Monument record TQ 76 SW 92 - Iron Age and Roman features with associated small finds found at Peter's Pit, Wouldham

During trenching a shallow ditch of Romano-British date containing animal bone, roof and box-flue tile and a small amount of 2nd-3rdC pottery including Samian ware.(1)

Work specifications and archaeological background to area(2-3)

Evaluation. Find results divided in 6 areas:
Area 1 - flint nodules. Roughly ciruclar pit 1.65m diameter and 0.64m deep. Contained flint nodules. Late Iron Age/Early Romano British pottery and Roman pottery dated to AD 50 to 170. Small sub-oval feature which contained no finds.

Area 2 - several ditches/gullies/linear feautres noted - one contained Iron Age pottery, another contained pottery dating from AD 120 to AD 200. A number of small circular features which may be either postholes or natural ('solution hollows'). Feature which may be a narrow trackway possibly with an associated drainage gully. Several of the ditches are on a similar alignment and may represent the successive recutting of a field boundary, or an enclosure ditch. The associated finds suggest an Iron Age/Roman date. A moderate amount of bone and pottery - mostly Late Iron Age and Romano-British was found across this area.

Area 3 - Roman floor and chalk fragments. Pottery dating to C3rd/4th century found. Elsewhere, flint fragments and flecks of chalk produced C2nd to C3rd finds. Building dated from mid-C1st and appears to have gone out of use by the C4th (based on pottery finds).

Area 4 - Probable post hole, most likely of Iron Age date. Very little pottery - the occasional Iron Age sherd - much less pottery than in other areas.

Area 5 - Several gullies and ditches which contained several struck flints. Potentially prehistoric date, though as there is a large amount of worked flint collected from the subsoil it is possible that the flint flakes found here are residual.

Area 6 contained linear features and a trackway. A sherd of Bronze Age pottery was found in the linear feature which is interepreted as a trackway, but as this is a single find dating the trackway to the Bronze age would be 'presumptive'. Undated gully and a ditch of mlate Post-medieval or modern date. Tthis area contained no Roman remains.(4)

<1> Archaeology South-East, 1998, Archaeological Evaluation of land at Peter's Pit, Wouldham, Kent (Unpublished document). SKE7337.

<3> Archaeology South-East, 1999, An Archaeological Watching Brief at Peter's Pit, Wouldham, Kent (Unpublished document). SKE7392.

<4> Archaeology South-East, 2002, An Archaeological Evaluation of Land at Peter's Pit, Wouldham and the Proposed Medway Crossing, Kent (Unpublished document). SKE15689.