A continuing watching brief maintained during topsoil stripping and groundworks in advance of gravel extraction at Brett's Lydd Quarry (area 18) from 2008-2010, has revealed remains from five broad periods: prehistoric, Roman, medieval, post-medieval and modern (WWII).

The work was composed of "the careful stripping of topsoil under archaeological supervision to the
surface of underlying gravel or clay followed by the mapping and investigation of any significant archaeological remains encountered."

Area 18A (North):
"Three small pits in the north-west of the area ([6], [8] and [10]) produced a range of mid-20th-century material, including .303 cartridge cases and spent bullets (live rounds had apparently been put into a fire). These features were probably associated with searchlight and gun batteries said to have been located in the area (Simon Ashworth pers.comm.). Italian POWs were used on nearby farms, including Scotney Court, as agricultural workers, and the features may have been associated with a guard hut or prisoner accommodation."

"Feature [36] probably represented the site of a WWII searchlight or gun battery; live .303 and 50 cal rounds were recovered from the upper fill of ditch [14] just to the south. Ditches [42] and [44] were flanking ditches defining the possible continuation of a probably med/post med trackway recorded in previous work." (1)

<1> Archaeology South-East, 2013, LYDD QUARRY, LYDD, KENT (PART 18) ARCHAEOLOGICAL POST-EXCAVATION ASSESSMENT AND UPDATED PROJECT DESIGN (Unpublished document). SKE31695.