Townsend Farm Road, St Margaret's at Cliffe
TR 3570 4470; (S. Holden); evaluation and watching brief; 20 February - 26 August 2004; English Villages Housing; KTFM04
Natural chalk was recorded between 88.85m and 88.01m OD and it was sealed by a layer of brickearth.
During the evaluation six trenches were arranged across the site and evidence of Bronze Age, Medieval and post-medieval activity were uncovered. The Bronze Age archaeology was concentrated towards the west and north side of the site. All features cut into the brickhearth and comprised four pits and five postholes. Towards the east of the site, cutting into the brickearth and chalk, an E-W orientated 14th/15th century ditch was recorded and it may represent a Medieval property or field boundary. The nature of its fill seem also to indicate that it was purposefully backfilled and may indicate a change in land management or ownership. The post-medieval period is attested by a layer of ploughsoil recorded across the site from which 16th century pottery sherds were recovered. Topsoil and turf sealed the ploughsoil.
The watching brief entailed the archaeological monitoring of the excavation of a service trench through a field to the northwest of the development in order to further clarify the earlier findings. Some further evidence for Bronze Age activity was recorded at the southeastern end, closest to where the material of this date was recovered during the evaluation, and twelve interments of Anglo-Saxon date were also uncovered. Of these, eleven were fully excavated with the remaining one being left in situ, as it was not going to be further disturbed by the works. The skeletal remains were both male and female and appeared to be predominately adults although one child of perhaps 5 or 6 years old was also exhumed. As a whole, the group was richly furnished with weapons including an iron sword, spearheads and shield boss,
utilitarian objects such as iron knives and keys, and decorative adornments including a brooch inlaid with either cut glass or garnets and strings of beads made in glass, amethyst and amber. The grave goods recovered and style of burial suggest they date to the late-5th century and are likely to be present at the northeastern end of a linear cemetery running along the ridge of the hill.
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