Kent Archaeological Society
Founded in 1857 to promote advances in knowledge of Kent’s past by fieldwork, documentary research and publication.
The Society is pleased to announce that we have been awarded an Association of Independent Museums (AIM) and Pilgrim Trust Conservation Audit Grant in their recent award round!
A list of events and speakers for the 2024/2025 season.
Are you interested in carriages, transport or meeting new people? We need friendly, welcoming people to join the team at Maidstone Carriage Museum on Saturdays.
An update by Dr Sheila Sweetinburgh on celebrations for the 10th anniversary for the Centre for Kent History and Heritage. Featured on the Canterbury Christ Church University website.
Dr Sheila Sweetinburgh reports on the contribution by members of the Kent History Postgraduates to the tenth MEMS Fest at the University of Kent.
Dr Sheila Sweetinburgh and Dr Claire Bartram have been putting together the final preparations for the CKHH 10 Year Celebratory event next week.
KAS members working on the Lees Court Estate excavations and surveys 2024 carried out an experiment with ancient clay in May and June 2024.
Behind the scenes of the new gallery at Maidstone Museum; an update by Dr Sheila Sweetinburgh featured at the Centre for Kent History and Heritage blog of the Canterbury Christ Church University website.
Comedian, actor and presenter Hugh Dennis has officially opened the new archaeology gallery ‘Lives In Our Landscape’ at the Maidstone Museum which opens for visitors on Wednesday 5 June.
Three days to go until the new #LivesinOurLandscape gallery opens at Maidstone Museums.
Only three more days until Maidstone Museums new gallery, #livesinourlandscape, opens to the public and the society team couldn't be more exited for you all to visit!
Only 4 days to go until #LivesinOurLandscape opens at Maidstone Museums!
The Lees Court Estate are running a number of Elm adaptation and timber trials across their 800 year old estate. Visitors from a number of interested parties were given a site tour of the Society's excavation by Keith Parfitt yesterday.
It was a rather wet #findsfriday today! Although this meant little chance of digging, it did mean the team were able to sort all of the washed and dried finds from this year's excavations.
The opening of the new Lives in Our Landscape Gallery at Maidstone Museums is not far away now, only five more days! If you have always wanted to know what archaeology has been found in Maidstone you'll be able to check out historic discoveries on the new interactive touch screen.
The society is really excited about the opening of the new Lives in Our Landscape Gallery at Maidstone Museums, which opens its doors on Wednesday 5th June! Listen to yesterday's BBC Kent interview with the museum's programming manager Lyn Palmer for a behind the scenes examination of the gallery.
Fancy a behind the scenes view of the new #LiOL gallery at Maidstone Museums opening Wednesday 5th June, check out the below!
*warning* Flashing images in the below video*
An update by Dr Sheila Sweetinburgh featured at the Centre for Kent History and Heritage blog of the Canterbury Christ Church University website.
Only 7 days to go till the new #LiOL gallery opens to the public! Maidstone Museums through the support given by Maidstone Museums' Friends have added a flexi-step, making access to the new gallery more accessible.
The Society is really excited for everyone to see the new #LiOL gallery opening on the 5th June!
We can’t wait to play dress up on our lunch breaks! Thanks Maidstone Museums for making the workplace at least 94% more fun!
We can’t wait to play dress up on our lunch breaks! Thanks Maidstone Museums for making the workplace at least 94% more fun!
The transformation from empty space to new and exciting #archaeology gallery is truly something to behold! The society is extremely proud to be involved with Maidstone Museums, Maidstone Museums' Friends, Maidstone Borough Council and The William and Edith Oldham Trust in supporting this new gallery.
The society is extremely proud to be supporting the new #LivesinOurLandscape gallery, both financially & in selection objects. A good number of objects in the new gallery are part of the Kent Archaeological Society's collections, held in the museum since 1858.
It's #FindsFriday! On Monday 20th June I gave a presentation to Isle of Thanet Archaeological Society on the work the KAS have been carrying out on the Ozengell Anglo-Saxon collection.
