Sweyne County Junior School, Swanscombe, Kent

During September and October 2008 Oxford Archaeology (OA) undertook an evaluation by trial trenching and test pitting at Sweyne County Junior School, Kent (centred NGR 560670 173860). The work represented Phase 2 of the archaeological investigation conducted prior to development on the site.
The test pit evaluation confirmed that the site is underlain by Pleistocene deposits equivalent to phases II and III of the classic Swanscombe Barnfield Pit sequence.
The majority of the site is underlain by a thick deposit of silty clay equivalent to the Upper Loam. This deposit is not known to have produced any Palaeolithic remains;
however its date and mode of formation are uncertain, and further recording of any major exposures created during development is recommended to try and address
these problems.
At the northern end of the site, the Lower Middle Gravel is present closer to the current ground surface, with its upper surface at c. 28.5 m OD. This deposit is rich in
Palaeolithic flint artefacts. It also contains occasional fossil animal bone remains, including, on one occasion, an early hominin skull (recovered from Barnfield Pit, c. 1
km to the northwest). Any development impact upon this deposit will require mitigating work, involving both controlled sieving for lithic artefacts and monitoring
for recovery of faunal remains and further lithic artefacts.
The trial trenching revealed a single NE-SW orientated ditch which was seen in Trenches 6 and 8 and a small pit in Trench 3, both of which are post-medieval in
date.
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