Lodge Wood, Ashford, Kent - Post Excavation Assessment Report

As part of an extensive programme of archaeological investigation carried out in advance of the construction of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL), the Oxford Archaeological Unit was commissioned by Union Railways (South) Limited to undertake a watching brief on earth moving operations between Lenham Heath and Sevington near Ashford in Kent. A number of small features were investigated at Lodge Wood approximately 1km to the northwest of Ashford. These consisted of a middle-late Iron Age pit and ditch, a late Iron Age-early Roman ditch, and a cluster of three medieval pits, as well as a few undated features. Pottery,including a significant assemblage of transitional middle-late Iron Age pottery, and a very limited range of other material was recovered from these features. Beyond distinguishing ditches, pits and postholes, the function of these features cannot be determined. Although they provide evidence for a low level of activity on the site in these periods, the finds, other than the middle-late Iron Age pottery, are thus of very limited significance.