DISCOVERKENT
DID YOU KNOW ?
Fascinating Facts About Kent …
IT COMES AS NO SURPRISE THAT A COUNTY AS DIVERSE AS KENT IS TEEMING WITH INTRIGUING ANECDOTES AND FACTS . FROM BEING THE INSPIRATION FOR LITERARY ICONS AND THE MEETING PLACE OF ROCKSTARS , TO OBSERVING MOMENTS THAT WOULD CHANGE THE COURSE OF HISTORY FOREVER - KENT HAS BORNE WITNESS TO IT ALL .
PEGWELL BAY
Believed to be of Celtic origin , Kent , meaning ‘ coastal district ’ or ‘ land on the edge ’ has been home to humans since the Paleolithic era . Throughout its existence , the county has developed a remarkably unique persona that has derived from a rich concoction of its geographical location , agricultural fruitfulness and natural beauty . This solid foundation means Kent has not only seen momentous historical events , but has also been a magnet for a multitude of famous faces and personalities , with everyone from Julius Caesar to Bob Geldof wanting a slice of the action .
So let ’ s start at the beginning …
In 1838 , paleontologist William Richardson found a tiny fossil in the cliffs at Studd Hill , Herne Bay . However , our story begins long before this finding . Richardson ’ s theory that it was a tiny part of a horse skull was not proven until 38 years later , when a complete skeleton was discovered in Wyoming . As it turned out , the cliff at Herne Bay had been the home to this fragment of one of the very first horses for over 54 million years . Now referred to as the ‘ Dawn Horse ’, this incredible find was the starting point for the story of the evolution of the horse . Kent is home to lots of fossils and ancient burial grounds , like the famous long barrow , Kit ’ s Coty , initially constructed in the early Neolithic Period , which started 10,000 years BC .
After the Bronze Age and the Iron Age , from which artifacts can be seen at museums throughout Kent , came the Roman invasion with Julius Caesar landing at what was most likely Pegwell Bay , Kent ’ s most easterly point , sometime during 55BC . Leading the way along their famously straight roads , legend has it that Caesar once called the people of Kent ‘ the most civilised ’ of the Celtic tribes . With the Romans came a modern way of life , including beautiful mosaic floors that can still be seen in Canterbury ’ s Roman Museum .
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