Monument record TR 36 SW 530 - Late Iron Age/Roman hollow way discovered during pipeline trenching near Richborough Way

During excavations associated with the installation of a pipeline between Margate and Broadstairs, in excavation area 15, A late Iron age/Roman trackway was seen crossing the easement in a north-west/south-east direction as shallow linear feature. This was 1.57m wide and 0.20m deep, with concave sides and a flat base. This trackway probably developed into a holloway which backfilled in the late prehistoric period, based on pottery dates. A series of late Iron Age/early roman pits had been excavated in an approximately north-east/south-west alignment and slightly to the south east. These had then been to have been rapidly backfilled. Their function was not determined but they may represent tree clearance, which would suggest that the hollow-way had been out of use for some time. Two ditches flanked either side of the hollowway (1-3)

<1> Wessex Archaeology, 2005, Margate to Weatherlees Hill Wastewater Treatment Works Twin Pipeline: Interim Statement (Unpublished document). SKE13017.

<2> Wessex Archaeology, 2008, Thanet's Longest Excavation: Archaeological Investigations Along the Route of the Weatherless - Margate - Broadstairs Wastewater Pipeline (Monograph). SKE53449.

<3> Wessex Archaeology, 2006, Margate and Broadstairs Urban Wastewater Treatment Scheme (Unpublished document). SKE29263.