The site lies within the southern boundary of the Borough of Sandwich, between the old A256 and A258 roads, some 1.55 kms SSW of Sandwich Guildhall at TR 3252 5659 (see illustration card no 1).

In the autumn of 1978, during the construction of the Sandwich by-pass earth moving machinery removing top-soil from the line of the new road to the S of Sandwich, exposed a small area of burning, which limited excavation then and subsequent further excavation in the spring of 1979, showed to be a group of 3 ovens of Roman date. During the course of (topsoil stripping) and later excavation for the foundations of the new road, several other pits and ditches were rapidly recorded in the same area.

The features (see illustration card nos 1 and 2):-

a. Ovens (see illustration card no 2). Features 1 and 7 were contemporary and had been built in a rectangular pit, measuring 2.4m 'north-east x south-west' by 2.7m 'north-west x south-east', with a southerly extension at the SE corner to incorporate a stoke pit for feature 7. Feature 1 was rectangular with burnt sides and base and measured about 1.4m 'north-west x south-east' by 1.0m 'north-east by south-west'. It was 0.5m deep. On the NE and NW sides chalk and flint lumps set in the clay of the construction pit appeared to represent the remains of the oven walls. Feature 7 was situated to the NE of Feature 1 and was sub-rectangular, measuring 1.2m 'north-west x south-east' by 0.48m 'north-east x south-west'. Its sides and base were burnt black and it had a minimum depth of 0.2m. Adjoining this oven on the SE side was a hollow filled with burnt clay and carbon, which probably represented a stoke-pit. Its sides were partly burnt and the SE end had been cut by Feature 2. Feature 2 was circular, about 1.25m in diameter, it had burnt sides and base and had a minimum depth of 0.25m. It produced several pieces of Roman pottery, amphora and tile. This oven appears to be later than the other two ovens since it cuts the stoke-pit of Feature 7.

b. The Ditches (see both illustration cards). Of the two ditches, it was only possible to partially excavate one 'Feature 9'. They both ranNW by SE, one 'Feature 10' being located to the W of the ovens and theother to the E 'Feature 9'. They were about 19.0m apart. Feature 9 was"U" shaped, about 1.5m wide and 0.35m deep. It was filled with dark grey-brown silty clay with orange streaks and was traced for a distance of just over 4.0 metres. Feature 10 was not excavated but it appeared to be between 0.8m and 0.9m wide and was traced for a minimumdistance of 6.3m. From its NW terminal it was filled with brown clay with orange streaks. c. The Pits (see both illustration cards). Only two of the three pits,located in the area of the ovens, were excavated 'Features 6 and 8' and neither of these was completely emptied. Feature 3, unfortunately not excavated, may have been a post-pit associated with a timber structure over the ovens, but this cannot be certain. The other two pits may have been for rubbish or storage. A fourth pit, Feature 11, was located about 147.0 m W of the main site.

Discussion: The discovery of a Roman site in this area is of some interest, since it is only about 1km from the 1st-2nd century AD villa, also located during the construction of the new by-pass, on slightly higher ground to the NW. Due to the limited investigations possible, the full extent of the present site is uncertain but some examination of the surrounding area suggests that it was probably not very large. Trenches dug in the field on the S side of the new road failed to reveal any further Roman features (see illustration card no 1). The area of land to the N of the road has now been covered with a large mound of soil designed to act as a noise barrier for nearby houses. Before the mound was constructed however, the contractors stripped the top-soil from the area and a brief search of the ground was made but nothing was found. To the W of the site, the land clearedfor the new road was carefully searched but again nothing was found except a single pit 'Feature 11', although during construction of the actual road the contractors did discover the top of a large shaft. This was some 60.0m W of the main Roman site and is probably not related. It seems more likely that it is a dene-hole of relatively recent date. A deposit of grey-brown clay (was found to the E of the site). This is apparently water laid and the presence of late Iron Age and Roman material, probably derived from the present site, in its upper zone, indicates that the deposit was still forming at this time. It therefore seems that originally the site must have occupied the NW bank of the lake/stream. The presence of ovens indicates that the site was of a domestic character and no doubt houses and various out-buildings, presumably of wood, existed nearby. Indeed it is possible that these occupied, in part, the area excavated for the new road. If so, no traces were recognised but the insignificant remains of such structures could well have been missed, under the circumstances. There is no indication that any masonry structures existed. The full date range of the site is not certain. The sherds of comb-decorated and flint gritted pottery together with the Potin coin indicates that there was some late Iron Age occupation of the area. The rest of the pottery suggests a 1st-2nd century AD date for the site, perhaps representing continuous occupation from Iron Age times, whilst the discovery of four coins of C4th date strongly suggests that there was occupation in the area at this time, although there appears to be no corresponding pottery finds. (1)

Brief note on the discovery of the site. (2)

Brief note on the excavations. (3)

<1> KAR 67 1982 150-9 (K Parfitt) (OS Card Reference). SKE45401.

<2> Brit 10 1979 337 (K Parfitt) (OS Card Reference). SKE38297.

<3> Brit 11 1980 402 (B Stocker and K Parfit) (OS Card Reference). SKE38301.