In recent years, archaeologists have uncovered everything from a mysteriously ruined ancient wine shop to a 2,000-year-old Pompeiian snack bar to presidential bottled cherries. So what’s new under the earth? A potentially 400-year-old bar and smoking lounge in Dover, England.
Earlier this year, Canterbury Archaeology Trust researchers uncovered broken bottles and ceramic jugs, plus clay tobacco pipes, at a dig site in the southeast English town. “The objects perhaps relate to an inn [and] tavern that is thought to have lain in the vicinity,” a Dover District Council spokesperson told Wine Spectator via email. “This was potentially known as the Phoenix and dated to the 17th [or] 18th century.” Sadly, this phoenix didn’t rise again.
While we don’t yet have specifics on the bottles, the ceramic fragments provide more insight: They’re pieces of Bellarmine jugs, aka Bartmann jugs. Designed to look like bearded men, these distinctive stoneware vessels were used for a range of purposes—including wine decanting—across Europe (and farther afield) beginning in the 16th century.
“These [items] will be studied by specialists and then passed over to Dover Museum,” the council spokesperson said. So why were archaeologists digging at this particular spot in the county of Kent? Since July 2024, they’ve been excavating for a nearly $30 million project to redevelop the site as Dover Beacon, an education, arts and business center.
“The main project is expected to finish in May 2026, giving time for the tenants to fit out their suites before the building opens in September 2026,” the council spokesperson added. Incidentally, a few notable buildings were demolished for the development: One bore a European Union flag mural from famed anonymous artist Banksy; the other was Dover’s top nightclub, the Funky Monkey.
This is not the first time the site has yielded archaeological artifacts. According to the council spokesperson, archaeologists have previously uncovered shards of post-medieval wineglasses, medieval and post-medieval cooking pots and pottery, spindle whorls (used to spin yarn), coins, nails and animal bones.
But the Dover Beacon project has another historical tie beyond archaeology: The primary building at the site will be called the Bench, a nod to the medieval customs bench that once operated there. “Merchants would have laid out their wares on the bench so that the government could assess and collect taxes due,” the council spokesperson explained, “including taxes on wine and beer imports.”
Like the pub or tavern that may once have stood at this same site, the Bench is set to be a local gathering place, though, one would imagine, with much more economic potential: “The Dover Beacon project is set to deliver over [$117 million] of economic benefit,” the council spokesperson said, “bringing investment to boost jobs, skills and access across the area.” Cheers to that!
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