Dave Taylor, MOLA project manager, expressed excitement about the discovery, stating, "It's amazing this section of road has survived for almost 2000 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."
The section uncovered measures 5.8 metres wide by 1.4 metres high, with distinct construction layers telling its historical story. It features a solid foundation of compacted gravel sealed with two layers of chalk, topped with a final layer.
This discovery serves as the first physical evidence that parts of the ancient Watling Street still exist beneath the contemporary Old Kent Road, showcasing the continuity of infrastructure from Roman times.
Archaeologists had long anticipated that Roman remains would lie beneath the modern roadway, but opportunities to excavate had been infrequent. Now, the site has yielded significant findings.
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