Kent Archaeological Rescue Unit: 40 Years in Dover

In July last year the Kent Archaeological Rescue Unit celebrated its 40th year of rescue archaeology in Dover. Way back in July 1970, the Unit responded to the threat of development and undertook an eight week operation on the York Street bypass cutting through the west side of the ancient town, locating the Roman shore-fort of Dubris. Beneath this they found the Classis Britannica fort with some walls still standing 3m high, resulting in the lifting of the proposed road (A20) by nearly 2m so that the remains were preserved.

The site of the Roman Painted House, destined to be a multi-storey car park, was another site saved from an ignominious fate. This is now a well-known tourist attraction. Over the next three decades, the Unit produced three volumes on the Dover excavations – on the Classis Britannica, the Painted House (Fig 1) and the Saxon town.

Brian Philp, founder and director of the Unit, who lives 75 miles away from Dover, commented “Had I known that the project would over-run by 39 years and 44 weeks, I might have bought a house in Dover to save over 300,000 miles in weekly travel! But it has been a great pleasure to lead the team in this long voyage of discovery”.

The Unit held an open weekend to celebrate their 40 years of work. Many of their original team members came along and over 200 people enjoyed the guided tours.

The Mayor of Dover presented Brian Philp and George Ruck, both Trustees of the Roman Painted House, with the town badge (Fig 2).

“Had I known that the project would over-run by 39 years and 44 weeks, I might have bought a house in Dover to save over 300,000 miles in weekly travel! But it has been a great pleasure to lead the team in this long voyage of discovery.” - Brian Philp

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