Digging Surrey's Past

07/06/2026

Hats off to our amazing volunteers ! Their commitment, skill and enthusiasm makes all the difference. Thank you

09/05/2026

Echoes of Roman Life

In Fetcham, during the installation of a new water pipeline, the archaeologists discovered evidence for Roman activity dating to the mid 2nd to late 4th century AD, likely marking the period when a substantial Roman building was in use. Excavations uncovered stone foundations belonging to a much larger, multi roomed structure, while large quantities of flue tiles strongly suggest a nearby bathhouse—most commonly associated with high status Roman villas. Although the foundations themselves are not clearly diagnostic, the find represents an important new addition to our understanding of Roman settlement in the area, where little comparable evidence was previously known.



Surrey Day
Digging Surrey's Past
Surrey County Council

09/05/2026

09/05/2026

Beneath Our Feet!

Roman Surrey Revealed: Surrey County Archaeological Unit (Surrey County Council's archaeological team) works throughout the county on a range of archaeological projects. Most of these take place ahead of the redevelopment of land. Surrey has hosted human activity for thousands of years, and the Roman period was particularly active.

In Reigate, archaeologists uncovered an exceptional Roman find: an unusually well preserved tile kiln, part of which was later lifted for public display. Dating to the early Roman period, the rectangular updraught kiln survived with its stokehole, fire tunnel and combustion chamber largely intact, showing it was a heavily used and repeatedly repaired industrial installation rather than a short lived experiment. Scientific dating places its final firing between AD 40 and 101, with activity likely continuing into the early 2nd century AD. The kiln reveals remarkable Roman innovation, featuring an advanced drainage system made from decorated box flue tiles, including rare relief patterned examples, alongside an impressive façade built from locally quarried Reigate Stone. Together with nearby discoveries, it forms part of a wider industrial complex supplying materials for Roman buildings and bathhouses, highlighting the speed, sophistication and investment behind Roman technology and infrastructure in south east Britain.

Image: The entrance façade of the kiln, with the tiled firing chamber floor beyond. Further back is the combustion chamber. The arch is the survivor of seven at intervals that supported the floor above on which the raw tiles were laid for firing.


Surrey Day
Digging Surrey's Past
Surrey County Council

09/05/2026

Roman Roadworks

In Egham, archaeological work revealed evidence of a major Roman road dating from soon after the Roman Conquest. Although later disturbance damaged much of the surface, sections of the compacted, cambered road survived, showing it was around 16.5 metres wide. A large roadside ditch was also identified, though only limited Roman finds were recovered. This road formed part of the key London–Silchester route, crossing the Thames at Staines and passing through the Roman town of Pontibus. The discovery helps confirm how Roman transport and infrastructure shaped movement and settlement in the Thames Valley from the 1st century AD onwards.

Image of site at Egham



Surrey Day
Digging Surrey's Past
Surrey County Council
Egham Museum

09/05/2026

In 2019 Digging Surrey's Past excavated Witley Camp in Godalming. Once a bustling military camp home to 20000 British and Canadian soldiers in the first world war.

During the excavations, a spoon was uncovered with a service number stamped on the handle. Using online records, it was discovered to belong to Canadian John Baxter.

Arriving at Witley Camp, Baxter was 22 years old with light brown hair with blue eyes and was 5feet 5 ½ inches tall. He served with the Canadian forces and came to Britain in 1916, shortly after he was posted to France. In 1917, he was wounded in the foot and spent the next few months in and out of hospital. He returned and married an English girl, Nellie Martin in 1917. He was then posted back to France as Acting sergeant.

After the armistice he returned to England and was once again posted to Witley Camp in May 1919. He transferred to the Military Police from the Pioneers. He remained with them until just before he embarked for Canada in September. His wife and daughter, Doris, had already left for Canada in May. At some point while he was at Witley, he lost his spoon which had his service number on it. It lay in the ground for 100 years.

At some point whilst he was at Witley he lost his spoon, it lay in the ground for 100 years.

Surrey Day

09/05/2026

Happy Surrey Day a day to bring communities together to celebrate everything that makes this county so special. This year's themes are going underground and uncovering Surrey’s hidden treasures. We’ll be sharing posts throughout the day, so keep an eye out.

18/03/2026

Blast from the Past
We have a large collection of perforated clay plaques from an excavation in Laleham. These mysterious, tile like objects were pierced several times before firing, and are between 10-20cm. They are a classic Late Bronze Age artefact but their purpose is still debated amongst archaeologists. One popular idea is that they served as cooking stands, but intriguingly, none of our fragments show any signs of scorching or heat damage. None of the plaques could be fully reconstructed, and the range of rounded ends, angled corners, and hole patterns suggests that more than one type was in use.
https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/library/browse/issue.xhtml?recordId=1222042

08/03/2026

Happy International Women’s Day to the amazing women of the Surrey County Archaeological Unit, exploring the past one trench at a time, preferably in the sunshine 😎