We have thoroughly enjoyed working with The Enabled Archaeology Foundation on our site at Lees Court Estate! The society is extremely grateful for the purchase of a disabled toilet and sanitary products by the EAF.
Upcoming talks and events from the Farningham & Eynsford Local History Society.
The KAS, former Vice President Mike Clinch, the Kent Underground Research Group (KURG), Lady Sondes and the work done on Canterbury Cathedral's Great Drain were mentioned in Saturday's Garden Congregation morning prayer at Canterbury Cathedral
It was fantastic to work alongside the Canterbury Oast Trust (COT) to bring archaeology to new participants!
An update by Dr Sheila Sweetinburgh featured on the Canterbury Christ Church University Centre for Kent History and Heritage blog.
Hannah Cunliffe, Director of National Historic Ships UK (NHS-UK) in the next instalment of The Historic Dockyard, Chatham’s “In conversation with …” evening talks.
The Kent Archaeological Society is thrilled to announce its return to the Kent County Show for the first time since 2008.
A talk by Dr Christopher Monk exploring how justice was served in early medieval England. Discover the difference between a trial by fire and trial by water and find out why being a quick healer could save your life.
A family fun day at Maidstone Museum including visit to the new Archaeology Gallery ‘Lives In Our Landscape’.
The Orpington and District Archaeological Society (ODAS) will be giving guided tours of the foundations of a Romano-British Bathhouse from 11.00am to 12.30pm and 1.30 to 4pm.
An online talk by Thomas Booth, Senior Laboratory Research Scientist at Skoglund Lab Ancient Genomics Laboratory, on ancient DNA and what we have learned about Britain 15,000-2000 years ago.
An online talk by Philip Smither reinvestigating Roman Richborough.
The Orpington and District Archaeological Society will be opening its excavations at Scadbury Moated Manor to the public from 2pm to 5pm (last entry 4.30pm) on 14th & 15th September 2024.
An online talk by Andrew Mayfield, Community Archaeologist for Kent County Council and the Royal Parks at Greenwich, on the history of the site, the big dig over ten seasons and the work to further research and report on the former home of a Sheriff of Kent.
Incredible lightshow inspired by the Anglo-Saxon world premiering at Rochester Cathedral this Autumn.
An online talk by Tad Taberer on the discovery of the shipwreck of the SS T.R. Thompson, of diving and recording the historic steamer and of the incredible connections that followed.
A two-day conference organised by the KAS Maritime Kent Special Interest exploring the topic of Kent and shipbuilding will take place at Chatham Historic Dockyard in the autumn of 2024.
An online discussion with Dr Simon Elliott FSA about Septimius Severus, the great warrior emperor from North Africa who died in York in AD 211 after spending the last three years of his life trying to conquer the far north of Britain.
Latest Publications
A wide-ranging history of the geography and communities of Kent from the earliest times to the present day. Edited by Stuart Bligh, Elizabeth Edwards and Sheila Sweetinburgh.
Paul Tritton of the Kent Defence Research Group investigates how a Kent market town prepared to confront a Nazi invasion during Britain’s darkest Hour.
Joan Thirsk, Bridgett Jones, Alison Williams, Anne Hughes and Caroline Wetton.
Edited by K. P. Witney. Kent Archaeological Society Records.
Edited by M. Roake. Kent Archaeological Society Records, 27 (1999).
Edited by N. P. Tanner. Kent Archaeological Society Records, 26 (1997).
J.D. Driver, J. Rady and M. Sparks. Vol IV of The Archaeology of Canterbury series, published by Canterbury Archaeological Trust LTD and Kent Archaeological Society, with the aid of generous grants from the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury, the Simon Fraser University, British Columbia and the Friends of Canterbury Archaeological Trust, and of a loan from the King’s School, Canterbury, 1990.
Kent Archaeological Society Records, 25 (1988).
By Lt-Col. G. W. Meates, F.S.A.
