Front Brents Community Excavation
The Kent Archaeological Society (KAS) was invited by the Faversham Creek Trust to undertake a community archaeological excavation on land adjacent to Front Brents in Faversham from Saturday 24th May to Sunday 1st June. The aim of the project was to uncover archaeological evidence of the 19th century cottages which once stood on the plot and to engage the Faversham community with the local history of Faversham Creek.
[fg]jpg||Image[/fg]
Over the course of the 10 day excavation, the site had a huge level of engagement. We had c. 300 registered volunteers which included regular members of the Faversham Society Archaeological Research Group (FSARG) but also many members of the local community. On one day we had over 30 pupils from Little Moonbeams Nursery, based just around the corner from the site, come and give archaeology a go!
[fg]jpg||Image[/fg]
These numbers do not include the throngs of people who stopped by to find out what we were up to and share their memories of the local area, or their four-legged friends, who we welcomed on site with joy.
The excavation received plenty of media coverage with both KMTV’s News Nuggets and local TV station FavershamTV visiting the site, and social media coverage from the talented professional videographer, Emma Youell, and KAS staff and volunteers.
[fg]jpg||Image[/fg]
The project was partnered with Museum of London Archaeology’s Coasts in Mind Project; a National Heritage Lottery Funded project investigating coastal change over the last 100 years. Coasts in Mind joined the site throughout the week to engage with local residents who shared wonderful stories of how the area had changed, what they remembered of the buildings, and even what it was like living in them.
In all, the project was a huge success. The Kent Archaeological Society would like to thank the Faversham Creek Trust for inviting us to run the investigation and to the Lees Court Estate for initially recommending us. Thank you to the Green Spaces Team at Swale Borough Council for granting permission for the excavation to take place.
A huge debt of gratitude is extended to the dedicated volunteers from the Faversham Society Archaeological Research Group (FSARG), without whose hard work, engagement and expertise, this project would not have been possible.
Thanks also goes to Coasts in Mind for joining us and sharing their extensive skills, the Faversham Creek Trust for inviting us and accommodating all our needs throughout the week, to our KAS interns for their hard work and enthusiastic assistance, to KMTV, FavershamTV and Emma Youell for the superb filming on site, and finally to the hundreds of local people who came out to us, got involved and hopefully left with lasting memories of local history and archaeology.
A report on the project will be produced in due course and shared on the KAS website, the Kent Historic Environment Record, the Faversham Creek Trust and Faversham Society websites. In the meantime check out our social media channels for more information and highlights from the project.
[fg]jpg||Image[/fg]