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Teynham building site uncovers Britain's first known statue of Roman god
KentOnline / KMTV
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14/09/2023
Developers uncovered several roman artefacts and a one of a kind statue of the Sea god Triton when carrying out an investigation into a housing development.
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00:00
This just looks like your average building site.
00:02
You wouldn't think that Roman artifacts were discovered here
00:06
in Tenham earlier this year.
00:08
This was the moment they uncovered a one-of-a-kind statue
00:11
of the Roman sea god, Triton.
00:13
It was a true wow moment.
00:15
When we actually lifted it and we could see the detail
00:18
and the sort of condition of the statue,
00:21
it was absolutely amazing.
00:22
The sculpture was formed of hassock stone,
00:26
which is locally available along the Medway Valley,
00:29
particularly in the area around Maidstone.
00:32
For now, Triton is being taken care of elsewhere
00:35
and is undergoing preservation works.
00:38
They also discovered what was once a mausoleum.
00:40
A demolition material was made of various types of stone.
00:44
So we have stone from the Medway Valley.
00:47
We've got basically Kentish ragstone, it's called.
00:50
Usually that sort of size structure is a mausoleum
00:54
or a temple mausoleum,
00:56
so some sort of burial place for a wealthy Roman resident.
01:00
All this was found during a site evaluation
01:02
before a development was due to take place
01:05
to build a roundabout and 300 homes along the A2.
01:09
We're working very closely with our stakeholders
01:11
to come up with a preservation in situ plan
01:14
so that a lot of the artifacts that are below the ground
01:16
can be effectively preserved in situ, recorded,
01:20
and then we carry on with building the infrastructure
01:23
and artifacts that come out of the ground,
01:25
things like our Triton statue of Key.
01:28
Significance can then be displayed in a local
01:32
or national museum to really allow the public
01:36
to see it for the future generation.
01:39
But now all the team have been working away
01:41
to find out more about these ancient discoveries
01:44
dating back centuries.
01:46
Kent is sort of the entry point to Roman Britain.
01:49
You've got the entry ports at Dover, Richborough,
01:53
and Port of St. Marnes, which we now call Portland,
01:56
are all major ports of entry.
01:59
They had roads converging onto Canterbury,
02:01
which was sort of the area capital,
02:04
and then we have the Roman road,
02:05
Watling Street that heads through,
02:06
and you can see behind me is the main road,
02:09
the A2 corridor that goes all the way
02:11
into London and beyond.
02:13
So that's a real, we're on the artery of the,
02:15
it's a communication artery for Roman Britain.
02:19
So therefore, yeah, we are finding a lot of sites
02:23
alongside the Roman roads.
02:24
Well, there you have it.
02:25
It's not every day that you find history unveiled
02:28
on just your average building site,
02:29
and this was the very spot where the titan was found.
02:32
Its body was over here, its head over here.
02:34
Bit gory, but it was actually symbolic
02:36
of disembodying the power from the god.
02:39
Now, this has been its home for a number of years,
02:41
but the question now is where's it going to end up next?
02:43
We'll definitely be keeping our eyes peeled.
02:45
Sophia Raikin for KMTV.
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