The structural elements of the Zone 20 Roman settlement which were uncovered during the excavations associated with the construction of the East Kent Access routeway in Thanet, comprised a group of five sunken featured buildings. Four of these lay close together while a fifth lay slightly further away to the west. They were of various shapes and sizes and some contained hearths or ovens. Three infant or neonatal burials were also found. Finds included daub, iron and copper alloy objects and fragments of copper alloy waste.

In detail: the south eastern most feature consisted of a large irregular cut measuring approximately 8.9m NNE-SSW and 9.7m WNW-ESE and it was just over 1.3m in depth, with a ramp and 3 roughly cut steps. There were five postholes relating to the buildings superstructure and it had a beaten chalk floor. There was also the remnants of a clay hearth/oven. The fills infilling the structure were rich in domestic material, suggesting that rubbish was tipped into the void after the structure had gone out of use. The second sunken feature building was situated to the west of the first and was much smaller in size (4m by 3m by 0.32m deep) but regular in plan and profile and may have been an ancillary structure. The remains of two neonates were cut into the floor possibly at the end of the buildings period of use. The third building was located to the north west of the second, and was on the same alignment (NNE-SSW) but much larger, measuring 10.93m by 6.2m and 0.3m deep. This building also contained a hearth or oven in the south west corner. The fills overlying the building contained a moderate quantity of charcoal and the finds within suggest that the building fell out of use in the middle Roman period. During the early stage of infilling two graves for neonate burials were cut into the floor of this structure. Adjacent to this was a pair of irregular sub rectangular features which have also been interpreted as possible sunken feature buildings, both had been heavily disturbed by later activity. The first measured 6.62m by 5.18m and was 0.32in depth and the second was 3.02m by 2.65m and 0.88m in depth. It is possible that the first was an ancillary building to the second, though this is not certain. To the south of these, a shallow feature may have also been a sunken building, though this interpretation is based on its proximity to the others rather than its form, again it was likely an ancillary structure. The final sunken featured building was located to the west of the main group. It overlay a series of earlier quarry pits and was therefore difficult to interpret but it appears to have measured 10m by 5.5m and was up to 0.55m in depth. A rough wall of flint and quern fragments had been built on its sloping east side to reinforce the structure. An oven was located in the south east corner of the structure and the area surrounding it was heavily scorched and rich in ash deposits. The finds within the fills overlying this were comparable to those from the other structures and were mainly domestic in nature. A poorly preserved neonate burial was discovered cut into the fill of a pit within the building. (information summarised from source)(1-2)

The positions of the five buildings and a pit of Roman date were visible as sub surface deposits in NMR 26608/26 06-APR-2010. They were mapped as part of the Historic England Isle of Thanet project in 2024. (3)

<1> Oxford Wessex Archaeology Joint Venture, 2011, East Kent Access (Phase II), Thanet, Kent: Post-Excavation Assessment Volume 1 (Unpublished document). SKE29279.

<2> Andrews et al, 2015, Digging The Gateway: Archaeological Landscapes of South Thanet. The Archaeology of East Kent Access (Phase III) Vol 1: The sites (Monograph). SKE55517.

<3> Historic England Archive, 1920-2024, Historic England Archive Specialist oblique aerial photographs, NMR 26608/26 06-APR-2010 (Archive). SKE57106.