Background In the first century
AD the
Cantiaci were the inhabitants of
Kent when the
Romans captured a settlement on the
River Stour and later called it
Durovernum Cantiacorum, or
stronghold of the Cantiaci by an Alder marsh. The new settlement was laid out as a partially grid-patterned town with a
theatre,
temple,
forum and
baths. In the late third century, to defend against attack from barbarians a town wall was built with seven gates. The town then covered 130
acres or 53
hectares. Roman Canterbury reached the height of its development around 300 AD. The
Roman townhouse which contained the pavement was surrounded by public buildings. The temple precinct was partially excavated in 1976–1982, but the temple itself was not found. The townhouse associated with the pavement may have been used until about 410 AD when the
Roman administration left Britain.
Discovery, protection and display corridor panel The pavement was discovered after a
World War II bombing on 1 June 1942, and excavations were carried out by
Audrey Williams and
Sheppard Frere between 1945 and 1946. Public access was permitted from 1946, and the site was visited by
royalty. Between 1958 and 1961 it was re-excavated by Dr. F. Jenkins, and the Roman Pavement Museum was established above it. The museum was re-established as the Roman Museum in 1994 after refurbishment. It is listed at
Kent County Council as a
scheduled monument, number KE89. It was excavated again in 1990 by the
Canterbury Archaeological Trust. This is the best local example of a Roman
townhouse; they found that this masonry building had undergone many alterations over a long period, adding several rooms, corridors and
mosaics before abandonment in the 5th century. Parts of one of the largest theatres in Britain had been located beneath nearby streets and buildings. Substantial elements of public baths have been excavated underneath modern buildings in St Margaret's Street. Enigmatic traces of the Forum Basilica can be found under the High Street. The museum was designed not only to involve the public in its own history and heritage, but also to commemorate and celebrate the many archaeologists who have been wresting the history of
Canterbury from the soil since about 1857, when John Brent became one of the founder members of
Kent Archaeological Society. The museum aims to show what the
Roman city was like, and to reveal the secret city beneath the feet of the visitor, thereby educating the public to appreciate local history. Each step by which one descends to the Roman pavement represents 100 years-worth of archaeological layers down to the 300
AD layer of the pavement. ==Exhibits==