Some 35 intercutting pits and a number of post-holes were located and emptied when cutting an evaluation trench in the garden (TR 154579) of Coleridge House in November 1987, prior to the construction of a paramedical centre at Christ Church College. The earliest of these was probably Bronze Age. One pit produced part of a pot suggestive of a sealed container of c900-800BC. This discovery of evidence for Bronze Age occupation is the first found close to the city. The discovery of a number of 8th century Anglo Saxon pits containing pottery of local and imported origin add weight to the arguments for the existance of a small secular settlement north of the precincts of St Augustine's Abbey at the time. (1)

"Material dating to the Bronze Age has also been found indicating some form of settlement activity dating to around 900 BC." (2)

"Although the importance of the material is acknowledged, its true worth is considered to lie in its comparative value vis-à-vis assemblages from other sites, and its combined ability to build up broader understandings of the developing local landscape" (3).

<1> Canterbury's Archaeology 1987-8 7 (P Bennet) (OS Card Reference). SKE38575.

<2> Hicks, Martin, 1996, Archaeological Excavations at Canterbury Christ Church College. Assessment Report on Excavations conducted between 1983-1995 (Unpublished document). SKE31570.

<3> Hicks, Martin and Houliston, Mark, 1999, Archaeological Excavations at Canterbury Christ Church College. Assessment report on excavations conducted between 1983-1996 (Unpublished document). SKE31574.

<4> Paul Bennett, Arch Cant 1986, 1986, Christ Church College, Canterbury (Article in serial). SKE29310.