The finds we have had today include material culture that we have found and identified, for example brick material, which is of a type that supports theories of a Roman presence. The proximity of the site to the University of Kent made it an ideal location for student training to take place and to gain skills and experience. Dr Wallace thought the link up could help answer a series of key questions about the site. As the student team we are taking part on this excavation for our fieldwork practice module.
Kaitlene writes: I personally decided to take part in this module training, because I wanted to see methods and information I learned during my ‘Introduction to Archaeology’ module in practice. I enjoyed the first year class based learning and I am looking forward to gaining excavation and survey skills and finding out more.
Hana writes: In Bridge, Kent, we are excavating a suspected Roman villa. It is situated less than six miles from Canterbury, making it the closest villa to the city. The dig site itself is on the old cricket pitch at Bourne Park, which has been out of use since the 1970s. This has meant that the site has never been ploughed and therefore most of the archeology has not been unearthed and will likely be well preserved. Geophysics suggests the villa would have been of considerable size and a predominant part of the landscape, of similar magnitude to the house currently on the land. This was built in 1701 and replaced a mediaeval building. We currently have two trenches; the first is located in the south-east of the site. The second to the west (Trench B) is a section of the main villa chosen for its dipolar anomaly and a sample across one of the main buildings facing the Roman road from Canterbury to Dover.
