In 2005 Canterbury Archaeological Trust carried out an evaluation of land south of St Mary and St Ethelburga's churchyard. Boundary ditches, structural features and pits relating to an area of Middle Saxon occupation were found.

In 2007 a programme of geophysical survey and test pitting was carried out by a team from the University of Kent.

In 2008 two large areas were excavated on land to the south and southwest of the Old Rectory by a team from the University of Reading. Trench 1 was located south of the land previously evaluated by Canterbury Archaeological Trust. The site was crossed by a medieval ditch but it appears that this may have followed an older alignment as the Anglo-Saxon activity was restricted to areas defined by this line. A large post-built timber building stood in the southern part of the site. It was 19m by 6.5m and aligned east-west. It had eight pairs of outer wall posts and a longitudinal alignment of posts creating two aisles. This arrangement is paralleled in Migration period buildings found on the near continent, thought to have been used for grain storage. Outside of the building there was a metalled yard, 10m x 3.8m across. This has been interpreted as a possible threshing floor. Middle Saxon imported pottery and other objects were found in hollows in this surface. It had also been cut by Middle Saxon pits. Other buildings found in the area were a sunken featured building 1.8m x 2m with post holes at either end. A wall-trench cut across the site of the barn building. It may have been for a palisade or a more complex structure. 35 pits were also found in the area, some nearly 2m deep. They are thought to have been storage pits, cess pits and rubbish pits. Trench 2 contained 34 pits and some ditches, one of which could be a significant boundary ditch of Middle Saxon date, but no buildings. Some pits were rectangular in plan with associated short gullies. It is possible that these relate to an industrial or agricultural purpose. Finds from these two areas, and from the 2007 test pitting, included glass from both vessels and windows; this is the first Middle Saxon window glass from Kent. Metalwork included iron knives, keys, locks and other domestic fittings, copper alloy pins, buckles and hooked-tags. Three Anglo-Saxon 9th century silver pennies were found. Worked bone/antler objects included combs, pins and textile production implements. Pottery was a mix of handmade coarsewares made locally, regional imports and Frankish imports. Industrial activity was evidenced by bun-shaped loomweights, pin-beaters, smithing and/or smelting waste. There were also numerous quern fragments. (1)

In 2009 a large area was excavated on land to the west of the Old Rectory, south of St Mary and St Ethelburga's churchyard, the area previously evaluated by Canterbury Archaeological Trust. Evidence was found of domestic occupation of the area. A concentration of small post-built timber structures was found. These were surrounded by clusters of cess pits and rubbish pits. A number of partial and complete animal remains were deposited in the pits. A substantial boundary ditch was found, similar to that excavated in 2008, which was replaced by a palisade, a section of which was also found in the 2008 excavation. (2)
See also (3).

In 2010 a magnetometer survey followed by the excaavation of 9 trenches took place. A number of Saxon features were excavated. A sub-circular pit was excavated in trench 1 with a large assemblage of animal bone dating it to the period. A similar pit and a post hole were excavated in Trench 3. Attempts were made to identify the Saxon settlement boundary ditch but it was not found. The evidence was mainly pit features and associated finds. The new evidence includes the site of one or more smithies located in the northern sector of the site represented by pits of distinct forms preserved in association with rich deposits of metalworking slag and recycled fragments of iron. This complex constitutes important evidence for industrial zoning within the Mid Saxon monastic settlement of Lyminge and, more generally, has the potential to transform an understanding of the character and technology of ironworking in the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Kent. The discovery of Mid Saxon rubbish and cess pits within the northern and southern sectors of the site also indicates that monastic occupation (highly likely in association with post-built timber buildings) also extends to the west and north-west of the churchyard. (4)

University of Reading, 2010, Bringing a Lost Anglo-Saxon Monastery to Life (Article in serial). SKE31309.

University of Reading, 2015, The taphonomy and micromorphology of sunken-featured buildings from Lyminge, Kent: A comparative mixed-method analysis (Article in serial). SKE31304.

<1> Gabor Thomas, 2009, Uncovering an Anglo-Saxon Monastery in Kent: Interim Report on University of Reading Excavations at Lyminge, 2008 (Unpublished document). SKE25098.

<2> Gabor Thomas, 2010, ‘Daily Life in a Double Minster’: Interim Report on University of Reading Excavations at Lyminge, 2009 (Unpublished document). SKE25099.

<3> Gabor Thomas, 2013, Life before the minster: The social dynamics of monastic foundation at Anglo-Saxon Lyminge, Kent, The Antiquaries Journal 93: 109–45 (Article in serial). SKE25975.

<4> Gabor Thomas, 2010, An Archaeological Evaluation at Lyminge, Kent (Unpublished document). SKE29258.