This paper presents an archaeological reconsideration of the chapel of St Pancras at St Augustine’s Abbey, Canterbury, using published and archival sources from over a century of excavation and archaeological survey. The evidence considered, including previously unpublished elevations and geophysical survey, sheds new light on the chapel’s structure and its context, of which it presents the fullest account yet published. Using all available sources, it is argued that the earliest phase of the ruinous building neither dates from the Roman period, nor from the mid- to late 7th century, as previously argued by other scholars, but from between 597 and 609. The same evidence supports the interpretation that the structure was rebuilt in the 7th and 8th centuries. As such, the first phase of St Pancras may be both the oldest ‘Anglo-Saxon’ ecclesiastical building visible today, and founded, consecrated and used by Saint Augustine of Canterbury himself. It provides, therefore, unique testimony to a pivotal moment in British history and offers previously unrecognized material evidence for the foundation of the English Church.

本文介绍了对坎特伯雷圣奥古斯丁修道院的圣潘克拉斯礼拜堂的考古学重新考虑，使用了一个多世纪的挖掘和考古调查的已发表和档案资料。所考虑的证据，包括以前未发表的高程和地球物理调查，为教堂的结构及其背景提供了新的视角，它提供了迄今为止最完整的描述。使用所有可用的资料，有人认为，这座废墟建筑的最早阶段既不是罗马时期的，也不是其他学者先前认为的 7 世纪中后期的，而是 597 年到 609 年之间的。同样的证据支持该结构在 7 世纪和 8 世纪重建的解释。像这样，圣潘克拉斯的第一阶段可能是当今可见的最古老的“盎格鲁-撒克逊”教会建筑，由坎特伯雷的圣奥古斯丁亲自建造、祝圣和使用。因此，它为英国历史上的一个关键时刻提供了独特的见证，并为英国教会的建立提供了以前未被承认的物质证据。