In connection with Southern Waters Waste Water Treatment Scheme a member of Canterbury Archaeological Trust maintained a watching brief on a series of geotechnical test pits and boreholes. Five test pits were dug in the Western Docks area which represents the site of the old Pier district of the town and forms a highly important region for our understanding of the development of the early post medieval Dover and its harbour.

During the excavation of Test Pit 5 a deposit of grey silty clay with black pebbles was revealed at a level of 2.4m below the ground level. This was 0.3m in thickness and sealed a deposit of puddled chalk. The deposit produced a moderate amount of pottery datable from the 17th-19th centuries. This layer possibly represents a marine deposit once located at the base of the paradise pent, the hardcore encountered in the levels above it will therefore represent the infill of this pent. (1-2)

<1> Wessex Archaeology, 1996, Elizabeth St Pumping Station, Proposals for Archaeological Works (Unpublished document). SKE7125.

<2> Wessex Archaeology, 1994, Dover & Folkestone Wastewater Treatment Scheme: Elizabeth St Pumping Station and associated Installations, Western Docks (Unpublished document). SKE6902.