Area I was a portion of the Grain-Shorne pipeline in a valley bottom north of the village of Cliff Woods excavated in 2008.

The building was constructed in a large rectangular cut measuring 5.4m long, 3.7m and 0.48m deep. The oven was circular and located in the north-west corner. The oven's foundations were of flint cobbles and rammed silt clay, including reused Roman brick and tile fragments. The floor was of gravel and rammed clay. The oven had a domed sub-circular structure with an opening on the east side. The floor was later re-laid. Outside of the pit, a post hole was found, with the lower part of the post preserved in situ. The macrobotanical assemblage from the rake-out deposits included remains of cereals and wood charcoal from oak, hazel/alder, sloe/cherry, hawthorn/whitebeam/apple and elm.

The C14 radiocarbon dates from samples of charred macrobotanical remains from rake-out spread [9058] were 930 ±30 BP (SUERC-38692; cal AD 1020–1170) and 930 ±25 BP (SUERC-38696; cal AD 1020–1180) and from the oven’s charcoal-rich fill [9146] of 930 ±30 BP (SUERC-38697; cal AD 1020–1170) and 950 ±30 BP (SUERC-38698; cal AD 1020–1170). All four dates were statistically consistent and suggested that the material derives from a short span of time and the best estimate for the date of use of the oven is cal AD 1020–1180 (95% confidence). (1-2)

<1> Archaeology South-East, 2009, Archaeological investigations at Grain - Shorne pipeline, Isle of Grain, Kent: Phase 7 Post-excavation assessment and project design for publication [DRAFT] (Unpublished document). SKE15791.

<2> Archaeology South-East, 2012, Archaeological Investigations along the Isle of Grain – Shorne Pipeline Route, Hoo Peninsula, Kent: Publication Report (Unpublished document). SKE18113.