Digging up trust beginnings

An exhibition celebrating 40 years of the Canterbury Archaeological Trust opens at the Beaney next week. It will illustrate the beginnings of the trust and chart its development over the years, marking many achievements and discoveries. The trust as it is today was founded on April 1, 1976 - an incarnation of the first formal organisation, the Canterbury Archaeological Society, which was established in 1920. Canterbury’s museums are packed with items discovered during the trust’s excavations, including an Anglo-saxon pendant found in 1982, which is on permanent show at the Beaney and is used as the logo of the exhibition. The council’s director of museums, Jo Jones, said: “The trust’s work over the last 40 years has uncovered so much about Canterbury’s rich history and we are proud that our museums are the places to visit to see a great deal of this material.” Dr Paul Bennett, director of the Canterbury Archaeological Trust, said: “It is nice to have this opportunity to reflect on our work. “We hope people will find it interesting and uncover some things they didn’t know about the city’s history.” The exhibition will run from Friday, March 25, to Sunday, April 24.