An unusual link between the future and the past has been forged on the banks of the A2, one of the most famous Roman roads in the country. After months of painstaking digging, archaeologists have uncovered thousands of ancient artefacts. RICHARD SIMCOX reports.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS have known for years there was a Roman town on the banks of the A2, Watling Street. Called Spring Head, it was where at least six or seven ancient springs bubbled out of the chalky hills of the Ebbsfleet valley.

When plans were drawn up for construction of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL), it was decided to excavate the site but no-one knew exactly what they would find.

A settlement, dating back to the Iron Age, was unearthed. Tens of thousands of pottery pieces, hundreds of coins and brooches as well as human and animal remains lay beneath the surface.

Site manager Phil Andrews, of Wessex Archaeology, the company commissioned to undertake the dig on the 15-acre site, said: "This is an exceptional settlement.

"There are some wonderful finds. There is some evidence of Neolithic and Bronze Age activity but only eating and cooking alongside the river.

"People started settling here around 100BC and when the Romans came they established the town but it seems it was used for religious and ritual activities with the springs as a focal point. This is not a typical Roman village.

"We have found pits with human bones buried alongside cattle, sheep and dogs. It would appear to be some kind offering to the gods."

The site will be handed over to Union Railways next month and work is expected to start next spring.

Although the village, with its terraces and ceremonial walkway, will be lost forever, the artefacts at least will be preserved for future generations to enjoy.

Home needed for artefacts

THE fate of the thousands of pieces of ancient pottery, jewellery and coins found at Spring Head still hangs in the balance.

After analysis at Wessex Archaeology's base, in Salisbury, they will be stored by Union Railways, in Maidstone, until a decision has been made with Kent County Council on where they can be kept and displayed.

Wessex Archaeology pottery expert Lorraine Mepham said: "We have about 100 boxes filled with material and we hope they will eventually come back to Kent for everybody to enjoy."

Chris Bull, of Gravesend Library, says he will be working hard to find the pieces a home but at the moment neither Gravesend nor Dartford have the facilities to store them.

September 17, 2001 15:47