Rare surviving section of Roman road discovered during south London excavation

Construction workers working on the Old Kent Road have discovered a fully preserved section of a 2,000-year-old Roman road in Southwark.

The Old Kent Road roughly follows the route laid down by the Romans when they built Watling Street nearly 2,000 years ago, creating a Roman road from Dover to the West Midlands via the Roman City of London.

Roman roads are characteristically straight, so archaeologists had a good idea of where it should be. Yet until now, archaeological evidence has proved very difficult to find in confirming Roman Watling Steet’s exact route. So, while archaeologists have long expected Roman remains to have survived under the modern road, there’s rarely been a chance to do the necessary excavation work.

Until now.

Ongoing excavation work to install a new energy supply for Southwark’s low-carbon heat network gave archaeologists a chance to monitor the excavation in case anything was found.

Led by a team of from MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology), working on behalf of Veolia and archaeological consultant RPS, with advice and support from the council’s in-house archaeology officer, Dr Chris Constable, they uncovered a section of Roman road where they hoped it might be.

This is the first physical proof that sections of the 2000-year-old route survive directly beneath its modern counterpart Old Kent Road.

Dave Taylor, MOLA project manager, said: “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 of Roman road uncovered was well preserved and measures 5.8 metres wide by 1.4 metres high. Distinct layers can be seen, which tell the story of the road’s construction. It has a solid foundation of compacted gravel sealed by two layers of chalk. This was topped with another layer of compacted sand and gravel. The original surface of the road would likely have been made from the same material and sat at a similar level to the modern road, however this has been lost. The base of the modern road rests directly on the Roman fabric.

Southwark Council’s Dr Chris Constable said: “I’m pleased this project has answered our questions over the course of the Roman road south of the Cantium Retail Park where a section was excavated in the early 1990s, south of the line of the modern road. In the planning for this project, we’d expected to solve this question but the extent of survival of the road is remarkable. We hope this project will answer some other archaeological questions in the borough.”

The recent discovery was made during early works by Southwark Council and Veolia to bring low-carbon heating to 3,000 more council homes along Old Kent Road. The aim is to reduce the borough’s carbon footprint by a further 11,100 tonnes of carbon each year.

The discovery will be marked by a sign that will be added to the nearby Old Kent Road bridge.

A council spokesperson confirmed that once the construction work is completed, the Roman road remains will be preserved in situ and reburied for future generations.