The next in our portfolio of fantastic sites to celebrate PCA’s 30 year anniversary features Pirates’ booty! Excavations on Narrow Street in 1999 revealed the former 17th-century houses of people deeply immersed in piracy, with exotic pottery and glass from all over the world. Many of the examples recovered have otherwise rarely, if ever, been found in Britain.
Read more about when Limehouse was the stomping ground of pirates here
This battered but fascinating find is a heavily rolled and mineral-stained biface, probably a handaxe, dating back to the Lower-Middle Palaeolithic period. It measures 87mm long, 82mm wide, and 44mm thick, and is of lenticular/cordiform shape. One side displays centripetal working with opposed removals on the other. Its well-worn condition indicates long periods spent within active burial environments, such as glacial tills or river terrace deposits. The natural deposits beneath the site are Lowestoft Formation glacial till, dated to the Anglian glaciation, around 400,00–500,00 years ago. Though its exact origin isn’t certain, if it’s from these glacial tills its rolled state indicates that it pre-dates them, making it an exceptionally old and rare discovery. However, as it was found close to the surface, such an attribution is far from certain. No other Palaeolithic artefacts have been recorded in the vicinity.
The next site in our curated portfolio celebrating PCA’s 30 year anniversary caused a flurry of excitement in 2017! Excavations on Harper Road in Southwark revealed a rare late Roman sarcophagus alongside a substantial section of road. Our work here redefined the course of the Roman Stane Street and the sarcophagus was the inspiration of an exhibition at the Museum of London called ‘Roman Dead’.
Read more about this stunning site here
Next in our celebration of PCA’s 30-year history of fantastic sites, we have not one, but two sites excavated ahead of the construction of a new road to bypass the towns of Bedale, Aiskew and Leeming Bar in North Yorkshire. A pre-Roman enclosure, identified by aerial survey, was anticipated along the line of the road. However, the project also unexpectedly revealed the existence of a previously unknown Roman villa near Aiskew. Both the enclosure and the villa were situated alongside an ancient routeway, following a slightly elevated path above the local floodplains – the very same route chosen by modern engineers for the road.
Read more about this groundbreaking site here
Continuing our celebration of PCA’s illustrious 30-year history, we’re excited to reveal the next in our series of favourite sites. PCA undertook several phases of archaeological investigation in and around Bermondsey Square, the historic core of the medieval Bermondsey Abbey, between 1998 and 2011. Despite being registered as a Scheduled Ancient Monument within a Conservation Area, it was possible to reveal, record and protect the solid archaeology and build new structures to enhance the area. Amongst our findings was evidence for the elusive Saxon ‘minster’, and the Norman and later medieval Cluniac priory (later Benedictine Abbey) church and cloisters, including the southwest flanking tower of the western entrance to the great abbey church.
We’re back in action at Trench 1 and on a mission to extend the area, so we can safely excavate to a depth of 2m to reach the horizon of Roman archaeology. As the picture shows, the weather has decided to play tricks on us, and the team are working hard in very challenging conditions.
At the bottom of the picture is the continuation of a medieval wall, with evidence of some masonry being stolen. We suspect they used it in the construction of other buildings nearby, like a good old-fashioned medieval recycling programme!
It’s getting exciting at our Central Winchester Regeneration site!
Our team is hard at work in Trench 3, tackling the challenging task of excavating through thick layers of alluvial deposits to unveil the hidden medieval archaeology beneath!
In continuation of our celebration of PCA’s remarkable 30-year journey, we are thrilled to unveil another of the curated selection of groundbreaking sites that have defined our legacy over the past three decades.
This week, we present the unexpected discovery of a Roman bathhouse complex, the second largest found in London, along with a substantial late Romano-British settlement over a kilometre outside Londinium’s walls. Such is the significance of the bathhouse, it was preserved in situ beneath the new development.
We had a fantastic turnout at our second open day at the Central Winchester Regeneration site. Visitors to the previous open day were eager to view our progress in Trench 1, and to see the dramatic, waterlogged Trench 3, which is now up-and-running with shoring and pumps. Our interactive activities in Abbey Gardens, such as the finds washing experience, were met with resounding enthusiasm, as evidenced by one young visitor who insisted, ‘No, Dad, I don’t want to go to the park; this is much better!’
Don’t worry if you missed it, there will be another on 7th October. In the meantime the site will be open between 8th-17th September from 12-2pm as part of Winchester Heritage Open Days.
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