Archaeology of London

In England haben ublicherweise die Regionalmuseen die Aufgabe ubernommen, Unterlagen und Funde aus archaologischen Untersuchungen zu archivieren. Aus Platznot entscheiden sich nun immer mehr Museen, kein Material von verursacher-finanzierten Masnahmen mehr anzunehmen. Die Hintergrunde dieser Lage, namlich eine Zunahme an archaologischen Aktivitaten in den letzten 20 Jahren, sowie ein zunehmend wettbewerbsintensiver Markt an archaologischen Grabungsfirmen, werden in diesem Vortrag dargelegt. Es folgt eine Diskussion moglicher Losungen fur diese Magazinkrise in unseren Museen, oder zumindest in unseren archaologischen Sammlungen. Eine mogliche Losung ware es, in der Auswahl der aufzubewahrenden Grabungsfunde selektiver zu sein. Die Prinzipien zur Auswahl und Magazinierung eines archaologischen Archives werden hier vorgestellt; zusammen mit einem Fallbeispiel, welches zeigt, wie ein Auswahlprozess zur Rationalisierung des Museumsbestandes die Platznot lindern kann.

Geoarchaeological evidence for the Holocene development of the Lea valley, was recorded across Crossrail sites at Pudding Mill Lane portal in boreholes and sections. Within the EIP chamber, excavation revealed a series of wooden structures, surviving principally as piles or stakes with some  in situ wattle. These structures were radiocarbon dated to the medieval period and 16th to 17th centuries AD, but the function of the various structures was more difficult to determine; one was probably a causeway revetment and at least two appear to have been weirs, commonly used both for managing water supply for mills and for fisheries. They are probably the remains of a weir recorded as the Landmylles Lock which lay between Old Ford and Bow Bridge in 1551

Evaluation on a site with the preserved remains of the City Wall. A section of the Roman city wall was revealed"
which had been encorporated within the structure
of a l?uilding standing on the site prior to the IRA
oomb of 1993.
The basement of 23 & 24 Wormwood Street had
truncated archaeological deposits but trial
trenches revealed the base oJ a Roman wattle
lined rubbish pit (1 st ~ 2nd century AD) and a
post-medieval well or cesspit-soakaway

Correction: the tradition that the body of Harold Harefoot was buried at St Clement Danes (p 175) was already known to Ralph de Diceto in the 12th century.

Modern accounts of London Stone, the enigmatic landmark that has stood since at least the end of the 11th century (and probably much earlier) in Cannon Street in the City of London, usually refer to a ‘traditional belief’ that the stone was associated in some way with the well-being of the city, and quote an ‘ancient proverb’ that ‘So long as the Stone of Brutus is safe, so long shall London flourish’. In a paper published some years ago (Clark 2007, 178), and later in a fuller paper in Folklore on the growth of traditions and myths about London Stone (Clark 2010, 45–52), this supposed saying was traced back to a first appearance in a note in the periodical Notes and Queries in 1862. The note was signed with the pseudonym ‘Mor Merrion’. This, more correctly ‘Môr Meirion’, was the Welsh Bardic name adopted by the Revd Richard Williams Morgan (c.1815–89), Anglican clergyman, Welsh patriot, co-organiser of the 1858 Llangollen Eisteddfod, and later the founder and first bishop of a revived ‘Ancient British Church’. ‘Môr Meirion’ claimed that there were ancient traditions that London Stone had been brought from Troy by Brutus, legendary founder of London as ‘New Troy’, and erected as the altar stone in the Temple of Diana, and that the ancient British kings had by custom sworn their oaths of office upon it. It was ‘the foundation stone of London and its palladium’. Moreover there was, Morgan asserted, a saying ‘So long as the Stone of Brutus is safe, so long shall London flourish’.
    In the absence of evidence that these were legitimate ‘ancient traditions’ about London Stone, it is easy to assume that all were the inventions of Richard Williams Morgan, that imaginative and eccentric author. However, there is one medieval source that does indeed connect London Stone with Brutus and with a prophecy of London’s greatness – but it remains uncertain whether Morgan was aware of it: a narrative poem known as the Anonymous Short English Metrical Chronicle, composed in the early 14th century. One version of this text was written in London and clearly intended for a London readership, and among much unconventional and unlikely history it contains episodes and references of particular London interest, and probably reflecting local knowledge. One of these is the attribution to Brutus of the setting up of London Stone and a prophecy of London’s future greatness. This paper considers this episode alongside other apparently novel references, which may reflect ways in which medieval Londoners interpreted the past of their city.

The effects of neoliberalism as ideology can be seen in every corner of the planet, worsening inequalities and empowering markets over people. How is this affecting archaeology? Can archaeology transcend it? This volume will delve into the context of archaeological practice within the neoliberal world and the opportunities and challenges of activism from the profession. From a global perspective with collaborations from all around the world, it aims to encourage a new course of action that makes the past relevant in the present.

Over a period of six years, from
February 2011 to October 2016,
Museum of London Archaeology
(MOLA) carried out several watching
briefs, with excavation, at Crossrail
south-east worksites along the River
Lea. These included the Pudding Mill
Lane tunnel portal in Newham1 and the
Ham and Wick sewer diversion to the
west of the Lea in Tower Hamlets.2 In
addition to the tunnel portal itself, the
work carried out for Crossrail included
an emergency intervention point (EIP)
above the tunnel, the diversion of
services, the relocation of a road and
DLR tracks and station and a new
electricity substation (Fig 1).
Geoarchaeological evidence for the
Holocene development of the Lea
valley, that is, over the last c. 10,000
years, was recorded across the sites in
boreholes and sections. Within the EIP
chamber, excavation revealed a series
of wooden structures, surviving
principally as piles or stakes with some
in situ wattle. These structures were
radiocarbon dated to the medieval
period and 16th to 17th centuries AD,
but the function of the various
structures was more difficult to
determine; one was probably a
causeway revetment and at least two
appear to have been weirs, commonly
used both for managing water supply
for mills and for fisheries

A research framework for London archaeology follows The archaeology of Greater London (MoLAS 2000) and is intended to be used in conjunction with it to realise the potential of the London Archaeological Archive, to manage the archaeological resource more effectively, and to generate more focused research. Chronological periods are summarised with reference to current knowledge and research questions. Research priorities are addressed through five major themes: topography and landscape; development; economy; people and society; and continuity and change. Available for download from MOLA at http://www.mola.org.uk/research-framework-london-archaeology-2002

... Liquid History: excavating London's great river. Autores: Nathalie Cohen; Localización: Current archaeology, ISSN 0011-3212, Nº. 244, 2010 , págs. 12-19. Fundación Dialnet. Acceso de usuarios registrados. Acceso de usuarios registrados Usuario. Contraseña. Entrar. Mi Dialnet ...