Tabard Square, Long Lane
TQ 3264 7968;Douglas Killock; Excavation; August 2002 - July 2003; LLS02
A year's archaeological excavation came to an end in July as a wider understanding of the site emerged and as more artefacts of great interest and significance were excavated.
It now appears that the site consisted of a temple complex with two Romano-British
temples flanking a courtyard with a villa-like building at one end and a column and two
possible altars at the other end. The Tabard inscription came from a pit which can now be
seen to lie at the heart of the complex. The last month of the excavation was spent in the
south of the site but of great interest was a ditch which respected the southern side of
the temple complex and which may have defined it. The drain may originally have been lined
with timber and contained a great deal of artefacts including whole pots, a bronze bowl or
bucket, the life-sized foot of a bronze statue (possibly wearing a sock under the sandal)
and a bronze pot. The pot was opened with much media interest from all around the world and
was so well preserved that the ointment it contained still had the finger marks of the
last person to use it visible on its surface. Analysis is on-going to ascertain its nature
and possibly its purpose.
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