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.