An evaluation was commissioned to assess any surviving archaeological remains in advance of the proposed redevelopment of the former East Kent Road Car Company depot for residential development. The evaluation area was centred on the depot, located between Kirby's Lane and North Lane (TR 146 583). The evaluation was undertaken in July, 1993 and the site code was KL93.

Six trenches (A-F) were excavated mechanically and each measured 10m approximately in length. The trenches were located in existing open ground, which was used principally for car parking outside the existing bus depot. Prehistoric evidence was found only in trench F which was excavated against the north-eastern boundary of land ownership to the north-west of an evaluation trench excavated in 1989. The area of the evaluation was located on a natural rise of land north-west of the river Stour and just beyond the northern limit of the river's alluvial plain. The geological strata consisted of head brickearth and gravel terracing, with the head brickearth overlying gravel of the second river terrace. Natural gravel was located in Trench F at a depth 7.80m OD. The actual depth below the existing ground surface was 1.90m.

In trench F, a ditch was discovered which cut into the natural gravel and had a width of 1.50m. This ditch was backfilled with 'Belgic' pottery dateable to the early first century AD. The ditch was discovered within the north-east corner of the evaluated area at a depth of 1.70m below the existing ground surface. The discovery of this ditch was considered to be significant, as it was the first feature to be discovered in the area of Canterbury covered by the evaluation that was of pre-Roman date. Several brickearth deposits appeared towards the north-west end of the trench as silty clay layers.

Two large pits were found, which cut into the layers sealing the 'Belgic' ditch, but contained no dateable evidence. A dark topsoil layer sealed these pits and was in turn sealed by modern levelling deposits.

Shand, G., 1993, An Evaluation of the East Kent Road Car Company Site, North Lane, Canterbury. (Excavation archive). SKE30490.

Shand, G., 1993, Archaeological Evaluation at the East Kent Road Car Company (Excavation archive). SKE30489.