Monument record TQ 86 SE 365 - Iron Age to Roman settlement, 99 High Street, Newington

An Iron Age to Roman settlement was identified during a series of excavations and archaeological investigations at 99 High Street, Newington. The settlement was comprised of rectilinear enclosures, a hollow way (TQ 86 SE 367), granaries, kilns, inhumations and cremations, roads, a Roman temple (TQ 86 SE 366), and field boundaries. A total of 715 linear features, 260 post-pit and post-hole features, 47 kiln or furnace type features, and 11 circular well shafts were identified during the excavation.

Two phases of activity were represented: the first dating from 50 BC to 250/300 AD, and the second dating from c.250-300 AD. The first phase of activity comprised the creation of a number of linear enclosures for industrial activities. These may have included ironworking, although pottery manufacture appears to have been the main industry during the early-mid 1st century AD. During the first phase, the temple complex was built to the north east of the site, comprising flint wall foundations, surrounding ditches and a bank, and a series of ritual pits and shafts.

The second phase of activity involved the dismantling of the temple complex, and the conversion of the industrial enclosures into agricultural fields with defined field boundaries. (1)

<1> Swale and Thames Archaeological Survey Company, 2022, Archaeological Excavations Of Land North Of High Street, Newington, Kent, Me9 7jj, Kent Interim Report V.2 (Unpublished document). SKE56545.