In addition to ancient Roman pottery, jewellery, rare coins and evidence of a road network, the 18-acre site in Newington, England, also revealed the ruins of an ancient temple.
The site was found as part of a development of 124 new homes on 18 acres next to the A2 in Newington, Kent.
“It's very exciting,” said Dean Coles, chairman of the Newington Historical Group. “The scale of the site and the sheer number of quality finds changes our understanding of the development of Newington.”
The site also contained evidence of a 23-foot road, sunken ceramic kilns, and rare iron stoves. In addition, numerous expensive items brought from other regions indicate that the inhabitants of the site at the time had a fairly high status.
Experts have called the discovery one of the most significant excavations in the history of the region.
The astonishing discovery came as developers were preparing to build 124 new homes. a href=”https://allthatsinteresting.com/neolithic-human-sacrifice” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>Around the world, it seems that a href=”https://allthatsinteresting.com/belarus-mass-grave” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>the construction of new housing developments often leads to unexpected historical finds and artifacts.
“We already had evidence of a Roman cemetery and Roman occupation in the immediate vicinity, and these excavations show that there was a thriving manufacturing centre at the heart of our village,” Koles said.
The current plan is to analyze the objects found and compile all relevant data in a detailed scientific report. After that, experts will close the excavated area so that housing construction can continue as planned. But for now, attention is focused on the amazing finds.
“The temple and the main road are truly significant discoveries,” added Coles. “They prove that the A2 was not the only Roman road that passed through the village. As a team, we are keen to trace the route and end point of this new ‘highway’, which may have linked to another temple excavated 50 years ago on the outskirts of Newington and the village found in 1882.”
SWNSIn addition to pottery, jewelry and a 23-foot-wide road, the remains of an ancient temple were discovered. Some of the items on the 18-acre site date back as far as 30 BCE.
Since the Romans conquered and occupied Britain for almost 400 years after their invasion in 43 AD, it is not surprising that evidence of their presence remains scattered across the island. For example, a large section of the 73-mile Hadrian's Wall still stands as a testament to ancient Rome.
However, this new, vast and rich find has amazed both archaeologists and historians.
“This is one of the most significant discoveries of a Roman town in Kent for many years as it contains only Roman buildings and artefacts,” said Dr Paul Wilkinson, director of archaeology at Swale and Thames Archaeology Service.
The Daily Mail reports that the researchers have a lot of work ahead of them. Of course, finding this site was just the beginning. The head archaeologist
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