Kayaker finds rare Roman glass and pottery off Kent coast
Mark Brown Arts correspondent
Wed 17 Jul 2019 12.28 EDT
Objects from a possible Roman shipwreck have been found off the coast of Kent in one of the most unusual archaeological finds in living memory.
The chance discoveries were made by a kayaker in the sea off Ramsgate. The tide was low enough and the water clear enough for him to reach down and pull out beautiful cobalt blue glassware and high-status Roman pottery, called Samian ware.
Mark Dunkley, a marine listing adviser with Historic England, said it was the sort of find which just did not happen in the UK. “It is the rarity of the material and the quality of the material that is really significant. In my experience this stuff just does not exist in an underwater context anywhere around Britain. It is a really significant find.”
The discovery has raised the tantalising possibility of it coming from a Roman ship, wrecked close to the Kent coast.
Another possibility is that it could be from a Roman land site, which is now under water because of coastal erosion. If that is the case the objects could be votive offerings, a practice which saw Romans leaving valuable goods in the hope it would ensure the gods gave them a safe passage.
More:
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/jul/17/kayaker-finds-rare-roman-glass-and-pottery-off-kent-coast
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