MoLAS Archaeology Studies Series

Four fourteenth-century Surrey Whiteware kilns were excavated. A substantial quantity of Kingston-type Surrey Whiteware pottery waster material, including many intact vessels, retrieved from kiln interiors, stoking pits and waster pits. The majority of the pottery assemblage was waster material, in the form of small and large jugs and cooking pots. Other forms such as crucibles (some of the smaller examples possibly having functioned as lamps), cups (lobed and plain), bowls, a dripping dish, condiment dish and money box were also represented. At least two anthropomorphic vessels were identified. Many wasters exhibited the variability of kiln firing in the form of discolouration of the fabric and glaze, buckling, explosion or implosion and fusing of vessels. Previously unpublished forms identified from the assemblage comprise the puzzle jug, the `measure' (possibly some form of kiln furniture), the goblet, and the probable lantern; it is thought that the introduction of lobed cups can now be pushed back to the first quarter of the fourteenth century; and the archaeomagnetic dates from two kilns, of 1300--25, suggest that many forms were in common use by 1300. The kiln sites themselves have produced evidence of their superstructure suggesting a variety of capping material, and their plan and structure suggest a degree of care and skill in the loading and stacking of the kilns. There are French and German summaries and specialist reports on:

Presents the results of evaluation and excavation work between 1995 and 1999. Twelfth- or thirteenth-century land consolidation was succeeded by three periods of building from the thirteenth century onwards. A thick, site-wide deposit of crushed chalk was used to stabilize the land prior to construction. The ten to twelve buildings represented may include The Bell & Cock and The Unicorn - `stews' or inns known from documentary sources. A dump of Surrey Whiteware pottery was recovered. Sixteenth- and seventeenth-century buildings included a possible kennel and a multi-sided building that may have been an animal-baiting arena. Evidence for the butchery of predominantly old horses may indicate feeding of dogs kept for animal-baiting. A dump of tin-glazed pottery (delftware) from a reused medieval cellar provided the first excavated evidence for the Bear Gardens pothouse in operation from 1702 to 1710. Glass and glassworking debris may emanate from a nearby glasshouse that operated between c.1671 and 1748. The final phase of excavated buildings represent eighteenth- and nineteenth-century activity and reflect the later use of the site as a foundry and metalworks. Excavation was only undertaken in areas that would have been affected by development work with preservation in situ where possible. Includes French and German summaries and specialist reports on:

Key findings include MBA pottery, late-first-century AD buildings and four cellared buildings dating from the eleventh century. Friday Street and St Werburga (later St John the Evangelist) succeed this phase and cellars and cesspits attest to occupation up to the Great Fire of 1666.There are French and German summaries.

Extensive archaeological remains of Roman and post-medieval date were uncovered during the course of work, including the square base of a substantial Roman masonry structure. This was interpreted by the excavator as a late third-century military signal tower, on the basis of its form and its location and visibility on the north bank of the Thames. Timber structures were found just to the east of the masonry building. Examination of the site archive led to a reinterpretation of the site sequence, which included several phases of use from the first to the late fourth century AD. Gravel or brickearth quarrying in the late-first or early-second century, was followed by the establishment of a cremation cemetery during the second century, with nine cremations recorded in two clusters. The site lies c. 500m east of the easternmost known extent of the main cemetery outside the Roman city and 100m south of the projected line of the Roman road which ran through that cemetery. The 9m square masonry `tower' is thought to date to the second half of the second century or slightly later and may therefore have been contemporary with and a focus for the burials. The method of construction is consistent with that of mausolea, some of which are thought to have been tower like in appearance. In the third century the area was divided into plots and a substantial rectilinear timber building and other structures and pits associated with domestic occupation were established. Associated animal bone evidence may indicate that large-scale butchery took place nearby. In the mid-fourth century, the latest phase of field boundaries were infilled and clay- and timber-lined tanks and drains constructed, suggesting that the site was turned over to industrial use. A pair of leather briefs was found in the fill of one of the tanks. Demolition of the masonry structure, deposition of building rubble and the subsequent accumulation of agricultural soil marked abandonment of the area in the second half of the fourth century. Two inhumation burials may also date to this period, indicating a final return to use of the site as a cemetery. The pottery and coin assemblages are unusually large for a non-urban site and follow an unusual chronological profile, peaking in the late-third century; a large farm or hinterland settlement perhaps lay nearby. There was little in the finds assemblage that could be characterized as military, except possibly the samian. The site produced some of the latest samian known from Britain, with a high proportion of late East Gaulish wares. There are French and German summaries and specialist reports on:

Report on the findings at Pacific Wharf, which provide insights into post-medieval woodworking techniques and other aspects of ship-building technology. The volume documents these processes in their archaeological context and that of Southwark's maritime history. In the mid-seventeenth century a timber river wall allowed occupation of marginal land. The site was used as a timber yard and then developed as a commercial wharf, with new waterfronts constructed in deeper water. In the second half of the eighteenth century the Woolcombe family of shipbuilders developed a new river frontage and a wet dock. In the early nineteenth century the Beatson family adapted the site as a ship-breakers' yard, and built a house overlooking the wet dock and a warehouse. Includes French and German summaries, and also a glossary of woodworking and nautical terms.

