2,000-year-old Roman Road Unearthed under London’s Old Kent Road

A section of a nearly 2,000-year-old road running from the ancient Roman port at Dover through London to the West Midlands has been found under Old Kent Road in south-east London! Considered one of Britain’s most important Roman roads, the accidental discovery happened as a result of Southwark’s heating network’s expansion by the local council and a utilities company.

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Answering Archaeological Questions: A Road of Historical Proportions

Archaeological work is now underway to corroborate the claim that this is the first physical proof that sections of the old road have survived directly beneath its contemporaneous counterpart. Veolia utilities envisage bringing low-carbon heating to 3,000 more council homes along Old Kent Road, part of Britain’s larger plans to expand the network and reduce reliance on fossil fuels, and switch to cleaner resources.

“In the planning for this project, we’d expected to solve this question but the extent of survival of the road is remarkable. We hope this project will answer some other archaeological questions in the borough,” explained Southwark Council’s inhouse archaeology officer, Dr. Chris Constable, to BBC. The road was identified by a group of archaeologists from the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA), with Dr. Constable providing valuable advice and support.

This 276-mile (444 km) route was built soon after the Roman invasion of Britain in 43 AD and was then used by visiting emperors. Evidence of Hadrian using this route is available from 122 AD, when he decreed the building of the infamous 73-mile (117.5 km) Hadrian wall separating England and Scotland. Essentially, tourists, locals, lorry drivers, you name it, are following the same routes once used by the likes of Hadrian!

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Map of Watling Street running from Dover, South East England to Wroxeter, North Wales. (LlywelynII/CC BY-SA 4.0)

Archaeologists roughly located the old Watling Street due to the straight nature of many Roman roads, despite no supporting archaeological evidence. They found this section lying south of the junction of Old Kent Road and Ilderton Road, measuring 19×5 feet (5.8×1.4 m). Incidentally, among the most influential and famous literary characters to walk Watling Street were the pilgrims of Geoffrey Chaucer’s ‘Canterbury Tales’ in the Middle Ages.

“Whereas the Romans built aqueducts to transport water to cities, Veolia and Southwark Council are utilizing a district heating network to provide low carbon heat to homes in the borough. We are delighted to have played a part in this find which is an incredible example of where old meets modern technology!”, chimed John Abraham, Chief Operating Officer – Industrial, Water & Energy for UK, Ireland and Nordics at Veolia.

What’s Been Lost to Time: Layers and Layers

With distinct layers and a solid foundation of sealed gravel with two layers of chalk, the road was topped with a second, distinctive layer of compacted sand and gravel. The original road was probably at the same level as the modern road, but this has been lost over time.

Dave Taylor, MOLA project manager, was quoted by The Jerusalem Post, saying that, “It’s amazing this section of road has survived for almost 2,000 years. There has been so much activity here over the past few hundred years, from sewers to power cables, tramlines and of course the building of the modern road, so we’re really excited to find such a substantial chunk of Roman material remaining.” 

Following the Great Fire of London in 1666, a major conflagration that caused excessive damage inside the old Roman city wall, the London portion of Watling Street was rediscovered as a result of Christopher Wren’s rebuilding of St Mary-le-Bow in 1671–73. The road ran straight from the bridgehead on the Thames to Newgate on the London Wall. It passed over Ludgate Hill and the Fleet, dividing into Watling Street and the Devil’s Highway west to Silchester, reports The Independent.

“I’m pleased this project has answered our questions over the course of the Roman road south of the Cantium Retail Park where a section was excavated in the early 1990s, south of the line of the modern road. In the planning for this project, we’d expected to solve this question but the extent of survival of the road is remarkable,” concluded Dr. Constable.

Top image: Visible distinct layers revealed a solid foundation of compacted gravel, sealed with two layers of chalk.              Source: MOLA/Southwark Council

By Sahir Pandey