Report on KAS Archaeology Research Group Fieldwork Conference 2025
Following on from last year’s successful conference concerned with recent work in the Darent Valley, the KAS fieldwork conference for 2025 focussed on the area of Thanet and the shores of the Wantsum Channel in north-east Kent. Again, held at The Friars, Aylesford, a series of speakers outlined recent archaeological discoveries and research to an audience of around eighty people.
The day began with a talk by Simon Mason, Principal Archaeological Officer with KCC’s Heritage Conservation group. There is presently a tremendous amount of new development going on in Thanet and Simon outlined the problems and challenges he has in monitoring the increasing amount of archaeological information that is being excavated and recorded ahead of this new building work. His talk was highly informative but also slightly terrifying. Ever-increasing volumes of archaeological data are serving to amplify and confirm what has long been suspected, Thanet is absolutely chock-full with buried archaeology, most of it shallowly buried and increasingly threatened by new building and intensive agricultural activity.
Our next speaker, Victoria Hosegood, also with KCC’s Heritage Conservation group, updated us on progress with the Thanet Mapping Project, which is aimed at producing detailed plots for all the known archaeology on Thanet, including the extensive cropmark complexes recorded. Her results to date amply reconfirm Simon’s conclusions. In archaeological terms, Thanet must now be seen as a very special place indeed.
With the recent inundation of new excavation data, mostly produced through the efforts of large professional companies from outside Kent, it is important not to forget or underestimate the work of local archaeologists in earlier decades. Keith Parfitt next reviewed the achievements of the Abbey Farm, Minster project, which ran as an annual summer excavation between 1996 and 2004. Initiated by the late Dr David Perkins, this was a joint project between the Kent Archaeological Society and the Trust for Thanet Archaeology. The work succeeded in recovering the complete plan of a major Roman villa complex occupying rising ground overlooking the shores of the Wantsum Channel. In 2004, the project was awarded a runner-up prize in the British Archaeological Awards, for the best investigation carried out by amateurs – the commemorative plate presented then still hangs on the wall in the KAS Library at Maidstone. Although twelve separate instalments of the Minster villa site report have been published, more studies remain to be done before the project can be signed off as complete. It was interesting to note that amongst the great influx of new data from Thanet, as yet there have been no further comparable villas sites revealed.
[fg]jpg|The very well-attended conference at Aylesford Priory|Image[/fg]
[fg]jpg|Chair of the KAS Archaeology Research Group, Keith Parfitt, discussing Abbey Farm Villa|Image[/fg]
Of the Thanet archaeologists of earlier years, two names stand out: fieldworker, Dave Perkins and the pottery analyst, Nigel Machperson-Grant, both sadly no longer with us. Based in Thanet for much of his working life, Nigel studied the ancient pottery of east Kent for more than fifty years. His local knowledge was unrivalled and Ges Moody from the Trust for Thanet Archaeology, provided us with a fascinating insight into Nigel’s working methods and in-depth understanding of Kentish ceramics. Ges was assisted by Paul Hart who laid on a special display of pottery classified by Nigel as a research tool for future workers.
First speaker after lunch was Dr Jake Weekes from Canterbury Archaeological Trust who gave an all too brief overview of the Trust’s work at Thanet Earth, a massive landscape investigation which ran from 2007 to 2008. This involved excavations across an area of 47 hectares and uncovered a wealth of information. Around 1500 feature groups, including barrows, sunken-featured structures, enclosures, trackways, and burials were identified and these ranged in date from the Neolithic through to the medieval period.
Next, Steve Tomlinson gave us some fairly hot-off-the-press news about Palaeolithic handaxe finds on Margate beach. We look forward to hearing more about these important discoveries as Steves’ research continues. KAS Curator Andy Ward, then gave an update on his work archiving the Ozengell Anglo-Saxon Cemetery material, recently purchased by the Society. Discovered little more than two miles from Ebbsfleet, the traditional landing site of Hengest and Horsa, Andy has been slowly recording and rediscovering various pieces of site information to produce a consolidated archive of all the material in the collection. Hopefully, we can fully publish details of this important site in the not-too-distant future. Andy’s review fully underlined the fact that the KAS acted entirely correctly in saving this key archaeological collection, which could so easily have been lost to the County.
Our final speakers for the day were José Gibbs and Gordon Taylor who provided us with a review of the work of the Isle of Thanet Archaeological Society from its formation in 1976 to its final disbandment earlier this year. Regularly working on a range of local projects, it is probably fair to say that the Society helped lay the foundations and show the way towards the present-day large-scale excavations occurring on Thanet. Closure of this local Society, however, must mark a significant loss to Kent’s archaeological community in general and to Thanet especially.
The programme of events was brought to a close with some concluding remarks and a brief discussion about what we had heard during the course of the day. The problems of publishing the great wealth of new archaeological data becoming available for Thanet stood out as being a key issue and a priority for future work. Interleaved with this, however, is the need to complete publication of earlier investigated sites, like Minster Roman villa and the Ozengell Anglo-Saxon cemetery. And beyond all this is the clear need to produce detailed, thematic research reports. There is extensive scope for all sorts of broad-based landscape studies to be undertaken, which ultimately will allow the importance of Thanet to be fully demonstrated at national level.
It is proposed that the KAS fieldwork conference for 2026 will focus on another region of Kent. The secretary of the Archaeology Research Group will be pleased to receive any suggestions for the area this might cover.
[fg]jpg|Fig. 3 – One of the Palaeolithic handaxes recovered from Margate beach.|Image[/fg]
[fg]jpg|Fig. 4 – KAS Curator Andy Ward discussing the Ozengell collection.|Image[/fg]