. 3m long s.w.-n.e alignment on southern edge was cut by a large oval pit (4.5m long and over 2m wide, over 90cm deep). Upper fill contained slag and pottery sherds from at least two vessels of early Roman date. Lower fills contained slag and charcoal and pottery which may be Iron Age or Early Roman in date.

Oval pit containing slag. 22 sherds from single vessel, probably Late Iron Age Gallo-Belgic type recovered from fill. Another pit to the S.W. with similar fill.

Two ditches to N.E. (running NW-SE), but on different alignments. The smaller one contained 2 sherds of Late Iron Age/Early Roman pottery. The larger one contained similar fill with pottery dating to the second century AD.

Small pit with burnt animal bone in fill.

Southern edge of ditch cut by circular featrue with upper fill of loose slag.

Oval feature - lower fill contained rim-sherd of C1st/2nd pottery.

Two small linear features to West of above oval feature.

Charred plant remains contained spelt and emmer grain as well as charcoal. Charcoal was oak , marple, blackthorn and willow or poplar. Charcoal carbon-dated to AD 20 to 220. (1)

<1> Network Archaeology Ltd, 2001, Hadlow to High Halden Natural Gas Pipeline. Archaeological watching brief. (Unpublished document). SKE13567.