1 April 2014 – APRIL FOOL!!!
The Eastbourne Ancestors team have made a recent finding connected to the ‘Beachy Head Lady’ who has been reconstructed at the Eastbourne Ancestors exhibition.
Found in a Roman burial site, the artefacts were uncovered in a satchel and included a Roman equivalent of sunglasses, showing that Eastbourne has been the sunniest place in the UK for a lot longer than previously known.
The Eastbourne Ancestors project uncovered a rare archaeological discovery last year, a skeleton with African ancestry dating back to the Roman period. This discovery has been reconstructed at the Eastbourne Ancestors exhibition at the Pavilion. The latest discovery uncovers a fascinating piece of information showing those living in Eastbourne and Sussex wore sunglasses at the time.
Eastbourne has had the accolade of the sunniest place in the UK for many years, but this new artefact shows that the town was one of the sunniest even in Roman times. The satchel of artefacts also showed many other interesting things including a stone box with traces of what is thought to be a type of sun cream – adding to the sunniest place in the UK accolade.
In addition; what is thought to be the remains of something similar to a deckchair was also discovered near by. The chiselled rock piece of furniture had a similar frame to what we would see all over the seafront in the summertime in modern times.
Historian, Daisy Faralloop said “This discovery is fascinating and not only shows Eastbourne has been the sunniest place in the UK for a very long time but also that Roman residents used something so modern as sunglasses. It raises questions as to whether there were many different types owned by others or if this lady was one of a kind. We look forward to further tests on the discovery and are delighted to show Roman Eastbourne as the sunniest place in the UK.”
The sunglasses and other findings will be on show at the Eastbourne Ancestors Exhibition at the Pavilion until 12 noon on 1 April. The exhibition is open every day from 10am – 5pm.
For more information visit www.visiteastbourne.com/sunglasses
