Pilgrims Way, ARC PIL 98
Oxford Archaeology (South), 2004. (updated 2017) https://doi.org/10.5284/1044741. How to cite using this DOI
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- ADS Collection: 1823
- DOI:https://doi.org/10.5284/1044741
- How to cite using this DOI
Introduction
In August 1998 the Oxford Archaeological Unit (OAU) undertook an evaluation for Union Railways Ltd (URL) at land south of the Pilgrims Way and east of the old Chatham Road along the route of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.
The archaeological features comprised of six pits, a human cremation, two ditches and a possible Iron Age buried soil. One of the ditches is probably late Bronze Age/early Iron Age in date. An adult human cremation in a pit contained a flat-topped bone pin, which indicates a date in the Iron Age or Roman period. Some of the pits contained broken or burnt sarsen stone but no artefactual material. Dating evidence from the site as a whole was sparse (11 pottery sherds in total), although the predominance of late Bronze Age/early Iron Age pottery suggests that the late Bronze Age/early Iron Age activity identified to the north at the White Horse Stone site continues south down the dry valley into the present site.
After the initial evaluation the Oxford Archaeological Unit (OAU) was commissioned by Union Railways (South) Ltd (URS) to undertake archaeological excavations on the adjacent sites of Pilgrim’s Way, White Horse Stone (ARC WHS 98), and West of Boarley Farm (ARC BFW 98), north of Maidstone, Kent. These excavations, with a combined area of 6.8 ha, formed part of an extensive programme of archaeological investigation carried out in advance of the construction of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.
This collection focusses on the data from the evaluation undertaken prior to the excavation, and the subsequent excavations at Pilgrim’s Way, but also contains the joint excavation reports from the three sites.
The sites are centred on URL grid point 55300E 40200N and NGR grid point TQ 7350 6010. Pilgrim’s Way was specified as a detailed and was c. 1.4 ha in extent. The three sites were grouped together because of broad similiarities in the landscape setting and the range of archaeological deposits present. In addition, White Horse Stone and Pilgrim’s Way eventually formed a continuous excavated area, while West of Boarley Farm lies less than 200 m to the west and the intervening area will be monitored during the routewide watching brief. The main phases of fieldwork were carried out between 10th August 1998 and 5th March 1999.
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.
