Trial-trench evaluation in advance of works associated with the Grain to Tilbury Cable Tunnel Replacement Project focused on the construction footprint of a new Head House at Gravesend, Kent. No archaeological features or deposits were identified in any of the three trenches. The results show that, below the topsoil, the evaluation area is covered by a deposit of pale grey-brown silty clay alluvium in excess of 1.5m thick and likely associated with flooding of the nearby River Thames. Although no dating evidence was recovered from any of these deposits, fragments of post-medieval pottery were noted within the Trench 01 alluvium indicating that the alluvium was either post-medieval or later in date. The deposits of building debris recorded in Trenches 01 and 03 were also likely indicative of post-medieval or later activity within the evaluation area, although neither could be confidently attributed to the nearby Milton Rifle Range. The only other identified deposit was the peat recorded in Trench 01 which, although undated, was located below the alluvium and could potentially pre-date the post-medieval period.
Townend et al. (Mon,) studied this question.