A watching brief was carried out in September, 1996 after the Canterbury Motor Company informed the Canterbury Archaeological Trust of the discovery of skeletal remains at their premises on the south side of Rhodaus Town. The remains were located during the excavation of foundation trenches for the construction of a new wall in the company's body shop.

Archaeological inspection of the skeletal remains revealed that they were two inhumation burials, probably of Roman date (dated examples have been found previously in the area). The first burial observed and recorded had been cut into the natural subsoil, its remains lying prone with its head to the north-east. The skull of this burial was the only skeletal remains to be recovered. The burial was located at about 1.3m below the existing floor of the body shop.

The second burial lay supine, with its head to the SW c. 0.8m deep. No archaeological material was recovered from this burial as half of it lay within the section; the other half had been excavated mechanically out of the trench concerned and could not be located in the associated spoil from that trench. No grave goods were found with either burial, so that dating of the skeletal remains to the Roman period was entirely conjectural.

No other burials were found as the ground below the existing building had been heavily disturbed by modern pitting and by construction of air raid shelters during the Second World War. (1)

<1> Jarman, C., 1999, Rhodaus Town (Article in serial). SKE30831.