TR 39706870. A Romano British site was first discovered on the 4th April 1979 in the garden and under the house-plot immediately south of28 Castle Avenue, Broadstairs, about 11cm north of Broadstairs parish church and 11cm south of North Foreland Lighthouse. Roman material had previously been found in the area, (see TR 36 NE 5). The excavation was limited to a single day, plus a subsequent watching brief. Two ditches, a pit and three small post-holes were located. The ditches and the pit contained Roman pottery and more potsherds were found nearby. The domestic rubbish in the pits suggests that this was a Roman occupation site. The ditches may represent an enclosure or boundary, or may relate to the nearby burialsite (TR 36 NE 5). The pottery points to two main phases: phase 1 - the late first and second centuries AD, and phase 2 - the third and forth centuries. The pottery here represents domestic rubbish from a nearby settlement and a structure may have been in close proximity. The lack of obvious Roman buildings suggests that timber structures may have existed. (1,2) The site is now developed. (3)

Two linear ditches and a pit were visible as cropmarks on military aerial photographs, analysed during the SE Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey, taken in 1942. (4) These features are located approximately 90m north-west of the point for this monument record. The two linears run parallel to one another with a distance of 33m in between, and are 77m and 70m long. The pit is located 7m south of the southerly linear and has a diameter of 2m.
The features were not seen on photo runs from 1946 (5) or 1950 (6), and the area has been redeveloped for housing by June 1980.

<1> KAR 72 1983 34-41 illus (J Willson) (OS Card Reference). SKE45418.

<2> Britannia 14 1983 333-4 (SS Frere) (OS Card Reference). SKE38366.

<3> KARU T 78 (J Willson) (OS Card Reference). SKE45622.