main content Archaeology Collection

The museum has archaeological finds from some of the most important archaeological sites in the Cray Valley and surrounding area.

Poverest Road

Poverest Road is the site of a Roman bath house and later Anglo Saxon cemetery excavated in the 1960s and 70s. The museum holds the remains of over 80 individuals from the cemetery, many of whom were cremated and placed in urns. Others were buried with jewellery and weaponry. The Roman bath house is preserved in situ and can be visited by appointment with the museum curator, or as part of our annual National Archaeology Days events.

Lower Warbank Keston

The Roman villa at Keston was occupied between the 1st and 4th centuries AD. It was fully excavated by Kent Archaeological Rescue Unit and the Bromley and West Kent Archaeological Group between 1967 and 1990. The museum holds human remains and associated grave goods from the site of the northern cemetery and mausoleum, which includes a lead casket that was used for the cremated remains of a person who lived at the villa. The remainder of the finds are stored at the Museum of London.

Crofton Roman Villa

Crofton Roman villa was occupied between the 2nd and 4th centuries AD. The museum holds material from the earliest excavations back in 1927 and those conducted by Orpington Historical Records and Natural History Society between 1955 and 1961. In the 1980s the site was threatened with destruction to make way for a car park because it was thought that very little of the villa remained. Excavations by the Kent Archaeological Rescue Unit and the Bromley and West Kent Group showed that more of the building survived than had been suspected. This led to the preservation of the villa as a visitor attraction that is now open to the public every year between April and October. All the finds from the 1980s excavation are stored at Bromley Museum.

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