Canterbury Archaeological Trust conducted an archaeological evaluation of land at Pilgrim's Way Cottage, Otford on the 30th November and 1st December 2015. The evaluation consisted of the excavation of four trenches. Two features were uncovered in Trench 3; a possible shallow boundary ditch and a pit.

Within the pit were 3 sherds of early Roman pottery, a very fragmented piece of animal bone, and a single worked flint were found. The flint artefact was the mid-section of a snapped blade, estimated as Mesolithic or Neolithic in date. It is noted that the flint is residual. The three sherds of pottery (weighing 29g) were small and moderately worn. Two sherds (14g) were grey Upchurch-type fineware, estimated at mid-3rd Century AD. A single sherd 15g of coarse grog-tempered "Patch Grove" ware was identified, probably from a bead- or everted-rim jar (dating to very late first and early second centuries with continued use into the third).
The ditch contained no archaeological or dateable material.

Based on the prevalence of Roman activity in the area, it is likely that both the pit and ditch are Roman in date. The features lie within a previously identified Roman landscape; however the site is unlikely to represent the core of a settlement, more likely the outskirts.
The shallow depth of the Roman features means they are likely to be negatively impacted by the new development. (1)

<1> Canterbury Archaeological Trust LTD, 2015, Archaeological evaluation report: Land at Pilgrim’s Way Cottage, Pilgrim’s Way West, Otford, Kent (Unpublished document). SKE31539.