Folkestone Villa Excavation Wins Rescue Dig of the Year

The excavations that took place at the site of the Roman Villa on East Cliff in 2010 and 2011 as part of the community Archaeology Project ‘A Town Unearthed: Folkestone before 1500’, have won Current Archaeology magazine’s award as the Rescue Dig of the Year. The nomination is the result of an article written by Keith Parfitt of Canterbury Archaeological Trust.

Though the Roman Villa, parts of which have already been lost to the sea, has always been considered the most important feature on East Cliff, it is now apparent that for 150 years before the Romans arrived in AD 43, the site was occupied by an extensive settlement. With the discovery of hundreds of quern stones used for grinding corn at the site and on the beach, it is now evident that their manufacture was a primary local industry.

Keith Parfitt writes “The area occupied during the late Iron Age clearly extended well beyond the Roman villa and probably covered about two or three acres, in addition to whatever has been lost to the sea. On the basis of the quantity of coins, and range of imported pottery, we believe that East Wear Bay must have functioned as a late Iron Age trading port, located at the shortest sea crossing of the English Channel.”

Just coming to a close, A Town Unearthed: Folkestone Before 1500 was a three year project of community archaeology in Folkestone, organised by Canterbury Christ Church University, the Folkestone People’s History Centre and Canterbury Archaeological Trust. It is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Roger De Haan Charitable Trust, with contributions by the Kent Archaeological Society, Folkestone Town Council, and Shepway District Council.