Anglo-Saxon Folkestone

In Kent it was mainly Jutes (from Jutland in Denmark) who put down roots, living in small villages, farming the land and worshipping Norse gods.

Evidence of an early Anglo-Saxon community in the Folkestone area comes from a cemetery at Dover Hill, discovered during road-widening in 1906. Forty graves were excavated, revealing valuable information about life and death in the 6^th and 7^th centuries.

You can find out about this fascinating archaeological site, its graves and skeletons, through original black and white photographs taken by Borough Engineer A E Nichols, who was in charge of the excavations.

Investigate one of the bodies - the skeleton of a woman - which was carefully removed from the site and is now on display in Folkestone Museum. Can you work out the identity of the small rusty object buried with her?

Then discover some of the grave goods (objects buried with the dead), including weapons and jewellery, in stunning close-up detail. What can they tell us about their owners?

Learn about Anglo-Saxon homes and villages, food, weapons and warfare, clothing and trade, including precious imports from across the Channel and from thousands of miles away!

Find out about the importance of animals, from horses and oxen to the ferocious wild boar!

Gradually a powerful Kingdom of Kent emerged, with its own royal family centred on Canterbury, but with strong links to the Folkestone area, including Lyminge.

In AD 597 King Ethelbert and Queen Bertha of Kent welcomed St Augustine from Rome, and Kent became a Christian Kingdom.

St Eanswythe - a Kentish princess - founded a minster on the Bayle at Folkestone, probably sometime after AD 650. Her relics are in Folkestone Parish Church.

A small settlement grew up around this minster and gradually grew into the thriving town of Folkanstan.

Find out about the 2020 forensic investigation of St Eanswythe’s relics. Are the bones really hers? And how do we know?