An intermittent watching brief was undertaken in September and October, 2000 at various locations on the south side of Canterbury. The work took place in November, 2000 during the installation of the South Canterbury Water Main.

The main line of the trench extended along parts of Lower Chantry, Bekesbourne and Spring Lanes, St Martin's Hill, Longport and New Dover and Hackington Roads. The total length of trench was in the region of c.6 km, it was c. 0.5m wide and c. 1.25m deep. Although not all of the trench was observed that which was revealed very little archaeology, attributable in part to the small size of the trench. However, a site of interest was revealed close to the Old Gate Inn on the Old Dover Road.

A spread of flint 'pot-boilers' was observed after the topsoil stripping processs. This measured 20m long and was associetd with two concentrations of pottery sherds datable to the Late Bronze Age or very early Iron Age. It is possible that the whole area of the potboiler spread is situated within one feature, perhaps a shallow prehistoric clay quarry. Most of the artefacts were situated n the surface of this possible infill, suggesting deposition after the feature had gone out of use. It is impossible to know if any material has been moved by ploughing.

Ward, A., 2000, An Archaeological Watching Brief along the South Canterbury Water Main (Excavation archive). SKE30501.