A large ring ditch, 0.75m wide and 24m in diameter. From the ditch deposits, burnt animal bone, burnt flint, charcoal and pottery was recovered. A cattle tooth found in the ditch was radiocarbon dated 1412 - 1021 BC and some of the fragments of pottery dated to the Early Bronze Age along with others from later periods. It is suggested that the burnt finds indicate funerary use and, although no burial was found, this was a barrow. The lack of burial may be as a result of later plough damage. The recovery of Late Bronze Age and early medieval pottery suggests the reuse of the site as part of later settlement of the area (TQ 97 SE 44 - 47 and 54). (1-4)

The ring ditch was penannular with a causeway on its western side, perhaps up to 3.5m wide. A deposit of burnt animal bone and charcoal had been placed at the base of the ring ditch. Other such deposits were found higher in the fill of the ditch. The radiocarbon dating suggests that the ditch remained open into the later Bronze Age and may have been the focus for activity during this period. (5)

<1> Thames Valley Archaeological Services, 1999, Shrubsoles Hill, Brambledown, Isle of Sheppey, Kent: Archaeological Evaluation (Unpublished document). SWX7069.

<2> Thames Valley Archaeological Services, 1999, Shrubsoles Hill, Brambledown, Isle of Sheppey, Kent: Interim Report on the Excavation (Unpublished document). SWX7070.

<3> Thames Valley Archaeological Services, 2000, Shrubsoles Hill, Brambledown, Isle of Sheppey, Kent: Post-Excavation Assessment (Unpublished document). SKE6565.

<4> Thames Valley Archaeological Services, 2001, Shrubsoles Hill, Brambledown, Isle of Sheppey, Kent A Draft Publication Report (Unpublished document). SKE12294.

<5> Thames Valley Archaeological Services, 2003, Bronze Age, Roman and Saxon sites on Shrubsoles Hill, Sheppey and at Wises Lane, Borden, Kent: A Landscape of Ancestors and Agriculture by The Swale (Monograph). SKE12323.