In the Summer of 1946 the Canterbury Excavation Committee excavated a number of sites close to Rose Lane. These were at 16, The Parade, 2, Rose Lane, North end of Rose Lane, 2 St George's Street, coded CVII H, I, J, K and L respectively.

CVII H and I were cellars on the north west side of Rose lane occupying the site of the Rose Hotel. CVII J, K and l were cellars occupying the south east side of the lane, whilst K2 was a small area undisturbed by cellars at the street corner.

Amongst the discoveries were a pre-Roman Belgic ditch running NE-SW in cellar L with a contemporary occupation to the east.

A Roman drain was seen running obliquely under Rose Lane. This was first found in cellar H and was picked up east of Rose Lane in a trench cut from the surface (K 2). Here the structure was better preserved. In both sections the drain overlay an early ditch which could not be completely explored. It was probably Belgic in origin, of larger size than the ditch found in cellar L its filling contained Belgic pottery and a few Claudian sherds, implying that it had been closed early in the Claudian period, doubtless as part of the tidying up of the site after the conquest.

Frere, S., 1955, Canterbury Excavations, Summer 1946. The Rose Lane Sites (Article in serial). SKE30139.

Bennett, P. & Parfitt, K., 1991, Whitefriars Assessment Report (Unpublished document). SKE30140.