Monument record TR 04 NW 198 - C1 - early C3 Roman industrial site

Excavation undertaken in 2006 by Archaeology South East at the former oil depot site, Bramble Lane. A C1 - early C3 Roman industrial site was found, likely the same site as the iron-working site 150m to the north (TR 04 NW 16).

The site consists of a number of intercutting ditches, gullies, pits, post holes (including a possible structure), a small kiln, an inhumation, a cremation, a large sub-circular feature (a pond?). Three phases of activity were noted during the Roman period:
C1 to early C2, consisting of a number of generally E-W aligned ditches/gullies, some pits, a large sub-circular feature, and a possible creamation;
Late C1 to late C2, consisting of a sequence of rectangular enclosures on a broadly similar alignment to the previous phase of ditches, a number of pits and post holes, including a possible post-built structure, an inhumation;
Mid C2 to early C3, consisting of a number of pits, a few ditches, and a large feature which was possibly a pond.

It is woth noting that the pottery evidence suggests a fairly short period of occupation on the site, from the mid-late C1 to early-mid C2. It is also worth noting that very little metalwork was found on site, which is strange considering the probably iron-working nature of the site.
(1)

<1> Archaeology South-East, 2009, Archaeological Investigations at the Former Oil Depot Site, Bramble Lane, Wye, Ashford, Kent. Post-Excavation Assessment and Project Design for Publication (Unpublished document). SKE17139.