By S.S. Frere, P. Bennett, J. Rady and S. Stow. Vol VIII of The Archaeology of Canterbury series, published for the Canterbury Archaeological Trust by the Kent Archaeological Society with the aid of a grant from the Historic Buildings and Monument Commission (England), 1987.
Edited by K. L. Wood-Legh. Published 1984.
By S.S. Frere and Sally Stow. Vol VII of The Archaeology of Canterbury series, published for Canterbury Archaeological Trust LTD by Kent Archaeological Society with the aid of a grant from the Department of the Environment, 1983.
The British Archaeological Association Conference Transactions for the year 1979: v. 5.
Library
Volume II of the Archaeology of Canterbury series, published by Canterbury Archaeological Trust LTD and Kent Archaeological Society with the aid of a grant from the Department of the Environment, 1982.
Paul Bennett, S.S. Frere and Sally Stow, 1982. Volume 1 of the Archaeology of Canterbury Series, published by Canterbury Archaeological Trust LTD and Kent Archaeological Society with the aid of a grant from the Department of the Environment, 1982.
A selection from the J. Fremlyn Streatfield collection. Kent Archaeological Society Records, 20 (1971).
Discussions on Roman, Bronze Age, and medieval sites, living standards in fifteenth-century Canterbury, and Kentish cartographic heritage.
Member Access
Prehistoric ring-ditches in Ringlemere, life as artisans and traders in Canterbury, Anglo-Saxon settlements in Faversham, and more.
Gavelkind practices, archaeological research at Bigbury Camp, studies on magnate service under Edward III, and investigations into Roman and medieval sites across Kent.
Seventh-century grave openings, medieval buildings, and England's earliest Royal Coat of Arms, cross-Channel influences, Roman and Iron Age finds, ecclesiastical history, and local cultural heritage.
The Roman Villa at Minster in Thanet, prehistoric finds at Woodnesborough, Elizabethan and early Stuart Thanet, and the military pontoon bridge between Gravesend and Tilbury during the Great War, among others.
Medieval collegiate churches and Palaeolithic findings to architectural surveys and the role of local volunteers in archaeology.
Saxon history, Roman villas, medieval economy, and archaeological investigations.
Topics include Roman villas, causes of death in Ramsgate, and more.
Topics including Magna Carta, excavations, migration, and more.
Social identity in Kent, including excavations, medieval misericords, and reviews.
Studies on Bronze Age trade routes, Civil War experiences of a Royalist family, Elizabethan and Jacobean deer parks, 20th-century military and civil defences, and Roman occupation evidence. It also features archaeological surveys of Old Castle Scotney and Wotton, and discoveries of medieval corn-driers and Roman bronze vessels.
Social structure of New Romney, Canterbury's Romano-British cemeteries, the medieval decorated tile pavement at St Mary's Church, and the Kentish origins of Sir George Brown. Excavations at the Romano-British Cemetery, East Hill, Dartford, and the medieval hospital of St Mary The Blessed Virgin, Ospringe. Kent's 20th-century military and civil defences, the development of Tonbridge, and the Roman Villa at Minster in Thanet.
Roman features in Kent, Anglo-Saxon artifacts, the history of Kent's political and literary life, and investigations of various archaeological sites. It also explores the demise of the Kent Broadcloth Industry and the settlement patterns in the Iron Age and Romano-British periods.
The career of Richard Hope, a medieval site in Dover, the coinage of William I in Kent, prehistoric activity in Broadstairs, archaeological investigations in Sittingbourne, and the Roman Villa at Minster-in-Thanet. It also features interim reports on work by the Canterbury Archaeological Trust and reviews of various archaeological publications.
Articles on local history, excavations at various sites, the abolition of the slave trade, the Great Revolt of 1381, and more.
The Tanners of Wrotham Manor, the Medieval site at Well Wood, Aylesford, the poor of Otham and nearby parishes, archaeological investigations at Middle Stoke on the Hoo Peninsula, Charing Clocks, the Roman Villa at Minster in Thanet, and more.
