A heap of shells was noticed at the base of the sea cliffs at Pegwell Bay, Ramsgate, Kent in 1992. The shells had fallen from a midden pit high up in the cliff face. The site was recorded and a sample of the shells investigated and dated by c14 dating

The midden pit was 1m wide by approximately 1m deep and was cut down into the brickearth layers which overlay soliflucted chalk. The pit had been filled with 600mm of colluvium which had left the lower 500mm filled with shells. 200mm of topsoil capped the midden. The location together with the proximity of the edge of the cliff prevented further investigation and fieldwork to confirm the extent of the midden landward. A 1kg sample of shells was taken from the in situ shells for analysis. The midden contained a mixture of seashells which had been deposited between 670 and 910 AD. The vertical side of the pit would indicated that it had been dug for the disposal of the shells, possibly from an adjacent settlement where the seafood was being consumed or prepared. A second pit was visible 12m to the east of the midden though this could not be examined closely. The pit appeared to be 1m wide by 1.2m deep from the present ground level and was filled with a mixture of different soils. (information summarised from source) (1)(1)

<1> A. J. Daniels, 2011, Report on a shell midden at Pegwell Bay, Ramsgate, Kent (Unpublished document). SKE25180.