Excavations at Springhead Roman Town, Southfleet, Kent

In Autumn 1994 the Oxford Archaeological Unit excavated approximately 860 m of cable trench on behalf of Seeboard
plc. The cable trench passed through part of the Scheduled Ancient Monument believed to encompass Springhead
Roman Town. This phase of work was preceded by a desktop assessment, a surface collection survey and a
geophysical survey, and supplemented by a watching brief which ended in January 1995. Part of the excavated
cable trench passed through the scheduled area to the west of the railway line and proved to be empty of
archaeological deposits and features. The remaining length of trench ran east of the railway and immediately
outside the southern limit of the scheduled area. Excavation in this section produced evidence for Roman activity
dating from the 1st to the 4th century and characterised by ditches, gullies, pits (some containing metalworking
debris), postholes, floor layers and a succession of road surfaces. Numerous finds of a wide variety of types and
materials were recovered. The results suggest that the current Scheduling is inappropriate and it is therefore
advisable that the results of this investigation are fitted into the wider framework of past investigations of the town.