Museum of London Archaeology unpublished report series

Evaluation excavations were carried out in two phases on a site which formed part of a redevelopment of the Phipp's Bridge Estate. Sample trenches revealed several inhumations of Roman date, a ditch and several natural channels which contained pottery tentatively dated to the Late Bronze Age. [Au(adp)]

Excavations were undertaken at a proposed development site where an earlier evaluation had indicated the presence of Roman deposits, some of which may have been related to pottery production. The excavation revealed the presence of prehistoric peat deposits, sealed by up to 4m of alluvium. Within the alluvial sequence, evidence of field ditches and associated features dating to the late 3rd to late 4th century AD was recovered. This exploitation of an area close to the Thames and prone to flooding suggested that the river levels had been significantly lower in the late 3rd and 4th centuries. It was thought that the field systems identified on the site may have been centred on a nearby building or settlement, the presence of which was inferred from building material remains recovered during excavation. Pottery and quernstones from Germany may have been imported directly to the site. Variations within the pottery assemblage also indicated some differentiation within the regional trade pattern of London and its hinterland. Activity on the site had apparently continued until the very end of the Roman period; its termination was marked by flood deposits, apparently resulting from the breach of river defences. River levels had risen constantly during the post-Roman period, and the site had returned to marginal marshland with little or no sign of activity pre-dating the 19th century. [Au(abr)]