Archaeol Cantiana 133

Work undertaken in 2006-09 on a site in Maidstone by Museum of London Archaeology concentrated on those remains that could be identified as relating to the hospital of SS Peter, Paul and Thomas the Martyr. This was probably founded between 1244 and 1260 but disused by the end of the 14th century. Evaluation identified the masonry drain of the 13th century hospital, whilst the excavation phase focused on inhumation burials surviving in the north-western part of the site. A series of medieval ragstone walls representing a room of unknown function were also recorded. Detailed analysis of the hospital cemetery population demonstrated a high number of adult males, with women and children also represented. This was comparable to evidence recorded from previous hospital infirmary assemblages. The report includes an overview of documentary evidence relating to the site. LD

In late 1996-97 Archaeology South-East carried out a programme of archaeological recording and interpretation work on the gatehouse at Tonbridge Castle, a Norman motte-and-bailey castle, to inform a restoration scheme. The article builds on earlier published works to give a detailed account of the gatehouse. An outline of historical context is followed by discussion of layout and structure, with subsections on structural elements and architectural details. The dating and significance of the gatehouse are then considered, with particular reference to the similar gatehouse at Caerphilly Castle in Glamorgan. Tonbridge is considered to be one of the best preserved of the new type of 'keep-gatehouses' developed during the middle years of the 13th century. LD

Describes the results of excavations undertaken by Wessex Archaeology in advance of development at a site near Rochester, in relation to findings from a site excavated immediately to the north in the 1990s. The earliest evidence of human activity comprised a small quantity of worked flint, probably of the Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age, and small numbers of Early and Middle Bronze Age features. A broad metalled trackway flanked by ditches was likely to date to the Late Iron Age or Romano-British period. Coins suggest that Romano-British activity continued well into the second half of the 4th century AD. Evidence of Saxon settlement comprised dispersed sunken-featured buildings of the late 6th and 7th centuries and higher-status settlement in the mid- to late Saxon period. A systematic metal detector survey recovered numerous finds including 84 items of post-medieval lead shot, perhaps relating to field exercises undertaken by the garrison of nearby Upnor Castle. LD

A programme of archaeological fieldwork undertaken in 2002-07 on land near Park Farm, south of Ashford, revealed evidence for a settled landscape subject to continuous occupation and reorganisation from the Middle-Late Iron Age into the start of the Roman period. Limited evidence of activity in the later Bronze Age was also identified. The Iron Age occupation took the form of a typical farming settlement with roundhouses and evidence of animal husbandry and cereal cultivation. More unusually, a furnace at a distance from the main settlement focus provided evidence of both iron working and the melting of copper alloy. The findings complement results from other excavations in the Ashford area. A small number of medieval and later features were also recorded during the project but are not described in this article. LD

An evaluation followed by excavation was undertaken in 2003 by Archaeology South-East in advance of development at a site in Wye, an historic town with Roman origins. The earliest feature recorded was a ditch that had fallen out of use in the 13th century; this perhaps defined an early property. Later in the medieval period numerous refuse pits were in use on the site. One large feature, some 10m across, may represent a medieval burgage plot. Much of the site was raised up and levelled after the early 17th century, and by the 18th century several brick-built properties were present. A summary of the finds from the site is given. LD