MOLA Research Repository
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Farringdon Station, Minor Works and Utility Diversions, Hayne Street (Crossrail XSF10)
No full textCombined general and targeted watching briefs were carried out at the site of Crossrail Farringdon Eastern ticket Hall by the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA). Natural gravels were not exposed at Formation level (15.10m OD) . Disarticulated human remains (probably associated with the medieval burial ground in Charterhouse Square) were recovered within a later levelling deposit dated1480-1600. Suggesting that the burial ground may have extended further west then expsected. A series of post medieval dumps and a pit, as well as garden soil horizons are consistent with the low levels of human activiyty in the area after the formation of Charterhouse square gardens in the 16th century
Guildhall Yard Security Bollards, London EC2V: Report on an archaeological excavation
No full textA4 client repor
Blomfield Street Phase 2 Mitigation, 11-12 Blomfield Street (Crossrail XTB12)
No full textThe archaeological work on site consisted of three separate interventions: an excavation in the area of the grout box, a targeted watching brief on the area of the Main box, and a general watching brief during ground reduction of the rest of the site. The excavation of the grout shaft area was done in two phases in order to get a full east-west section across the shaft. The intention of this excavation was to explore the results seen in the evaluation that uncovered the eastern edge of the main channel of the Walbrook. During this phase the channel was successfully recorded across the width of the trench. Natural sand and gravels were seen at the base (5.90m OD) followed by a succession of flood deposits, marshy peat, and a Roman dump layer which contained a number of pieces of pottery and ceramic building material dating between 50 and 400 AD. The targeted watching brief in the southern portion of the site recorded a probable continuation of the Walbrook Channel with Roman dumping layers and a north-south running ditch. In the south-east corner of the site the targeted watching brief recorded natural terrace gravels at a much higher level (8.33m OD) than in the grout shaft, suggesting this would have been dryer ground near the edge of the Walbrook. An east-west running ditch cut into the subsoil and underlying natural terrace gravels dated to the 12th century by pottery found within the fills. This was in turn cut by a north-south running ditch. These may represent medieval attempts to drain the higher ground to the east into the Walbrook. The general watching brief on ground reduction across the rest of the site revealed late 19th/early 20th century brickwork and rail ines in the northern portion of the site, probably related to Metropolitan Line
Service Diversion VDP, Victoria Dock Road, Seagull Lane (Crossrail XSX11)
No full textArchaeological watching briefs carried out by the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) on the Crossrail Victoria Dock Portal worksite, which consisted of utilities diversions centred around Victoria Dock Road and Seagull Road. Generally, trenches were excavated to a depth of 2.0m. Natural terrace gravels were overlain by thick peat deposits sealed by a horizon of alluvial clay. All deposits were archaeologically sterile. The sequence was sealed by modern made ground and the concrete and tarmac of the current road and pavement surfaces. Three trial trenches and a targeted watching brief afforded the opportunity to record and sample the sequence above the Pleistocene Thames gravels (from 3.3m below OD). The sequence consisted of potentially early Holocene river meandering to tidal creek formation at the base to prehistoric wood peats before rising sea level created the later, probably historic, estuarine floodplain. Of interest is the evidence for a fluvial or extreme weather, event at the eastern end of the site. No artefacts or structures were recovered
Phylogeography of the second plague pandemic revealed through analysis of historical Yersinia pestis genomes
No full textThe second plague pandemic, caused by Yersinia pestis, devastated Europe and the nearby regions between the 14th and 18th centuries AD. Here we analyse human remains from ten European archaeological sites spanning this period and reconstruct 34 ancient Y. pestis genomes. Our data support an initial entry of the bacterium through eastern Europe, the absence of genetic diversity during the Black Death, and low within-outbreak diversity thereafter. Analysis of post-Black Death genomes shows the diversification of a Y. pestis lineage into multiple genetically distinct clades that may have given rise to more than one disease reservoir in, or close to, Europe. In addition, we show the loss of a genomic region that includes virulence-related genes in strains associated with late stages of the pandemic. The deletion was also identified in genomes connected with the first plague pandemic (541–750 AD), suggesting a comparable evolutionary trajectory of Y. pestis during both events
Whither archaeologists? Continuing challenges to field practice
