Archaeologists discover secrets of Canterbury's past

SECRETS of the city have been revealed by archaeologists working on the Beaney Institute in Canterbury.

A team from Canterbury Archaeological Trust are uncovering the city's history before the museum in the High Street is extended and developed.

The excavations have revealed the heart of Roman Canterbury, including a street and buildings, as well as pottery, ceramic lamps and a set of 18th century tankards from a pilgrims' inn that stood on the site.

Mick Diack, project manager for the Trust, said: "We are directly opposite the Roman forum, which was the civic centre and the centre of trade, so we knew we were going to find quite a lot.

"One of the main Roman streets is under the Kingsbridge Villa and we found quite a large building on the corner of the site as well as a sequence of lots of layers of archaeology."

The Beaney building dates back to 1900 and will be extended to double its size as part of a £11.6m project, part-funded by a heritage lottery grant. Kingsbridge Villa will be demolished as part of the scheme.

Kate Greenaway, project manager for Canterbury City Council, said: "It's a very exciting project, particularly as it's so close to the Marlowe.

"It's fantastic to have two cultural regeneration events at the same time, although I know some residents have found the disruption quite difficult and we are doing our best to work with them.

"The facade will remain as it is, although it will be cleaned, but there is an awful lot of work going on behind it."

Some of the objects unearthed during the dig may be displayed in the finished museum.

Mr Diack said: "Whoever owns the land owns the finds and almost all the archaeology we do now is development-led.

"It is strange to wander around and see houses or shopping centres on sites we have excavated and it is sad in a way that the sites are covered up again.

"But without the building work we wouldn't be able to do the archaeology at all."

Construction work is due to start soon, with the building finished by September 2011. Work will then move inside and the Beaney is due to reopen in spring 2012.