In 2012 a large area was excavated on land to the east of the Coach and Horses on Tayne Field by a team from the University of Reading. The earliest Anglo-Saxon occupation found on this site consisted of a sunken featured building with two phases. This probably dated from the later 5th century and went out of use in the 6th century. The first phase consisted of a rectangular pit c.3.05m x 2.42m with posts at either end. When it was rebuilt the pit was redug and additional post holes were added. The pit was backfilled in two episodes with an unusually rich assemblage of objects. Pottery, animal bone, glass beads, glass vessel fragments, a range of iron objects, two triangular bone combs with ring and dot decoration (a form more typical to Suffolk), a pierced Roman coin, two possible metalworking crucibles and a well-preserved copper alloy toilet set. The animal remains possibly indicate some form of feasting event and it is thought that the backfilling of this building's pit could have been a form of structured deposition. Subsequent to this use of the site a large timber great hall was built. It was 21m x 8.5m on an east-west axis. Its outer walls were of post-in-trench construction, the long-wall trenches being interrupted by pairs of substantial pits marking the position of centrally-opposed entrances. There was an internal partition at the east end, creating a room 3.5m wide. The original floor levels had not survived medieval ploughing of the site. The hall was built in the early 7th century. It would have been a very high status building, probably the centre of the Royal Vill. A second building on the same alignment and of similar construction technique was found to the east, extending beyond the limits of excavation. Objects were recovered from the foundation trenches of the building but could relate to the earlier occupation of the site, the construction of the building or its later use. (1-2)

University of Reading, 2011, Kent in the Age of Sutton Hoo: New Perspectives from Lyminge (Article in serial). SKE31308.

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 and Alexandra Knox, 2012, Lyminge Excavations 2012: Interim Report on the University of Reading excavations at Lyminge, Kent (Unpublished document). SKE25101.

<2> 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.