Thanet Parkway archaeology

The district of Thanet is a gateway for people, cultures, ideas, and trade into the UK. Thanet Parkway Station will lie within a rich archaeological area.

Thanet has seen significant events in British history including:

• raids by Caesar
• the arrival of the Romans and their departure through Richborough
• the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons Hengist and Horsa
• the mission of St Augustine.

From investigations, studies have been able to delve deeper into its history. They included:

• an excavation in advance of the East Kent Access Road (Hengist Way in particular)
• an excavation of the Margate to Weatherlees pipeline
• the findings of significant remains at Cliffsend Farm Cottages, Ramsgate Harbour Approach road and Thanet Earth.

Surrounding site studies have also found:

• a Mesolithic flint axe
• Neolithic pits (containing burnt hazelnuts)
• a small Bronze Age settlement, showing that the area has been occupied by humans for over 10,000 years.

Our investigations

As part of the planning process, excavations will take place in advance of the Thanet Parkway construction. This will help to record the archaeology for future generations.

The initial phase of the works will involve the careful recording and removal of archaeology. This will start with the use of mechanical excavators to remove plough soil, and reveal archaeological horizons.

Our expected findings

We expect to find Iron Age enclosure ditches, rubbish pits and trackways at the site, as surrounding areas have been found to have lots of archaeological settlements and field systems related to farming. We hope that these findings will tell us more about what prehistoric life was like.

We know from previous investigations that there was a large Iron Age site on Hengist Way which was bordered by a substantial hollow-way (a track). This originated in the Bronze Age and eventually went out of use in the Romano-British period. The feature and much of the settlement activity is known to extend across the Parkway site and to the south toward Cottington Road. Cremations and burials have also been found to the north and west, dating to the Iron Age and Romano-British. Whilst Anglo-Saxon or medieval remains are less likely to be found, there is however evidence of an Anglo-Saxon building nearby.

Contact us

If you have any further questions about the archaeology email thanetparkway@canterburytrust.co.uk.