From the report: " Two periods of prehistoric activity have been identified during the excavations within the campus: Early Neolithic and Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age. Both have the potential to add significantly to our understanding of the ancient development of the Canterbury area. The Neolithic features are the earliest yet known, while features dating to the Late Bronze Age / Early Iron Age can be compared and contrasted with those from better known contemporary sites. The material assemblages from both periods are described and assessed in this report. Although the importance of the material is acknowledged, its true worth is considered to lie in its comparative value vis-à-vis assemblages from other sites, and its combined ability to build up broader understandings of the developing local landscape. For these reasons it is proposed that no further work is done on the material at this stage, but instead that the assemblages are archived with a view to using them at a later date as part of a regional study, for example in a work on the prehistoric development of the Stour Valley. Romano - British material and features have been less forthcoming despite the proximity of the area to the intra-mural town in the west, the Richborough road in the south, and a settlement in the east which appears to extend from the road to the area now occupied by St Martin’s Church and St Martin’s Avenue. The main feature of interest is a length of drain constructed of bonded tile and brick, and lined with opus signinum mortar, which cuts across the northern region of the college campus. It is proposed that this feature is written up separately for inclusion as a short article in Arch. Cant. A major element of this work will be a discussion, with illustrations, of the Roman brick and tile used in the construction of the drain, as these represent important additions to the local corpus of fabric types. Anglo - Saxon occupation in the area appears to have had its origins in the early seventh century, though it may predate the arrival of Augustine and his mission. Material dating to the seventh century has been produced, but it is not until the period A.D. 750 to 850 that substantial, and wide spread, occupation is revealed. Evidence is spread across most of the campus area, having been found on all seventeen sites; to date at least one hundred and fifty waste pits of the period have been identified. The pits contain the evidence for large scale iron working and other craft activities, but also for domestic occupation, an indication that habitation accompanied the industrial activities undertaken at the site. The settlement appears similar to those at Barking (Webster and Bakehouse 1991:88-94), Brandon (Suffolk) (Carr et al. 1988), and Jarrow (Cramp 1969), where monastic involvement in production and trade has been identified. At St Augustine’s this involvement is reinforced by evidence from one of the early charters associated with the Abbey (Kelly 1995, no. 8). Trading links are demonstrated by the large quantities of Ipswich Ware recovered from the site, though no substantial evidence for trade with other English or continental centres was recovered. Apart from the pits very little structural evidence survived the later truncation of the area. However, the arrangement of the pits can be used to indicate the positions of contemporary structures and boundaries. The evidence for occupation starts to tail out after c. A.D. 850, and appears to stop altogether at around c. A.D. 975; because of this the mid Saxon settlement can reasonably be considered separately from the medieval development of the area. It is proposed that the settlement should be published as a monograph in the Archaeology of Canterbury series (Kent Archaeological Society) entitled The Mid Saxon Settlement at Nordholme: Excavations within Canterbury Christ Church University College, 1983 - 1996. A major component of this publication will be an examination of the evidence for iron working at the site, which is undoubtedly the largest corpus of such material recovered from any site in Britain, and is of international importance. Other important studies will be undertaken on the ... Most of the remaining archaeological evidence relates to the probable use and eventual incorporation of the area by St Augustine's Abbey. It is proposed that these later developments are published as a separate monograph entitled The Outer Court Of St. Augustine’s Abbey: Excavations within Canterbury Christ Church University College, 1983 - 1996. This work will start with a discussion of the large, possible boundary, ditches and the other features which were cut in the area from the Norman period onwards. Evidence for the utilisation of the area by the Abbey will be investigated by examining, for example, the type of fills deposited in the pits, and the alignment of the ditches. Evidence for differences in land use between areas located close too, and away from, the contemporary Abbey will be examined, as will changes through time. Documentary evidence for the expansion of the Abbey precincts northwards, and secular sources relating to the utilisation of the surrounding area will be examined. Activity in the area increased significantly towards the end of the thirteenth century when a number of large industrial features were constructed. These included a bronze casting pit, a massive double-flued furnace, a lime kiln, a tanning pit, a drying or malting oven, a deep circular foundation of unknown function, and a series of tanks and linking ducts. A relatively large number of associated pits and ditches were also constructed. Some of the features were grouped together which suggests that they may have been associated with a phased manufacturing process, for example the production of beer. The use of others, for example the lime kiln and the furnace, may relate solely to specific phases of Abbey building construction. Detailed studies of the way in which these features worked will be undertaken. This should enable us to better understand the technological development of such features, particularly in regard to their use by monastic institutions. 7 A major change in the appearance of the area took place at the very end of the thirteenth, or at the beginning of the fourteenth, century, when a new Outer Court was constructed over the remains of the industrial features. Substantial parts of this complex have been revealed by excavation, in particular the Cellarer’s range in the south, and the Bakehouse / Brewhouse range in the north. Stone lined drains, drainage ditches, and the foundations of timber and stone outbuildings have also been uncovered. A study of this archaeological evidence will form the basis of a re-evaluation of all the buildings of the Outer Court; the whole will then be examined in relation to the overall development of the Abbey during the period. One aspect of particular interest is continuity in the function of certain areas from their use during the previous ‘industrial’ phase. This possibility is raised primarily by a study of the short perpendicular wing built as part of the main Bakehouse / Brewhouse range, in conjunction with a consideration of the earlier structures which were built in the same location. During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries further buildings were added to the complex, particularly to the north of the Bakehouse / Brewhouse range, while others were modified. A study of the function of the new and rebuilt structures, and their methods of construction, will develop our knowledge of changes in the use of the Outer Court during the late medieval period. Evidence for the dismantling of the Abbey buildings and their subsequent conversion to a royal palace following the dissolution is not well represented in the archaeological record of the seventeen sites. The most important evidence derives from dumps of demolition rubble and ‘occupation’ debris that appear to have been thrown into a large feature located to the north of the Bakehouse / Brewhouse range during, or soon after, the dismantling of the Outer Court buildings. The aim of the report will be to summarise all the evidence dating to the dismantling, conversion, and subsequent history of the palace, and compare it with the known historical accounts and other documentary evidence of the period."