During a watching brief on the construction of the foundations for the Olympic TV screen in Dover Market Place, parts of a post-medieval cellar were recorded.

The north-western corner of a substantial cellar was found. It was at least 3.5m x 4m and the floor was not reached, but previous work suggests it is c.1.5m below current ground level. A flight of stone steps leads into the cellar from the western side. They were covered in coal dust, suggesting it was a coal cellar. The core of the steps had a number of bricks built into it, dating from the 17th and 18th centuries.


The cellar lies below the former site of the Old Guildhall, which stood on the site between 1605 and 1841 when it was demolished. The building was extended in the 18th or 19th century and the cellar may have been associated with this.

Earlier stratified deposits, that the cellar had been dug through, were exposed where the cellar walls had been robbed away. These included rammed chalk floors that may have related to the covered market below the original guildhall building.

Other stratified deposits had been heavily damaged by subsequent service trenches, which included one for a nineteenth century 0.60m diameter brick-built, barrel-vaulted drain culvert running north-east. This may be connected with drainage away from the main Guildhall but it could be later. (1-2)

Four exploration boreholes were excavated in response to the erection of a public TV for the 2012 Olympics. Investigations show that 3m-4m are undisturbed, stratified deposits on natural river gravel. 1-1.5m had evidence of cellars and walls that appear to be an extension of the Guildhall. The Guildhalls destruction has been recorded in 1861, also the report noted on the lack of Roman wall fragments which was surprising due to the location near the East side of the Saxon Shore Fort. (3)

<1> Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 2009, Dover Market Square, Olympic TV Construction, Watching-brief Report (Unpublished document). SKE16496.

<2> Weekes, J., 2012, Canterbury Archaeological Trust Interim Reports, Archaeologia Cantiana CXXXII 2012: 303 (Article in serial). SKE25119.

<3> Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 2008-2009, Canterbury’s Archaeology 2008–2009, Excavation (Article in serial). SKE32050.