A watching brief was undertaken from April 1979 during the construction of the A2 Canterbury Bypass, it was partially funded by Kent County Council.

A number of small sites and a single major sites were located and recorded. The small sites consisted mainly of isolated pits and shallow features, usually of Iron Age or Roman date, found along the line of the Bypass during machine clearance of topsoil, drain cutting or the digging of deep foundations. A very large area of gravel workings in the water meadows to the north of Wincheap has produced considerable deposits of waterlogged peat. This has so far revealed a number of Iron Age and Roman features and a number of preserved wooden objects.

The main site that was recorded was situated between Hollow Lane and Stuppington Lane, just above the 50m contour, overlooking and 2 km to the south of central Canterbury. The area was known to be potentially important as the Roman road from Lympne to Canterbury (Stone Street) should have crossed the line of the Bypass at this point. However, no trace of this road was found during thorough investigation of the site; centuries of ploughing and the natural weathering of the hilltop may have destroyed all trace of it, though it is possible that future cuttings for the Bypass, further to the east, may reveal its location.

In the area to the west of Stuppington Lane, a large number of Iron Age, Belgic, Roman and post-Medieval pits and ditches, together with traces of possible timber buildings, two possible ironworking furnaces and a Roman pottery kiln were excavated. All the features were directly sealed by a thick deposit of topsoil. No horizontal stratigraphy survived on the site, and all the excavated features, with the exception of the kiln, were extremely shallow, though in many instances quite large. Traces of two possible furnace floors were also found during the excavation, but the overall impression was one of a heavily reduced horizon, with only the bottoms of the more deeply cut features surviving. This observation reinforces the assumption that the top of the hill may have been eroded by natural weathering and a long history of agricultural activity in the area. A large collection of Iron Age and Roman pottery was recovered from the pits and ditches. The Roman kiln, the best preserved feature on the site, contained a mass of semi-fired pots. The kiln may well have been misfired and abandoned by the potter, complete with its contents.

Bennett, P., 1980, Canterbury Bypass (Article in serial). SKE30506.

Tatton-Brown, T., 1982, Potins and Other Iron Age Coins from Canterbury (Article in serial). SKE30507.