Excavations at Hunt's House, Guy's Hospital, London Borough of Southwark
Robin Taylor-Wilson
PCA Monograph No. 1: 2002
£7.00
Excavations
undertaken during the redevelopment of Hunt's House, part of Guy's Hospital;
in Southwark, London revealed sporadic periods of activity from the late
Mesolithic period until the present day. The site lies on what was low-lying
marshland on the eastern margins of two islands which became the focus of
Roman occupation in Southwark.
The earliest activities
on the site indicated periodic exploitation of the marsh's natural resources
and Guy's Channel, a natural watercourse, was certainly being used by
river craft in the Roman period. Early 2nd century waterfront installations
recorded along the channel were abandoned in c. AD 170, possibly due to
severe flooding, Dryer conditions followed during the 3rd and 4th centuries
and a network of drainage ditches were dug. Enclosures, possibly for livestock,
were also identified and a timber-walled structure may have been used
for storing amphorae, Pottery from this period suggests a nearby shrine
while other finds indicate leatherworking, leadworking and the processing
of animal carcasses in the vicinity. Further embanking of Guy's Channel
in the mid/late 4th century suggests rising river levels at this time
with industrial activities continuing nearby, possibly into the early
5th century.
Ditches found across
the site may represent 5th-century fields which were covered by thick
alluvial deposits resulting from sustained flooding until c. 1300 when
attempts to drain the area resumed. Eighteenth century soakaways, cesspits
or wells were all that survived of the post-medieval houses which occupied
the site before the construction of Hunt's House.
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