Roman statue unearthed in Teynham starts archaeological study

KentOnline / KMTV

The University of Cambridge say the statue of the sea god Triton is  one of the most exciting discoveries to have emerged from Roman Britain in recent times.  Finn Macdiarmid reports.

Transcript

00:00Back in 2023, during an evaluation dig for a housing development by London Road in Tenham,

00:05the Canterbury Archaeology Trust discovered Roman artefacts in a buried mausoleum, including

00:10a statue of the sea god Triton.

00:13The nature of the statue was particularly unusual because of how detailed and in good

00:17condition it was, aside from a missing hand and head, the latter of which they later recovered.

00:22This led to a study by the Cambridge University Press into the origins of the statue and the

00:26mausoleum itself.

00:28Now they say all roads lead to Rome and that's especially true for London Road, even though

00:32it now leads to Favisham, it was once a Roman road.

00:36And that's why some archaeologists have theorised the placement of this mausoleum containing

00:40the statue of the sea god Triton could be here at the Frognell Lane development, simply

00:45because of how close it is to that Roman road.

00:48I spoke to Dr Steve Willis with the University of Kent, who's also appeared on shows like

00:52Digging for Britain and Time Team, and advised the Archaeology Trust on the dig.

00:56It's very well preserved, there's fantastic sculptural detail there.

01:02It's more or less intact with a few parts missing, but the main essence of it is there

01:08for all to see.

01:09And a sculptural stone from the province of Roman Britain is fairly scarce.

01:16I mean, we think of the Romans as having lovely marble statues and part of the cultural life

01:22of the elite in particular, but in Britain we don't see a lot of that and where we do

01:29find it tends to be in those areas where the Roman military are for a long time and also

01:34those areas which have good stone that can be carved in that sort of way.

01:39In the study, they say they believe the Triton statue was ritually killed before being buried,

01:44with the decapitation being on purpose, alongside a water tank that it might have been submerged

01:49in and the finding of a burnt deposit, suggesting the statue was also burned.

01:53They mention this could have come from a shift to Christian idols, but couldn't confirm

01:57anything specifically.

01:58They end the study by saying the Tenum Triton is without a doubt one of the most significant

02:03and exciting discoveries to have emerged from Roman Britain in recent times.

02:07The Frognall Lane development, set to be built by Moat Homes and Chartway Partnerships Group,

02:11was impacted by the find, and they said this study marks another important and exciting

02:16chapter in the history of the Triton.

02:18It's journey and discovery at our housing site in Tenum.

02:21We are committed to ensuring the unearthed artefacts are preserved and protected, recognising

02:25their significant archaeological importance.

02:27What will happen to the statue hasn't yet been determined, but it marks an interesting

02:31and unique step forward in the understanding of Romans in Kent and the entire country.

02:36Finn McDermid for KMTV in Tenum.

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