No full textCurrent archaeological practice in the UK and elsewhere focuses on the collection of empirical data. While scholars have proposed theoretical advances in field techniques, very few of these methods have been adopted in commercial archaeology. A combination of increased time pressure on development projects and the conservatism of the sector contribute to challenging times for archaeological practice. Additional complexity is introduced by large-scale infrastructure projects unsuited to standardised field techniques. This article explores these issues, calling for a flexible, consultative approach to project design and implementation, to ensure the longevity of both archaeology and the archaeological profession
Mesolithic, Iron Age and Saxon findings from excavations at Esher Park Avenue, Esher
No full textAn archaeological excavation at Esher Park Avenue, Esher revealed a 0.40m-thick layer of sand that produced some 1522 Early Mesolithic flints, including microlithic flint points, microburins and at least four core adze fragments and a scraper (c 9.3-9.0 ka BP). The flint assemblage suggests the presence of a discrete short-stay knapping episode, perhaps centred around a hearth or hearths. Activity appears to have been directed towards the maintenance and repair of hunting and foraging kit, rather than any long-stay ‘base-camp’ type occupation. The Iron Age is represented by a 3.80m-diameter circular structure indicated by a series of postholes that may be a small shelter. Pottery sherds from the fills of the postholes and within the nearby hill wash date the structure to the Middle to Late Iron Age. Lastly, a sequence of Saxon pits and gullies was truncated by a series of ard marks that represent a rare example of early ploughing on the site. Truncating the ard marks was a large pit, which produced pottery and loomweight fragments dated to the late 6th or 7th century AD
Blomfield Worksite, Liverpool Street, 11-12 Blomfield Street, EC2 (Crossrail XSL10)
No full textThree trenches were excavated in the basement of the now-demolished 11 and 12 Blomfield Street and rearward extensions. Natural gravels were exposed in two trenches. In the E of the site, natural deposits were cut by a series of sterile waterlain clays sloping from W-E, probably from a relatively fast flowing section of the Roman Walbrook (or a tributary of it) whose ancient alignment is echoed in the current N-S orientation of Blomfield Street. A small fragment of Roman tegula roofing tile dated AD 50-160 was recovered from within a sandy dump deposit sealing this sequence, mortar on the broken edge suggesting reuse. To the west the sequence was repeated, with a naturally formed alluvial layer and inclusions of wood and plant suggesting formation in a semi-terrestrial environment, possibly delineating the eastern edge of the Walbrook. Again Roman pottery was recovered from overlying dump and/or reclamation layers. The earliest tentatively identified as a Roman round-bodied jar likely to be 1st century in date. A sherd of Roman natural blue-green glass was also recovered along with pottery common in London assemblages dated to the 1st-3rd centuries. This suggests that this part of the Walbrook may have been backfilled or become disused in the 2nd-3rd centuries, with dumped domestic rubbish utilised as landfill. In the lower double basement at the back of 11 Blomfiled, 19-c brickwork was exposed immediately below the foundation slab. A floor surface and wall formed of yellow stock bricks were of similar construction and probably contemporary appearing to relate to an earlier phase of construction, and may an be a retaining wall for the metropolitan line underground built in the 1870's. The basements and foundations of 19th and 20th-c buildings completed the archaeological sequence in all areas of the site
Farringdon Eastern Ticket Hall, Phase 2 Mitigation, Hayne Street (Crossrail XTE12)
No full textA series of investigations were undertaken at the site of the new Farringdon Eastern Ticket Hall (ETH) and the surrounding streets between 2011 and 2013, culminating in a phase of excavation located in the north-east of the site. In addition two trenches were excavated within the gardens of Charterhouse Square in 2014, as part of a community project. The trench locations were informed by a Forensic Geophysical Survey produced by Keele University, and were restricted by root preservation orders. The interventions at the ETH uncovered a relatively complete sequence from natural deposits through to 20th-century features, although there were localised areas of complete truncation. A solitary medieval adult burial and a series of metalled surfaces were recorded within the gardens of Charterhouse, forming part of a sequence dating from the medieval period to the 20th century
Excavations at 78 Eden Street, Kingston upon Thames, 2016-17
No full textAn archaeological excavation took place at 78 Eden Street, Kingston upon Thames on the site formerly occupied by an 18th century Friends’ Meeting House that had been demolished in 2016, and an associated burial ground from which the burials had been exhumed. The excavation revealed evidence for a single Saxon ditch, as well as medieval ditches and a pit, and the remains of the post-medieval frontage of Eden Street. A small number of undated features was also recorded. The watching brief identified the continuation of the Saxon ditch to the east and a post-medieval well. The watching brief also uncovered the remains of seventeen Quaker burials which, in line with an agreed mitigation strategy, were either excavated under archaeological conditions or exhumed, depending on the date at which they were interred