TR 317688. Cropmarks of enclosures. Cropmarks indicate enclosures, which may be interpreted as Romano British sites, one possibly a villa. However, investigation in the 1960s is reported to have found only World War II remains. (1)

Durinf an archaeological evaluation associated with the installation of a pipeline, a trench targeting the southern end of these enclosures was excavated. Three ditches were recorded at this location, two of which likely form the eastern and western boundary ditches of the trackway. A single sherd of medieval pottery was recovered from the easternmost ditch. Due to the possibility of inaccuracy regarding the cropmark data, it was not possible to relate these ditches precisely to cropmarks
features. The features and artefacts recorded are suggestive of nearby medieval settlement. It is likely that this activity was centred around the linear settlement illustrated by cropmarks to the immediate north of Trench 15, a settlement type which has been identified with some frequency on the Isle of Thanet in recent years. The palaeoenvironmental evidence recovered from these features is suggestive of agricultural and foodprocessing activity taking place nearby. (2)

This site is probably part of a larger, possibly medieval settlement extending fromPark Road near Somali Farm to the houses to the north (Dunstan Avenue and Mountfield Way, Birchington parts of which have been recorded in three separate records :TR 36 NW 107, TR 36 NW 66 and TR 36 NW 199. 107 and 66 are now children of this record -TR 36 NW 199. The visible remains appear to be a number of conjoined rectilinear ditched enclosures. The western section closest to Somali Farm has an axial trackway running NNW-SSE through the enclosures. A further custer of enclosures can be seen to the NE and a few fragments of rectilinear enclosure to the north. There has been a considerable amount of disturbance, possibly secondary extraction across the centre and NE section making it difficult to discern the cropmarks and slight earthworks of this site. No trace of the site could be seen continuing to the south of the Park Road.

These remains are visible on aerial photographs :CUCAP BTG54 26-JUN-1975, NMR 3115/115 02-JUL-1986, NMR 4226/26 16-AUG-1988, EARTH.GOOGLE.COM MAR-2022. ACCESSED 29-FEB-2024 and Next Perspectives APGB Imagery 21-APR-2007. Parts of the site are also visible as slight earthworks of ditches and hollows on Lidar :LIDAR Environment Agency DTM 07-DEC-2017.

The entire site has been mapped from aerial photographs part of the Historic England Thanet Landscape Mapping Project (3-7)

<1> Isle of Thanet Arch Unit Sites and Mons Archive 1988 Rec no 74 photo (OS Card Reference). SKE44679.

<2> Cotswolds archaeology, 2021, Archaeological Evaluation Report - Birchington Vale Rising Main Pipeline (Unpublished document). SKE57129.

<3> Historic England Archive, 1949-1976, Historic England Archive CUCAP oblique aerial photographs, CUCAP BTG54 26-JUN-1975 (Archive). SKE57107.

<4> Historic England Archive, 1920-2024, Historic England Archive Specialist oblique aerial photographs, NMR 3115/115 02-JUL-1986 (Archive). SKE57106.

<5> Historic England Archive, 1920-2024, Historic England Archive Specialist oblique aerial photographs, NMR 4226/26 16-AUG-1988 (Archive). SKE57106.

<6> Next Perspectives, 2003-2021, Next Perspectives APGB orthophotography, Next Perspectives APGB Imagery 21-APR-2007 (Archive). SKE57110.

<7> Google.Com, 1960-2023, Earth.Google.Com orthophotography, EARTH.GOOGLE.COM MAR-2022. ACCESSED 29-FEB-2024 (Archive). SKE57111.

<8> Environment Agency, 2017, 2019, LIDAR Environment Agency 1m DTM, LIDAR Environment Agency DTM 07-DEC-2017 (Archive). SKE57108.