Stirk, D. (2001). An Archaeological Watching Brief at Canary Riverside, Canary Wharf, London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Brockley: Pre-Construct Archaeology Limited.

Title:

An Archaeological Watching Brief at Canary Riverside, Canary Wharf, London Borough of Tower Hamlets

Number of Pages:

Biblio Note

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Publication Type:

Report

Abstract:

An archaeological watching brief was undertaken on conjunction with ground investigations works. Although of a limited nature, the archaeological investigations demonstrated that the historically documented substantial 19th century brick and concrete docks had destroyed any earlier deposits in their vicinity. However, across much of the site in-between the docks, alluvial deposits and potential structures and features associated with the early industrial development of the area remained intact. Although of an uncertain nature deposits dating from the early 18th century onwards were encountered. The archaeologically significant deposits recorded during the archaeological investigation consisted largely of alluvial silt. These silt deposits survived between the 19th century dock structures. Due to the constraints of the watching brief interpretation of these deposits was limited. They may have consisted of numerous structures and/or cut features, but equally may have represented dumping episodes associated with land management or refuse disposal. Although large quantities of cultural material, most notably wood in the form of both shavings and larger timbers, only a few contained material suitable for dating, which consisted of pottery and glass objects dating from the early 18th to the 20th century. A number of timbers were visible in these deposits, one of which was brought up and tentatively identified as a ships timber. It was not clear whether it was reused in a structure, or simply dumped in the alluvial silt. Other timbers within this alluvial silt were tentatively identified as possible structures. One of these may have been a timber lined slipway of indeterminate date, while the other may have been one of the 18th century timber docks. It appeared that the alluvial silt had not been truncated from above except by the 19th century docks. Substantial 19th and 20th century make up layers above the alluvium had served to protect them from the 20th century development. The archaeological methodology employed, which was necessitated by the depth of the trenches, made it likely that the features recorded were only a portion of those present in the stratigraphic sequence. The alluvial silts, in particular, may have contained many more timber structures than those seen from the top of the trench. The large number of timbers that were brought up from these deposits certainly suggested this. [Au(abr)]

Author:

D Stirk

Publisher:

Pre-Construct Archaeology Limited

Year of Publication:

2001

Subjects / Periods:

18th Century (Auto Detected Temporal)

20th Century (Auto Detected Temporal)

Early 18th Century (Auto Detected Temporal)

19th Century (Auto Detected Temporal)

Early 18th To The 20th Century (Auto Detected Temporal)

Note:

Date Of Issue From: 2001 Date Of Coverage From: 01 Date Of Coverage To: 01 Editorial Expansion: Site name: CANARY RIVERSIDE, CANARY WHARF
Study area: 2.3ha
Investigation type: Post-determination/Research
District: Tower Hamlets
Monument: FEATURE. Post-medieval (1540-1901), [finds]. Post-medieval (1540-1901)
Ngr: TQ37258030
Parish:
Postcode: E14 4PX

Source:

BIAB (Archaeological Investigations Project (AIP))

Created Date:

18 Jan 2009