R-Day: The Hidden Beach Where The Romans Invaded In 43 AD Revealed; Two Miles Inland!!!!!!!

by **J The Kidd** Fri Oct 03, 2008 2:12 am

The beach where the Romans invaded Britain was today revealed by
archaeologists as now being TWO MILES from the modern day coastline.

A sheltered lagoon had existed by remains of the conqueror’s fort
at the time of the 43 AD landing, but had silted up over time, pushing
the shoreline outwards.

The amazing discovery follows a one-month dig at Richborough in Kent by English Heritage.

R-Day: The Hidden Beach Where The Romans Invaded In 43 AD Revealed; Two Miles Inland!!!!!!! L_52495e12166e448fa9d981f3513630fc

R-Day: The Hidden Beach Where The Romans Invaded In 43 AD Revealed; Two Miles Inland!!!!!!! L_52495e12166e448fa9d981f3513630fc

Invasion site: Richborough Roman Fort used to be beside a lagoon back in 43 AD.

Archaeologists discovered beach sand along with washed up artefacts
such as Roman coins and pottery at the inland site after excavating a
90-metre-long stone wall built by the invaders.

They now know the conquerors would have built a harbour on the site.

Tony Wilmott, who led the dig, said: ‘It is widely known that
Richborough Roman Fort was the gateway to Roman Britain 2,000 years
ago, but what is really exciting is that we have actually found the
Roman foreshore while digging in a deep trench alongside the remains of
a Roman wall.

‘The bottom of the trench continually fills with water and by
trowelling you can feel the hard surface, which was the Roman beach.

‘We have long been curious about this fallen Roman fort wall and now we know there was a Roman harbour sitting out there.’

R-Day: The Hidden Beach Where The Romans Invaded In 43 AD Revealed; Two Miles Inland!!!!!!! L_682455549d784f4fb1d6ddb06037c1b0

R-Day: The Hidden Beach Where The Romans Invaded In 43 AD Revealed; Two Miles Inland!!!!!!! L_682455549d784f4fb1d6ddb06037c1b0

Unearthed: Archaeologist Tony Wilmott stands beside a Roman wall
where they found beach sand as well as artefacts left by the conquerors
such as pottery.

During the month-long dig, which ends tomorrow, archaeologists also unearthed a Medieval dock.

Experts believe the newly uncovered quayside was built with the
same masonry technique as the contemporary mid-14th century town wall
in nearby Sandwich.

It may also have been associated with the nearby St Augustine's chapel. The town was once a thriving Medieval port.

In the Roman era, Richborough Roman Fort overlooked a sheltered lagoon, where in AD43 the invading Roman forces first landed.

R-Day: The Hidden Beach Where The Romans Invaded In 43 AD Revealed; Two Miles Inland!!!!!!! L_a8ae2d1915234b61ba7e7bb5f4e08ad2

R-Day: The Hidden Beach Where The Romans Invaded In 43 AD Revealed; Two Miles Inland!!!!!!! L_a8ae2d1915234b61ba7e7bb5f4e08ad2

Evidence: A fragment of decorated Simian ware found during the excavation.
R-Day: The Hidden Beach Where The Romans Invaded In 43 AD Revealed; Two Miles Inland!!!!!!! L_68d090bf12ea4aa8b1044c2d6042b5b9

R-Day: The Hidden Beach Where The Romans Invaded In 43 AD Revealed; Two Miles Inland!!!!!!! L_68d090bf12ea4aa8b1044c2d6042b5b9

Soldiers' rations: Roman oyster shells were also found at the site in Kent.
At the start of the dig, volunteers helped to reclaim the walls
from undergrowth, exposing them for the first time since the 1930s.
Explaining how the area used to be coastal, Dr Willmott said: ‘We
believe a shingle bar from the land formed, gathering silt deposits
that over time formed land.

‘Later the land was also being reclaimed, so that is why today the
beach where the Romans invaded is now two miles from the current
shoreline.’

During the project, archaeologists uncovered a number of smaller finds
such as Roman coins and fragments of Italian marble believed to be from
a great triumphal arch built at Richborough around AD80 to commemorate
the Conquest of Britain.

Before Emperor Claudius' legions successfully invaded there had been
two failed attempts led by Julius Caesar in 55 BC and 54 BC.

But nearly a century later the Roman’s had less difficulty routing the notoriously wild natives.

The main invasion force under distringuished senator Aulus Plautius crossed in three divisions.

Their landing ground, Rutupiae, is now known as Richborough.

Some men stayed behind to build a fort, while thousands moved north towards London.

But it took the Romans took until 77 AD to fully quell all the rebellions and complete their aims of their conquest.
R-Day: The Hidden Beach Where The Romans Invaded In 43 AD Revealed; Two Miles Inland!!!!!!! L_b60b572110fc460ba38c5b777460b923

R-Day: The Hidden Beach Where The Romans Invaded In 43 AD Revealed; Two Miles Inland!!!!!!! L_b60b572110fc460ba38c5b777460b923