Between January 1992 and October 1997 watching briefs, evaluations and an excavation were conducted on the route of the Wainscott Northern Link or by-pass. This relief road was constructed over a distance of 5km from the junction of the A2 and M2, west of the original Medway crossing at Rochester north-east to the Four Elms roundabout on the A228 north of Wainscott. Other than scatters of loose finds, little archaeological material was discovered over most of the route, but west of the Four Elms roundabout a multi-period settlement site was excavated. About 350 separate features and deposit sequences were examined, which may be divided into four periods: Prehistoric; Roman; Anglo-Saxon; Medieval and Post-medieval. The site, excavation and finds are all presented and assessed here and each period discussed.

The widening of the road between the Monkton and Mount Pleasant roundabouts on the A253 led to the archaeological investigation of a 3km long strip of land between July 1994 and February 1995. Prehistoric discoveries included Neolithic inhumations and pits, well-preserved Beaker graves and ten ring-ditches of late Neolithic and Bronze Age date. An extensive and unusual Roman settlement of the late first to early second century AD was characterised by a large number of sunken-floored buildings. A small rectangular structure on the fringes of the settlement may have been a roadside shrine. A small Anglo-Saxon cemetery was located at the eastern end of the excavated area and at the western end a medieval farmstead with at least five buildings was investigated. The information is presented in four parts covering the main periods of occupation of the site and each chapter includes specialist reports on pottery, small finds, human and animal bones and the plant and insect remains.