During an excavation in 2007 by Wessex Archaeology a prehistoric trackway was found to cross the area. It ran on a south-west to north-east alignment and appeared to be headed for Beacon Hill and the present-day road onto the Isle of Grain. It consisted of a hollow 3.3m wide and up to 0.3m deep, with trampled compacted natural at the base and then a layer of flint gravel. It was flanked by two ditches, though these may be field boundaries rather than directly associated with the trackway (the southern ditch terminated after only 81m within the excavation area). Silts within the holloway and ditches contained worked and burnt flint, later prehistoric pottery, Romano-British pottery and ceramic building material along with a copper alloy brooch (two piece Colchester type of the mid 1st century AD) and an iron knife. On this basis the trackway and ditches appear to have originated in the Iron Age but may have remained in use for a considerable length of time, with the nearby 2nd and 3rd century Roman enclosure appearing to respect its alignment. (1)

These excavations are collated and summarised in a January 2015 'Publication Report' by CgMs. The report makes concluding interpretations of the different phases of occupation at the site but these are far too detailed to summarise here. See Source Ref for further information. (2)

<1> CgMs Consulting, 2009, Post-Excavation Assessment Report and Updated Project Design for Analysis and Publication: Hoo Road, Wainscott, Kent (Unpublished document). SKE16706.

<2> CgMs Consulting, 2015, Publication Text: Prehistoric and Romano-British Activity and Anglo-Saxon Settlement: Hoo Road, Wainscott, Kent (Unpublished document). SKE31283.