Town's past recovered from graves

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Volunteers work on grave treasure

Buried treasure from the early kingdom of Kent unearthed in a burial ground dig is going on display to the public.

More than 2,500 objects including weapons, brooches, glass beads and drinking and storage vessels were uncovered in the dig in Sittingbourne.

They were recovered from 229 graves in prehistoric and Anglo-Saxon burial ground at The Meads discovered when the site was being cleared for housing.

The exhibition will be at the Forum Centre until the end of January.

Perfectly-preserved

Sittingbourne Heritage Museum has recruited a team of 30 conservation volunteers to work on the objects.

Visitors will be able to see both the volunteers and experts at work on conserving some of the objects.

The most precious of the finds is a perfectly-preserved pair of glass drinking cups from a Saxon warrior's grave found by a volunteer, but these will not be on show.

"This exhibition gives us a fascinating insight into what life was like in this part of Kent 1,400 years ago," said Kent's county archaeologist Lis Dyson.

"The presence of some very rich graves suggests that the area was important at the time the kingdom of Kent was emerging."