Between 2009 and 2011 Archaeology South-East carried out a programme of works on land north of Leysdown Road, Warden Bay, on the site now occupied by Warden Bay Primary School and land to the east of it. From the Middle Iron Age the site was the focus for a variety of activity types. The earliest phase of this occupation consisted of numerous shallow pits and/post holes. A number of larger pits, gullies and a hearth were also found. One gully may have related to a roundhouse. Two lengths of ditch were also found and are thought to perhaps represent the corner of a field. The site later developed with the laying out of a rectilinear enclosure and a stock funnel that fed into the enclosure. This fell out of use and was replaced by an east-west droveway. This route had regular gaps along its length, suggesting entrances to fields. Another trackway was established at this time going north-south across the site. The third phase of activity in the Late Iron Age/early Roman period saw another north-south route laid out across the site, on a slightly different alignment to the earlier one. This phase of activity also featured two burials. The first was a cremation in a pit accompanied by two fragmented vessels and two copper objects (initially described as 6 brooches and a copper alloy pestle and motar (1)). The vessels may have been deliberately broken prior to deposition. The pit was associated with a later post hole that may have served as a marker for the burial. An inhumation of an adult female was also found belonging to this period; the onlyaccompanying grave good with this burial was a copper alloy finger ring worn on the right hand.

The Roman period proper featured a re-cutting of the southern part of the north-south routeway and the addition of a northwest-southeast route. A small number of pits were dug and some were used for the disposal of cess as well as domestic refuse. Only two post holes were assigned to this period and it appears that no trace of structures has survived. Two plough truncated Roman vessels were found within the subsoil and possibly represent a disturbed cremation, though no trace of cremated remains was found. (2)

<1> Archaeology South-East, 2009, An Archaeological Evaluation the proposed Children’s Centre, Leysdown Road, Warden Bay, Isle of Sheppey, Kent (Unpublished document). SKE17604.

<2> Archaeology South-East, 2012, Post-excavation assessment and updated project design report: land at Leysdown Road, Warden Bay in Leysdown, Isle of Sheppey (Unpublished document). SKE17605.