Roman Watling Street Section Uncovered Beneath Old Kent Road

A segment of a significant Roman thoroughfare in Britain has been uncovered beneath Old Kent Road in south-east London. This ancient route, identified as Watling Street, is almost two millennia old and extended from the Roman port of Dover, passing through London, to the West Midlands. The archaeological investigations were conducted as part of the Southwark Council and Veolia utilities company’s project to expand Southwark’s heating network. According to Southwark Council, this finding represents the initial tangible evidence confirming the survival of portions of the ancient pathway directly underneath the contemporary road. A group of archaeologists from the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) identified the road, receiving guidance and assistance from Dr. Chris Constable, the council’s internal archaeology officer. Constructed soon after the Roman invasion of Britain in AD 43, the approximate location of the ancient Watling Street could be determined by archaeologists based on the characteristic straightness of numerous Roman roads, though previous archaeological proof was minimal. The unearthed road segment is situated south of the intersection of Old Kent Road and Ilderton Road, exhibiting excellent preservation. It measures approximately 19ft (5.8m) in width and nearly 5ft (1.4m) in height. Southwark Council reported the visibility of distinct strata, revealing a robust base of compacted gravel covered by two layers of chalk, which was then capped with an additional layer of compacted sand and gravel. The council further noted that the road’s initial surface was probably composed of similar materials and would have been at a comparable elevation to the present-day road, but this had deteriorated over centuries. Dr. Constable mentioned that a portion of the road south of the Cantium Retail Park was excavated during the early 1990s, yet uncertainties regarding the precise path of the road persisted until this recent discovery. “In the planning for this project, we’d expected to solve this question but the extent of survival of the road is remarkable,” he explained. “We hope this project will answer some other archaeological questions in the borough.” This finding indicates that contemporary motorists are traversing the identical path once utilized by visiting emperors, such as Hadrian in AD 122 when he commissioned the construction of the renowned wall, and subsequently in the 14th Century as a pilgrimage route to Canterbury. A commemorative sign will now be erected on the adjacent railway bridge to commemorate these findings.