The volume presents new evidence for early modern industry and settlement at two sites in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Taken together, the Richmond and Mortlake sites provide evidence of the great increase in development occurring in small towns on the outskirts of London from the mid-seventeenth century. Excavation at 29-34 George Street, Richmond also drew on a historical study of documentary evidence, showing the town's development from the fifteenth century onwards. Looking at several sites in Mortlake uncovered evidence pertaining to the post-medieval industry that arose here, including excavation of a First World War shell-filling factory. Includes specialist reports on the documentary evidence, pottery, animal bone and plant remains; also includes French and German summaries.

Report presenting the results of an excavation and associated fieldwork carried out between 1995 and 2000 at 168 Fenchurch Street in the City of London. Evidence was revealed of intensive activity during the first decade of Roman occupation (AD 50--60), early structures being replaced by more substantial buildings representing a phase of occupation which appears to have been commercial in nature. The west end of the site remained open throughout this period and may have functioned as a marketplace or open public area. Following destruction by fire, much of the area was levelled over with redeposited fire debris and the evidence suggests that it may have been up to a decade before the resumption of any serious activity on the site. Remains of the foundations of the south wing of the first forum, constructed in the AD 70s, were recorded on the western limit of the site, together with fragments of associated floor surfaces. The foundations of the south and east wings of the much larger second forum were recorded at several locations across the site. The new forum-basilica complex, built in AD 100--30, occupied an area approximately five times larger than its predecessor. Evidence for the external courtyard was limited to make-ups and construction levels, and survival of associated internal surfaces was fragmentary. An isolated ragstone wall foundation in the eastern part of the site may be part of a late Roman building. There was extensive robbing of the forum foundations during the early medieval period which may have been associated with the construction of St Dionis Backchurch between 1089 and 1108, foundations of which were recorded. Later medieval occupation included a chalk-lined well and cesspit in the western half of the site. Includes French and German summaries, and specialist reports on

Report on findings from two sites on the south side of Newgate Street, excavated in 1998. The sites lay to the east and west of the line of the later Roman defences, but both sites are located to the west of the early settlement boundary of Londinium as defined by the location of burials. The western arm of a natural stream channel, thought to have been a tributary of the River Fleet, was found at 3--9 Newgate Street. The earliest extant human activity consisted of gravel quarrying and a laying-out ditch; this may have been associated with the establishment in c. AD 50 of the main east--west road. The ditch was infilled and two adjacent timber buildings were constructed over it in c. AD 65--75. Two more phases of timber building followed before a localised fire at the end of the first century. One further phase of roadside timber building was apparently constructed before c. AD 120. At 16--17 Old Bailey the first- and early-second-century sequence was significantly different, with no evidence for buildings but traces of a cemetery. Only four inhumations and a possible cremation were recovered. Gravel quarrying was contemporary with or slightly later than the burials, with the quarry pits used for rubbish disposal. The area remained open throughout the second century. At 3--9 Newgate Street the final phase of roadside timber building was demolished to make way for a massive masonry foundation in c AD 140--60 or later; a parallel stone wall lay near the road frontage to the north of the masonry foundation, with which it may have been associated. Conjectured interpretations of the foundations include the proposal that they represent the southern end of a monumental arch or gateway spanning the road, as well as roadside shrines, towers or funerary monuments. The structure was apparently demolished during the late-third or early-fourth century. Also at 3--9 Newgate Street, a managed channel or ditch followed the course of the early stream; this was infilled during the second century prior to construction of the city defensive wall in c. AD 200. After this construction, activity at 16--17 Old Bailey declined dramatically; inside the wall, at 3--9 Newgate Street, a large third-century masonry building was built to the south of the infilled stream, some distance away from the main road. The area was apparently abandoned between the fifth and tenth centuries and the natural stream may have re-formed during this time and reverted to its original course. It was again infilled and levelled between the late-eleventh and thirteenth centuries, with the area subsequently used for rubbish pits. More early medieval rubbish pits were recorded at 16--17 Old Bailey, to the west of the medieval city walls, including some with chalk linings. Masonry buildings were established at 3--9 Newgate Street by the late-thirteenth century but only their chalk foundations have survived. Remains of masonry foundations on the southern part of the site may be related to a fourteenth-century building known as Warwick Inn. Post-medieval features were fragmentary. Includes French and German summaries, and separately authored contributions on