Aspire School, Staplehurst Road, Sittingbourne, Kent - Archaeological Investigations Report

Wessex Archaeology

Wessex Archaeology was commissioned to undertake an archaeological investigation of a parcel of land located at Aspire School, Staplehurst Road, Sittingbourne, Kent, centred on NGR 589166 164636.

The excavation was required to determine the nature and extent of any activity associated with Bronze Age barrows and/or the Neolithic pit revealed during the evaluation stage of investigation.

The archaeological watching brief consisted of monitoring a topsoil reduction of 0.20-0.25m around the Bronze Age barrows which were intended to be preserved in-situ. The archaeological investigations revealed a concentration of archaeological features in the central section of the site, with all artefactual evidence pointing to a prehistoric date. The main area of activity, dated to the prehistoric period, was focused to the west of known Bronze Age barrows. The excavation revealed 9 distinct archaeological features, comprising a fence line consisted of 11 post holes, two field boundary ditches and six discreet features. The fence line is most likely of Early Neolithic date, while three of the discreet features are prehistoric in origin.

The archaeological mitigation also clarified that the southern half of the site had been severely truncated by historic quarrying activity and it is unlikely that any archaeological features or deposits survived.