In 2009/10 Archaeology South-East carried out a programme of works on Kemsley Down and Kemsley Marsh. A salt-evaporation hearth was found on the edge of Kemsley Down and Kemsley Marsh. It was c.5.4m long and c.4.2m wide with concave sides and a flat base. An earlier phase of activity was evidenced by a layer with evidence of burning. Overlying this was a construction consisting of three walls creating four parallel gullies. These gullies were presumably for the fires beneath briquetage vessels supported on the walls. The hearth was repaired at a later date and was evidently fired to considerable temperatures. The only finds from the fills of the hearth were pieces of Roman ceramic building material, including a piece of roller stamped flue tile. These evidently came from a high status building in the area and were reused in the hearth. The hearth may therefore be of Roman or later date. (1)

<1> Archaeology South-East, 2011, A Post-Excavation Assessment and Updated Project Design Report: Excavations at Sittingbourne Northern Relief Road, Kemsley, Kent (Unpublished document). SKE17596.