In 2000/1 the Oxford Archaeological Unit carried out a targeted watching brief (a strip, map and sample excavation) ahead of CTRL works. A number of Beaker pits were found along with a ring ditch. One of the pits contained a complete Beaker vessel on its side at the base of the pit. A similar vessel was found in one of the other pits. One pit contained ashy deposits with a large number of sherds of pottery, flints, a possible stone pestle and chared plant remains. These were thought to be domestic in origin and to have been deposted in separate episodes. Two small fragments of cremated human bone were found in the lower fills of one pit. This could be residual or intrusive. A fired clay object was found, it may have been made by a child and intended to represent a hedgehog. The pottery from these pits represents a minimum of 14 vessels in a range of forms in a wide variety of fabrics. It has been suggested that this is significant, representing a gathering of people from different areas with different pottery traditions. One of these pits was dug through a partially silted ring ditch. The ring ditch was 6m in diameter and had two post holes in its base. It contained a few residual pieces of Early Neolithic material, but also contained a sherd of Beaker pottery. (1-2)

<1> Oxford Archaeological Unit, 2003, Beechbrook Wood: Post Excavation Assessment Report (Unpublished document). SKE16484.

<2> Oxford Wessex Archaeology Joint Venture, 2006, The Prehistoric and Roman landscape at Beechbrook Wood, Westwell, Kent (Unpublished document). SKE25196.