In 1959 The Stour Valley Research Group, led by Frank Jenkins, excavated within the basement areas of 45-46 Burgate.

A two phased Roman building was uncovered, fronting onto the north side of a Roman street which lay to the south of the site (running E/W?). The first period building consisted of a length of walling built of clay, faced on one side with white plaster and associated with clay floors. A coin of Nero was found resting on the surface of the ealriest floor associated with this wall.

During the second phase the wall was pulled down and the lowest part survived serving as a base for a cill-beam, presumably of timber. Associated with this was a mortar floor, about15-23 cm thick, bearing patches of opus-signinum on its surface. A rim of a mortarium found beneath this floor in a thick layer of clean loam containing a great quantity of painted wall plaster suggests that the earlier building was demolished not before the second half of the second century AD.
Limited excavations in the 18th century vaults beneath the former north entrance to the Longmarket yielded evidence of two distinct pre-Roman Belgic occupation deposits, the earlier containing exclusively native pottery, and the later deposit an admixture of imported terra nigra and terra rubra ware. Traces of timber-built structures were also noted. In Roman times the site had been used for rubbish disposal, judging by the number of pits encountered.

Jenkins, F., 1960, Excavations, Discoveries and Local Notes, Canterbury (Artifact). SKE29952.