Saltwood Tunnel (North of), ARC SLT 98C (Cemetery Area)
Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 2004. (updated 2017) https://doi.org/10.5284/1044828. How to cite using this DOI
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This work is licensed under the ADS Terms of Use and Access.
Primary contact
Stuart
Foreman
Senior Project Manager
Oxford Archaeology (South)
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Resource identifiers
- ADS Collection: 1837
- DOI:https://doi.org/10.5284/1044828
- How to cite using this DOI
Introduction
The Canterbury Archaeological Trust (CAT) was commissioned by Union Railways (South) Ltd (URS) to undertake detailed archaeological investigation North of Saltwood Tunnel, immediately to the south of the M20 motorway, in Kent. This work formed part of an extensive programme of archaeological investigation carried out in advance of the construction of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL).
The site is centred on URL grid point 95748/16941 and NGR grid point TR 1575 3695. The area of this part of the site was 0.16 hectares. The site was specified as detailed excavation.
Excavations to the North of Saltwood Tunnel, east of the settlement of Iron Age and Roman date, produced evidence for an early Anglo-Saxon cemetery, which lay over a prehistoric ring ditch.
The ring ditch was penannular in form, with an entrance at the north-east. In a later phase its causeway had been blocked by a narrow secondary ditch. Ceramics and lithics recovered from the fills of the ring ditch suggest that the monument is of Bronze Age date. The lithics suggest that knapping and domestic activity took place within the general area of the ring ditch.
There were several phases of work at Saltwood Tunnel as part of CTRL phase 1: An archaeological evaluation (ARC SLT 97), the first excavation (ARC SLT 98), and excavation of the land in between the cemetery and SLT98 (ARC SLT 99).
N.B. Much of this work here has been superseeded by works associated with the Phase Two and Schemewide programmes, but are included here for completeness. Those wishing to use the most current data are urged to view the Channel Tunnel Rail Link Section 1 Project pages.