Studies on Selling, Canterbury Police Station, the Dens of Benenden, Kingsmead Park, Cobham, Tonbridge, Penenden Heath Meeting, Jubilee Corner, Charing Clocks, Minster in Thanet, River Stour, Little Stour valley, St Albans Court, Thomas Becket, Rochester, Edward Dering, Walmer, and Wansunt Pit.
Rope making in Chatham, the Roman Villa at Minster-in-Thanet, Romanesque Churches in Rochester, Iron Manufacture in Tonbridge, and the religion of Sir Roger Twysden. It also features excavations at various sites in Kent, and a study on Dover's town defences in the late Middle Ages.
The Warren Farm Chamber, female inmates in East Kent hospitals, a multi-period site at Princes Road, Dartford, debt in the Cranbrook region in the late 17th century, Kent's earliest known aisled hall house, a Belgic-Early Roman site at Great Mongeham, the development of the park and gardens at Knole, railways and the community, a new Roman site at Rochester, the church in Medieval Greenwich, prehistoric activity in the Cray Valley, the Herries family and the building of St Julians, Underriver, and Romanesque fonts in Kent.
Roman Greenwich, Cobham Hall, violence in Kent (1460-1560), a Roman site at Home Farm, Eynsford, the population of Sandwich, food and drink for final journeys, Patrixbourne Church, a forgotten Kentish rebellion, excavations at Biggin Street, Dover, Faversham's role in the Armada, stone supply to Saxon Shore Forts, management of Dering Wood, supporting Canterbury hospitals, late Bronze Age features at Hoo St Werburgh, immigrant population in Kent, the Kentish Copperas industry, St Margaret in Kent, and a prehistoric site off Green Lane, Whitfield.
Studies on Roman shrines, burial practices, and archaeology. It also includes research on Kentish historic buildings like Westenhanger Castle and St Leonard's Tower.
The building stones of Rochester Cathedral Crypt, the origins of the Swale, the construction of the Sevenoaks Railway Tunnel, and the emergence of Edward Hasted as a historian of Kent. It also includes archaeological investigations at Sandwich Castle and a Roman occupation site at Dickson’s Corner, Worth.
Elizabethan JPs, Anglo-Saxon Eastry, and the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.
Examinations of Tonbridge Castle, St. Gregory's Priory, and an early Romano-British salt-working site.
The Sandwich to Dover Turnpike, Canterbury Cathedral's Audit House Fire, and medieval market establishment.
Roof-tiling development, Romney Marsh, Tonbridge Castle, and 17th-century trade tokens.
Quakerism, witchcraft, and Romano-British Villa excavations.
Honoring past members, exploring Kent's archaeological sites, and showcasing heritage discoveries.
Member Access
WWII secrets, medieval graffiti, archaeological digs & heritage events.
Ancient sites, medieval animals, Dickens, Tudor and Roman finds, and more.
Tributes, archaeological updates, ancient customs, and society news, alongside regular columns and notices.
Gunther Plüschow's 1915 escape, Fagg legacy, Anglo-Saxon nuns, Kent's hidden airfields, SPAB, & more.
Historical sites, Cold War survival, significant discoveries, and the Queen’s Award presentation to HRGS.
Archaeology, local history, research updates, the New Romney Disaster, and an interview with Hugh Dennis.
Archaeology, history, conservation, society updates, and student engagement in Kent's rich heritage.
World War conflicts, Alcock & Brown, COVID-19 updates & more.
2019's archaeological digs, Roman villa studies, Anglo-Saxon burials research, and local history.
History and archaeology from medieval gardens to WWII symbols, plus regular updates and reviews.
Rocket excavation, local history funds, untapped literary heritage, and archaeological digs.
Explores archaeological finds, estate updates, surveys, policy discussions, and community insights.
Projects, grants, membership, events, historical insights, and an interview with Andrew Mayfield.
From ancient hoards & landscapes to modern discoveries & events in Kent.
