Canterbury, Iron Age Britain, 1000BC
Canterbury, Kent, Iron Age Britain, 1000BC
It is well known that the Isle of Thanet used to be an actual island, when the Wantsum Channel divided Kent. The large channel was a thriving trading route during the Roman occupation of Britain until it silted up at some point in the Middle Ages. However, when it was still around, the channel had such a large influence on Kent’s geography that is is unrecognisable from today.
This map is based on a map drawn out by English Heritage which shows what Kent looked like before the channel silted up. Today the River Stour winds along much of East Kent before its mouth at Pegwell Bay. However back in ancient times, the mouth of the Stour was considerably further inland (by our standards). On the map, the mouth of the Stour is roughly located where the village of Stodmarsh is today. The mouth is just a stones throw from Canterbury which explains why the settlers considered it an ideal location to establish a city in.
From Wikipedia…
"The Canterbury area has been inhabited since prehistoric times. Lower Paleolithic axes, and Neolithic and Bronze Age pots have been found in the area. Canterbury was first recorded as the main settlement of the Celtic tribe of the Cantiaci, which inhabited most of modern-day Kent. In the 1st century AD, the Romans captured the settlement and named it Durovernum Cantiacorum."
