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The
Dig that Disappeared
Many excavations are never published, and I'm a
culprit
It is a sad reflection on our greed-obsessed society that I cannot reveal the location of this story — it would without doubt immediately become the focus of treasure-hunters armed with metal detectors.
In the summer of 1967 a keen-eyed schoolboy, wandering over a field that was being levelled for fruit tree planting, spotted Roman pottery (from a couple of cremation burials) in the bulldozer tracks.
He grabbed a bag-full and raced to inform the Sittingbourne and Swale Archaeological Research Group, at the time consisting mostly of Borden Grammar School schoolboys, some of whom were working at Stone Chapel.
The landowner,
the late Sir Leslie Doubleday, generously gave permission for a quick
excavation, holding off the bulldozer for a couple of weeks. The team
that was just finishing at Stone Chapel was relocated to the site, and
a mad rush to rescue information began.
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