A Roman building was located just within the western boundary of the Borough at Sandwich, about 1.3 kms SW of Sandwich Guildhall and about 1.3 kms NE of Woodnesborough church. It was located at TR 3190 5730 during construction work for a Sandwich by-pass in 1979. It overlooked to the N, the N and S Poulders which once formed part of the Wantsum Channel. The remains consisted of a series of shallow foundation trenches, cut into the natural clay (see illustration card no 1). These were between 0.6 and 0.8 m wide and 0.05 m to 0.2m deep and filled with large, water rolled flint pebbles and cobbles. None of the stones was mortared. These foundations were all that survived of the rectangular building (27.1 m) long with a large central room and two projecting wing rooms. Skirting the building on the NE side was a slighter foundation of smaller flint pebbles averaging 0.3 m wide. This seemed to represent the remains of a corridor running along the front of the building and implies the structure faced NE. (A ditch, gully, several pits and pebble scatters were also encountered). The Sandwich building seems best interpreted as a winged-corridor villa of very modest proportions. The corridor skirting the building is reminiscent of Ditchley; there, however, it was a later addition and also ran along the sides of the main block. The corridor along the front of the Sandwich building substantially increases its area to an estimated 266.5 m. An interesting feature at Sandwich is the large central room (which may have had wooden partitions). These large rooms may be interpreted as smaller versions of the "halls" found in some villas in Britain and on the Continent. The dating evidence from the site is very limited. The latest pottery from a small gully is of lateC3 to C4 date, although most of the sherds are earlier and must be residual. The ditch produced pottery of the C1 and C2. A constructiondate for the building within the late C1 and C2 would probably be most reasonable on general historical grounds and the date of the bulk of the pottery supports this view. The latest material from a gully which post-dates the building suggests that the building had gone out of use by the late C3 or C4 (one period of activity appears to post-date the villa). (The building probably had stone foundations and a timber superstructure). (The villa at Sandwich may be compared in size to other villas; see illustration card no 2). (1)

Description of excavations of the Roman building. (It may have been entirely masonry). (2)

(The villa was 27.1 m in length). Reconstruction of the villa (see illustration card no 3). (3)

Additional bibliography (4-6)

Photographs (7-14)

<1> KAR 60 1980 232-47 (K Parfitt) (OS Card Reference). SKE45381.

<2> Arch Cant 94 1978 191-4 (P Bennett) (OS Card Reference). SKE36178.

<3> KAR 63 Feb 1981 56-60 (K Parfitt and H Jones) (OS Card Reference). SKE45389.

<4> Britannia 12 1981 368 (FO Grew) (OS Card Reference). SKE38364.

<5> Britannia 10 1979 337 (R Goodburn) (OS Card Reference). SKE38361.

<6> KAR 56 Summer 1979 133 (K Parfitt) (OS Card Reference). SKE45370.

<7> SEE ARCH CANT 94/1978 Types: VILLA (Photograph). SKE167.

<8> SEE ARCH CANT 94/1978 Types: VILLA (Photograph). SKE169.

<9> SEE ARCH CANT 94/1978 Types: VILLA (Photograph). SKE168.

<10> SEE ARCH CANT 94/1978 Types: VILLA (Photograph). SKE166.

<11> SEE ARCH CANT 94/1978 Types: VILLA (Photograph). SKE167.

<12> SEE ARCH CANT 94/1978 Types: VILLA (Photograph). SKE166.

<13> SEE ARCH CANT 94/1978 Types: VILLA (Photograph). SKE168.

<14> SEE ARCH CANT 94/1978 Types: VILLA (Photograph). SKE169.