Hockers Lane (East of), Detling, ARC EHL 99

The Oxford Archaeological Unit was commissioned by Union Railways (South) Ltd to conduct a field evaluation of land situated to the east of Hockers Lane, Detling, Kent (NGR TQ 8240 5520). The work was conducted between 29tth March and 1st April 1999. Seven evaluation trenches were excavated in an area of c. 3.8 hectares. Three trenches located in the central area of the site revealed a cluster of ditches, gullies, pits and postholes, sealed beneath a buried ploughsoil. A small assemblage of late Iron Age/ early Roman pottery was recovered from the ditches and one of the gullies, along with animal bone and fragments of burnt stone. These features also produced several sherds of redeposited late Bronze Age or earlier Iron Age pottery. No dating evidence was recovered from any of the pits and postholes found in this area. Some of them may be associated with the late Iron Age/ Romano-British activity, though it is uncertain whether all of the features are contemporary.