Scholarships, digital collections, society news, events, Hasted Prize, Gravesend Bunker, heraldry, grants, medieval tiles study.
From ancient hoards & landscapes to modern discoveries & events in Kent.
Insightful updates on Kent's archaeology, heritage preservation, upcoming events, and latest research findings.
Excavations, historical insights, grants, events, and society updates enrich Kent's archaeological scene.
Unveiling Kent's past from Sevenoaks gardens to Northfleet's bear pit, plus research insights and volunteer calls.
Slough Fort, Owl Club tales, Hardman's Nonington research, and Kent's rich archaeological updates.
AGM updates, project insights, and archaeological discoveries.
Caesar's incursions, Iron Age helmet, Anglo-Saxon collection, community archaeology, and local history insights.
Discoveries of a Norman Castle, Roman lead scroll, Dutch Gables, Mesolithic sites, society news, and events.
Dutch Gables in Kent, archaeological discoveries, historic buildings, and society updates.
AGM details, Iron Age at Folkestone Villa, medieval Kent insights, and major Bronze Age finds.
Davington Mysteries, Stockbury IA Furnaces, updates from the Churches Committee and more.
Medway Gap & Roman Thanet spotlight, Boxley Warren history, Kent's archaeological updates, events, and books.
Archaeological finds, local heritage projects, and events enriching our understanding of history.
About the KAS
The Society’s interests include all aspects of the human past in the historic County of Kent, including the the Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich and Lewisham lost to London since the Society's founding.
The Society encourages local groups to remain active in fieldwork as well as historical and desk-based research, and makes grants, organises events, publications, lectures and training excavations. The Society also promotes education and the study of history and archaeology in schools and encourages people of all ages to take an interest in the subject. The Society also administers, funds and distributes grants, bursaries and prizes in support of initiatives and projects which meet our core value of bringing the past to the present for everyone.
The KAS Library and Collections are largely held at Maidstone Museum and comprise artefacts and records relating to the archaeology and history of Kent including books, journals, ephemera, pamphlets, plans, maps, estate papers, glass plates, photographs, drawings, postcards and past member’s notebooks.
Students
Starting in 2024, our fund will be available to all full-time student members to help cover expenses and costs during your study period. Contact our Student Ambassadors Alex Read at the University of Kent and Grace Conium at Canterbury Christ Church University to learn more about how the Student Fund can support your academic journey.
The Society provides a unique opportunity for volunteers to help conserve, curate, and digitise valuable documents and artefacts from all over Kent. With your help, we can ensure that these treasures are protected for future generations. We would love to hear from you if you're interested in getting involved in an ongoing project or developing your dissertation project.
Follow the Society
Patrons
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Jools Holland
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The Viscount De L’Isle
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Professor David Killingray
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Mr A. I. Moffat
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The Countess Sondes
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Dr J. Whyman
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Professor Sir Robert Worcester
Management Team
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Dr Richard Taylor
GENERAL MANAGER
Responsible for the overall management of the Society’s daily operations, point of contact for the Board of Trustees and all key partnerships with external bodies, including fundraisers and grant-giving bodies.
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Rebecca Fletcher
DEPUTY MANAGER
Responsible for financial operations, the VeryConnect Management system, and Line Manager to the Management Team.
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Ann Watson
ADMINISTRATION MANAGER
Responsible for membership administration, conference and events planning and external enquiries.
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Craig Campbell
SOCIETY ARCHIVIST
Responsible for the care, management and interpretation of the Society’s document collections and Society Library.
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Jason Mazzocchi
ARCHAEOLOGIA CANTIANA EDITOR
Responsible for the annual production of Archaeologia Cantiana.
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Jacob Scott
DIGITAL MANAGER
Responsible for the development and production of the Society website.
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Brie Thomas
FINANCE MANAGER
Responsible for the daily management of the Society’s finances.
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Andy Ward
SOCIETY CURATOR
Responsible for the care, management and interpretation of the Society’s object collections.